TDCM: Week of December 11th Rushmore of Composers: Poland

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Mount Rushmore of Composers: Poland

Frédéric Chopin, 1810-1849

Ignacy Jan Paderewski, 1860-1941

Andrzej Panufnik, 1914-1991

Karol Szymanowski, 1882-1937

Music

Chopin's Nocturnes

Paderewski's Piano Concerto in A minor

Panufnik's Sinfona Sacra

Szymanowski's Song of the Night

Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 1

Paderewski's Symphony in B Minor

Panufnik's Violin Concerto

Szymanowski's Mazurkas

Chopin's 24 Preludes

Paderewski's Piano Concerto

TDCM: Week of December 4th Rushmore of Composers: USA

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Mount Rushmore of Composers: USA

George Gershwin, 1898-1937

John Williams, b. 1932

Philip Glass, b. 1937

Howard Hanson, 1896-1981

Music

Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue

Williams' Schindler's List OST

Glass' Metamorphosis

Hanson's Symphony No. 2

Gershwin's Piano Concerto in F

Williams' A New Hope OST

Glass' Glassworks

Hanson's Symphony No. 3

Gershwin's An American in Paris

Williams' Jurassic Park OST

Glass' Symphony No. 1

Hanson's Symphony No. 4

Gershwin's Songbook

Williams' Superman OST

Glass' Etudes, Book 1

Hanson's Symphony No. 4

Williams' Raiders of the Lost Ark OST

TDCM: Week of November 27th Rushmore of Composers: Spain

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Mount Rushmore of Composers: Spain

Joaqin Rodrigo, 1901-1999

Manuel de Falla, 1876-1946

Roberto Gerhard, 1896-1970

Pablo de Sarasate, 1844-1908

Music

Rodrigo's Concierto Andaluz

de Falla's Nights in the Gardens of Spain

Gerhard's Concerto for Orchestra

Sarasate's Zigeunerweisen

Rodrigo's Fantasia para un gentilhombre

de Falla's The Three Cornered Hat

Gerhard's Homenaje a Pedrell

Sarasate's Eight Spanish Dances

Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez y Madrigal

de Falla's El Amor Brujo

Gerhard's Dances from Don Quixote

Sarasate's Carmen Fantasy

Rodrigo's Por los campos de España

de Falla's Der Dreispitz

Gerhard's Sinfonia No. 1

Sarasate's Spanish Dances

Rodrigo's Piano Concerto

de Falla's Piano Compositions

Gerhard's Collages

Sarasate's Caprice Basque

Rodrigo's Concierto heroico

de Falla's Fantasía bética

Gerhard's Epithalamion

TDCM: Week of November 13th Rushmore of Composers: Austria

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Mount Rushmore of Composers: Austria

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, 1756-1791

Gustav Mahler, 1860-1911

Anton Bruckner, 1824-1896

Franz Schubert, 1797-1828

Music

Mozart's Symphony No. 41

Mahler's Symphony No. 2

Bruckner's Symphony No. 3

Schubert's Death and the Maiden arr. by Mahler

Mozart's Violin Concerto No. 5

Mahler's Symphony No. 5

Bruckner's Symphony No. 4

Schubert's Symphony No. 7

Mozart's Horn Concerto No. 4

Mahler's Symphony No. 4

Bruckner's Symphony No. 8

Schubert's Symphony No. 5

Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 24

Mahler Symphony No. 1

Bruckner's Symphony No. 9

Schubert's Octet in F Major

Mozart's Symphony No. 9

Mahler's Symphony No. 3

Bruckner's Symphony No. 7

TDCM: Week of November 6th Rushmore of Composers: Italy

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Mount Rushmore of Composers: Italy

Ottorino Respighi, 1879-1936

Alfredo Casella, 1883-1947

Ildebrando Pizzetti, 1880-1968

Gian Francesco Malipiero, 1882-1973

Music

Respighi's Roman Trilogy

Casella's Symphony No. 1

Pizzetti's Sinfonia del fuoco

Malipiero's Sinfonie del silenzio e della morte

Respighi's The Birds

Casella's Symphony No. 2

Pizzetti's Symphony in A

Casella's Symphony No. 3

Respighi's Sinfonia Drammatica

Malipiero's Symphony No. 1

Pizzetti's Piano Concerto

Casella's Paganiniana

Respighi's La pentola magica

Malipiero's Vivaldiana

Pizzetti's Messa di Requiem

Casella's Concerto per orchestra

Respighi's Concerto Gregoriano

Malipiero's Sinfonia No. 7

Pizzetti's Tre Canti

Respighi's Vetrate di Chiesa

Casella's La Donna Serpente, frammenti orchestrali

Malipiero's Sette Invenzioni per orchestra

Pizzetti's Concerto dell'estate

Pizzetti's Concerto in Do per violoncello e orchestra

Pizzetti's Trio in La per violino, violoncello e pianoforte

Respighi's Ancient Songs and Dances

TDCM: Week of October 30th Rushmore of Composers: Russia

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Mount Rushmore of Composers: Russia

Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, 1840-1893

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, 1844-1908

Sergei Rachmaninoff, 1873-1943

Dmitri Shostakovich, 1906-1975

Music

Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1

Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade

Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2

Shostakovich's Symphony No. 11

Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker

Rimsky-Korsakov's Russian Easter Overture

Rachmaninoff's Symphony No. 2

Shostakovich's Symphony No. 7

Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto

Rimsky-Korsakov's Antar

Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 1

Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3

Shostakovich's Symphony No. 5

Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 6

Rimsky-Korsakov's Symphony No. 1

Rachmaninoff's Symphony No. 1

Shostakovich's Symphony No. 6

Tchaikovsky's Manfred Symphony

Rimsky-Korsakov's Symphony No. 3

Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 4

Shostakovich's Piano Concerto No. 2

Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet

Rimsky-Korsakov's Trombone Concerto

Rachmaninoff's Adagio Movements

Shostakovich's Symphony No. 8

Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 2

Rimsky-Korsakov's Capriccio espagnol

Rachmaninoff's Trio élégiaque in G Minor

Shostakovich's Symphony No. 3

Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 3

Shostakovich's Violin Concerto

Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini

TDCM: Week of October 23rd - Rushmore of Composers: Germany

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Mount Rushmore of Composers: Germany

Ludwig van Beethoven, 1770-1827

Johannes Brahms, 1833-1897

Johan Sebastian Bach, 1685-1750

Felix Mendelssohn, 1809-1847

Music

Beethoven's Symphony No. 5

Brahms' Symphony No. 1

Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto

Bach's Cello Suite No. 1

Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 3

Brahms' Symphony No. 2

Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 4

Bach's Double Violin Concerto

Beethoven's Symphony No. 7

Brahms' Symphony No. 3

Mendelssohn's Piano Concerto No. 1

Bach's Violin Concerto No. 1

Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5

Brahms' Symphony No. 4

Mendelssohn's A Midsummer Night's Dream Overture

Beethoven's Violin Concerto

Bach's Toccata & Fugue (by the Canadian Brass)

Brahms' Piano Concerto No. 2

Beethoven's Symphony No. 3

Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 2

Bach's Concerto No. 1

Brahms' Piano Concerto No. 1

Beethoven's Symphony No. 4

Mendelssohn's Octet in E-flat Major

Bach's Goldberg Variations

Brahms' Horn Trio

Beethoven's Symphony No. 9

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOjHhS5MtvA

TDCM: Week of October 16th - Rushmore of Composers: France

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Mount Rushmore of Composers: France

Claude Debussy, 1862-1918

Hector Berlioz, 1803-1869

Maurice Ravel, 1875-1937

Camille Saint-Saëns, 1835-1921

Music

Berlioz' Symphonie fantastique

Debussy's La Mer

Ravel's Daphnis det Chloé

Saint-Saëns' Symphony No. 3

Berlioz' Harold en Italie

Debussy's Suite of Nocturnes and Images

Ravel's Miroirs

Saint-Saëns' Piano Concerto No. 2

Berlioz' Le carnival romain

Ravel's Gaspard de la nuit

Ravel Piano Works

Saint-Saëns' Piano Concertos

Saint-Saëns' Violin Concerto No. 3

Debussy Piano Works

Berlioz' Requiem

Ravel's Bolero

Debussy's Images pour orchestre

Saint-Saëns' Cello Concerto No. 2

Ravel's Piano Concerto

Debussy & Ravel Pieces

Saint-Saëns' Symphony No. 2

Berlioz' Summer Nights

Saint-Saëns' Clarinet Sonata

Debussy's Nocturnes

Ravel's Valses nobles et sentimentales

Belioz' Te Deum

Saint-Saëns' The Carnival of the Animals

Ravel's Piano Works

TDCM: Week of October 9th - Rushmore of Composers: England

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Mount Rushmore of Composers: England 

Benjamin Britten, 1913-1976

Gustav Holst, 1874-1934

Ralph Vaughan Williams, 1872-1958

Edmund Rubbra, 1901-1986

Music

Britten's Violin Concerto

Rubbra's Symphony No. 4

Holst's The Cotswolds

Vaughan Williams' The Lark Ascending

 

