John Williams: Duel of the Fates Context The musical theme Duel of the Fates was first composed by John Williams for the first of the prequel trilogy – Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. First recorded by the London Symphony Orchestra and London Voices, this legendary recording can be Read more…
George Frideric Handel: Thou Art Gone Up On High Messiah Part II Context George Frideric Handel’s Messiah has remained one of the composer’s most beloved works. Incredibly, Handel completed this 260-page oratorio in just 24 days during the summer of 1741. The scriptural text was compiled by Charles Jennens, with Read more…
Richard Addinsell: Warsaw Concerto Context Richard Addinsell is now most remembered for his work on film music. He wrote music for films such as Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939), Scrooge (1940) and Dangerous Moonlight (1941). He led the way in the popularity of ‘tabloid concertos’ – classical compositions for solo instruments Read more…
Franz Schubert: Overture in D Major “In the Italian Style” Context Composed in 1817, Franz Schubert’s Overture in D major (D.590) is one of seven orchestral overtures in this key. Composed of several tunes, and laden with Schubertian harmonic changes, this overture, in it’s directed “Italian Style” is a Schubert Read more…
Frederick Delius: On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring Context Composed in 1912 as the first part of Frederick Delius’ Two Pieces for Small Orchestra, On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring remains one of the composer’s most popular orchestral works. Although composed as a pair, the two pieces are Read more…
John Williams: Theme from Superman Context Following on from the successes from some of his other 1970s film scores for films such as Jaws (1975) and Star Wars (1977), John Williams produced another iconic film score for Superman in 1978. At the first recording session of the film, Director Richard Read more…
Grant Kirkhope: Mid Boss Mayhem Context Scottish video game composer Grant Kirkhope was exposed to music from a young age. Kirkhope taught himself the guitar and was classically trained as a trumpeter at the Royal Northern College of Music. Kirkhope was involved in many different jazz ensembles, including big bands Read more…
Franz Schubert: Symphony No.5 Context Completed between September-October 1816, Franz Schubert’s Fifth Symphony was quickly published after the seldom-heard Fourth Symphony. There have been a number of accounts claiming the influence of Mozart for the Fifth Symphony, with Schubert also writing in his diary, dated June 13th 1816: “O Mozart! Read more…
Nico Muhly: Viola Concerto Context Nico Muhly (1981-) composed his vivacious Viola Concerto in 2014 due to a joint commission from the Orquesta Nacionales de España, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Festival de Saint Denis and the National Arts Centre Orchestra. It was premiered in February 2015 by the Orquesta Nacionales Read more…
Johannes Brahms: Hungarian Dance No.20 Context Johannes Brahms completed his 21 Hungarian Dances by 1879, and they still remain one his most popular collections of music. All of the dances are based on traditional Hungarian folk tunes and range from c.1 minute to 6 minutes in duration. Some of the Read more…