Composer Of The Week - 12 - 16 Oct 26

Until the age of thirty he led a double life, as a naval officer and a composer. Yet his imaginative orchestration led to him being part of the Mighty Five – the five prominent 19th-century Russian composers.Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov is our Composer of the Week.

This French musician was not only a successful composer but also a talented cellist. His witty plots and infectious tunes helped establish operetta as a popular musical form, paving the way for the twentieth-century musical.

He had a sardonic wit, was obsessively self-critical and became one of England’s finest twentieth-century composers. He wrote across many genres, including orchestral, choral and chamber music, as well as opera and film scores. William Walton is our Composer of the Week.

Together with Vaughan Williams, he was one of the leading English composers of his generation. But his interests stretched far beyond English folksong –to Hindu philosophy and further afield… the galaxy. Gustav Holst is our Composer of the Week.

As one of the 20th century’s greatest composers, his piano virtuosity enabled him to significantly expand the instrument’s repertoire. While his music did not express political sentiment, he suffered great torment when his wife was arrested under the Stalinist regime. Sadly, he never lived to see her release Sergei Prokofiev…