When Baron Gottfried van Swieten wanted to present The Messiah in Vienna he thought it should be translated into German and reorchestrated to take advantage of a more modern orchestra. He commissioned Mozart who added flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, trombone, trumpet and tympani parts to what had been a string accompaniment.
Peer Gynt Suite No. 1 consists of four pieces extracted from the 90 minutes of music Edvard Grieg wrote to accompany the play written by his friend, Henrik Ibsen: "Morning Mood" which describes sunrise over the Moroccan desert; the death of Peer Gynt's mother in “The Death of Åse”; "Anitra's Dance" also from his time in the Moroccan desert; and the very popular “In the Hall of the Mountain King” wich describes a fantasy dream sequence where he meets the troll king.
Arvo Pärt is considered a national treasure in Estonia and from 2011 to 2018 he was the most performed living composer in the world. Summa was first written as an a cappella work for four singers with text from the Credo and was orchestrated by the composer for strings.