Featuring
Albemarle MyPlayer
What makes a piece of music so special to you that you want to listen to it over and over again?
We all have our favourite pieces - here on the Albemarle MyPlayer the staff share their favourite music with you.
In each of the weekly episodes we find out not just what the teachers like to listen to, but why . . . what makes this piece so special to them? . . when did they first hear it - or play it? . . what is their favourite version of the piece?
Week 6 – Mr Edwards introduces ‘Peter and the Wolf’ by Prokofiev
Sergei Prokofiev wrote the story and composed the music for Peter and the Wolf in 1936. It was written in two weeks for a children’s theatre in Moscow. He wrote the music as a child’s introduction to the orchestra with each character being represented by an instrument or group of instruments. Peter and the Wolf was an immediate success and continues to be enjoyed today by children all over the world.
Week 5 – Miss Siddle introduces ‘Sir Duke’ by Stevie Wonder
‘Sir Duke’ is a song composed and performed by Stevie Wonder, from his 1976 album Songs in the Key of Life. Released as a single in 1977, the track topped the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and Black Singles charts, and reached number two in the UK Singles Chart, his joint biggest hit there at the time. Billboard ranked it as the No. 18 song of 1977. The song was written in tribute to Duke Ellington, the influential jazz legend who had died in 1974. The lyrics also refer to Count Basie, Glenn Miller, Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald.
Week 4 – Mr Crowther introduces the ‘William Tell Overture’ by Rossini
The William Tell Overture is the overture to the opera William Tell (original French title Guillaume Tell), composed by Gioachino Rossini. The opera premiered in 1829 and was the last of Rossini’s 39 operas, after which he went into semi-retirement. The overture is in four parts, each following without pause, with the final section ‘Galop’ being the most famous.
Week 3 – Ms Morris introduces ‘Electricity’ by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
English electronic band Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark formed in Wirral, Merseyside in 1978 by co-founders Andy McCluskey (vocals, bass guitar) and Paul Humphreys (keyboards, vocals), along with Martin Cooper (various instruments) and Stuart Kershaw (drums).
Week 2 - Mr King introduces 'Boléro' by Maurice Ravel
Maurice Ravel (1875 – 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor who was internationally regarded as France’s greatest living composer during his lifetime.
Week 1 – Mrs Orr introduces
‘When I Grow Up’ from Matilda the Musical by Tim Minchin
Timothy David Minchin is an Australian comedian, actor, writer, musician, composer, lyricist, and director. He was born in Northampton, England in 1975.