Lecuona, Mazurka in Glissando This short encore performed by the Cuban pianist Jorge Luis Prats provides a good opportunity to discuss the concert encore in general. The word simply means “again” in French, but in the concert setting, it is universally understood to be a … Read more
I am in a Chinese fast-food café on a main street in Belgrade, Serbia. It is filled with people in their twenties, which makes sense since many of the historic buildings of the University of Belgrade are woven into the streets and squares nearby. The … Read more
Lalo, Symphonie espagnol It seems that some of the best Spanish music, or more accurately some of the best-known, was written by French composers. Bizet’s Carmen may be the best example, but there is also Ravel’s Rhapsodie espagnol, Debussy’s Ibéria, and today’s featured work Symphonie … Read more
Bach, Lute Suite No. 1, BWV 996 The first question that arises when talking about one of Bach’s Lute Suites is whether in fact Bach wrote any suites for lute. That doesn’t mean that Bach didn’t write this suite (he did, around 1712), but rather … Read more
Ireland, Sea Fever English composer John Ireland (1879-1962) studied composition with Charles Villiers Stanford at the Royal Conservatory. Introverted and timid, Ireland found Stanford’s exacting standards and sometimes harsh demeanor intimidating, but he credited Stanford with giving him a solid foundation. Ireland would join the … Read more
I am making red-velvet cupcakes. It’s Patti’s birthday today, and also mine. Our daughter Helen forecast that her first-born would arrive on my birthday, defying the due date, so as to be my biggest gift ever. Helen’s doctor, the previous day, the 25th, told her, … Read more
Seeger, Music for Small Orchestra Like many other women composers, Ruth Crawford Seeger (1901-1953) is receiving renewed attention. She achieved some recognition in her lifetime as a talented composer, but it was short-lived, partly no doubt because of her untimely death. She studied at the … Read more
Even without focusing on art history, a person tends to become familiar with the major artists in the Western canon. Iconic images by painters like Michelangelo, Rembrandt, Van Gogh, and Cezanne appear everywhere, from textbooks to restaurant décor. Such artists seem to have been the … Read more
Verdi, Overture to La forza del destino Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) completed his opera La forza del destino (The Force of Destiny) in 1861. Its premiere in St. Petersburg was delayed a year to 1862 because of the prima donna’s illness. After it received a less … Read more
It’s late Thursday afternoon here in Opatija, Croatia, a resort town planted by 19th-century Habsburg aristocrats on a scenic peninsula of the Adriatic. We just returned from our day trip to the impressive medieval town of Mošćenice which sprouts from a cliff high above the … Read more