Frederick Delius: Summer Night on the River and A Song Before Sunrise Two works written in close proximity give us two different times of day. Frederick Delius (1862-1934) was a quiet master of the tone poem. Summer Night on the

In 1936, American composer Samuel Barber (1910-1981) composed his only string quartet. Its Molto allegro and appassionato first movement carries more than a little of the strength of Beethoven’s own first string quartet, Op. 18, No. 1. It’s the three-note

Taking up the genre of musical portraits as had been done by earlier composers such as Couperin, Schumann, Anton Rubinstein and Elgar, American composer Virgil Thomson (1896-1989) began composing his portraits in 1928 and completed his final one 60 years

As WWII disrupted the world, many composers fleeing Europe ended up in the United States and were never able to return. One of those composers was Bohuslav Martinů (1890-1959). He moved to France from Czechoslovakia in 1923 and then ended

Losing a parent, spouse, child, sibling or a very dear friend is one of life’s most difficult experiences. Although we all are aware of the transitory nature of life, we can never be fully prepared for death. And in times

As you peek around the corners of the repertoire, there are a few pieces that reflect the daily concern with Dining. There are works that set recipes, works that show the activities in a kitchen, works that show the procession

The last piano work of Emmanuel Chabrier (1841-1894) was Bourrée fantasque (Whimsical Bourrée), composed in 1891 when he fell under the terminal stages of syphilis. Unfortunately, it was just as his musical life was changing for the better. His latest

Composer Samuel Adler (b. 1928) was born in Mannheim, Germany, but immigrated to the US at age 11 and was a student of Aaron Copland, Paul Hindemith, Walter Piston and Randall Thompson. He studied conducting with Serge Koussevitzky and joined