Hank Reynolds György Ligeti – Six Bagatelles Let’s start the New Year with something clever. The name Ligeti will not be familiar to many of our readers, but those of a certain age may recall his works from the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey (released in 1968). (Yes, that … Read more
Pavel Chesnokov: Spaseniye Sodelal If you’re looking for Russian choral music, there are lots of places you might go before checking out boys choirs in Atlanta. I went to all those other places (well, many of them). But I settled on this performance by the … Read more
Domenico Scarlatti: Sonata in D minor, K. 141 1685 was a good year for composers. Bach was born that year in Eisenach, just a couple of hours away (in today’s terms) from Halle where Handel had been born the month prior. These two giants of … Read more
Manuel de Falla: La Vida Breve (Danza Española No. 1) We frequently hear about starving composers, but here’s a composer with his own currency. Manuel de Falla (1876-1946) often ranks as Spain’s most important 20th-Century composer. His one-act opera La Vida Breva features a lot of … Read more
J.S. Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 in F major, BWV 1047 Bach’s six Brandenburg Concertos are among his most popular works. The dedication page to Christian Ludwig, Margrave of Brandenburg-Schwedt from 1721 when Bach was Kapellmeister for Prince Leopold in Köthen. The premier performance would … Read more
Chopin: Ballade No. 4 in F minor, Op. 52 Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849) wrote almost exclusively for the piano and is best known for short character pieces such as noctures, études, and mazurkas. It is somewhat remarkable that this idiosyncratic output earned Chopin a solid position among … Read more
Michael Burritt: Fandango 13 If percussion doesn’t fit into your paradigm of classical music, you might need a bigger paradigm. After all, banging on things that resonate is probably one of the oldest forms of music-making (along with singing). Percussion is important in virtually all … Read more
Mendelssohn: Piano Trio No. 1, Op. 49, III – Scherzo I said last week that there is no right place to start when getting to know Classical music, or – more accurately – no wrong place to start. Perhaps you listened to the Haydn Trumpet Concerto that began this … Read more
Haydn: Trumpet Concerto in E-Flat, III – Finale. Here at Professor Carol, we want to inspire people to discover good music. That’s why we created the courses you see on this site. But whether you take the courses or not, the music is sitting there … Read more
The Liberal Arts can be your best educational path to achievement in a specialized field, according to Robert Twigger in his article “Anyone Can Learn To Be a Polymath.” Polymath refers to one who has learned much, people like Da Vinci, Goethe, and Benjamin Franklin. … Read more
