John Adams: Short Ride in a Fast Machine Context John Adams composed his orchestral work Short Ride in a Fast Machine in 1986. Subtitled a “fanfare for orchestra”, the piece came from a commission from the Great Woods festival. Due to the name of the festival, the original title of Read more…
Christopher Tin: Sogno di Volare Context Award-winning American composer Christopher Tin is perhaps best-known for his film and video game music. His output shows that he is a talented orchestral and choral composer, with his influences spanning both Eastern and Western musics. Tin has won two Grammy Awards for his Read more…
Camille Saint-Saëns: Le Rouet d’Omphale Context Camille Saint-Saëns’ symphonic poem Le Rouet d’Omphale (‘Omphale’s Spinning Wheel) was his first in the genre. Originally composed as a piano work in 1871, Saint-Saëns orchestrated it for orchestra and it received its premiere in Paris 1872. At the start of the score Saint-Saëns Read more…
Edward Gregson: Connotations Context Edward Gregson’s brass band test piece Connotations was initially commissioned for the 1977 National Brass Band Championship Finals held at the Royal Albert Hall. The winners of that year were the Black Dyke Mills Band, who further won the British Open in 1983 with the same Read more…
Phamie Gow: The Milky Way Context Scottish composer Phamie Gow is a multi-instrumentalist who was classically trained at the Royal Scottish Conservatoire. She studied under Ronald Stevenson and regularly undertook commissions, films and theatre work whilst studying. Since graduation, Gow has produced and released nine albums of her own original Read more…
Sergei Rachmaninov: Isle of the Dead Context Inspired by Arnold Böcklin’s painting called Isle of the Dead, Sergei Rachmaninov’s symphonic poem of the same name was completed in 1908 during the composer’s stay in dresden. Rachmaninov saw Böcklin’s painting in 1907 whilst in Paris, but instead of the original painting, Read more…
Michael Nyman: The Heart Asks Pleasure First Context Michael Nyman’s solo piano piece The Heart Asks Pleasure First was composed as part of the 1993 film The Piano. On the album soundtrack Nyman plays all the piano parts himself, with this album being his twentieth album release. The soundtrack was Read more…
Musical Beasts and Where to Find Them Throughout childhood, my parents would find me warbling to songbirds, serenading cats or performing sonatas to chickens. I harboured hopes that a lark might land, Snow White style, on my outstretched hand and perhaps sing me a little something. Twenty-five years later, I Read more…
Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No.1 Context Ludwig van Beethoven grew up hearing and learning about the symphonies of his predecessors such as Mozart and Haydn. When he was a boy, Mozart was penning his famous Salzburg symphonies, and when he was a teenager, Mozart was writing his perennial late symphonies. Read more…
Krzysztof Penderecki: Intermezzo Context Composed in 1973, Krzysztof Penderecki’s Intermezzo is composed for 24 strings. The work bears resemblance to his First Symphony in terms of style. Penderecki builds various stages of narrative throughout Intermezzo which sees each individual part shine through. The Music The timbres and textures that Read more…