Compose Your Own Series

An orchestra showpiece: Ligeti’s childhood memories of Transylvanian folk music culminate in a wild, exhilarating dance.

A youthful affection inspired this concerto’s tender, passionate slow movement. Though Chopin’s infatuation was short-lived, the melody is eternal.

Deep, heartfelt and dramatic, reflecting the Czech composer’s ambition to write a piece that would “move the world.”

Hedonistic, audacious; the piece that established Strauss as a brilliant orchestrator and master of orchestral storytelling.

Britten wrote this turbulent, yet melodic, concerto in Canada as the storm clouds of World War II gathered in his native England.

Tuneful and majestic. Get carried away on the flowing currents of Schumann’s Third, which evokes the resplendent Rhine River.

French composer Milhaud heard jazz in Harlem during a 1922 visit and brought the sound back to Paris for this lively ballet based on African folk mythology.

Gershwin called this iconic piece “a musical kaleidoscope of America, of our vast melting pot, of our national pep, of our blues, our metropolitan madness.”

Florence Price was the first African-American female composer to be performed by major orchestras; her lush concerto skillfully blends classical and popular styles. Read an article from The New Yorker on the “The Rediscovery of Florence Price: How an African-American composer’s works were saved from destruction.”

Lavish, vibrant, iconic; tells the tale of the Firebird, whose power is brilliantly illustrated by the thrilling score.