Forgotten records

127 Posts
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Fleeing Responsibility: Grieg’s Peer Gynt
Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906) wrote his 5-act play Peer Gynt in 1876 and it is still one of the most performed Norwegian plays. It was given its premiere in Christiana / Oslo in February 1876, with incidental music by Edvard Grieg,
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Finding a New Voice: Dvořák’s Cello Concerto
When he went to the US in 1891 to become the head of the American Conservatory of Music in New York, Antonín Dvořák’s patron, Mrs. Jeannet Thurber, intended him to be the founder of not only the first conservatory in
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Love Lost: Granados’ Goyescas
The late 19th century saw a glorification of Spanish culture under the general label of the Hispanidad. All sectors of Spanish culture were up for reappraisal and promotion. One of those was the celebration in 1897 of the 150th anniversary
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Playing With the Danube: Schulz-Evler’s Blue Danube Arabesques
One of the most famous of the waltzes written by Johann Strauss II was his An der schönen blauen Donau, Op. 314. By the Beautiful Blue Danube, or The Blue Danube Waltz as it’s more commonly known. It had its
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A New World for the Keyboard: Chabrier’s Bourrée fantasque
The composer Francis Poulenc loved the music of Emmanuel Chabrier (1841-1894), as did Debussy, saying once after a performance of Chabrier’s Ode à la musique ‘…I love this music so much that I want to hear it again.’ Chabrier was
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When Unfinished is Good Enough: Schubert’s Symphony No. 8
In December 1822, Franz Schubert (1797-1828) was awarded a Diploma of Honour from the Styrian Music Society in Graz. As a way of saying thank you, he sent two movements of a symphony he was working on, noting that it
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Returning to Virtuosity: Franck’s Symphonic Variations
César Franck (1822–1890) was a true international composer: he was born in Belgium, was a French citizen by choice, and may have even had a bit of German in his remote past. His musical skills were recognized early and exploited
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The Swiss Hero: Rossini’s William Tell Overture
The legend of the Swiss hero William Tell was the basis for Giaochino Rossini’s 1829 opera, Guillaume Tell, as through the hands of a play by Friedrich Schiller, Wilhelm Tell, and a libretto by Victor-Joseph Étienne de Jouy and L.
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