Ottorino Respighi: Pines of Rome Context Ottorino Respighi was born on July 9th, 1879 in Bologna, Italy. From a young age he was taught piano by his father, as he was working as a local music teacher in the area. Respighi later enrolled at the Liceo, where he studied violin, Read more…
Max Bruch: Scottish Fantasy Context Max Bruch was born on January 6th 1838 in Cologne. He received early musical training by pianist and composer, Ferdinand Hiller. Unlike quite a large proportion of classical musicians, Bruch’s family were very supportive of his music studies, and were often pushing him to take it Read more…
Carl Maria von Weber: Bassoon Concerto Context Carl Maria von Weber’s ever-popular Bassoon Concerto in F Major was originally composed in 1811, but was later revised in 1822. Whilst visiting Munich in 1811, Weber was asked to put a concert on for the Queen. After impressing the court with his Concertino for Clarinet and Read more…
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…
Maurice Ravel: Le Tombeau de Couperin Context Originally a six-movement solo composition for piano, Ravel’s Le Tombeau de Couperin was composed between 1914 and 1917. ‘Tombeau’ is a musical term from the Baroque era meaning ‘a piece written as a memorial.’ Every movement of Le Tombeau de Couperin is dedicated to the memory of 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…
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…
Thea Musgrave: Song of the Enchanter Context Thea Musgrave was born in Scotland in 1928 and she began her higher education at the University of Edinburgh (her home town university). As an ever-flourishing composer, Musgrave developed her technique so much so that she earned her place at the prestigious Paris Conservatoire. Read more…