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Alex Burns

Blogs

Frédéric Chopin ‘Nocturne in Eb Major, Op.9, No.2’: The Famous Nocturne

Frédéric Chopin: Nocturne in Eb Major, Op.9, No.2 Context Frédéric Chopin composed the three nocturnes of Opus. 9 in 1832 and dedicated them to Madame Marie Pleyel. Although all three nocturnes are popular in solo piano repertory, number two is considered to be Chopin’s most famous and most performed work. Read more…

By Alex Burns, 9 hours ago
Blogs

Modest Mussorgsky ‘Pictures at an Exhibition’: A Grand Musical Illustration

Modest Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition Context Modest Mussorgsky was born in 1839 in Karevo (south of Saint Petersburg). His family owned lots of land, which made them incredibly wealthy. His mother was a self-taught pianist, who began teaching him the piano at age 6. Mussorgsky thrived learning the piano, and he soon Read more…

By Alex Burns, 9 hours9 hours ago
Blogs

George Walker ‘Concerto for Trombone’: Sliding to Success

George Walker: Concerto for Trombone Context Composed in 1957, George Walker’s Trombone Concerto was one of the earliest of its kind for the modern trombone. The premiere took place in 1957 at a concert conducted by American composer, Howard Hanson. The concerto shows off Walker’s wide-range of inspirations, from Beethoven Read more…

By Alex Burns, 9 hours ago
Blogs

Max Reger ‘Cello Sonata No.1’: Heroic Romanticism

Max Reger: Cello Sonata No.1 Context German composer Max Reger composed his First Cello Sonata in 1892 whilst in Wiesbaden. The piece was dedicated to cellist Oskar Brückner who also premiered the work a year later in 1893 in Wiesbaden, with the composer at the piano. The sonata has been Read more…

By Alex Burns, 9 hours ago
Blogs

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov ‘Serbian Fantasy’: Folk Dances

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov: Serbian Fantasy Context Composed and premiered in 1867, Nikolai Rimsly-Korsakov’s Serbian Fantasy was pursued after the idea came from peer, Mily Balakirev. Balakirev had requested a concert piece of pan-Slavonic music for a themed concert he had planned in 1867. Rimsky-Korsakov was asked to write this work late Read more…

By Alex Burns, 9 hours ago
Blogs

Vítězslav Novák ‘Slovak Suite’: Moravian Memories

Vítězslav Novák: Slovak Suite Context  Composed in 1903 after Czech composer, Vítězslav Novák, visited bordering country Moravia in the early 1900s. Inspired by the Slovak folk tunes and the Moravian countryside, Novák began work on his orchestral suite. The music takes the listener through the lens of Novák’s travels as Read more…

By Alex Burns, 10 hours ago
Blogs

Joseph Haydn ‘Symphony No.3’: Thrilling Third

Joseph Haydn: Symphony No.3 Context Often known as the ‘Father of the Symphony’, Joseph Hadyn’s legacy as a symphonist stays strong today. Haydn composed 104 symphonies over the course of his long and fruitful life, and we at Classicalexburns want to help you discover the stories and music behind all Read more…

By Alex Burns, 10 hours ago
Blogs

Frédéric Chopin ‘Fantasie-Impromptu’: Powerful Polyrhythms

Frédéric Chopin: Fantasie-Impromptu Context Composed in 1834, but not published until after Frédéric Chopin’s death in 1855, Fantasie-Impromptu has remained one of the composer’s most popular works. It is not explicitly known why Chopin did not want any of his works to be posthumously published, especially with the popularity of Read more…

By Alex Burns, 10 hours ago
Blogs

Georg Philipp Telemann: ‘Wassermusik Suite’: Nautical Deities

Georg Philipp Telemann: Wassermusik Suite Context Georg Philipp Telemann composed his Wassermusik suite (full title Hamburger Ebb’ und Fluth) c. 1722 to celebrate the centennial anniversary of the Hamburg Admiralty. The suite, which is split into 10 movements, represents Hamburg’s geographical location and uses water deities to represent Telemann’s desired Read more…

By Alex Burns, 3 days2 days ago
Blogs

Tera de Marez Oyens ‘String Quartet Contrafactus’: Quite the Quartet

Tera de Marez Oyens: String Quartet Contrafactus Context Born in August 1932, Tera de Marez Oyens was a talented Dutch pianist composer who studied at the Amsterdam Conservatoire under Jan Odé. Oyens wrote a catalogue of over 200 works which mainly focused on song cycles and chamber music. However, during Read more…

By Alex Burns, 6 days ago

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Recent Posts
  • Frédéric Chopin ‘Nocturne in Eb Major, Op.9, No.2’: The Famous Nocturne
  • Modest Mussorgsky ‘Pictures at an Exhibition’: A Grand Musical Illustration
  • George Walker ‘Concerto for Trombone’: Sliding to Success
  • Max Reger ‘Cello Sonata No.1’: Heroic Romanticism
  • Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov ‘Serbian Fantasy’: Folk Dances

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