TDCM: March 31st - Samuel Coleridge-Taylor

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875-1912)

Bio

Coleridge-Taylor was born in London to an English mother and a Krio father from Sierra Leone. He was affectionately known as the "African Mahler" due to his composing prowess and ethnic background. He studied at the Royal College of Music and taught at the Crystal Palace School of Music while conducting for the Croydon Conservatoire. He described his influences as drawing African influence into the classical tradition much like Brahms had with Hungarian and Dvořák with Bohemian. He tragically died at only 37 of pneumonia.     

Music

Symphony in A minor

Violin Concerto in G minor

24 Negro Melodies 

Symphonic Variations on an African Air

TDCM: March 30th - Eric Coates

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Eric Coates (1886-1957)

Bio

Coates studied at the Royal Academy of Music under Corder and Tertis and developed into a concert Violist. He focused much of his career on orchestral composition and traveled as a conductor. During World War II, he composed songs supporting the effort and his wife's work with the Red Cross.     

Music

Orchestral Works

The Jester at the Wedding

Four Centuries

Nine Marches for Orchestra

The Three Elizabeths

Sound and Vision - Orchestral Suites

TDCM: March 29th - Muzio Clementi

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Muzio Clementi (1752-1832)

Bio

Clementi was born in Rome and studied with Antonio Baroni, Gieuseppe Santarelli, and Gaetano Carpani. He was discovered by Sir Peter Beckford and brought to England as a prodigy to study at his estate. He famously competed against Mozart in a piano contest for Emperor Joseph II and the two have been considered rivals in a sense. He later had a litany of significant students and a publishing house that secured exclusive rights to the music of his friend and admirer Ludwig van Beethoven.    

Music

Symphony No. 1 in C major

Symphony No. 2 in D major

Symphony No. 3 in G major

Symphony No. 4 in D major

Piano Concerto in C major (orch. Schenk)

Six Sonatinas for Piano

Complete Sonatas, Vol. 3

TDCM: March 28th - Domenico Cimarosa

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Domenico Cimarosa (1749-1801)

Bio

Cimarosa is most well known for composing more than 80 operas most of which are comedies. He was born in a small town near Naples and was trained by the monks at the Church of San Severo. He traveled around Europe, spending time in Catherine II's court in St Petersburg, being commissioned by Leopold II in Vienna, and eventually returning home to Naples. His works were very popular, drawing the attention of the royalty already mentioned and also prominent contemporary composers such as Haydn.   

Music

Piano Concerto in B-flat major

Concerto for 2 Flutes in G major

32 Piano Sonatas

Sestetto in F major

Chamber Music

TDCM: March 24th - Francesco Cilea

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Francisco Cilea (1866-1950)

Bio

Cilea was a pianist who studied in Naples and took an early teaching post at Florence. He came to prominence with a series of operas, even at one point enjoyed support from Benito Mussolini, but spent most of his life teaching music at various universities.   

Music

Cello Sonata in D major

Chamber Music

Complete Piano Works

L'Arlesiana

Gina

TDCM: March 23rd - Frédéric Chopin

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849)

Bio

Chopin was born in the Duchy of Warsaw and grew up in the Polish capital. He was a prodigy and composed several works prior to leaving Poland at the age of 20 and settling in Paris. He was friends with Lizst and knew and interacted with Schumann, Alkan, and many other contemporaries. He is probably the most well-known pianist in history, one of the first music "celebrities," and a tragic figure owing to his death at only 39 years of age.  

Music

Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor

Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor

Ballade No. 1 in G minor

Ballade No. 2 in F major

Fantasie in F minor played by 8 different pianists

19 Nocturnes

Etudes Op. 10 & 25

TDCM: March 22nd - Luigi Cherubini

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Luigi Cherubini (1760-1842)

Bio

Cherubini was born in Florence and studied the harpsichord with his father. He gained notice from the court in Tuscany and expanded his studies to Bologna and Milan finding influence from Jommelli, Traetta, and Sacchini. He pushed the boundaries of his time, traveling to England (and holding the title Composer of the King for George III) and France. Napoleon wasn't fond of him but Louis XVIII made him the director of the Paris Conservatory. Beethoven regarded him as the greatest of his contemporaries and he was the first musician to be made a Commander in the Légion d'honneur. 

