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1->''"American movie makers have always held a deep reverence for composers whose works lie in the public domain."''
2-->-- '''Cecil Adams'''
3
4Classical music and folk songs seem to show up an awful lot as BackgroundMusic. Sometimes it conveys culture or time period. Sometimes they just sound cool or appropriate. Sometimes the answer lies in legalities. There's just less red tape in the public domain.
5
6Music in the public domain has no need to license the melody or a SuspiciouslySimilarSong. There has also been an emergence of [[http://www.incompetech.com/m/c/royalty-free/ free music]], some of which even has a free license for commercial use.
7
8See the [[SubTrope Sub Tropes]]: AmazingFreakingGrace and ChaosOfTheBells.
9
10For those pieces with well-entrenched meanings, see StandardSnippet. RockMeAmadeus is a related trope where classical music (public domain or otherwise) gets sampled or remixed.
11
12For music that ''is'' copyrighted but still used in a work it didn't originate from, see RecycledSoundtrack or RealSongThemeTune.
13
14----
15!!Examples:
16[[foldercontrol]]
17
18[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
19* ''Manga/ViolinistOfHameln'' - the whole manga revolves around Classical music.
20* The founder of anime as we know it, Creator/OsamuTezuka, based two animated works on this trope. His 1966 ''Music/PicturesAtAnExhibition'' is an animated interpretation of Musorgsky's suite of the same name. And his last (and unfinished) animated work, "Legend of the Forest", is set to Tchaikovsky's Fourth Symphony (Tezuka apparently intended to animate the entire symphony, but only the First and Fourth Movements were completed before DiedDuringProduction).
21* The final episode of ''Anime/IrresponsibleCaptainTylor'' makes epic use of Suppe's "Light Cavalry Overture" for one of the greatest BaitAndSwitch of all time. It has to seen to be believed.
22* The ending theme to ''Manga/DragonHalf'' is a medley of [[Music/LudwigVanBeethoven Beethoven]] symphonies... with newly written lyrics about ''omelettes''. (No, seriously.)
23* ''Anime/DigimonAdventure'' featured Ravel's "Bolero".
24* ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'' uses the [[OminousLatinChanting "Lacrimosa"]] from Music/WolfgangAmadeusMozart's ''Requiem'' in a flashback in the fourth episode. (You'll hear his name a lot on this page.)
25* ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' uses the Hallelujah Chorus from Music/GeorgeFredericHandel's "Messiah" in its 22nd episode, and "Ode to Joy" (Beethoven's Ninth, Fourth Movement) in its 24th. There's a fair amount of LyricalDissonance: [[spoiler: Asuka's MindRape by an Angel is set to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=munuk5sS5Ro "Hallelujah,"]] and[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L80eRPQvE38 "Ode To Joy"]] amounts to Kaworu's theme and plays as he almost destroys the world.]]
26** Music/JohannSebastianBach's Cello Suite No. 1 and Pachelbel's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsrT-cCHJ8s&feature=related Canon in D]] are used in the movie ''Death & Rebirth'', and Bach's "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InNf-ZahX_0 Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring]]" and "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKsTEWz82iQ Air on the G String]]" appear in ''End of Evangelion''. Though instead of using Bach's great and slightly morbid "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7VQWAILSbY Komm, Süsser Tod]]", only the name was used for a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWmJfX2AI2Q more cheerful and much more morbid pop song]].
27*** Most of the classical music in ''Evangelion'' is used ironically, but surprisingly enough, Cello Suite No. 1 and "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" by Music/JohannSebastianBach are played relatively straight. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ay174Yvnx7s The R1 DVD menus fix that.]]
28* Not wanting ''Evangelion'''s reputation for SoundtrackDissonance to come into question, the second ''Anime/RebuildOfEvangelion'' film is sure to make soul-searing use of not [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnsKeAejgs0 one]], but [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LpnOuuU08Y two]] Japanese folk songs.
29* Episode 6 of ''Manga/AzumangaDaioh'', the field day episode, has a [[{{Pun}} field day]] with this trope: "Csikos Post," "Camptown Races," Offenbach's "Infernal Gallop" ("Music/TheCancanSong"), "Clarinet Polka," Kabalevsky's ''Comedians'', and "Turkey in the Straw" are all featured as BackgroundMusic. All are typical tunes played during typical sports days at Japanese schools.
30* ''Anime/TweenyWitches'' has a peppy J-Pop ending theme based on "The Beautiful Blue Danube".
31* The ''Manga/Area88'' TV series used a techno remix of Bach's "Little" Fugue in G Minor for its opening theme song.
32** As did the series ''Manga/{{Nazca}}''.
33* Other than the opening and ending themes, ''Literature/LegendOfTheGalacticHeroes'' uses classical music for the entirety of its soundtrack.
34** The only exceptions are the anthems of the Free Planets Alliance and Galactic Empire, which are original compositions.
35** Mahler's 6th and 3rd are associated with the Empire.
36* The theme of ''Iketeru Futari'' is a JPop song called "Fall in YOU" -- which suddenly takes up the tune of Bach's Music/ToccataAndFugueInDMinor for ten seconds in the middle. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vE6Bf-u5uQ Seriously!]]
37* ''Anime/SailorMoon'':
38** One episode of the third season has Sailor Uranus searching for Sailor Neptune and ending up getting injured, and to the tune of Bach's Music/ToccataAndFugueInDMinor, no less.
39** Another episode, from the fourth season, has Boccherini's Minuet play during the scene where Usagi tries to fake sabotage of her ballet shoes in an attempt to gain sympathy points only for Chibiusa to call her on it.
40* The song "Journey to the Sun" from ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundamWingEndlessWaltz Endless Waltz]]'' uses the familiar ten-note refrain from "Jingle Bells"; appropriate, since the movie's events center on Christmas.
41* ''Anime/PrincessTutu'', being themed around ballet, uses plenty of classical themes.
42* The same counts for ''Manga/NodameCantabile'', which makes sense for a series about classical musicians.
43* ''Manga/KemekoDeluxe'' used [[Music/LudwigVanBeethoven Beethoven's]] "Ode To Joy"[[note]]or "Friedrich Schillers ''Ode To Joy'' sang to the the final movement of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony", for you classical music buffoons[[/note]] when [[MundaneMadeAwesome Izumi's bikini top falls off]] and she lands a slap on Sanpeita.
44* ''Anime/TheBigO'' utilizes Chopin's Prelude No. 15, aka "The Raindrop Prelude".
45* ''[[Anime/GiantRobo Giant Robo: The Animation]]'' has "Una Furtiva Lagrima" from Donizetti's ''L'elisir d'amore''. It also has an original composition based on "Dies Irae" that briefly features [[ShoutOut the melody of the original hymn]].
46* ''Manga/BlackButler'' uses the "Queen of the Night's Revenge" aria from Mozart's opera ''Theatre/TheMagicFlute'' at the start of Episode 5.
47** The OST of ''[[Franchise/DotHack .hack//Roots]]'' features a song based on this aria as well.
48* ''Anime/GhostStories'': Episode 4 prominently features Beethoven's famous piano composition, "Fur Elise".
49* ''Anime/{{FLCL}}'' used Kabalevsky's "Comedians" for a hectic chase scene.
50* In ''Manga/BlackCat'', main villain Creed Disketh played the Third Movement to Giovanni Battista Pescetti's Sonata in C Minor for piano several times.
51* The final episode of ''Anime/FullmetalAlchemist2003'' contains two arrangements of Chopin's Etude #3 as BackgroundMusic.
52** The First Movement of Beethoven's 5th Symphony can be heard in Episodes 49 and 50 as well.
53** In the English dub, [[SpellMyNameWithAnS Zolf]] J. Kimblee can be heard humming Beethoven's "Ode to Joy" in Episode 39.
54* ''Manga/RideBack'' features "The Great Gate of Kiev" from Mussorgsky's Music/PicturesAtAnExhibition as a recurring motif.
55* ''Anime/ExcelSaga'' uses Beethoven's Ode to Joy in Episode 2 where Menchi tries to escape. She's surrounded by a rainbow and cherubs while the track plays. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17HZJIFG2LU Skip to 5:00 and 6:20 to see.]]
56* ''Manga/GunslingerGirl'':
57** "Music/OdeToJoy" is played in one episode, making that moment work much better than just reading the words did in the manga.
58** One episode of the second season features an arrangement of "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7T6w6ndTuw&t=23m9s Scarborough Fair]]".
59* Obscure anime ''Manga/FightingFoodons'' used the tune of Offenbach's "Orpheus in the Underworld Overture" for its dub theme song.
60* ''Anime/{{Gankutsuou}}'' likes this trope, too. Tchaikovsky's "Manfred Symphony" is used a lot--the First Movement is the Count's own theme and excerpts from latter movements are also used here and there. Eugénie plays the First Movement (edited, though) of Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 and Schumann's "Traumerei" during her performance in the Opera, on Luna Albert and Franz meet the Count during a performance of "Lucia di Lammermoor", later in Paris the Count invites Albert to a performance of "Robert le Diable"... and the opening theme song is based partly on Chopin's Etude Op.10 No.3.
61* The R-18 rated ''Shoujo Sect'' uses Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata", Debussy's "Clair de Lune", Bach's "Little" Fugue in G Minor.
62* The "Moonlight Sonata" also features on ''Manga/CaseClosed'', as part of a mystery.
63* ''[[Literature/HaruhiSuzumiya The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya]]'' uses Tchaikovsky's Fourth, Shostakovich's Seventh, and music from Ravel's ballet ''Daphnis et Chloé'' in "The Day of Sagittarius" and Mahler's Eighth in the finale. ''[[TheMovie The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya]]'' features Satie's Gymnopedies and Gnossiennes along with "Je te veux".
64* ''Manga/BlackLagoon'' uses Richard Wagner's "Music/RideOfTheValkyries" from the opera "Die Walküre" in episode 6.
65* The ''Anime/{{Naruto}}'' OST features a piece based on the fugue from Johann Sebastian Bach's "Music/ToccataAndFugueInDMinor".
66** ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'''s soundtrack also has two pieces that use segments of the above piece.
67* ''Manga/OnePiece'' Episode 86 appropriately uses Franz Schubert's "Ave Maria".
68** In Episode 126, Antonín Dvořák's "From the New World" is played when [[spoiler: Luffy and Crocodile launch their final attacks on each other.]]
69* Episode 6 of ''Anime/OuranHighSchoolHostClub'' used Mozart's Sonata for Two Pianos in D Major.
70* Not quite BackgroundMusic, but still: The use of Mozart's "Music/EineKleineNachtmusik" in the fourth ''Ranma 1/2'' opening.
71* ''Manga/TegamiBachiLetterBee'' frequently features Johann Sebastian Bach's Air from Orchestral Suite No. 3 as BackgroundMusic, as well as his Sonata for Solo Violin No. 1 in G Minor.
72* ''Anime/RomeoXJuliet'' uses the aria "Lascia ch'io pianga" from Music/GeorgeFredericHandel's opera "Rinaldo".
73* The score of ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'' features arrangements of a few classical pieces, including the Bach/Gounod "Ave Maria", Claude Debussy's "La Fille aux Chevaux de Lin", and Sergei Rachmaninoff's "Vocalise", Op. 34 No. 14.
74* The OVA of ''Manga/KazeToKiNoUta'' has a lot of classical pieces, fittingly enough. The most notable is Chopin's Étude Op. 25 No. 11.
75* ''Anime/LupinIIITheWomanCalledFujikoMine'' uses an arrangement of J. S. Bach's Invention 13 in A minor.
76* ''Literature/TheFamiliarOfZero'' Season 2 Episode 6 uses the "Largo" from Handel's opera "Xerxes".
77* ''Blood+'' features Chopin's "Raindrop" Prelude, Brahms' "Lullaby", the Second Movement of Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 21, and Haydn's "Emperor" string quartet and "Surprise" symphony.
78* ''Literature/{{Hyouka}}'' uses Bach's "Air on the G String" and Gabriel Fauré's Sicilienne frequently.
79* ''Manga/MinamiKe'' uses the first movement of Tchaikovsky's Serenade for Strings whenever [[MrImagination Hosaka]] gets a little over the top.
80* ''Manga/FairyTail'' has some rather frequent public domain tracks:
81** "Habanera" from ''Theatre/{{Carmen}}'' is most frequently used as the {{leitmotif}} of the Magic Council.
82** Music/TheCancanSong typically plays whenever there's a BarBrawl.
83** One of the official soundtracks has a track titled "Ifuu Doudou". Its meaning? "Pomp and Circumstance", aka the "Graduation Song". Fittingly, it's usually played at the end of an arc, after the BigBad is finally defeated.
84** "Air on the G String" plays during Juvia's first appearance in Episode 21.
85** Expect to hear ''Music/AlsoSprachZarathustra'' when Juvia starts ChewingTheScenery, such as when she mistakes Lucy for her rival for Gray's affections in Episode 25.
