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 was right for him, Arutunian joined the U.S.S.R’s Union of composers in 1939. This was, 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…
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…
Richard Strauss: Horn Concerto No.1 Context Richard Strauss was born 11th June 1864, which places him within the romantic era of classical music and Strauss soon became a forefront composer within German romanticism. His father, Franz Strauss was principal horn player at Court Opera in Munich and gave Strauss countless music Read more…