Overtures for Concert Band

The romantic, picturesque and dramatic appeal of medieval Christianity furnished Richard Wagner, after "Tannhäuser", with "Lohengrin". It's a romantic opera in three acts first performed in 1850 un We...

Many see Wagner's Tristan und Isolde as the beginning of the move away from common practice harmony and tonality and consider that it lays the groundwork for the direction of classical music in the 20...

Rossini's 'Il Barbiere di Siviglia' (1816) is one of the greatest of all comic operas. Based on an excellent play by Beaumarchais, The 'Barber of Seville' delights audiences with its keenly sketched c...

Rossini's 'Il Barbiere di Siviglia' (1816) is one of the greatest of all comic operas. Based on an excellent play by Beaumarchais, The 'Barber of Seville' delights audiences with its keenly sketched c...

'La forza del destino' (The Power of Fate) is an Italian opera by Giuseppe Verdi. The libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on a Spanish drama, 'Don Álvaro o la fuerza del sino', by Ánge...

'La forza del destino' (The Power of Fate) is an Italian opera by Giuseppe Verdi. The libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on a Spanish drama, 'Don Álvaro o la fuerza del sino', by Ánge...

The idea of a 'Hamlet overture' had first occurred to Tschaikowsky in 1876. However, by 1888 he had altered these plans when he was asked to write incidental music for a production of Shakespeare's pl...

The idea of a 'Hamlet overture' had first occurred to Tschaikowsky in 1876. However, by 1888 he had altered these plans when he was asked to write incidental music for a production of Shakespeare's pl...

The Wasps is incidental music composed by the British composer Ralph Vaughan Williams in 1909. It was based on Aristophane's ancient Greek comedy The Wasps for a production at Trinity College, Cambrid...

Beside his 150 waltzes Johann Strauss composed several operettas of which "Die Fledermaus" his best contribution to this genre is. This transcription follows the short but jolly introduction of the fi...

Rossini's 'La Gazza Ladra' (The Thieving Magpie) is a melodrama or 'opera semiseria' in two acts on a libretto by Giovanni Gherardini based on 'La pie voleuse' by Jean-Marie-Theodor Badouin d'Aubigny...

Rossini's 'La Gazza Ladra' (The Thieving Magpie) is a melodrama or 'opera semiseria' in two acts on a libretto by Giovanni Gherardini based on 'La pie voleuse' by Jean-Marie-Theodor Badouin d'Aubigny...

'Nabucco' was the first opera of Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) that became a real success. The opera is considered to have permanently established Verdi's reputation as a composer: 'This is the opera wit...

'Nabucco' was the first opera of Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) that became a real success. The opera is considered to have permanently established Verdi's reputation as a composer: 'This is the opera wit...

Ludwig van Beethoven composed 'Egmont' as a set of incidental music pieces for the play of the same name by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. The overture has become famous on its own and is in a similar st...

Ludwig van Beethoven composed 'Egmont' as a set of incidental music pieces for the play of the same name by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. The overture has become famous on its own and is in a similar st...

Johann Strauss's operetta 'Eine Nacht in Venedig' (A Night in Venice) premiered 1883 in Berlin and is his only operetta to be premiered outside Vienna. Although the score gained high acclaim, the pres...

Johann Strauss's operetta 'Eine Nacht in Venedig' (A Night in Venice) premiered 1883 in Berlin and is his only operetta to be premiered outside Vienna. Although the score gained high acclaim, the pres...

Pietro Mascagni's most successful opera 'Cavalleria Rusticana' is a tempestuous drama of adultery and revenge set in a remote Italian village. Its earthy passions, bold confrontational scenes and rich...

Pietro Mascagni's most successful opera 'Cavalleria Rusticana' is a tempestuous drama of adultery and revenge set in a remote Italian village. Its earthy passions, bold confrontational scenes and rich...

'Vanda' (Wanda) is a grand opera in five acts by Antonín Dvořák which was premiered at the 'Provisional Theatre' in Prague on 17 April 1876. The story is about the Polish queen, Princess Wanda, who dr...

'Vanda' (Wanda) is a grand opera in five acts by Antonín Dvořák which was premiered at the 'Provisional Theatre' in Prague on 17 April 1876. The story is about the Polish queen, Princess Wanda, who dr...

'Roméo et Juliette' (Romeo and Juliet) is an opera in five acts by Charles Gounod, based on 'The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet' by William Shakespeare. Gounod directly adapted his lyrical opera from Sha...

'Roméo et Juliette' (Romeo and Juliet) is an opera in five acts by Charles Gounod, based on 'The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet' by William Shakespeare. Gounod directly adapted his lyrical opera from Sha...

The operetta 'Pique Dame' ('The Queen of Spades') was a revised version of Franz von Suppé's 1862 operetta 'Die Kartenschlägerin' ('The Fortune Teller') and premiered in June 1864 at the Thalia Theate...