WILLIAM ALWYN Concerto for harp and string orchestra, "Lyra Angelica"

William Alwyn CBE, born William Alwyn Smith (7 November 1905 – 11 September 1985), was an English composer, conductor, and music teacher. Concerto for harp and string orchestra, called by its composer "Lyra Angelica" -- literally, Angel's Songs -- one of the loveliest works ever written for that ethereal combination. Inspired by the poems of English metaphysical poets, Alwyn's concerto for harp and string orchestra, Lyra Angelica, was popularized when the American figure skater Michelle Kwan performed to it at the 1998 Winter Olympics. WIKIPEDIA BIO

 VIDEO: Lyra Angelica, Concerto for Harp and String Orchestra: I. Adagio William Alwyn · London Philharmonic Orchestra Alwyn Conducts Alwyn
 

Lord Berners music for Luna Park, a ‘fantastic ballet in one act’

Gerald Hugh Tyrwhitt-Wilson, 14th Baron Berners (18 September 1883 – 19 April 1950), also known as Gerald Tyrwhitt, was a British composer of classical music, novelist, painter and aesthete. He is usually referred to as Lord Berners. Berners' musical works included Trois morceaux, Fantaisie espagnole (1919), Fugue in C minor (1924), and several ballets, including The Triumph of Neptune (1926) (based on a story by Sacheverell Sitwell) and Luna Park (1930). Luna Park, a ‘fantastic ballet in one act’ was commissioned for CB Cochran’s London revue of 1930, and first performed at the London Pavilion in March of that year, with scenery and costumes by Christopher Wood, book by Boris Kochno, and choreography by George Balanchine. The scene is set in a freak pavilion in Luna Park. A showman enters and bows to the audience. He raises the curtain of the first four niches revealing a man with three heads; in the second stands a three-legged juggler, complete with billiard balls, while in the third a one-legged ballerina is posing, and in the fourth, a man with six arms. All the freaks dance in the respective niches, after which the showman bows to the audience, turning down the lights as he retires. WIKIPEDIA

VIDEO: Lord Berners (Gerald Hugh Tyrwhitt-Wilson) (1883-1950): Luna Park, A Fantastic Ballet in One Act (1930) -- RTE Sinfonietta diretta da Kenneth Alwyn -- I. The Four Niches II. Adagio 

Bizet - L'Arlésienne Suite No. 1 & Suite No. 2

 The incidental music to Alphonse Daudet's play L'Arlésienne (usually translated as 'The Girl from Arles') was composed by Georges Bizet for the first performance of the play on 1 October 1872 at the Vaudeville Theatre (now known as the Paramount Theatre). It consists of 27 numbers (some only a few bars) for voice, chorus, and small orchestra, ranging from short solos to longer entr'actes. Bizet himself played the harmonium backstage at the premiere performance. Bizet wrote several folk-like themes for the music but also incorporated three existing tunes from a folk-music collection published by Vidal of Aix in 1864: the Marcho dei Rei, the Danse dei Chivau-Frus, and Er dou Guet. The score achieves powerful dramatic ends with the most economic of means. Still, it received poor reviews in the wake of the premiere and is not much performed nowadays in its original form. The play itself was not successful, closing after only 21 performances. It had been staged as a last-minute replacement for another play, which had been banned by the censors, and the audience was less than favourably disposed to the new play. The incidental music has survived and flourished, however. It is most often heard in the form of two suites for orchestra, but has also been recorded complete. WIKIPEDIA

 VIDEO: Georges Bizet: L'Arlésienne Suite No. 1 & Suite No. 2 / Nathalie Stutzmann, conductor · Orquesta Sinfonica Valencia / Recorded at Palau de la Musica, Valencia, 12 December 2012.

