I first came across Tony Anderson through his track Immanuel, a gorgeous combination of O Come, O Come, Emmanuel and Carol of the Bells. The effortlessness of the music struck me right away. There’s an electric energy in Immanuel that I love, and that changed me as a musician. I still turn this piece on when I need some calming background music: […]
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Instead of focusing specifically on the piano concerto (a piece of music, typically in three movements, where a virtuosic solo piano is accompanied by an orchestra), I wanted to research piano-and-orchestra pieces by female composers that didn’t necessarily follow this mold. So here is a collection of unique compositions featuring piano and orchestra by some […]
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One of my favorite things about our local classical radio station is that it always introduces me to new (sometimes obscure) works and composers. This leads me to today’s topic: Polish pianist and composer Zygmunt Stojowski (1870-1946). I heard one of his piano concertos on the radio and was hooked from the start of its […]
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In the nativity story, angels play an integral part in the proclamation of Baby Jesus’s birth. So today let’s listen to some Christmas music inspired by those heavenly messengers. There are many Christmas carols about angels, two of which are the most popular: Angels We Have Heard on High and Hark! The Herald Angels Sing. Check out my […]
Read MoreAway in a Manger is one of the most loved Christmas carols of our time. And it’s easy to understand why! The beautiful lullaby describes that special night over 2000 years ago, using text and melody to create an emotional response in the listener. While Still, Still, Still is not as popular as Away in a Manger, it’s just […]
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It’s hard to believe that October is almost over! So this week I thought it would be fun to listen to some classical music directly inspired by this final autumn month. Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel (1805-1847) In the summer of 1831, Mendelssohn Hensel began composing a piano cycle named Das Jahr (which means “The Year”). This 13-piece work […]
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As part of our discussion on string quartets, let’s take a look at some by women composers ranging from the Romantic era to contemporary music. Amy Beach (1867-1944) Not only was Beach an extremely talented composer and pianist, but she was also one of the first female composers to successfully compose large-scale forms. Her Gaelic Symphony was, […]
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It’s October – which means it’s time for Halloween! What better way to do celebrate than by listening to some spooky music? Check out part 1 here, and get ready to hear some more super creepy classical music. Der Vampyr by Heinrich Marschner (1795-1861) If you think today’s depiction of vampires is scary, let’s go […]
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It’s October, which means the seasons are changing! To celebrate, let’s listen to some classical music inspired by autumn. (Click here for part 1.) Comes Autumn Time by Leo Sowerby (1895-1968) Sowerby wrote this shimmering piece for organ in 1916 before orchestrating it a year later. The work was inspired by a poem called Autumn by Bliss Carman: […]
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We’ve talked about the history of the string quartet and its origins with Haydn in the Classical era (click here for that post). Then we explored some string quartets from composers like Mozart, Tchaikovsky, and Shostakovich (that post can be found here). For the third part in this series, I want to introduce you to […]
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