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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The Symbol of Love: Couperin’s Nightingale November 7th, 2021 French Baroque composer François Couperin (1668–1733), who had a career as a composer, harpsichordist, and organist in the French royal court, was born into a famous family of Parisian musicians. He served in the court of Louis XIV as organiste -
Chamber Music by Women Composers IV
Farrenc, Beach, Tate, N. Boulanger, and Liu November 6th, 2021Louise Farrenc (1804-1875) was one of the first successful female composers in 19th century France. That opinion is not only based on 21st century assessments, but also on views expressed by her contemporaries. Robert Schumann wrote for example, “her works -
Musicians and Artists: Reger and Böcklin November 6th, 2021 Known more for his abstract works, Max Reger decided to take, as he described it, ‘an excursion in the realm of program music’ in 1913 when he created his 4 Tondichtungen nach Arnold Böcklin (4 Tone Poems after Arnold Böcklin). -
On This Day
6 November: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Died November 6th, 2021Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky arrived in St Petersburg on 22 October 1893 to oversee the first performance of his Sixth Symphony. Tchaikovsky was elatedly optimistic and wrote, “I think it will be successful; it is rare for me to write anything -
Vienna Does the Shimmy
Bittner, Krenek, Grosz and Martinů November 5th, 2021Ah, Vienna! The city of Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert and the waltzing Lanner and Strauss families. Even today, Vienna likes to promote itself as the eternally waltzing city. While that may be the case to some extent, in the period between -
On This Day
4 November: Felix Mendelssohn Died November 4th, 2021Although Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) had suffered from poor health for a number of years, he maintained a hectic performing schedule in the early months of 1847. He conducted Gewandhaus concerts in Leipzig, and presented a series of four historical concerts -
Vincenzo Bellini November 3rd, 2021 “The Swan of Catania” Vincenzo Bellini (1801-1835) rose from humble beginnings in Sicily to take the operatic stages in Italy, London and Paris by storm. Closely connected to the Italian “bel canto” singing style practiced by the most illustrious performers -
Neighbourhood Watch: Poulenc’s Les Soirées de Nazelles November 3rd, 2021 In his 1889 work known as the Enigma Variations, English composer Edward Elgar depicted his friends and neighbours in music. Although he first gave the movements coded titles, their identities were quickly figured out. In a similar fashion, the French