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Symphonic poem
A symphonic poem or tone poem is a piece of orchestral music in a single continuous section (a movement) in which the content of a poem, a story or novel, a painting, a landscape or another (non-musical) source is illustrated or evoked. The term was first applied by Hungarian composer Franz Liszt...
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An American in Paris
An American in Paris is a symphonic composition by American composer George Gershwin, composed in 1928. Inspired by time Gershwin had spent in Paris, it is in the form of an extended tone poem evoking the sights and energy of the French capital in...
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Swan of Tuonela
The Swan of Tuonela (Tuonelan joutsen) is an 1895 tone poem by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. The story behind it is an excerpted legend from the Kalevala epic of Finnish mythology.
The tone poem is scored for a small orchestra of oboe, cor...
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- 1895
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Night on Bald Mountain
Night on Bald Mountain is a composition by Modest Mussorgsky that exists in at least two versions — a seldom performed 1867 version or a later (1886) and very popular 'fantasy for orchestra' arranged by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, A Night on the Bare...
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Prometheus: Poem of Fire
Prometheus: The Poem of Fire, Op. 60 (1910), is a symphonic work by the Russian composer Alexander Scriabin for piano, orchestra, voice, and clavier à lumières or "Chromola" (a Color organ invented by Preston Millar). However, the clavier à lumières...
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- 1910
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Finlandia
Finlandia, Op. 26 is a symphonic poem by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. The first version was written in 1899, and it was revised in 1900. The piece was composed for the Press Celebrations of 1899, a covert protest against increasing censorship...
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- 1899
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Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet is a musical work by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, subtitled Overture-Fantasy, based on Shakespeare's play of the same name. Like other composers such as Berlioz and Prokofiev, Tchaikovsky was deeply inspired by Shakespeare, and he also...
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- Sep 10, 1880
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Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche
Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks (German: Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche, 1894-95), Op. 28, is a tone poem by Richard Strauss, chronicling the misadventures and pranks of the German peasant folk hero, Till Eulenspiegel. The two themes...
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- 1895
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Also sprach Zarathustra
Also sprach Zarathustra, Op. 30 (Eng. Thus Spoke Zarathustra) ( sample (help·info)) is a tone poem by Richard Strauss, composed in 1896 and inspired by Friedrich Nietzsche's philosophical treatise of the same name. The composer conducted its first...
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- 1896
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Francesca da Rimini
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's symphonic poem Francesca da Rimini: Symphonic Fantasy after Dante, Op. 32 was composed in less than three weeks during his visit to Bayreuth in the autumn of 1876.
In this fantasia, Tchaikovsky presents a symphonic...
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- 1876
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Tod und Verklärung
Death and Transfiguration (Tod und Verklärung), 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 November 18, 1889. The work is dedicated to the composer's...
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- Nov 18, 1889
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Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune
Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun (commonly known by its original French title, Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune) is a musical composition for orchestra by Claude Debussy, approximately 10 minutes in duration. It was first performed in Paris on...
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Feste Romane
Feste Romane (English “Roman Festivals”) is a work for very large symphony orchestra composed in 1926, by the Italian composer Ottorino Respighi. It is a tone poem depicting scenes from Ancient Rome of the Roman Empire. It is now considered a part...
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- 1926
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Fontane di Roma
Fontane di Roma (English "Fountains of Rome") is a 1916 work by the Italian composer Ottorino Respighi, now considered part of the Roman Trilogy of symphonic poems along with Feste Romane and Pini di Roma. Each of the four movements is dedicated to...
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- 1916
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Pini di Roma
Pini di Roma (English "Pines of Rome") is a 1924 work by the Italian composer Ottorino Respighi, and is considered one of the masterpieces of the Roman Trilogy of symphonic poems along with Feste Romane and Fontane di Roma. Each movement portrays...
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- 1924
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Eine Alpensinfonie
Eine Alpensinfonie (An Alpine Symphony), Op. 64, is a tone poem written by German composer Richard Strauss in 1915. Though labeled as a symphony by the composer, this piece forgoes the conventions of the traditional multi-movement symphony and...