86** Another official track, "Tower of Paradise" ("Rakuen no Tou"), is a shortened version of Music/SergeiRachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2.
87** Franz Schubert's "Ave Maria" plays during one of Juvia's {{Imagine Spot}}s on Sirius Island.
88** The spring suite from Vivaldi's ''The Four Seasons'' plays while Kain has an ImagineSpot of his own where he imagines that Levy, Lisanna, and Cana are all fawning over him.
89* After TheReveal in ''Anime/GaikingLegendOfDaikuMaryu'', the 4th movement of Dvorak's New World Symphony is used as [[spoiler: Proist]]'s {{Leitmotif}}, introduced as the only thing she finds redeeming about human culture.
90* ''Anime/YuGiOh'' uses "Music/RideOfTheValkyries" as the theme for the character of Siegfried von Scrhader, who fittingly uses a Valkyrie-themed deck.
91* During the hotel infiltration arc in ''Manga/AssassinationClassroom'', Irina plays [[Music/FryderykChopin Chopin]]'s Fantaisie-Impromptu to distract the security guards so that her students can get past.
92* ''Anime/KillLaKill'': "Dawn of a Miserable Morning" has a lot of classical music in it for some reason. More generally, whenever Mako makes a dramatic speech, it's accompanied by a wacky version of Handel's ''Messiah''.
93* ''Literature/MariaWatchesOverUs'' features Charles Gounod's Ave Maria, a piece played in piano by Sachiko (In episode 3 of the 1st season), and later sung by Shizuka (In episode 13). Fitting enough, ''VideoGame/{{Maribato}}'' also features a rendition of this piece in the character selection screen, as well as the Greenhouse stage.
94* ''Manga/InitialD'': The intro of "Back on the Rocks" is lifted from that of Bach's Music/ToccataAndFugueInDMinor.
95* In ''Anime/GoShogun'', Bundle's battleship flies around with gigantic speakers that blare out various classical pieces.
96** In episode 6, the song of choice is Edvard Grieg's "Morning Mood" from "Peer Gynt." (The StandardSnippet for sunrises.) The Goshogun pilots recognize the music and comment on it, saying "Grieg would roll over in his grave."
97** Another episode features Johann Strauss' "On The Beautiful Blue Danube". In ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWars'', this is the ''only song'' that can override any other, including the memetic "TROMBE!" In pisode,
98[[/folder]]
99
100[[folder:Fan Works]]
101* ''Fanfic/TheBoltChronicles'': While these stories frequently mention non-public-domain song titles, several examples (usually classical music) of this are referenced, including the lyrics to the Shaker hymn "Simple Gifts."
102* The lyrics and (optional) music in ''[[Fanfic/TotalDramaIslandByGilbertAndSullivan Total Drama Island, by Gilbert and Sullivan]]'' are those of, well, Music/GilbertAndSullivan, whose works entered the public domain in the 1950s.
103[[/folder]]
104
105[[folder:Film — Animated]]
106* ''{{WesternAnimation/Fantasia}}''. The movie wasn't a success when first released in 1940; this was acknowledged in one edition of ''Theatre/TheManWhoCameToDinner'', which had Sheridan Whiteside consoling Creator/WaltDisney over the phone:
107-->"Don't worry about ''Fantasia''. It wasn't your fault... [[Music/LudwigVanBeethoven Beethoven]] hasn't had a hit for years."
108** Also ''WesternAnimation/Fantasia2000'', though several of the pieces are actually still under copyright.
109* The Australian animated film by Yoram Gross ''WesternAnimation/Epic1984'' uses several classic music pieces, most noticeably are the Music/PyotrIlyichTchaikovsky's ''1812 Overture'' and Music/ModestMussorgsky's ''Night in the Bald Mountain''.
110* The ''Creator/GoldenFilms'' movies are ''notorious'' for this, especially for using tracks that are just too associated with another work (for instance: using [[Theatre/TheNutcracker "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy"]] in [[WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeastGolden1992 their adaptation]] of ''Beauty And The Beast'') or using [[StandardSnippet Standard Snippets]] in [[SoundtrackDissonance tonally inappropriate places]] (for instance: "Hall Of The Mountain King" accompanying [[WesternAnimation/TheHunchbackOfNotreDameGoldenFilms annoying musical instruments trying to climb a set of stairs for the umpteenth time]] or "Ride Of The Valkyries" playing as Anastasia and her family are being herded into the basement to be executed.)
111* The musical numbers in ''WesternAnimation/MickeyDonaldGoofyTheThreeMusketeers'' are sung to the tune of classical pieces.
112** Pete's VillainSong is set to "In the Hall of the Mountain King" by Edvard Grieg.
113** The main theme sung by the Musketeers is set to the Infernal Galop from Offenbach's ''Orpheus In the Underworld,'' better known as the Can-Can.
114** "Sweet Wings of Love" is the Blue Danube Waltz by Johann Strauss, Jr.
115** "Chains of Love" is the "Habanera" aria from Bizet's ''Carmen.''
116** The Creator/GilbertAndSullivan opera ''Theatre/ThePiratesOfPenzance'' plays a minor part in the plot. Even though it shouldn't exist yet.
117* In the most memorable part of ''WesternAnimation/ABoyNamedCharlieBrown'', Schroeder plays most of the second movement (Adagio cantabile) of Music/LudwigVanBeethoven's ''Pathétique'' sonata, and during that time, many {{Disney Acid Sequence}}s occur, which is pretty creepy.
118* Disney's version of ''WesternAnimation/SleepingBeauty'' uses music from Tchaikovsky's ballet version of the same story.
119* PlayedForLaughs in ''WesternAnimation/TheSuperMarioBrosMovie'', which scores Mario and Luigi's bungled first plumbing job to "L'amour est un oiseau rebelle (Habanera)" from ''Theatre/{{Carmen}}''.
120[[/folder]]
121
122[[folder:Film — Live-Action]]
123* Creator/StanleyKubrick, a lover of classical music, used this trope frequently.
124** In ''Film/DrStrangelove'', every scene of the bomber crew is accompanied by an orchestral arrangement of ''When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again/Johnny I Hardly Knew Ya'', two folksongs which share a tune, but very different tones.
125** ''Film/TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey'' was renowned for its use of classical music in its soundtrack, and most Anglophones will automatically identify the song "Music/AlsoSprachZarathustra" with the movie (You could say that the Blue Danube Waltz is also related to ''2001'' due to the use of it in the space station and Moon Station Docking sequences too see [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyjOjT8d8RI this video]]) -- with one exception (see below).
126*** Though it wasn't all public domain -- Györgi Ligeti's music was altered and used without his permission, and Ligeti threatened to sue Kubrick and MGM.
127*** Originally the classical pieces were merely used to set the general pace for an original score by Alex North, but Kubrick obviously knew a good fit when he heard it.
128** The entirety of the soundtrack to ''Film/AClockworkOrange'' comprises classical pieces (fittingly, since the protagonist is expressly stated to be a classical music buff, which even becomes a plot point), some of them arranged for a Moog synthesizer to lend them a surreal, nightmarish quality. ''Film/TheShining'' did the same.
129* Creator/StevenSpielberg imitated Kubrick in ''Film/MinorityReport'', using "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" and Schubert's "Unfinished" symphony.
130* Both ''Film/TheHudsuckerProxy'' and ''WesternAnimation/IceAge2TheMeltdown'' use [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=of5ebCY5__Q Adagio from Spartacus]].
131* The song "Classico" in ''Film/TenaciousDInThePickOfDestiny'' is a medley of numerous classical tunes, with [[ClusterFBomb very profane lyrics.]]. The context is that Kage was playing instrumental classical pieces on acoustic guitar as a solo street performer, then when Jables noticed he wasn't making much money at it, he spontaneously jumped in with lyrics extolling Kage's musical talent in an attempt to get more people to listen.
132* The Japanese film ''Film/{{Tampopo}}'' uses excerpts of Mahler symphonies and Liszt's "Les Preludes".
133* ''Film/KramerVsKramer'' used Vivaldi's Concerto in C major for mandolin and strings.
134* ''Film/TheWizardOfOz'', in addition to its many original songs, uses quotes and arrangements of various existing tunes in the BackgroundMusic:
135** "The Happy Farmer" in the early Kansas scenes.
136** "The Whistler and His Dog" when Toto escapes from Mrs. Gulch.
137** "In the Shade of the Old Apple Tree" when Dorothy and Scarecrow are in the orchard.
138** Music/FelixMendelssohn's "Scherzo in E Minor" when Toto runs from the witch's castle.
139** An extended arrangement of Music/ModestMussorgsky's ''Music/NightOnBaldMountain" is used in the climax in the witch's castle.
140** "Gaudeamus Igitur" when Scarecrow gets his dipoloma.
141** "Home! Sweet Home!" when Dorothy wishes herself back to Kansas.
142* ''Film/{{Gattaca}}'' used a modified version of Franz Schubert's Impromptu in G-flat major, Op. 90, No. 3 with extra notes added for a concert scene involving a pianist genetically engineered with 12 fingers.
143* The above examples are only a very small sample: the use of classical music in Hollywood films is VERY frequent. [[http://home.pacific.net.sg/~bchee/movies.html Here]] is a more comprehensive (though not exhaustive) list.
144* Trailers for films (though mostly for TV Spots) use "Hall of the Mountain King" A LOT. Although in the UK the music is heavily associated with the Alton Towers theme park, so it always seems odd when it turns up anywhere else- for example the recent Windows Phone 7 advert, which has confused a lot of people (especially as it includes a clip of people on a rollercoaster).
145** Beethoven's "Music/OdeToJoy" is very heavily used in trailers, particularly after a movie had debuted in theaters and is a box-office and/or critical success.
146* ''Film/{{Hopscotch}}'' stars actor Walter Matthau and composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Puccini and Rossini make cameo appearances as well.
147* The original ''Film/DawnOfTheDead1978'' features mostly library tracks for music. The Italian cut features additional original music by the band Goblin.
148* ''Film/TheKingsSpeech'' utilizes several pieces of classical music, including the Overture to Mozart's ''The Marriage of Figaro'' and the allegretto from Beethoven's 7th Symphony.
149* The Baz Luhrmann ''[[Film/WilliamShakespearesRomeoAndJuliet Romeo + Juliet]]'' uses Mozart's 25th Symphony for the scene where the Capulets are preparing for their ball, though most of the rest of the music is original.
150* The entire soundtrack to Darren Aronofsky's ''Film/BlackSwan'' is based off of "Swan Lake".
151* The 2010 remake of ''Film/TrueGrit'' uses "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms" as the theme for Mattie Ross, the main character, among other hymns. Unfortunately, because they were all pre-composed music, Mr. Carter Burwell was denied an Academy Award nomination.
152* The original ''Film/{{Rollerball}}'' is notable for its use of classic music such as Bach's Music/ToccataAndFugueInDMinor and "Albinoni's" Adagio in G minor.[[note]]Not by Albinoni at all, but by 20th century composer Remo Giazotto.[[/note]]
153* ''Film/PoultrygeistNightOfTheChickenDead'': General Lee Roy fights off a zombie chicken in the bathroom while In "The Hall of The Mountain King" is playing in the background.
154* ''Film/{{Help}}'' was a showcase for a lot of Beatles songs, and much of the soundtrack was their tunes done in a ''Film/JamesBond'' style--but then they also used Wagner's ''Lohengrin'', Tchaikovsky's '1812 Overture', Beethoven's 'Ode to Joy', and Rossini's ''Barber of Seville''.
155* The ''Film/FlashGordonSerial'' used Music/FranzLiszt's ''Les Preludes'' as its theme, eliciting the Cecil Adams page quote.
156* Most of ''Bloodbeat'''s soundtrack is made of public domain music, culminating in a climax with "Carmina Burana" blastig in the background.
157* Most of the BackgroundMusic of ''Film/TheHandThatRocksTheCradle'' is arrangements of "Poor Wandering One" from ''Theatre/ThePiratesOfPenzance'', including a ScareChord moment when a radio alarm clock goes off. The father and daughter also sing from ''H.M.S. Pinafore'' while dad is shaving in the morning.
158* Edward Elgar's Enigma Variations plays at the end of ''Film/{{Australia}}''.
159* ''Film/{{Zardoz}}'' gets a ''lot'' of mileage out of Beethoven's Symphony No. 7.
160* The entire soundtrack to ''Film/TheBoondockSaints'' was public domain music because the producers couldn't afford any music licenses.
161* ''Film/{{Babe}}'''s score cribs heavily from classical music; the main theme (which doubles as the tune to "If I Had Words") comes from Camille Saint-Saiëns' third symphony, just for starters.
162* ''Film/BirdmanOrTheUnexpectedVirtueOfIgnorance''[='=]s score is a combination of drum solos and classical music, including the slow movements of Tchaikovsky's Symphonies Nos. 4 and 5, the opening of Mahler's Symphony No. 9, Ravel's "Pavane pour une infante defunte" and Piano Trio, and the first two movements of Rachmaninoff's Symphony No. 2.
