Rediscover Raff for his 200th Birthday
Imagine this. Someone asks you to name a famous German composer. You might answer with any number of names including Beethoven, Bach, Brahms, Schumann, Mendelssohn, or Handel. Similarly, if someone…
Meet Méhul
The Parker Symphony is set to play a piece titled La chasse du jeune Henri ("Young Henri's hunt") in October by a composer named Étienne Méhul, but who exactly is…
Classical Music Written For or Related To School
It's Back to School season and that means kids are heading back to the classroom - whether on campus or at home. These are truly unprecedented times, but that doesn't…
6 Interesting Facts About Mozart’s Symphony No. 25
Mozart wrote 41 symphonies (according to original numbering) and some are arguably better than others. Number 41, nicknamed the "Jupiter Symphony", is rated by many critics as among the greatest…
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The Best Classical Music Inspired By Shakespeare
It is a well-known fact that Shakespeare's influence spread well beyond his plays and far beyond idyllic Stratford-upon-Avon. He gave us new words like "fashionable" and "softhearted". He inspired figures…
Vasily Kalinnikov – Russian Master, Gone Too Soon
Chances are you've never heard the name Kalinnikov. Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, Stravinsky, Rimsky-Korsakov...of course. But Kalinnikov's name should be among these other Russian giants. It is estimated that had he lived…
8 Facts About Samuel Coleridge-Taylor
If you're like me, when you heard the name Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, you thought, "Isn't that the guy who wrote Rime of the Ancient Mariner? The English poet?" Nope, that's Samuel…
What Is A Concerto Grosso?
If you've ever listened to baroque music (think Vivaldi, Corelli, Handel, etc.), you've probably seen the term Concerto Grosso and wondered, "What is that?" Well, as you can probably guess,…
The Moldau – Patriotic and Inspiring
Vltava, better known by its German name, Die Moldau (or The Moldau), is a symphonic poem that is patriotic in every sense of the word. It is one of…
Impressionism In Music
Impressionism is a term most familiar to fans of late 19th century painters such as Monet, Renoir, Cézanne, and Degas among other notable names. In fact, the term derives…