Kalmus Orchestra Library

Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924) composed his opera EDGAR in 1889, following the success of his first stage work LE VILLI and at the encouragement of his publisher, Giulio Ricordi. Premiered at La Scala in...

Hoping to repeat the success of his first opera LE VILLI, the publisher Ricordi commissioned Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924) to write EDGAR, SC 62, based on a libretto by Ferdinando Fontana after Alfred d...

Written by Jean Sibelius (1865-1957) in 1913, this cryptic tone poem premiered on March 27th of that year by the Philharmonic Society Orchestra in Helsinki, under the composer's baton. Following that...

Written by Jean Sibelius (1865-1957) in 1913, this cryptic tone poem premiered on March 27th of that year by the Philharmonic Society Orchestra in Helsinki, under the composer's baton. Following that...

Following a jocular remark from his wife that he sometimes seemed like a child, Robert Schumann (1810-1856) was inspired to write a work for piano evoking the curiosities and sentiments of childhood....

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...

Tzigane is a rhapsodic composition by the French composer Maurice Ravel. It was commissioned by and dedicated to Hungarian violinist Jelly d'Arányi, great-niece of the influential violin virtuoso Jose...

Igor Strawinsky's ballet Pulcinella was written for Les Ballets Russes after the great triumph of The Firebird and the great scandal of The Rite of Spring, but it marked a new compositional direction....

L'Arlésienne (The Woman from Arles), a play produced in 1872, was adapted from an 1868 novel by the author Alphonse Daudet. Georges Bizet (1838-1875) was commissioned to write the incidental music for...

L'Arlésienne (The Woman from Arles), a play produced in 1872, was adapted from an 1868 novel by the author Alphonse Daudet. Georges Bizet (1838-1875) was commissioned to write the incidental music for...

Ferde Grofe's (1892-1972) Mississippi Suite depicts scenes along a journey down the Mississippi River, from its headwaters of Minnesota down to New Orleans. The work was composed in 1926 and first per...

Gustav Holst (1874-1934) began composition of A Fugal Overture in 1922, completing the full score in January 1923. Despite its name, the overture is not strictly fugal. It belongs to the era of neo-cl...

Gustav Holst (1874-1934) began composition of A Fugal Overture in 1922, completing the full score in January 1923. Despite its name, the overture is not strictly fugal. It belongs to the era of neo-cl...

Sergei Prokofjew (1891-1953) began his Violin Concerto No. 1 in D major, Op. 19, as a concertino in 1915 but soon abandoned it to work on his opera, The Gambler. He returned to the concerto in the sum...

Sergei Prokofjew (1891-1953) began his Violin Concerto No. 1 in D major, Op. 19, as a concertino in 1915 but soon abandoned it to work on his opera, The Gambler. He returned to the concerto in the sum...

The overture to THE SONG OF HIAWATHA was composed in 1899 for the Norwich Triennial Musical Festival performance of HIAWATHA'S WEDDING FEAST, then published separately from any of the three Hiawatha c...

The overture to THE SONG OF HIAWATHA was composed in 1899 for the Norwich Triennial Musical Festival performance of HIAWATHA'S WEDDING FEAST, then published separately from any of the three Hiawatha c...

Symphony No. 7 in C Major, Op. 105, was Jean Sibelius' (1865-1957) final published symphony. Completed in 1924, the work is notable for being comprised of a single movement, in contrast to the standar...

Devotion (Ab imo pectore) is the second half of Jean Sibelius' (1865-1957) Two Pieces for Violin or Cello and Orchestra, Op. 77. Completed in 1915, the first performance was held in Helsinki on March...

Devotion (Ab imo pectore) is the second half of Jean Sibelius' (1865-1957) Two Pieces for Violin or Cello and Orchestra, Op. 77. Completed in 1915, the first performance was held in Helsinki on March...

Béla Bartók's (1881-1945) Four Orchestra Pieces, Op. 12 premiered in January 1922 in Budapest, but did not become one of Bartók's best-known works until its popularity was revived by Pierre Boulez in...

Béla Bartók's (1881-1945) Four Orchestra Pieces, Op. 12 premiered in January 1922 in Budapest, but did not become one of Bartók's best-known works until its popularity was revived by Pierre Boulez in...

Between 1917 and 1931, Ottorino Respighi (1879-1936) transcribed three orchestral suites from original pieces written for lute between the 16th and 18th centuries. Antiche Danze ed Arie (Ancient Airs...

Between 1917 and 1931, Ottorino Respighi (1879-1936) transcribed three orchestral suites from original pieces written for lute between the 16th and 18th centuries. Antiche Danze ed Arie (Ancient Airs...

Pacific 231 is an orchestral piece by Arthur Honegger (1892-1955) intended to evoke the feelings of the composer when he witnessed a train in motion. The title of the piece refers to a specific type o...