Felix Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto in E minor Context 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 ‘changeover’ between classicism and romanticism, this work sees Mendelssohn at his best, writing with Read more…
Joan Tower: Violin Concerto Context Joan Tower was born in New Rochelle, New York in 1938. When Tower was nine, her family moved to Bolivia, which she describes as an integral part of her compositional style. Upon her father’s insistence, she learnt the piano and had consistent musical training. Her Read more…
Max Bruch: Scottish Fantasy Context Max Bruch was born on January 6th 1838 in Cologne. He received early musical training by pianist and composer, Ferdinand Hiller. Unlike quite a large proportion of classical musicians, Bruch’s family were very supportive of his music studies, and were often pushing him to take it Read more…
Carl Maria von Weber: Bassoon Concerto Context Carl Maria von Weber’s ever-popular Bassoon Concerto in F Major was originally composed in 1811, but was later revised in 1822. Whilst visiting Munich in 1811, Weber was asked to put a concert on for the Queen. After impressing the court with his Concertino for Clarinet and 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…
Keiko Abe: The Wave Impressions Concerto for Marimba Context Keiko Abe’s The Wave Impression Concerto for Marimba was composed in 2002 and it is written for orchestra, marimba. Abe explains in this short paragraph what this concerto is all about: “This piece consists of three contrasting musical elements and the approaches Read more…
Malcolm Arnold: Concerto for Harmonica Context Composed in 1954, Malcolm Arnold’s Concerto for Harmonica was premiered by harmonica virtuoso Larry Adler at the Royal Albert Hall in the same year. The BBC Symphony Orchestra accompanied Adler for this concerto. Clocking in at around nine minutes in duration, this concerto is Read more…
Jennifer Higdon: Percussion Concerto Context Composed in 2005, Jennifer Higdon’s exciting Percussion Concerto has received very high acclaim from the media and from audiences around the world. Throughout the 20th Century and beyond, the growth of the percussion section is far more vast than any other section within an orchestra. Higdon writes in Read more…
Ursula Mamlok: Concerto for Oboe Context Born on February 1st, 1923, Ursula Mamlok was born in Berlin, Germany into a primarily Jewish family. Her biological father, Hans Meyer, died when she was a baby, but her mother remarried fairly soon after. Mamlok composed and performed as a child in Berlin, however, Read more…
Antonio Vivaldi: Bassoon Concerto in E minor Context Antonio Vivaldi composed a vast amount of concertos for a range of different instruments. No less than 230 of those are for violin, with the second most popular concerto soloist being the bassoon for Vivaldi. Out of the 39 bassoon concertos that Read more…