Britten's Serenade for Tenor, Horn, and Strings

Rubbra's String Quartet No. 2

Holst's St. Paul's Suite

Vaughan Williams' A London Symphony

Rubbra's Symphony No. 1

Britten's Cello Symphony

Holst's Indra

Vaughan Williams' Symphony No. 5

Rubbra's Symphony No. 7

Britten's Piano Concerto

Britten's The Prince of the Pagodas

Holst's Beni Mora

Holst's The Planets

Vaughan Williams' Symphony No. 6

Rubbra's 8 Preludes for Piano

Britten's Four Sea Interludes

Britten's War Requiem

Holst's Hammersmith

Vaughan Williams' A Sea Symphony

Rubbra's Symphony No. 11

Rubbra's Symphony No. 2

Britten's Sinfonia da Requiem

TDCM: Review of the "Z" Composers

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

List, Stats, Curiosities of the "Z" Composers

1. Jan Dismas Zelenka
2. Alexander von Zemlinsky

Nationalities

Czech 1
Austrian 1

Earliest

Composer - Jan Dismas Zelenka (1679-1745)
Composition - Zelenka's Psalmi Verspertini (1925)

*Earliest dated composition

Latest
Composer - Alexander von Zemlinsky (1871-1942)
Composition - Zemlinsky's String Quartet No. 2 (1913)

Total Compositions Sampled - 7

Top Ranked "Z" Composers

Ranked on a purely subjective personal enjoyment scale

Alexander von Zemlinsky (10/10)

Austrian, 1871-1942

Symphony No. 2

Jan Dismas Zelenka (6/10)

Czech, 1679-1745

Missa Votiva in E minor

TDCM: October 9th - Alexander von Zemlinsky (Final composer!)

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Alexander von Zemlinsky (1871-1942)

Bio

Zemlinsky was born in Vienna and attended the Vienna Conservatory. He was a proficient pianist and studied composition with Fuchs and Bruckner. Brahms supported his composing efforts and he was friends with Schoenberg. Despite being raised in Judaism, he converted to Christianity later in life. He fled the Nazis and spent his last years in the States.

Music

The Mermaid

Symphony No. 1

Symphony No. 2

String Quartet No. 2

A Ray of Light

TDCM: October 6th - Jan Dismas Zelenka

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Jan Dismas Zelenka (1679-1745)

Bio

Jan Dismas Zelenka was born southeast of Prague when it was a part of the Holy Roman Empire. His father was a musician and Jan was trained by Jesuits on the bass viol. He furthered his studies in Vienna and held some prestigious posts in the Dresden court. He counted several prominent musicians among his friends including Bach and Telemann.     

Music

Missa Votiva in E minor

Psalmi Vespertini

https://youtu.be/PnJux9TXqN4?si=L18XCp25lBYA-vCP

TDCM: Review of the "X" Composer

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

List, Stats, Curiosities of the "X" Composer

1. Iannis Xenakis

Nationalities

Greek 1

Earliest

Composer - Iannis Xenakis (1922-2001)
Composition - Xenakis's Pithoprakta (1955)

*Earliest dated composition

Latest
Composer - Iannis Xenakis (1922-2001)
Composition - Xenakis's Pleiades (1978)

Total Compositions Sampled - 3

Top Ranked "X" Composer

Ranked on a purely subjective personal enjoyment scale

Iannis Xenakis (4/10)

Greek, 1922-2001

Pleiades

TDCM: October 5th - Iannis Xenakis

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Iannis Xenakis (1922-2001)

Bio

Giannis Klearchou Xenakis (spelled Iannis by the composer) was born to Greek parents in Romania. He initially studied in Athens but joined the National Liberation Front to oppose the Nazis. He joined the ELAS and was injured in a clash with British soldiers. He fled to Paris and composed while working as an architect. He studied with Messiaen and his musical career flourished.    

Music

Pithoprakta

Pleiades

Persepolis

TDCM: Review of the "W" Composers

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

List, Stats, Curiosities of the "W" Composers

1. Richard Wagner
2. William Walton
3. Peter Warlock
4. Carl Maria von Weber
5. Anton Webern
6. Thomas Weelkes
7. Kurt Weill
8. Jaromir Weinberger
9. Egon Wellesz
10. Eric Whitacre
11. Charles-Marie Widor
12. Henryk Wieniawski
13. John Wilbye
14. John Williams
15. Malcolm Williamson
16. Hugo Wolf
17. Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari
18. Hugh Wood

Nationalities

English 5
American 4
Austrian 3
German 2
French 1
Polish 1
Australian 1
Italian 1

Earliest

Composer - John Wilbye (1574-1638)
Composition - von Weber's Symphony No. 1 (1806)*

*Earliest dated composition

Latest
Composer - Eric Whitacre (b. 1970)
Composition - Whitacre's The Sacred Veil (2022)

Total Compositions Sampled - 93

Top 5 Ranked "W" Composers

Ranked on a purely subjective personal enjoyment scale

John Williams (10/10)

American, b. 1932

Star Wars

Richard Wagner (10/10)

German, 1813-1883

Der Ring des Nibelungen

Eric Whitacre (10/10)

American, b. 1970

This Marriage

Charles-Marie Widor (10/10)

French, 1844-1937

Symphony No. 3

Carl Maria von Weber (10/10)

German, 1786-1826

Symphony No. 2