Classical Instrumental Works for Orchestra

Programme Note from original publication - This work was first played in America by the New York Philharmonic Orchestra in June, 1910, and was the result of a commission from Mr. Carl Stoeckel, to who...

AUX ÉTOILES (TO THE STARS), composed in 1874, is a short poem for orchestra by French composer Henri Duparc (1848-1933). He originally intended it for a three-movement work titled Poéme nocturne. High...

AUX ÉTOILES (TO THE STARS), composed in 1874, is a short poem for orchestra by French composer Henri Duparc (1848-1933). He originally intended it for a three-movement work titled Poéme nocturne. High...

Alexander Glazunov (1865-1936) composed the beautiful Serenade No. 2 in F Major, Op. 11 in 1884, before his "creative crisis" of 1890. For a small orchestra, it was premiered in 1885, his friend and m...

Alexander Glazunov (1865-1936) composed the beautiful Serenade No. 2 in F Major, Op. 11 in 1884, before his "creative crisis" of 1890. For a small orchestra, it was premiered in 1885, his friend and m...

Sir Edward Elgar's Symphony No. 2 in E-flat Major, Op. 63, was composed in 1911, with the premiere taking place at the London Musical Festival by the Queen's Hall Orchestra, Elgar conducting, on May 2...

Peter Ilyitch Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) began work on his SYMPHONY No. 4, Op. 36 in 1877 and finished it the following year. Begun soon after Tchaikovsky established his relationship with long-time patr...

Peter Ilyitch Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) began work on his SYMPHONY No. 4, Op. 36 in 1877 and finished it the following year. Begun soon after Tchaikovsky established his relationship with long-time patr...

Written three years after his Manfred Symphony, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's (1840-1893) Symphony No. 5 in E minor, Op. 64 was composed in 1888. Although it has been surpassed in popularity a bit over t...

Written three years after his Manfred Symphony, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's (1840-1893) Symphony No. 5 in E minor, Op. 64 was composed in 1888. Although it has been surpassed in popularity a bit over t...

Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov's (1844-1908) four-act opera-ballet Mlada was originally conceived as a collaborative project with music provided by five composers: César Cui, Modest Mussorgsky, Nicolai Rimsk...

Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov's (1844-1908) four-act opera-ballet Mlada was originally conceived as a collaborative project with music provided by five composers: César Cui, Modest Mussorgsky, Nicolai Rimsk...

Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) wrote music for William Shakespeare's play A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM on two separate occasions. He first wrote the concert overture in E Major, Op. 21 in 1826 at the age...

Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) wrote music for William Shakespeare's play A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM on two separate occasions. He first wrote the concert overture in E Major, Op. 21 in 1826 at the age...

The Nutcracker is a two-act “fairy ballet” written by Peter Iljitsch Tschaikowsky (1840-1893). Based on E. T. A. Hoffmann’s 1816 short story, “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King,” the original 1892 pro...

Un Ballo in Maschera (A Masked Ball) is an 1859 three act opera by Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) with a libretto by Antonio Somma. Initially based on Eugène Scribe's libretto for Daniel Auber's 1833 five...

Un Ballo in Maschera (A Masked Ball) is an 1859 three act opera by Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) with a libretto by Antonio Somma. Initially based on Eugène Scribe's libretto for Daniel Auber's 1833 five...

These Three Marches, K. 408 (K. 383e [No. 1], K. 385a [No. 2], K. 383f [No. 3]) were composed for orchestra by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) in 1782. Instrumentation: 2.2.0.2: 2.2.0.0: Timp: Str...

These Three Marches, K. 408 (K. 383e [No. 1], K. 385a [No. 2], K. 383f [No. 3]) were composed for orchestra by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) in 1782. Instrumentation: 2.2.0.2: 2.2.0.0: Timp: Str...

Maurice Ravel’s (1875-1937) Ma mère l’Oye (“Mother Goose”) draws its inspiration from the fairy tales of Charles Perrault, Madame d’Aulnoy, and Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont. Ravel composed the fi...

Maurice Ravel’s (1875-1937) Ma mère l’Oye (“Mother Goose”) draws its inspiration from the fairy tales of Charles Perrault, Madame d’Aulnoy, and Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont. Ravel composed the fi...

Maurice Ravel's (1875-1937) Ma mère l'Oye (Mother Goose) draws its inspiration from the fairy tales of Charles Perrault, Madame d'Aulnoy, and Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont. Ravel composed the firs...

Maurice Ravel's (1875-1937) Ma mère l'Oye (Mother Goose) draws its inspiration from the fairy tales of Charles Perrault, Madame d'Aulnoy, and Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont. Ravel composed the firs...

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...

VALSES NOBLES ET SENTIMENTALES is one of several works by Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) which reflect his fascination with the infectious simplicity of the waltz. Using Franz Schubert's collections of wal...