Sergei Rachmaninov: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini (Variation 18) Sergei Rachmaninov’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini is a concertante work (a large-scale work which uses both the symphonic and concerto forms throughout). It was composed in 1934, Read more…
Patrick Hawes: Fair Albion English composer Patrick Hawes is one of the countries leading composers. Having worked with some of the finest musicians, orchestras, conductors, record labels and radio stations, Hawes is a tour de force Read more…
Tania León: Batá Biography Born in Havana, Cuba in 1943, Tania León began learning the piano at the young age of four years old. Twenty years on, she had earned her bachelors and master degrees in Read more…
Edvard Grieg: Peer Gynt Suite No.1 Grieg was simultaneously nationalistic and cosmopolitan in his approach to composition and that was due to his extensive travelling around Europe throughout his lifetime (1843-1907). Grieg believed that his music represented Read more…
Hector Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique Biography Hector Berlioz was born near the French town of Grenoble on December 11, 1803. Unlike a lot of composers who were born around this time, Berlioz started music at the much Read more…
Gustav Holst: The Planets The Planets is a seven-movement orchestral suits composed by English composer, Gustav Holst (1874-1934). The suite was written between 1914 and 1916, with it still, even after 100 years, being one of the Read more…
Aram Khachaturian: Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia Born in Tblisi, Georgia in 1903, Aram Khachaturian’s music is still performed regularly in concert halls today. Perhaps one of his most famous works is the Adagio of Spartacus and Read more…
Samuel Barber: Adagio for Strings Adagio for Strings (1936), was originally the second movement of Samuel Barber’s String Quartet in B minor (Op.11). However, at the end of the year Barber had rearranged the movement for a full string Read more…
Alexander von Zemlinsky: Symphony No. 1 in D minor Born in Vienna in 1871, Alexander von Zemlinsky was tutored by some of the ‘great’ composers of the Romantic period – Gustav Mahler and Johannes Brahms. After Read more…
Grażyna Bacewicz: Overture for Symphonic Orchestra She is perhaps still one of the most successful female composers that Poland has ever produced, Grażyna Bacewicz’s legacy lives on strong today. Remembered for her progressive compositonal style, her Read more…