DDR’s Classical Masterpiece
Dance Dance Revolution not only blessed with great Konami original music and popular licensed song but also got a wide playlist of classical masterpiece from yersteryears. Upon researching the original composers of the song, I noticed three significant period in history that shaped music. First is the Baroque period which is culminated in the works of Johann Sebastian Bach and Antonio Vivaldi. The late 18th century saw a new age in music - the classical period, pioneered and perfected in the work of Franz Josef Haydn and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. This period was marked by the growth and completion of several music forms - the sonata, symphony, concerto, opera - and by works that, as the result of greater mastery and skill with instruments, were musically richer and contained an expressiveness that opened new possibilities for music. Schubert, Chopin, Berlioz completed the Romantic period in music, each with a signal style and distinct sensibility, and each the heir of Beethoven. From Bach, Mozart and Beethoven, DDR delivers musical experiences from different times to the extreme. Listed are the notable ones from various DDR series:

V (for EXTREME)
TAKA
DDR Extreme
This popular piece is from Winter, one of ‘The Four Seasons’ Op. 8 by Antonio Vivaldi and done in 1725. Also known as Concerto No. 4 in F minor, Op. 8, RV 297 ‘La inverno’, it is the most popular piece of Baroque music.

Always Smiling
Tritsch-Tratsch-Polka
DDR Mario Mix
Also known as Trish Trash Polka Op. 24, it is a polka written by Johann Strauss II in 1858 after a successful tour of Russia where he performed in the summer concert season at Pavlovsk.

No. 13
TAKA respect for J.S.B
DDR SuperNOVA
This popular song is adapted from Johann Sebastian Bach’s Two-part Invention No. 13 in A minor. The steps in DDR SuperNOVA are extremely comprehensive in which numerous gallops and turning are presents.

Moment 40
Moshic Symphony
DDR Ultramix 3
Adapted from Symphony No. 40 in G minor, KV. 550 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Done in 1788, the 40th symphony is sometimes referred as the ‘Great’ G minor symphony, to distinguish it from the ‘Little’ G minor symphony, No. 25. The two are the only minor key symphonies Mozart wrote, with the possible exception of an early and recently rediscovered A minor symphony known today as the Odense Symphony.

Pipe Pop
Turkish March
DDR Mario Mix
Also done by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in 1783 as Turkish March, this is also known as Sonata No. 11 in A major, K331, a sonata in 3 movements.

Polovtsian Dances and Chorus
Naoto Suzuki feat. Martha
DDR Extreme 2
This music by Alexander Borodin is from the most important Russian opera ‘Prince Igor’. It is often performed as a stand-alone concert work as probably Borodin’s best composition.

Rendezvous on Ice
Les Patineurs
DDR Mario Mix
Also known as ‘The Skater’s Waltz’, this song was composed in 1882 by Emile Waldteufel. I remember it was also used as the main music in all levels of the 1983 Konami game Antartic Adventure in Nintendo’s FAMICOM.

Underground Mozart
Eine Kleine Nachtmusik
DDR Mario Mix
Also from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the title Eine Kleine Nachtmusik means ‘a little night music’. This is also known as Serenade No. 13 in G major, K525 and done in 1787.

Kakumei
dj TAKA with Naoki
DDR MAX 2 (DDR 7th Mix)
A remix of Frederick Chopin’s Revolutionary Etude (Etude Op. 10, No. 12 in C minor). The etude was composed circa 1831 dedicated to Chopin’s friend Franz Liszt. Beside DDR, the music also adapted in video games such as King of Fighter 2009 and Eternal Sonata.

Übertreffen
TAKA respect for J.S.B
DDR X
From Johann Sebastian Bach, Überteffen is a German word for ‘exceed’. This is the second time dj TAKA use the name TAKA respect for J.S.B in DDR, the first being the song No. 13 in DDR SuperNOVA.

In The Whirlpool
Pomp and Circumstance
DDR Mario Mix
Also known as Graduation March, this music is played as the processional tune at virtually all high school and college graduation ceremonies.

A Fifth of Beethoven
Walter Murphy and the Big Apple Band
DDR Universe 3
This disco instrumental music was adapted by Walter Murphy from first movement of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5. Believe it or not, the specific remixed song reached #1 in Billboard Hot 100 for 1 week! It is one of the most popular and memorable pieces of music from disco era. And idi you know, ‘fifth’ is a pun - it refers to 757mlm a popular size for bottles containing hard liquor!

Fishing Frenzy
Csikós Post
DDR Mario Mix
Csikós Post (Hungarian for ‘mail coach’) is a galop by German composer Hermann Necke. The piece has been adapted in many other video games such as Yoshi’s Cookie, Daigasso! Band-Brothers, O2 Jam, pop’n music FEVER and Pump It Up.

Nightshade (Diskowarp Easily Amused Mix)
Melody and Mezzo
DDR Universe
Johannes Brahm’s Hungarian Dance No. 5 in F minor has been adapted in many other music video games like O2 Jam. The piece was based on the csárdás by Kéler Béla entitled ‘Bartfai emlek’.

Speed Over Beethoven
Rose
DDR Extreme
A vocal version of Ludwig van Beethoven’s most popular composition, Für Elise (English, For Elise). Composed in 1810s, it is still not certain who ‘Elise’ was.

End of the Century
No. 9
DDR 3rd Mix
Adapted from Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125 by Ludwig van Beethoven. Completed in 1824, this is the final complete symphony of Beethoven and considered as his masterpiece. Beethoven was completely deaf when he composed this symphony!

Garden Boogie
Carmen
DDR Mario Mix
The music is from the famous French opera comique ‘Carmen’ that was created in 1872 by Georges Bizet. Carmen was based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée, first published in 1845.
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