Stuart Mitchell - Seven Wonders Suite

The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World evoked in music have become a Classic FM Hall of Fame favourite.

The best known work by Scottish pianist and composer Stuart Mitchell was written in 2001.

Each of its movements is based on the seven wonders of the ancient world – the Hanging Gardens of Babylon; the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus; the Colossus of Rhodes; the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus; the Statue of Zeus at Olympia; the Lighthouse at Alexandria; and the Great Pyramid at Giza. Mitchell deploys all the power and colour of the orchestra to evoke a picture in music of each of these incredible structures.

Combining rich melodies, expressive vocal parts, and a few great tunes thrown in for good measure, it's hard to believe this atmospheric suite wasn't written for a film; as it happens, Mitchell was inspired by his background in keyboard and synthesiser music before branching out into more orchestral pieces.

The Seven Wonders Suite has placed Mitchell in the Classic FM Hall of Fame Top 300 every year since 2005, with the exception of 2013.