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- 1915
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Ein Heldenleben
Ein Heldenleben, Op. 40, (literally A Heroic Life, but usually more loosely translated as A Hero's Life) is a tone poem by Richard Strauss. The work was completed in 1898, and heralds the composer’s more mature period in this genre. Strauss...
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- 1898
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In the Steppes of Central Asia
In the Steppes of Central Asia (Russian: В средней Азии, literally In Central Asia) is the common English title for a "musical tableau" (or symphonic poem) by Alexander Borodin. Composed in 1880, the work was originally intended to be presented as...
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- 1880
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Nykken
Nykken is a symphonic poem composed by the Norwegian composer Geirr Tveitt in 1957. It is written for orchestra and several solo instruments, although they do not have any solo roles. It was written on demand for the NRK and survived a fire in 1970...
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- 1957
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En Saga
En saga (English translation: A fairy tale or A saga) is a tone poem written by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius in 1892. After hearing Sibelius' choral work Kullervo, the conductor Robert Kajanus encouraged Sibelius to compose a purely orchestral...
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- 1892
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Pacific 231
Pacific 231 is an orchestral work by Arthur Honegger, written in 1923. It is one of his most frequently performed works today.
The popular interpretation of the piece is that it depicts a steam locomotive, an interpretation that is supported by the...
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- 1923
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The Tempest
The Tempest (Burya), Symphonic Fantasia after Shakespeare, Op. 18 is a symphonic poem in F minor by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky composed in 1873. It was premiered in December 1873, conducted by Nikolai Rubinstein.
It is based on the play The Tempest by...
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- 1873
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Don Quixote
Don Quixote, op. 35, is a composition by Richard Strauss for cello, viola and large orchestra. Subtitled "Phantastische Variationen über ein Thema ritterlichen Charakters" ("Fantastic Variations on a Theme of Knightly Character"), the work is based...
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- 1897
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Aus Italien
Aus Italien, Op. 16 (From Italy) is a tone poem for full orchestra composed by Richard Strauss in 1886. It was inspired by the composer's visit to Italy (encouraged by Johannes Brahms) in the summer of the same year, where he travelled to Rome,...
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- 1886
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Pelleas und Melisande
Pelleas und Melisande, Symphonic Poem for orchestra, is composer Arnold Schoenberg's first completed orchestral work, and his opus 5. A symphonic poem, the work was completed in February 1903, when Schoenberg was 28. Pelleas und Melisande is based...
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Tapiola
Tapiola (literally, "Realm of Tapio"), op. 112, is a tone poem by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius, written in 1926. It was the product of a commission from Walter Damrosch for the New York Philharmonic Society. Tapiola portrays the terrifying...
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- 1926
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Nightride and Sunrise
Nightride and Sunrise is a symphonic poem composed by Jean Sibelius in 1908. Sibelius gave different accounts of the inspiration for this music. One, told to Karl Ekman, was his first visit to the Colosseum in Rome in 1901. Another account, given in...
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- 1908
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The Bard
The Bard is a brief tone poem composed in 1913 by Jean Sibelius. The tone poem itself provides a profound, yet cryptic, glimpse of an elegiac, poetic world: an initial, harp-led stillness and reflection are succeeded by elemental, eruptive surges...
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- 1913
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The Oceanides
The Finnish composer Jean Sibelius wrote the tone poem The Oceanides, op. 73, in 1914 immediately before his Fifth Symphony. It was commissioned for the Norfolk Festival in Connecticut, at which Sibelius conducted the premiere performance.
The...
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- 1914
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Pohjola's Daughter
The tone poem Pohjola's Daughter, Op. 49, was composed by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius in 1906. Originally, Sibelius intended to title the work Väinämöinen, after the character in the Kalevala (the Finnish national epic). The publisher Robert...
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- 1906
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Don Juan
Don Juan, op.20 is a tone poem for large orchestra by the German composer Richard Strauss, which was written in 1888. The composer conducted its premier on 11 November 1889 with the orchestra of the Weimar Opera, where he served as Court...
