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

TDMC: September 29th - Hugh Wood

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Hugh Wood (1932-2021)

Bio

Hugh Wood was born in Lancashire. He studied History at Oxford but music was a second love. He moved to London and took lessons from Milner, Hamilton, and Seiber. He composed and taught composition at the Royal Academy, Liverpool, and Cambridge.  

Music

Symphony

String Quartet No. 0

Piano Concerto

TDCM: September 28th - Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari (1876-1948)

Bio

Born Ermanno Wolf in Venice, he chose to carry his mother's maiden name as well. Wolf-Ferrari initially studied art but his talent and interest in music won out. He was acquainted with Verdi and made his name composing operas in varying genres.  

Music

Serenade for Strings

Sinfonia Brevis

Two Piano Trios

Violin Concerto

TDCM: September 27th - Hugo Wolf

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Hugo Wolf (1860-1903)

Bio

Hugo Philipp Jacob Wolf was born in Windischgrätz, then a part of the Austrian Empire. He was prodigious but struggled in school and could not complete training at the Vienna Conservatory. His talent attracted benefactors and his compositions gained notoriety but he succumbed to syphilis and died in an asylum before his 43rd birthday. 

Music

String Quartet in D minor

Italian Serenade

Penthesilea

TDCM: September 26th - Malcolm Williamson

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Malcolm Williamson (1931-2003)

Bio

Malcolm Benjamin Graham Christopher Williamson, AO, CBE was born in Sydney, Australia. He studied at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and then moved to London in his twenties. He was a prolific composer and gained significant notoriety on the Island. After the death of Arthur Bliss, he became the 19th Master of the Queen's Music, a post he held until his death in 2003. He was succeeded by Peter Maxwell Davies.

Music

Symphony No. 5

Symphonic Variations for Orchestra

Mass Of The Feast Of Christ The King

Sinfonietta for Orchestra

Piano Concerto No. 1

TDCM: September 25th - * Bonus Post * John Williams

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

John Williams (b. 1932)

Bio

John Towner Williams was born in Flushing, Queens. He studied under Castelnuovo-Tedesco and played in the Air Force Band. He continued his training at Juilliard and then began composing film scores. He stands as the greatest, most accomplished, film composer of all time.  

Music

Star Wars

Jurassic Park

Hedwig's Theme

The Patriot

Violin Concerto No. 1

Olympic Fanfare and Theme

Saving Private Ryan: Hymn to the Fallen

Schindler's List

Superman

Duel of the Fates

Trombone Concerto

Star Wars Episode III

Indiana Jones

Star Wars: The Return of the Jedi

TDCM: September 22nd - John Wilbye

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

John Wilbye (1574-1638)

Bio

John Wilbye was born in Suffolk. He served in Hengrave Hall where Elizabeth Kitson and her husband funded several musical artists including the composer Edward Johnson. He is fondly remembered for a collection of madrigals that survive from his time at Hengrave.  

Music

Madrigals

TDCM: September 21st - Henryk Wieniawski

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Henryk Wieniawski (1835-1880)

Bio

Wieniawski was born in Lublin, Poland. He was a prodigy violinist and entered the Paris Conservatoire at age 8. He began touring at age 12 and did tours of Europe, Russia, and the United States. He also taught violin, replacing virtuoso Henri Vieuxtemps at the Conservatoire Royal de Bruxelles. He is considered one of the greatest violin players ever.

Music

Violin Concerto No. 1

Violin Concerto No. 2

15 Variations on an original theme

L’École moderne 1-8

Fantaisie brillante Faust

TDCM: September 20th - Charles-Marie Widor

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Charles-Marie Widor (1844-1937)

Bio

Charles-Marie-Jean-Albert Widor was born in Lyon. He studied organ building and composition under François-Joseph Fétis, the director of the Brussels Conservatoire. He worked with Saint-Saëns and Gounod before succeeding Franck as the organ professor at the Paris Conservatoire. He traveled the world playing the organ and is on the short list of the instrument's most proficient composers.

Music

Symphony for Organ No. 5

Symphony No. 2 in D

Symphony for Organ & Orchestra No. 3

Symphonie Antique

Symphony No. 1

Fantasy for Piano and Orchestra

Cello Concerto

Sinfonia Sacra

TDCM: September 19th - *BONUS POST* Eric Whitacre

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Eric Whitacre (b. 1970)

Bio

Eric Edward Whitacre was born in Nevada.  He studied at the Juilliard School with Corigliano and Diamond. He has won several awards, including a pair of Grammys, and is currently the artist-in-residence for the Los Angeles Master Chorale. 

