Arthur Bliss's Piano Concerto in B-flat major was composed in 1938–1939 and premiered at the 1939 New York World’s Fair by pianist Solomon with the New York Philharmonic under Sir Adrian Boult. Commissioned by the British Council, the...

Bruno Maderna's "Composizione in tre tempi," composed in 1954, exemplifies his innovative approach to orchestral composition in the mid-20th century. Structured in three movements—"Allegro scorrevole," "Adagio," and "Allegro"—the piece...

Roberto Gerhard's Symphony No. 3, composed in 1960, is a striking example of his transition from late romanticism to more modernist, experimental approaches. The symphony was written during a period of personal and professional transformation for...

Arthur Bliss's Miracle in the Gorbals is a one-act ballet that premiered in London on October 26, 1944. Set in the slums of Glasgow, the ballet tells a dramatic and symbolic story of redemption and sacrifice. The scenario was written by Michael Benthall,...

Stravinsky's "The Firebird" Suite (1919 version) stands as one of the most celebrated works in 20th-century classical music. This version is an orchestral suite derived from Stravinsky's original 1910 ballet score for Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes...

Arthur Bliss's "Prologue and Five Dances" is a concert suite derived from his 1937 ballet Checkmate. The ballet itself is a dramatic allegory about a chess game where humanized chess pieces enact a tale of power, conflict, and tragic love. Bliss's music...

Kurt Atterberg's Symphony No. 2 in F major, Op. 6, composed in 1911-12, is a work that reflects his early maturity and connection to the Romantic tradition. It is scored for a standard late-Romantic orchestra and unfolds over three movements. The...

Partita is the work with which Dallapiccola first came to international recognition. Written in memory of the Italian pianist Ernesto Consolo, it is scored in four movements for orchestra, with a soprano solo in the final movement. In a manner analogous...

Sunset Boulevard was nominated for eleven Oscars, winning 3 of them, for Best Screenplay, Best Art Direction and Waxman's score for Best Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture. In 2005, Waxman’s score was listed as among the twenty-five most...

Coastal Command is a 1942 British film made by the Crown Film Unit for the Ministry of Information. The film, distributed by RKO, dramatised the work of RAF Coastal Command.Coastal Command is a documentary-style account of the Short Sunderland and...

 Carmen Fantasie is a virtuoso showpiece for violin and orchestra. The piece is part of Franz Waxman's score to the 1946 movie Humoresque for which he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture. The...

The scenario of Martinu’s 1930 “Echec du Roi” (Checkmate) anticipates that of Stravinsky’s “Jeu de Cartes” (1937), with dancing chessmen taking the place of dancing poker chips. The score mixes Stravinskyan...

The soundtrack of the 1927 film Napoléon, directed by Abel Gance, was the first film soundtrack ever composed. Published in 1927, Honegger made a selection of movements from the soundtrack of the silent movie Napoléon, and presented it as a...

La voix humaine (English: The Human Voice) is a forty-minute, one-act opera for soprano and orchestra composed by Francis Poulenc in 1958. The work is based on the play of the same name by Jean Cocteau, who, along with French soprano Denise Duval, worked...

Inspired by the personality, prodigious technique and musicality of the cellist Gregor Piatigorsky, Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s Cello Concerto in G minor is a work of imposing scale and demanding virtuosity, but also with a rare beauty and warmth of...

For St. Cecilia (subtitled “Ceremonial Ode”) was commissioned by the St. Cecilia’s Day Festival Committee and premiered in the Royal Albert Hall on 22 November 1947, St. Cecilia’s Day (Cecilian works by Purcell and Handel were...

Among Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s important, large-scale Judaically incited concert works is his second violin concerto (Op. 66), which he subtitled I profeti (The Prophets). Its three movements are further subtitled with reference to two biblical...