Mahler, Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen I had a conversation a few weeks ago with a friend who dismissed Gustav Mahler’s music as too emotional. Or perhaps he said it was too personal. It is both highly emotional and intensely personal, although I think … Read more
Mendelssohn, Hebrides Overture Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) traveled to England in 1829. His journey included a tour of the Scottish Highlands, and there, on the Hebrides islands, he was inspired to sketch out what would become his Hebrides Overture. Among the Hebrides, Fingal’s Cave lies on … Read more
Brahms, Paganini Variations The theme of Paganini’s Caprice No. 24 has inspired numerous composers to craft a set of variations based on it. In this series, we have already featured the variations of Rachmaninov, Liszt, Lutoslavksi, and Fazil Say. But I don’t think we can … Read more
Schumann, Piano Quartet The chamber music of Robert Schumann (1810-1856) makes up a relative small portion of his large corpus of works. An extremely accomplished pianist, his compositions focus heavily on that instrument: works for solo piano, a piano concerto, and an enormous body of … Read more
Franck, Panis Angelicus I had something else scheduled as today’s Friday Performance Pick, but it can wait. I want to note instead the passing of soprano Patricia Janečková. She died of breast cancer on October 1 at the age of 25. Janečková seems to have … Read more
Schubert, Fantasy in F Minor Piano duets and music for piano four hands (the difference being whether there are two pianos or only one) became popular in the late 18th and early 19th century. Numerous improvements had been made to the first pianofortes invented by … Read more
Lyadov, Kikimora In last week’s post on Glazunov, we briefly mentioned Anatoly Lyadov [Liadov] (1855-1914) as another member of the Belyayev circle. Lyadov also studied composition with Rimsky-Korsakov, but he was expelled from the conservatory for failure to attend class. He was later readmitted and … Read more
Glazunov, Symphony No. 4 The composer and conductor Alexander Glazunov (1865-1936) was a stabilizing influence on Russian music during the turbulent transition from late 19th-century Romanticism to the early Soviet period. Balakirev recognized Glazunov’s talent in 1879 and introduced him to Rimsky-Korsakov, with whom Glazunov … Read more
Reger, Gloria in excelsis Many historians recognize Max Reger (1873-1916) as the most important German composer for organ after Bach. My familiarity with Reger’s music comes mostly from hearing them at organ recitals. I never really studied Reger or made a concerted effort to learn … Read more
Paderewski, Nocturne Ignacy Jan Paderewski (1860-1941) was one of the most celebrated concert pianists of his time. Born in Poland, which was then a part of the Russian Empire, he studied at the Warsaw Conservatory and took a teaching position there. He launched his concert … Read more
