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
Mayer, Notturno Before moving on from the nocturne (the subject of the last two entries in this series), I want to consider an example by Emilie Mayer (1812-1883). Mayer was recognized in her lifetime as a fine composer. Robert Schumann was among those who called … Read more
Chopin, Nocturne in B Major, Op. 9 No. 3 Last week we featured a nocturne by John Field, who is credited as the inventor or originator of the genre. Field had considered other potential labels for his emotional and highly expressive style of writing, but … Read more
Field, Nocturne No. 5 in B-flat Major The nocturne is a type of character piece developed primarily by Irish composer John Field (1782-1837). Field’s works had a significant influence on Chopin, the composer perhaps most closely associated with the nocturne. The name denotes night, and … Read more
Beethoven, Piano Sonata No. 21, Op. 53 “Waldstein” Professor Carol will be presenting a webinar in our “Milestones” series on Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 (“Eroica”). If you’re reading this after that webinar has occurred, all of our webinar recordings are indexed here. Composed in 1804, … Read more
Duparc, Phidylé Henri Duparc (1848-1933) can be added to the list of composers who studied law before committing to a career in music. I have threatened to compile that list someday, but the list would be long and not particularly useful since none that I … Read more
Loewe, Erlkönig Carl Loewe (1796-1869) began his musical studies as a choirboy in Köthen, a town where J. S. Bach had earlier held a court appointment. He was noted for his excellent singing voice and as a child had sung the famous Queen of the … Read more
Brahms, Violin Concerto Johannes Brahms composed only one concerto for violin, considered now one of the gems of the repertoire. It was not so well received at its 1879 premiere in Leipzig. Only after the turn of the century did it find its place in … Read more
I’m currently spending some time at the Professor Carol remote headquarters in Germany. Most of the concert and theater venues here are dark for the summer months, but organ music continues year round. I attended an organ recital at the Marienkirche in Lübeck where Dieterich … Read more
Chopin, Życzenie A Maiden’s Wish, Op. 74, No. 1 Frederic Chopin (1810-1849) wrote almost exclusively for the piano. It was an unusual choice for a composer at the time when success was achieved primarily by creating large scale works—operas and symphonies. Chopin wrote two piano … Read more
