Baton Music

Dmitri Shostakovich wrote his second piano concerto in 1957 as a birthday gift for his 19-year-old son Maxim who premiered the piece during his graduation at the Moscow Conservatory. The eager, brilli...

'Transeamus usque Bethlehem' is a traditional Latin Christmas song, which was long erroneously attributed to the German Kapellmeister Joseph Schnabel (1767-1831). In the sixties of the twentieth centu...

'Transeamus usque Bethlehem' is a traditional Latin Christmas song, which was long erroneously attributed to the German Kapellmeister Joseph Schnabel (1767-1831). In the sixties of the twentieth centu...

'Hark! The Herald Angels Sing' is a Christmas carol that first appeared in 1739 in the collection 'Hymns and Sacred Poems', having been written by Charles Wesley but this is not the version widely kno...

'Hark! The Herald Angels Sing' is a Christmas carol that first appeared in 1739 in the collection 'Hymns and Sacred Poems', having been written by Charles Wesley but this is not the version widely kno...

Tenor and Symphonic Band The score of 'La Gioconda' is best known for its ballet divertimento 'The Dance of the Hours'. The tangled story of passion, intrigue, violence and eventual tragedy is set aga...

The score of "La Gioconda" is best known for its ballet divertimento "The Dance of the Hours". The tangled story of passion, intrigue, violence and eventual tragedy is set against the grim splendour o...

While Saverio Mercadante (1795-1870) may not have retained the international celebrity of Gaetano Donizetti or Gioachino Rossini beyond his own lifetime, he composed as impressive a number of works as...

While Saverio Mercadante (1795-1870) may not have retained the international celebrity of Gaetano Donizetti or Gioachino Rossini beyond his own lifetime, he composed as impressive a number of works as...

In 1904 Pleyel, the famous Parisian firm of instrument manufacturers, approached Debussy with a commission for a new test piece for chromatic harp, intended for use in the diploma examinations at the...

In 1904 Pleyel, the famous Parisian firm of instrument manufacturers, approached Debussy with a commission for a new test piece for chromatic harp, intended for use in the diploma examinations at the...

Alfredo Catalani's Opera 'La Wally' is best known for its aria 'Ebben? Ne andro lontana'. He had composed that aria independently as 'Chanson GroÙnlandaise' in 1878 and later incorporated it into his...

Alfredo Catalani's Opera "La Wally" is best known for its aria "Ebben? Ne andrò lontana". He had composed that aria independently as "Chanson Groënlandaise" in 1878 and later incorporated it into his...

Tschaikowsky's Symphony No. 4 in F minor, Op. 36, was written between 1877 and 1878 and first performed at a Russian Musical Society concert in Saint Petersburg on February 1878 under Nikolai Rubinste...

Tschaikowsky's Symphony No. 4 in F minor, Op. 36, was written between 1877 and 1878 and first performed at a Russian Musical Society concert in Saint Petersburg on February 1878 under Nikolai Rubinste...

Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung) is a cycle of four epic operas by German composer Richard Wagner (1813-1883). The works are based loosely on characters from the Norse sagas and the...

Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung) is a cycle of four epic operas by German composer Richard Wagner (1813-1883). The works are based loosely on characters from the Norse sagas and the...

Il Barbiere di Siviglia (1816) is one of the greatest of all comic operas.Based on an excellent play by Beaumarchais, The Barber of Seville delights audiences with its keenly sketched characters, melo...

As a contribution to the opera 'Armer Columbus' by German composer Erwin Dressel, Shostakovich composed two of his quirkiest and oddest early orchestral pieces. An energetic 'Entr'acte' in c minor (Al...

At the end of his life Offenbach composed his opera 'Les contes d'Hoffman', but unfortunately he was not able to finish it. The plot tells the story of the poet Hoffmann telling three of his amorous a...

At the end of his life Offenbach composed his opera "Les contes d'Hoffman", but unfortunately he was not able to finish it. The plot tells the story of the poet Hoffmann telling three of his amorous a...

When Russian composer Joseph Schillinger met Leon Theremin (the inventor of the theremin) they collaborated resulting in a few of the first original pieces for the theremin. Among those pieces Schilli...

Johann Strauss wrote the "Russische Marsch-Fantasie" (Russian March Fantasy) for a tour to Russia in 1872. Because the tour was cancelled, the successful first performance of the march was held in Vie...