Traditionally, September is the back-to-school month. The Classics a Day team decided to mark the occasion. Classical School is the theme for September 2019. To participate, just post a piece of classical music that's somehow related to education with the appropriate hashtags.
What would count? Any classical work about school, or using themes from schools; examination pieces; composer tributes to their teachers (or students); etudes or other instructional works, just to name a few.
There's only one week day in the fifth week of the month. So below are my selections for the fourth week of #ClassicalSchool, plus a preview of next Monday's post!
9/23/19 John Philip Sousa - High School Cadets March
Sousa wrote this march in 1890 for the teachers and students of Central High School -- at that time the only high school in Washington, DC.
9/24/19 Sigmund Romberg - The Student Prince
Romberg's 1924 operetta tells the story of Prince Karl Franz, who attends Heidelberg University incognito. He falls in love with a commoner but must give her up when he's called to take the throne.
9/25/19 Einojuhani Rautavaara - Etudes, Op. 42
Some etudes are finger studies. Rautavaara's 1969 Etudes study intervals. The first etude, based on thirds, is the most consonant of the six.
9/26/19 Alexander Scriabin - Etude in D-sharp minor, Op. 8 No. 12
Vladimir Horowitz used this etude frequently as an encore. It features wide leaps in the left hand, continual octaves in the right, and intervals stretching up to an 11th. Not for beginners.
9/27/19 Clifton Williams - The Sinfonians March
This march was commissioned by the Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity. Phi Mu Alpha was founded at the New England Conservatory of Music and is primarily for music students.
9/30/19 Benjamin Britten - Turn of the Screw
This 1954 opera is based on the gothic horror story by Henry James. It involves a governess whose care of two children in a haunted house goes horribly awry.
Traditionally, September is the back-to-school month. The Classics a Day team decided to mark the occasion. Classical School is the theme for September 2019. To participate, just post a piece of classical music that's somehow related to education with the appropriate hashtags.
What would count? Any classical work about school, or using themes from schools; examination pieces; composer tributes to their teachers (or students); etudes or other instructional works, just to name a few.
Below are my selections for the third week of #ClassicalSchool
9/16/19 Benjamin Britten - Young People's Guide to the Orchestra
This popular work was commissioned by for a 1945 educational film "Instruments of the Orchestra." The film features the London Symphony Orchestra directed by Malcolm Sargent.
9/17/19 George Frideric Handel - Lecons for piano
These lessons come from a four-volume publication, Kompositionen für Klavier. The first two volumes have suites, the fourth fughettas. Volume three has Leçons, Fugues, and misc. pieces.
9/18/19 Ignaz Moscheles - Studien Op. 70
Moscheles was a piano virtuoso, composer, and pedagogue. His pupils include Felix Mendelssohn, Evard Grieg, and Arthur Sullivan.
9/19/19 Gustav Holst - St. Paul's Suite
Holst wrote the suite for the St.Paul's Girls' School in London. He taught there from 1905-1934, and the work was originally intended for the school's student orchestra.
9/20/19 Benjamin Britten - Variations on a theme by Frank Bridge, Op. 10
Britten had started and abandoned this tribute to his teacher many times. A commission by the Salzburg Festival did the trick. Britten finished the work, and its success launched his career.
Traditionally, September is the back-to-school month. The Classics a Day team decided to mark the occasion. Classical School is the theme for September 2019. To participate, just post a piece of classical music that's somehow related to education with the appropriate hashtags.
What would count? Any classical work about school, or using themes from schools; examination pieces; composer tributes to their teachers (or students); etudes or other instructional works, just to name a few.
Below are my selections for the second week of #ClassicalSchool
9/9/19 Johann Sebastian Bach - Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach
Bach compiled two practice notebooks for his second wife, who played the harpsichord. They have both original works and arrangements of other composers' music.
9/10/19 Carl Czerny - The Art of Finger Dexterity, Op. 740
Czerny was a piano virtuoso and educator (he taught Franz Liszt). His collection of finger exercises is but one of many sets of etudes he wrote for student and professional improvement.
9/11/19 Johann Sebastian Bach: Clavier-Übung (keyboard practice)
Bch published four volumes of Clavier-Übung. These pieces were primarily for practicing technical skills rather than performance. The fourth volume is the Goldberg Variations.
9/12/19 Maria Szymanowska: Vingt exercises et préludes
Szymanowska was a leading concert pianist and salon music composer the early 1800s. She would eventually be overshadowed by Chopin, 11 years her junior.
9/13/19 Heitor Villa-Lobos' virtuoso 12 Études for guitar
Villa-Lobos wrote these etudes to serve two purposes. Each one focuses on a technical skill to master. And each was intended as virtuoso showpieces for public performance.
Traditionally, September is the back-to-school month. The Classics a Day team decided to mark the occasion. Classical School is the theme for September 2019. To participate, just post a piece of classical music that's somehow related to education with the appropriate hashtags.
What would count? Any classical work about school, or using themes from schools; examination pieces; composer tributes to their teachers (or students); etudes or other instructional works, just to name a few.
Below are my selections for the first week of #ClassicalSchool
9/2/19 Samuel Barber: School for Scandal Overture, Op. 5
This concert overture was Barber's first work for full orchestra. It's based on the 1777 comedy of manners by Richard Sheridan
9/3/19 Franz Liszt - Transcendental Etudes
These 12 etudes were first written when Lizst was 15, and revised much later. He dedicated them to his own piano teacher, Carl Czerny.
9/4/19 John Playford - The English Dancing Master
This 1651 dancing manual featured tunes and detailed instructions for English country dances. It went through over 30 editions and revisions between 1651 and 1728.
9/5/19 William Billings - The Singing School
Billings' various hymn collections were written for amateur choirs. He often led "singing schools," teaching laypeople to sing in four-part harmony.
9/6/19 Muzio Clementi - Gradus ad Parnassum
The title means "Steps to Parnassus," where the Greek muses lived. Clementi intended to lead the student to the height of piano proficiency through the sequential etudes in "Gradus."
