TDCM: December 30th - Gian Carlo Menotti

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Gian Carlo Menotti (1911-2007)

Bio

Born in Cadegliano-Viconago, Italy, Menotti entered the Milan Conservatory as a teenager but finished his education at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. There he met fellow student and American composer Samuel Barber and the two remained together for most of the rest of their lives. He is mostly known for his operas but produced several other works as well in the verismo and neo-classical traditions.

Music

Piano Concerto in F major

Apocalypse

Concerto for Double Bass & Orchestra

Violin Concerto

Trio for Violin, Clarinet, and Piano

Symphony No. 1 "The Halcyon"

Symphony No. 1 "The Halcyon"

The Medium

The Unicorn, the Gorgon and the Manticore

TDCM: December 29th - Peter Mennin

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Peter Mennin (1923-1983)

Bio

Peter Mennin (born Mennini) was the son of Italian immigrants who settled in Erie, Pennsylvania. He studied under Howard Hanson at the Eastman School of Music and his 3rd Symphony was the centerpiece of his Ph.D. He taught at Juilliard and now the prestigious school awards an annual Peter Mennin prize.

Music

Symphony No. 8

Symphony No. 6

Symphony No. 7 "Variation-Symphony"

Flute Concerto

Concerto for Piano

Symphony No. 3

TDCM: December 28th - Felix Mendelssohn

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)

Bio

Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy was born in Hamburg. His father was a prominent Jewish German banker but the family converted to Protestantism and were all baptized. Felix studied under Ludwig Berger (a student of Muzio Clementi) and Carl Friedrich Zelter. Felix was a prodigious composer, producing many works in his early teens. He conducted Bach's St Matthew's Passion in Berlin at age 20 and is believed to have ignited the revival of appreciation for the Baroque master. He traveled all over Europe, composing and conducting, but pushed his health too far and died after a series of strokes at just 38 years old. 

Music

Symphony No. 3 in A minor "Scottish"

Symphony No. 4 in A major "Italian"

Symphony No. 5 in D major/minor "Reformation"

Violin Concerto No. 2 in E minor

Octet in E-flat major

String Quartet No. 6 in F minor

Piano Concerto No. 1 in G minor

Midsummer Night's Dream

TDCM: December 27th - Wilfrid Mellers

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Wilfrid Mellers (1914-2008)

Bio

Wilfrid Howard Mellers was born in Warwickshire and attended Leamington College. He was a writer just as much as a musician and taught English and music at Downing College, Birmingham University, and the University of Pittsburgh. He founded the Music Department at the University of York and remained there till his death.  

Music

The only piece I could find was on Spotify as part of the album: Contemporary Music for Organ

Opus Alchymicum, No. 1, Melanosis, Circumambulatio

https://open.spotify.com/track/1bPKgqQUa1HvJGDWIyQ60I?si=a3cd8da3b9924e02

TDCM: December 22nd - Nikolai Medtner

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Nikolai Medtner (1880-1951)

Bio

Nikolai Karlovich Medtner was born in Moscow. He studied at the Moscow Conservatory at 11 and graduated with the Rubinstein prize. Rachmaninoff supported his development and eventually secured him passage out of post-revolution Russia. He settled in London and enjoyed success as a teacher, performer, and composer.    

Music

Piano Concerto No. 1

Piano Concerto No. 2

Second Improvisation

Piano Concerto No. 3 "Ballade"

TDCM: December 21st - Richard Meale

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Richard Meale (1932-2009)

Bio

Richard Meale was born in Sydney and studied at the NSW State Conservatorium of Music. He also attended the University of California on a Ford Foundation grant. He taught at the University of Adelaide and worked for the Australian Broadcasting Company.    

Music

Symphony No. 1

Sonata for Flute and Piano

Mer De Glace

String Quartet No. 1

TDCM: December 20th - Nicholas Maw

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Nicholas Maw (1935-2009)

Bio

John Nicholas Maw was born in Lincolnshire. He studied at the Royal Academy of Music under Steinitz and Berkeley and then in Paris under Boulanger and Deutsch. He taught at several schools including Yale, Boston University, Cambridge, the Royal Academy, and the Peabody Institute.   

Music

The World in the Evening

Odyssey

Music of Memory

Romantic Variations

TDCM: December 19th - William Mathias

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

William Mathias (1934-1992)

Bio

Mathias was born in Carmarthenshire, Wales. He was a prodigy and began composing at the age of five. He studied under Lennox Berkley at the Royal Academy of Music and taught at the University of Wales. Most of his composing was for the Anglican church and his works have been featured by the Royal Family including at Charles & Diana's wedding. 

Music

Concerto for Harp and Orchestra

Symphony No. 1

Concerto No. 3 for piano and orchestra

Helios

Celtic Dances

Concerto for clarinet and orchestra

Symphony No. 2 "Summer Music"

TDCM: December 15th - Jules Massenet

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Jules Massenet (1842-1912)

Bio

Massenet was born in central France and gained entrance into the Paris Conservatoire as a young boy. He won the Prix de Rome and quickly made a name for himself composing operas. He taught at the Conservatoire for a time and had a few famous students such as Ernest Chausson and Reynaldo Hahn. He produced over 30 operas and a number of other significant works in his career.

Music

Orchestral Suite No. 1

Orchestral Suite No. 2 'Scènes Hongroises'

Orchestral Suite No. 3 'Scènes Dramatiques'

Orchestral Suite No. 4 'Scènes Pittoresques'

Orchestral Suite No. 5 'Scènes Napolitaines'

Orchestral Suite No. 6 'Scènes de Féerie'

Orchestral Suite No. 7 'Scènes Alsaciennes'

Cigale

Le Carillon

Piano Concerto

TDCM: December 14th - Pietro Mascagni

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Pietro Mascagni (1863-1945)

Bio

Mascagni was born in Tuscany. He began composing as a teenager and quickly was able to make a career of it. He was internationally renowned at 26 when Mahler debuted his opera Cavalleria Rusticana. He was a contemporary of Leoncavallo and Puccini though he didn't always get along with them. He produced 15 Operas in all and a smattering of other works.

