Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: The Seasons March: Song of the Lark Context Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky composed his twelve character pieces for piano, The Seasons, at the same time that he was writing his popular ballet, Swan Lake. Each piece in The Seasons depicts a different month of the year in Russia. Read more…
Bedřich Smetana: String Quartet No.1 “From My Life” Context Due to his decline in health in 1874, Bedřich Smetana began to lose his hearing, with him becoming completely deaf by the end of the year. Smetana thus had to forfeit his job as the Principal Conductor of the Provisional Theater Read more…
Frédéric Chopin: Piano Sonata No.3 Context The last of the three piano sonatas that Frédéric Chopin composed has since been regarded as his most technically complex to perform. Composed in 1844 during his mature years, the sonata explores structures that were made popular by his German contemporaries. This weighty four-movement Read more…
Johannes Brahms: Hungarian Dance No.8 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…
Hubert Parry: Elegy for Brahms Context Hubert Parry (1848-1918) was at the height of his fame by the start of the 20th century. He was held a Professorship at Oxford from 1900, as well as being knighted two years previous in 1898. It was during this mature period of Parry’s Read more…
Alexander Scriabin: Piano Concerto Context Composed when he was just 24 years old, Alexander Scriabin’s Piano Concerto was the first of his works to use an orchestra, as well as being the only concerto that he wrote. Although a majority of the concerto was composed in 1896, it wasn’t until Read more…
George Frideric Handel: And Suddenly There Was An Angel Messiah Part I 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…
John Williams: Aunt Marge’s Waltz Context Featuring in the 2004 film Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Aunt Marge’s Waltz is a comical orchestral underscore that accompanies one of the first scenes of the film. When Harry’s horrible aunt Marge visits the Dursely’s home, she goads Harry until he Read more…
Anna Clyne: This Midnight Hour Context Grammy Award nominated composer Anna Clyne was born in 1980 in London. She formally studied music at the University of Edinburgh for her BMus, and then at the Manhattan School of Music for her MA degree in music. She has received tutelage from the Read more…
Luigi Boccherini: Cello Concerto No.9 Context Composed during the late 1760s-early 1770s, Luigi Boccherini’s Ninth Cello Concerto is perhaps his most well-known out of the twelve he composed. A dedicated and talented cellist himself, Boccherini enjoyed writing for the instrument, and was able to perform his work before taking it Read more…