The Italian Symphony is one of Mendelssohn’s most popular orchestral works. He began composing it while on a visit to Italy in 1831 — when he was only 22 years old!
“Italian” Symphony
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Works
Posts in the Works category
Concerto for Oboe and Orchestra
This will be the NYC premiere of Ruth Gipps’ Oboe Concerto, which had its US premiere (only!) in 2021, despite being composed in 1941. We have so much respect and admiration for historic women who dared to create — despite being continuously overlooked and often outright discouraged from honing their craft and sharing their artistic vision. The BBE is dedicated to bringing these pieces to life as a part of our regular programming. Composing is for everyone!
Water Music Suite No. 2
Most people know Handel from his perennial hit Messiah. But there’s so much to him than the “Hallelujah Chorus!” Water Music was literally written to be performed on a barge, to float up and down the River Thames. The absurdity of that image could make one laugh.
Violin Concerto No. 2
This concerto was found in 2009 among a large cache of Price’s music at her summer home outside Chicago. It was first recorded and performed in 2018.
“Rosamunde” Overture
The first publication that linked this overture with the Rosamunde incidental music was an 1855 publication parts indicating it as overture to the drama Rosamunde. There is however no proof it was ever Schubert’s intention to associate it with the rest of the Rosamunde music!
Totentanz
Franz Liszt’s obsession with death, and fascination with the supernatural and macabre, led to “Totentanz,” or “Dance of the Dead.” Composed in 1849, it tells the story of the Day of Judgment and the idea of the dead rising for the final reckoning. In this dramatic and virtuosic composition, the piano represents the living, while the orchestra symbolizes death.
Overture to “The Flying Dutchman”
Richard Wagner’s overture to the opera, the “Flying Dutchman,” which premiered in 1843, was his first great success. It brings to life the legend of a ghost ship condemned forever to seafaring on the turbulent high seas. The captain can only be rescued from this doom by finding the love of the right woman. This overture is one of the most impressive and enthralling storm scenes in music.
Symphonie Fantastique
Berlioz’s semi-autobiographical tour-de-force tells a story of the dreams and imaginings of a love-sick young artist who, despairing of attaining the object of his love, poisons himself with opium. His gradual descent into madness climaxes with a nightmarish and hallucinatory scene where he witnesses a grotesque and macabre gathering of witches and demons.
Flower Duet from Lakmé: “Sous le dôme épais”
This enchanting duet is from Delibes’s famous 1883 opera. It is sung by Lakmé, the daughter of a Brahmin priest, and her servant Mallika, as they gather fragrant flowers by the river.
Viola Concerto
Jennifer Higdon’s Viola Concerto was jointly commissioned by the Library of Congress, the Nashville Symphony, the Curtis Institute of Music, and the Aspen Music Festival. The work won the 2018 Grammy Award for Best Classical Contemporary Composition.
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