Élégie
Composed in 1880 by Gabriel Fauré. Public domain.
Performed by Hans Goldstein. Used pursuant to a Creative Commons CC BY-SA 3.0 license. Source.
“Who Can from Joy Refrain?”
Composed in 1689 by Henry Purcell. Public domain.
Performed by Michel Rondeau. Used pursuant to a Creative Commons CC BY-NC 3.0 license. Source.
Symphony No. 1 in C minor
Composed in 1876 by Johannes Brahms. Public domain.
Performed by the Czech National Symphony Orchestra. Public domain recording. Source.
“Ride of the Valkyries” from Die Walküre
Composed in 1870 by Richard Wagner. Public domain.
Performed by the United States Marine Band. Public domain recording. Source.
Farewell of Slavianka
Composed in 1912 by Vasily Agapin. Public domain.
Performed by the United States Coast Guard Band. Public domain recording. Source.
Front page of the Lübeckische Anzeigen for Sunday, August 2, 1914, announcing the German mobilization.
The July Crisis continues as Germany mobilizes and declares war on Russia and France. With German soldiers crossing into the neutral states of Luxembourg and Belgium, the British Cabinet and Parliament take the decision to side with their entente partners.
Cello Concerto in E Minor
Composed in 1919 by Edward Elgar. Public domain.
Performed by the Skidmore College Orchestra. Public domain recording. Source.
The front page of the Washington Times for the evening of July 28, 1914.
Austria presents Serbia with an ultimatum. The Serbian response is conciliatory, but stops short of complete capitulation. Austria declares war on Serbia. Russia and Germany are poised to mobilize their own militaries.
Symphony No. 6 in B minor, “Pathétique”
Composed in 1893 by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Public domain.
Performed by the Czech National Symphony Orchestra. Public domain recording. Source.
The government of the Dual Monarchy spends most of the next four weeks after the assassination pondering its response. Meanwhile, the rest of Europe is moving on, not expecting a strong Austrian response.
“Werdenfelser Trompeten-Ländler”
Traditional. Public domain.
Performed by the Dachauer Bauern-Kapelle, under the direction of Hans Straßmaier. Public domain recording made in 1910. Source.
“God Save the King”
Traditional. Public domain.
Performed by the United States Navy Band. Public domain recording. Source.
“Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean”
Composed in 1843 by Thomas A. Becket, Sr. Public domain.
Performed by the United States Navy Band. Public domain recording. Source.
“God Save the Tsar!”
Composed in 1833 by Alexei Lvov. Public domain.
Public domain recording. Source.
“La Marseillaise”
Composed in 1792 by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle. Public domain.
Performed by the United States Navy Band. Public domain recording. Source.
The Duchess Sophia and the Austrian Crown Prince, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, as they leave the Sarajevo town hall. They were assassinated minutes after this photograph was taken.
The Austrian Crown Prince, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, and his wife, the Duchess Sophia, were assassinated on a visit to Sarajevo on June 28, 1914. Austrians reacted with shock, although the Archduke was not personally well liked.
Symphony No. 8 in B-minor, “Unfinished”
Composed in 1822 by Franz Schubert. Public domain.
Performed by the Davis High School Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Angelo Moreno. Public domain recording. Source.
Kindertotenlieder (Songs on the Death of Children)
Composed in 1904 by Gustav Mahler. Public domain.
Public domain recording. Source.
Four Pieces for Clarinet and Piano
Performed by Carol McGonnell (clarinet) and Steven Beck (piano). Public domain recording. Source.
Following Serbia’s victories in the two Balkan Wars, Serb irredentists turn their attention to prying Bosnia away from Austria-Hungary and plot the assassination of the Austrian Crown Prince.
(In the above photograph of modern Sarajevo, we see the river flowing through the center of the city. On June 28, 1914, the motorcade transporting Archduke Ferdinand was traveling east (down, as the photo is oriented) along the Appel Quay on the north (right) bank of the river. As the motorcade passed the first bridge at the top of the photograph, the bomb was thrown. Gavrilo Princip was at that time waiting at the end of the Latin Bridge, which is the second bridge from the top of the photo.
(After the bombing, the motorcade proceeded to the Sarajevo town hall, which is the red and yellow building on the lower right of the photo. Princip moved to the opposite side of Appel Quay (behind the large tree in the upper right of the photo) to catch the motorcade on the way back. After the stop at the town hall, the motorcade went back the way it came, west (up) the Appel Quay and made a right turn where Princip was waiting.)
Four Romantic Pieces, Op. 75, No. 1
Composed in 1887 by Antonín Dvořák. Public domain.
Performed by Roxana Pavel Goldstein (violin) and Monica Pavel (piano). Used pursuant to a Creative Commons CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 license. Source.
Strauss Waltz Medley
Composed by Johann Strauss Jr. Public domain.
Performed by the United States Air Force Band. Public domain recording. Source.
Kaval Music
Performed by Boris Todorović (kaval). Used pursuant to a Creative Commons CC BY 3.0 license. Source.
