Bb minor · Camelot 3A · 139 BPM
Adagio for Strings
by Tiësto
- 139
- BPM
- Bb minor
- Key
- 3A
- Camelot
- 49
- Danceability
- 1
- Acousticness
Samuel Barber's classical composition gave Dutch DJ Tiësto the raw material for "Adagio for Strings", a trance remake that reshaped the original melody. Barber's piece was written in 34 time, and Tiësto's version adapted it into 44 time, translating the orchestral work into electronic form.
The track first appeared as a single in January 2005, the fourth release from the album Just Be. Tiësto had already begun using it as the opening piece for a filmed concert in the Netherlands, and he later explained in an interview cited by Rolling Stone Australia that he wanted a grand opening with a track people already know, presented in a different stylistic form. Maxi-singles issued across Australia, New Zealand, Sweden, the United States, Germany and the United Kingdom carried remixes by Danjo & Styles, Fred Baker and Phynn alongside the radio edit and the original album version.
A review on DeBaser noted that the title commonly evokes the composition's use in Oliver Stone's film Platoon, which has become part of its broader public identity. EDM House Network described the work as an example of Tiësto's genre-defying approach to electronic music, and We Rave You called it his most famous release. In 2013, Mixmag readers voted it the second greatest dance track of all time.
Adagio for Strings runs at 139 BPM, the tempo of techno, trance and big-room dance. In classical terms it sits in allegro territory. A bar of 4/4 lasts 1.73 seconds, and a quarter-note delay is 432 ms. It is in Bb minor, Camelot 3A, which shares its notes with Db major and mixes cleanly with Eb minor and F minor.
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