Lusitania, coming into dock, New York City, 13 Sept. 1907, crowd in foreground.

On May 1, 1915, the RMS Lusitania left New York bound for Liverpool.

Six days later, the luxury ocean liner was torpedoed by a German U-boat about a dozen miles off the coast of southern Ireland.

In less than 20 minutes, it sunk to the bottom of the ocean in an area designated as a war zone.

Charles Ives National Archives

This tragic event inspired composers like Frank Bridge and Charles Ives to express their grief and sense of loss through music.

On this week's Learning to Listen, you'll hear music inspired by the Lusitania, and other music written as a result of the First World War.

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