Last week we discussed how minimalism became a musical movement in the mid-1900s. After decades of experimental music and a shift away from traditional melodic and harmonic ideas, a group of American composers aimed to return to the simple and – as a result – created minimalism. Today, let’s take a look at some* of […]
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Minimalism: “a form of art music that employs limited or minimal musical materials” (thanks Wikipedia). But what does that mean exactly? And why does it matter? I’ll tell you why it matters. Minimalism as a musical style emerged in the middle of the 20th century, and its influence has since permeated contemporary music. Many famous […]
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In 1940, Prokofiev started writing his ballet Cinderella, Op. 87. Five years later, the work premiered after the composer took time to create his epic opera War and Peace as a response to the German invasion of Russia in 1941. The music in Cinderella is witty, beautiful, and sometimes strange. While I am not going to discuss the full […]
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Next week is Valentines Day, which means – of course – that there is no better way to celebrate love than by listening to classical music inspired by it. Please enjoy this playlist I have created of classical music inspired by love, and stay tuned for part 2! Kreisleriana (Op. 16) by Robert Schumann (1810-1856) Background […]
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One of the most recognizable Christmas tunes of all time is Carol of the Bells. However, the signature four-note melody, appropriately bell-like in sound and movement, has some surprising origins. Believe it or not, Carol of the Bells was not originally a Christmas song at all. Based on folk music, Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovych wrote the original […]
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It’s almost Halloween! I’m not usually one to celebrate this particular holiday, but I thought it would be fun to look at some creepy classical music in today’s post. Toccata and Fugue in D minor by Bach This fun little organ piece (okay, this hugely enormous organ piece) is believed to have been written by […]
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One of the most famous pieces of music ever written: Composed originally in 1890 (but not published until 1905), “Clair de lune” is the third movement in a set of four pieces known as Suite bergamesque. Debussy based it on Paul Verlaine’s poem of the same name: Clair de lune (Moonlight) Votre âme est un paysage […]
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Welcome to the second installment of Music Favorites. Check out part 1 here! It’s so hard for me to pick a favorite piece of music. It’s like asking a mom to pick her favorite child or a movie fanatic to pick his favorite film. But I have compiled a list of my favorite works to share, […]
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This weekend I’m spending a few days at the coast, so I created a playlist of music inspired by the ocean. I found many pieces of classical music inspired by water, so I thought I’d write a blog post about it! First up: “Die Hebriden” (The Hebrides) by Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847). This concert overture, also known […]
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A nocturne is a piece of music, typically tranquil and expressive (and sometimes so gloomy), that is inspired by the night. The first musical appearance of the word nocturne occurred in the 1700s. However, these early nocturne-types were small ensemble works written specifically for an evening party rather than evoking images and feelings of the night. One example of […]
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