Combining the traditions of a Handel oratorio and the Viennese mass with Haydn's own symphonic style, this choral masterwork of seamless perfection joyfully celebrates the wonders described in the book of Genesis. The easily affordable edition includes a text underlay in both German and English.
Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks by Richard Strauss Inspired thematic transformations and deft scoring characterize this beloved tone poem. "Till is a masterpiece on every level..." — Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians. Instrumentation.
Verklarte Nacht by Arnold Schoenberg Inspired by Richard Dehmel's poem "Verklärte Nacht" ("Transfigured Night"), this 1899 work for string sextet is very much in the late-Romantic tradition. Schoenberg deftly translates the poem's pathos into a monumental work of chamber music.
Symphony No. 5 by Ludwig van Beethoven Widely regarded as the most powerful and most popular of the composer's nine symphonies, this magisterial and much loved work is available now in miniature format, complete with original instrumentation and bar-numbered movements.
Also Sprach Zarathustra, Op. 30 by Richard Strauss Most often recognized as the theme to 2001: A Space Odyssey, this monumental tone poem — based on Nietszche's work of the same name — is an epic of nine continuous sections.