Classical Instrumental Works for Orchestra

The Ride of the Valkyries refers to the beginning of act 3 of Die Walküre, the second of the four operas constituting Richard Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen. As a separate piece, the "Ride" is often...

Written in 1874, the orchestral tone poem Danse Macabre Op. 40 by Camille Saint -Saëns (1835-1921) premiered in January of 1875 and was not well received by the audience. 21st century scholar Roger Ni...

Brahms composed this work during the summer of 1880 as a tribute to the University of Breslau for conferring on him an honorary doctorate of philosophy. Known for his love of irony, Brahms based this...

In October of 1898, Edward Elgar returned home after a long day of teaching, ate dinner, then sat down at the piano to doodle on the keys. Elgar described what followed: "In a little while, sooth...

While his Symphony No. 9 is better known, Antonín Dvorák's (1841-1904) Symphony No. 7 is argued by many to be his best symphonic work. Inspired in part by his friend Johannes Brahms' new Symphony No....

Originally written as a suite for solo piano, Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) later orchestrated four movements from Le Tombeau de Couperin in 1919 (Prélude, Forlane, Menuet, and Rigaudon). This orchestral...

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...

Ludwig van Beethoven's (1770-1827) choral symphony, Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125 was composed between 1822 and 1824, and is the last completed symphony by the composer. Considered by many to be...

A fresh, overture-like work written on an old theme of Hebrew origin, a bombastic, short opening gives way to an extended legato andantino section featuring all of the woodwind family. Rhythmic excite...

The White River flows very near The Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp and meets Lake Michigan in Muskegan County, Michigan. Many legends can be told about this river and the beautiful region where it is locate...

Jean-Baptiste Lully (1632-1687), while born in Italy, is associated with France, where he became a violinist in the court orchestra of the Sun King, Louis XIV, becoming the King's favorite musician as...

This evocative setting for full orchestra is the second of four movements representing the life of early Native Americans of the Southwest United States. The lyric melodies and flowing lines portray t...

This overture is from First Suite in A minor and was composed in 1725. It is one of the most dramatic of all of his works. This edition has been scored by Clifford P. Barnes. Instrumentation: 2.2.2.2:...

A fresh, overture-like work written on an old theme of Hebrew origin, a bombastic, short opening gives way to an extended legato andantino section featuring all of the woodwind family. Rhythmic excite...

The White River flows very near The Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp and meets Lake Michigan in Muskegan County, Michigan. Many legends can be told about this river and the beautiful region where it is locate...

Jean-Baptiste Lully (1632-1687), while born in Italy, is associated with France, where he became a violinist in the court orchestra of the Sun King, Louis XIV, becoming the King's favorite musician as...

This evocative setting for full orchestra is the second of four movements representing the life of early Native Americans of the Southwest United States. The lyric melodies and flowing lines portray t...

Here's a magnificent arrangement of Purcell's ever-popular Trumpet Voluntary! Nelhybel begins by setting up wonderful counterpoint by splitting the violins into four independent parts before bring in...

All the melodic lines are written in the Dorian mode (D minor, played most of the time on the white keys of the piano) and except for the modern snare drum, the percussion evokes the character of the...

All the melodic lines are written in the Dorian mode (D minor, played most of the time on the white keys of the piano) and except for the modern snare drum, the percussion evokes the character of the...

First performance at the XIII Olympic Winter Games 1980, Lake Placid, New York, by the Crane Chorus and Orchestra, State University College, Potsdam, New York. Instrumentation: 2.2.2+BCl+CBCl.2+CBsn:...