Music

Symphony in D major

Requiem in C minor

Capriccio or Etude for Piano

Concert Overture in G

String Quartet No. 1 in E-flat major

String Quartet No. 2 in C major

String Quartet No. 3 in D minor

String Quartet No. 4 in E major

String Quartet No.5 in F major

String Quartet No. 6 in A minor

Cherubini Quintet in E-flat major (computer generated)

TDCM: March 21st - Carlos Chávez

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Carlos Chávez (1899-1978)

Bio

Chávez was the founder and first director of the Mexican Symphony Orchestra. He was born in Mexico City and quickly demonstrated a knack for music and cultural observation. He wrote for El Universal a Mexico City newspaper for over 30 years while composing Mexican nationalistic music. He directed efforts to establish catalogs of indigenous Mexican music, briefly as the head of Mexico's National Conservatory of Music, and traveled as a guest conductor around Mexico and the United States. 

Music

Symphony No. 2

Concerto for Violin and Orchestra

Concerto for Piano and Orchestra

Valses of Carlos Chavez

Piano Sonata No. 2

String Quartet No. 3

4 Etudes for Piano

Paisajes Mexicanos

Trombone Concerto

Sinfonía de Antígona

TDCM: March 18th - Ernest Chausson

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Ernest Chausson (1855-1899)

Bio

A tragic figure, Chausson was a rising star in the French Romantic movement having studied at the Paris Conservatoire under Massenet. He was also influenced by Franck and Wagner and served as a sort of representative of French culture as the secretary of the Société Nationale de Musique. While in the role he interacted with scores of prominent artists including Debussy, Monet, Albéniz, Fauré, and many others. He died at the age of 44 in a bicycle accident, passing before his composing career really took shape.

Music

Symphony in B-flat

The Legend of Saint Cecile

String Quartet in C minor

Piano Quartet in A major

Poème for Violin and Orchestra

Concert for Violin, Piano and String Quartet

Concerto in D

TDCM: March 17th - Marc-Antoine Charpentier

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Marc-Antoine Charpentier (c1645-1704)

Bio

The earlier Charpentier studied under Carissimi in Rome and then worked for the Duchesse de Guise. By his thirties, he was directly working for the Grand Dauphin of France and was the composer in the principal Jesuit church in Paris. He is considered the French Baroque master and is responsible for one of the best-preserved and largest musical catalogs in history. 

Music

Te Deum

Leçons de Ténèbres

Canadian Brass plays Charpentier

Divertissements, Airs & Concerts

TDCM: March 16th - Gustave Charpentier

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Gustave Charpentier (1860-1956)

Bio

Charpentier studied in the Paris Conservatoire and developed a reputation for trying to shock his instructors. He came to prominence with the debut of his opera Louise. He was very active in French society founding an organization creating work opportunities for young girls and creating two others for wounded French soldiers from World War I. He was awarded the Légion d'honneur and rose to Grand Officer before his death.

Music

Impressions d'Italie

Impressions d'Italie, suite symphonique

Louise

Julien

TDCM: March 15th - Cécile Chaminade

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Cécile Chaminade (1857-1944)

Bio

The first woman to ever earn the Légion d'Honneur for composing, Chaminade was a prodigy. She studied under Le Couppey, Savard, Marsick, and Godard despite her father forbidding her to enroll in the Conservatoire de Paris. At the age of 8, her first compositions were positively reviewed by Georges Bizet, and she traveled and composed to a generally warm reception between England and France most of her life.

Music

Konzertstück for piano and orchestra

Concertino for Flute and Piano

6 Pièces Romantiques

Arabesque No.1

Selected Piano Works

TDCM: March 14th - Emmanuel Chabrier

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Emmanuel Chabrier (1841-1894)

Bio

Chabrier studied law in Paris and worked in the government for most of his life. As his compositions grew in notoriety he devoted himself to composing more and more until he fell ill and died at only 53. He was an early supporter of the Impressionists and was friends with Manet. He influenced a wide variety of composers including Les Six, Debussy, Ravel, Satie, and Stravinsky. 