 

DVORAK - Legends, Op.59

 Legends, Op.59, B.122, (Czech: Legendy) is a cycle of ten small-scale pieces by the Czech composer Antonin Dvorak. The work was composed originally for piano duet, but later was arranged also for a reduced orchestra. On 15 October 1880, the day before finishing the score of his sixth symphony, Dvořák wrote to his publisher Fritz Simrock about his plans for the near future saying he hoped to finish a piano duet cycle, "Legends," in the next month. He did not, however, begin to sketch the work until 30 January 1881. The definitive shape of the piano version was created from 12 February to 23 March 1881, partly in Prague and partly in Vysoká u Příbrami. Dvořák dedicated the composition to the critic Eduard Hanslick, who praised the cycle with great enthusiasm. The piano duet version was printed by the German publishing house Simrock in summer, 1881. In that same year Dvořák arranged the cycle for orchestra. The orchestration differs in every individual piece. The work was premiered in 1882, at the concert of the Prague Conservatory (part 1, 3, 4), under the baton of Antonín Bennewitz. Three more of the "Legends" (Nos. 2, 5, 6) were premiered at a concert of the Vienna Philharmonic on 26 November 1882, conducted by Wilhelm Jahn. WIKIPEDIA

VIDEO: Legends Op.59: 1. Allegretto" by Budapest Festival Orchestra & Iván Fischer
 

Debussy - La Mer

 La mer, trois esquisses symphoniques pour orchestre (French for The sea, three symphonic sketches for orchestra), or simply La mer (i.e. The Sea), is an orchestral composition (L 109) by the French composer Claude Debussy. The work was started in 1903 in France and completed in 1905 at Grand Hotel Eastbourne on the English Channel coast. The premiere was given on 15 October 1905 in Paris, by the Orchestre Lamoureux under the direction of Camille Chevillard. Eastbourne was also where Frank Bridge was to complete his suite The Sea in 1911. Debussy arranged the piece for piano for four hands in 1905,[Grove Music Online 1] and in 1909 his publisher Durand presented a second edition of La mer with the composer's revisions. It was initially not well received, but soon became one of Debussy's most admired and frequently performed orchestral works.

 VIDEO: Debussy: La Mer (Valery Gergiev, London Symphony Orchestra)
 

VIVALDI: Violin Concerto in E-flat major, Op VIII, No 5, RV 253 “La tempest di Mare,”

Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741) - Vivaldi finished his wonderfully named set of violin concerti Il cimento dell’armonia e dell’inventione (The Contest Between Harmony and Invention) in 1725. It was designed (or at least compiled) as a set of twelve but the first four have become so famous that it is easy to forget nos. 5-12 also belong to the original grouping. The opening quartet of Contest concerti makes up The Four Seasons of course and the latter siblings have always lived in the shadow of that legendary subset. Of the remaining eight concerti, three were given equally descriptive titles. Vivaldi wrote hundreds of concerti during his prodigious career and, as with Haydn’s 104 Symphonies, the nicknamed works often get the most attention. No. 5 is known as La tempesta di mare (The Sea Storm) and is one at least three works in Vivaldi’s catalogue to bear that subtitle. Concerto No. 5 is short, even by Vivaldi’s own standards, but the composer packed a significant amount of invention and brightness into the brevity. Though clearly much less familiar today than the Four Seasons, the Sea Storm is made up of the same exciting programmatic ingredients. - See more at: http://www.utahsymphony.org/insight/program-notes/725-vivaldi-concerto-for-violin-in-e-flat-major-op-8-no-5-la-tempesta-di-mare#sthash.t9FOwtp6.dpuf

 VIDEO: Violin Concerto in E-flat major, “La tempest di Mare,” Op. VIII, No.5, RV 253 I: Presto II: Largo 02:52 III: Presto 05:27 The Academy of Ancient Music Andrew Manze, director 

Vivaldi - Concerto grosso in d-minor, Op. 3 No. 11 RV 565 aka Concerto "L'estro Armonico"

