Manuel de Falla: Nights in the Gardens on Spain Biography & Context Manuel de Falla was born in 1876, in the southern Spanish city of Cádiz. He studied harmony and counterpoint from a young age, as Read more…
Alexander Arutunian: Trumpet Concerto Context Born in Yerevan, Alexander Arutunian (1920-2012) was soon recognised as an accomplished pianist and composer, and subsequently, he studied at the Conservatory of Yerevan. After deciding that a career as a composer Read more…
Sergei Rachmaninov: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini (Variation 18) Sergei Rachmaninov’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini is a concertante work (a large-scale work which uses both the symphonic and concerto forms throughout). It was composed in 1934, Read more…
John Rutter: The Beatles Concerto Although largely known for his choral and vocal works, John Rutter has also composed an interesting collection of orchestral works. His three movement concerto for two pianos: The Beatles Concerto, is based on Read more…
Antonio Vivaldi: Le quattro stagioni 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 Read more…
Felix Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto in E minor Felix Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E minor is a thrilling three-movement work that has become a staple piece for violinists all around the world. In the midst of the Read more…
Béla Bartók – Concerto for Orchestra Béla Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra is a five-movement piece of orchestral music that was written in 1943. Born in Hungary in 1881, Bartók is another composer who showed potential from a Read more…
Dearest readers, I apologise for the lack of blogs in the past month, I am still trying to find a golden balance with my work load. I feel like I am nearly there now, so Read more…
Dearest readers, here we are at Day ‘Q’ of my Alphabet Challenge! A notoriously difficult letter in the alphabet to work with, we are lucky to have a few composers with names beginning with Q. Read more…
Dearest classical music fans, thank you for your continued support and consistent views it has put classicalexburns on the map after a recent ranking of 5th ‘Best Music Blog’ by ScoreBig! After nearly a month Read more…