Music History Monday: What a Way to Go
September
11th,
2017
[caption id="attachment_2293" align="aligncenter" width="202"] Charles-Valentin Alkan, circa 1835[/caption] [caption id="attachment_2294" align="aligncenter" width="244"] Johann Sebastian Bach in 1746[/caption] [caption id="attachment_2296" align="aligncenter" width="217"] Anton Webern, circa 1940[/caption] [caption id="attachment_2295" align="aligncenter" width="238"] John Taylor, “oculist”[/caption] 9-11; a somber day for us all. A day for reflection, contemplation and yes, a day to grieve. Far more often than not, this…
Music History Monday: A Rather Strange Fellow
September
4th,
2017
Today we mark the 193rd anniversary of the birth of the Austrian composer and organist Anton Joseph Bruckner. When I was a graduate student back in the late 1970s and early 1980s, one of my classmates was a musicologist named Stephen Parkeny. He was a wonderful guy - sweet, smart, and very talented - whose…
Music History Monday: Summer Break
July
24th,
2017
[caption id="attachment_2232" align="alignright" width="247"] The King in his peacock jumpsuit[/caption] Risking, I know, the deadly sin of pride (why is there no such equivalent as the “sin of self-loathing”, which can, under many circumstances, be more dangerous and deadly than pride?), Risking the sin of pride I’d tell you that having started these Music History…
Music History Monday: Water Music, Fiction and Facts
July
17th,
2017
[caption id="attachment_2227" align="alignright" width="248"] George Frideric Handel ca. 1726-1728[/caption]On July 17, 1717 – exactly 300 years ago today – George Frederich Handel’s Orchestral Suites in F Major and D Major (collectively known as his Water Music) received their premiere during a royal cruise down the River Thames from Whitehall to Chelsea. Here’s the story –…
Music History Monday: To Dance With the Devil
July
10th,
2017
[caption id="attachment_2222" align="alignright" width="300"] Carl Orff[/caption]Today we recognize the birth – 122 years ago, in Munich – of the composer and educator Carl Orff. Orff lived a long and productive life. He died on March 29, 1982 at the age of 86. He was a composer of great talent whose works draw on influences as…
Music History Monday: Leoš Janáček: Composer, Patriot and Patriot Composer!
July
3rd,
2017
[caption id="attachment_2215" align="alignright" width="202"] The irascible Janáček looking rather more cuddly than he actually was (think Ewok)[/caption]Today we mark the 163rd anniversary of the birth – on July 3, 1854 – of the Czech (Moravian) composer Leoš Janáček. First things first, as Janáček’s name is notoriously mispronounced by non-Czechs. His first name – Leoš –…
Music History Monday: How Did He Do It?
June
26th,
2017
[caption id="attachment_2211" align="alignright" width="231"] Mozart circa 1780, detail from portrait by Johann Nepomuk della Croce[/caption]On this day in 1788 Wolfgang Mozart completed the score of his Symphony No. 39 in E-flat Major, K. 543. It is – with no exaggeration or hyperbole intended – a virtually perfect work: with the greatest of respect to Joseph…
Music History Monday: Our Kind of Musician
June
19th,
2017
[caption id="attachment_2199" align="alignright" width="240"] Ferdinand David by Johann Georg Weinhold[/caption]Today we recognize and celebrate the birth, 207 years ago today, of someone who can rightfully be called “a musician’s musician”: the violinist, composer and teacher Ferdinand David. We will get to the specifics of Maestro David’s life and career in a moment. With your indulgence,…
Music History Monday: György Ligeti: An Appreciation
June
12th,
2017
[caption id="attachment_2192" align="alignright" width="200"] György Ligeti in 1984[/caption]Eleven years ago today – on June 12, 2006 - the Hungarian-born composer György Sándor Ligeti died in Vienna. He was one of the greatest composers and teachers of the twentieth century; a man and composer who is not just a favorite of mine but something of a…
Music History Monday: The Futile Precaution
June
5th,
2017
[caption id="attachment_2184" align="alignright" width="224"] Giovanni Paisiello at the clavichord, 1791, by Marie Louise Élisabeth Vigée-Lebrun[/caption]On June 5, 1816 – 201 years ago today – the Italian opera composer Giovanni Paisiello died in Naples at the age of 76. Although almost entirely forgotten today, Paisiello was – in his lifetime – among the most famous, successful…