Wil van der Beek

The Austro-Hungarian composer and conductor Franz Lehár is mainly known for his operettas. Wiener Frauen (Viennese Women), from 1902, is one of the first operettas that Lehár wrote. The overture has q...

This overture introducing Fibich's opera 'Sarka', was composed between 1896 and 1897 and is based on a famous Bohemian legend. Several Czech composers, such as Bedrich Smetana and Leos Janacek, have u...

The Overture to The Land of Smiles by Franz Léhar (1870-1948) In the overture to the operetta 'The Land of Smiles', the outstanding orchestrator, Léhar, has artfully forged some of the now world famou...

Ralph Vaughan Williams (Down Ampney, Gloucestershire,1872-1958) was a British composer, organist and conductor. He is often regarded as a key figure in English musical nationalism (along with Edward E...

Ralph Vaughan Williams (Down Ampney, Gloucestershire,1872-1958) was a British composer, organist and conductor. He is often regarded as a key figure in English musical nationalism (along with Edward E...

The Last Rose of Summer is a popular Irish folksong. The original text was written by Thomas Moore (1779-1852) and the melody is a traditional air titled The Groves of Blarney. The German composer Fri...

Hans Christian Lumbye was born in Denmark in 1810 and has become known for his many light-hearted and airy works, most commonly waltzes, galops, polkas, mazurkas and marches. The Champagne Galop is wi...

In 1950, Pope Pius XII selected Marche Pontificale from the Organ Symphony No. 1, by French composer Charles Gounod, as the official hymn of the Vatican. The first rendition of the official hymn took...

This wedding march, used primarily as a recessional, comes from Mendelssohn's symphonic piece, ' A Midsummer Night's Dream, ' based on Shakespeare's play of the same name. This excellent arrangement f...

Come, Sweet Death ("Komm, Süsser Tod") (BWV 478) is a spiritual song composed by German J.S. Bach, originally intended for solo singing and basso continuo ("figured bass"), but also frequently heard i...

In 1941, Khatchaturian composed a ballet soon to be known throughout the world - Gayaneh. In this piece the composer describes the landscape of his native country Armenia, and the people who tried to...

La Traviata is one of the most well-known operas by Giuseppe Verdi. The story of the opera depicts the conflict between free love and bourgeois morality. The young poet Alfredo and the Parisian courte...

Duration: 9:00 minutes

La Traviata is one of the most well-known operas by Giuseppe Verdi. The story of the opera depicts the conflict between free love and bourgeois morality. The young poet Alfredo and the Parisian courte...

Jacques Offenbach was born in 1819 in Cologne, Germany, but as a child he moved to Paris where he received a thorough musical education. In his operetta Orpheus in the Underworld, Offenbach parodies t...

In 1786 Mozart composed his wonderful opera Le Nozze di Figaro (KV 492). The Italian libretto, based on the play Le mariage de Figaro by Beaumarchais, was written by Lorenzo da Ponte - who also made t...

Rienzi remains one of the most popular works from the ?master of romantic opera?, Richard Wagner. The Friedensmarsch from the fourth act (scene 2) of Rienzi is subdued and solemn in character: in the...

Rienzi remains one of the most popular works from the ?master of romantic opera?, Richard Wagner. The Friedensmarsch from the fourth act (scene 2) of Rienzi is subdued and solemn in character: in the...

In 1950, Pope Pius XII selected Marche Pontificale from the Organ Symphony No. 1, by French composer Charles Gounod, as the official hymn of the Vatican. The first rendition of the official hymn took...

Gioacchino Rossini was a musical prodigy, composing his first opera when he was eighteen years old. At the age of 37, after having written 39 operas in all, he almost completely stopped composing and...

Giacomo Puccini was one of the all time great opera composers and is especially famed for his wonderful, warm-blooded melodies, his colourful instrumentations, his compelling dramatics, his musical fa...

Giacomo Puccini was one of the all time great opera composers and is especially famed for his wonderful, warm-blooded melodies, his colourful instrumentations, his compelling dramatics, his musical fa...