L'Estro Armonico (Harmonic Inspiration), Op. 3, is a collection of twelve concertos for one, two and four violins written by Antonio Vivaldi in 1711. It augmented the reputation of Vivaldi as Il Prete Rosso (The Red Priest). Vivaldi scholar Michael Talbot described the set as "perhaps the most influential collection of instrumental music to appear during the whole of the eighteenth century". The collection was mostly put together in chronological order. These concerti are often called concerti grossi due to their use of a concertino-style ensemble (solo cello is often used). WIKIPEDIA

 VIDEO: Cyrilometodské dni 2010, Terchová, Záverečný koncert, Slovenský Komorný Orchester Bohdana Warchala, Ewald Danel, Rudolf Patrnčiak ml., Michaela Wdówkowá, Lujza Ďurišová

Vivaldi Violin Concerto Op 8 No 10 RV 362 La Caccia B flat major aka The Hunt

First Publication 1725 in Il cimento dell'armonia e dell'inventione, Op.8 (No.10) Vivaldi 'La Caccia' Concerto in B-flat, Op 8 No 10 for Violin, Strings and Harpsichord The Hunt, from a series of 12 works in Opus 8 known as (EEL CHEMENTO DEL ArmoNEEah EE DEL INVENZIONE) published in Amsterdam in December 1725. The series marked the height of Vivaldi's popularity. RV 362

 VIDEO: Giuliano Carmignola

Wagner：LohengrinーPrelude to Act 3

Lohengrin, WWV 75 is a Romantic opera in three acts composed and written by Richard Wagner, first performed in 1850. The story of the eponymous character is taken from medieval German romance, notably the Parzival of Wolfram von Eschenbach and its sequel, Lohengrin, written by a different author, itself inspired by the epic of Garin le Loherain. It is part of the Knight of the Swan tradition. The opera has proved inspirational towards other works of art. Among those deeply moved by the fairy-tale opera was the young King Ludwig II of Bavaria. "Der Märchenkönig" ("The Fairy-tale King"), as he was dubbed, later built his ideal fairy-tale castle and dubbed it "New Swan Stone", or "Neuschwanstein", after the Swan Knight. It was King Ludwig's patronage that later gave Wagner the means and opportunity to compose, build a theatre for, and stage his epic cycle The Ring of the Nibelung. The most popular and recognizable part of the opera is the Prelude to act three and Bridal Chorus, better known as "Here Comes the Bride", often played as a processional at weddings in the West. The first production of Lohengrin was in Weimar, Germany, on 28 August 1850 at the Staatskapelle Weimar under the direction of Franz Liszt, a close friend and early supporter of Wagner. Liszt chose the date in honour of Weimar's most famous citizen, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, who was born on 28 August 1749. Despite the inadequacies of the lead tenor Karl Beck,[2] it was an immediate popular success. Wagner himself was unable to attend the first performance, having been exiled because of his part in the 1849 May Uprising in Dresden. Although he conducted various extracts in concert in Zurich, London, Paris and Brussels, it was not until 1861 in Vienna that he was able to attend a full performance

VIDEO: Mariss Jansons－Berliner Philharmoniker
 

Haydn - Symphony No. 104

Andreas Roseneder :“Portrait Joseph Haydn 2007 after Hardy 1791”, 2007, oil on canvas


The Symphony No. 104 in D major (H. 1/104) is Joseph Haydn's final symphony. It is the last of the twelve so-called London Symphonies, and is known (somewhat arbitrarily, given the existence of eleven others) as the London Symphony. The work was composed in 1795 while Haydn was living in London, and premiered there at the King's Theatre on 4 May 1795, in a concert featuring Haydn's own compositions and directed by the composer.[1] The premiere was a success; Haydn wrote in his diary "The whole company was thoroughly pleased and so was I. I made 4000 gulden on this evening: such a thing is possible only in England." VIDEO: Prom 75: Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra -- Haydn & R. Strauss Haydn - Symphony No. 104 in D major, 'London' Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra Bernard Haitink conductor Royal Albert Hall, 7 September 2012

