We all know Bess’ song from Porgy and Bess: ‘Summertime, and the Livin’ is Easy’. We decided to do a survey of what other composers thought about summer and were surprised at the very different moods and modes composers used
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Let’s Skiffle
John Lennon and the Quarrymen July 29th, 2015The musical genre called “Skiffle” originated in African-American culture in the early 20th century. Drawing its influences from jazz, blues, and folk, it usually featured poor musicians using homemade or improvised instruments. Washboards, jugs, cigar-box fiddles and comb-and-paper kazoos accompanied -
John Lennon July 28th, 2015 Imagine… John Winston (later Ono) Lennon was born on 9 October 1940, in Liverpool, England, to Julia (Stanley) and Alfred Lennon, a merchant seaman. When his parents separated, 4-year-old John ended up living with his Aunt Mimi. John showed some -
In Touch with Sara Solovitch July 27th, 2015 At the age of 19, a promising pianist named Sara Solovitch, struggling with nerves, decided to turn away from her ambitions as a professional musician. Since then she has led an active and varied career as a journalist across the -
Outdoor Weddings — the Joys and Sorrows July 26th, 2015 I don’t do outdoor weddings. Weather can wreak havoc. But when my nephew asked me to play for his wedding I responded with a heartfelt resounding, “yes!” To say I was blown away by the ceremony is an understatement. -
William Herschel: Composer to the Stars July 26th, 2015 When William Herschel (1738-1822) peered into the night sky on 13 March 1781, he noticed something rather peculiar. One of the celestial bodies he had been observing through his homemade telescope was moving oddly across the sky, and Herschel initially -
Voices of the Shanghai Conservatory I July 25th, 2015 Shanghai’s Municipal Orchestra, later to become the Shanghai Symphony, began subscription concerts in 1919. Under the direction of the expatriate Italian virtuoso Mario Paci, the orchestra relied exclusively on foreign players and rarely strayed beyond Shanghai’s colonial settlements. Over time, -
The Great Women Artists Who Shaped Music VIII- Doriot Anthony Dwyer July 25th, 2015 When Doriot Anthony Dwyer, flutist was selected as one of the first woman principal players in a top five U.S. orchestra the press went crazy, “Woman Crashes Boston Symphony: Eyebrows Lifted as Miss Anthony sat at Famous Flutist’s Desk,” “Flutist, -
BBC Proms 2015
Richard Strauss: Till Eulenspiegel, Op. 28 July 23rd, 2015For Richard Strauss, music was always capable of telling a good story. In his tone poems, we find a composer “capable of making poetic or narrative content and formal design coalesce with great brilliance.” Strauss’s tone poems—although he preferred to