performed by the Concertgebouw Orchestra under Bernard Haitink (cover image by Gaetano Cessati) Georges Bizet was born on 25 October, 1838 in Paris as Alexandre César Léopold Bizet, but baptized as Georges. His father was a hairdresser and wig maker … Continue reading Georges Bizet: Symphony in C
performed by the Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana under Oleg Caetani, or below by the Orchestra of St. John’s under John Lubbock (cover image by Chris Barbalis) Charles-François Gounod was born on 17 June, 1818 in Paris. His mother was a … Continue reading Charles Gounod: Symphony no. 2 in E-flat
performed by the Orchestre de Bretagne under Stefan Sanderling (cover image by Luca Bravo) Jeanne-Louise Dumont was born 31 May 1804 in Paris to a sculptor, Jacques-Edme, and his wife, and made for herself an impressive career, for anyone, really, … Continue reading Louise Farrenc: Symphony no. 1 in Cm, op. 32
performed by Quatuor Diotima, available on Spotify or below second, third and fourth movements (cover image by Dmitrii Medvedev) André Georges Louis Onslow was born on 27 July 1784 in Clermont-Ferrand to an English farmer and French mother, thus considered … Continue reading Georges Onslow: String Quartet no. 28 in E-flat, op. 54
performed by The Orchestra Of The Gulbenkian Foundation under Michel Swierczewski [Méhul] was convinced that musical expressiveness is a lovely flower, delicate and rare, of exquisite fragrance, which does not bloom without culture, and which a breath can wither; that … Continue reading Étienne-Nicolas Méhul: Symphony no. 1 in Gm
performed by the Orchestre Chambre de Versailles under Bernard Wahl (available on Spotify), or below by the Tafelmusik Orchestra under Jeanne Lamon (cover image by Rachel Lynette French) About six years after the quartet we discussed Sunday comes the composer’s first … Continue reading Chevalier de Saint-Georges Symphony no. 1 in G, op. 11
performed by the Concerto Köln under Werner Ehrhardt, or below, in a mislabeled video that is actually the first movement of this work, and probably the same recording (cover image by Denis Larose) François-Joseph Gossec was born on 17 January … Continue reading François-Joseph Gossec: Symphony in D, op. 13 no. 3 ‘La Chasse’
performed by the Quatuor à Cordes Jean-Noël Molard, available on Spotify, or as below in a(n incomplete) video by the Amistad String Quartet (cover image by Carolyn V) Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges was born on December 25, 1745 in Baillif, Basse-Terre, Guadeloupe, … Continue reading Chevalier de Saint-Georges: String Quartet no. 1
performed by I Fiori Musicali, or as below (cover image by Larm Rmah) I willingly admit that I much prefer what moves me to what surprises me. François Couperin ‘Le Grand’ was born on November 10, 1668. He was born … Continue reading François Couperin: Concert Royal no. 1
(cover image by Rob Potvin) In the past few years, I’ve done a number of this type of series, and it seems they spiral out of control as I find more and more outstanding music. In 2016, we saw the … Continue reading The French Symphony
performed by Dmitry Yablonsky, cello and Hsin-Ni Liu, piano, or as below by Michal Kaňka, cello; Miguel Borges Coelho, piano (cover image by Mathieu Stern) Well, here’s our next Editor’s Choice composer. We’ve seen him on the blog now three previous times, all … Continue reading Weinberg Cello Sonata no. 2 op. 63
performed by Carolyn Huebl, violin; Mark Wait, piano (You can find this recording on Spotify, or with different performers on SoundCloud, but probably only if you’re in the U.S.) (cover image by Jez Timms) Alfred Schnittke published four violin concertos … Continue reading Schnittke Violin Sonata (1955)
performed by János Starker, cello; Rudolf Firkušný, piano, or below by Jan Páleníček, cello; Jitka Čechová, piano The third cello sonata occupies ground somewhere between that of the concerto and the symphony. Its form is fluid… The looser process of constant evolution, … Continue reading Martinů Cello Sonata no. 3, H. 340
performed by the Kontra Quartet (no YouTube, but you can listen to the work, at least to snippets, at Dacapo’s website for the complete quartets, here, or on Spotify, if that’s something you have. (cover image by Jeremy Bishop) Holmboe’s … Continue reading Holmboe String Quartet no. 3
performed by the Arditti Quartet (I find it unbelievable that the Arditti Quartet’s recordings are no longer in print and are therefore not available on Spotify or anywhere. Some copies can still be found on Amazon or other places, as … Continue reading Henze String Quartet no. 1
performed by Dumas and Pires (cover image by Joshua Torres) In typical subtitle fashion, the Spring label was given to this work after the composer’s death, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s inaccurate or unwarranted. Beethoven’s fifth violin sonata was completed … Continue reading Beethoven Violin Sonata no. 5 in F, op. 24, ‘Spring’
performed by Gidon Kremer and Martha Argerich, or below by Maria João Pires and Augustin Dumay (cover image by Jez Timms) Beethoven’s fourth violin sonata dates from 1801 and is dedicated to Count Moritz von Fries, an Austrian nobleman, banker, and … Continue reading Beethoven Violin Sonata no. 4 in Am, op. 23
performed by Rostropovich and Richter (cover image by Joanna Kosinska) The second cello sonata of Beethoven has the same provenance as its sibling in the opus five. Both works were written in 1796 in Berlin, when the composer met King … Continue reading Beethoven Cello Sonata no. 2 in Gm, op. 5 no. 2
performed by Mstislav Rostropovich and Sviatoslav Richter, or below with Maisky and Argerich (cover image by Eddie Garcia) I told you we weren’t done with Beethoven. The young composer’s first cello sonatas are not only his first, but sort of… the first of their kind. … Continue reading Beethoven Cello Sonata no. 1 in F, op. 5 no. 1
performed by the Czech Philharmonic Wind Ensemble & Zdenek Jilek, or below with Daniel Hoexter (piano) with members of the Concertgebouw Orchestra (cover image by Aaron Burden) Listening to this work, it just doesn’t surprise me that there aren’t very many works … Continue reading Beethoven Quintet in E-flat for Piano and Winds, op. 16
performed by Rudolf Buchbinder, or below by Alfred Brendel (cover image by Rodion Kutsaev) Each performer has the freedom here to create something different… Sir Andras Schiff (cover image by Rodion Kutsaev) As discussed in the article from earlier this … Continue reading Beethoven Piano Sonata no. 20 in G, op. 49 no. 2
Fugue for Thought 