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Latest Listeners’ Club Posts

Wagner’s “Lohengrin,” Prelude to Act I: Rudolf Kempe and the Vienna Philharmonic June 15, 2026

The Prelude to the first act of Wagner’s 1850 opera, Lohengrin, unfolds as a gradual cosmic crescendo before fading again into silence. It begins in the highest register of the orchestra with a shimmering, prolonged A major chord. Angelic harmonics in divided solo violin lines alternate and overlap with woodwind voices to create a dreamy sh […]

Britten’s “The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra”: Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Purcell June 12, 2026

The title, The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra, Op. 34 describes a narrator-driven work which brilliantly introduces the instruments, showcasing their distinct tonal colors and personas. The subtitle, Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Purcell, suggests a concert piece which stands on its own without narration. Benjamin Britten’s Youn […]

Vivaldi’s “Nulla in mundo pax sincera”: A Concerto for Voice June 10, 2026

Following a traditional four part structure (aria-recitative-aria-Alleluia), Antonio Vivaldi’s sacred motets have been likened to “vocal concertos.” Composed between 1713 and 1719, Nulla in mundo pax sincera, RV 630 (“In this world there is no honest peace”) was intended for a virtuosic soprano with an exceptionally high range. Vivaldi comp […]

Britten’s “Lachrymae”: Reflections on a Song by John Dowland June 8, 2026

Benjamin Britten said, I couldn’t be alone. I couldn’t work alone. I can only work really because of the tradition that I am conscious of behind me… I feel as close to Dowland as I do to my youngest contemporary. Fragments of the songs of English Renaissance composer John Dowland emerge and dissipate as fleeting ghosts in Britten’s Lachryma […]

Tchaikovsky’s Romance in F Minor, Op. 5: Sviatoslav Richter June 5, 2026

Throughout the music of Tchaikovsky, the key of F minor is associated with deep sadness, resignation, and the triumph of fate. F minor is the key of Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony, with its haunting and recurring “fate” motif. A similar melancholy envelops Tchaikovsky’s Romance in F minor, Op. 5 for solo piano. It was composed in late 1868 a […]

Michael Torke’s “Run”: A Shifting Musical Panorama June 3, 2026

Run is a brief and exhilarating orchestral showpiece written by American composer Michael Torke in 1992. The work is filled with boundless energy and forward motion. It evokes a bright, gradually shifting landscape. The work is launched into motion with string flourishes and the crack of the woodblock. The short, repeating motif takes shape […]

Bruckner’s “Ecce sacerdos magnus”: Thunderous Power and Majesty June 1, 2026

Anton Bruckner’s sacred motet, Ecce sacerdos magnus, WAB 13 (“Behold a great priest”) begins with an earth-shattering announcement, set in motion by primal open fifths. The Old Testament text celebrates the blessings given to devout men. Scored for eight-part choir, organ, and three trombones, it is music of thunderous power, majesty, and s […]