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 music. Bloch’s family were Jewish, and a lot of his music reflects the characteristics of Read more…
Richard Peaslee: Nightsongs Context 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 described as eclectic due to his use of jazz, folk, electronic and instrumental Read more…
Oswald Russell: Jamaican Dances Context Oswald Russell (1933-2012) was a Jamaican composer who wrote a number of important pieces of music during the 20th and 21st centuries. As well as a composer, Russell was also a talented pianist, with some of his recordings really standing the test of time. His Read more…
Clara Wieck-Schumann: Scherzo No.2 Context Clara Josephine Wieck was born on 13th September 1819 in Leipzig. Her mother was a famous singer in the city at the time. When Wieck was five, her parents divorced and she stayed with her father. Friedrich Wieck saw the potential in Wieck’s musical ability Read more…
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: The Seasons September: The Hunt Context Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky composed his twelve character pieces for piano, The Seasons, at the same time that he was writing his popular ballet, Swan Lake. Each piece in The Seasons depicts a different month of the year in Russia. Although originally Read more…
Malcolm Arnold: Fantasy for Tuba Context Malcolm Arnold was born in Northampton, England in October 1921. He took up playing the trumpet at age 12, and after studying and practising intensely for five years, he was awarded a scholarship to study at the Royal College of Music. Whilst at RCM, Read more…
Vissarion Shebalin: Orientalia Context Close friend and colleague of Dmitri Shostakovich, Vissarion Shebalin (1902-63) has remained a largely unexplored Soviet composer. Although unexplored, his music has such depth to it, as well as holding on to integrity. Shostakovich described Shebalin: “His kindness, honesty and absolute adherence to principle always Read more…
Claude Debussy: Arabesque No.2 Context Composed between 1888-1891, Claude Debussy’s set of two arabesques were some of the composer’s earlier works. The first in particular has remained a popular piece amongst audiences and performers alike. Although composed when Debussy was in his mid-twenties, the arabesques are a mere hint of Read more…
Kenneth Leighton: Elegy for Cello Context Originally set as part of his 1947 Sonata in F minor, Kenneth Leighton’s Elegy for Cello went through a number of different forms before ending up with the version we know today. As part of the sonata, Elegy only received one public performance in Read more…
Sophie-Carmen Eckhardt-Gramatté: Piano Sonata No.4 ‘Die Befreit Sonate’ Context Born in 1899, Russian-Canadian composer Sophie-Carmen Eckhardt-Gramatté began learning the piano when she was just five years old. She went on to study at the Paris Conservatoire, where she studied under the tutelage of Vincent d’Indy and Alfred Brun. Throughout her Read more…