TDCM: April 28th - Camille Saint-Saëns

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921)

Bio

Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns was born in Paris. He was a child prodigy, giving concerts as a 10-year-old on the piano. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire under Daniel Auber. He worked as an organist in several prominent French churches and as a teacher at the École de Musique Classique et Religieuse in Paris. Alongside Bizet and Berlioz, one of the greatest French Romantics.

Music

Symphony No. 3

Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor

Piano Concerto No. 5

Symphony No. 1

Symphony No. 2 in A minor

Piano Concerto No. 4

Carnival of Animals

Danse Macabre

TDCM: Review of the "R" Composers

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

List, Stats, Curiosities of the "R" Composers

1. Sergei Rachmaninoff
2. Joachim Raff
3. Priaulx Rainier
4. Jean-Philippe Rameau
5. Maurice Ravel
6. Alan Rawsthorne
7. Max Reger
8. Steve Reich
9. Ottorino Respighi
10. Wallingford Riegger
11. Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
12. Leroy Robertson
13. George Rochberg
14. Joaquin Rodrigo
15. Bernard Rogers
16. Joseph-Guy Ropartz
17. Gioachino Rossini
18. Albert Roussel
19. Edmund Rubbra
20. Anton Rubinstein
21. Carl Ruggles
    

Nationalities

American 6
French 4
English 3
Russian 3
Italian 2
German 1
Spanish 1
Swiss 1
South African 1

Earliest

Composer - Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683-1764)
Composition - Rossini's Sinfonia al conventello (1806)*

*Earliest dated composition

Latest
Composer - Steve Reich (b. 1936)
Composition - Reich's Electric Counterpoint (2017)

Total Compositions Sampled - 110

Top 10 Ranked "R" Composers

Ranked on a purely subjective personal enjoyment scale

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (10/10)

Russian, 1844-1908

Scheherazade

 

 

Sergei Rachmaninoff (10/10)

Russian, 1873-1943

Piano Concerto No. 2

Maurice Ravel (10/10)

French, 1875-1937

 

 

Le tombeau de Couperin

Anton Rubinstein (10/10)

Russian, 1829-1894

Symphony No. 1

Edmund Rubbra (10/10)

English, 1901-1986

Symphony No. 6

Joaquin Rodrigo (10/10)

Spanish, 1901-1999

Concierto Andaluz

Joachim Raff (10/10)

Swiss, 1822-1882

Symphony No. 1

Ottorino Respighi (10/10)

Italian, 1879-1936

Roman Trilogy

Steve Reich (9/10)

American, b. 1936

Music for 18 Musicians

Gioachino Rossini (8/10)

Italian, 1792-1868

The William Tell Overture

TDCM: April 26th - Carl Ruggles

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Carl Ruggles (1876-1971)

Bio

Carl Sprague Ruggles was born in Massachusetts. He taught himself music and became something of a child celebrity playing roadside concerts for President Grover Cleveland. His compositions earn him both some living and opportunities to work as a teacher at the Mar D'Mar School, director of music for the YMCA, and finally professor of composition at the University of Miami. Along with composing, he was also an avid painter.  

Music

Sun-Treader

Evocations

Organum

Men and Mountains

TDCM: April 25th - Anton Rubinstein

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Anton Rubinstein (1829-1894)

Bio

Anton Grigoryeich Rubinstein was born in the Russian Empire, in the region that is now Moldova. His parents were Jewish but the family converted to Russian Orthodox when he was a child. He attempted to enter the Paris Conservatoire but instead impressed the local piano superstars Liszt & Chopin and began a life of piano touring and composing. He became an international giant and returned to Russia to reform the St Petersburg Conservatory but politics forced him to live part-time there and part-time in Dresden.  