163* The movie of ''Film/SlaughterhouseFive'' used J.S. Bach pieces for its soundtrack, along with some period-specific popular music.
164* ''Film/DieHardWithAVengeance'' uses a version of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0X3Me_MVR90 When Johnny Comes Marching Home]] for its villain's theme.
165** The ''Franchise/DieHard'' series uses "Ode to Joy" as its main theme.
166* In ''Film/MissionImpossibleRogueNation'', while [[PlayingGamesAtWork playing]] ''VideoGame/Halo5Guardians'' on his Platform/XboxOne, Benji can be heard listening to "The Marriage of Figaro".
167* ''Film/TwoThirtySeven'' uses multiple public domain compositions, such as Music/AntonioVivaldi's ''The Four Seasons'' and Music/ErikSatie's ''Gymnopédie No. 1'' (the latter being used both diegetically and non-diegetically).
168* In ''Film/DesHommesEtDesDieux'', Luc breaks out a cassette player and a tape of Music/PyotrIlyichTchaikovsky's ''Theatre/SwanLake''.
169* In ''Film/TheManFromEarth'', John plays a recording of Music/LudwigVanBeethoven's Seventh Symphony.
170* Biopic ''Film/{{Tchaikovsky}}'' is filled with music by the man himself, as well as lengthy scenes from his operas, the longest being from ''The Queen of Spades''. (Surprisingly, it does ''not'' use the 1812 Overture.)
171* ''Film/SuperMarioBros1993'' uses "[[StandardSnippet Funiculi, Funicula]]" as the (Italian, of course) title characters' {{leitmotif}}.
172* One of the only two songs featured in the entirety of ''Film/PortraitOfALadyOnFire'' is the third movement of "Summer" from Vivaldi's Four Seasons (which would have only been a little less than a century old at the time). It's featured in two scenes- the first being when Marianne plays a bit of it for Héloïse on the harpsichord, the second being [[spoiler: the ending scene, where Marianne witnesses Héloïse being overcome with emotion while experiencing it being played by a full orchestra.]]
173* ''Film/OrdinaryPeople'' uses Music/PachelbelsCanon as its main theme.
174* The film ''Film/TheTouchOfSatan'' gets a ''lot'' of mileage out of "[[AmazingFreakingGrace Amazing Grace]]", which is heavily mocked when it appeared in ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000''
175-->'''Tom Servo:''' (''singing'') This song is in/the public domain/that's why we used it twice!
176* The wedding between Cletus Kasady and Frances Barrison in ''Film/VenomLetThereBeCarnage'' is set to Mozart's "Lacrimosa".
177* The soundtrack to the heavily stylised UsefulNotes/CatherineTheGreat biopic ''Film/TheScarletEmpress'' throws the four movements of Tchaikovsky's Symphony No.4 into a blender along with a few pages of ''Marche slave'' and the ''1812 Overture'' and hits "Puree".[[note]] Anachronistically so, as with almost everything in the film, as Catherine the Great had been dead for almost fifty years by the time Tchaikovsky was ''born''.[[/note]]
178* ''Film/EdWood'': In homage to its use in the opening to ''Film/Dracula1931'' an excerpt from "Swan Lake" is used repeatedly as Bela Lugosi's leitmotif.
179* ''Film/LiberalArts'': Plenty, especially during the two protagonists' ClassicalMusicIsCool conversation in the first TimePassesMontage. Music/JulesMassenet's "Médiation", Music/AntonioVivaldi's "Vedrò con mio diletto", Music/RichardWagner's "Tannhäuser: Overture", and Music/WolfgangAmadeusMozart's "Soave sia il vento" in particular being discussed and played.
180* ''Film/{{Warrior}}'': One of the two protagonists uses [[Music/LudwigVanBeethoven Beethoven]]'s "Ode to Joy" as his entrance theme.
181* ''Film/Cinderella2015'' makes heavy use of the folk song "Lavender's Blue". It's taught to Ella by her mother, features in the melody when she descends the stairs at the ball, and she sings it when she's trapped upstairs and unable to try on the slipper.
182* In ''Film/EmpireOfTheSun'', "Toy Planes, Home and Hearth" incorporates an unorchestrated excerpt of Music/FryderykChopin's thirteenth Mazurka, Op. 17 No. 4.
183* ''Film/TheGettingOfWisdom'': The film's score is comprised primarily of various piano works by Music/LudwigVanBeethoven, Music/FranzSchubert, and Sigismond Thalberg.
184* The score of ''Film/NowVoyager'' incorporates portions of the first movement of Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 6 "Pathetique" both during and after a symphony concert in Boston.
185[[/folder]]
186
187[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
188!!!'''By Work:'''
189* [[Music/LudwigVanBeethoven Beethoven's]] ''Moonlight Sonata'' was used in ''Series/ForeverKnight''. Strains of it can be heard in the music used when [[Series/BattlestarGalactica2003 Baltar is looking around the Cylon baseship]] in "Torn".
190** It is also used in the final moments of a biography of Tupac Shakur.
191!!!'''By Series:'''
192* Mentioned on ''Series/ThirtyRock'', when Jack states that it's "public domain week" on ''America's Kidz Got Singing'':
193-->'''Jack''': This week, America's kids sing really old songs that everyone knows and Creator/{{NBC}} doesn't have to pay for. It's brilliant!
194* Charles Gounod's ''Funeral March of a Marionette'' is more commonly known as the theme song to ''Series/AlfredHitchcockPresents''.
195* The theme song of ''Series/BarneyAndFriends'' is "Yankee Doodle". "I Love You" is "This Old Man". Many other public domain songs are frequently sung by the characters in addition to original songs.
196* ''Series/{{Colombo}}'' sometimes used an instrumental version of "This Old Man" as its theme and incidental music.
197* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
198** In the commentary for [[Recap/DoctorWho2005CSTheChristmasInvasion "The Christmas Invasion"]], Creator/RussellTDavies noted how happy composer Murray Gold was that "Jingle Bells" was out of copyright, and so could be rescored as incidental music in that episode.
199** Ravel's "Bolero" was used in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E8TheImpossiblePlanet "The Impossible Planet"]].
200** Strauss's "Emperor Waltz" is the "soothing music" played in the TARDIS in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E10VincentAndTheDoctor "Vincent and the Doctor"]].
201* In the ''Series/DonkeyHodie'' episode "The Masked Veggies", Purple Panda sings "Jingle Bells" while wearing a Santa Claus beard.
202* The theme music for ''Great Performances'' from 1982 to 1988 was the first movement of Music/JohannSebastianBach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 2, played in the defined key of F major for Season 11 (the 10th Anniversary season) and in E major for the remainder of its run.
203* ''Series/GuidingLight''. SuperCouple Alan-Michael and Lucy consummate their relationship to the ''Adagio sostenuto'' portion of Sergei Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2. Or as less cultured viewers might have thought, an instrumental version of Eric Carmen's "All By Myself", not knowing that the song is based on the classical piece.
204* Lampshaded on ''Series/ICarly'', when Spencer is trapped in a heating vent and trying to amuse himself, "And now, a medley of your favorite songs from the public domain!"
205** And before that in ''iSpy a Mean Teacher'', when Carly, Freddie, and Sam get caught in Ms. Briggs house they act like they were there to surprise her for her birthday, "Let's sing our public domain birthday song!"
206* The soundtrack to ''Series/ItsAlwaysSunnyInPhiladelphia'' is primarily royalty-free easy listening music. Originally done because the show had a low budget, it's [[SoundtrackDissonance usually in contrast]] with the show's [[CrossesTheLineTwice subject matter]].
207** Additionally, Tchaikovsky's "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" From Theatre/TheNutcracker is the theme of any nefarious scheming or plotting by the Gang.
208** The standard tune for something particularly sinister is "Funeral March of a Marionette" (more recognizable as the theme tune for ''Series/AlfredHitchcockPresents'').
209* ''Series/{{JAG}}'': "Anchors Aweigh" and "The Marines Hymn" are played several times.
210** In "Boot", "The Marines Hymn" is sung by female Marines during an exercise.
211** In "Heroes", both Harm and Mac get to whistle their respective service song.
212* ''Series/JonathanCreek'' had Camille Saint-Saëns' "Danse Macabre" as its theme song.
213* ''Series/KamenRiderDenO'' had an episode where the VictimOfTheWeek wanted to forget about her ex-fiancé, but since he'd given her a locket that played a snippet of Vivaldi's ''Four Seasons'', the [[JerkassGenie Imagin]] [[MonsterOfTheWeek of the Week]] interpreted that wish as "Destroy anything that plays ''The Four Seasons''."
214* Unusual example: ''Series/{{Lexx}}'''s MusicalEpisode wove a tragedy of love and loss out of German nursery rhyme tunes unfamiliar to English-speaking audiences. Other episodes had comedic versions of "Greensleeves" and "Row, Row, Row Your Boat".
215* The main theme of ''Mark Six'' (The Hong Kong equivalent of a Lottery) is the instrumental version of ''Shocking Blue - Inkpot''.
216* In the season 10 finale of ''Series/ModernFamily,'' all of the songs in the talent show scene are public domain: "Carolina in the Morning" (sung by Mitch and Cam), "Turkey in the Straw" (played on the banjo by Luke), and "Fur Elise" (played on the piano by Phil). Other public domain songs such as "Camptown Races" and "Oh, Susanna" appear in later episodes.
217* ''Series/MoneyHeist'' uses the Italian protest folk song "Bella ciao" as something of an anthem between two of its characters and later the whole ensemble.
218* Sousa's "Liberty Bell March" became the ''Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus'' theme. Even the (ancient) recording they used must have been in the public domain.
219* The restrictiveness of the scope of public domain music is parodied in ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'' with the Mads' karaoke machine that plays only public domain songs, such as "The Battle Hymn of the Republic", the immortal "Baa Baa Black Sheep", the turgid and bittersweet Gregorian Chant #5, the impish "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and Mozart's ''Theatre/TheMagicFlute''.
220* ''Series/TheNoddyShop'':
221** The song "Lost And Found" is set to the William Tell Overture.
222** The song "To The Rescue" is sung to the tune of Ode To Joy.
223* ''Series/RedDwarf'': Season XII episode "Cured" sees Lister performing a duet of "The Happy Wanderer" with Adolf Hitler. The song was chosen because it's in public domain and every still-copyrighted song they tried to license was refused when record companies learned who Lister would be singing with.
224* Mozart's "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik" was used in the ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'' episode "My Female Trouble".
225* Despite decades of wonderful original music composed for ''Series/SesameStreet'', what tune is used (with altered lyrics) to end every ''Elmo's World'' segment? "Jingle Bells".
226** Many preschool series (animated or live-action) will more often than not feature a number of, if not many traditional nursery rhymes, etc, including the above two shows.
227* ''Series/{{Westworld}}'' has Claude Debussy's "Reverie" which was first used by Ford to calm down Maeve who went hysterical after losing her daughter to the Man in Black. It turns out that this is the favorite piece of Arnold's late son which, in turn, was played [[spoiler:when Arnold arranges his ThanatosGambit with Dolores]]. More fittingly, this piece was played when Ford closes his farewell speech to the Delos board by welcoming his new narrative: [[spoiler:kickstarting the RobotWar by letting Dolores shoot him in the head and firing at the guests]].
228** Season 2 has Beethoven's Symphony No. 7 where the Delos security and the rebelling Hosts fight each other to death.
229* ''Series/WinBenSteinsMoney'' used classical music throughout each episode with Music/LudwigVanBeethoven's "Ode to Joy" as the show's central piece (played two to three times each episode).
230* ''Series/{{Wings}}''' ThemeTune was Franz Shubert's Piano Sonata No.20.
231[[/folder]]
232
233[[folder:Pinball]]
234* Scott Joplin's "Maple Leaf Rag" is used in ''Pinball/TheChampionPub''.
235* "Toccata and Fugue in D Minor" is used in Creator/{{Gottlieb}}'s ''Haunted House'' as well as another game of theirs, ''Genesis''.
236* A rock remix of The Wedding March is used in ''Pinball/MonsterBash'' during the [[Film/BrideOfFrankenstein Bride of Frankenstein's]] "Ball and Chain" mode.
237* Parts of Julius Fucik's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_B0CyOAO8y0 "Entrance of the Gladiators"]] are used in ''Pinball/CirqusVoltaire''.
238* ''Pinball/F14Tomcat'' uses the U.S. Navy's "Anchors Aweigh" as the high-score music.
239[[/folder]]
240
241[[folder:Professional Wrestling]]
242* Whereas film lovers will identify "Also sprach Zarathustra" with ''2001'', in the mind of the wrestling fan, the song is synonymous with Wrestling/RicFlair.
