Alvorada na floresta tropical W513 was commissioned by the Louisville Orchestra and written in 1953. In form it is an overture whose performances take eight to eleven minutes.Its form is predictable, though the music itself is anything but. Hushed...

Sergei Prokofiev's Symphonic Song (Russian: Симфоническая песнь), Op. 57, was written in 1933. It's a work demonstrating Prokofiev's transition from Parisian modernism to Soviet lyricism. Prokofiev had described of it as "a serious piece of work, and I...

REPRINT SERIES The large collection of rocky islands in the Baltic off Stockholm, known as the "Skerries" in English, inspired special affection in Alfvén, who spent many fine days there in his youth. In 1903, after writing Midsummer Vigil, the...

Described by Vaughan Williams as a "symphonic impression", it received its premiere under the conductor Thomas Beecham on 22 February 1909. The piece is meant to evoke feelings of traversing East Anglia's often bleak Fen landscape, illustrated by the...

REPRINT SERIES Fountains of Rome or Fontane di Roma is a symphonic poem written by Ottorino Respighi in 1916 and first published in 1918. It is the first orchestral work in his "Roman trilogy", followed by Pines of Rome (1924) and Roman Festivals (1928)...

Uirapuru is an orchestral piece with an elaborate program about the mythical Uirapuru bird in the Amazon jungle.  It's dedicated to ballet choreographer Serge Lifar. It is characteristic of the composer in blending Brazilian national inspiration...

Serge Koussevitzky asked whether Rachmaninoff would select a group of études-tableaux for Italian composer Ottorino Respighi to orchestrate. He agreed and selected five études from Op. 33 and Op. 39. Respighi rearranged the order of...

Respighi's greatest masterpieces,  the three Roman tone poems:   Fountains of Rome (Fontane di Roma) Picc, 2 Fl, 2 Ob, En.H., 2 Cl, B.Cl, 2 Bsn, 4 Hn, 3 Tpt, 3 Tbn, Tba, Timp, Perc, Organ (ad lib.), Cel., 2 Harps, Strings Pines of Rome (I...

Mussorgsky's inspiration for Pictures was the death of his dear friend, the architect and visual artist Victor Hartman. Having died at age 39, Hartman had not yet had the opportunity to realize any of his architectural visions, and Mussorgsky was angered...

It is the third orchestral work in Respighi's "Roman trilogy", preceded by Fountains of Rome (1916) and Pines of Rome (1924). Each of the four movements depict a scene of celebration from Ancient Rome. It is the longest and most demanding of the trilogy...

Romeo and Juliet Suite No.3 Op.101 has 6 movements and is the briefest of the three suites extracted from the Ballet, lasting just under twenty minutes. 1.Romeo at the Fountain2. .Morning Dance3.Juliet4.The Nurse5.Aubade6.The Death of Juliet

EDITION ZEZA REPRINT SERIES It is unusual among Bax's tone poems in that it is written for a much more normally sized orchestra than he was prone to demand. In this case the heavier brass -- usually the orchestral section most tasked and taxed in a Bax...

EDITION ZEZA REPRINT SERIES Tintagel is a symphonic poem composed by Arnold Bax in 1919; it is perhaps his best-known orchestral work. Bax had visited Tintagel Castle during the summer of 1917, accompanied by pianist Harriet Cohen, with whom he was...

Cuban Overture is a symphonic overture or tone poem for orchestra composed by American composer George Gershwin. Originally titled Rumba (named for the Cuban rumba musical genre), it was a result of a two-week holiday which Gershwin took in Havana, Cuba...

The Tempest - Incidental Music to Shakespeare´s Play, Prelude Op.109 No.1 was written in 1925-26. The music is said to display an astounding richness of imagination and inventive capacity, and is one of Sibelius's greatest achievements. The...

Pines of Rome (Pini di Roma) is a symphonic poem written in 1924 and forms one-third of Respighi's so called Roman trilogy, along with Fontane di Roma and Feste Romane. The piece was used in the film "Fantasia 2000". Sections:1. I pini di Villa...

Peter and the Wolf, for narrator and orchestra, was composed in 1936 and is recognized as one of Prokofiev's most famous works. It's a children's story, with both music and text by the composer himself, composed in just four days. Each character is...