30 Orchestral Themes for Classical Guitar

This volume contains thirty well-known themes drawn from symphonies, operas, ballets, and suites composed during the late 18th through early 20th centuries by such masters as Mozart, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, and Prokofiev. These themes have been tastefully arranged from short excerpts to complete orchestral movements to take full advantage of the classical guitar’s unique musical and expressive capabilities. In the author’s words, “The goal here was not to imitate a symphony orchestra, but rather to reimagine these themes in a different context.”

This collection includes a fresh take on several works already in the guitar repertoire, along with many pieces appearing here for the first time in guitar transcriptions. Intermediate to advanced players looking for new material and fresh challenges will find these arrangements suitable for sight-reading practice and recitals. Written in standard notation, the music includes left-hand fingering suggestions plus original tempi and dynamic markings to enhance authenticity in performance.

BEETHOVEN, Ludwig van (1770-1827)

Symphony No. 6 “Pastoral Symphony” (Excerpt from the First Movement)

Symphony No. 7 (Excerpt from the Second Movement)

BRAHMS, Johannes (1833-1897)

Symphony No. 1 (Excerpt from the Fourth Movement)

Symphony No. 3 (Excerpt from the Third Movement)

BIZET, Georges (1838-1876)

Habanera (Excerpt from the Opera “Carmen”)

DVORÁK, Antonin (1841-1904)

Slavonic Dance No.8

Symphony No. 9 “From the New World” (Excerpt from the Second Movement)

Symphony No. 9 “From the New World” (Excerpt from the Third Movement))

MOZART, Wolfgang Amadeus (1756-1791)

Symphony No. 40 (Excerpt from the First Movement)

MENDELSSOHN, Felix (1809-1847)

Nocturne (Excerpt from “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”)

MUSSORGSKY, Modest (1839-1881)

Promenade (Excerpt from “Pictures at an Exhibition”)

The Old Castle (Il vecchio castello) (Excerpt from “Pictures at an Exhibition”)

Catacombs (Catacombae) (Excerpt from “Pictures at an Exhibition”)

Bydlo (Excerpt from “Pictures at an Exhibition”)

The Great Gate at Kiev (Excerpt from “Pictures at an Exhibition”)

RIMSKY-KORSAKOV, Nikolai (1844-1908)

The Sea and Sinbad’s Ship – I (Excerpt from the First Movement of “Scheherazade”)

The Sea and Sinbad’s Ship – II (Excerpt from the First Movement of “Scheherazade”)

The Story of the Kalandar-Prince (Excerpt from the Second Movement of “Scheherazade”)

The Young Prince and the Young Princess – I (Excerpt from the Third Movement of “Scheherazade”)

The Young Prince and the Young Princess – II (Excerpt from the Third Movement of “Scheherazade”)

TCHAIKOVSKY, Pyotr Ilyich (1840-1893)

Symphony No. 5 (Excerpt from the Second Movement)

Symphony No. 6 “Pathétique” (Excerpt from the First Movement)

Marche Slave (Excerpt from the Tone Poem “Marche Slave”)

Waltz (Excerpt from the Ballet “The Sleeping Beauty”)

PROKOFIEV, Serge (1891-1953)

Symphony No. 1 “Classical Symphony” (Excerpt from the Third Movement)

SMETANA, Bedrich (1824-1884)

The Moldau (Excerpt from the Symphonic Cycle “Ma Vlast”)

SCHUBERT, Franz (1797-1828)

Symphony No. 9 “Unfinished Symphony” (Excerpt from the First Movement)

HOLST, Gustav (1874-1934)

Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity – I (Excerpt from the Fourth Movement of “The Planets”)

Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity – II (Excerpt from the Fourth Movement of “The Planets”)

Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity – III (Excerpt from the Fourth Movement of “The Planets”)