Specific cities have inspired a huge amount of classical music over the years. Today, we’re looking at a selection of classical works explicitly connected to major cities, examining how each composer responded to each place. Some pieces reflect civic pride
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On This Day
27 August: Gabriel Fauré’s Prométhée Was Premiered August 27th, 2022On 27 August 1900 a massive number of performers assembled at Arènes de Béziers to premiere the tragédie lyrique, essentially the grand cantata Prométhée by Gabriel Fauré. The performing cast, numbering almost 800 participants including two wind bands and 15 -
Prince and Composer: Louis Ferdinand of Prussia August 26th, 2022 Berlin-born Louis Ferdinand of Prussia (1772-1806) was a nephew of Frederick the Great. He was active in the Prussian military, serving as lieutenant general. He died in battle with French forces at the Battle of Saalfied, during the War of -
On This Day
26 August: Ralph Vaughan Williams Died August 26th, 2022Ralph Vaughan Williams enjoyed excellent health throughout his life, and at the age of 85 he has just completed the piano score of his new opera Thomas the Rhymer. He also planned two song cycles for voice and piano, to -
Journeys to Fantastical Places: Offenbach’s Féerie Operas August 25th, 2022 In its attempts to be ever more spectacular and outrageous, French theatre began to explore the realm of the fairy (féerie) on its stages. Adding elements of the supernatural to any plot expanded its possibilities – flying through the air! -
On This Day
25 August: Leonard Bernstein Was Born August 25th, 2022At the insistence of his grandmother, Leonard Bernstein was born Louis Bernstein in Lawrence Massachusetts on 25 August 1918. His parents, Jennie (née Resnick) and Samuel Joseph Bernstein, always called him Leonard, and to his friends and many others he -
Musicians and Artists: Nieuhusmann and Böcklin August 24th, 2022 Volker Niehusmann: Songs of Calypso In Homer’s Odyssey, during his 10-year struggle to return home, Odysseus is stranded on Calypso’s island. Although she promises him immortality, he yearns to return home and after seven years as her captive, he’s able -
Messaien’s Light and Water Show August 23rd, 2022 Fete des belles eaux for 6 ondes martenot For six months in 1937, Paris was the place to see the latest and greatest in ‘art and technology in modern life.’ In other words, the 1937 Exposition Internationale des Arts et -
Pianists and Their Composers
Beethoven’s 32 Piano Sonatas – Scaling the Pianistic Everest August 22nd, 2022Beethoven’s 32 Piano Sonatas are often referred to as the ‘New Testament’ of the pianist’s repertoire, and for many pianists they offer a remarkable, quasi-religious journey – physical, metaphorical and spiritual – through Beethoven’s creative life. This is truly “great”