Gioachimo Rossini's William Tell Overture is the instrumental introduction to his opera by the same name. It has been made popular as the theme song to the Lone Ranger radio and TV shows and by Shostakovich in his 15th symphony. Its depictions of a storm, a pastoral scene, and heroic riders are now the definitive musical metaphors.
Chaconne St. David is a composition by York Symphony Music Director Gregory Burton. The work is inspired by a special, very personal place in the village of St. David in western Newfoundland, and attempts to depict the calm, serene, but at times lonely place.
The orchestral scoring and musical development of Reinhold Glière's 1938 Harp Concerto comes straight from the earlier Russian romantic school of Tchaikovsky and Rimsky-Korsakov. Melodies and harmonies are straight-forward. The harp greets the listener making the first musical statement with rolling chords and sweeping scales.
Antonín Dvorák's cheery Eighth Symphony marks a departure from the dramatic and tragic character of much Romantic music of the 19th century. It is built on simple folk-like melodies which are heard throughout combining a bright optimism with a dark sense of melancholy. |
