Johannes Brahms: “Academic Festival Overture”

Posted on May 24, 2024

By the late 1870s Brahms’ position as a preëminent composer was well recognized. He was almost universally admired for his first two symphonies, his two serenades, and the “Haydn” variations. So, in 1879 the University of Breslau in Prussia (now Wrocław, Poland), in the best tradition of universities everywhere, brought honor to the distinguished composer—and distinction to itself, of course—by awarding him an... Read More ›

Benjamin Britten: “Four Sea Interludes” from “Peter Grimes”

Posted on May 24, 2024

Benjamin Britten is one of the last century’s most respected composers, and unquestionably the most influential and admired British composer from WW II until his death in 1976. Fantastically gifted from an early age (almost a thousand compositions before his first mature, published one!), he was blessed with the early attainment of an authentic personal “voice” in his musical style. That... Read More ›

George Gershwin: “Rhapsody in Blue”

Posted on May 24, 2024

George Gershwin was arguably the most successful and talented of America’s composers of popular music. His songs constitute the core of the “American Songbook,” whether composed as part of his immensely successful Broadway shows, or as stand alone popular tunes. Born of Russian Jewish immigrants, he didn’t evince his formidable musical talents until about the age of ten, when a piano was... Read More ›

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Franz Schubert: Symphony No. 8 in B Minor, D. 759 “Unfinished”

Posted on May 24, 2024

The epitaph on Schubert’s tombstone reads: “The art of music has entombed here a rich treasure but even fairer hopes.” We all lament the “loss” of treasure that we never possessed, none perhaps more than great art that we presume may have come to pass but not for lives cut short in youth. We must remember that not all composers can live... Read More ›

Giancarlo Castro D’Addona: Journey

Posted on April 26, 2024

Journey is a piece specially composed for PYWE as part of the celebration of PYP’s 100 years. With an approximate duration of 6 minutes, this energetic and vibrant piece seeks to enhance through its melodies, modulating harmonies and syncopated rhythms the high range of colors that a wind band offers the listener. Journey represents a tribute to the invaluable labor, work and... Read More ›

Polina Nazaykinskaya: Symphony for Strings

Posted on April 26, 2024

In my new Symphony for Strings, commissioned by the Portland Youth Philharmonic, I aim to combine the classical symphonic tradition with elements of post-minimalism and a neo-romantic sensibility. The four-movement composition takes the audience on a profound journey of self-discovery, akin to a coming-of-age narrative. In this Symphony, the audience is invited from the very outset to embark on a... Read More ›