TDCM: Review of the "M" Composers

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

List, Stats, Curiosities of the "M" Composers

1. John McCabe
2. Edward MacDowell
3. Guillaume de Machaut
4. Elizabeth Maconchy
5. Gustav Mahler
6. Gian Francesco Malipiero
7. Luca Marenzio
8. Frank Martin
9. Bohuslav Martinů
10. Pietro Masagni
11. Jules Massenet
12. William Mathias
13. Nicholas Maw
14. Richard Meale
15. Nikolai Medtner
16. Wilfrid Mellers
17. Felix Mendelssohn
18. Peter Mennin
19. Gian Carlo Menotti
20. André Messager
21. Olivier Messiaen
22. Giacomo Meyerbeer
23. Nikolai Myaskovsky
24. Darius Milhaud
25. Ernest John Moeran
26. Claudio Monteverdi
27. Douglas Stuart Moore
28. Thomas Morley
29. Moritz Moszkowski
30. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
31. Dominic Muldowney
32. Thea Musgrave
33. Modest Mussorgsky

Nationalities

English 6
French 5
Italian 5
American 3
Russian 3
German 3
Austrian 2
Irish 1
Australian 1
Swiss 1
Czech 1
Welsh 1
Scottish 1

Earliest

Composer - Guillaume de Machaut (c1300-1377)
Composition - Montiverdi's Selva Morale e Spirituale (c1641)*

*Earliest dated composition

Latest
Composer - Dominic Muldowney (b. 1952)
Composition - Muldowney's The Fall of Jerusalem (2016)

Total Compositions Sampled - 174

Top 10 Ranked "M" Composers

Ranked on a purely subjective personal enjoyment scale

Gustav Mahler (10/10)

Austrian, 1860-1911

Symphony No. 5

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (10/10)

Austrian, 1756-1791

Eine kleine Nachtmusik

Felix Mendehlssohn (10/10)

German, 1809-1847

Piano Concerto No. 1 in G minor

Jules Massenet (10/10)

French, 1842-1912

Orchestral Suite No. 3 "Scènes Dramatiques"

Modest Mussorgsky (10/10)

Russian, 1839-1881

Night on Bald Mountain

Bohuslav Martinů (9/10)

Czech, 1890-1959

Symphony No. 6 "Fantaisies symphoniques"

Ernest John Moeran (9/10)

English, 1894-1950

Two Rhapsodies for Orchestra

Moritz Moszkowski (9/10)

German, 1854-1925

Piano Concerto No. 2

Giacomo Meyerbeer (9/10)

German, 1791-1864

Struensée Overture

Gian Francesco Malipiero (9/10)

Italian, 1882-1973

Sinfonia del silenzio e della morte

TDCM: January 31st - Otto Nicolai

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Otto Nicolai (1810-1849)

Bio

Carl Otto Ehrenfried Nicolai was born in Kӧnigsberg. His father was also a composer and taught him as a boy. He ran away and eventually reached Berlin where he studied with Carl Friedrich Zelter. He and Verdi were rivals in Italy and he was an important figure in Vienna for much of his life. 

Music

Symphony No. 2 in D major

The Merry Wives of Windsor

Te Deum

Messe D-dur

TDCM: January 30th - Modest Mussorgsky

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Modest Mussorgsky (1839-1881)

Bio

Mussorgsky was born in Karevo, just south of St. Petersburg. He showed early promise on the piano and studied briefly at St. Petersburg before joining the military. He met Borodin and Dargomyshsky while serving in the Imperial Guard and his musical career took off. Cui and more importantly Balakirev also met and began influencing his progress. He is now counted among The Five though he is considered the most extreme both in lifestyle and composition. 

Music

Pictures at an Exhibition (orch. Ravel)

Night on Bald Mountain

Piano Compositions

TDCM: January 27th - Thea Musgrave

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Thea Musgrave (b. 1928)

Bio

Musgrave was born in Edinburgh and studied at the University there. She then went to Paris to study with Boulanger and to America to study with Copland. She taught at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and Queens College in New York. 

