Haydn Symphony no. 3
The third in G major was written (it is believed) between 1760 and 1762. It shares its orchestration with its predecessors, (two oboes, bassoon, two horns, strings, continuo) but is Haydn’s first symphony to be written in four movements, and one of the earliest in general to do so. The winds in this symphony are also absent from the slow movement, as in the previous symphony. This symphony is more ‘complex’ no only for its four-movement structure, but also for the structure of two of the movements: the minuet is a canon between high and low voices, and the finale … Continue reading Haydn Symphony no. 3
Haydn Symphony no. 2
Gonna try to keep this one shorter. The second symphony is believed to have been written between 1757 and 1761. It has the same orchestration as number one from yesterday, and is also in three movements. There’s also something kind of… comforting at the possibility that something this brief (a nine minute symphony!) may have taken him four years to write. Not that he devoted every waking hour (or any regular attention) to the piece, but for any aspiring composer, it’s nice to know that speed isn’t necessarily important. The second is also unique in Haydn’s symphonic repertoire in that … Continue reading Haydn Symphony no. 2
Franz Joseph Haydn: Symphony no. 1
So the thirty-seventh symphony wasn’t the thirty-seventh. The first symphony might also not be. Haydn certainly isn’t the only (or first) composer to switch around the orders of his compositions, or to have begun a piece earlier than another but published it later. As we have also already seen, the cataloguing and numbering and organizing of such a large body of work from so long ago has also proven to be somewhat troublesome. To me, it isn’t terribly important. We’re covering these earliest symphonies together. It’s not like they would be decades apart, so I’m not terribly susceptible to being … Continue reading Franz Joseph Haydn: Symphony no. 1
On this Day: June 2015
June 1
Births:
1653 – Georg Muffat, French composer (d. 1704)
1804 – Mikhail Glinka, Russian composer (d. 1857)- Important Russian guy.
Deaths:
1639 – Melchior Franck, German composer (b. 1579)
June 2
Births:
1857 – Edward Elgar, English composer (d. 1934)
1863 – Felix Weingartner, Croatian-Austrian pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1942)
1878 – Wallace Hartley, English violinist and bandleader (d. 1912) I saw bandleader and I thought ‘jazz guy’, but this is the heroic kind of musical version of ‘captain of the ship’; he’s the guy that lead the eight-member band on the Titanic as it went down on April 15. Was that in the movie?
1944 – Marvin Hamlisch, American composer and conductor (d. 2012) Incredibly accomplished if not wholly classical in nature.
1947 – Mark Elder, English conductor
Deaths:
1937 – Louis Vierne, French organist and composer (b. 1870)
1968 – André Mathieu, Canadian pianist and composer (b. 1929) The Canadian Rachmaninoff? Well, “in the style of Rachmaninoff.”
2000 – Lepo Sumera, Estonian composer (b. 1950)
2013 – Mario Bernardi, Canadian pianist and conductor (b. 1930)
June 3
Births:
1736 – Ignaz Fränzl, German violinist and composer (d. 1811)
1832 – Charles Lecocq, French composer (d. 1918)
Deaths:
1858 – Julius Reubke, German pianist and composer (b. 1834) We discussed him before. What a magnificent piano sonata this young talent composed. Check it out here.
1875 – Georges Bizet, French composer (b. 1838)
1877 – Ludwig Ritter von Köchel, Austrian botanist, composer, and publisher (b. 1800) Botanist and composer. (I almost made a joke about his pieces sounding organic…)
2013 – Arnold Eidus, American violinist (b. 1922)
June 4
Births:
1903 – Yevgeny Mravinsky, Russian conductor (d. 1988)
Deaths:
—
June 5
Births:
1884 – Ralph Benatzky, Czech-Austrian composer (d. 1957)
1923 – Daniel Pinkham, American organist and composer (d. 2006)
1952 – Daniel Katzen, American horn player and educator
1972 – Pavel Kotla, Polish conductor
Deaths:
1625 – Orlando Gibbons, English organist and composer (b. 1583)
1722 – Johann Kuhnau, German organist and composer (b. 1660)
1816 – Giovanni Paisiello, Italian composer (b. 1741)
1826 – Carl Maria von Weber, German pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1786)
2003 – Manuel Rosenthal, French composer and conductor (b. 1904)
June 6
Births:
1661 – Giacomo Antonio Perti, Italian composer (d. 1756)
1735 – Anton Schweitzer, German composer (d. 1787)
1903 – Aram Khachaturian, Georgian-Armenian composer (d. 1978)
1915 – Vincent Persichetti, American pianist and composer (d. 1987) I’ve performed some of this guy’s band music
1926 – Klaus Tennstedt, German conductor (d. 1998)
1939 – Louis Andriessen, Dutch pianist and composer
Deaths:
1881 – Henri Vieuxtemps, Belgian violinist and composer (b. 1820)
June 7
Births:
1845 – Leopold Auer, Hungarian violinist, composer, and conductor r(d. 1930)
1897 – George Szell, Hungarian-American conductor and composer (d. 1970)
1937 – Neeme Järvi, Estonian conductor
Two quite famous conductors, born exactly forty years apart.
