Isle of the Dead is a symphonic poem by Sergei Rachmaninoff. The composer was inspired by a painting Isle of the Dead by Arnold Böcklin which he saw in Paris in 1907 (see notes about Böcklin's painting below). Rachmaninoff concluded the composition, a classic example of Russian late Romanticism of the beginning of the 20th century, while staying in Dresden in 1908. The music begins by suggesting the sound of the oars of Charon as they meet the waters of the river Styx. The Dies Irae theme, which occurs in many of Rachmaninoff's works, appears here as well. Rachmaninoff uses a recurring figure in 5/8 time to depict what may be the rowing of the oarsman or the movement of the water, and as in several other of his works, quotes the Dies Irae plainchant, an allusion to death. The piece is approximately 21 minutes in duration.

"Isle of the Dead" is also a well known painting by Arnold Böcklin. Böcklin produced several different versions of the painting. All versions depict an oarsman and a standing white-clad figure in a small boat crossing an expanse of dark water towards a rocky island. In the boat is an object usually taken to be a coffin. The white-clad figure is often taken to be Charon, and the water analogous to the Acheron. Böcklin himself provided neither public explanation as to the meaning of the painting nor the title, which was conferred upon it by the art dealer Fritz Gurlitt in 1883.
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The Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Pathétique, Op. 74 is Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's final symphony. It was premiered nine days before his death in 1893. Tchaikovsky said of it, "Without exaggeration, I have put my whole soul into this work." The Russian title of the symphony Pateticeskaja means "passionate" or "emotional", not "arousing pity". Tchaikovsky considered calling it Programmnaja or "Programme Symphony" but realized that would encourage curiosity about the program, which he did not want to reveal. His brother Modest suggested the Pateticeskaja title, which was used in early editions of the symphony; although Tchaikovsky disliked the title and instructed the publisher to remove it, his publisher chose not to, and the title remained. Its French translation Pathétique, however, is generally used in French, English, German and other languages.
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The Variations on a Rococo Theme by Tchaikovsky is a concert-piece for solo cellist and orchestra. Though not really a concerto, it was the closest Tchaikovsky ever came to writing a full concerto for cello. The style is inspired by Mozart, Tchaikovsky's role model. One should note that the Thema is not Rococo in origin, but actually an original theme. The piece was written between December 1876 and March 1877, for and with the help of the German cellist Wilhelm Fitzenhagen (a professor at the Moscow Conservatory). Fitzenhagen gave the premiere in Moscow on December 30, 1877, with Nikolai Rubinstein conducting. This was perhaps the only hearing of the Variations as Tchaikovsky wrote the piece until 1941, when it was played in Moscow without Fitzenhaugen's by-then-standard emendations.

The variations are played without pause, except between the last slow movement and the finale; even these are not set off by the thick double bar which traditionally indicates separate movements, but only by a fermata over the final rest. The difficulty of the piece lies in this seemingly innocent set-up of the eight differing sections, without the usual longer orchestral interludes for the soloist to catch his or her breath. The piece is scored for a reduced orchestra consisting of pairs of basic woodwind instruments, two horns, and strings, and has a theme and seven variations (making up roughly twenty minutes of music).
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Johannes Brahms (May 7, 1833 – April 3, 1897) was a German composer of the Romantic period. Brahms venerated Beethoven, perhaps even more than other Romantic composers did. No one was more aware of this, or of the expectations he faced, than Brahms himself. He was particularly aware of Haydn's chief successor as symphonist, Beethoven--not only aware of him but seriously intimidated by the shadow Beethoven cast. Even after establishing himself with his German Requiem and Haydn Variations, Brahms remarked, in dead earnest, "You have no idea how the likes of us feels to hear the tread of a giant like him behind us!" With this in mind, he dug in for a long effort in 1856, the year his friend and mentor Robert Schumann died.

By the time he brought his First Symphony to completion, some twenty years later, he was 43 years old, a highly respected composer and, as the opus number indicates, hardly an inactive one. The premiere of the First Symphony, in 1876, was a triumph, and the influential Hans von Bülow did not hesitate to proclaim it "the Tenth"--a tribute Brahms understood, of course, but received with mixed feelings.
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Leonard Bernstein's First Symphony, known as Jeremiah, was composed in 1942. The symphony is in three movements:
- Prophecy
- Profanation
- Lamentation
"Prophecy" sounds the notes of the traditional cantillation with which the prophetic portion of the week is chanted in the synagogue at the Sabbath morning service. Its third movement, "Lamentation," calls for a mezzo-soprano who sings, in the traditional melody, a portion of the biblical book of Lamentations, whose description of the destruction of Jerusalem and the suffering of its inhabitants is attributed to the Prophet Jeremiah. Jeremiah prophesied that God's wrath would fall upon Israel, but was not heeded. Bernstein was only 26 when he completed this work.
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The Santini Center for the Performing Arts at Bishop Verot High School is located just off of Summerlin between Boyscout and Colonial. Click on the map below to receive specific directions from your doorstep.

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