The Brandenburg Concertos give us a glimpse into the evolution of modern orchestral composition.
Read MoreThe Serenade is a charming and joyful work infused with the profound happiness and optimism pervading Dvořák‘s life at the time.
Read MoreThe tragedies and triumphs of war have inspired composers to create some of their greatest work. In World War II, governments realized that artists could be more useful to the war effort in their trained discipline than as conscripted soldiers, and composers were encouraged to produce work supporting national morale and the education of the public.
Read MoreThe Concerto for Organ, Timpani, and Strings showcases a side of Poulenc’s personality that had rarely surfaced in prior works. The wit and humor are still present, to be sure, but there is a sincerity that sets it apart.
Read MoreWhile Barber is most often thought of as being a post-romantic composer, Capricorn shows him exploring the music of Bach and the neoclassical style of Stravinsky.
Read MoreKhachaturian’s music is characterized most notably by the influence of folk music. Born to an ethnic Armenian family in Georgia, he grew up steeped in the region’s culture.
Read MoreMozart’s final three symphonies are the composer’s longest and feature a level of structural complexity and experimentation unusual in contemporary works.
Read MoreThe Duke of Guînes, whom Mozart found to be an excellent flutist, commissioned Mozart to compose a concerto he could perform with his daughter, a harpist. The result was a charming and joyous work for what was, at the time, an unusual instrumental combination.
Read MoreWanting to protest the Nazi ideology he saw infecting his native land, Hindemith conceived an opera based on the German Peasants’ War.
Read MoreThough originally intended (as was everything else for the coronation) for Edward VIII, the royal family quickly embraced the piece, and it has become a standard anthem at royal occasions.
Read MoreAn equal partnership between soloist and ensemble is on full display in Brahms’ Violin Concerto.
Read MoreIn a 1906 letter, Ravel mentioned that he was thinking of “a grand waltz, a sort of homage to the memory of the great Strauss, not Richard, the other, Johann.”
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