Deaths:
1896 – Pavlos Carrer, Greek composer (b. 1829)
June 8
Births:
1671 – Tomaso Albinoni, Italian composer (d. 1751)
1810 – Robert Schumann, German composer and critic (d. 1856)
1949 – Emanuel Ax, Polish-American pianist and educator
Deaths:
1612 – Hans Leo Hassler, German organist and composer (b. 1562)
1984 – Gordon Jacob, English composer (b. 1895)
June 9
Births:
1732 – Giuseppe Demachi, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1791)
1810 – Otto Nicolai, German composer and conductor (d. 1849)
1865 – Carl Nielsen, Danish violinist, composer, and conductor (d. 1931) I quite like most of Nielsen’s earlier symphonies (earlier meaning everything except the fifth, which I haven’t really grown to appreciate yet [but still wrote about], and the sixth, which is just kind of… perplexing)
1891 – Cole Porter, American composer (d. 1964) I know I have said some bad things about jazz (or intend to), but Cole Porter is Cole Porter.
1912 – Ingolf Dahl, German-American pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1970) The people I have never heard of…
Deaths:
1656 – Thomas Tomkins, Welsh composer (b. 1572)
1952 – Adolf Busch, German-Austrian violinist and composer (b. 1891)
1991 – Claudio Arrau, Chilean-American pianist (b. 1903)
2013 – Bruno Bartoletti, Italian conductor (b. 1926)
June 10
Births:
1843 – Heinrich von Herzogenberg, Austrian composer and conductor (d. 1900)
Haydn Symphony no. 37
again, and as always, for Haydn’s symphonies, we’ll be using the performances by the Austro-Hungarian Haydn Orchestra under Adam Fischer (older brother of the also fantastic Iván Fischer) It’s older than that. As I said in yesterday’s article, there are some cataloguing and numbering issues in Haydn’s works, at least the symphonies. But then again, how could there not be when trying to order and organize works from two and a half centuries ago? Symphony no. 37 is one of the earliest of Haydn’s symphonies, dated 1758, but you might not know it immediately. We’re going to start our more … Continue reading Haydn Symphony no. 37
Concert Review: NSO- Symphonic Milestone: Bruckner’s Magnum Opus
It’s a lot of music. This concert marks the end. It was the last completed symphony that Bruckner wrote, and it is the last concert of both the NSO’s season and the last concert of the month, thus beginning a long four-month stretch of no concerts at our National Concert Hall while it gets some renovations or something. I’ll be eager to see it in the fall. I can’t imagine it’s getting a huge makeover or anything, but who knows? It was a large crowd last night. Even from the downstairs entrance I went in to have dinner downstairs beforehand, … Continue reading Concert Review: NSO- Symphonic Milestone: Bruckner’s Magnum Opus
Influential People: Franz Josef Haydn
The picture that everyone knows of the composer who looks like George Washington He excelled in every musical genre… He is familiarly known as the ‘father of the symphony’ and could with greater justice be thus regarded for the … Continue reading Influential People: Franz Josef Haydn
Concert Review: Yuja Wang Piano Recital
It’s all Scriabin and Chopin. And then Islamey. And encores. This is another one of those things I’m terrified of missing out on. If I had to travel some long distance to buy a ticket and attend, that’s one thing, but when it’s within walking distance (sort of), I don’t really have any excuse not to go. It’s also bragging rights, if nothing else. It’s just a nice experience to have, to say I was able to see so-and-so live, even if I didn’t get to meet her. I was a little late in getting around to buying tickets, and … Continue reading Concert Review: Yuja Wang Piano Recital
Berg String Quartet, op. 3
performed by the Kohon Quartet (Bernard Zaslav was violist, and is a former member of the Fine Arts quartet, whose wonderful performance [and sole recording] of Babbitt’s third string quartet I recently got my hands on) It’s always odd looking … Continue reading Berg String Quartet, op. 3
NSO: Symphonic Milestone- Reflections on War
Back to symphony hall less than a week since Eroica for another fantastic performance, again conducted by Maestro Gunther Herbig. The title ‘Reflections on War’ (slightly different in Chinese: 烽火蕭八) was eye-catching. I read somewhere in a program or website for the concert that it was to commemorate the 70th anniversary of World War II. Before reading up on Liszt’s Les Preludes, I wouldn’t have seen or heard or thought of any association with war, but it was an interesting contrast, in many ways. The program was also heavily weighted toward the second half, obviously. While Shostakovich’s eighth is a massive … Continue reading NSO: Symphonic Milestone- Reflections on War
Webern: Fünf Sätze für Streichquartett, op. 5
performed by the Juilliard String Quartet find all the movements in this playlist on YouTube This piece has been revisited, and an updated article has been written. Please read it here. I’ll keep the original article (below) for posterity, but … Continue reading Webern: Fünf Sätze für Streichquartett, op. 5
