Willy Hautvast

The German composer Max Bruch was born in 1838 and died in 1920. Shortly after his arrival in Britain in 1880, where he had been appointed musical director of the Liverpool Philharmonic Society, he co...

Josef Strauß, the second son of Johann Strauß Senior, worked for some time as an architect and engineer before he started conducting to replace his elder brother Johann Junior who had become seriously...

Giulio Caccini's 'Ave Maria' has been one the most often played tunes at funerals. In 2001 it was used for the soundtrack of the movie picture 'Donnie Darko'. Here is a most pleasant and skilful arran...

The 'Annen Polka' is e real gem of the typical Viennese music. It could hardly fail at any Strauß concert and is a regular feature at the annual New Year's Concert in Vienna.

Casta Diva is possibly the most famous aria by Bellini. This is Norma's prayer to the moon goddess, and shows Bellini's high craftsmanship with melodies. The most famous version of this aria, was sung...

The complete title of this Irish tune is : 'Believe me if all those endearing young charms'. The character of this song is rather nostalgic, but yet it is popular all over the world as it has been sun...

As the tune is so well known and played and sung regularly all over the world, the piece needs no extra comment. Yet this wind band arrangement is, no doubt, a fine acquisition for the repertoire.

For Bedrich Smetana, the polka was the source of typical Czech music par excellence. We do not only find it in his operas, symphonic works and chamber music, but he also wrote single or separate polka...

Danse des Sauvages' (Dance of the Savages) is an excerpt from the ballet opera 'Les Indes Galantes' (The Courtly Indies). Rameau was one of the most important French composers (1683 - 1764). He wrote...

Hot Toddy is a so-called evergreen in the bigband repertoire. Composer Ralph Flanagan (1914 - 1995) himself was a successful bandleader in the United States of America. The piece was very popular and...