Music

España

Suite Pastoral

Pièces pittoresques (arr. Orchestra)

Joyeuse Marche

Pièces pittoresques for Piano

Complete Piano Works

TDCM: March 11th - Francesco Cavalli

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Pietro Francesco Cavalli (1602-1676)

Bio

Cavali sang at St Mark's Basilica in Venice as a child. He studied Organ under Monteverdi and composed under the patronage of Venetian nobleman Federico Cavalli. He changed his name from Caletti-Bruni to Cavalli in honor of his patron. He is an example of polychoral vocal composing in the early Baroque period.

Music

Musiche Sacre

Ercole Amante

Missa pro Defunctis

Xerse

TDCM: March 10th - Alfredo Catalani

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Alfredo Catalani (1854-1893)

Bio

Catalani was born in Lucca and studied in Milan under Bazzini. He has been compared to Puccini, Massenet, and even occasionally Wagner. He composed six major operas and a few symphonic works but is most known as the composer of the aria "Ebben? Ne andrò lontana" in the film Diva. 

Music

Sinfonia romantica

Missa in E minor

Loreley

La Wally

Edmea

TDCM: March 9th - Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (1895-1968)

Bio

Castelnuovo-Tedesco was born in Florence and studied piano under Edgardo Del Valle de Paz and composition under Ildebrando Pizzetti. Yesterday's composer, Alfredo Casella, popularized Castelnuovo's work and drew the attention of major festivals and in particular MGM who brought him to the United States to score more than 200 films. He is particularly important as a composer for classical guitar and taught some of the great film composers of all time including Henry Mancini, Jerry Goldsmith, and John Williams.

Music

Guitar Concerto No. 1

Piano Concerto No. 1 in G major

Concerto Sereno in Do

The Merchant of Venice, Overture

Giulio Cesare, Overture

Cello Concerto in G minor

Violin Concerto No. 2 "I Propheti"

24 Caprichos de Goya para la guitarra

Piano Works

TDCM: March 8th - Alfredo Casella

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Alfredo Casella (1883-1947)

Bio

Casella was born with a strong musical pedigree, his grandfather was a cello soloist and friend of Paganini and his father and brothers were also professional cellists. He studied piano, like his mother, at the Conservatoire de Paris under Diémer and composition under Fauré. He met or was a contemporary student with Stravinsky, Ravel, de Falla, Busoni, Mahler, and Strauss just to name a few. He preceded Arthur Fiedler as the principal conductor of the Boston Pops in the late 20s and was a virtuoso pianist.

Music

Symphony No. 1 in B minor

Symphony No. 3

Symphony No. 2 in C minor

Missa Solemnis "Pro Pace"

Violin Concerto

TDCM: March 7th - Elliott Carter

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Elliott Carter (1908-2012)

Bio

Carter studied at Harvard with Edward B Hill, Gustav Holst, and Walter Piston before traveling to Paris to study with Nadia Boulanger. He was a well-respected representative of "ultra-modernism" and neoclassical composing. He was extremely prolific in his later years producing 60 pieces after the age of 90, 20 of which were written after his 100th birthday.   

Music

Symphony No. 1

String Quartet No. 1

Variations for Orchestra

Symphonia: Sum fluxae pretium spei

Symphony of Three Orchestras

Piano Sonata

Night Fantasies

Sonata for Flute, Oboe, Cello, and Harpsichord

Concerto for Orchestra

String Quartet No. 3

String Quartet No. 4

TDCM: March 4th - John Alden Carpenter

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

John Alden Carpenter (1876-1951)

Bio

Born to an Illinois businessman, Carpenter was raised to appreciate music as well as industrialism. He studied at Harvard under John Knowles Paine and then briefly with Edward Elgar in Rome. He served as the VP of his father's business and retired at 60 to focus on composing.   

Music

Symphony No. 1

Gitanjali

String Quartet

Adventures in a Perambulator

Krazy Kat

Concertino for Piano and Orchestra

Diversions

Skyscrapers

Violin Sonata