D minor is a

minor scale In music theory, the minor scale is three scale patterns – the natural minor scale (or Aeolian mode), the harmonic minor scale, and the melodic minor scale (ascending or descending) – rather than just two as with the major scale, which also ...

based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. Its

key signature In Western musical notation, a key signature is a set of sharp (), flat (), or rarely, natural () symbols placed on the staff at the beginning of a section of music. The initial key signature in a piece is placed immediately after the clef a ...

has one

flat Flat or flats may refer to: Architecture * Flat (housing), an apartment in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and other Commonwealth countries Arts and entertainment * Flat (music), a symbol () which denotes a lower pitch * Flat (soldier), ...

. Its

relative major In music, relative keys are the major and minor scales that have the same key signatures (enharmonically equivalent), meaning that they share all the same notes but are arranged in a different order of whole steps and half steps. A pair of major an ...

F major F major (or the key of F) is a major scale based on F, with the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature has one flat. Its relative minor is D minor and its parallel minor is F minor. The F major scale is: : F major is the ...

and its parallel major is

D major D major (or the key of D) is a major scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. Its key signature has two sharps. Its relative minor is B minor and its parallel minor is D minor. The D major scale is: : Ch ...

. The D

natural minor scale In music theory, the minor scale is three scale patterns – the natural minor scale (or Aeolian mode), the harmonic minor scale, and the melodic minor scale (ascending or descending) – rather than just two as with the major scale, which also ...

is: Changes needed for the melodic and harmonic versions of the scale are written in with accidentals as necessary. The D

harmonic minor In music theory, the minor scale is three scale patterns – the natural minor scale (or Aeolian mode), the harmonic minor scale, and the melodic minor scale (ascending or descending) – rather than just two as with the major scale, which also ...

and melodic minor scales are:

Music in D minor

Of Domenico Scarlatti's 555 keyboard sonatas, 151 are in minor keys, and with 32 sonatas, D minor is the most often chosen minor key. ''

The Art of Fugue ''The Art of Fugue'', or ''The Art of the Fugue'' (german: Die Kunst der Fuge, links=no), BWV 1080, is an incomplete musical work of unspecified instrumentation by Johann Sebastian Bach. Written in the last decade of his life, ''The Art of Fug ...

'' by

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...

is in D minor. Michael Haydn's only minor-key symphony, No. 29, is in D minor. According to Alfred Einstein, the history of tuning has led D minor to be associated with

counterpoint In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more musical lines (or voices) which are harmonically interdependent yet independent in rhythm and melodic contour. It has been most commonly identified in the European classical tradi ...

and chromaticism (for example, the

chromatic fourth In music theory, a chromatic fourth, or ''passus duriusculus'',Monelle, Raymond (2000). ''The Sense of Music: Semiotic Essays'', p.73. . is a melody or melodic fragment spanning a perfect fourth with all or almost all chromatic intervals fill ...

), and cites Bach's ''

Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue The ''Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue'' in D minor, , is a work for harpsichord by Johann Sebastian Bach. Bach probably composed it during his time in Köthen from 1717 to 1723. The piece was already regarded as a unique masterpiece during his lifet ...

'' in D minor. Mozart's Requiem is written primarily in D minor, as are the famous Queen of the Night Aria, "

Der Hölle Rache "" ("Hell's vengeance boils in my heart"), commonly abbreviated "", is an aria sung by the Queen of the Night, a coloratura soprano part, in the second act of Mozart's opera ''The Magic Flute'' ('). It depicts a fit of vengeful rage in which the ...

", the ouverture and the final scene of ''

Don Giovanni ''Don Giovanni'' (; K. 527; Vienna (1788) title: , literally ''The Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni'') is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Its subject is a centuries-old Spanis ...

''. Of the two piano concertos that Mozart wrote in a minor key, one of them is in D minor: Piano Concerto No. 20, K. 466. Furthermore, his string quartet no. 13 K173 and string quartet no. 15 K421 (one of the high profile Haydn-quartets) are also in D minor. The only chamber music compositions in D minor by

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...

are his stormy Piano Sonata No. 17 and the haunting Largo of the Ghost Trio Op. 70/1.

