Alan Silvestri: I’m Forrest…Forrest Gump Context Composed for the 1994 film Forrest Gump, Alan Silvestri’s score for the film was nominated for ‘Best Original Score’ at the 67th Academy Awards. Alongside the motion picture soundtrack by Silvestri, there is also a soundtrack album released for the film which has popular Read more…
Béla Bartók: Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion Context Composed for nine instruments (2x pianos, timpani, bass drum, cymbals, snare drum, triangle, tam-tam and xylophone), Béla Bartók’s Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion certainly packs a punch. Written in 1937 and premiered in 1938 by Bartók and his second wife Read more…
Johannes Brahms: Hungarian Dance No.9 Context Johannes Brahms completed his 21 Hungarian Dances by 1879, and they still remain one his most popular collections of music. All of the dances are based on traditional Hungarian folk tunes and range from c.1 minute to 6 minutes in duration. Some of the Read more…
Germaine Tailleferre: Sonata for Harp Context French composer Germaine Tailleferre (1892-1983) composed her Sonata for Harp in 1953 for the Spanish harpist Nicanor Zabaleta. The sonata was later revised in 1957 after the premiere. The sonata is praised for its influences of jazz, Spanish Habanera and expressionism. The Music Read more…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Joseph Haydn: Symphony No.3 Context Often known as the ‘Father of the Symphony’, Joseph Haydn’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…
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…