All Entries in the "Program Notes" Category
Béla Bartók: Music For Strings, Percussion and Celeste
Béla Bartók
Music for Strings, Percussion and Celeste BB114 1936
Andante tranquillo
Allegro
Adagio
Allegro molto
Bartók’s Music for Strings, Percussion and Celeste is one of his most well known pieces along with the Concerto for Orchestra and the 6 string quartets. It was commissioned to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Basel Chamber Orchestra and premiered 21 January [...]
Gyorgy Ligeti: Romanian Concerto
Gyorgy Ligeti (1923-2006)
Romanian Concerto (1952)
Andantino
Allegro vivace
Adagio, ma non troppo
Molto vivace
When he wrote this piece, Ligeti was a harmony and counterpoint professor at the Budapest Conservatory, the school from which he graduated in 1949. It would still be four years before he and his wife would escape from Hungary by hiding under postbags [...]
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 7 ‘Leningrad’
Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975)
Symphony No. 7 “Leningrad”
Allegretto
Moderato (poco allegro)
Adagio
Allegro non troppo
There is great debate among musicologists regarding Shostakovich’s relationship with the Soviets. Some interpret his music as railing against Soviet cruelty while others have compiled evidence to show that he was at least somewhat complicit in their activities. Much of Shostakovich’s music is ambiguous [...]
Britten: Sinfonia da Requiem
Benjamin Britten (1913-1976)
Sinfonia da Requiem Op 20
Lacrymosa: Andante ben misurato
Dies irae: Allegro con fuoco
Requiem aeternam: Andante molto tranquillo
Britten’s largest work for symphony was born in rather curious circumstances. It was the result of a commission by the British Council for a piece to commemorate the 2600th anniversary of Japan’s Mikado dynasty. Why [...]
Louis Andriessen: The Nine Symphonies Of Beethoven
Louis Andriessen b. 1939
The Nine Symphonies of Beethoven for orchestra and ice cream bell (1970)
Louis Andriessen was born into an extraordinarily musical family. His father and uncle were well-respected Dutch composers and his brother and sister also took up the trade. After studying at the Hague Conservatory, Andriessen went to [...]
On Folk Music
[originally a set of program notes]
What is easy to sing, has a highly repetitive modal melody, a small range, simple harmony and is immediately danceable?
Folk music!
It’s easy enough to describe but terribly difficult to define, since, although there are common features, the form folk music takes and the purpose for which it is [...]
Rautavaara: Piano Concerto No. 1 Op 45
Einojuhani Rautavaara (b. 1928)
[pronounced: Eye-know-joo-ha-nee Row (rhymes with now)-tah-VAH-rah]
Piano Concerto No.1 Op. 45 (1969)
Con grandezza
Andante
Molto Vivace
Like most composers who have been afforded the luxury of sixty plus years in which to refine their craft, Einojuhani Rautavaara has gone through a complex stylistic development over the course of his career. As Sibelius’ natural successor, Rautavaara [...]
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