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- 1888
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Symphonia Domestica
Sinfonia Domestica, Op. 53 (Domestic Symphony) is a tone poem for large orchestra by Richard Strauss. The work is a musical reflection of the secure domestic life so valued by the composer himself and, as such, harmoniously conveys daily events and...
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- 1903
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Falstaff
Falstaff – Symphonic Study in C minor, Op.68, is an orchestral work by the English composer Edward Elgar.
Falstaff, though not so designated by the composer, is a symphonic poem in the tradition of Liszt and Richard Strauss. It portrays Sir John...
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A Song of Islands
A Song of Islands is a tone poem (more properly described by the composer as a song) written for orchestra by New Zealand composer Douglas Lilburn in 1946. The work is the last in a trilogy of pieces exploring the theme of New Zealand identity; it...
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Bells for Stokowski
Bells for Stokowski for Orchestra and for Symphonic Band by American composer Michael Daugherty, is a 14 minute, single-movement tribute to one of the most prominent 20th century conductors, Leopold Stokowski. Bells for Stokowski for Orchestra (2001...
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El encuentro
This is a symphonic poem by Italian composer Lorenzo Ferrero written in 1999, which can be performed individually or as part of the suite "La nueva Espana."
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- 1999
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Symphonic Sketches
Symphonic Sketches was composed by George Whitefield Chadwick from about 1895 to 1904. Each of the four movement is inspired by a scene depiction, much like snapshots in an album, drawings, or vignettes. The style largely stems from Chadwick’s...
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Tintagel
Tintagel is a symphonic poem composed by Arnold Bax in 1919; it is perhaps his best-known orchestral work.
Bax had visited Tintagel Castle during the summer of 1917, accompanied by pianist Harriet Cohen, with whom he was carrying on an affair at the...
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- 1919
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In memoriam
In memoriam is symphonic poem by the American composer Douglas Moore. Moore wrote the piece in 1943 in memory of the young soldiers who died in World War II. In memoriam is Moore's darkest work and contrast strongly with the ebullient Symphony in a...
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- 1943
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On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring
On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring is a tone poem composed in 1912 by Frederick Delius; it was first performed in Leipzig on October 2, 1913.
The work opens with a slow three-bar sequence; its first theme is an exchange of cuckoo calls, first for...
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- 1912
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Eventyr
Eventyr or Once Upon a Time is a tone poem for orchestra composed by Frederick Delius in 1917. It was given its premiere in London on January 11, 1919, under the direction of Henry J. Wood. "Eventyr" means "adventure", and the inspiration for the...
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- 1917
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Sea Drift
Sea Drift is a tone poem for orchestra composed by John Alden Carpenter in 1933; it was premiered by the New York Philharmonic under Werner Janssen in 1934. Impressionist music inspired by the Walt Whitman poems Sea-Drift, it is in two sections....
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- 1933
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A Pagan Poem
A Pagan Poem is a tone poem for orchestra composed in 1906 by Charles Martin Loeffler. Originally scored for piano, woodwinds, violin, and contrabass, the work was soon rescored for two pianos and three trumpets. The final version, which in addition...
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Date completed:
- 1906
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Le Poeme de l'extase
Alexander Scriabin's The Poem of Ecstasy (Le Poème de l'extase) op. 54 is a symphonic poem written between 1905 and 1908, when Scriabin was actively involved with the Theosophical Society. It lasts about 20 minutes.
Scriabin sometimes referred to...
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- 1908
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The Witch and the Saint
The Witch and the Saint by Steven Reineke is a one movement symphonic band piece describing the lives of Helena and Sibylla; twin sisters born in Germany at the end of the 1500s. The piece has five distinct parts and has become a favorite among...
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A Song of Summer
A Song of Summer is a tone poem for orchestra by Frederick Delius, completed in 1931.
A Song of Summer derived from an unpublished 1918 symphonic work, originally called Poem of Life and Love. In 1921, Delius told Peter Warlock that he had misplaced...