Dodecaphony: Part 3
How I got here: As stated on my About Me page, my interest in music was rooted in a fascination with the piano. It seems natural, then, that as I started to familiarize myself with classical music, the piano was … Continue reading Dodecaphony: Part 3
陳譽陞 作品發表音樂會
I just had one of the most inspiring, motivating afternoons in recent memory. I don’t even know how to talk about it. This time of year is one of graduations and recitals and concerts, academically and otherwise. The National Concert Hall will be getting some renovation done over the summer, so it will be closed for the next three or four months, and it seems that some of the ensembles or performers are getting in under the wire. In any case, May has been a busy month for concertgoing. I’ve attended a number of concerts at the same university, in … Continue reading 陳譽陞 作品發表音樂會
NSO: Symphonic Milestone- Eroica
This was a last-minute and somewhat messy plan. I’d seen the program for this concert ages ago and at the time, wasn’t able to attend. Some recent schedule changes meant I was free, but by that time I’d entirely forgotten about it. I ended up buying my ticket only a few weeks ago, kind of late relative to how early I try to get my hands on most tickets. I saw NSO and Eroica, and that was enough. I was at the ticket counter to buy a ticket for another show anyway, and there were still seats. On the ticket … Continue reading NSO: Symphonic Milestone- Eroica
Schoenberg: Drei Klavierstücke, op. 11
This article has been marked as in need of a revisit. That’s where I feel like I didn’t do the piece justice or have more to say (usually because I didn’t know it nearly well enough or didn’t have the right perspective). I’ll keep the original article for posterity, but publish a new version that will eventually be linked here for my new take on it. performed by Maurizio Pollini That looks intimidating, those three links, but honestly, these pieces aren’t terribly overwhelming. In total, they come to about 13 or 14 minutes of music. Very delicious, important music. While … Continue reading Schoenberg: Drei Klavierstücke, op. 11
Dodecaphony: Part 2
To continue our discussion of the twelve tone scheme and the Second Viennese School, we’re going to talk today about the method itself. I’m going to be up front with you, though. I’m not a professional musician, I am not … Continue reading Dodecaphony: Part 2
Jean-Efflam Bavouzet: Piano Recital
I’m speechless. I don’t know how I’d managed to get through as much classical music listening, reading, YouTube viewing, and concert going and not have heard of Jean-Efflam Bavouzet. What initially struck my interest and sold me on the concert was one of the names below: It wasn’t Beethoven (x2), or Debussy or Ravel, but Boulez. In case you don’t know (and unless you know me personally, you probably don’t), I’ve been fascinated, obsessed, overwhelmed by the music of Milton Babbitt lately, and by extension, the concepts and ideas behind the serialist movement in general, and Boulez is a very … Continue reading Jean-Efflam Bavouzet: Piano Recital
Concert Review: 陳柔安鋼琴獨奏會
If you haven’t noticed, it’s that time of year. Lots of graduation recitals and concerts and things. It’s a great time of year to be a concertgoer, and I’m sure many students heave huge sighs of relief once their performances are over. It is also often hardly the end, but a beginning of more, better things. I’ve talked before about my thoughts about concerts and recitals and performances in an academic setting. There are two main ones, the first being that the people in the room (at the university where these recitals are [most often] held) are the real professionals … Continue reading Concert Review: 陳柔安鋼琴獨奏會
Anton Webern: Passacaglia, op. 1
performed by the Berlin Philharmonic under Herbert von Karajan Okay, before anyone gets their britches in a bunch, this piece is NOT twelve-tone or atonal or anything. Let’s get that clear. In introducing the Second Viennese School (2VS), perhaps it … Continue reading Anton Webern: Passacaglia, op. 1
Dodecaphony: Part 1
Do-what? (a.k.a. Influential People: Arnold Schoenberg) part 2 here part 3 here This was going to be a simple introduction to the early works of the Second Viennese School, and to that group of composers itself, but as with many … Continue reading Dodecaphony: Part 1
Concert Review: NSO: Slavonic Series- A Hero and a Witch
with Steven Isserlis Spoiler: the highlight was that I got to meet Mr. Isserlis after the concert. He is a very nice human. Sunday afternoon concerts always seem… less formal. There’s something about an evening event that makes it seem more… well, formal. In any case, I’d bought this ticket a month or more ago, prior to some recent schedule changes, and had to adjust my affairs to be able to attend, but boy was I glad I did. I’ve mentioned before that concerts are one of the few places that my constant internal “what do I need to be … Continue reading Concert Review: NSO: Slavonic Series- A Hero and a Witch
Fugue for Thought 