10 classical pieces to mark 80 years since VE Day
Eighty years ago, on May 8, 1945, the guns of the Second World War finally fell silent across Europe. Victory in Europe Day—VE Day—marked the end of a conflict that forever reshaped the world. As we honour those who served, sacrificed, and survived, classical music offers a powerful way to reflect, mourn, and give thanks. From requiems to victory fanfares, these ten works capture the depth and complexity of the human experience during wartime.
Here are ten pieces to commemorate the 80th anniversary of VE Day.
1. Benjamin Britten – War Requiem (1962)
Written for the reconsecration of Coventry Cathedral, destroyed during the Blitz, Britten’s War Requiem interweaves the Latin Mass for the Dead with poetry by WWI soldier Wilfred Owen. The result is a searing indictment of war, equally applicable to the devastation of the Second World War.
2. Dmitri Shostakovich – Symphony No. 7 “Leningrad” (1941)
Composed during the brutal siege of Leningrad, this symphony became a symbol of Soviet resistance and international solidarity. It’s massive, defiant, and unsparing—a musical act of endurance and courage.
3. Ralph Vaughan Williams – Symphony No. 5 in D major (1943)
Written at the height of WWII, this work is surprisingly serene. After the dark turmoil of his fourth symphony, Vaughan Williams offers something more reflective—perhaps a quiet prayer for peace amid global chaos.
4. Samuel Barber – Adagio for Strings (1936)
By the time of VE Day, Barber’s Adagio had already become one of the most beloved American elegies. Broadcast after FDR’s death in 1945 and at countless memorials since, its aching simplicity speaks to collective grief.
5. Olivier Messiaen – Quartet for the End of Time (1941)
Written and premiered in a German POW camp, Messiaen’s haunting quartet is rooted in his deep Catholic faith and composed for the instruments available: clarinet, violin, cello and piano. Its final movement, “Louange à l’Immortalité de Jésus,” offers a transcendent vision beyond earthly suffering.
6. William Walton – Spitfire Prelude and Fugue (1942)
Originally written for the film The First of the Few, this rousing tribute to the Spitfire fighter plane became an emblem of British wartime resolve. It soars with patriotic energy but is never simplistic—Walton was too good for that.
7. Gabriel Fauré – Requiem in D minor (1887–1890)
Fauré’s Requiem is unlike any other. Rather than thunder and terror, it offers serenity and solace. Its luminous In Paradisum imagines a peaceful passage into eternal rest—an apt and comforting tribute to those lost in war.
8. Henryk Górecki – Symphony No. 3 “Symphony of Sorrowful Songs” (1976)
This hauntingly beautiful symphony centres around themes of motherhood and loss, including a prayer scrawled by a teenage girl on the wall of a Gestapo cell. Slow, spare, and profoundly emotional, it speaks to the personal tragedies behind wartime statistics.
9. John Williams – Hymn to the Fallen (1998)
Composed for Saving Private Ryan, Williams’ choral-and-orchestral lament honours the memory of Allied soldiers with cinematic gravitas. Though written for film, it transcends its origins—solemn, reverent, and universally moving.
10. Edward Elgar – Nimrod from the Enigma Variations (1899)
Elgar’s Nimrod has become one of Britain’s most enduring pieces of ceremonial music—played at the Cenotaph on Remembrance Sunday and at VE Day services for decades. Its quiet nobility and emotional swell are perfectly suited to reflection.
On this 80th anniversary of VE Day, these works offer more than remembrance—they invite us to feel, question, and ultimately hope. Because even after the darkest chapters in history, music reminds us that humanity endures.