Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel: An Suleika Context Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel is, for many, one of the most celebrated female composers today. Her incredible catalogue of chamber music in particular has pleased many musicians and audiences alike over the last few decades. However, this has not always been the case. Hensel was often limited, Read more…
Paul Mealor: I Am the Gentle Light Context Paul Mealor was born in North Wales, 1975, and as a young child he studied composition with William Mathias. He attended the University of York, and studied under John Pickard and Nicola LeFanu. For fourteen years now, Mealor has taught composition at Read more…
Joseph Haydn: Symphony No.15 Context Often known as the ‘Father of the Symphony’, Joseph Haydn’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…
James Bonney: Chaos Theory Context Composed between 2000-02, James Bonney’s Chaos Theory was commissioned by the University of Nevada Las Vegas Wind Orchestra. Scored for the unusual pairing of electric guitar and wind orchestra, Bonney writes in his programme notes: “One day, seemingly out-of-the-blue, my good friend Eric Whitacre Read more…
Francis Poulenc: Concerto for Organ, Timpani and Strings Context Francis Poulenc was born in Paris in 1899 into a wealthy, musical family. His father owned a pharmaceuticals business, and he had very close ties with Roman Catholicism. His mother came from a very artistic family. As his mother was musical, Poulenc Read more…
Franz Schubert: Death and the Maiden Context Composed in 1824, some four years before his death, Franz Schubert’s Fourteenth String Quartet, also known as Death and the Maiden, remains one of the pillars in Western chamber music. The work was first performed in a private house, and was not published Read more…
George Frideric Handel: Let all the angels of God worship Him Messiah Part II 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 Read more…
Franz Schubert: Trout Quintet Context Composed when he was just 22 years old, Franz Schubert’s Trout Quintet was published in 1829. The piece came by its unique nickname due to the fourth movement being a set of variations on Schubert’s earlier Lied Die Forelle (The Trout). The original title was Read more…
Arturo Márquez: Danzón No. 2 Context Commissioned in 1994 by the National Autonomous University of Mexico, Danzón No. 2 is one of the most frequently performed pieces of Mexican contemporary classical music. Based on the Mexican partnered dance, the ‘danzon’ genre utilises syncopation, offbeats and pauses, where the dancers hold Read more…
Giuseppe Verdi: Libiamo ne’ lieti calici Context Composed between Il trovatore (1853) and Les vêpres siciliennes (1855), La Traviata was part of Giuseppe Verdi’s ‘middle period’ of composition. Previous to La Traviata came 16 other operas including the ever-popular Nabucodonosor (1842) and Rigoletto (1851). Based at the start of the Read more…