My music

609 Posts
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Hands of the Master: Clementi’s Sonata Op. 9/2
Muzio Clementi (1752-1832) may be better known today for his keyboard exercises but in his day, he was a noted performer and composer. Born in Rome, he was discovered by an English visitor and brought to England at age 13.
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Love and Life: Spohr’s ‘Ghasel’
During his lifetime, Louis Spohr (1784-1859) was considered the greatest composer after Beethoven. The fact that he’s so little known today speaks volumes about changes in taste. Famous primarily as a violinist, then as a composer, his reputation did not
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The Neo-classical piano: Lipatti’s Piano Concertino
Pianist Dinu Lipatti (1917-1950) is best known as one of the leading pianists of the 20th century but less for his compositions. This dual life of composer / pianist had been his since childhood where he was a wunderkind on
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Commemorating the Centuries: Strauss’ Japanische Festmusik
In 1939, in the middle of writing his opera Die Liebe der Danae, Richard Strauss wrote a work that’s rarely performed but commemorates an event few countries can claim. His Japanische Festmusik was written for the 2,600th anniversary of the
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Not the Bach You Think: Bittner’s Shimmy on Bach’s Name
Composers love mysteries, particularly when they can hide something in plain sight in their music. Starting with Johann Sebastian himself, hiding words and letters became a thing to do. When you convert the scale into letters and use German, you
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Depicting Nature: Hoch’s Dune
Swiss composer Francesco Hoch takes modern music everywhere. He’s written for a wide variety of ensembles, from children’s voice through full orchestral works. He’s been part of the International New Music Workshop at the Venice Biennale. He was commissioned to
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Taking the Tune on the Road: Paul Huang
In 1879, composer Johannes Brahms and violinist Joseph Joachim took a concert trip through Transylvania to workshop Brahms’ latest work, the Violin Concerto, Op. 77, which had opened to less-than-satisfactory reviews. Although Brahms wasn’t really up for a tour, of
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Concentrating the Wonder: Strauss’ Der Rosenkavalier Suite
Unlike earlier days, it was harder for modern operas to truly qualify as a Hit! However, Richard Strauss’ 1911 opera Der Rosenkavalier was not only a success, but a triumph, with impressive ticket sales from the night of its premiere.
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