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classicalmusic

Blogs

Modest Mussorgsky ‘Pictures at an Exhibition’: A Grand Musical Illustration

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…

By Alex Burns, 1 month1 month ago
Blogs

Alban Berg ‘Vier Stücke’: Charismatic Miniatures

Alban Berg: Vier Stücke Context Vier Stücke was composed in 1913 and are perhaps Berg’s only true miniatures. His wife Helene writes that he composed them in June, which means it was in the same month as his fateful visit to his tutor, Schoenberg. It is recorded that this meeting Read more…

By Alex Burns, 3 months3 months ago
Blogs

Franz Liszt ‘Liebestraum No.3’: The Purest Kind of Love

Franz Liszt: Liebestraum No.3 Context Franz Liszt was born in 1811 in Hungary, into an already well-established musical family. His father, Adam Liszt, had been in service for Prince Nikolaus II Esterházy. This meant he was in direct contact with prolific composers such as Haydn, Beethoven and Hummel. Liszt was an Read more…

By Alex Burns, 5 months5 months ago
Blogs

Ottorino Respighi ‘Pines of Rome’: Harmonious Horticulture

Ottorino Respighi: Pines of Rome Context Ottorino Respighi was born on July 9th, 1879 in Bologna, Italy. From a young age he was taught piano by his father, as he was working as a local music teacher in the area. Respighi later enrolled at the Liceo, where he studied violin, Read more…

By Alex Burns, 8 months5 months ago
Blogs

Roger Quilter ‘A Children’s Overture’: “Old Rhymes with New Dresses”

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…

By Alex Burns, 2 years5 months ago
Blogs

Tarik O’Regan ‘Latent Manifest’: Allusion vs Implications

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…

By Alex Burns, 2 years5 months ago
Blogs

Morton Feldman ‘For Aaron Copland for Solo Violin’: A Persisting Character

Morton Feldman: For Aaron Copland Context Morton Feldman was born in 1926 into a Russian-Jewish family. From a young age he began to learn piano where he found his love for music and composition. Feldman learnt with and admired a range of different German-modernist composers such as Anton Webern and Read more…

By Alex Burns, 2 years5 months ago
Blogs

Dmitri Kabalevsky ‘The Comedians’: Send in the Clowns!

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…

By Alex Burns, 2 years5 months ago
Blogs

Dobrinka Tabakova ‘Whispered Lullaby’: A Hypnotic Daydream

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…

By Alex Burns, 2 years5 months ago
Blogs

Francis Poulenc ‘Concerto for Organ, Timpani and Strings’: Fantastic Fantasia

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…

By Alex Burns, 2 years3 months ago

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  • Joseph Haydn ‘Symphony No.5’: Hi-Five!
  • Takashi Yoshimatsu ‘Saxophone Concerto’: Cyber Bird
  • Peter Warlock ‘Capriol Suite’: Care to Dance?
  • Ernst Toch ‘Geographical Fugue’: Spoken Chorus

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