Manuel de Falla: Nights in the Gardens on Spain 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, where Falla 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…
Marianna Bottini: Clarinet Concerto Context One of the forefront voices in Italian classical music in the 19th century, Marianna Bottini (1802-58) was one of the few women who had her music performed at the St Cecilia festival. Bottini composed a number of works, most of which are for orchestra. Little Read more…
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov: Trombone Concerto Context Composed for Solo Trombone and Military Band, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s work was composed in 1877 for fellow marine officer Leonov. The concerto was premiered in March 1878 at Kronstadt, with the international premiere not taking place until the summer of 1952 in New York City. There Read more…
Carl Nielsen: Clarinet Concerto Context Composed in 1928 for Danish clarinettist, Aage Oxenvad, Nielsen’s Clarinet Concerto is a smorgasbord of different moods. Written at a difficult point in Nielsen’s life, because of his career and his health, the Clarinet Concerto features some darker undertones. Critics and musicologists alike have tried Read more…
Béla Bartók – Concerto for Orchestra Context 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 young age. Able to distinguish dance themes from a young age, his mother started Read more…
Alexander Glazunov: Saxophone Concerto Context Premiered in Sweden in November 1934, with Sigurd Raschèr as the soloist, Alexander Glazunov’s Saxophone Concerto is a staple in saxophone repertory. It is nearly certain that Glazunov did not hear the concerto in a public performance, as he passed two years later in 1936. Read more…
Gilbert Vinter: Hunter’s Moon Context Gilbert Vinter (1909-1969) was most known for his work as a conductor and as a composer of brass band music. Vinter was a chorister at Lincoln Cathedral when he was a young boy. He later took up the bassoon. He conducted the BBC Concert Orchestra, Read more…
Amir Mahyar Tafreshipour: Persian Echoes Context Commissioned by the BBC Symphony Orchestra in 2006, Amir Mahyar Tafreshipour’s Persian Echoes for harp and orchestra was the first ever Iranian harp concerto. Persian Echoes brings together sounds from the East and West, incorporating traditional Persian music and folk melodies, with rich Western Read more…
Charles Villiers Stanford: Clarinet Concerto Context Sir Charles Villiers Stanford (1852-1924) remains one of Ireland’s most popular composers. After studying at the University of Cambridge, Stanford went to Leipzig in Germany to pursue his musical studies. In 1882, when Stanford was just 29 years old, he became one of the Read more…