Joseph Haydn: Symphony No.14 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…
Howard Shore: Concerning Hobbits Context Concerning Hobbits is a short concert suite of music taken from The Fellowship of the Ring soundtrack. Shore uses a range of leitmotifs and themes heard in earlier scenes to put together this light and peaceful suite. This piece has become at one with the Read more…
Howard Blake: Walking in the Air Context Voted as one of the most popular Christmas songs ever written, Howard Blake’s Walking in the Air can be found in the pivotal travelling scene of the 1982 animated film The Snowman. The original was written for a choirboy with a pre-broken voice. Read more…
John Williams: Somewhere in My Memory Context John Williams wrote the score for the 1990 film Home Alone, which came after a number of successful film soundtracks from the previous decade. The score was nominated for the Academy Award for the Best Original Score, with the theme song, Somewhere in Read more…
Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross: Epiphany Context Featured in the 2020 Disney Pixar film, Soul, Reznor and Ross’ Epiphany plays at a pivotal point within the film. As the lead character reminisces at all the things he may have taken for granted, he soon realises that you can follow your Read more…
George Frideric Handel: Unto which of the angels said he at any time 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 Read more…
Kaija Saariaho: Laterna Magica Context Kaija Saariaho was born on October 14th, 1952 in Helsinki. Her serious studies within music began with her enrolling into the Sibelius Academy. Her contemporaries include the likes of Paavo Heininen and Magnus Lindberg. She continued studying under Ferneyhough and Huber, whilst also attending summer Read more…
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: March of the Toy Soldiers Context Tchaikovsky’s iconic March of the Toy Soldiers is a piece of orchestral music that features in the first act of his ever-loved festive ballet The Nutcracker. The ballet premiered at Christmastime in 1892, and has since been one of the most Read more…
Antonín Dvořák: Symphony No.9 (‘From the New World’) Context Dvořák composed his last, and indeed most internationally popular, symphony in his first year of living in the United States of America. Dvořák’s career, financial situation and international recognition had all ideally lined up when he was commissioned to compose the Read more…
Takashi Yoshimatsu: White Landscapes Context Takashi Yoshimatsu was born in 1953 in Tokyo, Japan where he is regarded as one of Japan’s greatest Western classical composers. Interestingly, he did not learn music from a young age, in fact it wasn’t until his teens that he became interested in music at Read more…