243* [[Wrestling/JerryLawler Jerry "The King" Lawler]] has long used Modest Mussorgsky's ''Music/PicturesAtAnExhibition'' (Great Gate of Kiev Movement) as his entrance theme.
244* Wrestling/{{WWE}} wrestler Wrestling/TheUndertaker's most common and well-known theme is a variation of Chopin's funeral march.
245* Wrestling/DoinkTheClown entering to "Entry of the Gladiators". During his initial heel run, this faded into an original horror music score.
246* For a brief period at the height of his "American blueblood" gimmick, the [[Wrestling/{{WWE}} WWF's]] Hunter Hearst Helmsley (better known today as Wrestling/TripleH) made his entrance to [[Music/LudwigVanBeethoven Beethoven's]] "Ode to Joy".
247* Wrestling/RandySavage coming out to Edward Elgar's "Pomp and Circumstance" (AKA "the graduation song", AKA "Land of Hope and Glory").
248* Much in the same line of Wrestling/RicFlair, [[Wrestling/BryanDanielson Daniel Bryan]] is now the definitive example of "Music/RideOfTheValkyries" in the wrestling community.
249* Thanks to Wrestling/{{WALTER}}, the fourth movement of Music/AntoninDvorak's Symphony No. 9 is now known as "the Symphony of Broken Chests".
250* A more modern example of this would be "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MF_zoKQysfI Dig Deep]]" by [=RW Smith=], which has since been more associated with {{Wrestling/MJF}}.
251[[/folder]]
252
253[[folder:Radio]]
254* ''Radio/TheLoneRanger'' on both radio and television used the finale of Rossini's ''William Tell'' overture ("March of the Swiss Soldiers") as its opening theme. To this day, one tongue-in-cheek definition of a "highbrow" is, "someone who can listen to the ''William Tell'' Overture without thinking of the Lone Ranger."
255* The radio series ''Radio/TheGreenHornet'' used Rimsky-Korsakov's "The Flight of the Bumblebee" for its opening theme, and a number of classical works as regular soundtrack bits. Both series were created by WXYZ's George W. Trendle, a notorious cheapskate, who was well known in the radio broadcast business for pinching his pennies in the production of his radio dramas. The film serials also used a classical soundtrack, unless the action on-screen demanded something else. To this day, people can listen to "March of the Swiss Soldiers" without at least thinking "Hi-yo Silver!" ''Lone Ranger'' also features Liszt's "Prelude to a Silver Bullet", and Mendelssohn's "Rustler's Cave Overture"?
256* The opening music to ''You'll Have Had Your Tea: The Doings of Radio/HamishAndDougal'' is a pipe version of the Rondo from Mozart's 4th Horn Concerto.
257* In 1941, the radio networks boycotted ASCAP in retaliation for their intention to triple their already extortionate licence fees for broadcasting their songs. To fill the void created by the sudden disappearance of the vast ASCAP catalog from the airwaves (BMI was still in its infancy), one of the sources programmers turned to was public domain songs. ''Time'' magazine once quipped that "I Dream of Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair" (an 1854 Stephen Foster song) was played so often her hair turned grey.
258[[/folder]]
259
260[[folder:Video Games]]
261* True to the show, the soundtrack for ''Ren and Stimpy: Fire Dogs'' is almost entirely Romantic era music, namely, Rossini's ''Barber of Seville'' Overture for the title screen, ''William Tell'' for the trampoline stage, Johann Strauss's ''Trisk Trasch Polka'' for the fire house stage, and finally, Tchaikovsky's ''Romeo and Juliet" for the ending.
262* Let's get the ''VideoGame/{{BEMANI}}'' examples out of the way first, because there's going to be a ''lot'' of them.
263** VideoGame/{{Beatmania}} / IIDX / III:
264*** "V" (Winter from Vivaldi's "Four Seasons")
265*** "革命" (Chopin's ''Revolutionary Etude'', and a damn good translation pun - "kakumei" means "revolution(ary)", and that it's the OneHitPointWonder boss on a ''VideoGame/DanceDanceRevolution'' game too).
266*** "Sakura" ("Sakura Sakura", a Japanese folk song)
267*** "DIAVOLO" and "Thor's Hammer" (Lizst's ''Grandes études de Paganini No. 6 (Theme and Variations) in A minor'' and ''La Campanella'' respectively)
268*** "DORNWALD ~junge~" (''Maria durch ein Dornwald ging'', a German Christmas carol)
269** ''VideoGame/DanceDanceRevolution'':
270*** "END OF THE CENTURY" (Beethoven's "Ode to Joy")
271*** "SPEED OVER BEETHOVEN" ("Für Elise")
272** ''VideoGame/DanceDanceRevolutionMarioMix'':
273*** "Underground Mozart" (Eine Kleine Nachtmusik)[[note]]It's also a medley of sounds from ''VideoGame/MarioBros'', another game that song appeared in, as mentioned below[[/note]]
274*** "Pipe Pop" (Turkish March)
275*** "Garden Boogie" (Carmen)
276*** "Fishing Frenzy" (Csikos Post)
277*** "In the Whirlpool" (Pomp and Circumstance)
278*** "Frozen Pipes" (Old Folks at Home)
279*** "Rendezvous on Ice" (Les Pâtineurs)
280*** "Always Smiling" (Tritsch-Tratsch-Polka)
281*** "Up, Down, Left, Right (Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star)
282*** "Choir on the Green" (Ah, Lovely Meadow)
283** ''VideoGame/{{GITADORA}}'':
284*** "Classic Party" series (medleys)
285** ''VideoGame/PopNMusic'':
286*** "CLASSIC" series (medleys)
287** VideoGame/ReflecBeat:
288*** CSIKOS POST -SEISHUN SKA-PUNK MIX!- ("Csikós Post")
289*** Gymnopédie -kors k mix- (Satie's Gymnopédie No.1)
290*** The "Rb.Conductor" series (Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance March #1, Brahms' Hungarian Dance No.5, Strauss' Radetzky March, Op.228)
291** And then you have songs that subvert this by [[NewerThanTheyThink actually being original works]], like "A" and "Piano Concerto No. 1 'Anti-Ares'". The latter's supposed composer, Virkato Wakhmaninov [[spoiler:(an alias of Jun Wakita, one of Konami's current in-house music artists)]], even has a brief fictional biography about him.
292* Offenbach's "Infernal Gallop" (perhaps better known as "Music/TheCancanSong"), from ''Orpheus in the Underworld'', shows up a ''lot'':
293** ''VideoGame/{{Parodius}}'', for the Hot Lips boss.
294** ''VideoGame/MrDo''.
295** ''[[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Super Mario Land's]]'' invincibility music.
296** The boss music in ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures: Montana's Movie Madness''. A minor-key variation is used for the between-stage interludes.
297** ''[=O2Jam=]'', where it was one of the most popular songs.
298** ''Jubeat'' features a Eurobeat rendition titled "Heaven or Hell".
299** A remixed version plays during the credits roll of ''VideoGame/TatsunokoVsCapcom'' (unless you win as Roll).
300** The Japanese version of ''VideoGame/CrashBash'' (retitled ''Crash Bandicoot Carnival'') used a techno remix in the Dot Dash and Splash Dash minigames (the Western versions use a remix of Dingodile's theme from ''VideoGame/CrashBandicoot3Warped'').
301** ''VideoGame/ZeroWing'' uses this in its ending.
302* The Platform/DSiWare downloadable ''Soul of Darkness'', Gameloft's ''Castlevania'' clone, uses the "Dies Irae" from Mozart's Requiem Mass for its credits music.
303* Space shooter ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXQO0ibclm4 Phoenix]]'' should be counted as one of the earliest examples, with its short excerpts of ''Romance de Amor'' and [[Music/LudwigVanBeethoven Beethoven's]] ''Für Elise''.
304* Khatchaturian's ''Sabre Dance'' is another one that shows up pretty often, showing up in, among other places, the SNES ''Bonk'' game. And ''VideoGame/{{Parodius}}''.
305* Grieg's ''In the Hall of the Mountain King'' shows up quite often as well, including ''Manic Miner'' for Platform/ZXSpectrum, ''VideoGame/HuntTheWumpus'' for [[Platform/TI99 TI-99/4A]], and... you guessed it... ''VideoGame/{{Parodius}}''.
306** And of course, in the video game called, you guessed it, ''VideoGame/MountainKing''.
307** Also in the old space-sim-trader ''VideoGame/{{Elite}}''.
308* ...Y'know what? Just check out [[https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Parodius_music&oldid=927660492 The Other Wiki's entry on the music in Parodius.]]
309** WordOfGod is that, for the original MSX ''Parodius'', the use of public domain music was due to the composer given a very strict deadline. This carried over to ''[[SequelDisplacement Parodius da!]]'', and before long it was a series staple.
310** In ''VideoGame/LaMulana'', the ''[=PR3=]'' MiniGame parodies many elements of the original ''Parodius'', right down to remixing classical songs; "Pomp and Circumstance" for the pre-stage area, "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik" for the stage itself, and "Sabre Dance" for the boss.
311* Another [[Platform/TI99 TI-99/4A]] game, ''VideoGame/{{Alpiner}}'', featured as its main music another song from Grieg's ''Peer Gynt'' soundtrack, "Anitra's Dance".
312* ''VideoGame/{{Lemmings}}'', uses a vast amount, including the "Infernal Gallop" (see above), "How Much Is That Doggy In The Window,"(actually more of a SuspiciouslySimilarSong) "She'll Be Comin' Round The Mountain," Mozart's ''Rondo Alla Turca'', Pachelbel's ''Canon'' (actually, [[InNameOnly a completely new composition]] with the [[PachelbelsCanonProgression famous chord progression]], Tchaikovsky's ''Theatre/TheNutcracker'' and ''Theatre/SwanLake''... you get the idea.
313** ''[[MissionPackSequel Oh No! More Lemmings]]'' had an original soundtrack in its Amiga/PC release. Its Acorn Archimedes port, however, had a rewritten soundtrack with an absolute ''crapload'' of public domain songs, even more than in the original game: "The Trumpet Hornpipe" (better known as the ''WesternAnimation/CaptainPugwash'' theme), "K-K-K-Katy", "Camptown Races", "Three Blind Mice", "William Tell Overture", "Greensleeves", "Old [=McDonald=]", "Waltzing Matilda", "The British Grenadiers", "On Ilka Moor Baht 'at", "Trepak", "The Old Bazaar in Cairo", the infamous "Der Flohwalzer", "Music/{{Toccata and Fugue in D Minor}}", "Don't Dilly-Dally on the Way" (also used in the Platform/SegaMasterSystem and Platform/GameGear ports of the first game), "Rule, Britannia!", "Sobre las Olas" (also used in ''Lemmings 2''), "Yakety Sax", "Country Gardens" (also appearing in the SNES port of ''Lemmings 2''), and finally "Portsmouth".
314* ''VideoGame/AceCombat04ShatteredSkies'': The iconic Spanish guitar solo in the beginning cutscene, titled "Prelude", is actually Agustin Barrios Mangore's "La Catedral, 1st Movement" (hence "Prelude"). Some of his works are also featured in the cutscenes, such as "Una Limosnita Por (el) Amor de Dios" ("An Alm for the Love of God").
315* Mozart's ''Eine Kleine Nachtmusik'' starts off the arcade ''VideoGame/MarioBros'' game. It reappears in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBrosWonder''[='s=] KO Arena courses as a ContinuityNod.
316* ''VideoGame/{{Frogger}}'':
317** ''Frogger'' plays a snippet of ''Camptown Races'' whenever the title character dies, while levels are introduced by a variety of classical themes.
318** The "game start" jingle is "Inu no Omawari-san" ("The Dog Policeman"), which is a traditional Japanese nursery rhyme. The line the game plays is the first one, which goes "Maigo no maigo no koneko-chan. Anata no ouchi wa doko desu ka?" ("Lost, lost kitten, where is your address?")
319** The Commodore 64 version employs a sort of mash-up/medley theme that very notably includes ''Yankee Doodle''. Yankee Doodle also appears in the arcade version. That song exists in Japan as a children's song, with totally different lyrics. That's probably why it was included. That said, many of the songs in arcade Frogger avert this, to the point that later releases had to change them.
320* In ''VideoGame/EarthwormJim'', the BackgroundMusic in the second level, "What the Heck?", starts off with Modest Mussorgsky's ''Music/NightOnBaldMountain'' before switching suddenly to elevator music.
321* [[Music/LudwigVanBeethoven Beethoven's]] ''Moonlight Sonata'' provides two backing tracks in ''VideoGame/EarthwormJim 2'', with both the somber first movement and frenetic third movement being used. Another level uses a medley of "Funiculi, Funicula" and "Tarantella Napolitana".
322* Beethoven's ''Moonlight Sonata'' (First Movement) also shows up in the title screen and ending of ''VideoGame/{{Thexder}}'' (and its more fully-scored sequel ''Fire Hawk''), as well as ''VideoGame/JetSetWilly''.
