May 28, 2018.Six composer and two pianists.Six composers were born this week: Isaac Albéniz and Erich Wolfgang Korngold on May 29th, the former in 1860, the latter in 1897. Marin Marais, the Frenchman – on May 31st of 1656, Georg Muffat – on June 1st of 1653.We didn’t mention Muffat’s nationality, as it’s hard to determine: he was born to a Scottish father and French mother in the Dutchy of Savoy, which back then was an independent state with Turin as its capital but now is part of France.He studied in Paris for six years and then moved to Alsace, which, formerly part of the Holy Roman Empire, was conquered by the French King Louis XIII in 1639.Even though under the formal control of France, most of Alsace was independent, German-speaking and Lutheran.Later in his life, Muffat lived in Vienna, Prague, Salzburg and Italy.He spent the last 20 years of his life in Passau, Bavaria.We could call Muffat a Savoyard, a Frenchman or even a German, as some encyclopedias do.Here’s his Concerto Grossoin G minor “Dulce Somnium” (Sweet Sleep), written by Muffat in 1701.While in Rome, Muffat studied with Arcangelo Corelli, one of the early developers of the Concerto Grosso form.It was practically unknown in the German lands till Muffat’s time.The performers in this recording are the ensemble Musica Aeterna Bratislava under the direction of Peter Zajíček.
Also on June 1st we celebrate the birthday of Mikhail Glinka, the first truly original Russian composer.Glinka was born in 1804; at that time the Russian music scene, quite lively in St-Petersburg, was dominated by the Italians and Italian-influenced composers.Two operas by Glinka, A Life for the Tsar (called Ivan Susanin during the Soviet period) and Ruslan and Lyudmila, changed it all.Here’s the famous Overture to Ruslan and Lyudmila.The Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra is led by its principal conductor of 50 years, Evgeny Mravinsky.And finally, Sir Edward Elgar was born on June 2nd of 1857.As we confessed some years ago, we’re not as much in love with Sir Edward’s music as the British public seems to be.Still, without a doubt Jacqueline du Pré’s performance of Elgar’s Cello concerto is a masterpiece, both in terms of music itself and the interpretation.We’ll write more about it on Elgar’s next birthday.
And now to two pianists.Grigory Ginzburg, a Russian-Soviet-Jewish pianist, was born in Nizhny Novgorod on May 29th of 1904.He studied at the Moscow Conservatory with Alexander Goldenweiser.In 1927 he participated in the First Chopin Piano Competition and received the 4th prize (Lev Oborin was the winner).Ginzburg taught at the Conservatory from the age of 25.His repertory was very 19-century, with many transcriptions and salon pieces, but his musicianship was impeccable.Many consider Ginsburg the last pianist in Liszt’s tradition.Here’s Grigory Ginzburg playing Chopin's Berceuse in a live 1959 recording.
Considered one of the finest pianists of his generation, Zoltán Kocsis, who died of cancer at the age of 64 less than two years ago, was a very different musician.Born on May 30th of 1952 in Budapest, he loved playing music of the 20th century: he recorded all piano works of Béla Bartók.Kocsis was also a conductor, having founded, with Iván Fischer, the Budapest Festival Orchestra.Here’s Bartók’s Piano Sonata (1926), recorded by Kocsis in 1996.
Six composer and two pianists
May 28, 2018. Six composer and two pianists. Six composers were born this week: Isaac Albéniz and Erich Wolfgang Korngold on May 29th, the former in 1860, the latter in 1897. Marin Marais, the Frenchman – on May 31st of 1656, Georg Muffat – on June 1st of 1653. We didn’t mention Muffat’s nationality, as it’s hard to determine: he was born to a Scottish father and
French mother in the Dutchy of Savoy, which back then was an independent state with Turin as its capital but now is part of France. He studied in Paris for six years and then moved to Alsace, which, formerly part of the Holy Roman Empire, was conquered by the French King Louis XIII in 1639. Even though under the formal control of France, most of Alsace was independent, German-speaking and Lutheran. Later in his life, Muffat lived in Vienna, Prague, Salzburg and Italy. He spent the last 20 years of his life in Passau, Bavaria. We could call Muffat a Savoyard, a Frenchman or even a German, as some encyclopedias do. Here’s his Concerto Grosso in G minor “Dulce Somnium” (Sweet Sleep), written by Muffat in 1701. While in Rome, Muffat studied with Arcangelo Corelli, one of the early developers of the Concerto Grosso form. It was practically unknown in the German lands till Muffat’s time. The performers in this recording are the ensemble Musica Aeterna Bratislava under the direction of Peter Zajíček.
Also on June 1st we celebrate the birthday of Mikhail Glinka, the first truly original Russian composer. Glinka was born in 1804; at that time the Russian music scene, quite lively in St-Petersburg, was dominated by the Italians and Italian-influenced composers. Two operas by Glinka, A Life for the Tsar (called Ivan Susanin during the Soviet period) and Ruslan and Lyudmila, changed it all. Here’s the famous Overture to Ruslan and Lyudmila. The Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra is led by its principal conductor of 50 years, Evgeny Mravinsky. And finally, Sir Edward Elgar was born on June 2nd of 1857. As we confessed some years ago, we’re not as much in love with Sir Edward’s music as the British public seems to be. Still, without a doubt Jacqueline du Pré’s performance of Elgar’s Cello concerto is a masterpiece, both in terms of music itself and the interpretation. We’ll write more about it on Elgar’s next birthday.
And now to two pianists. Grigory Ginzburg, a Russian-Soviet-Jewish pianist, was born in Nizhny Novgorod on May 29th of 1904. He studied at the Moscow Conservatory with Alexander Goldenweiser. In 1927 he participated in the First Chopin Piano Competition and received the 4th prize (Lev Oborin was the winner). Ginzburg taught at the Conservatory from the age of 25. His repertory was very 19-century, with many transcriptions and salon pieces, but his musicianship was impeccable. Many consider Ginsburg the last pianist in Liszt’s tradition. Here’s Grigory Ginzburg playing Chopin's Berceuse in a live 1959 recording.
Considered one of the finest pianists of his generation, Zoltán Kocsis, who died of cancer at the age of 64 less than two years ago, was a very different musician. Born on May 30th of 1952 in Budapest, he loved playing music of the 20th century: he recorded all piano works of Béla Bartók. Kocsis was also a conductor, having founded, with Iván Fischer, the Budapest Festival Orchestra. Here’s Bartók’s Piano Sonata (1926), recorded by Kocsis in 1996.