Classical Instrumental Works for Orchestra

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...

Richard Strauss (1864-1949) composed his Symphonia Domestica, Op. 53 (TrV 209) in 1902-1903, creating one of his most expansive and personal tone poems, a richly orchestrated portrait of a day in the...

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...

Fatum, Op. 77 was composed in 1868 by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840 - 1893) as an early symphonic poem inspired by the Romantic idea of inescapable fate, a theme that would recur throughout his later...

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...

Marche Slave, Op. 31, ("Slavonic March") was first performed in Moscow in November 1876. It is a rousing patriotic work based on Serbian and Russian folk themes. Tchaikovsky was commissioned to write...

Marche Slave, Op. 31, ("Slavonic March") was first performed in Moscow in November 1876. It is a rousing patriotic work based on Serbian and Russian folk themes. Tchaikovsky was commissioned to write...

The orchestral Suite No. 1 from Tchaikovsky's well-known ballet, THE NUTCRACKER, includes eight movements: I. Ouverture Miniature - Allegro giusto, II. Danses Caracteristiques a) Marche, b) Danse de l...

The Nutcracker is a two-act "fairy ballet" written by Peter Ilyitch Tchaikovsky (1840-1893). Based on E. T. A. Hoffmann's 1816 short story, "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King," the original 1892 produ...

Among the most frequently performed and well-known of P. I. Tchaikovsky's (1840-1893) works, The Year 1812, Solemn Overture, Op. 49 (more commonly known as the 1812 Overture) was written in 1880 to co...

Among the most frequently performed and well-known of P. I. Tchaikovsky's (1840-1893) works, The Year 1812, Solemn Overture, Op. 49 (more commonly known as the 1812 Overture) was written in 1880 to co...