"Pavane pour une infante défunte" by Maurice Ravel
Pavane pour une infante defunte (Pavane for a Dead Princess) was commissioned of the 24-year-old Ravel in 1899 as a somewhat whimsical salon piece for piano and premiered in 1902 by Ricardo Vines to much acclaim. The composer was a bit bewildered by the work’s popularity, but nonetheless orchestrated it in 1910 to even greater success.
Read More
"Cuban Overture" by George Gershwin
In February 1932, George Gershwin fled the appalling winter that had overtaken New York that year and sailed, with an entourage of six, to Havana, Cuba, where he holed up just long enough to absorb the local atmosphere and Hispanic verve that went into his Cuban Overture. He finished the piece in New York that August.
Read More
