Charles Ives: The Unanswered Question Conext Charles Ives was born in Connecticut, USA in 1874, and his father was a USA Army bandleader. Due to this day-to-day influence of music, Ives grew up surrounded by music. Ives undertook music lessons from a young age, and his tutors were encouraging for Ives Read more…
Camille Saint-Saëns: Carnival of the Animals Context Camille Saint-Saëns wrote Carnival of the Animals whilst in a small Austrian village, and he always referred to it as ‘mais c’est si amusant!’ (‘Such fun!’). Interestingly, this piece was never published in Saint-Saëns’ lifetime as he didn’t want it to taint his ‘serious composer’ image, and Read more…
Howard Hanson: Symphony No. 6 Context Howard Hanson (1896-1981) was a popular American composer and conductor. Over his long career he won numerous prizes including a Pulitzer Prize in 1944 for his Fourth Symphony and the George Foster Peabody Award for ‘Outstanding Entertainment in Music in 1946. Hanson’s music is Read more…
Eric Coates: By The Sleepy Lagoon Context Known for being one of the forefront light music composers in the 20th Century, Eric Coates is fondly remembered for his romantic waltzes, powerful marches, and catchy melodies. Composed in 1930, By The Sleepy Lagoon is a short light orchestral work that accentuates Read more…
Dmitri Shostakovich: String Quartet No.8 Context Out of all fourteen string quartets that Dmitri Shostakovich composed, the eighth is the only to be composed outside of his homeland of Russia. Composed in 1960 whilst Shostakovich was visiting the former Communist State of East Germany, the eighth string quartet has also Read more…
Antonio Vivaldi: The Four Seasons Context Antonio Vivaldi composed his ever-popular collection of violin concerti The Four Seasons around the year 1721. The conception of what we can now deduce as an early form of programme music was revolutionary in the Baroque period. It has been speculated that the music from each Read more…
Ernest Bloch: Five Sketches in Sepia Context Born in Geneva in 1880, Ernest Bloch was surrounded by a non-musical family. However, by age ten Bloch started to take an interest in playing the violin and learning music. Bloch’s family were Jewish, and a lot of his music reflects the characteristics of Read more…
Richard Peaslee: Nightsongs Context Richard Peaslee was born in New York City in 1930. He studied composition at Yale University, and began to specialise in big band music. With Peaslee’s breadth of knowledge, his style has been described as eclectic due to his use of jazz, folk, electronic and instrumental Read more…
Gioachino Rossini: William Tell Overture Context Born in February 1792 into a family of musicians in Pesaro, Italy, Gioachino Rossini began to learn the piano from age eight. Rossini became a multi-instrumentalist at a young age, being competent at piano, cello and horn by his late teens. Rossini is most Read more…
Ennio Morricone: A Fistful of Dollars Titles Context The 1964 Spaghetti Western, A Fistful of Dollars saw a young Clint Eastwood star in his first leading role. Ennio Morricone was chosen to compose the music for the film based on his other similar works for Spaghetti Western films. The Main Read more…