Maurice Ravel’s Boléro is probably the composer’s most famous work and, for that matter, one of the most familiar in the orchestral repertoire. Beloved in its original form, it has also made its way into popular culture in pop covers, adverts, on the big and small screen and even as the music for a winning routine by a pair of British Olympic ice skaters...
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The Star Spangled Banner is the national anthem of the United States of America. The country’s powerful politics and pop culture have made it familiar round the world, so we may feel that we know it well. A look into its history reveals, however, a few surprising facts about this rousing song.
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The composer W.C. Handy (1873–1958) is sometimes described as ‘The Father of Blues’, one of the most important musical styles of the the twentieth century. Of the many pieces that earned him this title, two stand out, his Memphis Blues and St. Louis Blues.
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Erik Satie (186–1925) wrote his celebrated Trois Gymnopédies in the 1880s whilst living and working in Montmartre, Paris. Unassuming though they may seem, these works were quietly radical, establishing him as one of the most important composers of his generation.
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Composers have written many works inspired by the natural world. Animals, with their varying sizes, shapes and personalities have often provided the most fertile inspiration of all. Here are eight of our favourite classical works inspired by creatures on land, sea and air.
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Greensleeves- one of the most familiar of all English folk songs, has long attracted stories about its origins. The most enduring of these is that it was written by King Henry VIII, the monarch notorious for his love of hunting, his six wives and his break with the Roman church.
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House of the Rising Sun is one of the most famous examples of a folk song becoming a popular hit, the version by rock band The Animals now being considered a classic of the genre.
There is much more to this song, however, than their brilliant cover—the song has a long and fascinating history, and there are many other great versions of it to enjoy...
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Vivaldi's Four Seasons is not only the composer’s most celebrated work, it is one of his most revolutionary. Likely written around 1718–20 whilst a court composer in Mantua, Italy, the work is a collection of four concertos for violin, each of which represents a season of the year in the order Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter. Collectively they are one of the first substantial examples of what musicologists call 'programme music.'
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Fur Elise is one of the most popular and yet puzzling pieces in classical music. A minor work during Beethoven’s lifetime it was lost after his death in 1827, only to be rediscovered forty years later. Since then it has become one of the most familiar pieces written by him.
What is it, then, that makes this pieces so special? And who was the mysterious 'Elise' of the title?
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Scott Joplin is a name we associate with great ragtime pieces such as the Maple Leaf Rag,' Rose Leaf Rag and The Easy Winners. None are quite so well-loved, however, as his The Entertainer. Whilst the piece serves for many as an introduction to the music of this great composer, a little dig into its history also helps us to understand Joplin's wider importance in music history.
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