Franz Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wor ...

's ''

Death and the Maiden Quartet The String Quartet No. 14 in D minor, D 810, known as ''Death and the Maiden'', is a piece by Franz Schubert that has been called "one of the pillars of the chamber music repertoire". It was composed in 1824, after the composer suffered a ...

'' is in D minor. A number of

Gabriel Fauré Gabriel Urbain Fauré (; 12 May 1845 – 4 November 1924) was a French composer, organist, pianist and teacher. He was one of the foremost French composers of his generation, and his musical style influenced many 20th-century composers ...

's chamber music works are written in D minor, including the Piano Trio Op. 120, the First Piano Quintet Op. 89, and the First Cello Sonata Op. 109.

Arnold Schoenberg Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (, ; ; 13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian-American composer, music theorist, teacher, writer, and painter. He is widely considered one of the most influential composers of the 20th century. He was as ...

's ''

Verklärte Nacht ''Verklärte Nacht'' (''Transfigured Night''), Op. 4, is a string sextet in one movement composed by Arnold Schoenberg in 1899. Composed in just three weeks, it is considered his earliest important work. It was inspired by Richard Dehmel's p ...

'' is in D minor, as is his String Quartet No. 1. Since D minor is the key of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, Anton Bruckner felt apprehensive about writing his own Symphony No. 9 in the same key. As well as Bruckner's First Mass, some other post-Beethoven symphonies are in D minor, including Symphony No. 4 by Robert Schumann, the only Symphony written by

César Franck César-Auguste Jean-Guillaume Hubert Franck (; 10 December 1822 – 8 November 1890) was a French Romantic composer, pianist, organist, and music teacher born in modern-day Belgium. He was born in Liège (which at the time of his birth was p ...

, and Symphony No. 3 by Gustav Mahler.

Jean Sibelius Jean Sibelius ( ; ; born Johan Julius Christian Sibelius; 8 December 186520 September 1957) was a Finnish composer of the late Romantic and 20th-century classical music, early-modern periods. He is widely regarded as his country's greatest com ...

often reserved the key of D minor for compositions he saw as being of a noble character; the

Violin Concerto A violin concerto is a concerto for solo violin (occasionally, two or more violins) and instrumental ensemble (customarily orchestra). Such works have been written since the Baroque period, when the solo concerto form was first developed, up thro ...

, the Sixth Symphony, and the string quartet '' Voces intimae'' are each in the key. The tonality of D minor held special significance for Helene and Alban Berg. D minor is particularly recurrent in the music of

Sergei Rachmaninoff Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one o ...

, with pieces written in the key occupying close to one eighth of his total compositional output, including the Third Piano Concerto, the Piano Sonata n°1, the Symphony n°1, the Trio élégiaque n°2, the Études-Tableaux op. 33 n°4 and op. 39 n°8, the Corelli Variations, and the symphonic poem Prince Rostislav. Works in the

classical music era The Classical period was an era of classical music between roughly 1750 and 1820. The Classical period falls between the Baroque and the Romantic periods. Classical music has a lighter, clearer texture than Baroque music, but a more sophistic ...

and later beginning in minor typically end in major, or at least on a major chord (such as a

picardy third A Picardy third, (; french: tierce picarde) also known as a Picardy cadence or Tierce de Picardie, is a major chord of the tonic at the end of a musical section that is either modal or in a minor key. This is achieved by raising the third of the ...

), but there are a few notable examples of works in D minor ending in much sharper keys. Two symphonies that begin in D minor and end in E major are

Havergal Brian Havergal Brian (born William Brian; 29 January 187628 November 1972) was an English composer. He is best known for having composed 32 symphonies (an unusually high total for a 20th-century composer), most of them late in his life. His best-known ...

's ''

Gothic Symphony The Symphony No. 1 in D minor (''The Gothic'') is a symphony composed by Havergal Brian between 1919 and 1927. At around 105 minutes it is among the longest symphonies ever composed (others include Mahler's Symphony No. 3 at 90 to 105 minutes (t ...