323* The ''Moonlight Sonata'''s First Movement is also used to good effect in ''VideoGame/ShadowMan'', as the soundtrack to UsefulNotes/JackTheRipper's lair in a dark, abandoned section of [[SinisterSubway the London Tubes]].
324* The NES version of ''VideoGame/{{Tetris}}'' used Tchaikovsky's "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy"... and, on the victory screen, the Soldiers' Chorus from Bizet's ''Carmen''. The Game Boy version, on the other hand, used the Russian folk song "Korobeiniki" (and another Tchiakovsky piece, "Trepak" from ''Theatre/TheNutcracker'' as victory music). In fact, the Tetris Company has [[DisneyOwnsThisTrope trademarked the use of "Korobeiniki."]] Also, Type C in the Game Boy version is a Minuet in B Minor from one of J.S. Bach's French Suites, and Atari's 1988 arcade version (the basis for the unlicensed Tengen NES port) features several Russian folk songs, such as "Kalinka" and "Troika".
325* ''Yoshi's Cookie'', in the spirit of puzzle games, uses "Csikós Post" as BackgroundMusic in all three versions (it's Action Music B in the SNES version and 2P Music C in the NES and Game Boy versions).
326* The ''VideoGame/SuperSolvers'' {{Edutainment Game}}s' soundtracks consisted entirely of classical music:
327** ''Midnight Rescue'' used Paul Dukas's ''The Sorcerer's Apprentice'' and Edvard Grieg's "In the Hall of the Mountain King".
328** ''[=OutNumbered=]'' used Bach's Prelude in C minor, two movements of Mozart's Symphony No. 40, and the first two variations of Paganini's 24th Caprice.
329** ''Treasure Mountain'' plays C.P.E. Bach's "Solfeggietto" on the title screen and upon reaching the top of the mountain. One of Beethoven's country dances was used as a level theme.
330* ''Frontier: Elite'' uses a variety of classical themes, including Johann Strauss' "Beautiful Blue Danube" and Wagner's "Music/RideOfTheValkyries".
331** The original ''VideoGame/{{Elite}}'' also used "On the Beautiful Blue Danube" on the opening screen, and (on some platforms) when the player's ship is performing auto-docking. This latter use is a reference to ''Film/TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey''.
332* ''VideoGame/GrandPianoKeys'': All of the songs in the game are well-known public domain melodies.
333* ''VideoGame/GunFuFighter'' uses "The Blue Danube" as background score for one stage, right in the middle of a massive shootout with you graphically killing enemies left and right. It's as big a SoundtrackDissonance as it gets.
334* ''VideoGame/{{Gyruss}}'' uses a rocked-out arrangement of Bach's Music/ToccataAndFugueInDMinor. With power chords. Compared to the "beep boop BIP beep" soundtrack many other video games of the era had, it's actually pretty amazing. Confirmed to be inspired by [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgbgUrp1a70 this cover]].
335* ''VideoGame/ArmyMen II'''s soundtrack almost entirely uses well known songs excluding the main menu and [[TutorialLevel boot camp]]. Almost delves into SoundtrackDissonance when you have to defend a tank depot while listening to ''Spring Song'', of all things.
336* The [=LucasArts=] adventure ''VideoGame/{{Loom}}'' uses melodies from ''Theatre/SwanLake''. JustifiedTrope: The character's mother and several other characters were turned into swans.
337* ''Nushi Tsuri Adventure: Kite no Bouken'' (part of the ''VideoGame/RiverKing'' series) appears to have ''Auld Lang Syne'' as the main title theme. It also contains another StandardSnippet when the main characters discover a bottle with a paper inside it.
338* Wolfgang Krauser's music from ''[[VideoGame/FatalFury Fatal Fury 2]]'' (and its update ''Fatal Fury Special'') is an arrangement of Mozart's ''Dies Irae'', even with an orchestra playing the song in the background. Said music was recycled in ''[[VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters The King of Fighters '96]]'', and an 8-bit rendition played in ''VideoGame/SNKVsCapcomMatchOfTheMillennium'' on the Germany stage (a recreation of Krauser's original stage).
339** Likewise, ''Lacrimosa'' acts as his theme song in ''Real Bout Fatal Fury Special'' and ''Real Bout Fatal Fury 2''.
340** Krauser himself is a tribute to Mozart, sharing his first name, and his favourite music is listed as Opera and classical music. It surely shows in the games.
341* The Mystic Cave Zone theme in ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2'' is based on Julius Fučík's "[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entrance_of_the_Gladiators Entrance of the Gladiators]]" (also known as "that circus theme").
342** Also present in ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog3'', in the Carnival Night Zone, which also sampled Music/MichaelJackson's "Jam," which makes sense since Jackson's songwriters and those who worked with him composed the soundtrack for this game.
343* ''VideoGame/StarFox'' used various folk melodies in the Out of this Dimension level; namely "Voices of Spring" by Johann Strauss for the main stage theme, and a medley of the Japanese folk song "Yuki (Snow)", "When the Saints Go Marching In", and "Lightly Row" for the boss theme.
344* The [=PlayStation=] game ''VideoGame/{{Wild9}}'' using "Amazing Grace" on its Game Over screen. The somber mood is soon broken up by the laughter of the little green aliens you spend most of the game fighting...
345* ''Nasen Jack'', a German game for Platform/Atari8BitComputers, played "Greensleeves" when the player collected all the letters in the word EXTRA.
346** "Greensleeves" is also played throughout ''Black Lamp'', a British game for Atari 8-bit computers.
347** It's also the theme song of the first two ''VideoGame/KingsQuest'' games.
348* In ''VideoGame/Zool2'' for Amiga and DOS, the first level is named "Swan Lake". Guess what the BackgroundMusic's a remix of...
349* Creator/HudsonSoft's Famicom game ''VideoGame/BinaryLand'' uses Erik Satie's "Je Te Veux" as its BackgroundMusic, and [[Music/LudwigVanBeethoven Beethoven's]] "Ode to Joy" as the victory music.
350* The arcade and NES game ''VideoGame/CityConnection'' uses Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto #1 as its BackgroundMusic... but in a rock arrangement. Even better, though, when one runs over a cat in the game, a little polka plays; the Japanese name of that tune translates as, appropriately enough, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Der_Flohwalzer "I stepped on the cat"]].
351* Richard Wellington, the primary witness for the first case of the second ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorney'' game, has Bach's Music/ToccataAndFugueInDMinor as his cell phone ringtone. Before that, in the same case, it's used for major effect in Phoenix Wright's nightmare, and later, when the witness [[spoiler:is found as the definitive culprit of the murder]].
352* For ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'', composer Tappi Iwadere tried to do this to "The Winter Road" by Georgey Syridov, using it as the games' main theme. After ten years of ''Metal Gear Solid'' games, the song turned out to be not as public domain as the composer thought...
353* Along the years, the ''VideoGame/TaikoNoTatsujin'' games have featured a lot of music from the Classic music genre repertoire, ranging from accurate renditions to original remixes as well. So much songs, in fact, that are all grouped into a dedicated 'Classic' music genre folder in the games!
354* ''Return Fire'' uses "Dies Irae" by Verdi, "In the Hall of the Mountain King" by Grieg, "Mars" (from the ''Planets'') by Holst, and "Music/RideOfTheValkyries" by Wagner for its soundtrack.
355* ''VideoGame/HamtaroHamHamHeartbreak'' has "Moonlight Sonata" and "Waltz of the Flowers" as unlockable Ham-Jam themes.
356* ''VideoGame/HamtaroHamHamsUnite'' dabbled in this moreso, using Ravel's "Bolero", "Csikós Post" (referred to as "Postman's Rush"), a jazzy remix of "Mary Had a Little Lamb", and "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" as Ham-Jam music.
357* During the last two levels of ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty World at War'', one can hear a German military march (the ''Königgrätzer Marsch'', to be exact) playing in the background in specific areas. Considering that it's been around since 1866, it's almost certainly in the public domain by now.
358** The game's original soundtrack also incorporates some real music; the song played at the very end of the Soviet campaign's last mission incorporates a snippet of the ''Hymn of the Soviet Union''.
359** The popular ''Dies Irae'' also pops up briefly in the mission "Eviction".
360** ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty 4'' has a portion of the Soviet anthem play when you win a match as the Spetsnaz.
361* Most Paradox Interactive games up to and including ''Victoria'' had soundtrack consisting mostly of classical music. ''Hearts of Iron'''s intro theme is "Music/RideOfTheValkyries", while [=EU2's=] soundtrack is filled by somewhat bizarre period music. (including one involving whips, and the infamous falalalalan)
362* In ''VideoGame/BanjoKazooie,'' Grunty's theme (and thus, the music heard everywhere through her lair, the HubLevel) is actually a minor-key version of "Teddy Bears' Picnic". Since both TheHero, Banjo, and the DamselInDistress, Tootie, are bears, it's fitting... if not rather odd.
363* The Konami game ''VideoGame/MagiciansQuestMysteriousTimes[=/=]Enchanted Folk and the School of Wizardry'' takes this almost to the point of abuse. Almost ''all'' of the overworld and event music is based on existing classical pieces, ranging from the well-known (like "Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy" and "Beautiful Dreamer"), there are also some lesser-known oddballs thrown in (such as the "Love" theme being "En bateau" from Debussy's ''Petite Suite''). However, the game also provides a large assortment of original compositions for you to play on your in-game instruments, so, there you go.
364* ''VideoGame/WiiMusic'' had a soundtrack composed almost entirely of public domain songs.
365* ''VideoGame/SamuraiShodown 6'' uses Sousa's ''"Stars and Stripes Forever"'' as a background theme for the USA stage, rearranged as a military march. The arranged version adds the national anthem ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] in the beginning, then goes into a rock version of "Stars and Stripes Forever".
366* The ''VideoGame/Halo3'' Believe ad campaign (at least the 90-second one that had no live-action) used Chopin's Prelude No. 15 in D-Flat Major, though all other music from the game and ads were original compositions
367* The original 1980s version of ''VideoGame/SidMeiersPirates'' featured short snippets of classical music to accompany certain events. Many came from Handel's Water Music. For the 1990s version, ''Pirates! Gold'', music was taken from the works of [[Music/JohannSebastianBach J.S. Bach]] (and credited to him). The 2004 remake features loads of classical music, with several "cover" versions for each tune. Firaxis Games were developing ''VideoGame/{{Civilization}} IV'' at the same time, and so several tunes ended up in both games.
368* ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry2DiddysKongQuest'''s [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDZeCtpEnxY theme for Haunted Hall]] borrows from "Night on Bald Mountain" in places.
369* ''VideoGame/MegaManLegends''
370** The music played for Megaman Juno's final form in the first game is a [[NightmareFuel rather chilling]] remix of Bach's "Little Fugue in G Minor".
371** The music played while in the Sulfur Bottom in the sequel is Vivaldi's Spring.
372* The Famicom/NES game ''VideoGame/TetraStarTheFighter'' uses several classical music pieces, including Rimsky-Korsakov's "Flight of the Bumblebee" and Khachaturian's "Sabre Dance".
373* The boss music in ''Castle of Deceit'' is the fugue movement of Bach's "Toccata and Fugue", while the main gameplay theme is an excerpt from his ''Harpsichord/Piano Concerto in D Minor''.
374* The game ''Jigsaw'' on the ''VideoGame/Action52'' cartridge uses "Long Long Ago" for its theme.
375* In the "Waterloo World" level of ''VideoGame/{{Psychonauts}}'', the "1812 Overture" can be heard. "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik" can also be heard in certain parts of the music track for Sasha's Shooting Gallery.
376* The Sachen game ''Pyramid'' (a ''VideoGame/{{Tetris}}'' knockoff) uses "The Streets of Cairo, or The Poor Little Country Maid" mixed with the first part of "Csikos Post".
377* The DOS first-person wireframe ''VideoGame/PacMan'' clone ''3-Demon'' uses several Scott Joplin songs, including "Maple Leaf Rag" and "The Entertainer", for its soundtrack.
378** Speaking of Scott Joplin, the arcade game Domino Man uses ''Maple Leaf Rag'' as its main gameplay theme.
379* The entire soundtrack of ''VideoGame/LittleKingsStory'' is classical music.
380* Most of the soundtrack to ''VideoGame/TheOregonTrail'' games is country folk songs.
381* ''VideoGame/{{Runman}}'''s [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5YvU5XYsYQ soundtrack]] consists entirely of public domain Jazz and Blues songs.
382* The Midway UsefulNotes/ArcadeGame ''VideoGame/SatansHollow'' incorporates Wagner's "Music/RideOfTheValkyries" in various places.
383* ''VideoGame/{{Tapper}}/Root Beer Tapper'' features Stephen Foster's "Oh! Susanna" in the first level, as well as the folk song "Buffalo Gals" and "Music/TheCanCanSong" by Jacques Offenbach.
