Paganini: Caprice No. 24 in A minor Few names are associated more strongly with virtuosity than Niccolò Paganini (1782-1840). He was one of the first performers to rise to fame in the wave of fascination with virtuosity that seized audiences in the early 19th century. … Read more
Brahms: Intermezzo, Op. 116, No. 6 My father was a big Brahms fan. At the age of 5 or so, I was not often allowed to handle his collection of easily breakable 78 rpm recordings, but I can remember wearing out an vinyl LP of the … Read more
Bottesini: Concerto for Double Bass No. 2 in B Minor Giovanni Bottesini (1821-1889) may not be on your short list of composers to explore. I confess that I knew little about him. His name didn’t appear on a single music history test throughout my undergraduate … Read more
Liszt: La Campanella The name of Liszt resounded across Europe in the 19th century. A celebrity on the level of a Frank Sinatra or Elvis, his piano playing stunned everyone who heard it. Women really did throw diamond necklaces at him and faint in the … 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
Mendelssohn: Piano Trio No. 1, Op. 49, III – Scherzo I said last week that there is no right place to start when getting to know Classical music, or – more accurately – no wrong place to start. Perhaps you listened to the Haydn Trumpet Concerto that began this … Read more
Once upon a time . . . actually, when I started my job as Music History Professor at Southern Methodist University in 1985, I had to face facts: even with my fancy new Ph.D. in musicology, my musical education was filled with holes. There wasn’t … Read more
This chart is included in the workbook for Discovering Music: 300 Years of Interaction in Western Music, Arts, History, and Culture. Watch for more reference guides like this one in the near future. Eighteenth Century Enlightenment Nineteenth Century Romanticism Music is an expression of balance … Read more
What’s this program about? Ottorino Respighi was not at war with tonality or tradition, and his works have consequently been denigrated at times as “crowd pleasers.” Although he wrote successful concertos, operas, and ballets that were widely performed in his day, he is known primarily … Read more
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What’s this program about? Tchaikovsky’s music holds a sacred place in Russian culture. Dmitri Shostakovich said, “Without Tchaikovsky we could not endure our sorrows.” Professor Carol examines his Fifth Symphony and considers his life, his personal struggles, and his professional successes. Works Discussed: Tchaikovsky Symphony … Read more
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