Music

Concerto for Viola and Orchestra

Turbulent Landscapes

Horn Concerto

Music for Horn and Piano

Narcissus

TDCM: January 26th - Dominic Muldowney

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Dominic Muldowney (b. 1952)

Bio

Muldowney is a modern composer who studied with Jonathan Harvey, David Blake, and Harrison Birtwistle. He was the Music Director of the Royal National Theater for 16 years. He also taught composition at the Royal Academy in London. He has composed several scores for film and television, most recently for the 2012 series Wallander.

Music

Oboe Concerto

The Fall of Jerusalem

Piano Concerto

TDCM: January 25th - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)

Bio

The prodigy's prodigy. Mozart was born in Salzburg and reportedly was proficiently composing on the piano by age 5. His first Symphony is attributed to him at age 8 and he toured as a prodigious pianist throughout his youth. He met JC Bach in London at ages 9-10 and was highly influenced by him. He had several notable patrons including Emperor Joseph II. An illness took his life at age 35 ending a prolific career. He was enormously popular during his short life and is still noted as one of the greatest composers in Classical Music history.

Music

Symphony No. 40 in G minor

Mozart Concertante Collection

Eine Kleine Nachtmusik

Symphony No. 41 "Jupiter"

Symphony No. 25

Symphony No. 30 in D major

Symphony No. 29 in A major

Symphony No. 36 in C major "Linz"

Symphony No. 20 in D major

TDCM: January 24th - Moritz Moszkowski

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Moritz Moszkowski (1854-1925)

Bio

Moszkowski was born in Breslau which is now in Poland but was then a part of the Kingdom of Prussia. He had Jewish heritage and was outspoken about it. He studied piano at Dresden and at Berlin under Franck. He was a virtuoso pianist and traveled Europe on his playing while also holding a teaching post at the Berlin Conservatory. Polish piano master Ignacy Paderewski named him second only to Chopin in understanding how to write for the piano. 

Music

Piano Concerto No. 1

Piano Concerto No. 2 in E major

15 Etudes

Johanna d'Arc

Violin Concerto

TDCM: January 23rd - Thomas Morley

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Thomas Morley (1557-1602)

Bio

Thomas Morley was born in Norwich. He moved to London and studied with William Byrd before attending Oxford. He composed madrigals and keyboard music and was in the same parish as William Shakespeare. 

Music

Dances for Broken Consort

Madrigals and cazonets

Morley & Purcell Madrigals

TDCM: January 20th - Douglas Stuart Moore

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Douglas Stuart Moore (1893-1969)

Bio

Douglas Stuart Moore was born in Long Island, New York. He studied at Yale with a double major in Philosophy and Composition. He was an officer in the Navy in World War I and then studied with d'Indy in Paris and Bloch in Cleveland. He worked with the Cleveland Museum of Art and acted with the Cleveland Play House during the 20s. He furthered his studies with Nadia Boulanger in Paris and then taught at Columbia till 1962.

Music

Symphony No. 1 "Symphony of Autumn"

Woodwind Quintet

Symphony No. 2 in A major

Gallantry

TDCM: January 13th - Claudio Monteverdi

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643)

Bio

Claudio Giovanni Antonio Monteverdi was born in Cremona which is in northern Italy. He spent most of his career in the courts of Mantua and the Republic of Venice. He composed polyphonic choral music for the church and public consumption. He was one of the early adopters of the basso continuo technique and dealt with some controversy as a result. 

Music

Vespro della Beata Vergine

Selva Morale e Spirituale

TDCM: January 11th - Ernest John Moeran

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Ernest John Moeran (1894-1950)

Bio

Moeran was born in Middlesex to a clergyman. He studied at the Royal College of Music under Charles Villiers Stanford and joined the Oxford & Cambridge Musical Club along with Vaughan Williams, Butterworth, and Boult. He was wounded at the 2nd Battle of Bullecourt in WWI but recovered and served through the rest of the war in Ireland. He returned to his studies under John Ireland and then began composing. His work is specifically tied to Irish folk music and is still played today. 

