Symphony No. 94

Edward Alexander MacDowell (1861-1908) was a pianist and composer. He was among the first American composers to receive an international reputation, and by the late 19th century he was considered the greatest composer of the United States. On December 18, 1861, MacDowell was born into an upper-middle-class family in New York City. During his childhood he showed great potential as a musician and began piano lessons at eight years old. When he was fifteen he was taken by his mother to go…

“I have never drawn a distinction between music for films and for operas or concerts” –– Erich Wolfgang Korngold Many conclude that Korngold was born in the wrong era. Instead of his romantic concepts excelling, his ideals and concepts were overshadowed not only by the vogue of the Second Viennese school composers: Arnold Schönberg, Alban Berg, and Anton Webern, he was also amidst an era of chaos, including the happenings of the first World War. In addition, the rise of Nazism turned his move to…

Ludwig Van Beethoven was born in December 17, 1770 and later died in March 26, 1827. Beethoven was close with his mother who was described as kind and gentle, as for his father he was said to have a weakness for alcohol. Beethoven gained an interest in music at a very early age, and with help from his father he excelled quickly (Beethoven). Before he was twelve Beethoven published his first work and continued to progress throughout his life. He was considered a virtuoso pianist by the age of…

Seiji Ozawa is a Japanese conductor, known for his work with the San Francisco Symphony and Boston Symphony, and his advocacy for modern composers. At the age of 15, Ozawa sprained his finger in a rugby game, unable to continue studying the piano; he shifted his musical focus from piano performance to conducting. Over the course of his lifetime, Ozawa has received international acclaim and many awards from a number of institutions. Ozawa also holds a number of honorary doctorate degrees from…

Operatic Symphony ‘Yamada Nangamaza’ by Klaus Pringsheim (1883-1972). A German composer, conducter, and pianist who was the most influential idol who played a very successful role as an outstanding pupil of Gustav Mahler (1860-1911). Mahler was the great composer of Romantic era who has been recognized as the most superior romantic composers. Pringsheim was a German Composer and Conductor, born in 1883 at Starnberg, the outskirts of Munich, where there was a villa owned by his family, he died in…

During the 1942-43 concert season, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra performed 18 fanfares total, however Copland’s fanfare received the greatest success by far and is the only fanfare currently in the repertoire. Copland’s inspiration for the fanfare came from a speech entitled, “The Century of the Common…

The live concert entitled “La Bohème” that Colorado Symphony performed this last Saturday was amazing. This funny classical composition music was made by several musicians, and each of them has a different perspective and interpretation of a piece of music, especially the conductor Andrew Litton. Several instruments such as violin, viola, cello, double bass, brass, woodwind, trumpets , trombones, bass trombone; timpani, snare drum, triangle, cymbals, bass drum, xylophone; harp characterized the…

Joey Peixoto Music Appreciation Listening Assignment Romantic: "Erlkönig" begins with the piano playing fast triplets to make a feeling of direness and reproduce the steed's running. The left hand of the piano part presents a low-enlist leitmotif made out of progressive triplets. The right hand plays triplets all through the piece until the last three bars. The steady triplets drive the incessant tweaks of the piece as it switches between the characters. This theme is specifically connected…

The most expensive saxophone in the world today is valued at almost 150,000 dollars, and it owes its existence to a man who invented the saxophone 170 years ago. Adolphe Sax, the sax itself, and the sax through history are all important in understanding this unique instrument. The evolution of musical instruments is quite a long process involving tons of different instrument makers, each building on the advancements of the last ones. The story of the saxophone differs from the usual pattern of…

Pianist and composer, Cecile Chaminade is the only female composer represented in the Flute Music by French Composers collection, and is one the early emerging female composers of this era, though not very well known. Born in Paris in 1857, “Chaminade received her earliest instruction from her mother, a pianist and singer” (Citron). With both parents amateur musicians, Chaminade was showed early talent, with her earliest compositions date to the mid-1860s. Her father did not want her to attend…