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
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