Mitropa Classics

Ernani (1844), Giuseppe Verdi's fifth opera, is based on the homonymous tragedy by Victor Hugo. Verdi's success with Ernani, as well as Nabucco and I lombardi alla prima crociata, can be ascribed to t...

For the first draft of the libretto of Un ballo in maschera (1859), Giuseppe Verdi drew his inspiration from the grand-opéra Gustave III by Auber, an opera performed for the first time in Paris in 183...

For the first draft of the libretto of Un ballo in maschera (1859), Giuseppe Verdi drew his inspiration from the grand-opéra Gustave III by Auber, an opera performed for the first time in Paris in 183...

A technique much employed by Verdi is to alternate main scenes of a drama with others which allow the listener to relax temporarily. These moments are often entrusted to the choir (as in the case of t...

A technique much employed by Verdi is to alternate main scenes of a drama with others which allow the listener to relax temporarily. These moments are often entrusted to the choir (as in the case of t...

The celebrated Austrian composer Josef Anton Bruckner (1824-1896) owes his fame predominantly to his symphonies, his masses, his Te Deum, his string quintets and his devotional church music, including...

The Barber of Seville is based on the first of Beaumarchais' (1732- 1799) two sequential plays, The Marriage of Figaro being the second, although unusually the overture does not contain any themes fro...

In the monumental overture to the opera La Gazza Ladra (The Thieving Magpie) Gioachino Rossini employs themes from the opera itself in order to prepare the audience for the material to come. The overt...

Camillo De Nardis' Il giudizio universale (The Universal Judgement) was awarded first prize at the Competition for Band Composition held in Naples. This composition was inspired by Verdi's Requiem wit...

Franz Liszt's 19 Hungarian Rhapsodies are characterised by melancholy, great expressiveness and wonderful gypsy rhythms. No. 2 is the best known of all, mainly thanks to the use of various passages fo...

Pomp and Circumstance est le titre porté par cinq marches composées entre 1901 et 1930 par le compositeur anglais Sir Edward Elgar. Si la Marcheno 1 est incontestablement la plus célèbre, la Marche no...

Anton Bruckner is probably best known today as a symphonist however he was also a significant composer of religious works, motets and masses, and the composer of the great Te Deum. These choral works...

Anton Bruckner is probably best known today as a symphonist however he was also a significant composer of religious works, motets and masses, and the composer of the great Te Deum. These choral works...

Thomas Doss created a beautiful and sensitive arrangement of this famous religious work by Anton Bruckner (1824-1896).

Lorsque l'on parle de chansons populaires allemandes, Kein schöner Land (Il n'est pas de plus beau pays) est probablement la plus célèbre de toutes. On y raconte l'histoire d'un groupe d'amis qui chan...

Entre août 1844 et janvier 1845, Mendelssohn compose ses Six sonates pour orgue, Op. 65. Véritable compendium de l'art de jouer de l'orgue, chaque sonate possède une atmosphère particulière. L'Andante...

Pomp and Circumstance est le titre porté par cinq marches composées entre 1901 et 1930 par le compositeur anglais Sir Edward Elgar. Si la Marcheno 1 est incontestablement la plus célèbre, la Marche no...

The Ave Maria by Franz Schubert is known and loved worldwide and was originally written as part of the song cycle The Lady of the Lake. In the course of time, the German text has been replaced by the...

Considéré aujourd'hui comme un grand classique de la culture américaine, l'opéra Porgy and Bess (1935) fut longtemps controversé et ne connut le succès qu'après la mort de Gershwin (1898 - 1937). Cet...

Considéré aujourd'hui comme un grand classique de la culture américaine, l'opéra Porgy and Bess (1935) fut longtemps controversé et ne connut le succès qu'après la mort de Gershwin (1898 - 1937). Cet...

Master-composer Ludwig van Beethoven was born in Bonn, in 1770, but he lived in Vienna from 1792, until his death in 1827. With his innovative style, he has had a great influence on Western classical...

The celebrated Austrian composer Josef Anton Bruckner (1824-1896) owes his fame predominantly to his symphonies, his masses, his Te Deum, his string quintets and his devotional church music, including...