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:
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