384* "Oh! Susanna" plays in the arcade game ''VideoGame/{{Pooyan}}'', when Mama rescues her piglets for the second time. Also, the NES version opens to ''Mori no Kumasan'' (The Other Day I Met A Bear) as it's opening, and an obscure English folk song called ''The Ear Song'' as it's gameplay BGM.
385* ''VideoGame/PunchOut'': The NES version uses a lot of public domain music for ring entrance themes, most of which it shares with the Wii game.
386** Glass Joe's entrance theme is ''La Marsellaise'', the French National Anthem.
387** "Ride of the Valkyries" is used as the themes for Von Kaiser and Super Macho Man (only in the NES version), who does a PecFlex to it.
388** "Sakura, Sakura", a traditional Japanese folk song, is used for Piston Honda's ring entrance.
389** Don Flamenco's theme is an excerpt from the Georges Bizet's opera Theatre/{{Carmen}}.
390** Soda Popinski's theme is "Song of the Volga Boatman".
391* The arcade game ''VideoGame/{{Battlezone|1980}}'' plays a snippet of the "1812 Overture" when you make the high score list.
392* ''VideoGame/{{Crystal Castles|1983}}'' plays two different parts of the "Nutcracker March". The one that plays depends on whether or not Bentley Bear or the enemies get the last gem. The intro theme is "Mephisto Waltz No. 1" by Music/FranzLiszt.
393* Depending on high the player gets, Beethoven's Fifth (specifically the famous four-note opening) is one of the themes plays when you make the high score list in ''Stargate'' (AKA: ''VideoGame/{{Defender}} II)''.
394* The NES game ''VideoGame/MightAndMagic: Secret of the Inner Sanctum'' uses a surprisingly long arrangement of Pachelbel's ''Canon in D'' on its title screen.
395* ''VideoGame/TheBattleOfOlympus'' plays Bach's ''Toccata and Fugue in D minor'' in the Temples of the Gods.
396* Super Famicom game ''Violinist of Hameln'''s soundtrack consists mostly (if not entirely) of classical music -- most immediately apparent, Bach's ''Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring'' is the town theme.
397* The Space tribe's theme in ''VideoGame/{{Lemmings}} 2'' is J. Strauss's ''Blue Danube'', a ShoutOut to ''Film/TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey''.
398* Most of the soundtrack to ''VideoGame/FlowerSunAndRain'' consists of pop/techno remixes of classical and jazz pieces; most of the chapters in the game are even named after the music that appears in them.
399* ''VideoGame/{{Peggle}}'':
400** Successful completion of each level in the original game is met with a rousing rendition of "Ode to Joy". Renfield's theme is "Music/ToccataAndFugueInDMinor", and "Morning Mood" plays when the game is launched.
401** ''Peggle 2'' takes things a step further by using a different piece of classical music for winning a stage as each character in the game, which is also remixed for their stage themes: Bjorn keeps "Ode to Joy" from the first ''Peggle'', Jeff uses the finale of the ''William Tell'' Overture, Berg uses "Dance of the Hours" from ''La Gioconda'', Gnorman uses the 1812 Overture, Luna uses "In the Hall of the Mountain King", Windy uses the "Hallelujah Chorus" from ''Messiah Pt. II'', and Jimmy Lightning uses excerpts from ''The Marriage of Figaro'' (with Jimmy singing along once you finish a level). "Morning Mood" also returns from the first game.
402* The NES version of ''[[VideoGame/CaptainComic The Adventures of Captain Comic]]'' has a soundtrack consisting of badly mixed classical music.
403* ''Megablast'', an arcade ShootEmUp from Creator/{{Taito}}, has an FM synth arrangement of Chopin's piano piece, Fantaisie-Impromptu in C-sharp minor. It doesn't show up during the game itself, but in the attract mode. Beethoven's Ode to Joy accompanies the ending cast roll.
404* The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iL5P7MlXX4I&feature=related New World Symphony]] plays during the boss battle against Augus in ''VideoGame/AsurasWrath''.
405* ''VideoGame/AntarcticAdventure'' uses the "Skater's Waltz" as its in-game music.
406* ''VideoGame/{{Miner 2049er}}'' during its intro plays a version of "Clementine," a song alluded to by the game's title.
407* ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts3DDreamDropDistance'', while hailing from a series known for having [[AwesomeMusic/KingdomHearts its very own share of awesome tracks]] in the first place, has three pieces of classic music in its soundtrack because of one of its worlds representing ''WesternAnimation/{{Fantasia}}''[[note]] (for those curious, the name of the world is "Symphony of Sorcery")[[/note]]. [[note]] The tracks are ''Night On Bald Mountain'', returning from ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsI'' [[spoiler: as well as the boss associated with said song, Chernabog]], ''L'apprenti Sorcier'', the well-known theme used for the famous sequence featuring the army of brooms used as BGM for Sora's playthrough of the world, and finally, ''The Nutcracker Suite'', which does the same for Riku. In order to avoid abrupt changes in the BGM, there are no dinstinctions between "Field BGM" and "Battle BGM", and to keep the feeling of a "musical experience", in that world, [[SilenceIsGolden musical, silly sound effects replace the usual ones, including the characters' in-battle]] VoiceGrunting. [[/note]]
408* ''VideoGame/{{Catherine}}'' features ''lots'' of classical music for its puzzle segments, including "Jupiter" from Music/GustavHolst's ''The Planets'', Bach's Toccata and Fugue, and Dvořák's ''New World'' symphony. Most of the bosses use "Baba Yaga's Hut" from Mussorgsky's ''Music/PicturesAtAnExhibition'' (except Doom's Bride and Shadow Vincent, which use a piece by Atlus composer Shoji Meguro, and the final boss, which uses Chopin's "Revolutionary" etude).
409* Combine that with SoundtrackDissonance in ''VideoGame/BrainDead13'': In the Conservatory Room, as Lance tries to avoid getting strangled by [[DemonicDummy Mongo the Marionette]] or pounced upon by Fritz, the music played [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=munJ_A-f9TY#t=00m44s here]] kinda sounds like [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2ISRMSIyX8 "The Trepak Dance"]] from ''Theatre/TheNutcracker'' by Music/PyotrIlyichTchaikovsky.
410** Also combined with SoundtrackDissonance in ''VideoGame/DragonsLair II: Time Warp'': The soundtrack that plays entirely in the background of Level 5 while you avoid getting eaten by a fire-breathing cat is the first part of the first movement of Symphony No. 5 in C minor by Music/LudwigVanBeethoven. This also counts as a GeniusBonus when you notice that the symphony and the level have the same number.
411* Here's another trope also combined with SoundtrackDissonance and StandardSnippet: In ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamOrigins'', ComicBook/TheJoker's more theatrical moments of cruelty are often underscored by classical music typical of cartoons - his "Sleigh Ride" in the Royal Hotel ballroom plays a warped organ version of Julius Fučík's "Entry of the Gladiators", he fussily selects the detonator for one of his bombs to Music/GioachinoRossini's "The Barber of Seville", and [[spoiler:his hallucinatory fight in the comedy club]] has an arranged section of the overture from Rossini's "The Thieving Magpie".
412** The trailer for the DLC Cold, Cold Heart features Aude Lang Syne. It's set on New Years.
413* In addition to Music/TheCancanSong used during the actual levels, VideoGame/MrDo also features Beethoven's Turkish March (Also known as the Theme from Series/ElChavoDelOcho, and not to be confused with Mozart's Turkish March) in the results screen that appears after clear three "[[IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming scenes]]".
414* Mr. Passion, a mid-boss in Chapter 2 of ''VideoGame/Mother3'', is a ghostly composer, so naturally, his battle theme comprises a medley of various classical music excerpts.[[note]]starting with the First Movement of Beethoven's 5th Symphony, moving into Etude for Ghosts (a battle theme in the game which seems to be based on the Third Movement of Piano Concerto No. 2 by Saint-Saëns), then into Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 and Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony, and finally into Mozart's Symphony No. 40 in G Minor before looping[[/note]] [[GuideDangIt If you know]] when to come back and challenge him again as [[OptionalBoss Lord Passion]], he'll have a brand new battle theme with different classical pieces.[[note]]starting again with Beethoven's 5th, it'll then move into ''Toccata and Fugue in D Minor'' by Bach, then into Handel's Messiah, and finally the First Movement of Music/AntonioVivaldi's Four Seasons: Spring[[/note]]
415** In addition to that, there's also "Leder's Gymnopédie", which is actually Music/ErikSatie's Gymnopédie No. 1, used when [[spoiler: Leder tells Lucas and his friends about the true history of the world]].
416* ''Franchise/FinalFantasy''
417** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyII'', Princess Hilda (actually the Lamia Queen in disguise) attempts to seduce Firion to an excerpt from the ''Swan Lake'' overture.
418** The dancing girls from across the series typically use public domain music for their routines:
419** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIII'': "Dance of the Little Swans" from ''Theatre/SwanLake''.
420** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'': Khatchaturian's "Sabre Dance".
421** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyV'': The Habanera from ''Theatre/{{Carmen}}''.
422** As Bartz improves his piano skills in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyV'', he plays excerpts of Schubert's "Marche Militaire No. 1," Stephen Foster's "Beautiful Dreamer," Mozart's "Rondo all Turca," and Debussy's "Arabesque No. 1."
423** "Fiddle de Chocobo" from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' incorporates bits of "Oh Susanna" and "Camptown Races".
424* The main theme of ''[[VideoGame/EscapeVelocity EV Nova]]'' is "Mars, the Bringer of War" from Music/GustavHolst's ''The Planets Suite''.
425* "Mars, the Bringer of War" also happens to be the theme of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAliytJ9KnA Space T.V. Fortress]], TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon of ''[[VideoGame/ApeEscape Ape Escape 3]]''.
426* While less blatant, the theme of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiboHWwr12M Living Failure]] from ''VideoGame/{{Bloodborne}}'' is a BossRemix of "Mars, the Bringer of War".
427* Some of the BackgroundMusic in ''VideoGame/{{Thwaite}}'' appears at first to be {{Suspiciously Similar Song}}s to parts of the ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossing'' soundtrack. A listen with a classically trained ear reveals that it's actually pieced together from Beethoven's ''Sonata Pathetique''.
428* ''VideoGame/EternalSonata'' features several Chopin pieces for the segments detailing his life. A remix of "Revolutionary Etude" serves as the game's final boss theme.
429* The Artdink game ''Arctic'' uses the Rondo from Mozart's Piano Sonata in B-flat Major, K. 570 (at least in the Famicom version).
430* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nARiGDW9X0M The trailer]] for the Franchise/CthulhuMythos[=/=]UsefulNotes/WorldWarI themed TurnBasedTactics game ''VideoGame/CallOfCthulhuTheWastedLand'' begins with the chorus of "It's a Long Way to Tipperary", a song from this era which was very famous in British ranks. The main menu's theme is a loop of this chorus; both version are accompanied by some subtle creepy sound effects in background. [[spoiler: The ending credits are also set to this chorus, but without the creepy sound effects.]]
431** The game's official soundtrack included a cover of the full song.
432* ''VideoGame/KerbalSpaceProgram'''s main theme -heard on the start screen and in most official trailer videos- was composed especially for the game, but all the other background tracks are royalty-free library music.
433* ''VideoGame/DwarfFortress'' is a slightly strange case; the ''official'' BackgroundMusic is not an example, being composed and performed by the developer himself, but a popular third-party sound engine called [=SoundSense=] uses this trope rather extensively.
434* In the old Hudson Soft game ''Challenger'', the Stop The Express stage uses an upbeat take on Franz Schubert's "Military March" for its BackgroundMusic, mixed with train whistle sound effects. (Some may know it better as the theme for Drill Man's stage in ''VideoGame/Rockman4MinusInfinity''.)
435* In the [=GameCube=] ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossing'', "Auld Lang Syne" plays on your way home from the New Year's celebration.
436* {{Videogame/Bioshock Infinite}}'s menu theme is the Blues standard [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rDVb8q8KWw After You've Gone]], composed in 1918.
437** In ''VideoGame/BioShock1'', the circus standard "Sobre las Olas(Over The Waves)" is played by the Gene Banks.
438* ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys'' frequently use public domain music played [[LeftTheBackgroundMusicOn diegetically]] as part of its soundtrack.
439** [[VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys1 The first game]] has "Habanera (Les Toreadors)" from ''Theatre/{{Carmen}}''.
440** ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys2'' has "My Grandfather's Clock" and "Pop Goes the Weasel."
441** ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys3'' has [[Music/PyotrIlyichTchaikovsky Tchaikovsky's]] ''Theatre/SwanLake'' and [[Music/FranzSchubert Schubert's]] "Ständchen", D 889.
442* ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongJr.'s'' opening cutscene is set to Music/ToccataAndFugueInDMinor.
443* ''VideoGame/{{Cytus}}'' has the Symphony chapter, which consists of arranges of various classical tracks.
