Although it wouldn’t be completed until 1957, his new symphony honoring the heroes of the Revolution quickly became the composer’s greatest popular success since his 1941 Leningrad Symphony, earning him the Lenin Prize in 1958.
Read MoreTransformed by love, the angst-ridden melodies of the opening movements return in the finale to create a joyous celebration of life.
Read MoreClassical music is filled with pieces that depict stories and historical events— fairy tales (The Sorcerer’s Apprentice), autobiography (Ein Heldenleben), even hallucinations (Symphonie fantastique) and battles (the 1812 Overture). But only one has been composed while under fire from the very artillery it portrayed.
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 MoreThe Sinfonietta La Jolla was written for the Musical Arts Society of La Jolla, which requested that he write something tuneful and accessible. Martinů, who once commented that “music must be beautiful, or it wouldn’t be worth the effort,” gladly acquiesced to this request.
Read MoreIn Bohemia, the trumpets never call to battle. They always call to the dance.
— Rafael Kubelik
Read MoreMozart’s 31st symphony was a colorful three-movement work tailored for Parisian audiences.
Read MoreIn his review of the premiere, Charles Kjerulf wrote that the symphony “seems to presage a coming storm of genius.”
Read MoreMozart’s final three symphonies are the composer’s longest and feature a level of structural complexity and experimentation unusual in contemporary works.
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