TDCM: November 30th - Luciano Berio

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Luciano Berio (1925-2003)

Bio

Berio was the son of two musicians born in Oneglia Italy. He wore a uniform in WWII but was incidentally injured and mustered out. He had to give up piano because of the injury and between that transition and the influence of Stravinsky began to experiment widely in the realm of electronic music. He was made an honorary member of the Royal Academy and taught at Julliard, Harvard, and eventually the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilla in Rome where he was the Presidente and Sovrintendente.   

Music

Sequenza XII for Bassoon

Sequenza IXb for Alto Saxophone

Stanze

Ekphrasis

Sinfonia

Sequenza II for Solo Harp

Circles

Folk Songs

Epifanie

TDCM: November 29th - Alban Berg

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Alban Berg (1885-1935)

Bio

Austrian composer Alban Berg studied with Schoenberg in his twenties. Berg served in World War I for the Austrians but suffered from ill-health. He became a member of the Prussian Academy of Arts but his music was banned by the Nazis.  

Music

Violin Concerto

Chamber Concerto

Lyrische Suite

Lulu

TDCM: November 23rd - Sir Richard Bennett, CBE

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Richard Bennett (1936-2012)

Bio

British composer who, like Bedford, studied with Lennox Berkley at the Royal Academy. Was brought to Paris on scholarship and studied with Boulez. Was awarded the Arnold Bax Award, the Ralph Vaughn Williams Award, and was appointed CBE and knighted. At the time the Dictionary was published was teaching at the Peabody Institute, 45 years of age. 

Music

Symphony No. 1

Sonata for Piano

Sonata for Guitar

Concerto for Stan Getz

Partita for Orchestra

Concerto for Trumpet & Wind Orchestra

Concerto for Orchestra

Percussion Concerto

Music for Strings

Elegy for Viola & Orchestra

Gormenghast 

Sonata for Soprano Saxophone and Piano

Sonatina

Symphony No. 3

Murder on the Orient Express

Four Piece Suite for Two Pianos

Conversations for Two Saxophones

Symphony No. 2

TDCM: November 22nd - Arthur Benjamin

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Arthur Benjamin (1893-1960)

Bio

Australian composer who traveled to London and studied at the Royal College of Music. After World War I, Arthur was a piano teacher in Australia and then traveled back to London where his compositions earned him the Carnegie Award and the Cobbett Medal.

Music

Concerto for Harmonica and Orchestra

Symphony No. 1

Romantic Fantasy

Viola Sonata

Concertino for Piano and Orchestra

Cotillon Suite

Overture to an Italian Comedy

Drifting

Scherzino for Piano

Caribbean Pieces for two pianos

From San Domingo

Le Tombeau de Ravel

Not much of Benjamin's work is on YouTube. So, for the rest of the day, I will be listening to Beethoven Symphonies. 

TDCM: November 19th - Vincenzo Bellini

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Vincenzo Bellini (1801-1835)

Bio

Son of a composer, Bellini was raised around music and at an early age moved to Naples to study at the Conservatorio. Wrote several Operas there before settling in Milan for a few years. Traveled to London and Paris and was made a Chevalier of the Legion d'honneur. Killed by a stomach ailment at just 33 years old.

Music

Norma

Bianca and Fernando

La Sonnambula

TDCM: November 18th - Ludwig van Beethoven

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)

Bio

'Ol Beef-oven, doesn't really need an introduction does he? Perhaps the most well-known classical composer in world history, the famously deaf German studied under the court organist at Hanover. He was briefly tutored by Mozart and studied under Haydn. Transformed music. 

Music

Symphony No. 1

Symphony No. 3 in E-flat major, Op. 55 "Eroica"

Symphony No. 6 "Pastorale"

Symphony No. 5

Violin Sonata No. 9 "Kreutzer"

Rage Over a Lost Penny

Piano Sonata No. 21 in C Major "Waldstein"

Piano Sonata No. 23 "Appassionata"

Piano Sonata No. 29 in B-flat Minor "Hammerklavier"

TDCM: November 16th - David Bedford

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

David Bedford (1937-2011)

Bio

Bedford studied with Lennox Berkley at the Royal Academy and was influenced by Schoenberg. Has branched into many genres including pop, rock, jazz, and classical. At the completion of the Dictionary, he was 48 years old. He was the composer in residence at Queen's College and the Chairman of the Performing Rights Society. 

Music

Requiem

Balloon Music 1

The Wreck of the Titanic

Ronde for Isolde

Recorder Concerto 5th Movement

Recorder Concerto 1st Movement

You Asked For It

The Sun Paints Rainbows Over the Vast Waves

With 100 Kazoos

Hergest Ridge

Twelve Hours of Sunset

Wind Music of David Bedford (Album)

Song of the White Horse (Song starts at 24 min mark)

Tubular Bells

Symphony No. 1: Introduction - I. Allegro

TCDM: November 15th - Amy Beach

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Amy Beach (1867-1944)

Bio

Concert pianist and composer, her 'Gaelic' Symphony is considered the first concert symphony ever composed by an American woman. Traveled the world as a pianist with acclaim for both a standard repertoire and debuting her own music. Is also considered one of the first exclusively American composers with zero European training. Listed among the Boston Six.

Music

Symphony in E minor, Op. 32 "Gaelic"

Four Sketches Op. 15

Variations on Balkan Themes Op. 60

Piano Concerto

Piano Quintet, Op. 67

Quartet for Strings Op. 89

Les Rêves de Colombine

Prelude and Fugue Op. 81

Violin Sonata, Op. 34

TDCM: November 12th - Arnold Bax

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Arnold Bax (1883-1953)

Bio

Irish composer who received honorary Doctorates from Oxford, Durham, and Eire. Knighted and awarded the Victorian Order. He and his brother Clifford were also playwrights. Arnold wrote under the pseudonym Dermot O'Byrne.

