Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy (bornHamburg,Germany, 1809; diedLeipzig,Germany, 1847) Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in E-minor, Op. 64 1. Allegro molto appasionato 2. Andante 3. Allegretto non troppo – Allegro molto vivace In 1825 and 1826, Mendelssohn, only 16 years old, wrote two of Westerns Music’s greatest jewels: the String Octet in E-flat Major, Op. 20, […]
Gioachino (Antonio) Rossini (b in Pesaro, Italy on February 29, 1792; d in Paris, November 13, 1868) Overture to The Barber of Seville (Il barbiere di Siviglia) Rossini was the world’s favorite opera composer until perhaps the middle of the nineteenth century. Having tutored himself on Mozart’s exquisite operatic models, Rossini’s own exceptional standards […]
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (Born, 1844, Tithing, Russia; Died, 1908, Lubes, Russia) Scheherazade, Op. 35 1. The Sea and Sinbad’s Ship 2. The Story of the Calendar Prince 3. The Young Prince and the Young Princess 4. Festival inBaghdad; the Sea; the Ship Goes to Pieces on a Rock Surmounted by a Bronze Warrior (Shipwreck); […]
Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov (b Tikhvin, March 18, 1844; d Lyubensk, nr Luga [nowPskov district], June 21, 1908) Symphony No. 2 “Antar” Op. 9 1. Largo- Allegro giocoso 2. Allegro 3. Allegro risoluto all marcia 4. Allegretto vivace Given to a lively imagination and a lust for travel, young Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov’s first career was exploring the world as a […]
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov – 1844 – 1908 Russian Easter Festival Overture op. 36 Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, in many respects, was the dean of Russian composers in the 19th Century. His championing of Russian composers (indeed he is mostly responsible for Mussorgsky’s best loved works achieving such popularity), his advocacy of the Nationalist movement, his influence as a […]
Silvestre Revueltas – 1899-1940 Janitzio [. . .] Most profound was his ability to portray a tremendous array of emotions in his works through a masterfully refined sense of drama, contrast, and movement. His best known work is Sensamaya, an orchestral tone poem about an Afro-Cuban ritual to a snake diety. [. . .] Janitzio was first performed […]
Silvestre Revueltas (b December 31, 1899 in Santiago Papasquiaro, Durango, Mexico; d October 5, 1940 in Mexico City) La Noche de los Mayas – “The Night of the Mayas” (Chamber version – arranged by Paul Hindemith) 1. Lento – Andantino – Allegretto – Andant 2. Lento – Moderato – Lento – Allegro Revueltas was born just beforeMexico’s neo-Renaissance […]
Silvestre Revueltas – 1899-1940 La Noche de los Mayas 1. Noche de los Mayas – Molto sostenuto2. 2. Noche de Jaranas – Scherzo 3. Noche de Yucatan – Andante espressivo 4. Noche de Encantamiento – Tema y variaciones [. . .] It was an extraordinary time in Mexico’s history in many ways, and Revueltas was an […]
Ottorino Respighi – 1879-1936 Trittico Botticelliano 1. La Primavera 2. L’Adorazione dei Magi 3. La Nascita di Venere The Italian composer Ottorino Respighi, 1879-1936, is often treated by musicologists with less than charity, but none-the-less is appreciated for his mammoth works for orchestra, the Fountains of Rome and the Pines of Rome. In fact, Respighi’s musical […]
Ottorino Respighi (b Bologna, Italy, July 9, 1879; d Rome, April 18, 1936) Gli Uccelli (The Birds) Suite for Orchestra, P. 154 1. Prelude 2. The Dove 3. The Hen 4. The Nightingale 5. The Cuckoo Besides the fantastic and colossal orchestral tone poems (the Pines and Fountains of Rome) that Italian composer Respighi is […]