Mikhail Glinka: Ruslan and Lyudmila Overture Context Composed between 1837-42, Mikhail Glinka’s opera Ruslan and Lyudmila is based on Alexander Pushkin’s poem of the same Read more…
Carl Nielsen: Symphony No.2 ‘The Four Temperaments’ Context Carl Nielsen was born in 1865 on the island of Funen (the third-largest island that is a Read more…
Philip Wilby: Paganini Variations Context Commissioned by the BBC in 1991 for their ‘Band of the Year’ event, Paganini Variations was first recorded by Grimethorpe Read more…
Jean Sibelius: Scene with Cranes Context Jean Sibelius was born on 8th December 1865 in Hämeenlinna Finland. When he was ten years old, Sibelius was Read more…
Eric Whitacre: Sleep Context Composed in 2000 and premiered in 2001, Eric Whitacre’s popular choral work Sleep came from a very personal commission request. In Read more…
Ralph Vaughan Williams: Five Variants of Dives & Lazarus Context As an avid collector of English folksong, Vaughan Williams used a lot of throughout his Read more…
Chen Yi: Ge Xu Context Chen Yi was born in Guanzhou, China in 1953. She was born into a talented family of both doctors and Read more…
Camille Saint-Saëns: Le Rouet d’Omphale Context Camille Saint-Saëns’ symphonic poem Le Rouet d’Omphale (‘Omphale’s Spinning Wheel) was his first in the genre. Originally composed as Read more…
Richard Wagner: The Flying Dutchman Overture Context Plagued by high tides, crashing waves and dramatic twists and turns, Richard Wagner’s overture to his 1843 opera Read more…
Amir Mahyar Tafreshipour: Persian Echoes Context Commissioned by the BBC Symphony Orchestra in 2006, Amir Mahyar Tafreshipour’s Persian Echoes for harp and orchestra was the Read more…