Par DENIZEAU GERARD. Une synthêse sur la vie et l'oeuvre prolifique du compositeur allemand : l'invention du leitmotiv, ses relations avec Louis II de Baviêre et Franz Liszt, sa volonté de contrôler totalement la direction de ses opéras, etc. / Broché / Livre / Livres

Opera In Three Acts. Par SAINT-SAENS CAMILLE. Today, 'Samson et Dalila? is undoubtedly one of the best-known of Camille Saint-Saëns's thirteen operas, being more present in the repertoire of international stages than most other French 19th century compositions. During Saint-Saëns's lifetime, the opera was already regarded as the pinnacle of his dramatic stage works. The fact that the work's genes…

'Virtuoso piece in the style of a Hungarian rhapsody? - thus reads Ravel's entry on 'Tzigane? in the so-called 'Autobiographical Sketch?. Composed in 1924, there are three versions of this work: with piano, with orchestra and with luthéal, a device for keyboard instruments to extend the timbre. 'Tzigane? was inspired by the Hungarian-English violinist Jelly d'Aranyi, to whom Ravel had already prom…

Légende dramatique en quatre parties. Par BERLIOZ HECTOR. In 1828 Berlioz wrote the 'Huit scènes de Faust'. The work was soon withdrawn but almost twenty years later each of the eight scenes found a place in the Légende dramatique 'La damnation de Faust' dedicated to Franz Liszt. The first part of the 'Damnation' exposes the figure of Faust and has an introductory nature. From the second part onwa…

No. 1 d minor op. 77 and No. 2 A mejor op. 90. Par RAFF JOSEPH JOACHIM. He had been there as Franz Liszt?s assistant since 1850 and had made a name for himself in the city?s art scene now he embarked on new paths. He already composed his second Quartet in A major, op. 90, in Wiesbaden, the spa town that was to become his home for 21 years. The two quartets are unequivocal works: orchestrally-co…

Transcription for Violin and Piano by the Composer. Par SAINT-SAENS CAMILLE. In his symphonic poem “Danse macabre” Saint-Saëns takes up a poem by Henri Cazalis that he had already set as an art song. Here the Devil brings the dead to life by playing his violin. Although the orchestral work was given a lukewarm reception in its early performances, or was even rejected, it became highly popular and …

Arr. Philip Sparke. Par MACDOWELL EDWARD. Edward MacDowell (1860-1908) est considéré comme le premier grand compositeur américain de l’histoire de la musique, bien qu’il refusait avec vigueur d’être associé à un quelconque courant musical nationaliste. Edward MacDowell a toujours considéré que la musique était une véritable langue internationale, et ses oeuvres sont fortement influencées par le st…

Conducteur Avec Couverture Rigide. Par SAINT-SAENS CAMILLE. With his four works 'Le Rouet d'Omphale”, 'Phaéton”, 'Danse macabre” and 'La Jeunesse d'Hercule”, composed between 1872 and 1877, Camille Saint-Saëns decidedly put himself in the tradition of Hector Berlioz, who heralded a new epoch with his 'Symphonie fantastique” premiered in France 1830, as well as the symphonic poems by Franz Liszt, w…

Par BALAZS ARPAD. Árpád Balázs (*1937) composed the first version of Rhapsody for Hungarian cimbalom and concert band in 2001; in 2021, on the encouragement by a Japanese marimba player he arranged the solo part for marimba, and therefore the opportunities for the work to be played have significantly widened. The Rhapsody follows the one-movement structure created by Franz Liszt. The beginning sol…

Par MANTOVANI BRUNO. This piece is indeed a tone poem with allusions to Strauss (the orchestral composition Ein Heldenleben), and the theme found in Chamisso's book: Peter Schlemihl's Miraculous Story. The narration is not linear, but rather, metaphorical (in this sense, the model leans more towards Hamlet by Franz Liszt). In fact, the discourse vacillates between luxuriance (symbolising the infin…