Darius Milhaud, known for unusual subject choices, composed L'is Catalogue d.es fleurs after being inspired by a plant catalogue, comparing its spirit to Honegger's glorification of a railway engine in Pacific 231.
Instruments
The horn part in Schubert's Auf dem Strome is significant because if Joseph Rudolph Lewy, a virtuoso horn player, played it at the premiere, it would imply he invented the valve-horn, as the piece cannot be played on a natural horn.
Compositional Technique
Franz Schubert's Auf dem Strome is unique among his songs for featuring a second obbligato instrument alongside the piano, with the clarinet part replaced by a horn.
Composition History
Maurice Ravel arranged five Greek folk songs for voice and piano in just thirty-six hours in 1904, at the request of his friend M.D. Calvocoressi, a Graeco-French author.
Composition History
Claude Debussy's Chansons de Bilitis, settings of three poems by Pierre Louÿs, were written in 1897 after his opera Pelléas et Mélisande.
Critical Reception
Ravel's Cinq mélodies populaires grecques led to his collaboration with Durand, France's leading music publisher, which secured his financial independence.
Composer Biography
Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, an Italian composer with Spanish-Jewish roots, was forced to emigrate to the USA due to the Fascist regime.