'' and

Carl Nielsen Carl August Nielsen (; 9 June 1865 – 3 October 1931) was a Danish composer, conductor and violinist, widely recognized as his country's most prominent composer. Brought up by poor yet musically talented parents on the island of Funen, he ...

's Symphony No. 4 (''The Inextinguishable''). Franz Liszt's ''

Dante Symphony ''A Symphony to Dante's Divine Comedy'', S.109, or simply the "''Dante Symphony''", is a choral symphony composed by Franz Liszt. Written in the high romantic style, it is based on Dante Alighieri's journey through Hell and Purgatory, as depicted ...

'' opens in D minor and ends in B major. Similar to a D minor symphony ending in

, as with Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, a D major symphony can have for its allegro first movement a slow introduction in D minor.

Robbins Landon Robbins may refer to: People * Robbins (name), a surname Fictional characters * Al Robbins, medical doctor in ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'' * Arizona Robbins, surgeon in ''Grey's Anatomy'' * Ashley Mizuki Robbins, protagonist in the video ...

wrote that "Tonic minor Adagio introductions, especially in the key of D minor, were very popular with English composers of the year 1794", and Joseph Haydn copied this procedure for the D major symphonies he wrote in London.

H. C. Robbins Landon Howard Chandler Robbins Landon (March 6, 1926November 20, 2009) was an American musicologist, journalist, historian and broadcaster, best known for his work in rediscovering the huge body of neglected music by Haydn and in correcting misunderstand ...

, ''Supplement to The Symphonies of Joseph Haydn'' London: Barrie & Rockliff (1961): 47 Film composer

Hans Zimmer Hans Florian Zimmer (; born 12 September 1957) is a German film score composer and music producer. He has won two Academy Awards, Oscars and four Grammy Awards, Grammys, and has been nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards, Emmys and a Tony Awar ...

is one of the most prominent users of the key of D minor in modern times. Many of his well-known scores were written in the key; notable examples are '' Gladiator'', ''

The Dark Knight ''The Dark Knight'' is a 2008 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan from a screenplay he co-wrote with his brother Jonathan Nolan, Jonathan. Based on the DC Comics superhero, Batman, it is the sequel to ''Batman Begins'' (2005) and t ...

'', '' Pirates of the Caribbean'' and ''

The Da Vinci Code ''The Da Vinci Code'' is a 2003 mystery thriller novel by Dan Brown. It is Brown's second novel to include the character Robert Langdon: the first was his 2000 novel ''Angels & Demons''. ''The Da Vinci Code'' follows symbologist Robert Lang ...

''. His frequent use of the key has been noticed by reviewers such as Christian Clemmensen of

Filmtracks.com Filmtracks.com is a modern film score review website created and maintained by its sole reviewer, Christian Clemmensen. Since the launch of Filmtracks in 1996, the website has reviewed nearly two-thousand soundtracks dating as far back as 1954, t ...

, who has called the trend "ridiculous stubbornness".

Notable compositions

Toccata and Fugue in D minor The Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565, is a piece of organ music written, according to its oldest extant sources, by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750). The piece opens with a toccata section, followed by a fugue that ends in a coda. Schol ...

, BWV 565 **

, BWV 903 ** Harpsichord Concerto No. 1, BWV 1052 ** Cello Suite No. 2, BWV 1008 ** Concerto for Two Violins, BWV 1043 **''

'', BWV 1080 ** Partita for solo violin No. 2 in D minor, BWV 1004 *

Joseph Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...

** Symphony No. 26 "Lamentatione" ** String Quartet in D minor, Hob.III:76 "Fifths" * Michael Haydn ** Symphony No. 29 *

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

** Kyrie in D minor, K 341 ** Fantasia in D minor, K 397 ** String Quartet No. 15, K 421 ** Piano Concerto No. 20, K 466 ** Requiem, K 626 *

** Piano Sonata No. 17, Op. 31 No. 2 "Tempest" ** Symphony No. 9, Op. 125 "Choral" *

** String Quartet No. 14 "Death and the Maiden" *

Felix Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include sy ...

