It is a little-known fact that Prokofiev's Op.115 Sonata was not originally intended as a work for solo violin, but rather for a group of twenty or so violinists playing in unison, a prevalent practice in the pedagogy of student violinists in Russia, of...

The orchestral version was written in 1920, dedicated to and premiered by Marie Hall. It is one of the most popular pieces in the Classical repertoire among British listeners. "The Lark Ascending" is inspired by George Meredith's 122-line poem of the...

In reality a ten-minute neo-classical piano concerto in two movements, Honegger's Concertino sports severe "wrong note" harmonies and complex counterpoint within what is actually a rigid framework. Two movements further subdivide into four, and the...

The Concerto No.2 for Horn and Orchestra is infused with Strauss' singular lyricism, reflecting the clarity of the composer's Romantic vision amid the strengthening winds of twentieth century modernism.

This concerto was commissioned by the prominent Austrian pianist Paul Wittgenstein, who had lost his right arm due to a wound sustained in World War I. The concerto negotiates several sections in various tempi and keys without pause. Towards the end of...

Based on the piece Double Trio (1938), the composer decided its music would be better-suited to a larger instrumentation.  He fashioned the piece for two string orchestras of disproportionate size, neither featuring second violins. The Partita ...

"The number of places in which I wrote the Concerto shows the kind of nomadic concert-tour life I led then. The main theme of the 1st movement was written in Paris, the first theme of the 2nd movement at Voronezh, the orchestration was finished in Baku...

Rhapsody No.2 SZ.90 is the second of two folk dances (often called "Hungarian Rhapsodies") for Violin and Orchestra that Bartók wrote in 1928. The 2nd Rhapsody is dedicated to the violinist Zoltán Székely, the founder of the...

Cuban Overture is a symphonic overture or tone poem for orchestra composed by American composer George Gershwin. Originally titled Rumba (named for the Cuban rumba musical genre), it was a result of a two-week holiday which Gershwin took in Havana, Cuba...

Commissioned in 1937 by Paul Sacher, it was only completed in 1941. The work is for string orchestra, except for the addition of a trumpet in the concluding chorale: "like pulling out an organ stop", according to the composer. The work is in three...

Prokofiev extracted three orchestral suites and a set of ten piano transcriptions from his ballet masterpiece "Romeo and Juliet" (one of the most enduringly popular ballets). Suite No. 1 from Romeo and Juliet, Op. 64bis: 1.Folk Dance2.Scene (the Street...

Written in 1933, this hauntingly beautiful "Lyric Movement" is one of Gustav Holst's last works.

Composed in 1951, it was originally called "Fantasia Concertante". World premiere by Andrés Segovia, to whom it was dedicated, and conducted by the composer himself. W501 is the original version for Guitar and Orchestra. (The cadenza is included...

In Charles Ives's most famous work The Unanswered Question, a miniature he called a "cosmic drama," one finds distilled his revolutionary means, and more importantly the ends of his singular art. The piece is a kind of collage in three distinct layers,...

Composed in 1933, for the film "Lieutenant Kijé". The troika is frequently used in films and documentaries for Christmas scenes and scenes involving snow. The suite, in five movements broadly follows the plot of the movie:1. Kijé's Birth:...

The Tempest - Incidental Music to Shakespeare´s Play, Prelude Op.109 No.1 was written in 1925-26. The music is said to display an astounding richness of imagination and inventive capacity, and is one of Sibelius's greatest achievements. The...

Concerto in D major for Oboe and Small Orchestra, AV 144, TrV 292.  Written in 1945, it was one of the last works that Richard Strauss composed near the end of his life, during an "Indian summer". This delightful Oboe Concerto has a lovely, warm...

Tzigane was composed between 1922 and 1924 and is a virtuosic, gypsy-inflected piece for Violin and Orchestra. This work, dedicated to violinist Jelly d'Aranyi, derives from Ravel’s interest in the gypsies and in Hungarian culture. Set of Parts...