Haydn: Symphony #49 in f minor "La passione" Hob.I:49

The Symphony No. 49 in F minor (Hoboken 1/49) was written in 1768 by Joseph Haydn during his Sturm und Drang period. It is popularly known as La passione (The Passion). The scoring of the symphony is typical of Haydn in this period: two oboes, bassoon, two horns, strings and continuo. As with all the other titles that have become attached to Haydn's symphonies, this did not originate with the composer himself. It was long believed that the nickname "La passione" or The Passion derived from the nature of the music itself: the slow opening movement of the sinfonia da chiesa, its minor key modality and its association with the Sturm und Drang period of Haydn's symphonic output. Drawing from this traditional reading, H.C. Robbins Landon has described it as "dark-hued, somber—even tragic." However, the nickname can be traced back to a single source from a performance given during Holy Week in the Northern German city of Schwerin in 1790, where secular music was banned from performance between 1756 and 1785. This suggests that the name was derived circumstantially and not thematically and that reading the symphony as having a Passion-related motif is post-facto interpretation.

                              WIKIPEDIA                                    

VIDEO: Ensemble dell'Orchestra Filarmonica Italiana, Ruggero Barbieri.
 

Haydn Symphony No. 26 in d minor "La Lamentatione"

The Symphony No. 26 in D minor, Hoboken 1/26, is one of the early Sturm und Drang Symphonies written by Joseph Haydn. It is popularly known as the Lamentatione. It is an early example of the Sturm und Drang style that characterised much of his symphonic output to 1774 or 1775. Because of its association with Easter week, Haydn incorporates a melody derived from an old plainsong chant of the Passion of Christ, interpolating (as the second theme) this familiar liturgical setting to contrast with the furious opening theme. The same lament is also picked up in the second movement, reinforcing the symphony's link to the Passion through evocation of a melody that would have been familiar to audiences of the time. Nickname (Lamentatione) Since Haydn's day, the symphony has been known as "Lamentatione" because of the Christus motif of the opening movement's second theme. As with all the nicknamed symphonies, the title is not Haydn's own. Movements The work is in three movements, ending with a minuet and trio. It is scored for two oboes, two bassoons, horns, timpani, continuo (harpsichord) and a string section containing first and second violins, violas, cellos and double basses. Although no independent part for the double bass exists, it would have followed the cello part in octaves.

 

VIDEO: Haydn Symphony No 26 D minor 'Lamentatione' Sigisvald Kuijiken
 

LISZT, Les préludes

Les préludes is the third of Franz Liszt's thirteen symphonic poems. It is listed as S.97 in Humphrey Searle's catalogue of Liszt's music. The music is partly based on Liszt's 1844/5 choral cycle Les quatre élémens (The Four Elements). Its premiere was in 1854, directed by Liszt himself. The score was published in 1856 by Breitkopf & Härtel, who also published the musical parts in 1865.[1] Les préludes is the earliest example of an orchestral work entitled "symphonic poem".
     WIKIPEDIA     

VIDEO:Franz Liszt Les Preludes (symphonic poem) Georg Solti conductor
 

Brahm's Lullabye aka "Wiegenlied: Guten Abend, gute Nacht" ("Good evening, good night"), Op. 49, No. 4

Cradle Song is the common name for a number of children's lullabies with similar lyrics, the original of which was Johannes Brahms's "Wiegenlied: Guten Abend, gute Nacht" ("Good evening, good night"), Op. 49, No. 4, published in 1868 and widely known as Brahms' Lullaby. The lyrics of the first verse are from a collection of German folk poems called Des Knaben Wunderhorn and the second stanza was written by Georg Scherer (1824–1909) in 1849. The lullaby's melody is one of the most famous and recognizable in the world, used by countless parents to sing their babies to sleep. The Lullaby was dedicated to Brahms' friend, Bertha Faber, on the occasion of the birth of her second son. Brahms had been in love with her in her youth and constructed the melody of the Wiegenlied to suggest, as a hidden counter-melody, a song she used to sing to him. The lullaby was first performed in public on 22 December 1869 in Vienna by Louise Dustmann (singer) and Clara Schumann (piano)

