In classical music, the Romantic Era lasted from around 1810 to around 1910. That century gave us some of the most famous symphonies in the repertoire. Nineteenth-century composers like Tchaikovsky, Brahms, Dvořák, Schubert, Mahler, Rachmaninoff, and others elevated the symphony
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Masterclasses Without Tears March 23rd, 2016 The word “masterclass” can, for some, conjure up a terrifying scenario: the “private lesson in public”, with a formidable “master” teacher and a trembling student, their every error and slip heard and duly noted by teacher and audience. I remember -
Reinhold Gliére (1875-1956): Heir to Russian Romantic Music March 22nd, 2016 Considered the heir of the Russian Romantic musical tradition, Reinhold Moritzevich Gliére (1875-1956) primarily composed on a grand scale and in large forms. His music is well known for its expressive melodies and colorful orchestration inspired by Russian folklore. Gliére -
Minors of the Majors
Antonio Vivaldi: Sonata in G minor, Op. 14, No. 9, RV 42 March 21st, 2016“Minors of the Majors” invites you to discover compositions by the great classical composers that for one reason or another have not reached the musical mainstream. Please enjoy, and keep listening! The musical estate of Antonio Vivaldi (1675-1741) contains a -
The Great Women Artists Who Shaped Music XVIII – Maria Szymanowska March 20th, 2016 Maria Szymanowska was an artist ahead of her time. Although her name is unfamiliar to many of us, she was one of the first professional piano virtuosos and a respected composer in 19th-century Europe. Her career foreshadowed that of fellow -
The Sorrowful Mother March 20th, 2016 The Sorrows of Mary became the theme for the Stabat Mater, or, to give it its full name, Stabat Mater Dolorosa, or The Sorrowful Mother Stood. The sorrowful mother, Mary, standing at the foot of the cross upon which her -
Sex and Music: The English Renaissance March 19th, 2016 Although the madrigal in Italy was an occasion for setting some of the most notable poets of the age, when the madrigal got to England after 1558, it quickly succumbed to the most bawdy of texts. Composers were quick to -
How You Should Feel in the Key of D major March 18th, 2016 In our earlier series on C major and minor and G major and minor, we listed Ernst Pauer’s suggestions from 1876 of pieces that fit the particular affect he assigned for a key. For the rest of the major and -
Sound and Imagery: Victory at Sea March 17th, 2016 In 1951, the researcher Henry Solomon approached his classmate Robert Sarnoff, a rising executive at NBC television, about the phenomenal amount of film that each side in the Second World War had in their stocks. Solomon has been working with