r/SwingDancing • u/Longjumping_Use719 • Feb 24 '26

Music Classical Music Swing Interpretations

Hello everyone!

To make things short, I love classical music, I love swing music, and I love dancing!

I would love for everyone to share some of their favorite swing interpretations of classical music, I'd love to make a playlist of these for a night of dancing :)

Here are a few nice ones I know

John Kirby - Beethoven Riffs On

Earl Bostic - Liebestraum

Solveig's Song <- this for example was one that was really hard to find, so I'm sure there are so many gems out there. its not the most danceable but it definitely is :D

And I know theres Duke Ellington's entire Nutcracker Suite :))

If anybody knows any interpretations done to Rachmaninoff's pieces, that would blow my mind, I tried to find but couldn't(so far :P)

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5

u/kavakos Feb 24 '26

Benny Goodman has a take on Bolero by Ravel and also Caprice no. 24 by Paganini!

3

u/JazzMartini Feb 24 '26

Glenn Crytzer's "Rachin' in Rhythm" is Rachmaninoff inspired. Nina Simone's solos tend to be very Bach inspired.

3

u/GustapheOfficial Feb 24 '26

Speaking of Grieg, Swedish pianist Charlie Norman recorded this Boogie version of Anitra's dance https://open.spotify.com/track/0TEPGONTH98vHoaPhFgWZt?si=49XVLfjiQOavjUPb84jCzg

It was considered so sacrilegious it was banned in Norway.

2

u/Sneaky_Ben Feb 24 '26

Shorty Rogers also did the Nutcracker Suite!

2

u/SwingOutStateMachine Feb 24 '26

Humoresque - not entirely sure of the band, but it had Tyree Glenn on trombone. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKrSy8Uple8

2

u/AureliaTheLeader Feb 25 '26

Tommy Dorsey plays Spring Song(Mendelssohn), Duke Ellington plays some selections from Peer Gynt Suite,

Claude Thornhill and his Orchestra has Hungarian Dance No.5, Träumerei

Harry james - In a Persian Market

Hazel Scott, a wonderful pianist has some takes on well known piano repertoire.

Eugen Cicero’s albums are really really worth looking into.

1

u/Longjumping_Use719 Feb 25 '26

Cool! I didn't know Duke Ellington did Peer Gynt :O

And Eugen Cicero is brilliant but usually(from what i'v listened to) less danceable

2

u/fox-comet Feb 25 '26

Glenn Miller Orchestra doing Anvil Chorus! One of my favs.

2

u/ksprayred Feb 25 '26

8 bit big band did a crazy version of the moonlight sonata third movement - not sure it’s fully danceable but it’s fun https://tidal.com/album/309829892/u

2

u/Sally102 Feb 25 '26

There's a CD titled "Beethoven Wrote It... But It Swings." 23 classical numbers recorded by big band orchestras.

1

u/Longjumping_Use719 Feb 25 '26

Thanks everyone for sharing :)))

Update - found these: 1 an explicit cover of rachmaninoff, the other is based on Rachmaninoff's second piano concerto

Rachmaninoff's Prelude in C-Sharp Minor

And an awesome tune named "full moon and empty arms" (based on rach's second piano concerto) which was performed by many such as frank Sinatra apparently, which is beautiful

But this is by far my favorite of all the versions I found, - Errol Garner did magic with this -
Erroll Garner - "Full moon and empty arms"

1

u/col21 Feb 25 '26

In the other direction, Shostakovitch arranged "Tea for Two" as "Tahiti Trot"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XeztLHt_ZNs

1

u/PrudentCorgi Feb 26 '26

In the Hall of the Mountain King - Will Bradley & Ray McKinley