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Welcome to the Popular Classical Compositions Notes Index Page of aMUSIClassical Directory Our Classical Music website for good music lovers. CLASSICalmanac days site map Cross-referenced to our major pages On the Internet: MP3Radio~MUSIClassical Click to subscribe to MUSIClassical discussion list Classical Music DVD Search by keywords:

Notes on Popular Classical Compositions listed by Composers A ~ B ~ C ~ D ~ E ~ F G ~ H ~ I ~ J ~ K ~ L M ~ N ~ O ~ P ~ Q ~ R S ~ T ~ U ~ V ~ W X ~ Y ~ Z our e-mail address is: comments@MUSIClassical.com Notes on Major Compositions listed by composer ~ M ~ MacDowell, Edward Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, No 2 in d, Op23 Mahler, Gustav Selected Works Martinu Sym No 1 Martinu Sym No 2 Martinu Sym No 3 Martinu Sym No 4 Martinu Sym No 5 Martinu Sym No 6 'Symphonic Fantasies' Massenet, Jules (1842 - 1912) "Thais" 'Meditation' Was a sucessful composer of French operas. Leader of the musical society, and honor winning student at the Paris Conservatory where he later became a professor of music. His opera "Thais" is set in Egypt during the early Christian days. Thais is a beautiful dancing courtesan. Today we would call her a paid escort. The scenario is about a monk called Athanael who trys to convert Thais but he falls in love with her. Thais believing in a happy hereafter, dies... leaving a grief- stricken monk. Massenet's celebrated orchestral 'Meditation' or intermezzo was placed between two scenes providing a dramatic link in the opera. Massenet "Manon" His best known opera, like 'Thais', is about the rescue and reform of a courtesan. In this one Manon dies a horrible death. The opera was FP at Opera-Comique in Paris, 1884. It established Massenet as the most popular opera composer of his time. Mendelssohn, Felix Selected Works Milhaud - Suite Francaise. It was commissioned by the Leeds Publishing Company for high school band performance. It uses melodies from various regions of France. Milhaud, Darius 'Suite provencale' Monteverdi 'Vespers' The service of Vespers is one of the most intimate offices of the Catholic Church and provided the composers of St. Marks with something special for the major feast days. Monteverdi's setting to the 121st Psalm is the catalist for five voices with an instrumental accmpaniment. Moussorgsky, Modest 'A Night On Bald Mountain' Moussorgsky 'Chorus of the Priestesses' From his first opera 'Salammbo' (sah lam BOH') in Act Four. The chorus was orchestrated by N. Rimsky-Korsakov three years after Moussorgsky's death in 1881 in St. Petersburg. Moussorgsky 'Pictures at an Exhibitiion' Moussorgsky wrote his 'Pictures at an Exhibition' as a suite for the piano. He was inspired by a posthumous exhibition of paintings by his close friend, Victor Hartmann. The exhibition was in St. Petersburg in 1874. The work is most commonly heard in it's orchestral form. Many transcriptions have been made but the one most frequently heard on radio and in the concert halls is by Maurice Ravel. He orchestrated the work in 1922 on a commission from Boston Symphony conductor Serge Koussevitsky. It appears only three of the paintings in music were actually hanging in the exhibition. The rest were based on the composer's private collection of Hartmann's and on others he'd seen. Since Mussorgsky's time, several other composers have written orchestrations. By the way, if you're ever in Kiev and looking for the Great Gate, don't bother. It was planned, but never built. Moussorgsky 'Prelude to Khovanshchina' Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus Selected Works Latest CLASSICAL CDs Latest MUSIC & Entertainment BOOKS our e-mail address is: comments@MUSIClassical.com MUSIClassical list Send a blank email to Join our Discussion Group END of Notes Page Go to MUSIClassical HOME Pager>