Robert Greenberg
Historian, Composer, Pianist, Speaker, Author
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Dr. Bob Prescribes: A Franz Liszt Trilogy
January 15th, 2019
Ted in April, 2018 But first, we have a cat named Teddy. Ted is a rescue cat. He spent the first years of his life roaming the mean streets of Fresno, California. We got him (or more appropriately, he got us) in February of 2009, almost ten years ago. Based on the wear on his pads, the vet figured he was two or three years old at the time of adoption, making him 12 or…
Music History Monday: Tosca
January 14th, 2019
Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924) On January 14, 1900 – 119 years ago today – Giacomo Puccini’s three-act opera Tosca received its first performance at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome. Based on a play by the French playwright Victorien Sardou (1831-1908) and adapted for opera by the librettists Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Gioacosa, Tosca has been an audience…
Dr. Bob Prescribes: Shostakovich Symphony No. 10
January 8th, 2019
Dmitri Shostakovich in 1974 After Dmitri Shostakovich’s death in August of 1975 and his “posthumous rehabilitation” by the Soviet authorities (do you love that phrase “posthumous rehabilitation” as much as I do?), the Soviet authorities declared that their dear, departed Dmitri Dmitriyevich was: “Soviet Russia’s most loyal musical son.” Back in 1975, who could argue…
Music History Monday: Frances Poulenc: a votre santé!
January 7th, 2019
Frances Poulenc (1899-1963) We celebrate the birth – on January 7, 1899, 120 years ago today – of the French composer and pianist Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc. Long considered a compositional lightweight - a composer for whom (heaven forbid!) traditional tonality, attractive melody and musical charm assumed pride of compositional place – Poulenc’s music was… Robert Greenberg | Copyright © 2019 All Rights Reserved