This Week in Classical Music: November 10, 2025. Andalusia and catching up. So, who and what did we miss while traveling in Andalusia?It seems that the previous two weeks were rather lean. Niccolo Paganini, considered the greatest violinist of the 19th century, was born on October 27th of 1782, but he wasn’t a great composer (though some of his tunes were wonderful).Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf, born in Vienna on November 2nd of 1739, composed in the Classical style, was friends with all the greats of the era, Gluck first, then Haydn and Mozart, and was an excellent violinist (he wrote 18 violin concertos and premiered them all). He also composed several comic operas, Der Apotheker und der Doktor being the most popular.Even though he wrote 120 symphonies, very few are performed these days: his music is mostly forgotten, and, we think, for a good reason: it’s pretty dull.You can try one of his recorded symphonies here.It’s nice, but the best thing about it is the title, Les paysans changés en grenouilles: The peasants turned into frogs (it’s one of Dittersdorf’s so-called Ovid Symphonies).The Prague Chamber Orchestra is conducted by Bohumil Gregor.
Samuel Scheidt was born on November 3rd of 1587.Together with his friends, Heinrich Schütz and Johann Hermann Schein, he was one of the most important German composers of the early 16th century.You can read more about him here.And finally, Vincenzo Bellini; he was born on November 3rd of 1801.We mentioned him recently when we wrote about the great soprano Giuditta Pasta.
This week is more substantial, with François Couperinle Grand, Alexander Borodin, Aaron Copland, and Paul Hindemith.We’d like to present an excerpt from Hindemith’s Ludus Tonalis, composed in 1942.Ludus Tonalis (Tonal game in Latin) is a set of twelve fugues, interspersed by eleven Interludes; the set starts with a Praeludium and ends with a Postludium, which is a retrograde inversion of the Praeludium.“Retrograde” means playing a set from the end to the beginning, but in “Retrograde inversion,” the original set is “inverted” first, meaning that each interval is turned upside down: the second up becomes the second down, the fifth down becomes the fifth up.Somehow, in the music of Schoenberg or, in this case, Hindemith, it works.While clearly, Hindemith had Bach in mind, there are only 12 fugues, not 24: in Hindemith’s approach to atonality, there’s no major or minor.The excerpt we’ll hear is from the live recording made by Sviatoslav Richter in France, during the Fêtes musicales de Touraine festival in 1985.The festival takes place every year in a wonderful 13th-century fortified barn called La Grange de Meslay just outside of the city of Tours.The excerpt starts with the 3rd Interludium followed by Fugue 4, and then another three pairs of Interludium and Fugue, here.
But what about classical music in Andalusia?Unfortunately, we cannot report anything exciting; there’s a dearth of it. Seville is the capital and the largest city of Andalusia, and that’s where you can hear some classical music in concert.Teatro de la Maestranza is where it takes place; the theater also presents opera, ballet, musicals, and even old movies, such as Ernst Lubitsch’s Carmen with Pola Negri in the title role, with the Real Orquesta Sinfónica de Sevilla playing the recorded soundtrack.The orchestra, resident at the theater, was founded in 1990.Some events are interesting, such as the staging of Purcell’s The Fairy Queen by Les Arts Florissants or Cecilia Bartoli in Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice.Martha Argerich may come…
What we did like a lot, and found gripping and fascinating, was Flamenco, but that’s a different story.
Andalusia, 2025
This Week in Classical Music: November 10, 2025. Andalusia and catching up. So, who and what did we miss while traveling in Andalusia? It seems that the previous two weeks were rather
lean. Niccolo Paganini, considered the greatest violinist of the 19th century, was born on October 27th of 1782, but he wasn’t a great composer (though some of his tunes were wonderful). Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf, born in Vienna on November 2nd of 1739, composed in the Classical style, was friends with all the greats of the era, Gluck first, then Haydn and Mozart, and was an excellent violinist (he wrote 18 violin concertos and premiered them all). He also composed several comic operas, Der Apotheker und der Doktor being the most popular. Even though he wrote 120 symphonies, very few are performed these days: his music is mostly forgotten, and, we think, for a good reason: it’s pretty dull. You can try one of his recorded symphonies here. It’s nice, but the best thing about it is the title, Les paysans changés en grenouilles: The peasants turned into frogs (it’s one of Dittersdorf’s so-called Ovid Symphonies). The Prague Chamber Orchestra is conducted by Bohumil Gregor.
Samuel Scheidt was born on November 3rd of 1587. Together with his friends, Heinrich Schütz and Johann Hermann Schein, he was one of the most important German composers of the early 16th century. You can read more about him here. And finally, Vincenzo Bellini; he was born on November 3rd of 1801. We mentioned him recently when we wrote about the great soprano Giuditta Pasta.
This week is more substantial, with François Couperin le Grand, Alexander Borodin, Aaron Copland, and Paul Hindemith. We’d like to present an excerpt from Hindemith’s Ludus Tonalis, composed in 1942. Ludus Tonalis (Tonal game in Latin) is a set of twelve fugues, interspersed by eleven Interludes; the set starts with a Praeludium and ends with a Postludium, which is a retrograde inversion of the Praeludium. “Retrograde” means playing a set from the end to the beginning, but in “Retrograde inversion,” the original set is “inverted” first, meaning that each interval is turned upside down: the second up becomes the second down, the fifth down becomes the fifth up. Somehow, in the music of Schoenberg or, in this case, Hindemith, it works. While clearly, Hindemith had Bach in mind, there are only 12 fugues, not 24: in Hindemith’s approach to atonality, there’s no major or minor. The excerpt we’ll hear is from the live recording made by Sviatoslav Richter in France, during the Fêtes musicales de Touraine festival in 1985. The festival takes place every year in a wonderful 13th-century fortified barn called La Grange de Meslay just outside of the city of Tours. The excerpt starts with the 3rd Interludium followed by Fugue 4, and then another three pairs of Interludium and Fugue, here.
But what about classical music in Andalusia? Unfortunately, we cannot report anything exciting; there’s a dearth of it. Seville is the capital and the largest city of Andalusia, and that’s where you can hear some classical music in concert. Teatro de la Maestranza is where it takes place; the theater also presents opera, ballet, musicals, and even old movies, such as Ernst Lubitsch’s Carmen with Pola Negri in the title role, with the Real Orquesta Sinfónica de Sevilla playing the recorded soundtrack. The orchestra, resident at the theater, was founded in 1990. Some events are interesting, such as the staging of Purcell’s The Fairy Queen by Les Arts Florissants or Cecilia Bartoli in Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice. Martha Argerich may come…
What we did like a lot, and found gripping and fascinating, was Flamenco, but that’s a different story.