The Banks of the Green Willow by George Butterworth English composer George Butterworth completed this short orchestral work in 1913. It is based on folk songs from the British Isles, in particular the song “The Banks of Green Willow”. Butterworth would die during the Battle of the Somme three years later, sadly depriving the world of the music he had yet to give.

Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 61 by Ludwig van Beethoven This work was composed in 1806 by the 36-year-old Beethoven while working in Vienna. At this point in his lifetime, Beethoven was gaining widespread recognition for his incredible skills as a pianist and composer. It is also during this year that he revealed to the general public that he was experiencing significant hearing difficulties, which would eventually lead to almost complete deafness by 1814. The work is comprised of three movements: I. Allegro ma non troppo (D major) II. Larghetto (G major) III. Rondo. Allegro (D major) The piece was first performed on the 23rd of December 1806 in the Theatre an der Vien as part of a fund-raising concert for Franz Clement, a violinist and colleague of Beethoven. The performance was met with only mild success, leading to only minimal performances for the next few decades. The piece would be revived by Felix Mendelssohn in 1844 and is now considered one of the most notable of Beethoven’s compositions. In 1806 Vienna was ostensibly under the control of Napoleon Bonaparte and the French Empire. After the Battle of Trafalgar the year before, British forces had essentially crippled the French navy - leading to Napoleon focusing on dominating the majority of Europe through land-based incursions. To prevent Napoleon from taking the role of Holy Roman Emperor, the sixteen German Imperial states of the Empire dissolved the union in 1806 and formed their own ‘Confederation of the Rhine’. The Holy Roman Empire had stood for nearly over 1,000 years since the crowning of Charles the Great (Charlemagne) in the year 800 AD.

The Four Seasons, Concerto No. 2 in G minor, RV. 315, “Summer” by Antonio Vivaldi Composed in 1716 by Vivaldi while working as impresario of the Teatro San Angelo in Venice. It is one of the earliest examples of ‘program music’ – music with a narrative element. Vivaldi published four sonnets to accompany each of the four concertos in this group. This piece is comprised of three sections: I. Allegro non molto II. Adagio a piano – Presto e forte III. Presto

Mass in B minor, BWV 232 ‘Kyrie eleison’ by Johann Sebastian Bach Bach completed his last Mass in 1749, as he would die a year later. It is the largest Mass Bach composed, and it includes references to earlier works by the composer. The ‘Kyrie eleison (prayer)’ is performed in the first section of the Mass – the Kyrie and Gloria.