#ClassicsaDay #BlackHistoryMonth Week 4, 2025

February is Black History Month and a logical time to highlight contributions by people of color to classical music. Those contributions have been significant -- and not just in the past 50 years. 

This month's #ClassicsaDay challenge is to post musical examples of works by composers of color, or classical music recordings made by people of color. There is a lot to choose from. 

Here are my social media posts for the fourth and final week of #BlackHistoryMonth.

02/24/25 Margaret Bonds - Montgomery Variations

Bonds wrote this work in 1964. It's based on a spiritual, and depicts the major events of the Civil Rights Movement, beginning with the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott.

 

02/25/25 Clarence Cameron White: Bandana Sketches II & IV

White was a violinist and composer active in the early 20th century. The work features arrangements of four African-American spirituals and work songs.

 

08/26/25 Zenobia Powell Perry: Homage

"Homage" is a movement from "Piano Potpourri," written in 1990. Perry composed it in homage to Black composer William Dawson. "Homage" is often performed as a stand-alone piece.

 

02/27/25 Thomas Kerr: Riding to Town

The song uses the poem "Riding to Town" by Paul Laurence Dunbar. It was written in 1943 and was included in the "Anthology of Art Songs by Black American Composers."

 

08/28/25 Regina Harris Baiocchi: Communion

This work is a concertino for marimba and string quartet. It was inspired by the mural "Communion of the Saints" in St. Elizabeth Seaton Church, Naperville, IL. It was painted by Lillian Brulc.

 

Next month:

Colonna's Two-Choir Psalms: A Feast for the Ears

 

This release features words for two choirs. And it's a live recording from the St. Petronio Basilica. So we get to hear the music composed in the space Colonna intended it for. And that makes a difference. 

Colonna expertly mixes textures, ranging from solo voice to full unison. And the space is treated as an instrument. The reverberations are an integral part of the sound. Echoes harmonize with each other and with the performers.

The full, robust choruses are thrilling. They foreshadow those of Handel's oratorios. Michele Vannelli masterfully leads his musicians. These are terrific performances. The singers fill the space. And the instrumentalists provide the proper amount of support.

Colonna's counterpoint isn't as complex as Bach's. But it does point towards Handel's. It's clean and clear, even with the rich acoustic of the basilica. 

Glorious music, beautifully performed. It's one of the best Baroque choral albums I've heard in a while.

Giovanni Paolo Colonna: Caro Ardore Scro Amore
Concerted Psalms for Two Choirs and Orchestra
Coro e Orchestra Della Capella Musicale di S. Petronio
Ensemble Vocale "Color Temporis;" Michele Vannelli, maestro di cappella
Dynamic CDS8044

Karl Weigl Symphony Recalls Old Vienna

This is the third Capriccio release of Karl Weigl’s symphonies, and my response is simple: "More, please." Weigl began his career as Gustav Mahler's rehearsal conductor, and by 1930, he was teaching composition at the University of Vienna. But by 1938, his career would take a dramatic turn.

Weigl’s Jewish background meant his career ended when the Nazis took over Austria. In 1938, he emigrated to the United States, where he taught at the Boston Conservatory and the Philadelphia Music Academy. Throughout it all, he never forgot his beloved Vienna.

His Symphony No. 3 in B major, written in 1931, is a mature work with a grand, Mahlerian sound. But there’s also a touch of Wagner here. Weigl’s use of motifs weaves the entire 46-minute symphony into a cohesive, organic whole.

Also included is the Symphonic Prelude to a Tragedy from 1933. The word "symphonic" is key here. Weigl creates a sonic world filled with high drama and foreboding. Some passages reminded me of Richard Strauss, though Weigl’s aim is different—he’s not telling a story, but instead communicating a mood.

The Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz, conducted by Jurgen Bruns, delivers a performance that meets expectations. These artists recorded the other Weigl symphonies, and Bruns’ interpretation stays true to form. Weigl was deeply influenced by the late-Romantic language of Mahler and Bruckner, and that’s precisely what Bruns emphasizes.

The ensemble’s sound is rich and full, with strong solo performances that make Weigl’s orchestrations truly sparkle. This is another excellent addition to the series. With only two symphonies left to record, I hope we’ll also get to hear some of his shorter works.

Karl Weigl: Symphony No. 3
Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz; Jurgen Bruns, conductor
Capriccio C5489

#ClassicsaDay #BlackHistoryMonth Week 3

February is Black History Month and a logical time to highlight contributions by people of color to classical music. Those contributions have been significant -- and not just in the past 50 years. 

This month's #ClassicsaDay challenge is to post musical examples of works by composers of color, or classical music recordings made by people of color. There is a lot to choose from. 

Here are my social media posts for the third week of #BlackHistoryMonth.

2/17/25 Adolphus Hailstork: Symphony No. 1

Hailstork has been a professor of music and the Composer-in-Residence at Norfolk State University, an HBCU. He composed his first symphony in 1988 for the Ocean Grove, NJ Summer Music Festival.

