Kalmus Orchestra Library

The GOLD AND SILVER WALTZES, Op. 79, was written by Franz Lehár (1870-1948) at the request of Princess Metternich to compose "something especially fine" for her "Gold und Silber" gala ball, commission...

This is the beautiful slow movement from Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana. This abridged version adds two alternate orchestrations to the original and is suitable for better orchestras everywhere. Inst...

Jacques Offenbach's (1819-1880) opéra bouffe in three acts, La belle Hélène (The Beautiful Helen) parodies the Greek myth of Helen and Paris' elopement, which set off the Trojan War according to Homer...

The opera LA FORZA DEL DESTINO by Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) was written in 1862 and premiered in the Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre of Saint Petersburg, Russia on November 10 of that same year. Following ma...

LOHENGRIN, first performed in 1850, is a Romantic opera in three acts, written by Richard Wagner (1813-1883). Based on the legendary 13th century romance of Lohengrin, a knight of the Holy Grail, who...

Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring (from Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben, BWV 147: "Jesu, bleibet meine Freude"), orchestrated by Alfred Reed, originates from Johann Sebastian Bach's (1685-1750) cantata comp...

Written in 1891 as Antonín Dvorák (1841-1904) was considering Jeannette Thurber's generous offer to move to the United States and serve as director of her National Conservatory of Music in New York, C...

The first performance of I VESPRI SICILIANI (THE SICILIAN VESPERS), a five-act opera by Guiseppe Verdi (1813-1901), took place at the Paris Opera on June 13, 1855, under the direction of Narcisse Gira...

Written between the autumn of 1900 and April 1901, Sergei Rachmaninoff's Concerto for Piano No. 2 remains one of the composer's most enduringly popular pieces and cemented his reputation as composer o...

Originally written by Debussy for piano four hands, PETITE SUITE has been transcribed many times, with this orchestral version by Henri Büsser being the most well-known. Perhaps due to a request from...

Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) wrote his Symphony in C minor, Op. 68 between 1854 and 1876. The long period of composition resulted from Brahms' self-criticism, with the composer destroying much of his e...

Habanera, composed for piano in October 1885, explores a folk tune that Emmanuel Chabrier (1841-1894) collected on his five-month trip to Spain. The habanera derives its name from Havana, Cuba, charac...

Raymonda, Op. 57 is a ballet in three acts by Alexander Glazunov (1865-1936), composed in collaboration with choreographer Marius Petipa, librettist Lydia Pashkova, and theatre director Ivan Vsevolozh...

Written by Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg (1843-1907) in 1868, the Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16 is the only concerto completed by Grieg. It remains one of his most popular works and is among the...

Edvard Grieg (1843-1907) drew material for his NORWEGISCHE TÄNZE, Op. 35 (4 NORWEGIAN DANCES), originally scored for piano and four hands, from an 1853 collection of Norwegian folk tunes compiled by L...

Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov's (1844-1908) Piano Concerto in C-sharp minor, Op. 30, was written at the request of Mily Balakirev and was premiered at one of his Free Music School concerts in St. Petersburg...

Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921) wrote his final piano concerto, Concerto No. 5, Op. 103, in 1896, which debuted that year with the composer himself performing the solo part. It derives its subtitle, "...

Spring Song, Op. 16 (Vårsång) was written in 1894 by Jean Sibelius (1865-1957) and was initially titled Improvisation for Orchestra. Sibelius revised the single-movement tone poem a year later and ret...

Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953) composed Overture on Jewish Themes (or Overture on Hebrew Themes), Op. 34, in 1919 for the uncommon combination of clarinet, string quartet, and piano, and this original v...

Claude Debussy (1862-1918) wrote the waltz La plus que lente for solo piano in 1910, a work that may or may not have been inspired by a small sculpture on his mantelpiece. The title is meant to wryly...

Though Hubay was best known as a violinist, he also distinguished himself as a composer. His FANTAISIE BRILLANTE was written in 1877. Demanding considerable technique, it contains the opera's greatest...

Though Hubay was best known as a violinist, he also distinguished himself as a composer. His FANTAISIE BRILLANTE was written in 1877. Demanding considerable technique, it contains the opera's greatest...

The GROSSE FUGE (Great Fugue) remains the most controversial work by Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827), with it considered incomprehensible by his contemporaries, though the critical opinion of the wor...

The GROSSE FUGE (Great Fugue) remains the most controversial work by Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827), with it considered incomprehensible by his contemporaries, though the critical opinion of the wor...

Sir Edward Elgar's Introduction and Allegro for Strings, Op. 47, was composed in 1905 for performance in an all-Elgar concert by the newly formed London Symphony Orchestra. Scored for string quartet a...