Sullivan's score for this operetta is a parody of Italian opera. Gilbert's text is inspired nonsense. The hero, Frederic, has been apprenticed to pirates because Ruth, his former nurse, misunderstood his parents' order that he be apprenticed to pilots, not pirates! Frederic intends to get rid of all his fellow pirates when he reaches the end of his apprenticeship (his 21st birthday), but encounters a complication when he learns his birthday is really on February 29. The pirates kidnap some pretty girls whose father was a "Modern Major General". In the course of the story, the pirates turn out to be noblemen gone wrong. The Modern Major General decides they are not so bad after all and allows each to marry one of his daughters.
Pirates of Penzance: - "Modern Major General" by Gilbert and Sullivan
Britten was once commissioned by the English Ministry of Education to write an unusual work for children to teach them the instruments of the orchestra. The composition was called the Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra. Britten used a theme from another great English composer, Henry Purcell, to create this piece.
Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra* : "Fugue" by Britten/Purcell
Liszt wrote a vast quantity of piano music. "Hungarian Rhapsody #2 contains cadenzas which are difficult passages improvised by the performer in the style of the composition.
Michael A. Sciortino's Franz Liszt Page "Hungarian Rhapsody #2" by Liszt
Bach was fascinated with the mechanics of the pipe organ, and he was always finding ways to improve its tone. His music is often said to be almost mathematical in the way it is composed with repeating phrases and ideas that weave in and out with such precision.
Bach portrait 1 (Haussmann) "Toccata and Fugue in D Minor" by Bach
This Requiem was composed for chorus and orchestra. The death of his father in 1885 and his mother in 1887 may have inspired the composition of this work. The original use of the Requiem Mass dates from around the year 1000. Later, the term "requiem" came to refer to a musical work or poem written to honor a person who had died. The Sanctus occurs about midway through the Mass.
Fauré: Requiem Classical composer biographies Requiem:Sanctus by Faure
Mussorgsky wrote Pictures at an Exhibition in 1874 in memory of a young artist friend, Nikolai Hartmann. After Hartmann's death, a gallery exhibit of his paintings inspired Mussorgsky to compose a collection of musical "pictures." He named each section after the painting it represented. It was originally composed for piano, and Maurice Ravel arranged it for full orchestra in 1922.
Pictures at an Exhibition Pictures at an Exhibition: "Hut of Baba Yaga" by Mussorgsky/Ravel
Candide is one of the few musical endeavors by Leonard Bernstein that was not instantly successful. The show opened on Braodway in 1956 and ran for 73 performances. The work survived, though, mostly through its music, which attracted an almost fanatical following. A revival of the show was a hit on Broadway in 1974, and its music is often heard at concerts.
Leonard Bernstein: Biography Candide: Overture by Bernstein
This aria, "La Donna e Mobile", is sung by the duke of Mantua, a tenor in the opera. An aria is a solo in an opera which usually shows off the singer's voice.
Rigoletto Storyline Rigoletto: "La Donna e Mobile" by Verdi
The first movement of the Fifth Symphony was sometimes used during World War One as a victory song. The main four note theme (short, short, short, long) translated in Morse code to a "V" for victory. The work has become one of the most widely performed orchestral works in the world.
Symphony No. 5 : 1st Movement by Beethoven
The sketch of "Great Gate of Kiev" is one of a gate to be built in honor of Russian soldiers killed in battle. The music was written to depict a grand parade through the gate, alternating groups of soldiers and priests.
Mussorgsky, Modest (Petrovich)* Pictures at an Exhibition: "Great Gate of Kiev" by Mussorgsky/Ravel
Mozart wrote his last three and greatest symphonies, the E Flat Major, the G Minor, (#40) and the C Major (Jupiter) in the incredibly short space of two months while he was concert master for the Archbishop in Salzburg between 1773 and 1776.
Symphony #40 : 1st Movement by Mozart
Die Walkure tells the story of Wotan, a god, who has ordered his nine daughters, the Valkyries, to bring him the bodies of the world's bravest heroes. These he will transform into immortals to protect the gods. Act Three begins with the "Ride of the Valkyries", the warrior maidens, who are riding through the air, returning with the dead heroes' bodies to the mountaintop, Valhalla.
Wagner Valkyrie*; Wagner, (Wilhelm) Richard*
This march, written in 1889, became one of the popular two-step dances of the day. It was composed to celebrate an essay contest award ceremony honoring the "Washington Post", a newspaper in Washington, D.C.
Sousa, John Philip* "Washington Post March" by Sousa
About the Sousa Home Page "Washington Post March" by Sousa
"El Grillo" is a frottola, a secular song that was a forerunner of the madrigal. It consists of verse and refrain. The style is chordal, with the upper part standing out as the melody. "El Grillo" was published in 1504. The printing of music was first accomplished during des Pres' lifetime.
Josquin Des Prez* "El Grillo" by Josquin des Pres
Jazz was a new form of music created in New Orleans around the turn of the century. It included elements of ragtime, blues, and other elements taken from marches, popular songs, and other sources. One of the first jazz bands was the Original Dixieland Jazz Band in Chicago. The music became popular very quickly and spread all throughout the United States.
Ellington, Duke* ; Artists: Duke Ellington "Don't Get Around Much Anymore" by Ellington