Classical Instrumental Works for Orchestra

Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) wrote his Symphony No. 5 in D, Op. 107 'Reformation' in 1830. It was composed to honor the 300th anniversary of the Presentation of the Augsburg Confession, a Lutheran ho...

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...

Der Schauspieldirektor (The Impressario) is a comic singspiel written by W.A. Mozart (1756-1791) as "a parody on the vanity of singers," who argue over status and pay. Described by Mozart as "comedy w...

Der Schauspieldirektor (The Impressario) is a comic singspiel written by W.A. Mozart (1756-1791) as "a parody on the vanity of singers," who argue over status and pay. Described by Mozart as "comedy w...

Sometimes referred to as the "Great G minor symphony" to distinguish it from the the "Little G minor symphony" (No. 25), SYMPHONY NO. 40 in G minor, K. 550 was completed on July 25...

Mikhail Tushmalov (1861-1896), a Russian Georgian whose career eventually led to posts in Warsaw and Tiflis (Tbilisi) conducting opera, was a student of Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov and is most widely disc...

The Sultan Schariar, convinced of the falseness and faithlessness of women, vowed to kill each of his wives after their bridal night. The Sultana Scheherazade, however, saved her life by interested th...

The Snow Maiden is an opera in four acts with a prologue by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, composed during 1880-1881. The Russian libretto, by the composer, is based on the like-named play by Alexander Ostr...

The Symphony No. 3 in C minor, popularly known as the "Organ Symphony", was completed in 1886 at what could be considered the artistic peak of Saint-Saëns' (1835-1921) career. The composer said of the...

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...

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...

FINLANDIA was written by Jean Sibelius, one of the most celebrated Finnish composers. Originally written in 1899 for a Finnish press fund-raising gala under the name "Finland Awakens," this piece, alo...

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...

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...

SPHÄRENKLÄNGE WALZER (MUSIC OF THE SPHERES WALTZ), OP. 235 was composed by Josef Strauss (1827-1870) for a medical association ball in 1868. The first performance took place at that event on January 2...

SPHÄRENKLÄNGE WALZER (MUSIC OF THE SPHERES WALTZ), OP. 235 was composed by Josef Strauss (1827-1870) for a medical association ball in 1868. The first performance took place at that event on January 2...

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 in 1881, this "Serenade" for 13 wind instruments was written by Richard Strauss when he was only 17 years old. His father, the principal horn player with Munich's court orchestra, had a select...

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...

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...

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...

THE SLEEPING BEAUTY, Op. 66, was written by Peter Ilyitch Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) between 1888 and 1889. Based on a libretto by Ivan Vsevolozhsky, the well-known story borrows from versions by both th...