Three hundred years ago, King George I commissioned Handel to compose music to be performed on the River Thames. The result: Handel's Water Music, which premiered on a barge on July 17, 1717.
To celebrate this anniversary, we asked you to vote for your favorite pieces of classical music that have been inspired by water. The results have been tallied, and we're ready to count them down. n Join Classical MPR's Steve Staruch on Monday, July 17, as he counts down your favorite pieces of water music in celebration of the 300th anniversary of Handel's Water Music.
Countdown Results
20 - Modest Mussorgsky - Khovanshchina: Dawn over the River
19 - Felix Mendelssohn - Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage
18 - Camille Saint-Saens - Carnival of the Animals: Aquarium
17 - Traditional - Wade in the Water
16 - Leonard Bernstein - On the Waterfront: Symphonic Suite
15 - George Frideric Handel - Water Music: Suite No. 3
14 - Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov - Scheherazade: The Sea and Sinbad's Ship
13 - George Frideric Handel - Water Music: Suite No. 2
12 - Frederic Chopin - Prelude No. 15 "Raindrop"
11 - Richard Wagner - The Flying Dutchman: Overture
10 - Ralph Vaughan Williams - A Sea Symphony
9 - Aaron Copland - Old American Songs: At the River
8 - Ludwig van Beethoven - Symphony No. 6: II. Scene by the brook
7 - Johann Strauss, Jr. - By the Beautiful Blue Danube
6 - Peter Tchaikovsky - Swan Lake
5 - George Frideric Handel - Water Music: Suite No. 1
4 - Felix Mendelssohn - The Hebrides
3 - Jerome Kern - Ol' Man River
2- Claude Debussy - La Mer
1 - Bedrich Smetana - The Moldau
Follow along on Twitter using the hashtags #waterfaves and #watermusic300.
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