 

2/18/25 Ulysses Kay: Chariots - An Orchestral Rhapsody 1978

Kay's "Chariots" was commissioned by the Saratoga Performing Arts Center. It was premiered in 1978 with the Philadelphia Orchestra. The composer conducted the performance.

 

2/19/25 James Lee III: Shades of Unbroken Dreams (Piano Concerto)

Lee's Piano Concerto was premiered in 2023. It was written for the 60th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech. It reflects on how much (and how little) progress has been made since then.

 

2/20/25 Shawn Okpebholo: Zoom

Zoom was commissioned by the US Air Force Band which premiered it in 2021. The title refers not to speed, but to the software that connected people during the pandemic.

 

2/21/25 Alvin Singleton: In My Own Skin

this work was premiered in 2011. The work depicts the sometimes uneasy alliance between different creative worlds -- in this case, jazz and classical music.

 

Claudio Santoro Piano Sonatas Trace Composer's Growth

 Is it safe to purchase a recording without auditioning it first? When it comes to Naxos' Brazilian music series, I'd say yes. Produced in collaboration with Brazil's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, this series successfully showcases the best of Brazil's classical music to the world.

This particular release is an outstanding example. It features the six piano sonatas of Claudio Santoro. And they're performed by his son, Alessandro Santoro.

Claudio Santoro was a major figure in Brazilian music and an internationally recognized composer. He studied with Nadia Boulanger, co-founded the Brazilian Symphony Orchestra, and created an extensive body of work.

His first sonata, Sonata 1942, is unnumbered and was written during his student years—though it is remarkably mature. In this piece, Santoro explores his interpretation of the 12-tone technique. While it isn't traditionally tonal, it maintains a strong sense of forward motion.

Three years later, he composed Piano Sonata No. 1, a more intricate work that applies tone rows in a more academic manner. However, it never feels like a dry intellectual exercise. Instead, it is an engaging and dynamic piece, full of surprises for the listener.

By the time he composed Piano Sonata No. 5 in 1988, Santoro had completed his stylistic evolution. The piece still features dissonances and thick textures. But here the complexity now stems from rich, yet distinctly tonal, harmonies.

Alessandro Santoro’s deep understanding of his father’s music is evident. These sonatas demand exceptional skill from the performer, and Alessandro delivers masterfully. His interpretations provide a clear and compelling insight into his father’s artistic vision. 

Claudio Santoro: Complete Piano Sonatas
Alessandro Santoro, piano
Naxos 8.574486

Gould Piano Trio Launches New Marschner Series

In his time, Heinrich August Marschner was one of Germany’s most celebrated opera composers. From the 1830s through 1852, his operas were box office gold. However, with the rise of Richard Wagner’s new aesthetic, Marschner’s works soon faded into obscurity.

Elsewhere, you can find my reviews of Naxos’ other Marschner recordings. Conductor Dario Salvi is now on his eighth volume of Marschner overtures and operatic music, highlighting the composer’s remarkable gift for melody.

This release reinforces that impression. While opera was Marschner’s forte—he composed 18—he also had a deep affection for the piano trio, writing seven in total. These works were highly esteemed by both Robert and Clara Schumann, and for good reason.

The Gould Piano Trio begins their survey of these pieces with a set of bookends, featuring Marschner’s first and last piano trios.

The Piano Trio No. 1 in A minor, Op. 29, published in 1823, showcases a young Marschner at the start of his career. It brims with great ideas and has a free-flowing quality reminiscent of Schubert.

The Piano Trio No. 7 in F major, Op. 167, published in 1855—over 30 years later—reveals a more mature composer. The themes are tightly organized, and though this trio is longer than the first, it somehow feels more concise. Marschner is in full command of his material, with not a note wasted.

The Gould Piano Trio performs with warmth and sensitivity. Marschner’s music is expressive yet slightly reserved, and the trio plays as if engaged in conversation, at times making the music feel spontaneous.

I look forward to hearing more from this side of Marschner’s work.

Heinrich August Marschner: Piano Trios, Vol. 1
No. 1, Op. 29 and No. 7, Op. 167
Gould Piano Trio
Naxos 8.574612

#ClassicsaDay #BlackHistoryMonth Week 2, 2025

 February is Black History Month and a logical time to highlight contributions by people of color to classical music. Those contributions have been significant -- and not just in the past 50 years. 

This month's #ClassicsaDay challenge is to post musical examples of works by composers of color, or classical music recordings made by people of color. There is a lot to choose from. 

Here are my social media posts for the second week of #BlackHistoryMonth.

02/10/25 Roque Cordero: Sinfonia No. 2

Panamanian composer Cordero did much to develop classical music in his country. He was director of the Panama Institute of Music, conductor of the country's National Symphony, and assistant director of the Latin American Music Center.

02/11/25 Arthur Cunningham: Harlem Suite

Cunningham was a graduate of Fisk and Julliard. He often mixed pop genres with classical forms and is credited with creating the first rock opera in 1963.