Music

Piano Concerto No. 1 in E Minor

Piano Concerto No 2 in F Major

Symphony No. 1 in F Major

Symphony No. 2 "Ocean"

TDCM: April 24th - Edmund Rubbra

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Edmund Rubbra (1901-1986)

Bio

Charles Edmund Rubbra was born in Northhampton. He studied at University College and worked closely with William Alwyn while being taught by Cyril Scott and Gustav Holst. He served during World War II and then took a position teaching at Oxford. He composed a number of Symphonies and other works with a tendency towards a melodic style.  

Music

Symphony No. 1

Symphony No. 2

Symphony No. 3

Viola Concerto

Symphony No. 6

Symphony No. 11

Symphony No. 10

TDCM: April 21st - Albert Roussel

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Albert Roussel (1869-1937)

Bio

Albert Charles Paul Marie Roussel was born in Tourcoing, France. He served in the French Navy and spent much of his naval time in Southeast Asia. He studied music at the Schola Conatorum de Paris under d'Indy among others. He drove an ambulance during WWI and was a prominent music teacher with famous students such as Satie and Martinů. 

Music

Symphony No. 1 Le poème de la forêt

Évocations

Symphony No. 2

Symphony No. 3

Suite for Piano

TDCM: April 20th - Gioachino Rossini

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868)

Bio

Gioachino Antonio Rossini was born in Pesaro and educated in Bologna. He composed 39 operas and was enormously successful in both Venice and Paris. He hosted a salon in Paris at which gathered many notable composers of his time including Liszt, Rubenstein, Verdi, Meyerbeer, and Joachim. 

Music

William Tell Overture

The Barber of Seville

Sinfonia in D Major

Sinfonia al conventello

TDCM: April 19th - Guy Ropartz

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Guy Ropartz (1864-1955)

Bio

Joseph Guy Ropartz was born in Brittany. He studied at the Conservatoire de Paris under Dubois, Massenet, and later Franck. He was good friends with Georges Enesco. He was very politically active and much of his composing reflected his support of the Breton cultural renaissance.

Music

Symphony No. 1 sure un choral breton

Symphony No. 2 in F minor

Symphony No. 3 in E major

Symphony No. 4 in C major

Symphony No. 5 in G major

Cello Sonata No. 1

TDCM: April 18th - Bernard Rogers

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Bernard Rogers (1893-1968)

Bio

Bernard Rogers was born in New York City. He studied with Bloch, Boulanger, and others before taking teaching posts at the Cleveland Institute of Music, the Hartt School, and the Eastman School of Music. He composed a fair-sized catalog but is most known for his influence on a generation of composers including David Diamond, Howard Hanson, and many others.

Music

Symphony No. 3 On a Thanksgiving Song

Symphony No. 5 Africa

Three Japanese Dances

The Song of the Nightingale

TDCM: April 17th - Joaquin Rodrigo

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Joaquin Rodrigo (1901-1999)

Bio

Joaquin Rodrigo Vidre, 1st Marquess of the Gardens of Aranjuez was born in Valencia. He went blind as a child from diphtheria. Despite this, he began studying music as a child and went to Paris to study with Dukas. He taught at the Complutense University of Madrid and composed in braille. King Juan Carlos I gave him the title Marqués de los Jardines de Aranjuez in his 90th year. 

Music

Concierto Andaluz

Concierto Madrigal

Soleriana

Concierto in modo galante

Concierto serenata

Concierto heroico

Concierto como un divertimento

Concierto para una fiesta

Concierto pastoral

Fantasia para un gentilhombre

TDCM: April 14th - George Rochberg

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

George Rochberg (1918-2005)

Bio

George Rochberg was born in New Jersey. He studied at the Mannes College of Music and the Curtis Institute of Music. Among his teachers were Gian Carlo Menotti and George Szell. He fought in WWII and then taught at the University of Pennsylvania for 15 years. He initially composed with serial technique but abruptly returned to a more tonal base after his son died. 

