Handel wrote his Water Music for the King of England. Lots of aristocrats hired composers to write music for them. But some kings and nobles wrote music themselves, including King […]
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It’s December, and winter has officially begun. This is a program of music with wintery themes.
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George Gershwin wrote his Rhapsody in Blue in a big hurry, after he saw a newspaper announcement saying that he was writing a jazz concerto for a concert taking place […]
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Igor Stravinsky based his ballet The Firebird on a Russian folk tale about an evil demon named Kashchei, who has thirteen princesses under his spell. A prince who wanders into […]
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Music by composers from the three official Scandinavian countries — Norway, Denmark and Sweden — and a couple of unofficial ones — Finland and Iceland!
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Franz Schubert wrote his Marche Militaire for piano four hands — two people playing the same instrument. Here are some more pieces for piano four hands.
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Depicting a thunderstorm in music was one of Rossini’s specialties. Here are some more examples of musical thunderstorms.
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After Dmitri Kabalevsky wrote music for a play called The Inventor and the Comedians, he put selections from that music into a concert suite called The Comedians. Listen to what’s […]
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Fanny Mendelssohn, Felix Mendelssohn’s older sister, was a talented pianist and composer. So was Clara Schumann, wife of composer Robert Schumann. Also featured: music of Elizabeth-Claude Jacquet de la Guerre, […]
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A collection of musical firsts, including the first string quartet, the first use of trombones in a symphony, and the first professional musician to make a recording.
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