Richard Strauss’s Don Juan, Op. 20 is a tone poem composed in 1888—when the composer was just 24—and first performed by Strauss himself in Weimar on 11 November 1889. Inspired by Nikolaus Lenau’s verse drama Don Juans Ende, the...

Max Steiner composed one of the most beloved Hollywood scores for Casablanca (1942), for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for "Best Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture". That same year this Suite was extracted from the main work, creating...

The Canzone a tre cori by Giovanni Gabrieli, originally composed in the early 17th century for three spatially separated choirs of instruments, was reimagined by Bruno Maderna in 1958. Maderna’s revision retains Gabrieli’s polychoral...

REPRINT SERIES Grażyna Bacewicz’s Variations for Orchestra, IGB 11, was composed in 1957 and premiered in 1958 at the Warsaw Autumn Festival, conducted by Jan Krenz. The work consists of a 19-bar theme followed by eight continuous variations,...

Arthur Bliss’s Morning Heroes, Op. 32, is a “symphony for orator, chorus and orchestra” composed in 1930 as a memorial to his brother Francis Kennard Bliss and all comrades killed in battle. It received its premiere at the Norwich...

Gerald Finzi’s Two Milton Sonnets, Op. 12 (1926–28) sets John Milton’s Sonnet XIX (“When I consider how my light is spent”) and Sonnet XXX (“How soon hath Time”) for tenor (or soprano) with piano or small...

The Vertigo Suite was arranged by Bernard Herrmann himself. Drawing directly from his 1958 film score for Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo, Herrmann crafted the concert suite in the same year, selecting and shaping the principal themes into a unified...

Igor Stravinsky’s Four Preludes and Fugues (1969) are his final compositions, arranging four pairs from J. S. Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier for chamber orchestra (BWV 851 & 852, 864 & 865, 870 & 871, 881 & 882). Each...

Heitor Villa-Lobos extracted Suite No. 4 “Descobrimento do Brasil” (W 380) in 1937 from his score for Humberto Mauro’s film of the same name, completing the cycle of four suites that portray Brazil’s early colonial history. he...

REPRINT SERIES  Sergei Prokofiev’s Andante, Op. 29bis is his own orchestration of the slow movement from Piano Sonata No. 4 in C minor, Op. 29, completed in 1934. The arrangement was first heard on February 13, 1958, in Leningrad under...

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...

Composed in 1937 for Humberto Mauro’s film O Descobrimento do Brasil, Suite No. 3 (W 379) comprises three continuous movements—Impressão ibérica (11:15), Festa nas selvas (3:37), and Ulalocê (Visão dos navegantes)...

REPRINT SERIES  Bacewicz’s Musica sinfonica in tre movimenti (IGB 21) was composed in 1965, dedicated to conductor Witold Rowicki, and premiered on 6 September 1965 by the Warsaw Philharmonic under his baton at the Stockholm Festival. The...

Villa-Lobos’s Descobrimento do Brasil (Discovery of Brazil) Suite No. 2 contains three movements: Impressão moura (Moorish Impression) – a rhythmically complex piece with modal harmonies and layered textures that evoke a stylized...

REPRINT SERIES Stravinsky’s Chant du Rossignol is a concise orchestral work that captures the delicate and spontaneous quality of the nightingale’s song. The piece is marked by clear, transparent textures and a careful attention to timbre,...

Poulenc’s Deux préludes posthumes et une gnossienne FP 104 is an orchestral work in which he reimagined pieces originally composed by Erik Satie. The arrangement retains the characteristic understatement and subtle wit of Satie’s music...

Villa-Lobos’s Descobrimento do Brasil (Discovery of Brazil) Suite No. 1 for Orchestra is a programmatic work that musically portrays the discovery of Brazil. Composed with a clear narrative in mind, the suite employs a series of contrasting...

REPRINT SERIES  Respighi’s La Boutique Fantasque is a one-act ballet that captures a whimsical and bustling scene through vibrant orchestration and clear, narrative musical gestures. The work unfolds in a single, continuous movement, where...