Joan Trimble: The Green Bough Context Joan Trimble was born in 1915 in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh. She, from a young age, learnt to play the piano, read music and then compose her own music. She studied piano with Annie Lord at the Royal Irish Academy of Music, Dublin. She continued Read more…
Ernest Bloch: Five Sketches in Sepia Context Born in Geneva in 1880, Ernest Bloch was surrounded by a non-musical family. However, by age ten Bloch started to take an interest in playing the violin and learning music. Bloch’s family were Jewish, and a lot of his music reflects the characteristics of Read more…
Sheila Silver: Nocturne Context Sheila Silver is an American-born composer who grew up in Seattle. She began receiving piano lessons from the age of 5 and her love and passion for music grew and grew until she earned her place at the University of California, Berkeley. She graduated with a Bachelor Read more…
Steve Reich: Piano Phase Context Steve Reich is known for his contributions to the minimalist movement of the twentieth century. As the title suggests, minimalism is a form of art music that uses minimal musical material to achieve maximum effects. Reich, with other composers such as Philip Glass and John Adams, Read more…
Fiona Bennett: ‘A Lad and a Lass’ Context Fiona Bennett (1962-present), is a Welsh composer. Born and raised in Cardiff, Bennett began receiving piano lessons at age 4. Ten years later, Bennett was awarded a scholarship to study piano performance and music theory at the Royal Welsh College of Music Read more…
Paul Reade: Victorian Kitchen Garden Suite Context Paul Reade (1943-1997) was born in Liverpool, UK. He studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London, where he studied piano performance with Alan Richardson. Whilst at the Academy, Reade had his first orchestral work, Overture to a City, premiered by the resident orchestra, Read more…
Richard Peaslee: Nightsongs Context Richard Peaslee was born in New York City in 1930. He studied composition at Yale University, and began to specialise in big band music. With Peaslee’s breadth of knowledge, his style has been described as eclectic due to his use of jazz, folk, electronic and instrumental Read more…
Frédéric Chopin: Nocturne Op.15, No.3 Context Chopin’s catalogue of music reaches around 235 compositions, most of which are for solo piano. He was educated in the tradition of Beethoven, Mozart and Clementi, and was also very much influenced by Haydn and Hummel. Chopin was the first to compose ballades and scherzi Read more…