Lili Boulanger: Nocturne Context Born on 21st August 1893 in Paris, Lili Boulanger was considered at a young age as a musical child prodigy. This was perhaps not too surprising for the Boulanger family, with her mother and grandmother being singers, her elder sister Nadia being a composer and educator, Read more…
George Frideric Handel: The People that Walked in Darkness Messiah Part I Context George Frideric Handel’s Messiah has remained one of the composer’s most beloved works. Incredibly, Handel completed this 260-page oratorio in just 24 days during the summer of 1741. The scriptural text was compiled by Charles Jennens, with Read more…
Edvard Grieg: Peer Gynt Suite No.2 Context Edvard Grieg met Henrik Ibsen in Italy in 1866, after which Grieg was commissioned to write the music for Peer Gynt. The play premiered in 1876 in Oslo. Ibsen put tight deadlines and complex challenges to Grieg, which he struggled with until the Read more…
John Williams: Summon the Heroes Context John Williams composed Summon the Heroes for the 1996 Summer Olympics. It premiered in the opening ceremony held in Atlanta, Georgia and the piece was dedicated to the trumpet soloist of the Boston Pops Orchestra, Tim Morrison. At the time it was the third Read more…
Helvi Leiviskä: Symphony No.3 Context Helvi Leiviskä studied at the Sibelius Academy during her younger years, and then continued her musical studies in Vienna, before returning back to her homeland. As well as being a composer, Leiviskä was also a librarian and music teacher – both at the Sibelius Academy. Read more…
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: The Seasons January: At the Fireside Context Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky composed his twelve character pieces for piano, The Seasons, at the same time that he was writing his popular ballet, Swan Lake. Each piece in The Seasons depicts a different month of the year in Russia. Although Read more…
Johann Strauss II: Pizzicato Polka Context Composed for his brother, Josef Strauss, in 1869, Johann Strauss II’s Pizzicato Polka was published in 1870. Originally intended for his brother to use in concerts throughout his tour of Imperial Russia, Pizzicato Polka became a crowd-pleaser for Strauss himself, with many of his Read more…
Johannes Brahms: Hungarian Dance No.4 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…
George Frideric Handel: For Behold, Darkness Messiah Part I Context George Frideric Handel’s Messiah has remained one of the composer’s most beloved works. Incredibly, Handel completed this 260-page oratorio in just 24 days during the summer of 1741. The scriptural text was compiled by Charles Jennens, with the source being Read more…
Scott Joplin: Treemonisha Overture Context Scott Joplin is remembered for being one of the most memorable ragtime composers of the turn-of-the-century during his lifetime (1868-1917). After Joplin’s death in 1917, ragtime music came out of the ‘mainstream’ line and started to form into the likes of jazz, big band swing Read more…