World War I really knocked the wind out of Europe’s musical community. Commissions disappeared overnight. With so many men committed to the military, orchestras struggled to fill concert halls and their own ranks. While popular music weathered the storm easily, the output of Europe’s composers slowed to a trickle.
The grim reality of the war strangled the creative will. Art just doesn’t matter as much when the world is tearing itself apart at the seems. There were, however, a handful of composers—Ralph Vaughan Williams, Gustav Holst, Maurice Ravel, Igor Stravinsky—who found a way to create lasting works.
We’ll look at the war to end all wars through the lens of their wartime masterpieces.
| Title | Artist | Album | Label | Year | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scheherazade, Op. 35 Symphonic Suite: I. The Sea and Sinbads Ship | The Seattle Symphony and Maria Larionoff | Scheherezade/Tale of Tsar Saltan Suite. | Naxos 572693 | 2011 | :58 |
| Fanfare for the Common Man | San Francisco Symphony | The Essence of America. | RCA 63719 | 2000 | :02 |
| Overture to Die Fledermaus | Berlin Philharmonic | Herbert Von Karajan: the Legend. | EMI Classics 15934 | 2008 | :33 |
| Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor Op. 26: I allegro moderato | Midori & the Berlin Philharmonic | Mendelssohn and Bruch Violin Concertos. | Sony Music Distribution 87740 | 2003 | :42 |
| The Rite of Spring: Summoning of the Ancestors | New York Philharmonic | Stravinsky: Le Sacre Du Printemps. | Sony Classical 88765469152 | 2013 | :27 |
| A Shropshire Lad | George Butterworth | English String Orchestra. | Nimbus 5068 | 1997 | :32 |
| Sonata for paino for four hands, Op. 24, The Milky Way: I | Zofo Duet | Zoforbit: A Space Odyssey. | Sono Luminus 92178 | 2014 | :34 |
| Pictures at an Exhibition: Gnomus | The Prague Symphony Orchestra | Pictures at an Exhibition & Night On Bald Mountain. | Stradivari 8007 | 1989 | :38 |
| Cvalda | Björk Guðmundsdóttir | Selmasongs: Music from the Motion Picture "Dancer In the Dark". | Elektra 172976536 | 2000 | :29 |
| Doctor Atomic Symphony: Guide To Strange Places | St. Louis Symphony Orchestra | John Adams: Doctor Atomic Symphony. | Nonesuch 7559799328 | 2009 | :25 |
| Syrinx for solo flute, L 129 | Jadwiga Kotnowska | Rise of the Masters: Supreme Classical Masterpieces. | X5 Music Group 107 | 2011 | :27 |
| Cantus in memoriam Benjamin Britten | Angele Debeau & La Pieta | Arvo Part: Portrait. | Analekta 2 8731 | 2010 | :57 |
| Zwei Stucke fur Klaviertrio: D'un soir triste | Tanja Tetzloff | Boulanger/Hindemith/Debussy. | Cavi Music B00F03OZA8 | 2013 | 01:05 |
| Atmospheres for Large Orchestra | Vienna Philharmonic | Gyorgy Ligeti: Atmospheres. | Deutsche Grammophon 4790567 | 2012 | :28 |
| Metamorphosis No. 2 | Jeroen van Veen | Minimal Piano Collection. | Brilliant Classics 8551 | 2007 | :36 |
| Hostvisa (Autum Song) | Royal Strings | Nordic Light. | BIS 1181 | 2001 | :31 |
| The Red Poppy: Act III - Scene: The Conspiracy | St. Petersburg Symphony Orchestra | Gliere: The Red Poppy (complete ballet). | Naxos 8.553496-97 | 1995 | :25 |
| Finlandia, Op. 26 | London Philharmonic Orchestra | THE 50 GREATEST PIECES OF CLASSICAL MUSIC. | X5 Music Group 105 | 2011 | :21 |
| Ballet Suite No. 2, Op. 84b: IV. Sentimental Romance | Moscow Chamber Orchestra | Shostakovich: Waltzes. | Delos 3257 | 1999 | :27 |
| Symphonie Fantastique, Op. 14: V. The Witches Sabbath | Lyon National Orchestra | Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique. | Naxos 572886 | 2012 | :53 |
| Hostvisa (Autum Song) | Royal Strings | Nordic Light. | BIS 1181 | 2001 | :55 |
| Tabula Rasa: II. Silentium | Angele Debeau & La Pieta | Arvo Part: Portrait. | Analekta 2 8731 | 2010 | :33 |
| The Chairman Dances (Foxtrot for Orchestra) | The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra | John Adams: Harmonielehre · The Chairman Dances · Tromba Lontana · Short Ride In A Fast Machine. | EMI Classics 55051 | 1994 | 02:07 |
| The Lark Ascending | Anne Akiko Meyers & the Philharmonia Orchestra | Classical Ecstasy: Classics for a New Age. | RCA 23041 | 1996 | 14:36 |
| Mars, the Bringer of War | Philharmonia Orchestra | Holst: The Planets; Grainger: The Warriors. | Deutsche Grammophon 445860 | 1995 | 08:03 |
| Le Tombeau de Couperin | Chicago Symphony Orchestra | Mussorgsky-Ravel: Pictures From An Exhibition. | London/Decca 400051 | 1982 | 16:04 |
| Selections from the Suite from The Soldier's Tale | Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra | Jeu de Cartes/Orpheus/Suite from "Histoire du Soldat". | Chandos 10193 | 2004 | 04:00 |
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