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High quality program notes give your audience information about any combination of the following:
Composer
Piece
Context
Expectations
Interpretation
Organization
Many people find it helpful to organize program notes into three sections*:
Information about the work's historical context and the circumstances surrounding its
composition.
*Nigel Scaife, Writing Programme Notes: A Guide for Diploma Candidates (London: Associated Board of
Information
Some basic questions that you might want to answer include:
When and where was the composer born? When and where did they die (if they have)?
What are they best known for? What is their most significant contribution to music history?
When was the piece written? What else was going on in their life or the world around them at
that time?
What other works did the composer write in the same/similar genre(s)?
Details
A further level of detail might need to be added, such as:
Titles of movements.
Personalization
As the performer, you (should) have your own interpretation of the pieces you will be performing. You
might want to comment on this interpretation, especially if it is unconventional, and how you reached your
decision.
It is also acceptable to comment on any meaning that a piece might hold for you.
Citations
Yes, you have to cite your sources. Chicago-style is preferred.
...the fair use of a copyrighted work...for purposes such as criticism, comment, news
reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or
research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a
work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include:
the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial
nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a
whole;
the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.
The fact that a work is unpublished shall not itself bar a finding of fair use if such finding
is made upon consideration of all the above factors.*
*US Copyright Office. Circular 92, "Copyright Law of the United States of America and Related
Laws Contained in Title 17 of the United States Code," Chapter 1, Section 107, Washington,
DC: US Copyright Office, 2008. 6 March 2009.