Tarik O’Regan: Latent Manifest Context Tarik O’Regan was born in Croydon in 1978, and his mother was Algerian so in his very early life he spent a lot of time abroad. O’Regan claims he was a “late starter” with music, only picking up music when he was 14. However, he Read more…
Roger Quilter: A Children’s Overture Context Roger Quilter was born in Hove, Sussex in 1877. In contrast to his older brothers, Roger was the quiet, shy sibling of the group. In the mid-1880s Quilter was sent to a new prep school in Farnborough, where he was able to nurture his love Read more…
Francis Poulenc: Concerto for Organ, Timpani and Strings Context Francis Poulenc was born in Paris in 1899 into a wealthy, musical family. His father owned a pharmaceuticals business, and he had very close ties with Roman Catholicism. His mother came from a very artistic family. As his mother was musical, Poulenc Read more…
Dmitri Kabalevsky: The Comedians Context Born in 1904 in Saint Petersburg, Kabalevsky was encouraged at a young age to focus on “important” subjects, such as maths and science (i.e not the arts). However, against his family’s wishes, Kabalevsky accepted an offer to study at Moscow Conservatory, where he studied composition. 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…
Dobrinka Tabakova: Whispered Lullaby Context Dobrinka Tabakova was born in Plovdiv, Bulgaria to a music-loving family in 1980. At age 11, Tabakova moved to London and has since stayed there. She studied at the Royal Academy of Music Junior Department, specialising in composition, piano and conducting. From there, Tabakova earned Read more…
Paul Dukas: L’apprenti sorcier Context Paul Dukas was born in Paris, 1865. In 1881, Dukas entered the Conservatoire de Paris, studying piano and composition. Whilst studying at the conservatoire Dukas became very close friends with Claude Debussy. Dukas thrived studying composition, however, much of his work within this period was Read more…
Charles Ives: The Unanswered Question Conext Charles Ives was born in Connecticut, USA in 1874, and his father was a USA Army bandleader. Due to this day-to-day influence of music, Ives grew up surrounded by music. Ives undertook music lessons from a young age, and his tutors were encouraging for Ives Read more…
John Williams: The Imperial March Context John Williams was born in 1932 and his career has since spanned over six decades. He was raised in New York by musical parents, who were active jazz musicians. By 1948 the Williams family had moved to LA where Williams later attended the University of Read more…
Modest Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition Context Modest Mussorgsky was born in 1839 in Karevo (south of Saint Petersburg). His family owned lots of land, which made them incredibly wealthy. His mother was a self-taught pianist, who began teaching him the piano at age 6. Mussorgsky thrived learning the piano, and he soon Read more…