Manuel de Falla: Nights in the Gardens on Spain Biography & Context Manuel de Falla was born in 1876, in the southern Spanish city of Cádiz. He studied harmony and counterpoint from a young age, as Read more…
Elizabeth Maconchy: Nocturne for Orchestra Context Elizabeth Maconchy was born to Irish parents in Hertfordshire, 1907. After her birth, the family moved back to rural Ireland, where Maconchy began taking piano lessons. She started to compose her Read more…
Gordon Jacob: An Original Suite Context Gordon Percival Septimus Jacob was born in 1895 in South London. He was the youngest of ten siblings, and the seventh male. He was enlisted to go to war at Read more…
Modest Mussorgsky: Dawn on the Moscow River Context Intended to be the prelude for Mussorgsky’s last opera, Khovanschina, the work was to left unfinished after the composer’s death in 1881. As the opera begins, the curtain is raised Read more…
Engelbert Humperdinck: Hansel and Gretel Overture Context Engelbert Humperdinck was born in Germany in 1854. He began taking piano lessons at a very young age, and by age seven he had already composed his first work. Read more…
Joan Tower: Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman Context Joan Tower was born in New Rochelle, New York in 1938. When Tower was nine, her family moved to Bolivia, which she describes as an integral part of Read more…
Julius Fučík: Entrance of the Gladiators Context Julius Fučík was born in Prague in 1872, and this was a time where Prague was a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Differently to many other composers of the time, Fučík began Read more…
Alexander Arutunian: Trumpet Concerto Context Born in Yerevan, Alexander Arutunian (1920-2012) was soon recognised as an accomplished pianist and composer, and subsequently, he studied at the Conservatory of Yerevan. After deciding that a career as a composer Read more…
Joan Trimble: The Green Bough Context Joan Trimble was born in 1915 in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh. She, from a young age, learnt to play the piano, read music and then compose her own music. She studied Read more…
Alfred Reed: Second Suite for Band (Latino Mexicana) Context Alfred Reed was born in 1921 in New York. He has composed lots of music for a variety of ensembles including concert and wind bands, symphonic orchestras and choral Read more…