Iannis Xenakis: Jonchaies Context Jonchaies was composed in 1977, alongside another one of Xenakis’ compositions, La Légende D’eer. The latter is a composition which is comprised of 7 tracks of electroacoustic tapes, and Jonchaies is scored for a large orchestra (specifically 109 musicians). The work is loosely based around a Read more…
Judith Weir: Stars, Night, Music and Light Context Judith Weir was born in 1954 in Cambridge, and at a young age she began learning the oboe. Weir in her youth performed regularly with the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain. She studied composition whilst at school with none other than John Read more…
Ferde Grofé: Mississippi Suite Context Ferdinand Grofé was born in New York City in 1892, and was lucky enough to be born into a musical family. His father was a classical baritone singer, his mother a professional cellist. As well as this, his mother Elsa also taught Ferde the piano and Read more…
Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No. 7 Context Completed in 1812 and premiered in December 1813, Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony has certainly remained one of his most popular works. The symphony is dedicated to Count Moritz von Fries – a nobleman and patron of the arts. The premiere of the symphony was at Read more…
Lili Boulanger: D’un Matin de Printemps Context Born on 21st August 1893 in Paris, Lili Boulanger was considered at a young age as a musical child prodigy. This was perhaps not too surprising for the Boulanger family, with her mother and grandmother being singers, her elder sister Nadia being a Read more…
Bedřich Smetana: Vltava Context Composed as part of Má vlast (My Homeland), Vltava is the second work of a set of six symphonic poems by Czech composer Bedřich Smetana. The poems were composed between 1874-1879. Although now often performed as a single work in six movements, Smetana conceived them all Read more…
Roger Quilter: A Children’s Overture Context Roger Quilter was born in Hove, Sussex in 1877. In contrast to his older brothers, Roger was the quiet, shy sibling of the group. In the mid-1880s Quilter was sent to a new prep school in Farnborough, where he was able to nurture his love Read more…
Camille Saint-Saëns: Danse Macabre Context Camille Saint-Saëns’ tone poem, Danse Macabre was composed in 1874. It started out as an art song for voice and piano, but was soon adapted as an orchestral work. The work is based on a poem by Henri Cazalis, which is based upon French superstition: Read more…
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade Context When he was a boy, Rimsky-Korsakov’s imagination was hungry for travel. He was confined in his small Russian town until he was a teenager. He received letters from his older brother, Voin, who was in the Far East serving in the Navy and he fell in Read more…
Bedřich Smetana: Vyšehrad Context Composed as part of Má vlast (My Homeland), Vyšehrad is the first of a set of six symphonic poems by Czech composer Bedřich Smetana. The poems were composed between 1874-1879. Although now often performed as a single work in six movements, Smetana conceived them all as Read more…