Rued Langgaard: Symphony No. 1 “Klippepastoraler” Context Rued Langgaard was born in 1893 to a pair of highly musical parents. His father, Siegfriend Langgaard was a known composer and highly skilled chamber musician, and his mother Emma Langgaard was also a highly skilled pianist. It was his mother who introduced Read more…
Claude Debussy: Rêverie Context Composed in 1890, Rêverie is a peaceful solo work for piano by Claude Debussy. The title refers to a dream-like state, which Debussy addresses head on with this work. Although still very popular today, the work was one of Debussy’s earlier works, meaning that it wasn’t Read more…
Eric Whitacre: i carry your heart The Text Composed in 2016, Eric Whitacre’s choral work i carry your heart has become another popular piece in choral repertoire. Based on the E. E. Cummings (1894-1962) poem of the same name, the text of the song is as follows: i carry your Read more…
César Franck: Violin Sonata in A Context César Franck’s Violin Sonata in A was composed in 1886, and was offered as a wedding present for the violinist Eugène Ysaÿe. The sonata has become one of the most performed violin works in the repertoire,with it still receiving regular performances. After the Read more…
Pablo de Sarasate: Zigeunerweisen Context As one of the most famous violin virtuosos of the 19th century, Pablo de Sarasate was also a keen composer for the instrument too. His perennially popular Zigeunerweisen was composed and published in 1878. Inspired by folk tunes from Rome, Zigeunerweisen has pleased audiences and Read more…
Sergei Prokofiev: Scythian Suite Context Sergei Prokofiev composed his Scythian Suite in 1915. The music was originally composed for the ballet Ala i Lolli – a story that takes place alongside the Scythians. Prokofiev received the commission from Sergei Diaghilev, he actually rejected the score before Prokofiev could even finish Read more…
Elena Kats-Chernin: Roses in a Box Context Born in 1957, Elena Kats-Chernin is one of Australia’s leading composers. She was born in Uzbekistan and immigrated to Australia in the 1970s, where she graduated from the New South Wales Conservatory of Music in 1980. She was awarded the DAAD German exchange Read more…
Gordon Jacob: An Original Suite Context Gordon Percival Septimus Jacob was born in 1895 in South London. He was the youngest of ten siblings, and the seventh male. He was enlisted to go to war at the age of 19, and in 1917 he was taken as a prisoner of Read more…
Claude Debussy: Prélude á l’Aprés-midi d’un faune Context Prélude à l’Après-midi d’un faune is a symphonic poem that was premiered in Paris 1894, conducted by Swiss conductor Gustave Doret. Translated, the title reads “Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun” and it was based on Stéphane Mallarmé’s poem l’Après-midi d’un Read more…
Nikolai Myakovsky: Symphony No.10 Context The aptly named “Father of the Soviet Symphony”, Nikolai Myakovsky, composed 27 symphonies in total. The tenth, composed between 1926-27, Myakovsky was inspired by Alexander Pushkin’s poem The Bronze Horseman. The story tells of a man whose fiancé is drowned by the 1824 River Neva Read more…