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‘Der Rosenkavalier’, Op. 59, is a comic opera in three acts by Richard Strauss to an original German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. It was first performed at the ‘Königliches Opernhaus’ in Dresden on 26 January 1911 and the opera became immediate and profound popular.

As one would expect of a commercial hit, the music was pressed into all manner of use through arrangements and transcriptions. Strauss produced the earliest orchestral extract himself  in 1911, directly on the heels of the premiere; he titled it ‘Walzerfolge Rosenkavalier 3. Akt’ (‘Waltz Sequence from Rosenkavalier Act 3’) which in the end was entitled as ‘Walzerfolge No. 2’ (‘Waltz Sequence No. 2’).

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Tod und Verklärung (Death and Transfiguration), Op. 24, is a tone poem for large orchestra by Richard Strauss.

Strauss began composition in the late summer of 1888 and completed the work on 18 November 1889.

The work is dedicated to the composer’s friend Friedrich Rosch. The music depicts the death of an artist. At Strauss’s request, this was described in a poem by the composer’s friend Alexander Ritter as an interpretation of ‘Tod und Verklärung’, after it was composed.

As the man lies dying, thoughts of his life pass through his head: his childhood innocence, the struggles of his manhood, the attainment of his worldly goals; and at the end, he receives the longed-for transfiguration ‘from the infinite reaches of heaven’.

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explanation text: © Baton Music

Alessandro Volta (1745 – 1827) was and Italian physicist whose invention of the electric battery provided the first source of continuous current. In 1899, the Italian city of Como hosted a celebration of Alessandro Volta, for whom the electrical term ‘volt’ is attributed. Giacomo Puccini (1858 – 1924), at that time already a renowned opera composer was commissioned to write a celebratory march for the occasion. The result was ‘Scossa elettrica’ (Electric shock),  a small brilliant march.

text: © Baton Music

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After Gioachino Rossini’s death in 1868, Giuseppe Verdi suggested that a number of Italian composers collaborate on a Requiem in Rossini’s honor. Unfortunately the project was abandoned by the organisation. But not much later, upon hearing of the death of the Italian writer and humanist Alessandro Manzoni, Giuseppe Verdi resolved to complete a Requiem, this time entirely of his own writing.

The ‘Messa da Requiem’ is a musical setting of the Catholic funeral mass (Requiem) for four soloists, double choir and orchestra. It is rarely performed in liturgy, but rather in concert form of around 85-90 minutes in length.

text: © Baton Music

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‘L’Italiana in Algeri’ (The Italian Girl in Algiers) is an operatic ‘drama giocoso’ in two acts by Gioacchino Rossini. The music is characteristic of Rossini’s style, remarkable for its fusion of sustained, manic energy with elegant, pristine melodies. The overture is widely recorded and performed today, known for its distinct opening of slow, quiet pizzicato basses, leading to a sudden loud burst of sound from the full orchestra. This ‘surprise’ reflects Rossini’s early admiration for Joseph Haydn, whose ‘Symphony No. 94’ in G major, ‘The Surprise Symphony’, is so named for the same shocking and semi-comic effect.

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© text: Baton Music Eindhoven

Leoš Janácek (1854-1928) was a Czech composer, musical theorist, folklorist, publicist and teacher. He was inspired by Moravian and other Slavic folk music to create an original, modern musical style.

The ‘Lachian Dances’ (Lašské tance) was Janácek’s first mature work. The work is split into six separate dances:

1. Starodávný I (Old Time Dance I),
2. Požehnaný (The Blessed),
3. Dymák (Smoke Dance),
4. Starodávný II (Old Time Dance II),
5. Celadenský (Celadna Dance)
6. Pilky (The Saws)

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explanation text and demo score: © Baton Music

Demo score: