Joseph Haydn: Symphony No.8 Le Soir Context Often known as the ‘Father of the Symphony’, Joseph Hadyn’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 Read more…
Patrick Doyle: Hogwarts’ Hymn Context With the first three Harry Potter films accompanied by music from American composer John Williams, the fourth instalment, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, saw music by Scottish film composer Patrick Doyle. Doyle only composed for this one film in the Harry Potter franchise, Read more…
Charles Villiers Stanford: Clarinet Concerto Context Sir Charles Villiers Stanford (1852-1924) remains one of Ireland’s most popular composers. After studying at the University of Cambridge, Stanford went to Leipzig in Germany to pursue his musical studies. In 1882, when Stanford was just 29 years old, he became one of the Read more…
Johannes Brahms: Hungarian Dance No.13 Context Johannes Brahms completed his 21 Hungarian Dances by 1879, and they still remain one his most popular collections of music. All of the dances are based on traditional Hungarian folk tunes and range from c.1 minute to 6 minutes in duration. Some of the Read more…
Gaziza Zhubanova: String Quartet No.1 Context Remembered as the first successful Kazakh female composer, Gaziza Zhubanova (1928-1993) knew from a young age that she wanted to study music. In 1945, Zhubanova was offered a place to study at the Gnessin State Musical College in Moscow, and then later she studied Read more…
Richard Strauss: Metamorphosen Context Composed as the Second World War was also coming to a close, Richard Strauss’ Metamorphosen is an intriguing study for 23 solo strings. Commissioned by the founder and then-director of the Basler Kammerorchester, Paul Sacher, Metamorphosen was premiered by the Collegium Musicum Zürich in January 1946. Read more…
George Antheil: McKonkey’s Ferry Context Composed in 1948, George Antheil’s concert overture, McKonkey’s Ferry was inspired by Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze’s famous oil painting of George Washington crossing the Delaware River on Christmas Day, 1776. The concert piece was premiered by the National Symphony Orchestra in December 1948. The Music Read more…
George Frideric Handel: Surely, He Hath Borne Our Griefs 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 Read more…
Eric Ball: The Kingdom Triumphant 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…
Charles Villiers Stanford: Symphony No.1 Context Sir Charles Villiers Stanford (1852-1924) remains one of Ireland’s most popular composers. After studying at the University of Cambridge, Stanford went to Leipzig in Germany to pursue his musical studies. In 1882, when Stanford was just 29 years old, he became one of the Read more…