Classical Instrumental Works for Orchestra

The first of a few works that Camille Saint-Saens (1835-1921) wrote for wind band, ORIENT AND OCCIDENT, subtitled "grand march," better resembles a tone poem. Inspired by the world travels he undertoo...

Carl Emil Paul Lincke (1866-1946) served as a composer and theater conductor. Thought of as the "father" of the Berlin operetta, he was best known for his operetta Frau Luna, though his Berliner Luft...

Carl Emil Paul Lincke (1866-1946) served as a composer and theater conductor. Thought of as the "father" of the Berlin operetta, he was best known for his operetta Frau Luna, though his Berliner Luft...

Carmen-Quadrille nach Motiven der gleichnamigen Oper von G. Bizet (Carmen quadrille based on motifs from the opera of the same name by G. Bizet), Op. 134, was written by Eduard "Edi" Strauss (1835-191...

DREI MILITARMARSCHEN (THREE MARCHES MILITAIRES), Op. 51, D. 733, were originally written for piano four-hands by Franz Schubert (1797 - 1828) during his stay at Count Johann Karl Esterházy's summer ho...

Two series of "Slavonic Dances," each of them consisting of eight numbers and separated by eight years, were composed by Antonín Dvorák. The idea was suggested to the composer by the publisher, N. Sim...

Written by Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943) in 1934, this set of variations for piano solo and orchestra on Niccolò Paganini's Caprice No. 24 for solo violin is much like a concerto, though it consists...

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's (1844-1908) path to completion of his Symphony No. 1, Op. 1 was less direct than is usual. While he had sketched ideas for the symphony as a result of his compositions lesson...

Count d'Ogny commissioned Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) to write three symphonies for the Concert de la Loge Olympique, which was then recognized as one of the finest orchestras in Europe. He complet...

Count d'Ogny commissioned Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) to write three symphonies for the Concert de la Loge Olympique, which was then recognized as one of the finest orchestras in Europe. He complet...

Popularly known as the “New World Symphony,” Antonín Dvorák's (1841-1904) Symphony No. 9 in E minor was composed in 1893 while he was the director of the National Conservatory of Music of America. A m...

Popularly known as the “New World Symphony,” Antonín Dvorák's (1841-1904) Symphony No. 9 in E minor was composed in 1893 while he was the director of the National Conservatory of Music of America. A m...

Songs and Dances of Death (Pesni i plyaski smerti), composed in the mid-1870s, is widely considered the finest song cycle by Modest Mussorgsky (1839-1881). The composer selected four poems penned by h...

Originally written in 1908 as a "Little Suite" for piano, CHILDREN'S CORNER was dedicated to Claude Debussy's (1862-1918) daughter, Claude-Emma: "To my beloved little Chouchou with the tender excuses...

SIGURD JORSALFAR, OP. 22, was composed by Edvard Grieg (1843-1907) for a play by Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson in honor of King Sigurd I. First performed in Christiania on April 10, 1872, the incidental music...

SIGURD JORSALFAR, OP. 22, was composed by Edvard Grieg (1843-1907) for a play by Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson in honor of King Sigurd I. First performed in Christiania on April 10, 1872, the incidental music...

Two series of Slavonic Dances, each of them consisting of eight numbers and separated by eight years, were composed by Antonín Dvorák (1841-1904). The idea was suggested to the composer by the publish...

Two series of Slavonic Dances, each of them consisting of eight numbers and separated by eight years, were composed by Antonín Dvorák (1841-1904). The idea was suggested to the composer by the publish...

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...

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...

Two series of Slavonic Dances, each of them consisting of eight numbers and separated by eight years, were composed by Antonín Dvorák (1841-1904). The idea was suggested to the composer by the publish...

Two series of Slavonic Dances, each of them consisting of eight numbers and separated by eight years, were composed by Antonín Dvorák (1841-1904). The idea was suggested to the composer by the publish...

Two series of Slavonic Dances, each of them consisting of eight numbers and separated by eight years, were composed by Antonín Dvorák (1841-1904). The idea was suggested to the composer by the publish...

Two series of Slavonic Dances, each of them consisting of eight numbers and separated by eight years, were composed by Antonín Dvorák (1841-1904). The idea was suggested to the composer by the publish...

George Butterworth (1885-1916), an English composer whose life was cut short at the Battle of the Somme, wrote two song cycles based on A SHROPSHIRE LAD, a collection of 63 poems by A.E. Housman. Conc...