Benjamin Britten’s Nocturne, Op. 60, was composed in August–September 1958 for tenor voice, seven obbligato instruments, and string orchestra. It lasts about 25 minutes, and its first performance was given on 16 October 1958 at Leeds Town...

Benjamin Britten’s Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings, Op. 31, was composed in 1943 for tenor, solo horn, and string orchestra and it is one of his most distinctive early wartime works. The work was written for Peter Pears and Dennis Brain, and...

Benjamin Britten’s Scottish Ballad, Op. 26, is a concertante work for two pianos and orchestra composed in 1941. Britten wrote it for the piano-duet team Ethel Bartlett and Rae Robertson, and the piece belongs to his wartime output of compact,...

Frank Martin’s Concerto for seven wind instruments, timpani, percussion and string orchestra, IFM 6, was composed in 1949 at the request of the Bernische Musikgesellschaft.  The work is cast in three movements — Allegro, Adagietto, and...

Frank Martin’s Petite symphonie concertante, was composed in 1944–45, on a commission from Paul Sacher, and became one of Martin’s best-known works. The original version is scored for harp, harpsichord, piano, and two string orchestras,...

Benjamin Britten’s Prelude and Fugue, Op. 29, was composed in 1943 for 18-part string orchestra, and it was written to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the Boyd Neel Orchestra. It lasts about nine minutes and is a compact two-part work built...

Benjamin Britten’s Simple Symphony, Op. 4, was written in 1933–34 and is wholly derived from themes he composed as a child; it is scored for string orchestra (also playable as a string quartet) and typically lasts about 16–18 minutes in...

Manuel de Falla’s El retablo de maese Pedro (Master Peter’s Puppet Show) is a one-act puppet-opera with prologue and epilogue, set to a Spanish libretto drawn from Cervantes’s Don Quixote. The score is compact—about 27...

Darius Milhaud’s Les Cloches, Op. 259 (“The Bells”), dates from 1946 and is a six‑movement symphonic suite adapted from his lost ballet after Edgar Allan Poe’s poem. The movements—Ouverture: Animé; Cloches...

Jacques Ibert’s Suite Élisabéthaine, composed in 1942 as incidental music for Le Songe d’une nuit d’été (Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream), was published in 1945 and is structured in nine...

Luigi Dallapiccola’s An Mathilde (1955) is a cantata for soprano and orchestra setting five German poems by Heinrich Heine drawn from Romanzero and Letzte Gedichte. Lasting about 15 minutes, the work unfolds as a continuous sequence of...

Sir Arthur Bliss’s Serenade for Baritone and Orchestra (F. 163), was composed in 1929 and first performed on 18 March 1930 at a London concert under the composer’s baton with baritone John Goss as soloist. The cycle lasts approximately 26...

Atterberg’s Horn Concerto in A minor, Op. 28, was composed in 1926 for the virtuoso Axel Malm and premiered in 1927 by the Stockholm Philharmonic under Adolf Wiklund with Malm as soloist. The concerto unfolds in three movements—Allegro...

Bruno Maderna’s Violin Concerto, was composed in 1969 and premiered at the XXXII International Contemporary Music Festival in Venice on 12 September 1969, with Theo Olof as soloist and Maderna himself conducting. Maderna’s orchestration is...

André Jolivet’s Cosmogonie is a standalone Prelude for Orchestra composed in 1938, derived from his earlier piano piece. The orchestral version lasts approximately 8 minutes and was first performed by the Orchestre Symphonique de France...

Arthur Bliss’s Pastoral: Lie Strewn the White Flocks, F.33, composed in 1928, is a choral-orchestral work lasting approximately 35 minutes. It is scored for SATB chorus, mezzo-soprano soloist, flute, timpani, and strings. The piece sets a sequence...

Darius Milhaud's Agamemnon Op. 14 is an early dramatic work that engages with themes drawn from Greek tragedy. The piece reflects Milhaud’s initial exploration of modern compositional techniques, employing polytonal harmonies and clear rhythmic...

Bruno Maderna’s Concerto per 2 pianoforti e strumenti is a mid-twentieth-century work composed for two pianos alongside a chamber ensemble of various instruments. The piece reflects Maderna’s interest in exploring new textures and forms,...