Considered one of the founders of the early Hollywood film music sound, Miklós Rózsa was born in Budapest on April 18, 1907. During summers, he spent time with his family in a village called Nagylócz, at the foot of the Mátra mountains.

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"We went there by train; there followed a journey of about 3–4 hours to our house, which took us through a small but lovely baroque town called Szécsény. The whole area was inhabited by the Palóc, an indigenous Magyar people with their own dialect, customs, and costumes. It was the music of the Palóc that I heard during those summers, a vital force on my whole musical personality. This music was all around me; I'd hear it in the fields, I'd hear it emanating from festivities in the village; and the time came when I felt I had to put it down on paper and perpetuate it ... I think that were it ever possible for me to return to Hungary, the only places I should really want to revisit would be these little country villages which meant so much to me as a boy. That was where the world began for me.” 

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As a Leipzig Conservatory alumnus, Rózsa settled down in Hollywood in 1939, writing the music for the film Thief of Bagdad (1940), a groundbreaking score that laid the foundations for a new style in film scoring. Throughout his career, he composed about 100 film scores between 1937 and 1982, earning him 17 Oscar nominations. He also wrote pieces for the concert hall, including four concertos for solo instruments and orchestra.

 

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Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was born on May 7, 1840, in Kamsko-Votkinsk, Russia. Throughout his creative career, Tchaikovsky observed a debate among composers about whether Russian music should emphasize Slavic folk tales and melodies or embrace the Western European tradition. Tchaikovsky's approach harmonized both influences, which is evident in his music.

 

Tchaikovsky embarked on the composition of his Fifth Symphony while residing in Frolovskoye, near Klin. In a letter to his brother Modest, he confessed, “... getting a symphony out of my dulled brain, with difficulty.”

 

The premiere took place in St. Petersburg under his baton, but did not achieve significant success, fueling Tchaikovsky’s doubts about his work, which he expressed:​​

“Having played my Symphony twice in Petersburg and once in Prague, I have come to the conclusion that it is a failure ... It was clear to me that the applause and ovations referred not to this but to other works of mine, and that the Symphony itself will never please the public.”

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Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5 is one of his most beloved performed works, alongside The Nutcracker. Throughout this 45-minute journey, the piece unfolds under the concept of “Fate.” The striking musical idea of “Fate” is introduced at the symphony's outset and remains a central motif throughout the subsequent movements. It transitions through various instruments and orchestral textures, starting with a somber tone, reminiscent of a funeral march, before ascending dramatically with fanfares and brassy outbursts.