Classical Instrumental Works for Orchestra

An der Schönen Blauen Donau (On the Beautiful Blue Danube), Op. 314, written by Johann Strauss II (1825-1899) is one of the most popular works in classical music, and remains well-known in popular cul...

Johann Strauss, Jr. (1825-1899) wrote the KAISER-WALZER, Op. 437 (EMPEROR WALTZES) to celebrate the toast of friendship that Franz Joseph I extended when he visited Wilhelm II in 1889. Fritz Simrock,...

Johann Strauss, Jr. (1825-1899) wrote the KAISER-WALZER, Op. 437 (EMPEROR WALTZES) to celebrate the toast of friendship that Franz Joseph I extended when he visited Wilhelm II in 1889. Fritz Simrock,...

The comic operetta DIE FLEDERMAUS (The Bat) by Johann Strauss II (1825-1899) is the composer's best known operetta, though "The Waltz King" is perhaps better remembered yet for his contribut...

Johann Strauss II (1825-1899) wrote FURIOSO POLKA, OP. 260, in 1861, at a time when these quick dances thrived in Viennese ballrooms. In the subtitle "quasi Galopp", he indicated that the piece should...

THE GYPSY BARON (DER ZIGEUNERBARON) is an operetta in three acts by Johann Strauss II (1825-1899) which premiered at the Theater an der Wien on October 24, 1885. Its libretto, penned by the author Ign...

THE QUEEN'S LACE HANDKERCHIEF (DAS SPITZENTUCH DER KÖNIGIN) is an operetta by Johann Strauss II (1825-1899). The libretto by Heinrich Bohrmann-Riegen and Richard Genée is based on a fictional story ab...

THE QUEEN'S LACE HANDKERCHIEF (DAS SPITZENTUCH DER KÖNIGIN) is an operetta by Johann Strauss II (1825-1899). The libretto by Heinrich Bohrmann-Riegen and Richard Genée is based on a fictional story ab...

JOHANN STRAUSS II (1825-1899) initially wrote FRÜHLINGSSTIMMEN, Op. 410 (VOICES OF SPRING) as a concert aria. He dedicated the piece, with a libretto by Richard Genée, to pianist-composer Alfred Grünf...

The fourth in a set of tone poems that Richard Strauss (1864-1949) wrote before his career as an opera composer, DEATH AND TRANSFIGURATION (TOD UND VERKLÄRUNG) portrays the death of an artist and the...

TILL EULENSPIEGELS LUSTIGE STREICHE (TILL EULENSPIEGEL'S MERRY PRANKS), is a tone poem written in 1894-95 by Richard Strauss (1864-1949). It chronicles the misadventures and pranks of the German peasa...

TILL EULENSPIEGELS LUSTIGE STREICHE (TILL EULENSPIEGEL'S MERRY PRANKS), is a tone poem written in 1894-95 by Richard Strauss (1864-1949). It chronicles the misadventures and pranks of the German peasa...

Richard Strauss's (1864-1949) tone poem DON JUAN, Op. 20, was composed in 1888. The work is based on Don Juans Ende, a play derived from an unfinished 1844 retelling of the tale by poet Nikolaus Lenau...

German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche's best-known work, "Also sprach Zarathustra!" ("Thus Spoke Zarathustra!") has been an inspiration for many composers' works, but the best known is this 1896 symp...

Written between 1886 and 1888, Richard Strauss' (1864-1949) MACBETH, Op. 23 was the then young composer's first tone poem, which he described as "a completely new path" in his composition. It premiere...

Written between 1886 and 1888, Richard Strauss' (1864-1949) MACBETH, Op. 23 was the then young composer's first tone poem, which he described as "a completely new path" in his composition. It premiere...

Written in a Bavarian mountain resort in 1898, Richard Strauss' (1864-1949) eighth tone poem Ein Heldenleben (A Hero's Life) was a response to Beethoven's Symphony No. 3 ('Eroica'). Although he played...

Written while still a student of Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Stravinsky was encouraged to begin work on this piece for full orchestra in 1905. The young composer's first composition foray beyond piano, i...

Written while still a student of Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Stravinsky was encouraged to begin work on this piece for full orchestra in 1905. The young composer's first composition foray beyond piano, i...

Peter Ilyitch Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) composed Capriccio Italien, Op. 45, in 1880 following a trip to Rome with his brother, Modest. Originally titled Italian Fantasia, the work incorporates the music...

Peter Ilyitch Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) composed Capriccio Italien, Op. 45, in 1880 following a trip to Rome with his brother, Modest. Originally titled Italian Fantasia, the work incorporates the music...

EUGENE ONEGIN, based on a verse-novel by Alexander Pushkin, is Peter Ilyitch Tchaikovsky's (1840-1893) best-known opera. The story depicts the life of the titular Onegin, a Russian dandy who does not...

EUGENE ONEGIN, based on a verse-novel by Alexander Pushkin, is Peter Iljitsch Tschaikowsky's (1840-1893) best-known opera. The story depicts the life of the titular Onegin, a Russian dandy who does no...

Tchaikovsky's largest symphony both in length and instrumentation, the MANFRED SYMPHONY remained unnumbered, though it was written between his 4th and 5th symphonies.  A programmatic symphony bas...

Tchaikovsky's largest symphony both in length and instrumentation, the MANFRED SYMPHONY remained unnumbered, though it was written between his 4th and 5th symphonies.  A programmatic symphony bas...