Works that I do my best to write about (at least once a week, usually on Thursdays). For collections of pieces, check out the Series link above.
performed by Elisabeth Zeuthen Schneider, Amalie Malling & Morten Zeuthen (sorry, no video today… but here’s the album [with audio samples] or from iTunes, the score, and the parts for sale) Otto Valdemar Malling was born on 1 June, 1848 in Copenhagen (we’ll be … Continue reading Otto Malling: Piano trio in Am, op. 36
performed by the Omsk Philharmonic under Evgeni Shestakov Victor Emanuel Bendix was born on 17 May 1851 in Copenhagen, a Jewish Danish composer, student of Niels Gade (that again) and friend of one Carl Nielsen, who we’ve (briefly, long ago) seen … Continue reading Victor Bendix: Symphony no. 3 in Am, op. 25
‘Symphonie sérieuse’ performed by the Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra under Thomas Dausgaard Asger Hamerik (sometimes spelled more German-ish as Hammerich, I am also guessing ‘Asger’ is the Danish equivalent of ‘Oscar’) was born on 8 April, 1843 in Frederiksburg, near Copenhagen. He … Continue reading Asger Hamerik: Symphony no. 5 in Gm, op. 36
performed by the folks listed in the following video So there are a few reasons we’re doubling up on Gade this week. For one, I couldn’t find a recording (because apparently none has ever been made) of August Winding’s op. … Continue reading Gade String Quartet in E minor
performed by the Danish National Symphony Orchestra under Christopher Hogwood, or below by the Copenhagen Collegium Musicum under Michael Schønwandt (but I vastly prefer Hogwood) movements 3 and 4 here Niels Wilhelm Gade was born on 22 February, 1817 in Copenhagen, to … Continue reading Niels Gade: Symphony no. 6 in Gm, op. 32
(This piece was recently featured on a concert program I planned over at my Substack. That’s where I’m writing these days, so please go check it out.) performed by Roland Pöntinen and the New Stockholm Chamber Orchestra under Lev Markiz, … Continue reading Alfred Schnittke: Concerto for piano and strings
performed by the Kronos Quartet and Aki Takahashi or below from the Midsummer Chamber Music Festival at the Harpa Concert Hall, Reykjavik, Iceland Morton Feldman was born on January 12, 1926 and is considered “a pioneer of indeterminate music, a development associated with … Continue reading Morton Feldman: Piano and String Quartet
performed by the Ensemble Wien-Berlin, or below by the commissioner of the work, the Czech Nonet subsequent movements can be found in this playlist This work was an accident. Martinů’s name had been one I was vaguely aware of, but with … Continue reading Bohuslav Martinů: Nonet no. 2, H. 374
performed by the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra under Gottfried Rabl Egon Joseph Wellesz was born on October 21, 1885 to Hungarian Christians of Jewish ancestry. He grew up Protestant, but later converted to Catholicism. He studied under both Arnold Schoenberg, father … Continue reading Egon Wellesz: Symphony no. 4, ‘Sinfonia Austriaca’
performed by the London Philharmonic under Sir Adrian Boult second and third movements (this piece is featured on a list of pieces I heartily recommend to music directors for inclusion on their season programs. Check out the article here.) Meet … Continue reading Robert Simpson: Symphony no. 1
performed by the Pacifica Quartet on Cedille Records (sorry, no YouTube), or here in iTunes Meet Easley Blackwood, a living American composer. Easley Blackwood, Jr. was born on April 21, 1933 in Indianapolis, Indiana, started studying piano, and by 14 was making solo … Continue reading Easley Blackwood: String Quartet no. 1
Variations and Fugue on a theme of Purcell performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Gennady Rozhdestvensky, or below by the WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln under Jukka-Pekka Saraste This is fun. And of musical integrity. There are some pieces with either specific … Continue reading Benjamin Britten: The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra
performed by Wayne Marshall and the Aalborg Symphony, or below by Earl Wild and the Boston Pops under Arthur Fielder Jazz. I don’t like it. But I’m also willing to admit when I’m wrong. Earlier this year I was present … Continue reading George Gershwin: Piano Concerto in F
performed by the folks in this video: second and third movements Amy Mary Cheney Beach was born on September 5, 1867 in New Hampshire. She showed a stunning talent for music from an extremely young age, but her musical career … Continue reading Amy Beach: Piano Quintet in f sharp minor, op.67
performed by the Slovak State Philharmonic Orchestra under Urs Schneider on Naxos, or below by Francesco D’Avalos and the Philharmonia or this recording for better recording quality, maybe my preference Yes, you read that right, a symphony no. 3, op 153. … Continue reading Joachim Raff: Symphony no. 3 in F, op. 153 ‘Im Walde’
performed by Salvatore Accardo and the London Philharmonic under Charles Dutoit It’s Paganini! How haven’t we done Paganini here yet? His name has only (to my recollection) been uttered on these pages in the context of an incredible concert earlier this year where … Continue reading Niccolò Paganini: Violin Concerto No. 5 in A minor
performed by John O’Conor no. 2 and no. 3 None have quite attained to these vague eolian harmonies, these half-formed sighs floating through the air, softly lamenting and dissolved in delicious melancholy. Nobody has even attempted this peculiar style, … Continue reading John Field: Nocturnes, H. 24-26
performed by the Venice Quartet, or below by the Takeuchi String Quartet in a surprisingly clear recording Ridolfo Luigi Boccherini was born on February 19, 1743 in Lucca, Italy, into a musical family. His father was a cellist and bassist, and … Continue reading Luigi Boccherini: String Quartet in D, op. 8/1
performed by the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment under Gustav Leonhardt, or below by The English Concert under Andrew Manze Another Bach. There are many of them. Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach was born on March 8, 1714 to Johann … Continue reading C.P.E. Bach: Symphony no. 2 in E-flat, Wq. 183/2
performed by Anne-Sophie Mutter and the Vienna Philharmonic under Herbert von Karajan Yes, the four seasons. All of them. And yeah, it’s that melody. The one that’s recognizable to a fault. It’s the one people call to mind when they think of a fancy, … Continue reading Antonio Vivaldi: Le Quattro Stagioni
performed by the Emerson String Quartet or below by the Pavel Haas Quartet Prokofiev’s first string quartet comes shortly after the first version of his symphony no. 4, and just before the fourth piano concerto (the left-handed one) (with a … Continue reading Prokofiev String Quartet No. 1 in B minor, op. 50
Fugue for Thought 