G sharp, A sharp, B, C sharp and D sharp. In the harmonic minor scale the C sharp
becomes C double sharp [D].
In both books of ‘The Well-tempered Clavier’ Bach notated the eighth prelude in E flat
minor and its accompanying fugue in D sharp minor. Apart from this the only well
known piano piece with a key signature in D sharp minor is Scriabin’s Etude opus 8 no.
12.
E major
The key signature of E major has four sharps. Its relative minor is C sharp minor. Its
parallel minor is E minor. The scale of E major consists of the notes E, F sharp, G sharp,
A, B, C sharp, D sharp and E. The key of E major is often associated with contemplative
music. The bells of Big Ben at Westminster are tuned to the key of E major (the notes E,
B, G sharp and F sharp). The following pieces are in the key of E major: Bach’s violin
concerto and violin partita no. 3, Beethoven’s Fidelio Overture, Bruckner’s seventh
symphony, Hummel’s trumpet concerto, Mendelssohn’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’
Overture, Musetta’s Waltz from ‘La Bohème’ by Puccini, the ‘Barber of Seville’ overture
and the ‘William Tell’ overture by Rossini, ‘Spring’ from ‘The Four Seasons’ by Vivaldi,
and the overture from ‘Tannhäuser’ and ‘Siegfried Idyll’ by Wagner.
Some piano pieces in E major:
Beethoven: Sonata opus 109
Mendelssohn: ‘Consolation’ (‘Songs without Words’)
Chopin: Etude opus 10 no. 3 ‘Tristesse’
Liszt: Petrarcan Sonnet no. 103
Franck: Prelude, Aria and Finale
E minor
The key signature of E minor has one sharp. Its relative major is G major. Its tonic
major is E major. The natural minor scale of E minor consists of the notes E, F sharp, G,
A, B, C, D and E. The following pieces are in the key of E minor: Symphonies by
Haydn, Brahms, Mahler, Dvo%ák, Vaughan Williams, Sibelius, Tchaikovsky and
Rachmaninoff; Cello concerto by Elgar.
Some piano pieces in E minor:
Chopin: Piano concerto no. 1 opus 11
Chopin: Prelude opus 28 no. 4 and Nocturne no. 19 (opus posth.)