#ClassicsaDay #ClassicalAugust Week 4

For August, the Classics a Day team chose to celebrate some birthdays. Several major composers were born in August, and some deserve rediscovery. The challenge is to post videos of August's birthday boys and girls to your social media feed.

For this challenge, I tried to match the actual birthdate to the date of the post. (I wasn't always successful.)

08/27/24 Rebecca Clarke (August 27, 1886): Viola Sonata

Clarke was a British violist who studied with Ralph Vaughan Williams. She ws one of the first female professional musicians to join an orchestra in 1912. And she had a successful career as a solo violist and chamber player.

 

08/28/24 Leonard Bernstein (August 25, 1918): I Hate Music!

There were very few things Bernstein didn't excel at. He was a successful composer for the concert hall and musical theater. He created an iconic TV series that introduced millions to classical music. And he was one of the world's best-known conductors.

 

08/29/24 Nicola Antonio Porpora (August 17, 1686): Gia la notte s'avvicina

This Italian singer and composer is better known for his students than his own work. He taught Farinelli and Caffarelli, the two greatest castrati of their age. He also took in a young Franz Joseph Haydn as a pupil and assistant.

 

08/30/24 Benjamin Godard (August 18, 1849): Concerto romantique for violin and orchestra, Op. 35

Godard died at age 45. But this violinist and composer left an impressive body of work. His catalog includes 8 operas, 5 symphonies, and 4 concertos (two for violin). He also wrote a great deal of chamber music and over 100 songs.

 

08/31/24 Francois de Fossa (August 31, 1775)

De Fossa was an accomplished French guitarist, who composed for his instrument. He published 19 collections of his music in the 1820s and helped prepare Boccerini's guitar quintet for performance.

 

Next Month:

#ClassicsaDay #ClassicalAugust Week 3

 For August, the Classics a Day team chose to celebrate some birthdays. Several major composers were born in August, and some deserve rediscovery. The challenge is to post videos of August's birthday boys and girls to your social media feed.

For this challenge, I tried to match the actual birthdate to the date of the post. (I wasn't always successful.)

08/19/24 George Enescu (August 19, 1881): Romanian Rhapsody No. 1, Op. 11

Enescu is considered one of Romania's greatest musicians. He was a virtuoso violinist and pianist, a prolific compooser, a conductor, and a teacher.

 

8/20/24 Antonio Salieri (August 18, 1750): Piano Concerto in C major

Salieri was a major composer in 18th C. Vienna with an impressive list of students: Franz Liszt, Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Schubert, Johann Nepomuk Hummel, and even Franz Xaver Mozart (Wolfgang Amadeus' son). 

 

8/21/24 Lili Boulanger (August 21,1893): Les Sirenes

Her older sister taught many of the 20th Century's greatest composers. Lili focused on composition, winning the Prix de Rome in 1913. Her death at age 24 curtailed a brilliant career.

 

8/22/24 Claude Debussy (August 22, 1862): La Mer

Debussy was not a favorite with his composition teachers. He simply didn't follow the rules. Nevertheless, his music had its own internal logic and in time, an international appeal.

 

8/23/24 Moritz Mozkowski (August 23, 1854): Piano Concerto in E major, Op.59

Moszkowski was considered one of the best pianists of the early 20th Century. Most of his compositions involve the piano, although he did write other forms of music.

 

#ClassicsaDay #ClassicalAugust Week 2

For August, the Classics a Day team chose to celebrate some birthdays. Several major composers were born in August, and some deserve rediscovery. The challenge is to post videos of August's birthday boys and girls to your social media feed.

For this challenge, I tried to match the actual birthdate to the date of the post. (I wasn't always successful.)

08/12/24 Heinrich Biber (August 12, 1644): Battalia a 10

Although he wrote in many genres, Biber is best remembered for advancing violin technique. He was among the first to write double stops and alternative tuning. 

 

08/13/24 John Ireland (August 13, 1879): Piano Sonata

1918 Most of Ireland's works were written for piano. His 1918 piano sonata is one of his longer works for the instrument. Many are miniatures, or suites made up of short movements.

 

08/14/24 Samuel Wesley (August 14, 1810): Symphony No.6

1802 Wesley was Charles Wesley's son and John Wesley's nephew, founders of the Methodist Church. Samuel wrote a fair number of organ works, as well as 6 symphonies 11 concertos, and a variety of anthems.

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08/15/24 Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Hiawatha's Wedding Feast

Coleridge-Taylor had a highly successful career as a conductor and composer, despite being of mixed-race descent. His trilogy of cantatas based on Longfellow's poem "Hiawatha" made his reputation.

 

08/16/24 Heinrich August Marschner (August 16, 1795): Overture to Hans Heiling, Op. 80

Marschner was the most popular German opera composer of the mid-1800s. He was considered Weber's heir and was supplanted by Wagner.

 

#ClassicsaDay #ClassicalAugust Week 1

For August, the Classics a Day team chose to celebrate some birthdays. Several major composers were born in August, and some deserve rediscovery. The challenge is to post videos of August's birthday boys and girls to your social media feed.

For this challenge, I tried to match the actual birthdate to the date of the post. (I wasn't always successful.)

08/05/24 Arthur Bliss (August 2, 1891): Things to Come

British composer Bliss was a major figure in the 1930s. His compositions for film, ballet, and concert halls were equally popular. "Things to Come" was the first of nine films he scored over two decades.

 

08/06/24 William Schuman (August 4, 1910): Symphony No. 9 "The Ardeatine Caves"

This American composer won the first Pulitzer Prize for Music in 1943. He later won a second special Pulitzer in 1985 for his work as a composer and music educator.

 

08/07/24 Granville Bantock (August 7, 1868): Scenes from the Scottish Highlands

Granville Bantock was often inspired by the music of his native Scotland. As a conductor, Bantock presented many works by fellow British composers and helped found the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra in 1920.

 

08/08/24 Cecile Chaminade (August 8, 1857): Concertino for Flute and Piano

This French composer and pianist was active at the turn of the 20th Century. Known primarily for her piano music, Chaminade also composed several orchestral works and an opera.

 

08/09/24 Benedetto Marcello (August 9, 1686): Ciaccona

Marcello followed the wishes of his family and became a lawyer. He eventually became governor of Pola. And all the while he pursued his passion, music. Marcello's catalog includes oratories, concertos, and sinfonias.