Music

Viola Sonata

String Quartet No. 3

Trio for B-flat Clarinet, French Horn, and Piano

Symphony No. 1

TDCM: April 13th - Leroy Robertson

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Leroy Robertson (1896-1971)

Bio

Leroy Robertson was born in Utah. He studied at the New England Conservatory of Music and taught at BYU for many years. He made a number of contributions to the Mormon hymnal and is one of the most important composers in the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Music

Piano Concerto

American Serenade

The Book of Mormon

TDCM: April 12th - Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908)

Bio

Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov is one of the greatest composers of all time. He was born just east of Saint Petersburg to nobility. He joined the Navy and began taking music lessons. His teacher introduced him to Mily Balakirev who then introduced him to Cui and Mussorgsky. The four of them, with the addition of Borodin, became known as The Five or the Mighty Handful. Together they advanced Russian Nationalistic classical music with incredible orchestration and influenced generations of composers in Russia and Europe.

Music

Scheherazade

Russian Easter Festival Overture

Antar

Symphony No. 1

Symphony No. 3

Trombone Concerto

Night on Mt. Triglav

TDCM: April 11th - Wallingford Riegger

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Wallingford Riegger (1885-1961)

Bio

Wallingford Constantine Riegger was born in Albany, Georgia. He studied Cello at the Institute of Musical Art (Juilliard) and the Hochschule für Musik in Berlin. He taught at Drake, Juilliard, and Ithaca College while composing. He composed primarily in a 12-tone style and was influenced by Schoenberg, Cowell, and Ives.

Music

Dichotomy for Orchestra

Symphony No. 3

Concerto for Piano and Woodwind Quintet

Symphony No. 4

TDCM: April 10th - Ottorino Respighi

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Ottorino Respighi (1879-1936)

Bio

Respighi was born in Bologna and had an enormous aptitude for various instruments. He studied violin and viola at the Liceo Musicale di Bologna and then played with the Russian Imperial Theater in Saint Petersburg. He met and studied with Rimsky-Korsakov and Max Bruch before briefly joining the Lega dei Cinque with Pizzetti, Malipiero, Bastianelli, and Bossi. He taught in Rome and worked with Casella becoming an internationally renowned composer. 

Music

Pines of Rome

Fountains of Rome

Roman Festivals

Belkis, Queen of Sheba

The Birds

Sinfonia Drammatica

Piano Compositions

TDCM: April 7th - Steve Reich

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Steve Reich (b. 1936)

Bio

Stephen Michael Reich was born in New York City. Reich studied Philosophy at Cornell University and then at Juilliard and Mills College. He was contemporaries with Berio and Milhaud at Mills. His work is typically described as minimalist and he has been described as one of a "handful of living composers who can legitimately claim to have altered the direction of musical history."  

Music

Music for 18 Musicians

Electric Counterpoint, Vol 2

Drumming

Clapping Music

Sextet

TDCM: April 5th - Max Reger

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Max Reger (1873-1916)

Bio

Johann Baptist Joseph Maximilian Reger was born in Bavaria. He began his studies with Hugo Riemann and developed as a composer. He was appointed the director at the Leipzig University Church and as a professor at the Royal Conservatory there. He served in Duke Georg II's court but resigned and died suddenly after a series of compositions commemorating the loss in World War I.

Music

Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Bach

 

Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Telemann

Mozart Variations

Eine Romantische Suite für orchester

Vier Tondichtungen für orchester

Eine Ballett-Suite in D major for orchestra

TDCM: April 4th - Alan Rawsthorne

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Alan Rawsthorne (1905-1971)

Bio

Rawsthorne was born in Lancashire. He studied at the Royal Manchester College of Music before going abroad to study in Poland and Germany. He taught briefly in Dartington Hall and spent most of his life as a freelance composer. He had a successful career both in classical composing and film scores. 

Music

Piano Concerto No. 2

Symphony No. 1

Symphony No. 3

Piano Concerto No. 1

Symphony No. 2 A Pastoral Symphony

Oboe Concerto

Violin Concerto No. 2