hank Archive

Despite its title, Lalo’s “Symphonie espagnole” is essentially a violin concerto, not a symphony. Musicologist Michael Clive calls the work “a fabulously abundant violin showcase — non-stop fun to hear, and if you happen to …

Tchaikovsky’s Symphony #6, The “Pathétique”, exhibits a moody darkness at almost every turn. The introduction is scored using the darkest of all orchestral colors, a bassoon in the low register accompanied by divided double basses. When …

After visiting Schubert some time during February 1824, the painter Moritz von Schwind wrote to their mutual friend Franz von Schober: ‘Schubert has now long been at work on an octet, with the greatest enthusiasm. …

Rachmaninov composed the Sonata for Cello and Piano, op. 19, in the fall and early winter of 1901 for the cellist Anatoly Brandukov. Towards the end of the last movement, Rachmaninov wrote the date “November …

Few of Johann Halvorsen’s compositions have managed to withstand the test of time, but his Passacaglia has remained one of the most widely-performed string duos in the chamber music repertoire. The theme is from the …