Music

Messa di Gloria

Cavalleria Rusticana

Overture Le Maschere

TDCM: December 13th - Bohuslav Martinů

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Bohuslav Martinů (1890-1959)

Bio

Martinu was born in Polička in Bohemia. He took up violin and impressed his small town enough they raised money to send him to the Prague Conservatory. He did not succeed in school but made a lifelong friend in composer Stanislav Novák. He eventually went to Paris and studied under Serge Koussevitzky and then to Boston where he conducted the Boston Symphony Orchestra. He taught at Mannes and Princeton and impacted many of the next generation, perhaps most profoundly David Diamond.

Music

Sinfonietta giocosa

Symphony No. 3

Symphony No. 1

Symphony No. 4

String Quartet No. 1

Symphony No. 6 "Fataisies symphoniques"

Double Concerto for Two String Orchestras, Piano, and Timpani

Piano Concertos

TDCM: December 12th - Frank Martin

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Frank Martin (1890-1974)

Bio

Martin was born to Huguenots in Geneva. His father was a pastor and he was raised around church music. He studied math at Geneva University and composition with Joseph Lauber. He moved around Europe but eventually settled back in Geneva, founded the Chamber Music Society of Geneva, and taught at the University.  

Music

8 Preludes for the Piano

Concerto for Violin and Orchestra

Concerto for seven wind instruments, timpani, percussion, and string orchestra

Petite symphonie concerante

Quatre Pieces Breves for Quitar

Erasmi Monumentum

Ballade for Flute and Piano

TDCM: December 9th - Luca Marenzio

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Luca Marenzio (1553-1599)

Bio

Marenzio was likely born near Brescia. He sang at Rome in the employ of a few Cardinals while composing madrigals. His prowess as a composer and lutenist grew and he was hired by Ferdinando I de' Medici in Florence for a spell and then returned to Rome and had an apartment in the Vatican. His final patron was Sigismund III Vasa, King of Poland. 

Music

Super flumina Babylonis

Madrigal Madness

L'Amoroso & crudo stille

TDCM: December 8th - Gian Francesco Malipiero

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Gian Francesco Malipiero (1882-1973)

Bio

Malipiero was born in Venice, the grandson of composer Francesco Malipiero. He studied in Venice, Italy, and Berlin and was acquainted with many of the significant composers of his day including Bruch, Ravel, Debussy, Falla, Schoenberg, Casella, d'Aunnunzio, Stravinsky, and Berg. He, Casella & d'Annunzio formed the Corporazione delle Nuovo Musiche to support composition in Italy. Malipiero tried to stay in Mussolini's good graces but was unsuccessful.  

Music

Sinfonia del silenzio e della morte

Symphony No. 4 "In Memoriam Almeida"

San Francesco d'Assisi

Pause del silenzio I & II

Chamber Compositions - Riccardo Malipiero, his nephew

TDCM: December 6th-7th - Gustav Mahler

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Gustav Mahler (1860-1911)

Bio

Gustav Mahler was born in Kaliště in modern-day Czechia, then a part of the Austrian Empire. Mahler showed some musical promise and entered the Vienna Conservatory as a teenager. Mahler was influenced by Bruckner and Wagner at the Conservatory. He had a long and storied career as a conductor and Opera-master eventually being appointed the director of the Vienna Court Opera by Franz Joseph I while also composing very successfully. His prowess as a conductor and massive output resulted in one of the most impactful careers in classical music history.

Music

Symphony No. 1 in D

Symphony No. 2 in C minor "Resurrection"

Symphony No. 3

Symphony No. 4

Symphony No. 5

Symphony No. 6

Symphony No. 7

Symphony No. 8

TDCM: December 5th - Elizabeth Maconchy

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Elizabeth Maconchy (1907-1994)

Bio

Elizabeth Violet Maconchy was born in Hertfordshire to Irish parents. She grew up in Ireland and began her studies in Dublin. She moved to London and attended the Royal College of Music studying under Charles Wood and Ralph Vaughan Williams. She finished her education in Prague and then returned to England for a very successful composing career. 

Music

Symphony for Double String Orchestra

Serenata Concertante for Violin and Orchestra

String Quartet No. 1

Nocturne for Orchestra

Romanza for Viola & Orchestra

String Quartet No. 3

TDCM: December 2nd - Guillaume de Machaut

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Guillaume de Machaut (c1300-1377)

Bio

Guillame de Machaut was born near Rheims. He served in the court of John I, Count of Luxembourg and King of Bohemia, and traveled with him around Europe. After John's death at Crécy, Machaut served several other patrons including Charles V, Duke of Normandy, and Charles II of Navarre. His legacy is as significant in poetry as it is in music.

Music

Sacred and Secular Selections

TDCM: December 1st - Edward MacDowell

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Edward MacDowell (1860-1908)

Bio

Edward Alexander MacDowell was born in New York to parents of Scottish descent. He was trained in the violin and piano as a child and showed skill. He was admitted into the Paris Conservatory and then continued his studies at the Conservatory in Frankfurt. He impressed Franz Liszt there and his career began to flourish. He returned to the States and taught at Columbia University until his health broke.

Music

Piano Concerto No. 2 in D minor

Piano Concerto No. 1 in A minor

Woodland Sketches

Orchestral Suite No. 2 "Indian"

Orchestral Suite No. 1

Piano Sonata No. 4 "Keltic"

Sea Pieces

Fireside Takes