# Classical composers that typically stick to the minor key?



## alexfsu (Feb 3, 2012)

Traditional or modern, I would like to know if anyone knows of any composers that usually have their music in the minor key. Not sure if one even exists, but any feedback is greatly appreciated.


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## violadude (May 2, 2011)

Shostakovich didnt, but his major keys usually don't sound like major keys anyway.


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## Polednice (Sep 13, 2009)

Mozart never composed in a major key.


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## alexfsu (Feb 3, 2012)

Polednice said:


> Mozart never composed in a major key.


Cool, didn't know that, thanks! Any modern composers (i.e., Hans Zimmer, Philip Glass, James Horner, etc.)?


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## Ravellian (Aug 17, 2009)

Polednice was joking. I can't think of any composers who wrote in minor keys all the time, but generally, Romantic-period composers like Chopin, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov, Brahms, etc. wrote more in minor keys than composers in any other time period. Modern composers tend to avoid key centers, and classical-era composers tended to write in major.

In the baroque era and earlier it gets more complicated because composers used a mix of keys and modes. However, two of the most frequently-used modes, Aeolian and Dorian, are very close to the full modern conception of the minor scale. So, you will get plenty of minor-sounding music in early pieces.


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

This thread I did a while ago might be of some relevance here -

http://www.talkclassical.com/14330-use-major-minor-keys.html

According to that thread, your best bet would be the Russians. Tchaikovsky wrote 5 out of his 6 symphonies in minor keys, Prokofiev 4 in minor keys out of 7 symphonies in total, and Shostakovich 9 in minor keys out of a total of 15 symphonies...


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## Ukko (Jun 4, 2010)

Rachmaninoff liked minor keys.


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## peeyaj (Nov 17, 2010)

*Death and the Maiden Quartet*

This quartet is highly unconventional because all of the four movements is in the minor key (D minor, G minor, D minor, D minor). Not even Tchaikovsky' Pathetique symphony have the pleasure of having all movements cast into this gloom and sadness.

Incidentally, if you want to hear what a minor key would sound if *''happy''* or a major key, when *''sad''*, try Schubert's late works. They are incredible and the modulations are effortless.


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

Where a key is designated roughly about half of Skryabin's output is in minor keys - and quite a few of those were sharps.


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## jurianbai (Nov 23, 2008)

chopin sounds all minor everytime


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

This page provides a list of symphonies for all of the keys.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_symphonies_by_key


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde (Dec 2, 2011)

Schoenberg abolished the tonal system. Thank you Schoenberg. Everything he wrote post 1908 (or around then) wasn't in _any_ key.


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## Huilunsoittaja (Apr 6, 2010)

Sid James said:


> This thread I did a while ago might be of some relevance here -
> 
> http://www.talkclassical.com/14330-use-major-minor-keys.html
> 
> According to that thread, your best bet would be the Russians. Tchaikovsky wrote 5 out of his 6 symphonies in minor keys, Prokofiev 4 in minor keys out of 7 symphonies in total, and Shostakovich 9 in minor keys out of a total of 15 symphonies...


And Glazunov wrote 2 symphonies in minor key of 8.

Quite a difference there. 

Sibelius and Rachmaninoff both had a big penchant for minor keys. It must have been their personality really. Minor doesn't always mean sad, but it often means very serious in subject.


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## Argus (Oct 16, 2009)

I find D minor to be the saddest of all keys. People seem to weep instantly when they hear it, and I don't know why.


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## Ukko (Jun 4, 2010)

Argus said:


> I find D minor to be the saddest of all keys. People seem to weep instantly when they hear it, and I don't know why.


Hadn't noticed the weeping, but _something_ gives Kv466 more emotional power than it ought to have.


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## tdc (Jan 17, 2011)

Hilltroll72 said:


> Hadn't noticed the weeping, but _something_ gives Kv466 more emotional power than it ought to have.


Not to mention Bach's Chaconne...but I think Argus just wanted to make a sly reference to the movie _Spinal Tap_.


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde (Dec 2, 2011)

Argus said:


> I find D minor to be the saddest of all keys. People seem to weep instantly when they hear it, and I don't know why.


Really? I find D minor can be quite stormy or even agressive. I think the saddest keys are A minor, G minor and F minor.


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## neoshredder (Nov 7, 2011)

Another question is who used the harmonic minor scale the most with their composing? I'm thinking Beethoven and Bach.


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## violadude (May 2, 2011)

neoshredder said:


> Another question is who used the harmonic minor scale the most with their composing? I'm thinking Beethoven and Bach.


Bloch maybe? or Rimsky-Korsakov?


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## neoshredder (Nov 7, 2011)

Argus was quoting a line from Spinal Tap. It's funny seeing people take his quote seriously.


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## Ukko (Jun 4, 2010)

neoshredder said:


> Argus was quoting a line from Spinal Tap. It's funny seeing people take his quote seriously.


Yeah. I'm sure you cognoscenti go into paroxysms of laughter at our ignorance. Glad to be of service.


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## neoshredder (Nov 7, 2011)

I didn't mean to be offensive. I used to be more of a rock person than a classical person. I guess I shouldn't expect those to follow the movie Spinal Tap who are mostly into classical music. My apologies.


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## Antiscia Moore (Jul 30, 2018)

*I'm sorry, but WHAT?!*



Polednice said:


> Mozart never composed in a major key.


HA! This was apparently a joke that I didn't get.  Kept my original response below in good sport.

Most of Mozart's catalogue is in Major key. The only reason you think Mozart is heavy on the Minor key is because of the Requiem and likely Symphony No. 25. He only wrote a few minor key works, as major key was favored during the time period he lived and composed. I think you may be confusing Mozart with Beethoven in this instance.


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## caters (Aug 2, 2018)

Beethoven uses minor keys a lot, especially in his later works.


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## Larkenfield (Jun 5, 2017)

I believe there's a need for a sense of reserve in assessing the effects of a symphony, whether classical or not, that starts in a major key. There are numerous minor key passages or movements that can be found in this long list of major-keyed works that can add contrast and depth. It's just not enough to make any kind of a judgment of mood of a symphony that starts out in a major key. It's necessary to get inside each one and that would be a very time-consuming analysis. Mendelssohn's sparkling and upbeat _Italian Symphony_ has the last movement _Presto and Finale _start in A minor and ends in A minor. Nevertheless, because of its tempo and energy, there's still something upbeat about it.






Mahler's _Symphony No. 5_ dispenses with a key signature entirely:

"The musical canvas and emotional scope of the work, which lasts over an hour, are huge. The symphony is sometimes described as being in the key of C♯ minor since the first movement is in this key (the finale, however, is in D major). Mahler objected to the label: "From the order of the movements (where the usual first movement now comes second) it is difficult to speak of a key for the 'whole Symphony', and to avoid misunderstandings the key should best be omitted."

Such key relationships could apply to any work, regardless of what key it starts in, and one might be wise not to make too many assumptions about the nature of the work when the first movement starts out in a major key. Conceivably, there could be important minor key passages even to finish the work in a minor key.


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## R3PL4Y (Jan 21, 2016)

Rachmaninoff is the first one that springs to mind, along with Tchaikovsky. Mahler has 5 symphonies in a minor key, and Das Lied von der Erde contains a lot of minor music. Liszt also likes minor keys a lot.


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