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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Last week we talked about the development of the string quartet, a Classical era genre of music that involves two violins, a viola, and a cello. (Click here for that post.) Since “Father of the String Quartet” Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) established the quartet as a legit ensemble, many composers have continued to develop the genre. […]
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Like all skills, mastering music takes time and effort. But sometimes you don’t realize that you are actually hindering your progress as a musician! So here are 4 things all successful musicians need to make their practicing count: 1. A pencil. Seriously! Grab that pencil and start marking your music. You know how they say writing […]
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You know the feeling of being swept away by your own imagination? Of losing track of all things reality for a magical place of memories and thoughts and what-ifs? Well, many composers throughout music history have tried to capture this feeling of reverie in their music. From Madness to Daydreams But first, a little background […]
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Michele Nobler is a contemporary composer I have had the pleasure of meeting through social media. He was kind enough to share his compositions with me, so I thought I’d write a blog post about his music! An Album From the Heart Nobler’s piano album “Suspended Souls” is a beautiful collection of modern musical art that […]
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I’ve been listening to a lot of different styles of instrumental music lately. Instrumental music helps me think, relax, dream, imagine, create, and more! However, my music favorites constantly change depending on what projects I’m working on and what is going on in my life. Right now I’m creating a lot of my own music, […]
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