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Thésée, Tragedie en Musique Par Jean Baptiste Lully
Composed in 1675 by Jean Baptiste Lully, Thésée premiered at the royal court of Louis XIV at the Chateau de Sainte-Germain-en-Laye on January 11th, 1675. This early French Opera embodies the absolutism of the French court and the middle Baroque Period. -
Die Zauberflöte by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Premiered on September 30th, 1791 at the Freihaus-Theater auf der Wieden in Vienna, Mozart's Magic Flute is one of his most cherished operatic works. The Opera is influenced by the principles of the Enlightenment and Mozart's Masonic beliefs. -
Symphony no.3 in Eb Major Opus 55 "Eroica" By Ludwig van Beethoven
Composed in 1804, this famous symphony was premiered on April 7th 1805 in Vienna. Beethoven originally dedicated this great symphony to Napoleon Bonaparte as he believed he upheld the values of Liberty, Fraternity and Equality, However, when Napoleon crowned himself Emperor, Beethoven withdrew his initial dedication and renamed as the Heroic Symphony. -
1812 Overture By Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
The year 1812 Festival Overture was composed to commemorate Russia's victiory over Napoleon's Grand Armée in 1812. This famous example of Tsarist Russian Nationalism references God Save the Tsar! and La Marseillaise. -
La Mer by Claude Debussy
One of Debussy's most famous compositions, La Mer was composed between 1903 and 1905 and premierd on October 15th, 1905 in Paris. Debussy wished to break free from the traditions of German music which influenced all of Europe. In doing so he paved the way for a new French National style of music. -
Quatour Pour La Fin du Temps By Olivier Messiaen
Olivier Messiaen wrote his Quartet for The End of Time when he was imprisoned in Stalag VIII-A, a prisoner-of-war camp in Görlitz, Germany. The piece was premiered in the freezing camp hall by Messiaen on piano and his fellow prisoners clarinettist Henri Akoka, violinist Jean le Boulaire and cellist Étienne Pasquier with an audience of about 400 prisoners and guards. Considered one of the most hauntingly beautiful masterpieces of the 20th century, the quartet alludes to the Apocalypse.