 

02/12/25 Jessie Montgomery: Starburst

Montgomery was composer-in-residence for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in 2016. Her 2023 album "Contemporary American Composers" won a Grammy in 2023.

 

02/13/25 Philippa Schuyler: Voodoo Festival

Schuyler was a virtuoso pianist and composer. She concertized at the 1939 World's Fair (age 8) and was the youngest member of the National Association for American Composers and Conductors.

 

02/14/25 Irene Britton Smith: Sinfonietta

Smith was of both Black and Native American descent. She was a pioneer of music education and a concert violinist. In 1958, she was able to study with Nadia Boulanger in France.

 

Ch'amor mi prese: Sacred and secular love in Medieval Italy

This release focuses on a specific time and a specific theme. And it's an album of great variety and beauty. The time is the turn of the 14th Century, when a new style of music, Ars Nova arose. And the theme is love.

InTactvs presents some delicate, yet intense performances. Their instruments, viella, cirla, oud, and recorders, have soft, warm sounds. But their performances deliver the rich emotional weight of the music. 

There are songs of longing, of separation, reunion, and the simple joy of love. All are performed convincingly. So much so, that no translation is necessary. 

Simone Gatto sings with clear, honeyed tones. She rarely uses vibrato, in keeping with authentic performance practices. Her singing evokes emotion. And she's especially adept at the unusual syncopations that frequent this music. 

The music is mostly from anonymous composers. Francesco Landini has one selection, and music by Matteo da Perugia begins and ends the album. I didn't receive a booklet with my review copy. I'm not 100% sure. But it sounds like the three Ars Nova formes fixes are well represented -- rondeau, ballade, virelai. And there's a nice balance of sung pieces and instrumental works. 

If early music is your thing, this is a fine album to add to your collection. But even if you're not, this music is both calming and engaging. It takes you to a time and place far away. And it's music that can easily be enjoyed with modern ears. 

Ch'amor mi prese: Sacred and secular love in Medieval Italy
InVactvx; Simona Gatto, voice
Tactus TC 300005

Tempesta di Mare Philadelphia Baroque Orchestra Finishes Fasch Series

 This is the fourth—and likely final—volume in this ambitious series. Johann Friedrich Fasch, a younger contemporary of Bach and Handel, was widely performed during his lifetime but fell into neglect after his death. Only a fraction of his many compositions have survived.

Since 2007, the Tempesta di Mare Philadelphia Baroque Orchestra has made a point of including at least one Fasch work in their concerts. This release, like the previous three volumes, features live performances.

Fasch spent most of his career as Kapellmeister at the court of Zerbst, in Saxony-Anhalt. In 1983, the town of Zerbst/Anhalt established the International Fasch Festival. This recording showcases performances from the 2023 festival.

Stylistically, Fasch stands at the transition to the style galante. His orchestrations are rooted in the High Baroque traditions of Telemann and Bach, yet his melodies possess a lightness and fluidity that anticipate Haydn and Mozart.

Tempesta di Mare delivers superb performances—no surprise, given their nearly 20-year commitment to discovering and premiering Fasch’s works. The ensemble's seamless blend and energetic approach bring out the elegance and vitality of his music. In this recording, Fasch leans more toward the style galante than the Baroque.

This is an outstanding recording and a remarkable series. I highly recommend all four volumes to anyone interested in Baroque music or in tracing the roots of the Classical era. It’s all here.

Johann Friedrich Fasch: Orchestral Works, Vol. 4
Tempesta di Mare Philadelphia Baroque Orchestra
Chandos CHAN 0829

#ClassicsaDay #BlackHistoryMonth Week 1 2025

 February is Black History Month, and a logical time to highlight contributions by people of color to classical music. Those contributions have been significant -- and not just in the past 50 years. 

This month's #ClassicsaDay challenge is to post musical examples of works by composers of color, or classical music recordings made by people of color. There is a lot to choose from. 

Here are my social media posts for the first week of #BlackHistoryMonth.

02/03/25 Michael Abels: Global Warming

When Abels wrote this work in 1999, the title referred to the thawing of the Cold War. It's since taken on a new meaning.

 

02/04/25 Florence Price: Symphony No. 3

The Works Progress Administration commissioned this work in 1938. It was premiered in 1940 by the Michigan WPA Symphony Orchestra.  

02/05/25 Eleanor Alberga: Symphony No. 1 "Strata"

British composer Alberga composed this work in 2022. It was inspired by geology. Each movement depicts a different layer of the earth's crust.

 

02/06/25 Regina Harris Baiocchi: Hold Out for Joy

Baiocchi is an author, poet, and composer. Her work "Hold Out for Joy" was written in 1986 and is based on Psalm 30.

 

02/07/25 Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges: Symphony No. 2 in D major

Bologne was a mixed-race composer, born of a French noble and Jamaican enslaved woman. He would become one of France's greatest violinists of the late 1790s, as well as its finest swordsman.