Category Archives: Orchestral

On this day in 1936 – the death of composer Ottorino Respighi

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by Ben Hogwood Image of Respighi courtesy of Wikipedia

Today marks the anniversary of the death of composer Ottorino Respighi, 90 years ago in 1936, at the age of just 56.

Respighi’s most famous works are the orchestral pieces making up the ‘Roman trilogy’ – in order of composition the Fountains of Rome, Pines of Rome and Roman Festivals. A previous post on the composer highlighted recordings of those three; however I wanted this time to pay tribute to Respighi’s flair as an orchestrator. Here are his arrangements of five of Rachmaninoff‘s Etude-Tableaux for piano, showing off the orchestra with colour and flair:

Published post no.2,862 – Saturday 18 April 2026

On this day in 1895 – the first performance of The Wood Nymph by Sibelius

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by Ben Hogwood Image of Sibelius courtesy of Wikipedia, and Finnish photographer Daniel Nyblin

Having just returned from Tallinn, Estonia, I feel particularly close the music of Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. On this day in 1895 one of his early orchestral works, The Wood Nymph, was premiered – and you can listen below:

Published post no.2,861 – Monday 17 April 2026

On this day in 1896 – the first performance of the Lemminkäinen Suite by Sibelius

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by Ben Hogwood Image of Sibelius courtesy of Wikipedia, and Finnish photographer Daniel Nyblin

On this day in 1896, the world premiere of Jean Sibelius’ Lemminkäinen Suite took place in Helsinki. The suite, in four distinct movements, has become a popular concert piece and is an early indication of the composer’s ability to tell dramatic tales through the orchestra. In this case the story follows Lemminkäinen in the Kalevala, the Finnish epic of folklore and poetry. The four movements are Lemminkäinen and the Maidens of the Island, The Swan of Tuonela (sometimes placed third and the most popular of the four), Lemminkäinen in Tuonela and Lemminkäinen’s Return

You can listen to a performance below from the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Jukka-Pekka Saraste:

Published post no.2,857 – Monday 13 April 2026

On this day in 1800 – the first performance of Beethoven’s First Symphony

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by Ben Hogwood Image of Ludwig van Beethoven in 1801, courtesy of Wikipedia

On this day in 1800 the premiere of Beethoven‘s game-changing Symphony no.1 took place, in Vienna’s Burgtheater.

You can read all about the work as part of Arcana’s ongoing Beethoven odyssey, and listen to a performance of the symphony given by the London Symphony Orchestra and Bernard Haitink here:

Published post no.2,845 – Thursday 2 April 2026

On this day in 1897 – the first performance of Rachmaninoff’s First Symphony

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by Ben Hogwood Photo of Rachmaninoff, c1900, courtesy of Wikipedia

March 28 was a significant date in the life of Sergei Rachmaninoff. Sadly it was on this day that he died, in 1943 – but the event I have chosen to highlight is the infamous premiere performance of the Symphony no.1 in 1897.

The concert was an unmitigated disaster, due to under-rehearsal and the supposedly intoxicated state of its conductor, Alexander Glazunov. The negative reaction afforded the work caused Rachmaninoff great psychological harm, severely denting his confidence and casting a shadow over many future compositions. This was a great shame, for it is a powerful piece, with original development of its melodic material and an instinctive and fluid compositional style. The finale is lean, its raw power making a strong impact both in concert and on record.

The symphony was not revived until 1945, when a second performance took place under Alexander Gauk, since when the work has steadily gained in popularity. It has been helped by a number of excellent recordings, of which one is chosen here – the Concertgebouw Orchestra conducted by Rachmaninoff specialist Vladimir Ashkenazy:

Published post no.2,840 – Saturday 28 March 2026