Hank Reynolds
Gabrieli, Canzon septimi toni Giovanni Gabrieli was appointed principal organist at Saint Mark’s in Venice from 1585. The next year he succeeded his uncle Andrea Gabrieli as principal composer at Saint Mark’s. He held both post until his death in 1612. Saint Mark’s exerted a strong influence … Read more
Copland, Appalachian Spring We have been through a series of posts recently on 20th-century American music, but we need to consider Aaron Copland (1900-1990) before moving on. Copland filled his works with evocations of America, using folk tunes, hymns, and American dance rhythms. But he didn’t … Read more
George Frederick Root, The Battle Cry of Freedom With the Fourth of July upon us, we should listen to something patriotic. America has produced numerous patriotic songs, but “The Battle Cry of Freedom” (also known as “Rally Round the Flag”) strikes me as one of the … Read more
Joplin, Elite Syncopations You may know the music of Scott Joplin (c. 1868-1917) from the movie The Sting, especially if you who are old enough to remember 1973. Joshua Rifkin and William Bolcom revived Joplin’s music around 1970. But for some years before then, most people would … Read more
Reich, Drumming The relentless rhythm that propels works like Honegger’s Pacific 231 and Prokofiev’s Precipitato (the previous two posts) can be used to a very different effect. One example is Drumming by Steve Reich (b. 1936). Reich is a prominent composer within today’s “minimalist” school. Minimalism refers … Read more
Honegger, Pacific 231 The impetuous and relentless energy of Prokofiev’s Precipitato (last week’s selection) seems like a good entrée into what can be called “machine music.” And one of the best examples would be “Pacific 231” composed in 1923 by Arthur Honegger (1892-1955). Composers have used … Read more
Prokofiev, Piano Sonata No. 7, Op. 83, III. Precipitato Precipitato: impetuously. Impetuous can mean reckless, foolhardy, acting quickly without care. But that meaning of impetuous doesn’t quite capture what follows. These synonyms work better: powerful, vigorous, relentless. Prokofiev’s Sonata No. 7 is one of the “war … Read more
Prokofiev, Piano Concerto No. 4, Op. 53 The Prokofiev Concerto No. 4 was among the works for left hand alone commissioned for by the Paul Wittgenstein. Wittgenstein’s reaction upon receiving it? He returned it to Prokofiev saying, “Thank you very much, but I don’t understand … Read more
Ravel, Piano Concerto for Left Hand Composers have had various reasons for writing piano music for left hand alone. It presents a technical challenge. Camille Saint-Saëns wrote a set of etudes to strengthen the left hand and develop technique. And writing for one hand also challenges the composer’s … Read more
Scriabin, Prelude for the Left Hand, Op. 9, No. 1 My undergraduate composition professor used to talk about seeing colors associated with specific musical keys. For example, he said F major was green and E-flat was bright orange. He talked about it as though the colors … Read more