Dmitri Shostakovich: Symphony No. 1 in F minor, Op. 10
In the 1920s, Dmitri Shostakovich’s troubles were simply those of a student: not enough money, conflicts with teachers, and shaky confidence in his work.
Author: Benjamin Pesetsky
Benjamin Pesetsky is a composer and writer. He serves on the staff of the San Francisco Symphony and also contributes program notes for the Philadelphia Orchestra and Melbourne Symphony.
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4 in F minor, Op. 36
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony starts with a clashing fanfare—an idea the composer connected with the famous opening of Beethoven’s Fifth, widely understood to represent fate.
Maurice Ravel: Piano Concerto in G major
The outer movements are quick, zany, jazz-inspired. But they frame a slow movement of profound lyricism and simplicity. The startling contrast is part of what gives this concerto its brilliance and wonder.
Erich Wolfgang Korngold: Tänzchen im alten Stil
Tänzchen im alten Stil (Little Dance in the Old Style) is a relatively early work from 1918, a transitional point for Korngold between prodigy and maturity. The first section harkens back to classic Viennese waltzes, but with a winsome twist.
Now Playing: The Birth of Opera
Opera didn’t exist in 1567, the year of Claudio Monteverdi’s birth. Yet by 1643, the year Monteverdi died, Venetian opera houses were in full swing for paying audiences, representing a musical and cultural transformation in which the old master played no small part.
Maurice Ravel: Sonata for Violin and Cello
Ravel’s Sonata for Violin and Cello is a tour-de-force, its thin instrumentation jacked up with blazing string crossings, piercing harmonics, and snapping pizzicatos.