444* The [[Creator/MidwayGames Bally/Midway]] arcade game ''VideoGame/BluePrint'' uses "Joe Avery's Piece" as its main soundtrack tune.
445* In the arcade game ''VideoGame/{{Carnival}}'', "Sobre las Olas (Over the Waves)" by Juventino Rosas, a tune commonly associated with carnivals and funfairs, constantly plays throughout the game. There's a musical target you can hit that will turn the music on or off if you get tired of it.
446* ''VideoGame/{{Bristles}}'' makes judicious use of ''The Nutcracker'': The main theme is "March of the Tin Soldiers", falling plays the first two lines of the overture, losing a life plays the Russian Dance, and Brenda making a handprint on a wall plays the Chinese Dance.
447* The Platform/PC88 game ''How Many Robot'' features "L'apprenti Sorcier" by Paul Dukas as its opening theme.
448* The Korean UsefulNotes/ArcadeGame ''Star Fighter'' takes its main in-game theme from Music/JohannSebastianBach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 5.
449* ''VideoGame/OhSirTheInsultSimulator'' uses public domain classical pieces for its BackgroundMusic. Most noticeable is the use of Brahm's ''Hungarian Dance No. 5'' in the Train scenario and Handel's ''Messiah'' during the boss battle with "Father".
450* The original ''VideoGame/ThunderForce'' used "William Tell Overture" as its main theme.
451* The puzzle game ''Beaver Builder'' has a soundtrack made up entirely of public domain jazz songs.
452 * Downplayed in ''VideoGame/TinkerQuarry''. While the soundtrack is mostly original, ambient music, there are some classical tunes too.
453* ''VideoGame/RainbowSix 3: Raven Shield'' uses Schubert's "Ave Maria (Ellen's Third Song)" during the second Island Estate mission.
454* ''VideoGame/TheHuntForRedOctober'' uses "The Star-Spangled Banner" as the ending theme.
455* Many songs from ''VideoGame/BigFunInFurbyland'' are shortened versions of well known classical tracks, like [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannes_Brahms Johannes Brahms]]' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQTp3jL8OJw Hungarian Dance N°5]], [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gioachino_Rossini Gioachino Rossini]]'s [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoHECVnQC7A William Tell Overture]] or [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikolai_Rimsky-Korsakov Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov]]'s [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYAJopwEYv8 Flight of the Bumblebee]].
456* The original ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaI'' barely ended up averting this trope, thus avoiding a ''Metal Gear Solid''-like situation. Originally, the plan was to have an arrangement of Ravel's "Bolero" play on the title screen, but on the day before the developers compiled the ROM, it was discovered the song wasn't out of copyright yet. An original theme based on the overworld music (which had already been composed) was whipped up in one night to replace it.
457* ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 4}}'''s Classical Radio station is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin, playing Gustav Holst's "Mars, the Bringer of War", Richard Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries"(also featured in ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas''), Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's "Requiem Mass", Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov's "Scheherezade", Edvard Grieg's "Morning" and "In the Halls of the Mountain King" from ''Theatre/PeerGynt'', Ludwig van Beethoven's "String Quartet no. 12", and various works by Frederic Chopin, Claude Debussy, Edward Elgar, Modest Mussorgsky, Camille Saint-Saëns, Pyotr Tchaikovsky, etc.
458* ''VideoGame/{{Tetris}} 99'' plays Rimsky-Korsakov's "Flight of the Bumblebee" when the player makes it to the top 10 of a round.
459* The ''VideoGame/ForzaHorizon'' series has included classical music since the second installment; on Radio Levant in said game, and on Timeless FM in the third and fourth.
460** The ''Manga/NinjaHattori-Kun'' Famicom game's main theme quotes a few bars of both "Orpheus in the Underworld" by Jacques Offenbach and the Minuet from "The Woman of Arles" by Georges Bizet, both Romantic-era composers.
461* ''VideoGame/CityConnection'' made excessive use of the first movement of Music/PyotrIlyichTchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No.1 as the main game BGM, even if it’s remixed considerably for each level.
462** Also, The German folk tune “Flohwalzer” plays when you knock a cat and send it flying. This is an in-joke as the Japanese name for the song is "Neko Funjatta", lit. "I Stepped on the Cat."
463** Lastly, a few bars from “Turkey In The Straw” plays if you run into a spike or a police car.
464* The music pieces in ''VideoGame/TheFriendsOfRingoIshikawa'' are taken from artists who made released them into the public domain. Most of them later became popular with the game's fans due to the ColbertBump.
465* The SCUMM Bar music in ''VideoGame/TheSecretOfMonkeyIsland'' is a rendition of the old English drinking song "O Good Ale, Thou Art My Darling".
466* ''VideoGame/SpaceQuestIIVohaulsRevenge'' plays Rimsky-Korsakov's "Flight of the Bumblebee" when Roger gets eaten alive by a swarm of bugs after attempting to climb one of the sticky trees on Labion.
467* ''VideoGame/CorpseParty: Book of Shadows'' Moreshige's theme of love in Book of Shadows is a slightly lower pitched version of Pachelbel's Canon in D Major.
468* ''VideoGame/WinterGames'' uses "Valse de fleurs" from ''Theatre/TheNutcracker'' for the Figure Skating event.
469* In ''VideoGame/TheAngryVideoGameNerdAdventures'', the Blizzard of Balls BGM is a sped-up version of the Christmas carol "In dulci jubilo (Good Christian Men, Rejoice)".
470* ''VideoGame/CrystalsPonyTale'': Nearly every song in this game is a classical piece, most notably Johannes Brahms' "4th Symphony, 2nd Movement" and Gabriel Faure's "Dolly Suite, Op. 56".
471* In ''VideoGame/CaptainSilver'', the BGM of the first stage is based on "Anitra's Dance" from ''Theatre/PeerGynt'', and the song of the Pied Piper in said stage is a variation of "In The Halls of the Mountain King" {{in the style of}} CreepyCircusMusic.
472* The Commodore 64 oddity ''VideoGame/DancingMonster'' also has a theme song based on "In The Halls of the Mountain King". It's much slower paced here.
473* ''VideoGame/SuperMarioKart'' uses the beginning of "Entry of the Gladiators" for its [[LosingHorns "Ranked Out" fanfare]].
474* ''VideoGame/RollerCoasterTycoon'' features a merry-go-round that plays a looping medley of different tunes, including (that we know of) "Artist's Life" by Johann Strauss. The "Ragtime Style" music used as the default theme of the old-timey car ride is Scott Joplin's "Searchlight Rag"...
475* ...which is also used for the carnival game in ''VideoGame/EnterTheGungeon'', albeit played at such a frenetic pace and with enough dissonant notes added on top to render it almost unrecognizable.
476* Japanese mobile game ''VideoGame/PuzzleAndDragons'' has mostly original compositions, but uses Japanese folk song "Sakura Sakura" for the [[https://youtu.be/HEkHGIjPaDc New Year event dungeon boss battle]].
477** When the ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' collaboration event runs, the dungeon music is [[https://youtu.be/3c5L9C-vmw4 an arrangement of]] Music/JohannSebastianBach's ''Air on the G String'', and its boss battle music is [[https://youtu.be/_Le1phVDjlo anarrangement of]] Music/LudwigVanBeethoven's "Music/OdeToJoy".
478* Japanese mobile game ''VideoGame/MonsterStrike'' features a few classical composers as monsters to collect, with their Strike Shot voice lines backed up by music in later evolutions and releases. These include:
479** [[Music/LudwigVanBeethoven Beethoven]]'s Symphony No. 5. "Music/OdeToJoy" also shows up in the ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' collaboration as the music for boss battles.
480** [[Music/JohannSebastianBach Bach]]'s "Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben"
481** [[Music/WolfgangAmadeusMozart Mozart]]'s ''[[Theatre/TheMagicFlute Die Zauberflöte]]''
482** Bizet's [[Theatre/{{Carmen}} "Habanera" and "Votre toast, je peux vous le rendre"]]
483** [[Music/RichardWagner Wagner]]'s "Music/RideOfTheValkyries" and "Bridal Chorus"
484** [[Music/ModestMussorgsky Mussorgsky]]'s ''Music/NightOnBaldMountain'' and "[[Music/PicturesAtAnExhibition Promenade]]"
485* ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption2'' has a bevy of classical and folk tunes, including "A Prisoner for Life", "Buffalo Gals", "I Got a Gal in Berryville", "I Wouldn't Marry an Old Man", "Keyhole In The Door", "Poor Lonesome Cowboy", Quirino Mendoza's "Cielito Lindo", Offenbach's "[[Music/TheCanCanSong Can-Can]]", Bizet's "[[Theatre/{{Carmen}} Habanera]]", Puccini's "[[Theatre/LaBoheme O Soave Fanciulla]]", Verdi's "Libiamo Ne Lieti Calici", and Faure's "Pie Jesu".
486* ''VideoGame/TheChessmaster 2000'' appropriately plays "God Save The King/Queen" when a pawn is promoted to a queen. Later versions include many more classical tunes.
487* ''VideoGame/GranTurismo 4'' plays the first five notes of Richard Strauss's ''Music/AlsoSprachZarathustra'' when you earn the Gold Prize in a License Test. The background score also includes a variety of classical works.
488* The songs that play when you are chased in ''VideoGame/{{GOHOME}}'' are variations of "Csikós Post".
489* ''VideoGame/MadMaestro'' is effectively a rhythm game series about public domain works, namely classical music, as you play as the conductor of an aspiring town orchestra. One of the Japan-only follow-ups introduces Christmas music as well.
490* ''VideoGame/GameAndWatch'': The panoramic games ''Mickey Mouse'' and ''Donkey Kong Circus'' open with "Pop Goes the Weasel".
491* ''VideoGame/BankPanic'' has "I Wish I Was In Dixie" playing during the gameplay.
492* ''VideoGame/LeisureSuitLarry1InTheLandOfTheLoungeLizards'' uses "Miss Mary Mack" for the bum in the backroom of Lefty's, "99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall" for the stumbling wino outside the Quiki Mart, "Mysterioso Pizzicato" in the mugger's alley, Tchaikovsky's ''Romeo and Juliet'' overture in the pimp's apartment, the first movement from Beethoven's Symphony No.5 during the disco dance, Offenbach's "[[Music/TheCanCanSong Infernal Galop]]" during the can-can show in the cabaret lounge, "Aura Lee" in the wedding chapel (replaced with Bach's "Air on the G String" in the remake), Rossini's "William Tell Overture" followed by Chopin's Funeral March when Larry commits suicide in the bad ending, and Sousa's "The Stars and Stripes Forever" in the good ending.
493* In ''VideoGame/KidIcarus1986'', the Overworld theme inerpolates the English folk song "The Girl I Left Behind".
494* ''VideoGame/PizzaTower'': The tutorial level theme is a remix of the classic Italian song "Funiculi Funicula", fitting with the game's pizza theme and the level's nature as a [[LevelAte level made entirely out of pizza and random shapes]].
495** ''VideoGame/SugarySpire'': In this candy-themed fangame of the above, the tutorial's theme is instead a take on the 1902 song “The Entertainer” to mirror ''Pizza Tower'''s use of “Funiculi Funicula” for its own tutorial.
496* In ''VideoGame/Wolfenstein3D'':
497** "P.O.W." interpolates melodic phrases from all four US Armed Forces service songs; "The Marines' Hymn", "The Army Goes Rolling Along", "Anchors Aweigh", and "The US Air Force", in that order.
498** The boss stage theme "March To War" is a medley of patriotic march tunes, including "Yankee Doodle", "Dixie", "When Johnny Comes Marching Home", "Garry Owen", "The Star-Spangled Banner", "Taps", "Horst-Wessel-Lied"(also heard on the title screen and as a standalone BGM), and "God Save The King/My Country 'Tis of Thee".
499* As befitting the movie series it's based off of, ''Die Hard: Vendetta'' uses "Ode to Joy" frequently. It pops up when you activate the time-slowing [[BulletTime "Hero Time"]] mode, you can activate an organ that plays it in one level, and it plays during the final cutscene.
500* Most of the songs you can play in ''VideoGame/TromboneChamp'' consist of classical music, folk tunes, or national anthems, all of which have long fallen out of copyright.
501* ''VideoGame/{{Scramble}}'''s game start jingle is the first few bars of Rossini's "William Tell Overture: Finale".
502* ''VideoGame/{{Rengoku}}'': Mozart's ''Lacrimosa'' is used in the final cutscene of the first game.
503* In ''VideoGame/AloneInTheDark1992'', the in-game gramophone records include Music/JohannStrauss's "Blue Danube", Music/FryderykChopin's "Posthumous Opus 69 Nr. 1", and Music/CamilleSaintSaens's "Danse macabre", the last of which is required to get the ghost dancers to move away from the Pirate's Key in the ballroom.
