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 MoreWhile 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 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 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 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 MoreThe text of Das neugeborne Kindelein celebrates the arrival of the Christ Child and revels in the joy of starting a new year with confirmation of God’s protection against enemies and suffering.
Read MoreWhile the oratorio had a long history throughout Europe, it was in England that the form took root and flourished. Intended by the devout Anglican Charles Jennens as a response to deism, The Messiah is a collection of scriptures structured to present the foundation of Christian theology.
Read MoreWhen Corelli published a set of 12 “concerti grossi” in 1714 as his Opus 6, he was the first significant composer to use the term.
Read MoreAs Christmas approached, these bands of itinerant musicians descended on Rome from the Abruzzi mountains in their distinctive large brown coats and pointed hats, playing zampogne (bagpipes) and pifferi (a type of folk oboe).
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 MoreMozart may not have been the first to write for clarinet, but no composer did more to establish the instrument.
Read MoreWhat do you do when your students openly question your curriculum? If you’re Ernest Bloch, you put your money where your mouth is.
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 MoreFew societies are prouder of their music than the Czechs. This small population – there are only 10 million native speakers in the world – has had an outsized influence on the history of classical music.
Read MoreThis is a lyrical piece in which moments of agitation or anxiety on the part of the soloist or orchestra are always coaxed back into joy by the other musicians.
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
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