Amy Beach: Piano Concerto in C# Minor Context Amy Beach was born in 1867 in New Hampshire. It has been extensively documented that Beach was a child prodigy when it came to music performance. Records say that she was able to sing forty songs by the time she was one. Read more…
Aaron Copland: Letter from Home Context Aaron Copland (1900-1990), was born in Brooklyn, New York City into a Conservative Jewish family. Whilst growing up he, along with his other siblings, was offered music lessons. Copland became a proficient pianist, but found his interest was within composition. In his early composition career, Read more…
Keiko Abe: The Wave Impressions Concerto for Marimba Context Keiko Abe’s The Wave Impression Concerto for Marimba was composed in 2002 and it is written for orchestra, marimba. Abe explains in this short paragraph what this concerto is all about: “This piece consists of three contrasting musical elements and the approaches Read more…
Jennifer Higdon: Percussion Concerto Context Composed in 2005, Jennifer Higdon’s exciting Percussion Concerto has received very high acclaim from the media and from audiences around the world. Throughout the 20th Century and beyond, the growth of the percussion section is far more vast than any other section within an orchestra. Higdon writes in Read more…
Ruth Crawford-Seeger: Suite for Wind Quintet Context Born on July 3rd, 1901, Ruth Crawford spent her early life in East Liverpool, Ohio. Throughout her childhood, the Crawford’s moved around a lot, from Ohio to Missouri to Indiana. In 1912, the Crawford’s moved to Florida, where Ruth’s father passed away two years Read more…
Aram Khachaturian: Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia Context Born in Tblisi, Georgia in 1903, Aram Khachaturian’s music is still performed regularly in concert halls today. Perhaps one of his most famous works is the Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia from his 1954 ballet: Spartacus. The ballet follows the trials and tribulations faced by Spartacus as Read more…
John Ireland: Decorations Context John Ireland was born in Bowdon, Cheshire in 1879, and was the youngest of five children. It has been widely documented that Ireland had a rough childhood. His mother and father died within a year of each other in 1893 and 1894, when he was just 14/15 Read more…
Hans Zimmer: The Battle Context Hans Zimmer was approached to compose the soundtrack for Ridley Scott’s popular film Gladiator in 2000. The film follows main character Maximus Decimus Meridius as he experiences slavery and seeks revenge on the corrupted leader Commodus. Zimmer’s music reflects this with bold orchestrations, memorable melodies Read more…
Paul Hindemith: Symphonic Metamorphosis of Themes by Carl Maria von Weber Context Born in November 1895 in Hanau, Paul Hindemith engaged with music at a young age. Starting with playing the violin, Hindemith later attended Frankfurt’s Hoch’sche Konservatorium, where he studied violin performance with Adolf Rebner. Further to this, Hindemith Read more…
Ralph Vaughan Williams: The Lark Ascending Context Known now as one of the most beloved 20th Century British composers, Ralph Vaughan Williams’ was focused on creating a distinctive ‘English music sound’. This was certainly achieved by the composer, with many of his works being described as ‘quintessentially British’. A distinctive Read more…