REPRINT SERIES Grażyna Bacewicz's "Concerto for Large Symphony Orchestra," catalogued as IGB 16, was composed in 1962 and premiered on September 17 of that year at the Warsaw Autumn International Festival of Contemporary Music. The performance featured...

Shostakovich’s Festive Overture in A Major, Op. 96 was composed in 1954 to celebrate the 37th anniversary of the October Revolution. Written in a remarkably short time, the piece opens with a bold brass fanfare before launching into a fast-paced,...

George Gershwin’s An American in Paris is a symphonic poem that vividly captures the energy and charm of Paris through the perspective of an American traveler. Premiered in 1928, the piece blends jazz elements with classical orchestration,...

Arthur Bliss's Piano Concerto in B-flat major was composed in 1938–1939 and premiered at the 1939 New York World’s Fair by pianist Solomon with the New York Philharmonic under Sir Adrian Boult. Commissioned by the British Council, the...

Bruno Maderna's "Composizione in tre tempi," composed in 1954, exemplifies his innovative approach to orchestral composition in the mid-20th century. Structured in three movements—"Allegro scorrevole," "Adagio," and "Allegro"—the piece...

REPRINT SERIES Poulenc’s "Stabat Mater" (FP 148), composed in 1950, is a powerful and emotional choral work set to the traditional Latin hymn, "Stabat Mater Dolorosa." The piece was written in the aftermath of World War II, and its deeply...

REPRINT SERIES Bloch's Concerto Symphonique for Piano and Orchestra, composed in 1932, is a dramatic and ambitious work that blends elements of symphonic grandeur with the virtuosic demands of the piano. The concerto reflects Bloch’s deep...

Arthur Bliss's Miracle in the Gorbals is a one-act ballet that premiered in London on October 26, 1944. Set in the slums of Glasgow, the ballet tells a dramatic and symbolic story of redemption and sacrifice. The scenario was written by Michael Benthall,...

Kurt Atterberg's Symphony No. 2 in F major, Op. 6, composed in 1911-12, is a work that reflects his early maturity and connection to the Romantic tradition. It is scored for a standard late-Romantic orchestra and unfolds over three movements. The...

Partita is the work with which Dallapiccola first came to international recognition. Written in memory of the Italian pianist Ernesto Consolo, it is scored in four movements for orchestra, with a soprano solo in the final movement. In a manner analogous...

Sunset Boulevard was nominated for eleven Oscars, winning 3 of them, for Best Screenplay, Best Art Direction and Waxman's score for Best Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture. In 2005, Waxman’s score was listed as among the twenty-five most...

 Carmen Fantasie is a virtuoso showpiece for violin and orchestra. The piece is part of Franz Waxman's score to the 1946 movie Humoresque for which he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture. The...

The Symphony No. 8 in C minor, Op. 65, by Dmitri Shostakovich was written in the summer of 1943, and first performed on 4 November of that year by the USSR Symphony Orchestra under Yevgeny Mravinsky, to whom the work is dedicated. It briefly was...

Five Tudor Portraits (1935), by Ralph Vaughan Williams, is a work scored for contralto (or mezzo-soprano), baritone, mixed chorus and orchestra. It sets several poems, or extracts from poems, by the 15th/16th-century poet John Skelton, portraying five...

The scenario of Martinu’s 1930 “Echec du Roi” (Checkmate) anticipates that of Stravinsky’s “Jeu de Cartes” (1937), with dancing chessmen taking the place of dancing poker chips. The score mixes Stravinskyan...

Dona nobis pacem (English: Grant us peace) is a cantata written by Ralph Vaughan Williams in 1936 and first performed on 2 October of that year. The work was commissioned to mark the centenary of the Huddersfield Choral Society. Vaughan Williams produced...

Villa-Lobos composed his Ninth Symphony in Rio de Janeiro in 1952. It was first performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra, conducted by Eugene Ormandy. The score is dedicated to Mindinha (Arminda Neves d'Almeida), the composer's companion for the last 23...