Category: Classics on Sunday

EDWARD Elgar (1857-1934) had a long climb to the summit of his career, struggling for recognition until he was in his forties. This work was written when he was 35 … Continue readingElgar’s Serenade for Strings, Op 20

IT seems to me that this week we ought to think of the Queen, who has served the country so steadfastly since her father, George VI, died in 1952 when … Continue readingI Was Glad

THE six Brandenburg Concertos were essentially written as a job application, but astonishingly they did not do the trick and were left to gather dust for well over 100 years. … Continue readingJ S Bach, Brandenburg Concerto No 3, BWV 1048

IN the run-up to Christmas I had to mention Handel’s Messiah. I suppose the Hallelujah Chorus is the best-known movement, but although often performed at Christmas, with Part I of the work, it … Continue readingHandel – For Unto Us a Child is Born (Messiah)

I COULDN’T decide which of these piano sonatas was my favourite, so I thought I would write about both. Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) was born in Bonn, the son of … Continue readingTwo Beethoven piano sonatas

THE German composer Robert Schumann (1810-1856) completed his only piano concerto in 1845. It was premiered in Dresden with his wife Clara as the soloist. I wonder if this work … Continue readingSchumann Piano Concerto in A Minor, Op 54

LAST week I wrote about Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741), the Venetian composer sometimes called the King of Baroque. He was a major influence on Johann Sebastian Bach, who was seven years younger. … Continue readingBach Violin Concerto No 2 in E major BWV 1052

ANTONIO Vivaldi is well known as the composer of the violin concertos known as the Four Seasons, but he left at least 500 other concertos including some for less usual instruments … Continue readingVivaldi – beyond the Four Seasons

I FIND it incredible that Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) wrote his marvellous Octet in E flat major Op 20 when he was only 16. And this was after he had composed 12 symphonies, … Continue readingThe young Mendelssohn

TO my ear, the moment after the orchestral build-up when the solo viola and violin enter together, an octave apart, is one of the most thrilling in music. The work … Continue readingMozart: Sinfonia Concertante, K364