When you think of the waltz, you might start humming Tchaikovsky’s Waltz of the Flowers or The Blue Danube by Johann Strauss II. Waltz music has certainly gone through much development since its origins in the 1700s. But did you know that the original Classical era dance was considered scandalous? And that it wasn’t until […]
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Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker is one of today’s most recognizable – and influential – Christmas works. The ballet has an interesting history, though – one that began four years before its premiere. Background How Sleeping Beauty’s Success Led to The Nutcracker In 1888, Ivan Vsevolozhsky (Director of the Imperial Theaters, an opera and ballet theater in St. […]
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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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It’s almost December! I hope you are all enjoying this season of love, family, and twinkling lights. 🙂 I personally love the cold weather – especially the snow and the music! And because Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker” is a winter classic, that got me thinking. Has he written any other music inspired by winter? The answer is yes! So in […]
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Today’s post features a Waltz in C-sharp Minor by famous Romantic era composer Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849). About Chopin A child prodigy, Polish pianist and composer Chopin wrote primarily for solo piano. He spent his life teaching, composing, and performing for adoring crowds, and his unique style pushed the boundaries of expression and emotion in music. Read […]
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This week I came across a piano work by French composer Darius Milhaud (pronounced Mee-YO) called Saudades do Brasil, Op. 67. It’s a suite of 12 dances based on his trip to Brazil, and they’re simply charming. Although French, Milhaud (1892-1974) was heavily influenced by jazz and Brazilian music. In 1917-18, he traveled to Latin America and was […]
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Background When we say Baroque music, we typically think of composers like Bach and Handel. These composers – and this musical era in general – were vital in shaping music as we know it today. Beginning around 1600, the Baroque era was instrumental (pun definitely intended) in the normalization of tonality (harmony as we know […]
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Today I want to share with you a fun little piece I recently performed with the OSU Wind Ensemble. Danzón No. 2 was written by the Mexican composer Arturo Márquez (b. 1950) in 1994 after a commission from the National Autonomous University of Mexico. Rhythm, through tempo changes and strangely placed accents, is the driving […]
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La Valse (The Waltz) by Maurice Ravel, written between 1919 and 1920, exists in three different versions: a piano solo, a piano duet, and an orchestral version. The work was originally written as a ballet, but due to tension between Ravel and commissioner/impressario (one who organizes and produces concerts, plays, or operas) Sergei Diaghilev, it was never turned […]
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Before we jump into this blog post, let’s listen to the focus piece first. Because it is so beautiful. Background Maurice Ravel was a French composer who lived from 1875-1937. He is best known for composing in the style of French Impressionism (a musical movement focused on creating an atmosphere and describing moods and emotions in […]
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