Soweto String Quartet: Sophiatown Context Sophiatown is a composition that appears on the second studio by Soweto String Quartet – Renaissance. Released in 1996, the album has received international success, as well as winning the ‘Best Instrumental Performance’ award at the South African Music Awards in 1997. The album blends Read more…
Franz Schubert: Octet in F Major D.803 Context Commissioned by Ferdinand Troyer in 1824, Franz Schubert’s Octet in F Major is the largest set up of any chamber works written by the composer. Scored for clarinet, bassoon, horn, two violins, viola, cello and double bass, the instrumentation shadows that of Read more…
Ludovico Einaudi: Nightbook Context As part of the album with the same name, Ludovico Einaudi’s Nightbook was composed in 2009. This work, and the album as a whole, highlighted a new direction that Einaudi was taking his music. As well as heavily featuring the piano, lots of these works also Read more…
Franz Schubert: Death and the Maiden Context Composed in 1824, some four years before his death, Franz Schubert’s Fourteenth String Quartet, also known as Death and the Maiden, remains one of the pillars in Western chamber music. The work was first performed in a private house, and was not published Read more…
Franz Schubert: Trout Quintet Context Composed when he was just 22 years old, Franz Schubert’s Trout Quintet was published in 1829. The piece came by its unique nickname due to the fourth movement being a set of variations on Schubert’s earlier Lied Die Forelle (The Trout). The original title was Read more…
Takashi Yoshimatsu: White Landscapes Context Takashi Yoshimatsu was born in 1953 in Tokyo, Japan where he is regarded as one of Japan’s greatest Western classical composers. Interestingly, he did not learn music from a young age, in fact it wasn’t until his teens that he became interested in music at Read more…
Caroline Shaw: Limestone & Felt Context Premiered in the Netherlands in January 2012, Caroline Shaw’s Limestone & Felt is an exciting work for cello and viola. The composer describes the work on her website: “Limestone & Felt presents two kinds of surfaces – essentially hard and soft. These are Read more…
Henry Purcell: Hear My Prayer, O Lord Context Composed between 1681-82, Henry Purcell’s choral anthem Hear My Prayer, O Lord was most likely set for the Chapel Royal. Often assumed to be part of a larger unfinished work due to the blank pages at the end of the autograph score, Read more…
Wendy Mae Chambers: Mass for Trombones Context Wendy Mae Chambers was born in 1953 in the USA. She studied at Barnard College between 1971-1975, where she received a BA in Music. She went on to study at Stony Brook University, where she earned her MA in Composition. Chambers delivers her Read more…
Alexander Krein: Jewish Sketches Context Born in Russia in 1883, Alexander Krein and his family were surrounded by Jewish traditions. His father, Abram Krein, moved from Lithuania to Russia in 1870 and was a well-known violinist. Krein was one of seven brothers, all of whom became musicians due to their Read more…