Program Notes Available on Short Notice - Composers O-R

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For operas, I can provide synopses as well as program notes.  For lieder and choral works, I can often provide texts in the original language and English translation, more readily for Germanic and Romance languages than for Slavic or Oriental languages. However, lately, I’ve been typing a lot of Czech, so that language is less problematic than it was formerly.

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O: (14 notes)
Charles Oberthür:  Concertino for harp and chamber orchestra
Fernando J. Obradors:  art songs
Mark O'Connor:  Americana Symphony
Mark O’Connor:  Appalachian Waltz
Mark O'Connor:  Fiddle Concerto - third movement
Mark O'Connor:  Limerock
Mark O'Connor:  Strings and Threads
Jacques Offenbach:  La belle Hélène overture
Jacques Offenbach:  Orpheus in the Underworld – opera
Jacques Offenbach:  The Tales of Hoffmann – opera
Jacques Offenbach:  La vie parisienne overture
Fred Onovwerosuoke:  Sonata no. 3 for Two Pianos
Carl Orff:  Carmina Burana
James Oswald:  Floral Suites

P: (31 notes)
Johann Pachelbel:  Canon
Johann Pachelbel:  Partitas
Johann Pachelbel:  Prelude, Fugue, and Chaconne in d minor
Nicolo Paganini:  (many listings – see below)
John Knowles Paine:  As You Like It Overture
John Knowles Paine:  Concert Variations on The Star-Spangled Banner, op. 3, no. 3
John Knowles Paine:  Funeral March in Memory of President Lincoln, op. 9
Giovanni Palestrina:  Pope Marcellus Mass
Charles Hubert Parry:  Songs of Farewell
Arvo Pärt:  (many listings – see below)
Krzysztof Penderecki:  Viola Concerto 1983
Krzysztof Penderecki:  Viola Concerto 1984
Giovanni Battista Pergolesi:  Magnificat (by Durante)
Giovanni Battista Pergolesi:  La serva padrona – opera 
Giovanni Battista Pergolesi:  Stabat Mater
Astor Piazzolla:  (many listings – see below)
Tobias Picker:  Old and Lost Rivers
Matthias Pintscher:  toward Osiris
Manuel Ponce:  Concierto del Sur
Amilcare Ponchielli:  Dance of the Hours, from La Gioconda
Rachel Portman:  The Little Prince – opera 
Francis Poulenc:  (many listings – see below)
Michael Praetorius:  Dances from Terpsichore
Michael Praetorius:  sacred music for Christmas
Andre Previn:  Four Songs to Texts by Toni Morrison
Andre Previn:  A Streetcar named Desire – opera 
Sergei Prokofiev:  (many listings – see separate page)
Stephen Prutsman:  Tryptich
Giacomo Puccini:  (many listings – see separate page)
Henry Purcell:  Abdelazer, or the Moor’s Revenge
Henry Purcell:  Dido and Aeneas – opera 
Henry Purcell:  The Fairy Queen
Henry Purcell:  Fantasia no. 6 in F for viol ensemble
Henry Purcell:  Ode on St. Cecilia’s Day 1692, “Hail Bright Cecilia”
Kevin Puts:  Clarinet Concerto
Kevin Puts:  Two Mountain Scenes
Kevin Puts:  River’s Rush

Nicolo Paganini:  (7 notes)
    Cantabile in D, op. 17
    Caprices, op. 1
    Violin Concerto no. 1 in D, op. 6
    Violin Concerto no. 2 in b minor, op. 7, “La Campanella”
    Guitar Quartet no. 15 in A
    Sonata concertata for violin and guitar
    violin and guitar works

Arvo Pärt:  (6 notes)
    Adagio
    Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten
    Fratres
    Passcaglia
    Spiegel im Spiegel
    Summa

Astor Piazzolla: (8 notes)
    Concierto para Bandoneon
    Histoire du Tango
    Four Seasons of Buenos Aires
    La Muerte del Angel
    Le Grand Tango
    Oblivion
    Tangazo
    Tanti anni

Walter Piston:  (4 notes)  
    Divertimento (1946)
    Fantasy for English horn, harp and strings (1953)
    The Incredible Flutist
    Three New England Sketches

Francis Poulenc: (19 notes)
    Organ Concerto
    Two-Piano Concerto in d minor
    Concert Champêtre in D
    Dialogues of the Carmelites – opera
    Gloria
    Les Mamelles de Tiresias – opéra bouffe
    Mass in G
    Four Motets for Christmas
    Sextet for Piano and Winds
    Sonata for clarinet and piano
    Sonata for flute and piano
    Sonata for oboe and piano
    Sonata for two pianos
    Sonata for piano and cello
    Sonata for violin and piano
    The Story of Babar
    Suite française
     Trio for oboe, bassoon, and piano
    Trois mouvements perpetuels

