Musical Pick-Me-Up 1
Start Me Up

With origins in the world of opera, the Overture or Prelude was traditionally assigned the job of quietening down the audience with a taste for the drama and music to follow. It also set the atmosphere for the curtain to rise.

As time passed, overtures became so popular that they were performed independently, often as concert openers. Composers even started writing overtures for overture’s sake. They remain amongst the most popular of all classical pieces.

Here is a selection of some of the best-known and loved:

1. Beethoven – Coriolan, op.62 – Overture
2. Beethoven – Leonore No. 3 Overture, op.72a
3. Brahms – Academic Festival Overture, op.80
4. Glinka – Russlan and Ludmilla – Overture
5. Mendelssohn – A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Overture, op.21
6. Mozart – Le nozze di Figaro(The Marriage of Figaro), K492 - Overture
7. Rossini – La Gazza Ladra (The Thieving Magpie) – Overture
8. Rossini – William Tell – Overture
9. Strauss, J. – Die Fledermaus (The Bat) – Overture
10. Suppé – Light Cavalry – Overture