September 10, 2012.This week, very much like the last one, is abundant in anniversaries.The only person we wrote about last week was Anton Bruckner, but several other composers are also worth mentioning..Darius Milhaud, a wonderful French composer and a member of Les Six, was born on September 4, 1892.Johann Christian Bach, the youngest of Johann Sebastian Bach’s sons and an influential composer of the Classical era, was born on September 5, 1735 (Mozart loved his music and wrote three piano concertos based on J.C. Bach’s keyboard sonatas). AntonDiabelli was also born on September 5, but half a century later, in 1781.Diabelli, a music publisher, wasn’t a good composer, but his ditzy waltz inspired Beethoven to write one of the most profound pieces in all of piano literature, the Diabelli Variations, Op. 120, boring if played poorly, sublime if played well.On the same day, but in 1867, Amy Beach, the first American woman to establish herself a classical composer, was born in Henniker, New Hampshire.September 8th is the anniversary of the great Czech composer Antonin Dvořák, who was born in 1841.We’ll write about Dvořák another time, but here’s his Romance, Op. 11. It’s performed by the violinist Natasha Korsakova, Charles Olivieri-Munroe conducting the North Czech Philharmonic Orchestra.And on September 9 of 1583, Girolamo Frescobaldi, one of the most interesting composers of the later Renaissance, was born in Ferrara.All of this in one week!
This week is almost as rich with birthdays.William Boyce, one of the most important English composers of the 18th century was born around September 11, 1711 (he was baptized that day).Friedrich Kuhlau, a Danish composer, was born on September 11, 1786.These days he may not be performed very often in concert halls, but anybody who ever studied piano has most likely played one of his pieces.September 11th is also the birthday of the one of most interesting living composer, the Estonian Arvo Pärt.He was born in 1935.We’ll definitely write more about him at a later time.Clara Schumann, the wife of Robert Schumann, a pianist and composer and close friend of Johannes Brahms, was born on September 13, 1819.But the person we’d like to commemorate today at least to some degree is Arnold Schoenberg.He was born in Vienna on September 13, 1874 into a middle-class Jewish family.The only musical lessons he ever took were from the composer Alexander von Zemlinsky, his future brother-in-law.Gustav Mahler and Richard Strauss were early supporters of Schoenberg, even though initially Schoenberg didn’t like Mahler’s music (he was "converted" after hearing Mahler’s Third Symphony).His first significant work was the string sextet Verklärte Nacht (Transfigured Night), written in 1899.Clearly a late-Romantic piece, it’s still a tonal composition.But in 1908 he wrote his Second Quartet, the fourth movement of which is Schoenberg’s first real atonal work (during that time his wife, Mathilde Zemlinsky, left him and started an affair with the young painter Richard Gerstl.One wonders if there is a connection).In 1912 he followed up with a hugely influential Pierrot Lunaire, Op. 21, a setting of 21 poems by the Belgian-French poet Albert Giraud.It’s scored for a narrator (usually a soprano) and a chamber ensemble usually containing a clarinet, a flute, piano, and string instruments.This is also an atonal work, but it’s still not a 12-tone composition: he would develop the 12-tone system several years later.
We’ll continue with Schoenberg and probably some other composers next week.In the mean time, you can listen to Verklärte Nachthere.It’s performed by Angelo Xiang Yu, violin, Yuuki Wong, violin, Hanna Lee, viola, Minkyung Sung, viola, and Karen Ouzounian, cello, Se-Doo Park, cello.
Second Week of September, 2012
September 10, 2012. This week, very much like the last one, is abundant in anniversaries. The only person we wrote about last week was Anton Bruckner, but several other composers are also worth mentioning.. Darius Milhaud, a wonderful French composer and a member of Les Six, was born on September 4, 1892. Johann Christian Bach, the youngest of Johann Sebastian Bach’s sons and an influential composer of the Classical era, was born on September 5, 1735 (Mozart loved his music and wrote three piano concertos based on J.C. Bach’s keyboard sonatas). Anton Diabelli was also born on September 5, but half a century later, in 1781. Diabelli, a music publisher, wasn’t a good composer, but his ditzy waltz inspired Beethoven to write one of the most profound pieces in all of piano literature, the Diabelli Variations, Op. 120, boring if played poorly, sublime if played well. On the same day, but in 1867, Amy Beach, the first American woman to establish herself a classical composer, was born in Henniker, New Hampshire. September 8th is the anniversary of the great Czech composer Antonin Dvořák, who was born in 1841. We’ll write about Dvořák another time, but here’s his Romance, Op. 11. It’s performed by the violinist Natasha Korsakova, Charles Olivieri-Munroe conducting the North Czech Philharmonic Orchestra. And on September 9 of 1583, Girolamo Frescobaldi, one of the most interesting composers of the later Renaissance, was born in Ferrara. All of this in one week!
We’ll continue with Schoenberg and probably some other composers next week. In the mean time, you can listen to Verklärte Nacht here. It’s performed by Angelo Xiang Yu, violin, Yuuki Wong, violin, Hanna Lee, viola, Minkyung Sung, viola, and Karen Ouzounian, cello, Se-Doo Park, cello.