Dmitri Shostakovich: String Quartet No.8 Context Out of all fourteen string quartets that Dmitri Shostakovich composed, the eighth is the only to be composed outside of his homeland of Russia. Composed in 1960 whilst Shostakovich was visiting the former Communist State of East Germany, the eighth string quartet has also Read more…
Antonio Vivaldi: The Four Seasons Context Antonio Vivaldi composed his ever-popular collection of violin concerti The Four Seasons around the year 1721. The conception of what we can now deduce as an early form of programme music was revolutionary in the Baroque period. It has been speculated that the music from each Read more…
Richard Peaslee: Nightsongs Context Richard Peaslee was born in New York City in 1930. He studied composition at Yale University, and began to specialise in big band music. With Peaslee’s breadth of knowledge, his style has been described as eclectic due to his use of jazz, folk, electronic and instrumental Read more…
Pauline Oliveros: A Love Song Context Born in May 1932 in Texas, Pauline Oliveros began participating in music at a very young age. In the 1940s, she received her mother’s accordion, as they were a fairly popular instrument in America at the time. Whilst at school she also learned to Read more…
Ennio Morricone: Gabriel’s Oboe Context Ennio Morricone’s work Gabriel’s Oboe is chiefly known for being the main theme of the 1986 film The Mission. The film is a period drama about the experiences of a Jesuit missionary in South America. The film starred big names such as Robert De Niro, Read more…
Arnold Schoenberg: String Quartet No. 2 Context Born into a lower-middle class Jewish family in Vienna in 1874, Schoenberg was a mostly self-taught composer. He learnt counterpoint with composer and pedagogue, Alexander Von Zemlinsky and was also taken under the wing by Gustav Mahler. Schoenberg is perhaps most famous for Read more…
Alexander Alyabyev: Piano Trio in A minor Context Although not published until over 100 years after his death in 1950, Alexander Alyabyev’s highly Romantic Piano Trio in A minor played an important role in the development of the genre. Cast into three contrasting movements, this intricate chamber work is representative Read more…
August Klughardt: Wind Quintet Context Composed in 1898, August Klughardt’s Wind Quintet is one of his most timeless works. Inspired somewhat by the stylings of Franz Liszt, Richard Wagner and Robert Schumann, Klughardt’s music is conservative for the time, with his efforts going mostly into writing chamber music and symphonies. Read more…
Jennifer Higdon: American Canvas Context Inspired by three very different artists, Jennifer Higdon’s American Canvas was borne from a commission from the Dolce Suono Ensemble. In a later interview with WRTI Hidon explains her choices: “Mimi Stillman, who runs Dolce Suono, said she wanted something connected to either poetry Read more…
Judith Lang Zaimont: Piano Trio No.1 ‘Russian Summer’ Context Commissioned for the Tenth Anniversary of the Skaneateles Festival in 1989, Judith Lang Zaimont’s First Piano Trio is a gripping exploration of sound, timbre and texture. Often inspired by the laws of impressionism, Zaimont’s First Piano Trio displays her wonderful sense Read more…