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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- Enescu’s First Rhapsody May 17th, 2024 A product of a 19-year-old composer, George Enescu’s Romanian Rhapsody No. 1, completed in 1901, is thought to be a loosely connected set of episodes sources on folk dances and folk songs. But although these are seemingly ‘as found’, Enescu
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Which Composers Were Gay? (And How Do We Know?) May 15th, 2024 The history of classical music spans centuries. Over that time, society has had very different ideas about sexual identities (when they verbalized them at all). It goes without saying that it’s unfair to look back in time and breezily apply -
Vagn Holmboe: “Moya”—7 Japanese Songs May 14th, 2024 In Japanese architecture “moya” designates the core or central part of a residential building. When Buddhism was introduced to the country in the 6th century, “moya” became the designation of the sacred central area of a temple building. In the -
What is Olden? May 14th, 2024 Several pieces have the word ‘olden’ in their titles. We’ll look at 4 works and see that each composer carries a different meaning for the word. Henryk Górecki: 3 Olden Style Pieces Górecki combined elements of folk origins with modern - Food for Thought
Mealtime with Erik Satie May 13th, 2024Without doubt, in the world of madcap artists and composers, Erik Satie was the most eccentric. Just how eccentric was he? In 1893, he conceived a piece entitled Vexations. The piece consists of a single bass phrase to be accompanied -
Brahms for Beginners: Twelve Pieces to Make You Love Brahms May 13th, 2024 Johannes Brahms was born in 1833 in Hamburg, Germany. He ended his life one of the undisputed giants of nineteenth century music. Here are a few facts about his life and music: Brahms spent his career caught up in an -
Big and Small All At Once: The Violoncello May 12th, 2024 The bigger brother of the violin and viola, the violoncello actually has two different names hidden in its name: it starts with viol (like violin and viola) and then has the Italian ending -one, meaning big, and ends with the - Ignaz Friedman (1882-1948)
The Pianist and Composer May 11th, 2024Ignaz Friedman is considered one of the greatest pianists of the twentieth century. Performing around the globe, Friedman lived in Berlin, Copenhagen, Italy, and from 1940 onwards, in Sydney, Australia. Friedman performed well over 3,000 concerts during his career, and
