Wil van der Beek

The German composer Joseph Ignaz Schnabel (1767-1831) was a descendant of a musical family. During his lifetime he occupied several musical posts including Violinist, Organist, Concertmaster, Conducto...

Fum, fum, fum is a traditional Catalan Christmas song from the 16th - 17th centuries. Its composer and lyricist are unknown. "Fum" in Catalan means "smoke." One could therefore imagine clouds of smoke...

Paul Dukas (1865-1935) was a composer who had little self-confidence and was very self-critical. As a result of this he destroyed the manuscripts of all but seven large and five small works. Luckily h...

The Overture to The Land of Smiles by Franz Léhar (1870-1948) In the overture to the operetta 'The Land of Smiles', the outstanding orchestrator, Léhar, has artfully forged some of the now world famou...

Ralph Vaughan Williams (Down Ampney, Gloucestershire,1872-1958) was a British composer, organist and conductor. He is often regarded as a key figure in English musical nationalism (along with Edward E...

The Russian ballet director Sergei Diaghilev commissioned many composers to write music for the theatre. This was what caused Serge Prokofiev to compose the four part Scytische Suite (also known as Al...

Johann Hugo Christoph Ludwig Herkules Staehle (* 21. Juni 1826 in Fulda; † 29. März 1848 in Kassel) war ein deutscher Komponist der Romantik. Staehle hinterließ mehrere Militärmärsche in verschiedene...

Hector Berlioz (1803-1869) once remarked: 'My life is a novel that greatly interests me. ' Experiences in his personal life had a great influence on his compositions. Symphonie Fantastique, written in...

Julius Fucik (1872-1916) was born in Prague, Czech Republic. He studied under Antonin Dvorák and at a young age played in military bands and later became bandmaster, a profession he practiced in vario...

Julius Fuèik wrote over 100 compositions: chamber music and piano pieces as well as works for symphony orchestra and choir. Aside from this he created countless compositions for wind band, earning him...

Johann Hugo Christoph Ludwig Herkules Staehle (* 21. Juni 1826 in Fulda; † 29. März 1848 in Kassel) war ein deutscher Komponist der Romantik. Staehle hinterließ mehrere Militärmärsche in verschiedene...

Johann Hugo Christoph Ludwig Herkules Staehle (* 21. Juni 1826 in Fulda; † 29. März 1848 in Kassel) war ein deutscher Komponist der Romantik. Staehle hinterließ mehrere Militärmärsche in verschiedene...

This march is part of the operetta Babes in Toyland, composed by Victor Herbert in 1903. Toyland is a magical land where two children experience all sorts of adventures. This quick march in a pseudo m...

George Gershwin (1898 - 1937) was an American composer, best known for his work crossing the genres of classical, jazz and light music. His work in the genres of musicals and films was extremely succe...

Franz von Suppe ist heute vor allem wegen seiner Operetten und Ouvertüren bekannt. Das Pensionat, das er nach dem Vorbild von Jacques Offenbach schrieb, gilt als die erste Wiener Operette. Wil van der...

In his comic opera Banditenstreiche, Suppé uses all the qualities that have made him so well-loved by a wide audience. The appealing music is brimming with unexpected ideas and written in a light and...

Eduard Strauss, the third son of Johann Strauss the Elder, was born on March 15, 1835, in Vienna. Originally, Eduard looked for employment in the diplomatic service, but he also studied music theory....

Die Annen-Polka schrieb Johann Strauss (Sohn) zu Ehren der Kaiserin Anna Maria von Österreich. Uraufgeführt wurde das heute noch beliebte Stück im Juli 1852 im Wiener Vergnügungspark Prater. Die Annen...

Arranged or transcribed for concert band by Wil van der Beek.

Come, Sweet Death ("Komm, Süsser Tod") (BWV 478) is a spiritual song composed by German J.S. Bach, originally intended for solo singing and basso continuo ("figured bass"), but also frequently heard i...