Q: (1 note)
Johann Joachim Quantz:  Flute Concerti

R:  (43 notes)
Sergei Rachmaninoff:  (many listings – see separate page)
Joachim Raff:  Symphonies 8-11 (Spring – Winter)
Jean-Philippe Rameau:  Achante et Céphise
Jean-Philippe Rameau:  Les Indes galantes
Jean-Philippe Rameau:  Les Paladins overture
Ariel Ramirez:  Misa Criolla
Jean-Philippe Rameau: Zaïs Overture
Einojuhani Rautavaara:  Violin Concerto
Einojuhani Rautavaara:  String Quartet
Maurice Ravel:  (many listings – see separate page)
Paul Reade:  Saxophone Quartet
Max Reger:  Romantic Suite after Eichendorff, op. 125
Max Reger: Serenade in G, op. 141a
Max Reger:  Four Tone Poems after Böcklin, op. 128
Steve Reich:  Mallet Quartet
Anton Reicha:  Wind Quintet in B-flat, op. 88, no. 5
Carl Reinecke: (many listings – see below)
Wilke Renwick:  Dance
Ottorino Respighi:  (many listings – see below)
Silvestre Revueltas:  La Noche de Los Mayas (Night of the Mayas)
Silvestre Revueltas:  Ocho por Radio
Slvestre Revueltas:  Sensemayá
Emil von Rezniček:  Donna Diana overture
Joseph Rheinberger:  Sextet in F
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov:  (many listings – see separate page)
Richard Rodgers:  Oklahoma! – musical theater 
Richard Rodgers:  The King and I - suite by Robert Russell Bennett
Richard Rodgers:  The Sound of Music – musical theater 
Richard Rodgers:   Victory at Sea – television music 
Joaquin Rodrigo:  (many listings – see below)
Sigmund Romberg:  The New Moon – opera
Sigmund Romberg:  The Student Prince – opera
Aldemaro Romero:  Fuga con Pajarillo
Julius Röntgen:  Cello Sonata no. 13 in c-sharp minor
Julius Röntgen:  String Trio no. 1 in D major, op. 76 
Ned Rorem:  Our Town – opera 
Ned Rorem:  Picnic on the Marne
Ned Rorem:  Santa Fe Songs
Antonio Rosetti:  Concerto in A-flat major for two horns (aka Franz Anton Rösler)
Gioachino Rossini:  (many listings – see separate page)
Nino Rota:  La Strada – film score and ballet
Ludwig Rottenberg:  lieder
Christopher Rouse:  Flute Concerto
Christopher Rouse: Trombone Concerto
Christopher Rouse:  Gogon
Albert Roussel:  (many listings – see below)
Miklos Rózsa:  Ben-Hur – film music
Miklos Rózsa:  Violin Concerto, op. 24
Alejandro Rutty:  Tango Loops I
John Rutter:  carol settings
John Rutter:  Suite Antique
John Rutter:  When Icicles Hang

Sergei Rachmaninoff: (21 notes – see separate page)

Maurice Ravel: (22 notes – see separate page)

Carl Reinecke:  (6 notes)
    Harp Concerto in e minor, op. 182
    Fantasy Pieces for clarinet and piano, op. 22
            Octet for Winds, op. 216
            Flute Sonata, op. 167, "Undine"
    Trio in A for oboe, horn, and piano, op. 188
    Trio in B-flat for clarinet, horn, and piano, op. 274

Ottorino Respighi:  (12 notes)
    Ancient Airs and Dances
    Belkis:  Queen of Sheba – ballet suite 
    The Birds
    Three Botticelli Pictures
    La Boutique Fantasque
    Brazilian Impressions
    Church Windows
    Deita Silvane (Sylvan Gods)
    The Fountains of Rome
    The Pines of Rome
    Lauda per la nativita del Signore
    Roman Festivals

Joaquin Rodrigo:  (8 notes)
    Aria Antigua
    Concierto de Andaluz
    Concierto de Aranjuez
    Concierto pastorale for flute and orchestra
    Fantasia para un Gentilhombre
    Liricas Castellanas (Castilian Lyrics)
    Serenata al Alba del Dia (Serenade to the Dawn)
    Sones en la Giralda (Sounds of the Giralda)

Albert Roussel:  (6 notes)
    Bacchus et Ariane – ballet 
    Piano Concerto in G, op. 36
    Divertissement, op. 6
    The Spider’s Feast, op. 17 – ballet (Le festin de l’araignée)
    Symphony no. 3 in g, op. 42
    Trio for flute, viola, and cello, op. 40