In 1989, contemporary minimalist composer Philip Glass (b. 1937) released his album Solo Piano. The album has seven tracks: Metamorphosis I Metamorphosis II Metamorphosis III Metamorphosis IV Metamorphosis V Mad Rush Wichita Vortex Sutra Notice how the first five tracks all have the same name: Metamorphosis. Glass composed these particular pieces for a staging of […]
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Throughout his lifetime, American composer William Grant Still (1895-1978) wrote more than 150 works, including 8 operas and 5 symphonies. His love of music began at a young age. Still’s stepfather encouraged his exploration of classical music, while his grandmother sang African-American spirituals; as a result, Still’s distinctive compositional language combines these two seemingly separate […]
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Leoš Janáček (1854-1928), one of the most important Czech composers of the 20th century, was greatly inspired by folk music to create a unique musical voice. His piano cycle V mlhách (In the Mists) – composed in 1912 – shows off his incredibly coloristic, moody, and mature compositional style. In the Mists paints a mesmerizingly foggy […]
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In 1886, French composer (and organist/pianist/conductor) Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921) composed and premiered his fun and humorous chamber work The Carnival of the Animals. Each of the 14 movements represents an animal, and when the movements are put together the work is a parade of color, sound, and images. One of the most famous movements of this work is […]
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In 1888, the eccentric French composer Erik Satie (1866-1925) published three short, atmospheric piano solos called Gymnopédies. The first, marked Lent et douloureux (“slowly with pain/grief”), is perhaps one of the most famous piano solos penned during the late Romantic era. Let’s dive a little deeper into Gymnopédie No. 1 and see what makes it so […]
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In the first half of the 20th century, Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887-1959) composed a collection of 26 character pieces known as A próle do bébé – “The Baby’s Family”. Published over the course of three books, each “series” has its own unique storyline. These virtuosic pieces are not meant for children to play, however; […]
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In 1827, Classical/Romantic composer Franz Schubert (1797-1828) wrote eight solo piano pieces called impromptus. An impromptu is a musical work, usually for a solo instrument, that embodies the spirit of improvisation. His impromptus were published in two sets of four: Op. 90 and Op. 142 (which wasn’t published until after he died). These eight impromptus […]
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Way back when I first started this blog, I was learning a piano solo called Pavane for a Dead Princess (or Pavane pour une infante défunte) by French composer Maurice Ravel (1875-1937). I wrote a blog post discussing the history of the work, and before you read this post you should check that out: Since then, I have recorded and posted on […]
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In October 1814, 17-year-old Franz Schubert (1797-1828) wrote a lied (an art song with text from a German poem). It might not seem remarkable at first glance, but this composition – called Gretchen am spinnrade – helped change the course of music. History One of the first pieces of Romantic-era program music (a piece of music that tells a story […]
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I had the pleasure of hearing Lyric Fantasy (Lyrisk fantasi) for Orchestra, Op. 54 by Swedish composer Lars-Erik Larsson (1908-1986) for the first time on my local classical radio station the other day. I was immediately struck by its beauty: Background Even though Larsson was born to a nurse and a factory worker, he showed musical talent […]
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