The Gerald Larner Programme Note Archive

Concert programme notes on the classical repertoire, written across five decades by the music critic Gerald Larner (1936–2018) — a free, searchable resource for performers, students and listeners.

5388 programme notes 3522 works 445 composers

The complete archive — entries are still being checked and refined

From the archive

Adagio and Rondo in C minor K.617 (1791)Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart 1756–1791It seems unlikely that the first performance, since it was given in a space as large as the Kärntnerthor theatre in Vienna, had been any more successful than the London performance three years later. Clearly, however, the composer had taken the special acoustic qualities of the glass armonica into account.Read the full note ›

Most written-about composers

1Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart1756–1791173 works
2Ludwig van Beethoven1770–1827118 works
3Frédéric Chopin1810–1849113 works
4Franz Schubert1797–1828111 works
5Joseph Haydn1732–180996 works
6Claude Debussy1862–191893 works
7Robert Schumann1810–185690 works
8Johannes Brahms1833–189784 works
9Franz Liszt1811–188680 works
10Gabriel Fauré1845–192468 works