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Isle of the Dead
Isle of the Dead, Op. 29 is a symphonic poem composed by Sergei Rachmaninoff. Rachmaninoff was inspired by Arnold Böcklin's painting, Isle of the Dead, which he saw in Paris in 1907. He concluded the composition while staying in Dresden in 1908. It...
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- 1908
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Les Préludes
Les Préludes is the third of Franz Liszt's twelve Symphonic Poems. Directed by Liszt himself, the work was premiered on February 23, 1854, at a concert at the "Hoftheater" in Weimar. In April 1856 the score, and in January 1865 the orchestral parts,...
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Date completed:
- 1848
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Vox Maris
Vox maris (Op. 31) is a symphonic poem finished around 1954, by the Romanian composer George Enescu.
The poem is scored for a large orchestra—quadruple woodwind, six horns, four trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, five percussionists, two...
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Date completed:
- 1954
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Hunnenschlacht
Hunnenschlacht (English: The Battle of the Huns), S.105, is a symphonic poem by Franz Liszt, written in 1857 after a painting of the same name by Wilhelm von Kaulbach.
The painting depicts the battle of the Catalaunian Fields in 451 A.D., where the...
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- 1857
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Train Music
Train Music is a piece of music for orchestra written by the Australian composer Percy Grainger.
This fragment of music written in 1901 by an 18 year old Grainger was originally designed for a massive orchestra. Inspired by a 1900 train journey...
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- 1901
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November Woods
The tone poem November Woods was written by the British composer Arnold Bax in 1917. It is for many his greatest tone poem.
It opens with a dramatic depiction of a stormy woodland landscape, followed by a much more peaceful section and development...
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Date completed:
- 1917
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The Noon Witch
The Noon Witch (or The Noonday Witch), Op. 108, B 196, is a symphonic poem (tone poem) written in 1896 by Antonín Dvořák inspired by the Karel Erben poem Polednice from the collection Kytice. Polednice is based on the noon demon "Lady Midday" of...
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Date completed:
- 1896
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Ce qu'on entend sur la montagne
Ce qu'on entend sur la montagne (S.95), sometimes referred to as 'Bergsymphonie', is the first of thirteen symphonic poems by Hungarian composer Franz Liszt. It is an orchestral work inspired by the poem Feuilles d'automne (1831) by Victor Hugo.
The...
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Date completed:
- 1849
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Prometheus
Franz Liszt composed his Prometheus in 1850, numbering it No. 5 in his cycle of symphonic poems when he revised it in 1855. The work is based on the Greek myth, Prometheus and is numbered S99 in the Searle catalogue.
In 1850, Franz Liszt composed an...
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Date completed:
- 1855
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Sadko
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov wrote his "musical tableau" Sadko, Op. 5, in 1867 but revised the work in 1869 and 1892. It has sometimes been called the first symphonic poem written in Russia. It was first performed in 1867 at a concert of the Russian...
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Viviane
Viviane, op. 5, is a symphonic poem by the French composer Ernest Chausson. Chausson's first true composition for orchestra, Viviane was begun in September 1882 and influenced by the music of César Franck and Richard Wagner, just after Chausson had...
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Le Chasseur Maudit
Le Chasseur maudit (The Accursed Huntsman) is a symphonic poem by César Franck.
The work was inspired by the ballad Der wilde Jäger (The Wild Hunter) by the German poet Gottfried August Bürger. It tells the story of a Count of the Rhine who dares to...
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La ruta de Cortes
This is a symphonic poem by Italian composer Lorenzo Ferrero written in 1992, which can be performed individually or as part of the suite "La nueva Espana."
Date completed:
- 1992
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La noche triste
This is a symphonic poem by Italian composer Lorenzo Ferrero written in 1996, which can be performed individually or as part of the suite "La nueva Espana."
Date completed:
- 1996
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Presagios
This is a symphonic poem by Italian composer Lorenzo Ferrero written in 1999, which can be performed individually or as part of the suite "La nueva Espana."
Date completed:
- 1999
