The Simple Symphony, Op. 4, is a work for string orchestra or string quartet by Benjamin Britten. It was written between December 1933 and February 1934 in Lowestoft, using material that the composer had written as a child, between 1923 and 1926. It received its first performance in 1934 at Stuart Hall in Norwich, with Britten conducting an amateur orchestra.
The piece is dedicated to Audrey Alston (Mrs Lincolne Sutton), Britten's childhood viola teacher. The piece is based on eight themes which Britten wrote during his childhood (two per movement) and for which he had a particular fondness. He completed his final draft of this piece at age twenty. [1]
The symphony has four movements, each quoting themes from two earlier works by Britten:
The entire piece lasts about 20 minutes. The pizzicato in the second movement makes it popular with mandolin players. Prominent in this popular theme are eight notes which sound familiar as echoing the opening of "Barwick Green", the theme music to the long-running BBC Radio 4 programme, "The Archers", written in 1924 by Arthur Wood. The third movement samples a traditional Swedish melody heard also in the popular Christian hymn “How Great Thou Art”.
In 1944, the choreographer Walter Gore created a ballet also entitled Simple Symphony for the Ballet Rambert. [2]
Many themes of the symphony are also used for the soundtrack Bad Blood (1986) by Leos Carax. It appears in Wes Anderson's film Moonrise Kingdom (2012), which prominently features many pieces by Britten. It also appears in the first two seasons of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (2017-2018).
The Piano Quintet in F minor, Op. 34, by Johannes Brahms was completed during the summer of 1864 and published in 1865. It was dedicated to Her Royal Highness Princess Anna of Hesse. As with most piano quintets composed after Robert Schumann's Piano Quintet (1842), it is written for piano and string quartet.
The Symphony No. 94 in G major is the second of the twelve London symphonies written by Joseph Haydn. It is popularly known as the Surprise Symphony.
Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 1 in C major, Op. 21, was dedicated to Baron Gottfried van Swieten, an early patron of the composer. The piece was published in 1801 by Hoffmeister & Kühnel of Leipzig. It is not known exactly when Beethoven finished writing this work, but sketches of the finale were found to be from 1795.
Piano Sonata No. 15 in D major, Op. 28, is a piano sonata by Ludwig van Beethoven. The name Pastoral or Pastorale became known through A. Cranz publishing of Beethoven's work, but was first coined by a London publisher, Broderip & Wilkinson. While not as famous as its immediate predecessor, Piano Sonata No. 14, it is generally admired for its intricate technicality as well as for its beauty. The sonata takes roughly twenty-five minutes to play with its intended repeats.
Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 2 in A major, Op. 2, No. 2, was written in 1795 and dedicated to Joseph Haydn. It was published simultaneously with his first and third sonatas in 1796.
The Piano Sonata No. 3 in B minor, Op. 58, is a piano sonata in four movements composed by Polish composer Frédéric Chopin; it is the second of the composer's three mature sonatas(the others being the Piano Sonata No. 2 in B-flat minor, Op. 35, and the Sonata for Piano and Cello in G minor, Op. 65). Completed in 1844 and published in 1845, the work is considered to be one of Chopin's most difficult compositions, both technically and musically. The work has a structure similar to Piano Sonata No. 5 in F Sharp Minor, Op. 81 by Johann Nepomuk Hummel. A performance of the sonata lasts around 23 to 30 minutes, depending on whether the repetition of the exposition in the first movement is observed. The work is dedicated to Countess Élise de Perthuis.
Antonín Dvořák's Serenade for Strings in E major, Op. 22 (B. 52), is one of the composer's most popular orchestral works. It was composed in just two weeks in May 1875.
Antonín Dvořák's Piano Quintet No. 2 in A major Op. 81, B. 155, is a quintet for piano, 2 violins, viola, and cello. It was composed between August 18 and October 8, 1887, and was premiered in Prague on January 6, 1888. The quintet is acknowledged as one of the masterpieces in the form, along with those of Schumann, Brahms and Shostakovich.
The Fantasia in F minor by Franz Schubert, D.940, for piano four hands, is one of Schubert's most important works for more than one pianist and one of his most important piano works altogether. He composed it in 1828, the last year of his life. A dedication to his former pupil Caroline Esterházy can only be found in the posthumous first edition, not in Schubert's autograph.
The Piano Quartet No. 3 in C minor, Op. 60, completed by Johannes Brahms in 1875, is scored for piano, violin, viola and cello. It is sometimes called the Werther Quartet after Goethe's The Sorrows of Young Werther. The premiere took place in Vienna on November 18, 1875, to an anxious public. Richard Wagner and his wife Cosima were in attendance.
The Cello Sonata, Op. 65, is a work by the English composer Benjamin Britten. It was premiered in July 1961 at the Aldeburgh Festival in Suffolk. The work is in five movements:
The Piano Sonata in B minor, Op.5, was written by Richard Strauss in 1880–81. The Sonata is in the Romantic style of his teenage years. The first recording of the piece was the last recording made by the Canadian pianist Glenn Gould.
Hooked on Classics is a classical crossover album recorded by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Louis Clark, released in 1981 by K-tel and distributed by RCA Records, part of the Hooked on Classics series. It was produced by Jeff Jarratt and Don Reedman.
Hooked on Classics 2: Can't Stop the Classics is an album by Louis Clark and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, published in 1982 by K-tel, part of the Hooked on Classics series.