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…
Johann Joachim Quantz: Flute Concerto No. 129 Context Born in Oberscheden, Germany in 1697, Johann Joachim Quantz was a prolific flautist, Baroque music composer and educator. It wasn’t until his early teens when Quantz began to study music formally, first with his uncle, and then with organist Johann Friedrich Kiesewetter. Read more…
Alexandra Pakhmutova: Trumpet Concerto Context Alexandra Pakhmutova was born in 1929 in Russia. She began learning the piano at a very young age and she showed much potential. World War II interrupted her studies, and in 1942 the Pakhmutova family were evacuated to Kazakstan. When the family moved back to Beketovka, Read more…
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Horn Concerto No.4 Context Composed for virtuoso horn player Joseph Leutgeb, Mozart’s Fourth Horn Concerto is one his most colourful. So colourful that Mozart actually penned the score in red, green, blue and black ink! There are two potential reasons for the extra colour. The first is Read more…
Joseph Haydn: Trumpet Concerto Context Composed in 1796, Joseph Haydn’s ever-popular Trumpet Concerto in Eb Major was his last major orchestral work. At this point in his life, Haydn had just moved back to Vienna, and so the first performance of the concerto was on 28th March 1800 at 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…
Francis Poulenc: Concerto for Organ, Timpani and Strings Context Francis Poulenc was born in Paris in 1899 into a wealthy, musical family. His father owned a pharmaceuticals business, and he had very close ties with Roman Catholicism. His mother came from a very artistic family. As his mother was musical, Poulenc Read more…
Amy Beach: Piano Concerto in C# Minor Context Amy Beach was born in 1867 in New Hampshire. It has been extensively documented that Beach was a child prodigy when it came to music performance. Records say that she was able to sing forty songs by the time she was one. Read more…
Richard Addinsell: Warsaw Concerto Context Richard Addinsell is now most remembered for his work on film music. He wrote music for films such as Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939), Scrooge (1940) and Dangerous Moonlight (1941). He led the way in the popularity of ‘tabloid concertos’ – classical compositions for solo instruments Read more…
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 well as learning the piano. By 1900, he and his family had moved to Madrid, Read more…