                                      WIKIPEDIA                               

 VIDEO: Johannes Brahms - Op.49 No.4 Wiegenlied / Lullaby (original composition) Music "Lullaby, Op. 49/4" by Slovac Chamber Orchestra - Das Slovakische Kammerorchester 

Beethoven: Leonore Overture No. 3, Op. 72

Fidelio (originally named Leonore, oder Der Triumph der ehelichen Liebe; English: Leonore, or The Triumph of Married Love), Op. 72, is a German opera with spoken dialogue by Ludwig van Beethoven, his only opera. The German libretto was originally prepared by Joseph Sonnleithner from the French of Jean-Nicolas Bouilly and the work premiered at Vienna's Theater an der Wien on 20 November 1805. The next year Stephan von Breuning helped shorten the three acts to two. After further work on the libretto by Georg Friedrich Treitschke a final version performed at the Kärntnertortheater on 23 May 1814. By convention both of the first two versions are referred to as Leonore. The opera tells how Leonore, disguised as a prison guard named "Fidelio", rescues her husband Florestan from death in a political prison. Bouilly's scenario fits Beethoven's aesthetic and political outlook: a story of personal sacrifice, heroism and eventual triumph (the usual topics of Beethoven's "middle period") with its underlying struggle for liberty and justice mirroring contemporary political movements in Europe. Some notable moments in the opera include the "Prisoners' Chorus", an ode to freedom sung by a chorus of political prisoners, Florestan's vision of Leonore come as an angel to rescue him, and the scene in which the rescue finally takes place. The finale celebrates Leonore's bravery with alternating contributions of soloists and chorus.

            WIKIPEDIA                        

VIDEO: Beethoven: Leonore Overture No. 3, Op. 72, Kurt Masur 

DEBUSSY La mer, trois esquisses symphoniques pour orchestre

La mer, trois esquisses symphoniques pour orchestre (French for The sea, three symphonic sketches for orchestra), or simply La mer (i.e. The Sea), is an orchestral composition (L 109) by the French composer Claude Debussy. Composed between 1903 and 1905, the piece was initially not well received, but soon became one of Debussy's most admired and frequently performed orchestral works. The work was started in 1903 in France and completed in 1905 at Grand Hotel Eastbourne on the English Channel coast. The premiere was given on 15 October 1905 in Paris, by the Orchestre Lamoureux under the direction of Camille Chevillard. Eastbourne was also where Frank Bridge was to complete his suite The Sea in 1911. Debussy arranged the piece for piano for four hands in 1905,[Grove Music Online and in 1909 his publisher Durand presented a second edition of La mer with the composer's revisions].

  WIKIPEDIA

VIDEO: Valery Gergiev cond. "Debussy: La Mer - 2. Play of the Waves (Jeux de vagues)" by London Symphony Orchestra... 

La Calinda by Frederick Delius

Delius 'La Calinda'

Originally the 1st MMT of his 'Florida Suite' of 1887. Then as part of his
opera 'Koanga'. Eric Fenby extracted this concert version of the early
Delius theme. (KAH' lin dah).

La Calinda ... Arranged for Two Pianos by Joan Trimble
Frederick Theodore Albert Delius CH (29 January 1862 – 10 June 1934) was an English composer. Born in Bradford, Yorkshire, to a prosperous mercantile family of German extraction, he resisted attempts to recruit him to commerce. He was sent to Florida in the United States in 1884 to manage an orange plantation, where he neglected his managerial duties; influenced by African-American music, he began composing. After a brief period of formal musical study in Germany beginning in 1886, he embarked on a full-time career as a composer in Paris and then in nearby Grez-sur-Loing, where he and his wife Jelka lived (except during the First World War) for the rest of their lives.

Wikipedia