Malcolm Arnold: Symphony No.8 Context Commissioned by the Rustam K. Kermani Foundation in 1978, Malcolm Arnold’s Eighth Symphony was his penultimate symphony. The premiere of the symphony happened in New York a year later by the Albany Symphony Orchestra conducted by Julius Hegyi. Of all nine Arnold symphonies, the Eighth Read more…
Alexander von Zemlinsky: Symphony No. 1 Context Born in Vienna in 1871, Alexander von Zemlinsky was tutored by some of the ‘great’ composers of the Romantic period – Gustav Mahler and Johannes Brahms. After the premiere of Zemlinsky’s First Symphony, Brahms supported the young composer until his own death in 1897. Read more…
Benjamin Britten: Simple Symphony Context Composed between 1933-34, Benjamin Britten’s Simple Symphony was based on a number of smaller works that the composer had written when he was very young: “This Simple Symphony is entirely based on material from works which the composer wrote between the ages of nine Read more…
Dmitri Shostakovich: Symphony No. 10 Context Dmitri Shostakovich was born in St. Petersburg on September 25th 1906, and by the age of nine he began to play the piano. By the age of thirteen, Shostakovich was admitted into the prestigious Petrograd Conservatory, where he learnt piano under Leonid Nikolayev. At Read more…
Johannes Brahms: Symphony No.3 Context Johannes Brahms’ Symphony No. 3 was composed in the summer of 1883 in Wiesbaden, which was about 6-7 years after he had completed his Symphony No. 2. It was premiered on December 2nd, 1883 by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, directed by Hans Richter. At the time of the premiere, Read more…
Arthur Bliss: A Colour Symphony Context Although thoroughly represented on records from the 20th Century, Arthur Bliss’ works are seldom performed outside of the United Kingdom in the 21st Century. As a composer who took influence from composers such as Elgar, Stravinksy, Ravel, and Vaughan Williams, Bliss’ compositional style is quintessentially Read more…
Jean Sibelius: Symphony No.2 Context In 1901, Jean Sibelius left his home country and travelled to Italy and stayed in a mountain villa near Rapallo. Baron Axel Carpelan raised funds for Sibelius to take this trip, and it was in this villa that he started work on his Second Symphony. Read more…
Joseph Haydn: Symphony No. 87 Context Haydn composed his set of six ‘Paris’ symphonies between 1785 and 1786. A product of a prestigious foreign commission from the Comte d’Ogny (a French Nobleman), this set of symphonies are influential due to their rich musical language and obvious shift in Haydn’s compositional style. Read more…
Alberto Nepomuceno: Symphony in G minor Context Although not particularly known outside of his native country of Brazil, the music of Alberto Nepomuceno has recently been recorded and shown to the world. The son of a violinist and music educator, Nepomuceno was born in the Brazilian city of Fortaleza in Read more…
John Adams: Harmonielehre Context John Adams’ epic symphonic work Harmonielehre was composed in 1985. The title derives from the German for ‘Study of Harmony’, which is also a reference to Arnold Schoenberg’s 1911 theory book of the same name. Adam has commented that Harmonielehre was inspired by a dream that Read more…