Music History Monday: Richard Strauss, Stanley Kubrick, Friedrich Nietzsche, and “Thus Spoke Zarathustra”
November
27th,
2023
Richard Strauss (1864-1949) in 1894 On November 27, 1896 – 127 years ago today – Richard Strauss conducted the premiere performance of his sprawling orchestral tone poem Thus Spoke Zarathustra in the German city of Frankfurt. Requests A momentary and applicable (if gratuitous) diversion. Over the course of the first half of my musical life…
Dr. Bob Prescribes Pianist Ray Bryant
November
21st,
2023
Oops! I’ve been writing these Dr. Bob Prescribes posts since August 6, 2018. I have only now realized that I have not yet featured the pianist Ray Bryant (1931-2011). OMG. It’s time to address and make good on that oversight! What made the light go off in my head regarding Ray Bryant was the act…
Music History Monday: The Great-Grandmother of All Concert Tours: Elton John’s “Farewell Yellow Brick Road: The Final Tour”
November
20th,
2023
Elton Hercules John (born Reggie Kenneth Dwight; March 25, 1947) performing at the Glastonbury Festival in June 2023, during the last leg of his “Farewell Yellow Brick Road: The Final Tour” We mark the conclusion on November 20, 2022 – one year ago today – of the North American leg of Elton John’s “Farewell Yellow…
Travel to Austria with Robert Greenberg for Great Music Masters of Vienna
November
17th,
2023
Wondrium Journeys by The Great Courses has announced “Great Music Masters of Vienna” with Robert Greenberg — A 7 day, 6 night trip to Austria! During the 200th anniversary of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony premiere, we'll explore the legacy of the city’s music masters. Follow the footsteps of Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, and Schubert to the homes…
Dr. Bob Prescribes: Gioachino Rossini, Petite Messe Solennelle (1863)
November
14th,
2023
Gioachino Antonio Rossini (1792-1868) in 1865 Gioachino Rossini was born on February 29, 1792, in the Italian seaport city of Pesaro, on the Adriatic Sea. He was the only child of Giuseppe Rossini (1758-1839), a professional trumpet and horn player; and Anna Rossini (1771-1827), a seamstress and later, a professional operatic soprano (hers was, indeed,…
Music History Monday: Gioachino Rossini and the Comedic Mind
November
13th,
2023
Gioachino Antonio Rossini (1792-1868) circa 1856 We mark the death on November 13, 1868 – 155 years ago today - of the opera composer Gioachino Antonio Rossini, in Paris, at the age of 76. He was one of the most famous and beloved artists of his time, and he remains no less so today. It…
Dr. Bob Prescribes John Philip Sousa Marches
November
7th,
2023
John Philip Sousa (1854-1932), recording an NBC radio broadcast 1929 Though he composed many other works – including six operettas - John Philip Sousa’s great and enduring fame rests on his 136 marches. His first march, Review, was published in 1873; his final march, Library of Congress, begun in 1931, was left incomplete at his…
Music History Monday: The March King
November
6th,
2023
John Philip Sousa (1854-1932) in 1900 We mark the birth on November 6, 1854 – 169 years ago today – of the American composer, conductor, and violinist John Philip Sousa. Born in Washington, D.C., Sousa died in Reading, Pennsylvania on March 6, 1932, at the age of 77. Timing, Location, Life Experience, and Talent We…
Dr. Bob Prescribes: Schubert, String Quartet No. 14 in D minor, “Death and the Maiden”
October
31st,
2023
“Death and the Maiden” by Marianne Stokes (1900) Today is Halloween. Surprise, right? As if you didn’t know. For today’s Dr. Bob Prescribes, I had considered recognizing the date by writing a post on “appropriately ghoulish concert works for your Halloween party.” I began assembling a list of the usual horrific suspects – Hector Berlioz’ Symphonie…
Music History Monday: Franz Schubert: An Unfinished Symphony; An Unfinished Life
October
30th,
2023
Franz Schubert (1797-1828) in 1824 We mark October 30, 1822 – 201 years ago today – as being the day on which Franz Schubert began what is now known as his Symphony No. 8 in B minor, the “Unfinished Symphony.” Lost just months after Schubert completed the two movements that make up the “Unfinished,” the…