George Gershwin: Lullaby for String Quartet Context Composed in 1919 when George Gershwin was still a student, Lullaby for String Quartet was one of the young composer’s first ‘serious’ works. As with many of Gershwin’s works, Lullaby was conceived at the piano and fully harmonised before Gershwin arranged it for Read more…
Joseph Haydn: Symphony No.5 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…
Takashi Yoshimatsu: Saxophone Concerto ‘Cyber Bird’ Context Composed in 1994 for virtuoso saxophonist, Nobuya Sugawa, Takashi Yoshimatu’s Saxophone Concerto remains one of his most devilishly difficult works. Described as a ‘triple concerto’, Yoshimatsu’s concerto is subtitled Cyber Bird, which refers to, in the composer’s words, “an imaginary bird in the Read more…
Peter Warlock: Capriol Suite Context Composed in 1926, Peter Warlock’s Capriol Suite is one of his most popular orchestral works. Although originally composed as a piano duet, Warlock soon orchestrated the suite for both a string orchestra and a full orchestra set up. Based on a manual of Renaissance dances, Read more…
Ernst Toch: Geographical Fugue Context Ernst Toch’s spoken chorus work Geographical Fugue has remained one of his most inspired pieces of music. Toch’s legacy lies in the 1920s when he lived in Berlin and began exploring the idea of using a spoken chorus. He composed a number of works to Read more…
George Frideric Handel: Then Shall the Eyes of the Blind Be Open’d 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 Read more…
Ruth Gipps: Symphony No.4 Context By the time of her death in 1999, Ruth Gipps had an incredible oeuvre of music to represent her career throughout the 20th century. A pupil of Gordon Jacob, Arthur Alexander and Ralph Vaughan Williams whilst at the Royal College of Music, Gipps multitasked as Read more…
Johannes Brahms: Hungarian Dance No.10 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…
William Grant Still: Lyric Quartet Context Known for being one of the forefront African-American composers of the 20th century, William Grant Still’s legacy lives on today. Still was the first American composer to have an opera produced by the New York City Opera, the first African-American composer to conduct a Read more…
Ronald Binge: Miss Melanie Context Composed in 1956, Miss Melanie is said to be a lady from Ronald Binge’s imagination. A fun-loving and joyful character, Miss Melanie is another example of Binge’s token ‘Light British’ style from the 20th century. This descriptive short piece tells of some of the activities Read more…