Richard Strauss: Serenade for Winds Context Richard Strauss composed his Serenade for Winds in Munich in 1882 at age 17. The world premiere of the work took place in Dresden on 27th November 1882. An extraordinary teenager, the sheer charm and skill that exudes his Serenade for Winds makes it Read more…
Philip Sparke: A Yorkshire Overture Context Born in 1951 in London, Philip Sparked studied composition, trumpet performance and piano performance at the Royal College of Music. Due to his affiliation with brass, Sparke is known for his many popular works for both brass bands and wind orchestras. Sparke has won Read more…
Ralph Vaughan Williams: The Lark Ascending Context Known now as one of the most beloved 20th Century British composers, Ralph Vaughan Williams’ was focused on creating a distinctive ‘English music sound’. This was certainly achieved by the composer, with many of his works being described as ‘quintessentially British’. A distinctive Read more…
John Rutter: Blow, Blow, Thou Winter Wind Context John Rutter’s choral work Blow, Blow Thou Winter Wind is a setting of a song from the second act of William Shakespeare’s As You Like It. Originally published as part of Rutter’s choral cycle When Icicles Hang, this particular work is more Read more…
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Sinfonia Concertante in Eb Major Context Following on from the popular Baroque Concerto Grosso form, the Classical period’s successor came in the form of the Sinfonia Concertante. A form that celebrates clear soloistic roles from several soloists, creating thrilling double, triple and even quadruple concertos. Particularly favoured Read more…
Élisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre: Sonata No. 2 for Violin and Continuo Context Élisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre was born in Paris, 1665. She was born into a family of musicians and she was deemed a child prodigy when she began learning to play the harpsichord at a young age. Read more…
Arvo Pärt: Spiegel im Spiegel Context Arvo Pärt was born in Paide, Estonia in 1935. Surrounded by music from a young age, it wasn’t until 1954, when Pärt studied at the Tallinn Music Middle School. However, after less than a year at the school, Pärt abandoned his studies to join Read more…
Julia Gomelskaya: Memento Vitae Context Julia Gomelskaya was born on March 11, 1964 in Ukraine. She studied composition at the Simpheropol Tchaikovsky Musical College in 1983. Also a talented pianist, Gomelskaya studied under Oleksandr Krasotov. After graduating from the college, Gomelskaya went on to study composition at the Ukraine Odessa National A.V. Nezhdanova Music Read more…
Morton Feldman: For Aaron Copland Context Morton Feldman was born in 1926 into a Russian-Jewish family. From a young age he began to learn piano where he found his love for music and composition. Feldman learnt with and admired a range of different German-modernist composers such as Anton Webern and Read more…
Paul Lovatt-Cooper: Where Eagles Sing Context Paul Lovatt-Cooper was born in Alderney, 1976. His parents were both Officers in the Salvation Army, so Lovatt-Cooper was quickly immersed in the family tradition of brass banding. Whilst at school, Lovatt-Cooper began learning the drums, and after he started proving his talents for Read more…