Hank ReynoldsJ.S. Bach: “Die Katze lässt das Mausen nicht” from “Coffee Cantata,” BWV 211 Bach spent his last 27 years (1723-1750) in Leipzig writing mostly sacred music. As Kapellmeister of the Thomaskirche (St. Thomas Church), he was expected to compose new works for the church. In contrast, … Read more
Debussy: Girl With the Flaxen Hair How do you go about choosing what to listen to? The question makes an assumption that you are the one who gets to choose. That happens less and less often, it seems. If you listen to the radio, or … Read more
Igor Stravinsky: Fireworks Fireworks arguably started it all. Stravinsky wrote the short work for the wedding of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s daughter. But it is remembered as the work in which the young Stravinsky found his voice, and the work that established his connection with Sergei Diaghilev. … Read more
Handel: Concerto Grosso in G Major, Op. 6, No. 1 The concerto grosso is a Baroque compositional form that pits a small group of instrumentalists against a larger orchestra. The term came into use with works by Arcangelo Corelli (1653-1713), and the form was adopted … Read more
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