@musicprogramnotes
I am a music researcher, program note writer, music program annotator - find out more from my website: www.MusicProgramNotes.com . Each day, I also post music of lesser-known composers and lesser-known works by the great composers. Open for work, too.
More Celebration of the Music of Maurice Ravel!
(March 7, 1875 – December 28, 1937)
Ok… Bolero - But we forget that it was written for dance, and this choreography captures the music like nothing I’ve ever seen…. And it’s a simply dumbfounding bit of dancing talent.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7Ff...
Celebrating the Music of Maurice Ravel!
(March 7, 1875 – December 28, 1937)
French composer. Rather than hear Bolero for the 13-millionth time, let us dream with Ravel in the exquisite middle movement to his wondrous Piano Concerto in G: www.youtube.com/watch?v=TF9R...
Celebrating the Music of Arthur Foote!
(March 5, 1853 – April 8, 1937)
American composer and musician. This is one of Foote’s most lovely things: An Irish Folk Song:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvV4...
More Celebration of the Music of Eduard Erdmann!
(March 5, 1896 – June 21, 1958)
An extremely accomplished pianist, here’s Erdmann’s superb performance of the first movement of Schubert’s exquisite Sonata in G Major, D.894:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWa4...
Celebrating the Music of Eduard Erdmann!
(March 5, 1896 – June 21, 1958)
German composer and pianist. Here is his intriguing, exciting, and lyrically alluring piece for orchestra, his Sinfonia No. 2 (1923): www.youtube.com/watch?v=w85C...
Celebrate the Music of Christoph(er) Ernst Friedrich Weyse!
(March 5, 1774 – October 8, 1842)
Danish composer and organist. Here’s a pretty remarkable work for its time (1795/1800), Weyse’s Symphony No.3, and here, its second movement, Andante maestoso:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXSH...
More Celebration of the Music of Villa-Lobos!
(March 5, 1887 – November 17, 1959)
Here, a piece of sound magic, the Andante from his Trio for Strings:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6-K...
Celebrating the Music of Heitor Villa-Lobos!
(March 5, 1887 – November 17, 1959)
Brazilian composer, cellist, pianist and guitarist. Here is Villa-Lobos’s Cantilena from his Bachianas Brazileiras Suite No. 5 for Soprano and 8 Celli: www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBsx...
Celebrating the Music of Antonio Lucio Vivaldi!
(March 4, 1678 – July 28, 1741)
Italian/Venetian composer and violin virtuoso. This Largo, from the Violin Concerto in C minor Op.11/5 RV 202, is a relatively unknown gem: www.youtube.com/watch?v=OO1A...
Now listen to Vivaldi’s final movement from his Gloria, RV 589, Cum sancto spiritu:
youtu.be/4GwdSF32PaQ?...
Celebrating the Music of Giovanni Maria Ruggieri (otherwise known as Ruggeri)!
(c. 1665 – c. 1725)
Venetian composer, who clearly inspired Vivaldi ... listen to the last movement, Cum sancto spiritu, of Ruggieri’s Gloria in D: youtu.be/6VDJo5NSQ58?...
Celebrating the Music of Juliusz Zarębski!
(March 3, 1854 – September 15, 1885)
Polish/Ukrainian composer and pianist. Here is the beautiful and inventive Adagio from his beloved Piano Quintet in G minor:
youtu.be/ctkgy0ZFXnU?...
Celebrating the Music of Gregorio Allegri!
(c. 1582 – February 17, 1652)
Italian composer and singer Allegri spent most of his life in Rome in the service of the Vatican. Here is Allegri’s sublime Miserere: www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3v9...
More Celebration of Kurt Weill!
(March 2, 1900 – April 3, 1950)
Much of what one finds of Weill’s music are his popular songs. But he also created some fine works in the more-classical genres. Here’s the great final movement from his Fantasie symphonie, Allegro vivace:
youtu.be/zmKsoqXFbnQ?...
Celebrating the Music of Kurt Weill!
(March 2, 1900 – April 3, 1950)
German composer (later American citizen). Here is one of the most famous “popular” songs, from his stage work The Three-Penny Opera in collaboration with Bertold Brecht:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPG9...
More Celebration of the Music of Bedřich Smetana!
(March 2, 1824 – May 12, 1884)
Just because it’s one of the classic beauties in Western music, here is Smetana’s The Moldau (the intertwining of the flutes at the opening as a braiding of the waters is genius):
www.youtube.com/watch?app=de...
Celebrating the Music of Bedřich Smetana!
(March 2, 1824 – May 12, 1884)
Smetana was the Father or the Czech Nationalist School of music. Here's his String Quartet No, 1 (“From My Life”) 4rth movement, Vivace – Meno Presto: youtu.be/_L1lPraMNUk?...
De rien! 🙂
More Celebration of the Music of Chopin!
(March 1, 1810 – October 17, 1849)
The Prelude in E minor is such a lovely piece, jazz great Jerry Mulligan paid his own homage to it in this famous arrangement/recording:
www.youtube.com/watch?app=de...
Celebrating the Music of Frederic Chopin!
(March 1, 1810 – October 17, 1849)
Polish piano virtuoso and composer. Here is one of the things Chopin told his piano, his soulful Prelude in E minor Op 28 No 4, as played by the excellent artist @betheena.bsky.social Beth Levin: youtu.be/m8SL7ub1VJI?...
Celebrating the Music of Gioachino Rossini!
(February 29, 1792 – November 13, 1868)
Italian composer, here is one of Rossini’s great, smart, masterpiece Overtures: La Gazza Ladra (and a lovely performance at Opera Hall, La Fenice):
www.youtube.com/watch?app=de...
Celebrating the Music of Dan Locklair!
(1949)
American composer. Here is an elegiac work, dedicated to his mother after her death, and which, like Barber’s Adagio for Strings, speaks volumes in a short amount of time: Here is his “In Memory H.H.L.”:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsWv...
Celebrating the Music of John Alden Carpenter!
(February 28, 1876 – April 26, 1951)
American composer and shipping purveyor. Here is a movement from his delightfully orchestrated and often-humorous work, Adventures in a Perambulator. VI. Dreams: youtu.be/0V8eYcvGtMM?...
A very sweet tune! Thanks!
Celebrating the Music of Sir Charles H. H. Parry (1rst Baronet)!
(February 27, 1848 – October 7, 1918)
English teacher, composer and music historian. Here is one the most ageless, glorious anthems to come out of England – Parry’s Jerusalem (orch. by Elgar): www.youtube.com/watch?app=de...
And here’s Britten’s Romance (based on Bridge’s theme above):
www.youtube.com/watch?app=de...
More Celebration of (rather, Homage to) the Music of Frank Bridge!
Here is one movement from a suite written by Bridge’s most famous student, Benjamin Britten. First, here’s Bridge’s theme - Three Idylls for String Quartet
(See comment for more):
youtu.be/i6TURqRi1_U?...
Celebrating the Music of Frank Bridge!
(February 26, 1879 – January 10, 1941)
British composer and musician (piano, violin and viola), and teacher. Here is his Music, When Soft Voices Die – from Three Songs for Voice, Viola and Piano, H. 76: www.youtube.com/watch?app=de...
More Celebration of the Music and Piano Mastery of Rena Kyriakou!
(February 25, 1917 – August 1994)
Celebrated as a great pianist, here’s a recording of a lovely work by Chabrier, No. 6, Idylle, from Chabrier’s Pièces pittoresques:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xaM...
