For as long as composers have been writing music, they’ve been inspired by the mystery, mood, and mythology of the night. We’ve gathered ten pieces of classical music about the night that explore themes associated with the hours after dark,
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The Paderewski Prize for American Composers June 16th, 2024 On exceedingly rare occasions, people with real talent and poise are drafted into political service. Such was the case with the pianist and composer Ignacy Jan Paderewski, who became the prime minister and foreign minister of Poland in 1919. He -
Mozart and Death and Klezmer and Healing June 16th, 2024 Filip Runesson’s Hur länge ska hon vara död? (after W.A. Mozart’s Requiem in D Minor, K. 626) Mozart and Death, but not the way you think about it. Swedish musician Filip Runesson took Mozart’s Requiem and rearranged it in klezmer -
Listening to the Clouds June 15th, 2024 When outside wandering, how often do you just sit and look up? You can hear birds, and the wind, and perhaps the passing traffic, but have you tried to hear the clouds? Many composers also look up for inspiration and -
Seven Works Dedicated to Beethoven June 15th, 2024 Beethoven was famous for his curmudgeonly, antisocial personality. Of course, nowadays, we understand that his prickliness was, at least in part, due to his tinnitus and deafness, as well as the mental health struggles caused by his ever-deteriorating physical health. - A Whale Strangled by a Giant Squid
Ralph Vaughan Williams’s Tuba Concerto June 13th, 2024To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the London Symphony Orchestra, a very special premiere took place on 13 June 1954. Philip Catelinet, the orchestra’s principal tuba player, featured as the soloist in Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Tuba Concerto, - Wagner for Beginners
10 Pieces to Make You Love Wagner June 12th, 2024Composer Richard Wagner was born in Leipzig in 1813. He became arguably the greatest opera composer of all time. Here are some tidbits about his life and career: Wagner’s reputation rests almost entirely on his operas. Wagner advocated for a - Ghosting in Rag Time
William Bolcom’s 3 Ghost Rags June 9th, 2024American composer William Bolcom (b. 1938) brought popular music of the 19th century back into the spotlight, first with his many recordings with Joan Morris, mezzo-soprano, of music from the Golden Era at the turn of the 20th century. Show -
Playing Opera at Home June 7th, 2024 With the rise of the home piano in the 19th century, there was an enormous demand for piano music both for the home and for the concert hall. Just as today, when we love to hear the Boston Pops play,