** Piano Concerto No. 2, Op. 40 ** Piano Trio No. 1, Op. 49 ** Symphony No. 5 "Reformation" *

Frédéric Chopin Frédéric François Chopin (born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin; 1 March 181017 October 1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic period, who wrote primarily for solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown as a leadin ...

** Prelude Op. 28, No. 24 "Storm" ** Polonaise, Op. 71 No. 1 * Charles-Valentin Alkan ** " Le chemin de fer", Op. 27 ** "

En rythme molossique ''En rythme molossique'' (''In molossian rhythm'') is the second of the Études in the minor keys, Op. 39 for solo piano by the French composer Charles-Valentin Alkan, published in 1846. It is in D minor. The piece is in rondo form, with two epi ...

", No. 2 from 12 études in all the minor keys, Op. 39 * Franz Liszt ** Transcendental Étude No. 4 "Mazeppa", from S. 139 **'' Mazeppa'', S. 100, symphonic poem * Robert Schumann **

, WoO 23 ** Symphony No. 4, Op. 120 *

** Symphony in D minor *

Édouard Lalo Édouard-Victoire-Antoine Lalo (27 January 182322 April 1892) was a French composer. His most celebrated piece is the '' Symphonie espagnole'', a five-movement concerto for violin and orchestra, which remains a popular work in the standard repe ...

** Cello Concerto * Anton Bruckner ** Symphony in D minor ** Symphony No. 3 ** March in D minor ** Mass No. 1 ** Symphony No. 9 (unfinished) * Johannes Brahms ** Piano Concerto No. 1 Op. 15 **

Tragic Overture The ''Tragic Overture'' (german: Tragische Ouvertüre, link=no), Op. 81, is a concert overture for orchestra written by Johannes Brahms during the summer of 1880. It premiered, under Hans Richter, on 26 December 1880 in Vienna. Most perfor ...

** Violin Sonata No. 3 Op. 108 *

Modest Mussorgsky Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky ( rus, link=no, Модест Петрович Мусоргский, Modest Petrovich Musorgsky , mɐˈdɛst pʲɪˈtrovʲɪtɕ ˈmusərkskʲɪj, Ru-Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky version.ogg; – ) was a Russian compo ...

Night on Bald Mountain ''Night on Bald Mountain'' (russian: Ночь на лысой горе, translit=Noch′ na lysoy gore, links=no), also known as ''Night on the Bare Mountain'', is a series of compositions by Modest Mussorgsky (1839–1881). Inspired by Russian ...

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...

** Orchestral Suite No. 1 Op. 43 * Antonín Dvořák ** Symphony No. 4 Op. 13, B. 41 ** Symphony No. 7 Op. 70, B. 141 *

Requiem (Fauré) Gabriel Fauré composed his Requiem in D minor, Op. 48, between 1887 and 1890. The choral-orchestral setting of the shortened Catholic Mass for the Dead in Latin is the best-known of his large works. Its focus is on eternal rest and consolati ...

Op. 44 * Gustav Mahler ** Symphony No. 3 *

Op. 47 ** String Quartet, ''Voces intimae'', Op. 56 ** Symphony No. 6 Op. 104 * Ralph Vaughan Williams ** Symphony No. 8 *

** Symphony No. 1 Op. 13 ** Piano Sonata No. 1 Op. 28 ** Piano Concerto No. 3 Op. 30 *

Sergei Prokofiev Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''., group=n (27 April .S. 15 April1891 – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, p ...

** Symphony No. 2 Op. 40 ** Piano Sonata No. 2 Op. 14 *

Dmitri Shostakovich Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, , group=n (9 August 1975) was a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his Symphony No. 1 (Shostakovich), First Symphony in 1926 and was regarded throug ...

Cello Sonata A cello sonata is usually a sonata written for solo cello with piano accompaniment. The most famous Romantic-era cello sonatas are those written by Johannes Brahms and Ludwig van Beethoven. Some of the earliest cello sonatas were written in the 1 ...

Op. 40 ** Symphony No. 5 Op. 47

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:D Minor Minor scales Musical keys

Music in D minor

Notable compositions

See also

Notes

External links