[1] Mozart's Requiem is written primarily in D minor, as are the famous Queen of the Night Aria, "Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen", and the overture and the final scene of Don Giovanni.

The only chamber music compositions in D minor by Ludwig van Beethoven are his stormy Piano Sonata No.

A number of Gabriel Fauré's chamber music works are written in D minor, including the Piano Trio Op.

The tonality of D minor held special significance for Helene and Alban Berg.

Works in the classical music era and later beginning in minor typically end in major, or at least on a major chord (such as a picardy third), but there are a few notable examples of works in D minor ending in much sharper keys.

Franz Liszt's Dante Symphony opens in D minor and ends in B major.

Robbins Landon wrote that "Tonic minor Adagio introductions, especially in the key of D minor, were very popular with English composers of the year 1794", and Joseph Haydn copied this procedure for the D major symphonies he wrote in London.

[4] Film composer Hans Zimmer is one of the most prominent users of the key of D minor in modern times.

Many of his well-known scores were written in the key; notable examples are Gladiator, The Dark Knight, Pirates of the Caribbean and The Da Vinci Code.

His frequent use of the key has been noticed by reviewers such as Christian Clemmensen of Filmtracks.com, who has called the trend "ridiculous stubbornness".