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…
Romuald Twardowski: Serenade for Strings Context Romuald Twardowski (1931-) is a composer of Polish descent. He studied at the Conservatory of Vilinus and the prestigious Warsaw Academy of Music. Twardowski visited Paris and was tutored by Nadia Boulanger for some time between 1957-60. As well as being a full-time composer, Read more…
Robert Muczynski: A Serenade for Summer Context Composed in 1976 when Robert Muczynski (1929-2010) was composer-in-residence at the University of Arizona, A Serenade for Summer was first recorded by the Arizona Chamber Orchestra. Along with many other works by Muczynski, A Serenade for Summer is diatonic and hones back to 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…
Alla Pavlova: Elegy for Piano and String Orchestra Context Ukrainian composer Alla Pavlova has studied at the Ippolitov-Ivanov Music Institute and the Gnesin Academy of Music in Moscow. Pavlova has resided in Ukraine, Russia, Bulgaria, and now the USA. She has composed a number of large-scale works for the orchestra Read more…
John Williams: The Imperial March Context John Williams was born in 1932 and his career has since spanned over six decades. He was raised in New York by musical parents, who were active jazz musicians. By 1948 the Williams family had moved to LA where Williams later attended the University of Read more…
Joseph Haydn: Symphony No.8 Le Soir Context Often known as the ‘Father of the Symphony’, Joseph Hadyn’s legacy as a symphonist stays strong today. Haydn composed 104 symphonies over the course of his long and fruitful life, and we at Classicalexburns want to help you discover the stories and music Read more…
Eric Fogg: Merok Context Although much of his music has been lost since his untimely death in 1939, Eric Fogg’s tone poem Merok has been the recipient of recent orchestral recordings. Composed in 1929, Merok is based on a Norwegian folk song that refers to a village in Norway at Read more…
Emma Lou Diemer: Santa Barbara Overture Context Emma Lou Diemer (1927-) composed her popular Santa Barbara Overture in 1995 for Gisèle Ben-Dor and the Santa Barbara Symphony for their 1995-1996 season. The overture was premiered by the orchestra in 1996. The inspiration for this piece, as the title suggests, is Read more…
Patrick Doyle: Hogwarts’ Hymn Context With the first three Harry Potter films accompanied by music from American composer John Williams, the fourth instalment, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, saw music by Scottish film composer Patrick Doyle. Doyle only composed for this one film in the Harry Potter franchise, Read more…