Eric Ball: A Kensington Concerto Context Eric Walter John Ball was born in Gloucestershire in October 1903 and was the eldest of 16 siblings. He learned to play the piano and organ and by 1919 Ball started to work in the Salvation Army musical instrument department in London. Ball is Read more…
John Adams: The Chairman Dances Context The Chairman Dances by American composer John Adams is a mesmerising display of programmatic mastery in the post-minimalist movement. Written in 1985, the piece is essentially a by-product of his very famous opera Nixon in China which depicts American President Richard Nixon’s historic visit to Read more…
Ēriks Ešenvalds: Stars Context Ēriks Ešenvalds is a Latvian composer and was born in 1977. He studied at the Latvian Baptist Theological Seminary, before attending the Latvian Academy of Music where he received a Master’s degree in composition. Ešenvalds sung in the State Choir of Latvia until 2011. Since then he has Read more…
Frédéric Chopin: Nocturne Op.15, No.3 Context Chopin’s catalogue of music reaches around 235 compositions, most of which are for solo piano. He was educated in the tradition of Beethoven, Mozart and Clementi, and was also very much influenced by Haydn and Hummel. Chopin was the first to compose ballades and scherzi Read more…
Dorothy Ker: A Gentle Infinity Context Dorothy Ker was born in Caterton, New Zealand in 1965. She completed her BMus and MMus degrees at the University of Auckland, where she studied composition with the likes of John Rimmer and Douglas Mews. In terms of her performance, she is known as a Read more…
Gustav Mahler: Piano Quartet in A minor Context At the young age of sixteen, Mahler was finishing off his first year at Vienna Conservatory. Studying under the great Robert Fuchs, Mahler began dabbling in composing some chamber music. Due to his hot head, Mahler tore up his very successful Piano Read more…
Eric Ball: Resurgam Context Eric Walter John Ball was born in Gloucestershire in October 1903 and was the eldest of 16 siblings. He learned to play the piano and organ and by 1919 Ball started to work in the Salvation Army musical instrument department in London. Ball is known for Read more…
Alexander Glazunov: Saxophone Concerto Context Premiered in Sweden in November 1934, with Sigurd Raschèr as the soloist, Alexander Glazunov’s Saxophone Concerto is a staple in saxophone repertory. It is nearly certain that Glazunov did not hear the concerto in a public performance, as he passed two years later in 1936. Read more…
George Frideric Handel: For We Like Sheep 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 Jennens, with the source Read more…
John Harbison: Symphony No.4 Context American composer John Harbison composed his Fourth Symphony in 2003 after a commission from the Seattle Symphony came through. The work was premiered in Seattle in June 2004 by the Seattle Symphony, with Gerard Schwarz at the helm. Harbison was very detailed in his programme Read more…