504* ''[[VideoGame/OperationWolf Operation Tiger]]'' has the track [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIQhW3WZXQg "Murder Queen"]], which is an arranged version of "Queen of the Night" from ''Theatre/TheMagicFlute''.
505[[/folder]]
506
507[[folder:Visual Novels]]
508* ''VisualNovel/CrescendoJP'' features well-known pieces in the public domain from Chopin, Handel, Scott Joplin, and others.
509* ''VisualNovel/TheDevilOnGString'':
510** "Air on a G-String" was used as a motif and the title screen music, as evidenced by the title ("The Devil on G-String"). "Songs My Mother Taught Me" and "Music/RideOfTheValkyries" are also used as BackgroundMusic for Kanon's figure-skating competition. In fact, the former is an important motif and the title for Kanon's chapter.
511** Almost of the BackgroundMusic in ''G-Senjou no Maou'' are remixed versions of various classical pieces.
512* ''VisualNovel/FamicomDetectiveClubTheGirlWhoStandsBehind'' for the Famicom and its remake for the Super Famicom's Nintendo Power kiosk service use Bach's Invention No. 15 in one part of the game.
513* A [[SofterAndSlowerCover softer and slower]] LonelyPianoPiece version of "Clair de Lune" is played in ''VisualNovel/DanganronpaV3KillingHarmony'' when [[spoiler:Shuichi mourns Kaede's death]].
514[[/folder]]
515
516[[folder:Web Original]]
517* The Moonlight Sonata by Ludwig van Beethoven is featured in ''[[AudioPlay/DirtyPotter Dirty the Pooh and the Hundred-Acre Shitpile, Chapter Three]]'' when Pooh [[ImAHumanitarian eats Piglet alive]].
518* WebAnimation/CharlieTheUnicorn: The Candy Mountain Song is sung to the tune of "Clarinet Polka".
519* Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}: A {{Vaudeville}}-era song by Eddie Morton, "I'm a Member of the Midnight Crew", is sampled in "Black" and later covered in Volume 8.
520* Web animation "WebAnimation/HalfFull" utilizes the 1911 song "(She Always Dreams of) Billy" for its end credits theme tune.
521* Chopin's Minute Waltz plays in the background on ''WebVideo/CookingWithDog'', a cooking show hosted by a Poodle. The piece is also called the Puppy Waltz.
522* WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic uses the "Storm" segment of the William Tell Overture while he's destroying the ''Film/TheNeverEndingStory III'' DVD and going berserk after playing the Blues Brothers SNES game.
523** Doug's earlier Bum Reviews also used Luigi Boccherini's "Minuetto" as its intro and outro music.
524* Whenever he's not using snippets from game soundtracks, ''The WebVideo/KilianExperience'' frequently uses classical music as BackgroundMusic to his game guides. Amongst numerous examples is his use of Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata" to hype up the terrifying windmill he's trying to destroy in his ''VideoGame/{{Besiege}}'' guide and using a piece of Guiseppe Verdi's [[Theatre/{{Rigoletto}} "La Donna E Nobile"]] while explaining [[VideoGame/{{Subnautica}} how to best cook and serve a Reaper Leviathan]].
525* ''WebVideo/{{Contrapoints}}'' uses these a lot, often remixes done by Zoë Blade. Her most-used piece is probably Blade's remix of Charles Gounod's "Funeral March for a Marionette", which serves as a {{leitmotif}} for resident anarchist {{catgirl}} Tabby.
526* WebVideo/FascinatingHorror has used the public domain track "Glass Pond" by Public Memory as intro, outro, and BackgroundMusic since May 2020. It's now considered by many fans to be the unofficial theme of the channel as a whole.
527* WebVideo/MrBallen uses the copyright- and royalty-free track [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zuw_O5MU5CE "Something Wicked"]] by Ross Bugden as intro and title card music.
528* ''ARG/WelcomeHomeClownIllustrations'': One of the prologue's hints is an [[https://www.clownillustration.com/singingmp4 audio file]] in which Wally sings Stephen Foster's "Beautiful Dreamer," presumably to Home as a lullaby. Wally sounds utterly forlorn throughout the entire clip.
529-->''[After he finishes singing, Wally lets loose a mirthless laugh.]''\
530'''Wally:''' I don't know the other words... That's all Barnaby taught me... Do you like it...?\
531''[Home produces some banging noises in response.]''\
532'''Wally:''' That's good... I think.
533[[/folder]]
534
535[[folder:Western Animation]]
536* ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfSonicTheHedgehog'' incorporates both "In the Hall of the Mountain King" and "Flight of the Bumblebee" in the opening theme. Incidentally, "In the Hall of the Mountain King" is used as Robotnik's theme song in the show and plays in segments set in his lair.
537* While they did a few original songs (most notably, "Witch Doctor"), the 1960s era of ''Franchise/AlvinAndTheChipmunks'' otherwise did mostly public domain songs, albeit their own personal takes on them (e.g., "Old Macdonald Cha-Cha-Cha").
538* Invoked/parodied in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'' when Roger joins Steve's band and plays rock n roll version of "Jimmy Cracked Corn" and "Ba Ba Black Sheep". He even goes on to say they have over a hundred hits already.
539* ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}'': ''WesternAnimation/WakkosWish'' has a musical number sung to the tune of the second "Hungarian Rhapsody".
540** Being a nod to the classic shorts (as was WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures in a way), a lot of the BackgroundMusic in Animaniacs had nods to popular pieces of the Romantic Era, and a huge portion of the songs were based on classical pieces too. Making a full list would take too way, way too long.
541* Several episodes of ''WesternAnimation/{{Bluey}}'' use classical music for their soundtrack, such as "Shops" using "Orpheus in the Underworld" for most of the episode.
542* ''WesternAnimation/DangerMouse'' was known to use public domain music for its background score.
543** A piece composed by Charles Williams for BBC radio, "The Devil's Gallop" was used in two episodes' chase scenes (as well as two episodes of ''Monty Python'').
544** When Wufgang Bach makes his appearance in "Play It Again, Wufgang," he is performing ''Toccata And Fugue In D Minor'' on the organ.
545* ''WesternAnimation/{{Doug}}'': "Doug and the Little Liar" uses "Dance of the Little Swans" from ''Theatre/SwanLake'' for a ballroom dance scene.
546* ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales1987'' uses "Music/RideOfTheValkyries" in a couple episodes, including "Maid of the Myth," which appropriately features vikings as part of the plot, and Part 2 of "Super Ducktales."
547* Creator/GoldenFilms uses a lot this trope. Their films use classical music, like songs of Beethoven and Bach.
548* The [[WesternAnimation/WileECoyoteAndTheRoadRunner Road Runner's]] theme in ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' is from Smetana's ''Bartered Bride''. A great deal of WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes music are actually classical tunes. Examples include tunes from Rossini's ''Barber of Seville'' and Liszt's second Hungarian Rhapsody, and Music/FelixMendelssohn's "Spring Song".
549** Mendelssohn's "Fingal's Cave" was always played when the Mynah Bird showed up in Creator/ChuckJones' "Inki" series.
550** Music/FranzLiszt's second Hungarian Rhapsody just might be the most used work in WesternAnimation. WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes used it in "WesternAnimation/RhapsodyRabbit", ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry'' used it in "Cat Concerto" (these two were so similar, each studio accused the other of plagiarism), ''WesternAnimation/WoodyWoodpecker'' used it, and it was used in the WesternAnimation/DonaldDuck[=/=]Daffy Dueling Pianos skit at the Ink & Paint Club in ''Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit''.
551*** [[MemeticMutation KILL THE WABBIT! KILL THE WABBIT! KILL THE WABBIT!]]
552* The [[OriginalVideoAnimation made for video]] ''WesternAnimation/MickeyDonaldGoofyTheThreeMusketeers'' had songs with music from various classical pieces, including Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, Offenbach's "Music/TheCancanSong", and Tchaikovsky's "Dance of the Reed Flutes". The finale took place during an opera [[AnachronismStew made up of selections of operettas by]] Music/GilbertAndSullivan.
553* Disney's ''WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQDD52itP-s Symphony Hour]]'' (1942) is about Mickey conducting an orchestra that plays Suppe's "Light Cavalry Overture." The rehearsal suits the trope fully. For the main concert, the instruments become a problem and the soundtrack is a bit... strange.
554* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'':
555** In episode 33, "May The Best Pet Win!", "Music/RideOfTheValkyries" plays when Rainbow Dash races the candidates for her pet in Ghastly Gorge.
556** In "Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep?", the song sung by the cutesy flowers in Rainbow Dash's nightmare is "This Old Man" with different lyrics. Considering the point of this scene was to mock SickeninglySweet, the song choice is probably more of a TakeThat at ''Series/BarneyAndFriends'' than anything.
557* ''WesternAnimation/TheRenAndStimpyShow'' frequently uses Romantic Era music in the background; Tchiakovsky's [[Theatre/TheNutcracker Nutcracker Suite]] and Music/AntoninDvorak's Symphony #9 "From the New World" were particularly popular.
558** The yodeling song used in the title card for "The Boy Who Cried Rat" was later used in ''WesternAnimation/TheMightyB'' episode "Bee Afraid" and ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants''' "Truth or Square".
559** Many of the music cues and background songs from ''Ren and Stimpy'' are stock music library tracks that have been used in many other cartoons like ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'', ''WesternAnimation/TheLoudHouse'', and ''WesternAnimation/TheCasagrandes''; and even in several live-action shows like ''Series/BillNyeTheScienceGuy''.
560* ''WesternAnimation/RoughnecksStarshipTroopersChronicles'' uses a remix of Beethoven's "'Pathetique' Sonata #8 Op. 13".
561* The animated short ''WesternAnimation/{{Shhhhhh}}'' has a retroactive example with "[[https://www.loc.gov/programs/static/national-recording-preservation-board/documents/OKEH%20LAUGHING%20RECORD.pdf The Okeh Laughing Record]]" which had to be licensed when the short was first produced in 1955, also the opening credits feature [[Music/FryderykChopin Chopin's]] Nocturne op. 15 no. 2.
562* ''WesternAnimation/TheSmurfs'' has this so smurfing much. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Smurfs_%28Hanna-Barbera_series%29#Use_of_classical_music See The Other Wiki for more details.]]
563* ''WesternAnimation/SonicBoom'' usually uses {{Suspiciously Similar Song}}s, but goes this route for the sake of a gag:
564--> '''Radio''': [[WeInterruptThisProgram We interrupt this public domain music]] to [[BreakingTheFourthWall bring you some important exposition!]]
565* ''WesternAnimation/TheSpectacularSpiderMan'' has made great use of public domain music, mostly in ending credits, to play with a theme (holidays were the most frequent). One episode had Spidey beat up bad guys to Mozart. [[RuleOfCool Yes, it was awesome!]]
566* ''WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants'' uses a portion of Vivaldi's ''Spring'' from the Four Seasons suite, a version of Johann Strauss' ''Blue Danube Waltz'', Jacques Offenbach's ''Infernal Galop'' (Music/TheCancanSong) and a number of others.
567* ''WesternAnimation/StrawberryShortcake''
568** The 2003 series features the Trepak from ''The Nutcracker'', the ''William Tell'' Overture, Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor, "Flight of the Bumblebee", "Ride of the Valkyries", ''Night on Bald Mountain'', the Farandole from Bizet's ''L'Arlesienne'' suite, the Toreador March from ''Carmen'', ''The Rite of Spring'', Brahms' Hungarian Dance No. 5, and "Korobeiniki" played in the most Season 1 and 2 episodes as well the specials. Purple Pieman and Sour Grapes are introduced with the Promenade from ''Pictures at the Exhibition''.
569** The 2009 reboot uses "Flight of the Bumblebee" when introducing Postmaster Bumblebee, the fourth movement of Beethoven's ''Pastoral'' Symphony when Cherry and Strawberry encountering storms, "Korobeiniki" when Berry girls in swimsuits enjoying rain at the beach, ''Night on Bald Mountain'' when Berry girls scared to camping at night, "Waltz of the Flowers" when Plum dances, and the last season features the ''William Tell'' Overture" or Brahms' Hungarian Dance No. 5 when Apple Dumplin encounters Berry girls as villains.
570* One of the songs on the ''WesternAnimation/StreetFighter'' cartoon's soundtrack is a rendition of "Music/{{Toccata and Fugue in D Minor}}", which notably plays over M. Bison's infamous "[[MemeticMutation YES! YES!]]" scene.
571* ''WesternAnimation/WorkItOutWombats'': "Morning Mood," part of Edvard Grieg's Peer Gynt, Op. 23, is heard when the wombats wake up in a few episodes, such as "Zadie and the Really Big, Really Loud Noisy Thing."
572* ''WesternAnimation/XavierRiddleAndTheSecretMuseum'':
573** In "I Am Johann Sebastian Bach", a bit of "Toccata and Fugue in D Minor" is played.
574** "I Am Anna Pavlova" uses "The Nutcracker: Overture".
575[[/folder]]

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