The Flight of the Bumblebee comes from an opera called The Tale of Tsar Saltan, which is based on a story by the famous Russian poet Alexander Pushkin. In the […]
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„Rhapsody“ is an ancient word that means „songs stitched together“. The Greeks used to write long poems in praise of their heroes, and then take bits and pieces of those […]
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In the „Farandole“ from Georges Bizet’s Arlésienne Suite, there are examples of all three kinds of harmonic texture: monophony, homophony, and polyphony. Hear those terms explained in words and in […]
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There are many pieces of classical music — besides „The Flight of the Bumblebee“ — that are about bees, birds, and other winged creatures. Composers use various instruments to imitate […]
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Concertos got their start in 17th century Italy. The history of violin concertos follows the history of great violinists.
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Charles Ives loved to put hymns into his music. Several other composers borrowed hymn tunes; here are several examples from 20th Century American compositions.
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Giacomo Puccini’s opera La Bohème is about struggling artists in Paris. Its title means „the bohemian lifestyle.“ But Bohemia isn't in France; it's in the Czech Republic. Other composers such […]
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„In The Hall of the Mountain King“ is part of the incidental music Edvard Grieg wrote for Henrik Ibsen’s play Peer Gynt. Hear the story of the play as you […]
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The kind of galop that Dmitri Kabalevsky put his suite The Comedians has nothing to do with horses. In fact, it’s not even spelled the same as a horse's gallop. […]
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After William Grant Still wrote his Afro-American Symphony, he found bits of poetry that he thought went with each movement. The poetry was written by Paul Laurence Dunbar, the first […]
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