The Classics a Day team decided to lighten up a little. Webster's Dictionary defines a divertimento as "an instrumental chamber work in several movements usually light in character."
For October, the challenge is to post videos of divertimentos written by classical composers.
I quickly discovered that every composer had a different idea of what "light in character" meant. The only thing any of these selections have in common is the title: divertimento. Here are my selections for the fourth week of the #ClassicsaDay challenge, #Divertimento.
10/21/24 Johann Georg Albrechtsberger: Divertimento in F major for violin, cello, and contrabass
In his day, he was a big name. Today, he's best remembered (if at all) as one of Ludwig van Beethoven's early composition teachers.
Albrechtsberger was a cellist and colleague of Franz Joseph Haydn. His catalog includes two divertimenti for violin, cello, and double bass.
10/22/24 Franz Schubert: Divertissement sur des motifs originaux français, D823 for piano four hands
Schubert wrote the first movement in 1826, and the remaining movements the next year. It wasn't published until 1888, long after Schubert's death.
10/23/24 Bertold Hummel: Divertimento for 4 Violins
Hummel was director of the Studio for New Music in Wurzburg for 25 years. He wrote several major works: 3 symphonies, an oratorio and some ballets. And several divertimenti.
10/24/24 Ellen Taffe Zwilich: Divertimento for clarinet, flute, violin, and cello
Zwilich composed this work in 1983. it is her only composition in the genre.
10/25/24 Leonard Bernstein: Divertimento for Orchestra
Bernstein wrote his Divertimento in 1980. The work was composed for the centenary celebration of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
The Classics a Day team decided to lighten up a little. Webster's Dictionary defines a divertimento as "an instrumental chamber work in several movements usually light in character."
For October, the challenge is to post videos of divertimentos written by classical composers.
I quickly discovered that every composer had a different idea of what "light in character" meant. The only thing any of these selections have in common is the title: divertimento. Here are my selections for the third week of the #ClassicsaDay challenge, #Divertimento.
10/14/24 Johann Baptist Vanhal: Divertimento in G major
Czech composer and multi-instrumentalist Vanhal found fame and fortune in 1790s Vienna. Mozart and Haydn highly regarded his music, and Vanhal often performed with them.
10/15/24 Friedrich Gernsheim: Divertimento for Flute and Strings in E Major, Op. 53
Gernsheim was an older contemporary of Johannes Brahms. Some critics compared his style to a mixture of Brahms and Bruckner.
10/16/24 Paul Juon: Divertimento Op.51
Swiss composer Paul Juon studied with Arensky and Taneyev. He composed his divertimento in 1913 after he had relocated to Berlin.
10/17/24 Elizabeth Maconchy: Divertimento for Cello and Piano
Maconchy is considered one of the most important British composers of the 20th Century. She composed her divertimento in 1954.
10/18/24 Grażyna Bacewicz: Divertimento for Strings
Bacewicz was a violinist as well as a composer. She composed her divertimento in 1965.
The Classics a Day team decided to lighten up a little. Webster's Dictionary defines a divertimento as "an instrumental chamber work in several movements usually light in character."
For October, the challenge is to post videos of divertimentos written by classical composers.
I quickly discovered that every composer had a different idea of what "light in character" meant. The only thing any of these selections have in common is the title: divertimento. Here are my selections for the second week of the #ClassicsaDay challenge, #Divertimento.
10/07/24 Michael Haydn: Divertimento in D major for Horn, Viola, and Contrabass
Michael was Franz Joseph's younger brother and an accomplished composer in his own right. He wrote over 20 divertimenti for various instruments.
Paganini's divertimenti for string trio are among his earliest published works. These date from 1804.
10/09/24 Edward Burlingame Hill: Divertimento for Piano and Orchestra
As a composition teacher at Harvard, Hill was a major influence. His students include Leonard Bernstein, Walter Piston, Virgil Thomson, Roger Sessions, and Elliott Carter.
10/10/24 Anna Bon: Divertimento in D minor, Op. 3, No. 3
Bon was a harpsichordist working at Esterhazy, where Franz Joseph Haydn was music master. She published three collections of music in the late 1700s. Shortly after, she vanished from the historical record.
10/11/24 Franz Liszt: Divertimento sur une cavatine de Pacini
Liszt used the melody "I tuoi frequenti palpiti" from Pacini's opera "Niobe" for this work. There's no question this piece is performed far more often than the original opera.
The Classics a Day team decided to lighten up a little. Webster's Dictionary defines a divertimento as "an instrumental chamber work in several movements usually light in character."
For October, the challenge is to post videos of divertimentos written by classical composers.
Seems straightforward enough. However I quickly discovered that every composer had a different idea of what "light in character" meant. The only thing any of these selections have in common is the title: divertimento.
Here are my selections for the first week of the #ClassicsaDay challenge, #Divertimento.
10/01/24 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Divertimento No. 1 in E-flat major, K. 113
Mozart's first divertimento was composed during his second visit to Italy in 1771. It was created for a subscription concert.
10/02/24 Franz Schubert: Divertimento all'ungherese op.54 D818
This Divertimento by Schubert is atypical of the genre. It only has three movements, instead of five or more. The first is extremely long, and the melodies are more involved than most divertimenti. But it's Schubert, so who's complaining?
10/03/24 Vincent Persichetti: Divertimento for Band, Op. 42
This work was supposed to be for orchestral. But as Persichetti describes it, at some point during the writing, he realized the strings were never going to enter. And at that point, it became officially a work for band.
10/04/24 Anna Amalia of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel: Divertimento in B-Dur
Princess Anna Amalia was a patron of the arts. And she was also an accomplished composer. Her residence, Wittum Palace, was described as the "court of the muses."
