Shakespeare In Music

By Frank Byrne,

Sam Wisman

Published May 11, 2021 at 10:09 AM CDT

In the first of a new periodic series, we explore great music inspired by the immortal bard. The works of Shakespeare have inspired composers for centuries, and there’s a wealth of great music as a result. In this show we’ll feature music by Schumann, Tchaikovsky, Raff, and Walton. We will hear how these great literary works were imagined in sound.

Compositions and Recordings

Procession of the Nobles
by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Erich Kunzel and The Cincinnati Pops Orchestra

Julius Casesar Overture, Op.128
by Robert Schumann
Thomas Dausgaard and The Swedish Chamber Orchestra

Hamlet Overture-fantasie, Op. 67
by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Vasilly Sinaisky and The BBC Philharmonic

Macbeth Overture
by Joachim Raff
Neeme Jarvi and Orchestre de la Suisse Romande

As You Like It Suite
by William Walton
Neville Marriner and the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields
Catherine Bott, soprano