Music

Violin Concerto

Two Rhapsodies for Orchestra

Symphony in G minor

Symphony No. 2 (completed by Martin Yates)

Sinfionetta for Orchestra

TDCM: January 10th - Darius Milhaud

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Darius Milhaud (1892-1974)

Bio

Milhaud was born in Marseille to Jewish parents. He studied at the Paris Conservatory and met Honegger and Tailleferre there. They joined with Auric, Durey, and Poulenc to form Les Six, a group of French (and one Swiss) composers who were a neoclassic reaction to Wagner and Debussy. Milhaud was very prolific producing an opus list in the 400s.

Music

Le Bœf sure le toit

Saudades do Brasil

Cello Concerto

La Création du Monde

Suite No. 8

TDCM: January 9th - Nikolai Myaskovsky

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Nikolai Myaskovsky (1881-1950)

Bio

Nikolai Yakolevich Myaskovsky was born near Warsaw. His father was an engineer in the army. He also studied to be an engineer but was inspired by a Tchaikovsky symphony to compose. Private lessons with Glière in the military prepared him to enter the Conservatory where he studied under Lyadov and Rimsky-Korsakov. He and Prokofiev became friends and collaborated throughout their careers. He is known as the Father of the Soviet symphony as he composed 27 of them. 

Music

Symphony No. 22 "Symphony-Ballad"

Symphony No. 25

Cello Concerto

Symphony No. 26 in C major "on Russian Themes"

Symphony No. 27

Piano Sonata No. 1

Symphony No. 3 in A minor

TDCM: January 6th - Giacomo Meyerbeer

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Giacomo Meyerbeer (1791-1864)

Bio

Jakob Liebmann Beer was born in Tasdorf to a Jewish family. He adopted the surname Meyerbeer after his grandfather Liebmann Meyer Wulff. His father was a prominent figure in Berlin and Jakob received the best education possible. He studied under Muzio Clementi, Antonio Salieri, and Carl Zelter. He went to Italy to compose opera and took the name Giacomo. He was initially successful but posthumously fell out of style after attacks from Wagner and later the Nazi regime for his Jewish heritage. Modern scholarship has restored his place as a successful composer.

Music

Clarinet Quartet in E-flat major

4 Fackeltanze for Prussian Royal Weddings

Le Prophéte

Les Patineurs

Fest-Ouverture im Marschstyl for the London World Exhibition

Struensée

TDCM: January 5th - Olivier Messiaen

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Olivier Messiaen (1908-1992)

Bio

Olivier Eugène Prosper Charles Messiaen was born in Avignon. His father was a teacher and translator and his mother was a poet. At 11, Messiaen entered the Paris Conservatoire and studied under Gallon, Emmanuel, Dupré, and Dukas. He became the organist at the Église de la Sainte-Trinité at age 23 and remained there for 60 years. He was a medical auxiliary in WWII and was captured at Verdun. He composed pieces at Stalag VIII-A and is still commemorated there. After the war, he continued composing and taught at the Conservatoire.

Music

Fête des belles eaux

Des canyons aux etoiles

Turangalîla-Sinfonie

Quartet for the End of Time

L'Ascension

Catalogue d'oiseaux

TDCM: January 4th - André Messager

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

André Messager (1853-1929)

Bio

André Charles Prosper Messager was born in central France. He studied church music under Loret, Gigout, Fauré, and Saint-Saëns. Messager succeeded Fauré as the choir organist at Saint-Suplice where Widor was the principal. He collaborated with many of his contemporaries including Chabrier, Massenet, and Debussy. He was a celebrated composer and conductor and was appointed a Commander of the Légion d'honneur. 

Music

Symphony in A major

Les Deux Pigeons

Isoline

Madame Chrysantheme