Baton Music

Italian composer Luigi Denza (1846-1922) is best remembered for 'Funiculì, Funiculà' (1880), a humorous Neapolitan song inspired by the inauguration of a funicular at the summit of the 'Vesuvius'. Bes...

Hans Christian Lumbye ist vor allem für seine Lichtkompositionen bekannt, von denen viele auf nicht-musikalische Quellen zurückgehen. Der "Champagner-Galopp" (BTM681) beispielsweise beginnt mit dem "K...

The 'Concerto for Two Trumpets in C Major' by Antonio Vivaldi is one of the few solo works of the early 1700's to feature brass instruments and is among Vivaldi's best-known creations. As with the gre...

In 1868 Johann Strauss jr. composed the polka 'Freikugeln' (Free-Shooter), opus 326 which commemorated the '3rd German Federal Shooting Contest', which attracted no less than ten thousand entrants fro...

'Die Moldau' ('Vtlava') ist der zweite Satz aus Bedrich Smetanas sinfonischer Dichtung 'Mein Heimatland' ('Ma Vlas'). Er beschreibt den Verlauf des Flusses von den beiden kleinen Quellen durch Wälder...

Julius Fucík was a Czech composer, with over 400 marches, polkas, and waltzes to his name. As most of his work was for military bands, he is sometimes known as the 'Bohemian Sousa'. Today his marches...

Despite being very busy with three different Broadway musicals, Gershwin was able to complete the 'Concerto in F' for Piano and Orchestra in November, 1925. It was commissioned by the American conduct...

Reinhold Glière, a Russian composer of Belgian descent. As a composer Glière followed the Russian romantic tradition, something that brought him official praise in 1948 when the music of Prokofiev and...

Carl Millöcker (1842-1899), was an Austrian composer mainly known for his operetta Der Bettelstudent. In 1884 Millocker composed the opereatta Gasparone. on a libretto by Friedrich Zell and Richard Ge...

The 'Mass in b minor' (BWV 232) by Johann Sebastian Bach is a musical setting of the complete Ordinary of the Latin Mass. The work was one of Bach's last compositions, not completed until 1749, the ye...

In 1876 Tschaikowsky composed his ballet 'Swan Lake' Op. 20. Despite its initial failure, it is now one of the most popular of all ballets. 'Swan Lake' was premiered by the Bolshoi Ballet on 4 March 1...

Paul Dukas (1865-1935) wrote his 'Villanelle' as a demanding exam piece for the horn class of the Paris Conservatoire in 1906. The title, referencing a cheerful traditional vocal genre that originated...

Pascual Marquina Narro (1873 - 1948) was a prolific Spanish orchestral and operatic composer. As a composer he is particularly known for his pasodoble works. Among these belong the 'Rey del Pasodoble'...

La danza' is a patter song by Gioacchino Rossini, in 'Tarantella napoletana' time. It's the eighth song of the collection 'Les soirées musicales' which he composed in the years 1830-1835. 'La danza' b...

The music for Johann Strauss' Operetta 'Der Zigeunerbaron' is regularly performed today. The orchestral pieces that Strauss furnished from the work were also well-recognised, among them, the sparkling...

About Mendelssohn's oratorio 'Elias' The Times said: 'Never was there a more complete triumph - never a more thorough and speedy recognition of a great work of art.' The libretto of Elijah is most ski...

Pavane pour une infante défunte (Pavane für eine tote Prinzessin) ist ein bekanntes Stück für Klavier solo, das Maurice Ravel 1899 schrieb, als er am Pariser Konservatorium bei Gabriel Fauré Kompositi...

Wilhelm Kienzl (1857-1941) was an Austrian composer and conductor. He composed piano pieces, songs, choral music, chamber music, orchestral works and operas. His most successful opera is 'Der Evangeli...

Leoš Janáček (1854 - 1928) was a Czech composer, musical theorist, folklorist, publicist and teacher. He was inspired by Moravian and other Slavic folk music to create an original, modern musical styl...

La Péri' is a 1912 ballet in one act by French composer Paul Dukas, originally choreographed by Ivan Clustine and first performed in Paris, about Iskender (the name of Alexander the Great in Persian)...

Abendlied' (Evening song), is a sacred motet by the composer the German Joseph Rheinberger for a six-part mixed choir. It has been regarded as his best-known sacred composition and has a strong affini...

'Lyric Pieces' (Norwegian: Lyriske stykker) is a collection of 66 short pieces for solo piano written by Edvard Grieg. They were published in 10 volumes, from 1867 (Op. 12) to 1901 (Op. 71). The colle...

Jean-Baptiste Lully (1632 -1687) was an Italian-born French composer, guitarist, violinist, and dancer who is considered a master of the French Baroque music style. Best known for his operas, he spent...

Puciini's famous aria from the Opera Gianni Schicchi in an arramgement for Clarinet Quintet.