Elizabeth Maconchy: Nocturne for Orchestra Context Elizabeth Maconchy was born to Irish parents in Hertfordshire, 1907. After her birth, the family moved back to rural Ireland, where Maconchy began taking piano lessons. She started to compose her Read more…
Engelbert Humperdinck: Hansel and Gretel Overture Context Engelbert Humperdinck was born in Germany in 1854. He began taking piano lessons at a very young age, and by age seven he had already composed his first work. Read more…
Joan Tower: Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman 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 Read more…
Julius Fučík: Entrance of the Gladiators Context Julius Fučík was born in Prague in 1872, and this was a time where Prague was a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Differently to many other composers of the time, Fučík began Read more…
Ludwig van Beethoven: Egmont Overture The Egmont Overture is theopening of a set of incidental music that Beethoven was commissioned to write for a 1787 play of the same name by Johann Wolfgang van Goethe. The music was Read more…
Julia Gomelskaya: Memento Vitae Context Julia Gomelskaya was born on March 11, 1964 in Ukraine. At a young age she began engaging in music and this carried through to her later years where she began studying composition Read more…
Paul Dukas: L’apprenti sorcier (‘The Sorcerer’s Apprentice’) Context Paul Dukas was born in Paris, 1865. Unlike many other composers, Dukas didn’t show much incredible music talent when he started learning piano at age 5. It wasn’t until Read more…
Antonín Dvořák: Symphony No.9 (From the New World) Context Dvořák composed his last, and indeed most internationally popular, symphony in his first year of living in the United States of America. Dvořák’s career, financial situation and international recognition Read more…
Aaron Copland: Letter from Home Context Aaron Copland (1900-1990), was born in Brooklyn, New York City into a Conservative Jewish family. Whilst growing up he, along with his other siblings, was offered music lessons. Copland became Read more…
Camille Saint-Saëns: Carnival of the Animals Context Camille Saint-Saëns wrote Carnival of the Animals whilst in a small Austrian village, and he always referred to it as ‘mais c’est si amusant!’ (‘Such fun!’). Interestingly, this piece was never Read more…