The Dvorak Cello Concerto was completed in February 1895 in New York, and is presented in a standard three movement format, running for approximately 40 minutes, opus 104 in B minor. 1 – Allegro 2 – Adagio ma non troppo 3 – Finale Dvorak was in his mid-fifties when he wrote this piece, having been … Read more
Mozart’s oboe concerto was written in 1777, and scored for strings, 2 oboes, 2 horns, and oboe soloist. This orchestral formation makes for a lovely light sound and texture, slightly lighter than the Mozart Cosi Fan Tutte overture and substantially different to the Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique. The oboe of this classical period did not include … Read more
Allegro maestoso – Andante – Presto This is my favourite piece of Mozart. I first played it as a 16-year-old and marvelled at how the composer, unlike many others, allows each instrument in the orchestra to maintain a significant tune in its own right and at the same time contribute to the harmonious whole. It … Read more
Allegro – Larghetto – Allegro The double bass is different from other stringed instruments in the orchestra. Unlike the violin, viola and cello, it is tuned in fourths rather than fifths, the same as the viol. And some basses have five strings or a mechanism that allows the lowest string to be played at a … Read more
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart composed the bassoon concerto in B flat in 1774 when he was just 18 years old. It was one of the first original concertos he composed, and his first for a wind instrument. It is likely that he wrote it for the court musicians of the Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg, perhaps being inspired … Read more
I allego (sonata) II andante (sonata) III allegro (rondo) Joseph Haydn was one of the most prolific and prominent composers of the classical period – he wrote an astonishing 107 symphonies, 83 string quartets, 45 piano trios, 60 piano sonatas, 14 masses and 26 operas amongst many other scores. But in all this abundance, this … Read more
Elgar composed this concerto in 1918-19, mostly at the isolated cottage, “Brinkwells”, which he rented near Fittleworth in Sussex. It was to be the last major work he would complete, although he was only 62 and would live another fifteen years. This is a work of melancholy and his most emotional and deeply felt composition. … Read more
Allegro Adagio molto Allegro Composed in 1723, Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons” are the first four violin concertos of a set of twelve, published in 1725 as “The Contest between Harmony and Invention”. Each of the “Seasons” is in three short movements, each depicting a different scene. “Autumn”, the third of the “Seasons”, portrays country folk … Read more
Franz Krommer’s clarinet concerto in E flat, opus 36, is one of over 300 pieces he wrote during a prolific and illustrious career. A late eighteenth century Viennese contemporary of Mozart and Beethoven, Krommer was born in the Czech town of Kamenice in 1759, where he was taught by his uncle Anton, who was choirmaster … Read more
At the age of 17, Mozart was engaged as a court musician in Salzburg, but grew restless and travelled in search of a better position, always composing abundantly. Whilst visiting Vienna in 1781, he was dismissed from his Salzburg position, but chose to stay in Vienna where he achieved fame but little financial security. During … Read more
