Joan Trimble: The Green Bough Context Joan Trimble was born in 1915 in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh. She, from a young age, learnt to play the piano, read music and then compose her own music. She studied Read more…
Ernest Bloch: Five Sketches in Sepia Context Born in Geneva in 1880, Ernest Bloch was surrounded by a non-musical family. However, by age ten Bloch started to take an interest in playing the violin and learning Read more…
Sheila Silver: Nocturne Context Sheila Silver is an American-born composer who grew up in Seattle. She began receiving piano lessons from the age of 5 and her love and passion for music grew and grew until Read more…
Steve Reich: Piano Phase Context Steve Reich is known for his contributions to the minimalist movement of the twentieth century. As the title suggests, minimalism is a form of art music that uses minimal musical material Read more…
Erik Satie: Je te veux Erik Satie’s instantly recognisable Je te veux was originally scored for voice and piano, however, over the years this well-loved melody has also been scored for chamber orchestra, and most famously – solo Read more…
Franz Liszt: Liebestraum No.3 Franz Liszt was born in 1811 in Hungary, into an already well-established musical family. His father, Adam Liszt, had been in service for Prince Nikolaus II Esterházy. This meant he was in Read more…
Richard Peaslee: Nightsongs Richard Peaslee was born in New York City in 1930. He studied composition at Yale University, and began to specialise in big band music. With Peaslee’s breadth of knowledge, his style has been Read more…
Rebecca Clarke: Sonata for Viola and Piano Remembered today as one of the finest chamber music composers of the twentieth century, Rebecca Clarke’s (1886-1979) Sonata for Viola and Piano is a staple in viola repertoire. Although her compositional Read more…
Ludwig van Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 14 (Moonlight Sonata) Composed in 1801, Beethoven’s fourteenth piano sonata is perhaps his most famous. Now known as the Moonlight Sonata, this solo work for piano is regularly performed around the Read more…
Fiona Bennett: ‘A Lad and a Lass’ Fiona Bennett (1962-present), is a Welsh composer. Born and raised in Cardiff, Bennett began receiving piano lessons at age 4. Ten years later, Bennett was awarded a scholarship to Read more…