This year marks 50 years since the death of Igor Stravinsky, born in Russia and moving to France and then America and one of the most influential composers of the 20th century. This period was a tumultuous one for classical music, and in this article John Caps assesses Stravinsky's contribution across the distinct phases of his career. More...
Mozart's last full symphony is No.41 in C major sometimes called the "Jupiter" Symphony. The 3rd movement is a Minuet and here we present it in 3 different arrangements, each with sheet music score and all parts, plus video, mp3 and midi files:
Airlines is a concept album from film composer Alexandre Desplat. It features some completely new arrangements based on music from his film scores and some new concert works, all showcasing the talents of flautist Emmanuel Pahud. More...
Beethoven's 7th Symphony is a perennial favourite in concerts. Here's a range of piano arrangements of the 2nd movement. The most difficult is by Franz Liszt who created Piano Transcriptions of all Beethoven's 9 symphonies. A slightly simplified version of Liszt's arrangement we've called "Medium Piano" and a shorter simpler version we've termed "Easy Piano":
In 1888 Edward Elgar composed a little piece of music called "Salut d'Amour" (or "Love's Greeting"). This was dedicated to Caroline Alice Roberts who was soon to become his wife. The music was originally for Violin and Piano though Elgar then made multiple arrangements of it for various instruments and groups. On mfiles we now publish sheet music, midi and mp3 files for the following:
Jeff Russo is no stranger to the Star Trek universe having scored 2 seasons of "Discovery". With Star Trek: Picard he brings all his Trek experience together into a character-driven score for the long-awaited return of the Next Generation captain. More...
Two composers with a Chopin connection. John Field composed a number of Nocturnes and inspired Chopin to write his own. Carl Filtsch was a young student of Chopin who sadly died at the age of 14. Here is music by both composers (sheet music, parts, midi & mp3):
Vivaldi's "L'estro armonico" is a set of 12 concertos. We present the perfectly formed 2nd (slow) movement from the Concerto No.11 in Dm (RV 565), for solo violin and string orchestra, in its original form plus 3 arrangements all with videos, audio files, plus sheet music score and parts:
Alexandre Desplat's score for Little Women is wholesome and speaks from the heart with a simple innocence. The tone and orchestral palette are consistent throughout, but Desplat rarely repeats himself and instead provides a constant source of invention. More...
Released as part of Film Fest Gent, Music for Film showcases the music of Marco Beltrami with suites from his scores. These demonstrate his superb orchestration and use of sound - the album's cover may be black and white, but the musical contents are full of colour. More...
Featuring two orchestral works by John Adams, Naive and Sentimental Music & Absolute Jest, this is an excellent recording by the RSNO conducted by Peter Oundjian with the Doric String Quartet. The recording's clarity beings out every jesture of Adams' suberb music. More...
For The Secret Garden composer Dario Marianelli has carefully chosen a palette of orchestral colours and a set of thematic elements. He combines these in inventive ways to create a score which is mysterious and magical and takes us on an exciting journey of discovery. More...
Enola Holmes is adapted from the first novel in Nancy Springer's YA series about Sherlock's younger sister. The film's composer Daniel Pemberton imbues the score with a youthful confidence, featuring plenty of action and adventure, plus a whole gamut of moods and emotions. More...
In his article The Black Composer in Films author John Caps surveys the historical evolution of black composers in the film industry, from initial roles that often emphasised a jazz specialism to a that of the full fledged versatile score composer. More...
"Cherry Ripe" started as a poem by Robert Herrick (1591–1674) and then became a song with music by Charles Edward Horn (1786–1849). The song became very popular, and is now essentially a traditional folk song. We present the original song, an instrumental alternative for oboe and piano, and an arrangement for piano solo. All versions include sheet music parts, midi, mp3 and videos:
There are fewer film releases at the moment, but a new live action version of Pinocchio is now hitting our screens. Composer Dario Marianelli has put together a score full of folk instrumentation and melodic invention to bring out the magic of this fairy tale. More...
Based in part on correspondence with the composer, John Caps takes an in-depth look at the early career of John Williams: his musical education, early experiences as a jazz pianist, and the various influences which set him on course to become the superlative film score composer we all admire. More...
We head back to 2003 for Thomas Newman's first animated feature. With its quirky gestures and uniquely stylistic orchestrations, Finding Nemo established the composer firmly in this genre, and he went on score a further two films for Pixar. More...
This Dracula score is largely orchestral and paints a charged gothic atmosphere of the strange and mysterious, with occasional scares and bursts of action. It is another fine and highly enjoyable score from the established composer partnership of David Arnold and Michael Price. More...
In addition to symphonies and ballets, Tchaikovsky composed many pieces for solo piano. Mostly this was at the request of his publisher seeking sales. Here are 3 of his piano pieces, in their original form and also in woodwind arrangements - all with sheet music parts, videos, midi & mp3 files:
Christopher Willis has concocted a sumptuous score for Iannucci's The Personal History of David Copperfield. Its splendidly neoclassical music pays homage to the styles of a range of British composers, while also celebrating the richness of Dickens' novel. More...
