G Major

(Ger. G dur). This is a favorite key of CLASSICAL and ROMANTIC composers and their public. Its TONIC, DOMINANT, and SUBDOMINANT are strongly represented on the open strings of the violin family. It suggests a cloudless landscape and warm sunshine. Not as identifiably pastoral as the key of F major, G major is wonderfully suitable for solos on the oboe or the flute, occasionally echoed by a muted horn.

Among the enormous number of symphonic works in G major are:

The Oxford Symphony and Surprise Symphony of Franz Joseph Haydn

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's entrancing Eine kleine Nachtmusik

Ludwig van Beethoven's Fourth Piano Concerto

Antonín Dvořák and Gustav Mahler's Fourth Symphonies

Countless dances for piano are also in G major, including Ignacy Paderewski's celebrated Minuet in G.