Music

Tintagel

Symphony No. 4

Symphony No. 5

Symphony No. 6

Symphony No. 3 in C

Symphony No. 2 in E minor and C major

Symphony No. 1 in E flat

November Woods

The Tale the Pine-Trees Knew

Enchanted Summer

TCDM: November 11th - Béla Bartók

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Béla Bartók (1881-1945)

Bio

Prominent Hungarian pianist and ethnomusicologist, Bartók studied and then taught at the Budapest Academy of Music. He traveled the world as a successful concert pianist and eventually settled in the United States. He wrote extensively on folk music, on the cultural differences found in music, and is considered one of the two greatest Hungarian composers, next to Franz Liszt. 

 

Music

Microcosmos, Part I, II, & III

Concerto for Orchestra

Violin Concerto No. 2

The Wooden Prince, Op. 13, Sz. 60

Symphony in E flat major DD 68, BB 25

The Miraculous Mandarin, Op. 19, Sz. 73

Thanks!

TDCM: November 10th - Samuel Barber

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Samuel Barber (1910-1981)

Bio

2x Pulitzer Prize-winning American composer and Prix de Rome winner. Barber studied in Philadelphia and held a Guggenheim Fellowship. His earliest composition to achieve notoriety was published in 1929 and he remained relevant well into his 60s.

Music

Adagio for Strings

Violin Concerto Op. 14

I. Un poco adagio - Allegro con sprito

II. Andante con moto

III. Dance - Allegro giocoso

The School for Scandal, Op. 5

Music for a Scene from Shelley, Op. 7

Symphony No. 1, Op. 9: I. Allegro ma non troppo

Symphony No. 1, Op. 9: II. Allegro molto

Symphony No. 1, Op. 9: III. Andante tranquillo

Adagio for Strings, Op. 11

First Essays for Orchestra, Op. 12

I. Allegro

II. Andante

III. Presto in motor perpetuoso

Second Essay, Op. 17

Commando March

Funeral March

Symphony No. 2, Op. 19: I. Allegro ma non troppo

Symphony No. 2, Op. 19: II. Andante, un poco mosso

Symphony No. 2, Op. 19: III. Presto, senza battuto - Allegro risoluto

Capricorn Concerto, Op. 21: I. Allegro ma non troppo

Capricorn Concerto, Op. 21: II. Allegretto

Capricorn Concerto, Op. 21: III. Allegro con brio

I. Allegro moderato

II. Andante sostenuto

III. Molto allegro e appassionato

Horizon

I. Parados

II. Choros. Medea and Jason

III. The Young Princess. Jason

IV. Choros

V. Medea

VI. Kantikos Agonias

VII. Exodos

Medea's Meditation and Dance of Vengeance, Op. 23a

Thanks for listening! 

TDCM: November 9th - Sir Granville Bantock

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Sir Granville Bantock (1868-1946)

Bio

British conductor who traveled the world and met many of the other greats of his day particularly noted as a friend of Sibelius. Held various prestigious posts around Great Britain including chairman of the Tower in New Brighton, principal of the Birmingham School of Music, and a Doctor of Music from Edinburgh. Was knighted in 1930. 

Music

A Celtic Symphony

Hebridean Symphony

Omar Khayyam

TDCM: November 8th - Don Banks

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Don Banks (1923-1980)

Bio

Australian Jazz musician. Don studied in London and Florence before returning to Canberra to become the chairman of the Australian Council for the Arts, the head of composition at Canberra School of Music, the Composers' Guild of Australia, and the School of Composition Studies at Sydney Conservatorium. Today the highest music honor awarded by the Australian Council for the Arts is the Don Banks award. 

Music

Three Studies for Cello and Piano

Sequence for Solo Cello

Coney Island

Blues for Two Clarinet

Trio for Horn, Violin, and Cello 1

Four Pieces for String Quartet

Nexus

TDCM: November 3rd - Michael Balfe

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Michael Balfe (1808-1870)

Bio

Irish opera singer and composer, met Rossini and Cherubini while traveling in Italy. Wrote a large collection of Operas, the most famous of which was The Bohemian Girl which debuted at Drury Lane theater in 1843. 

Music

The Bohemian Girl Overture

The Maid of Artois

Concert Overture in C Major

TDCM: November 2nd - Mily Balakirev

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Mily Balakirev (1837-1910)

Bio

A Russian composer who founded the Russian Free School of Music and was the educational father of "The Five" - Mussorgsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Borodin, Glazounov, and Cui. He was also the conductor of the Russian Music Society and the director at the Imperial Chapel. Represents the shift of Russian classical music into the Romantic period. 

Music

Symphony No. 1 in C Major

Symphony No. 2 in D Minor

Piano Sonata No. 2 in B flat Minor

Valses

Tamara

TCDM: November 1st - J.S. Bach

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Bio

An able musician, violinist, singer, organ player, and obviously composer, Bach got caught in Lutheran politics and spent much of his time bouncing from job to job. Eventually, he latched onto the Court of King Leopold and enjoyed a measure of stability. His first wife died in 1720 and he remarried fairly quickly and ended up with 20 children, 11 of which survived to adulthood. He attempted to meet Handel but it never happened. He settled in the Netherlands for a brief time but went back to Germany because as a Lutheran he didn't want his children in Calvinist schools. His grave was lost for nearly 150 years but was rediscovered in the 1890s. 

Music

Keyboard Concerto No. 7

Keyboard Concerto in D Minor

Brandenburg Concertos 1-6

The Violin Concertos

Toccata and Fugue in D Minor

Harpsichord Concertos