We usually think of an “Overture” as the music played before the opening scene of an opera or musical. And that makes sense--for in French, “overture” means “opening.”
But there’s another kind that has never seen the footlights—the stand-alone concert overture, including Mendelssohn’s The Hebrides and Tchaikovsky’s 1812.
In this hour, we’ll hear both those works, plus music by Schubert, Brahms, Copland and more.
FEATURED RECORDINGS
| Title | Group/Artist | Catalog # | UPC | ||
| Copland: Billy the Kid, Rodeo [for Outdoor Overture] | Colorado Symphony, Andrew Litton | BIS BIS-2164 | 7318599921648 | ||
| Schubert: Concert Overtures & Symphony No. 5 [for Overture in D major “In the Italian Style”] | Orpheus Baroque Orchestra, Michi Gaigg | Deutsche Harmonia Mundi 88697911382 | 886979113824 | ||
| Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto / Symphony No. 4 - Italian / Hebrides Overture | New York Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein | Sony 61843 |
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| Berlioz: Complete Orchestral Works [for the Waverley Overture] | London Symphony Orchestra, Colin Davis | Philips 456 143-2 | 0028945614328 | ||
| Tchaikovsky: Overtures & Fantasies [for 1812 Overture] | Orchestra and Chorus of the National Academy of Saint Cecilia in Rome, Antonio Pappano | Warner Classics 3 70065 2 | 094637006528 | ||
| Brahms: The Symphonies[for Academic Festival Overture] | Chicago Symphony; Solti | Decca 430 799-2 | 028943079921 | ||
| Russian Overtures & Orchestral Works [forFestive Overture, by Dimitri Shostakovich] | Russian National Orchestra, Mikhail Pletnev | Newton Classics 8802037 | 8718247710379 |
