Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) wrote 4 Overtures (as he called them), known as his four Orchestra Suites between 1724 and 1731. Each of these suites consists of several movements that are dance-pieces. The form was extremely popular in Bach’s time,
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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 -
The Double Lie: Beethoven’s Octet in E Flat Major May 10th, 2024 In November 1792, Beethoven was sent by his patron, the Archbishop-Elector of Bonn, to Vienna, where he would study with Haydn. To show his pupil’s progress, Haydn reported back to the Archbishop-Elector, sending examples of his work. Unfortunately, one of -
Eugene Goossens: Old Chinese Folksong May 7th, 2024 Sir Eugene Goossens (1893-1962) was a member of one of the most important English musical dynasties of the 19th and 20th centuries. He started his career as a professional violinist, performing his own compositions influenced by the musical styles of -
Fanciful Stories in Music
Dittersdorf: “Ovid Symphonies” III May 4th, 2024In an earlier episode, I told the story that Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf (1739-1799) planned on writing a total of 15 symphonies based on Ovid’s Metamorphoses. He presented the Viennese publisher Artaria with a detailed outline of his grand design. -
Fanciful Stories in Music
Dittersdorf: “Ovid Symphonies” II April 27th, 2024Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf (1739-1799) was a highly respected violin virtuoso and prolific composer. It might be difficult to imagine today, but his popularity was said to have rivalled Haydn, Gluck, and Mozart. I think that might be a little -
Leonard Bernstein
Four Anniversaries (1948) and Five Anniversaries (1949-51) April 21st, 2024Leonard Bernstein contributed a modest but significant group of compositions for solo piano. As a noted pianist suggested, “the Bernstein works for solo pianos are a viable addition to present-day keyboard literature, and should not be underestimated.” Among his works -
Fanciful Stories in Music
Dittersdorf: “Ovid Symphonies” I April 20th, 2024I love a good story, and I love it even more if that story is being told in music. And that’s particularly true of instrumental art music with an explicitly narrative content. I suppose that music always conveys or evokes