Simon Fraser

Dvorak wrote his Prague Waltzes in December of 1879, at the request of a prestigious Prague musical society, and premiered the following January. They were written just after the first set of Slavonic...

Hummel wrote his "Concerto a Trombe Principale" (Trumpet Concerto in E Major) for Viennese trumpet virtuoso and inventor of the keyed trumpet, Anton Weidinger (as had Joseph Haydn). It was written in...

Hummel wrote his "Concerto a Trombe Principale" (Trumpet Concerto in E Major) for Viennese trumpet virtuoso and inventor of the keyed trumpet, Anton Weidinger (as had Joseph Haydn). It was written in...

Roméo et Juliette is an opera in five acts by Charles Gounod to a French libretto based on "The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet" by William Shakespeare. The opera is notable for the series of four duets f...

Louis Moreau Gottschalk war einer der ersten Komponisten, der karibische Rhythmen und Melodien in konzertante Werke einbaute. Seine scharfsinnige Musik nahm das vorweg, was später Ragtime und Jazz wur...

Louis Moreau Gottschalk's compositions were the first to incorporate rhythms and 'native" melodies of the West Indies into the concert music mainstream. His music astutely predated what would become r...

Iolanthe was the seventh collaboration between librettist William Gilbert and composer Sir Arthur Sullivan. Both men were "at the top of their game" for this venture and this operetta is well known fo...

Edward Elgar's Cello Concerto in E minor, Op. 85, his last notable work, is a cornerstone of the solo cello repertoire. Elgar composed it in the aftermath of the First World War, when his music had al...

Ancient Airs and Dances (Italian: Antiche arie e danze) is a set of three orchestral suites by Italian composer Ottorino Respighi. Suite No. 3 was composed in 1932. It differs from the previous two su...

'Pelléas et Mélisande', Opus 80 is a suite derived from incidental music by French composer Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924) for Maurice Maeterlinck's play of the same name. The 'Sicilienne' (Allegro molto m...

'Pelléas et Mélisande', Opus 80 is a suite derived from incidental music by French composer Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924) for Maurice Maeterlinck's play of the same name. The 'Sicilienne' (Allegro molto m...

Gabriel Fauré composed the 'Pavane' during the summer of 1887 and it was originally be orchestrated for a chamber orchestra. Although he enjoyed composing and performing it, Fauré was unaware of (or t...

Gabriel Fauré composed the 'Pavane' during the summer of 1887 and it was originally be orchestrated for a chamber orchestra. Although he enjoyed composing and performing it, Fauré was unaware of (or t...

Nowadays, Carmen is probably the most famous opera in the whole opera-repertoire, although its premiere in 1875 was a great disappointment because of the misunderstanding of the very realistic plot: t...

Franz von Suppé komponierte über 200 Bühnenwerke, von denen heute vor allem die Ouvertüren aufgeführt werden und in Filmen Verwendung finden. Zudem schrieb er auch einige Märsche wie den hier vorliege...

Franz von Suppé composed about 30 operettas and 180 farces, ballets, and other stage works. Although the bulk of Suppé's operas have sunk into relative obscurity, the overtures - particularly "Dichter...

Claude Debussy's L'isle joyeuse (The Happy Island) is an extended solo piano piece that was inspired by Watteau's painting L'Embarquement de Cythère, in which a happy group of revelers depart for/from...

Claude Debussy's L'isle joyeuse (The Happy Island) is an extended solo piano piece that was inspired by Watteau's painting L'Embarquement de Cythère, in which a happy group of revelers depart for/from...

'Mignon' is an 'opéra comique' in three acts from the French composer Ambroise Thomas. The original French libretto was by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré, based on Goethe's novel 'Wilhelm Meisters Leh...

'Mignon' is an 'opéra comique' in three acts from the French composer Ambroise Thomas. The original French libretto was by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré, based on Goethe's novel 'Wilhelm Meisters Leh...