While we may never know whether Scriabin’s music possessed the power to end existence as we know it, we can experience his less ambitious magic in Le Poème de l’extase.
Read MoreTransformed by love, the angst-ridden melodies of the opening movements return in the finale to create a joyous celebration of life.
Read MoreWhen Strauss began his tone poem, he deliberately avoided any attempt to convert Nietzche’s philosophy into music. Instead, he selected several episodes from the text and drew upon them to create a powerfully atmospheric sonic journey.
Read MoreAn exploration of music for string quartet spanning 10 centuries.
Read MoreComposed when the composer was only 25, this is a monumental work in five movements (the last two linked) which is infused with Mahlerian themes of destiny and struggle.
Read MoreMahler wasn’t just any composer. He was the ultimate Romantic: an emotional, superstitious genius who found purpose in battling his own demons to bring a glimpse of the divine into our world.
Read MoreRather than following the smooth dramatic arc of a narrative, Bruckner gives the impression of inspecting from various perspectives an enormous edifice already in existence.
Read MoreThis concerto was the most expansive and ambitious audiences had yet encountered.
Read MoreThe overture from The Bartered Bride is a thrilling romp which sets the mood for the comedy (and, arguably, the entire tradition of Czech classical music) to follow.
Read MoreIn Bohemia, the trumpets never call to battle. They always call to the dance.
— Rafael Kubelik
Read MoreFelix Mendelssohn wrote a letter to his mother catching her up on some recent news:
Read MoreYou want to know how it went with my overture for Ruy Blas? Funny story...
The comic plots and infectious melodies of operetta were a natural fit for Johann Strauss, Jr., whose polkas and waltzes had been delighting Viennese audiences for years.
Read MoreHis two piano concerti— opus 21 in F minor and opus 11 in E minor— were the only pieces Chopin ever composed for orchestra.
Read MoreIn his review of the premiere, Charles Kjerulf wrote that the symphony “seems to presage a coming storm of genius.”
Read MoreFew scenes in opera present the conflict between love and duty quite so touchingly as the finale of Die Walküre.
Read MoreIt was with the 24-year-old Richard Strauss’ Don Juan that the tone poem truly came into its own.
Read MoreThe Serenade is a charming and joyful work infused with the profound happiness and optimism pervading Dvořák‘s life at the time.
Read MoreAn equal partnership between soloist and ensemble is on full display in Brahms’ Violin Concerto.
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