Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune, known in English as Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun, is a symphonic poem for orchestra by Claude Debussy, approximately 10 minutes in duration. It was composed in the year 1894, the same year that the piece was first performed.
Dance of the Blessed Spirits is a melody from Orpheus and Eurydice, an opera composed by Christoph Willibald Gluck, based on the myth of Orpheus and set to a libretto by Ranieri de’ Calzabigi.
Ballade No. 1 in G minor, Op. 23, dates to sketches Chopin made in 1831 during his eight-month stay in Vienna. It was completed in 1835 after his move to Paris, where he dedicated it to Baron Nathaniel von Stockhausen, the Hanoverian ambassador to France.
Piano Sonata No. 7 (occasionally called the “Stalingrad”) is the second of the three “War Sonatas” written by Sergei Prokofiev. The sonata was first performed on 18 January 1943 in Moscow by Sviatoslav Richter.
Fantasy in C Minor, K. 475 is a piece of music for solo piano composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in Vienna on 20 May 1785. It was published as Opus 11, in December 1785.
The two Nocturnes, Op 55 by Frédéric Chopin, the fifteenth and sixteenth of his nocturnes, were composed between 1842 and 1844, and published in August 1844.
La valse, poème chorégraphique pour orchestre (a choreographic poem for orchestra), is a work written by Maurice Ravel between February 1919 and 1920; it was first performed on 12 December 1920 in Paris.
Franz Schubert composed a number of works known as Ständchen (serenade). Franz Liszt’s transcription for piano solo is the fourth lied from Schwanengesang, a collection of songs written by Schubert at the end of his life and published posthumously.
Ciranda das Sete Notas in C major is of great importance in the bassoon repertoire, especially considering its popularity in concert rooms around the world. F. The title “Ciranda” came from a traditional Brazilian folkloric play.
The Polonaise Fantaisie in A-flat major, Op. 61, from Frédéric Chopin, dedicated to Mme A. Veyret, was written and published in 1846. This work was slow to gain favor with musicians, due to its harmonic complexity and intricate form.