Music

Deep Field

Lux Arumque

When David Heard

Water Night

Cloudburst

This Marriage

The Sacred Veil

Equus

The River Cam

Alleluia

The Seal Lullaby

TDCM: September 18th - Egon Wellesz

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Egon Wellesz (1885-1974)

Bio

Egon Joseph Wellesz CBE FBA, was born in Vienna to Hungarian Jewish parents. He studied law at the University of Vienna but, after viewing Von Weber's Der Fresichütz, chose music instead. He studied composition and theory under Schoenberg and musicology under Adler. He left Austria for England in the buildup to World War II, and his compositions gained him friends, such as Vaughan Williams, and honors, such as an honorary doctorate from Oxford. 

Music

Symphony No. 1

Symphony No. 3

Symphony No. 2

Symphony No. 6

String Quartet No. 1

TDCM: September 15th - Jaromir Weinberger

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Jaromir Weinberger (1896-1967)

Bio

Jaromir Weinberger was born to Jewish heritage in Prague, which was in the Austrian-Hungarian Empire at the time. He was prodigious and entered the Prague Conservatory at age 14. He studied under Novák in Prague and later with Reger in Leipzig. He briefly taught in the US at Cornell before returning to his homeland and becoming a successful composer. He fled the Nazis and settled in the United States, naturalizing in 1948.

Music

Variationen und Fuge

Lincoln Symphony

Schwanda the Bagpiper, Orchestral Selections

TDCM: September 14th - Kurt Weill

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Kurt Weill (1900-1950)

Bio

Kurt Julian Weill was born in the Jewish quarter of Dessau, Germany. He studied piano as a boy and attended the Berliner Hochschule für Musik. He furthered his studies with Busoni and Jamach and became a sought-after director for different opera houses. His prominence and Jewishness led him to be denounced by the Nazis and he fled, first to Paris and then New York. He composed a number of popular show tunes and stage works in the United States and naturalized as a citizen in 1943.

Music

Symphony No. 2 Fantaisie symphonique

Symphony No. 1

The Threepenny Opera

Kleine Dreigroschenmusik

TDCM: September 12th - Thomas Weelkes

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Thomas Weelkes (1576-1623)

Bio

Thomas Weelkes was born in West Sussex. He studied at New College, Oxford, and held several prominent positions including a possible substitute role in the Chapel Royal.  He produced a number of madrigal and Anglican evensong services. At Charles III's coronation, one of his anthems was played.

Music

When David Heard

As Vesta was from Latmos hill descending

O Lord, grant the King a long life

Anthems

TDCM: September 12th - Anton Webern

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Anton Webern (1883-1945)

Bio

Anton Friedrich Wilhelm von Webern was born in Vienna. He studied musicology and art history at the University of Vienna. He began studying under Schoenberg in his 20s and met fellow student Alban Berg. They would be his primary influences musically. He was ostracized for his political beliefs and his music is respected but considered dense and inaccessible. 

Music

Five Movements for String Quartet

Five Pieces

Six Pieces for Orchestra

Im Sommerwind

Passacaglia for Orchestra

TDCM: September 11th - Carl Maria von Weber

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Carl Maria von Weber (1786-1826)

Bio

Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst von Weber was born in the Prince-Bishopric of Lübeck. Weber studied with Michael Haydn and Abbé Vogler. Fellow student Giacomo Meyerbeer and Weber were friends. He successfully operated several Opera houses, served in several courts, and went on a few European tours. He was a concert pianist and successful composer of the early Romantic period.

Music

Clarinet Concerto No. 2

Piano Concerto No. 1

Symphony No. 1

Symphony No. 2

Missa Sancta No. 1

TDCM: September 8th - Peter Warlock

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Peter Warlock (1894-1930)

Bio

Philip Arnold Heseltine was born in London. He studied at Eton College and developed something of an obsession with Delius while there. He studied further in Cologne and Oxford and began publishing music criticism articles while a student. He took the pseudonym of Peter Warlock due in some part to his interest in the occult. He composed a small number of songs but made most of his impact in the critical world.

Music

An Old Song

Capriol Suite

Serenade for Strings

Folk Song Preludes

TDCM: September 7th - William Walton

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Sir William Walton (1902-1983)

Bio

Sir William Turner Walton OM was born in Lancashire. His father was a musician as well and he grew up around music. It is said he was the youngest graduate of Oxford since Henry VIII and he studied under Hugh Allen there. He was influenced by Berg and Schoenberg and much of his composing is avant-garde in nature, he also took up Elgar's mantle as Britain's leading composer before being surpassed by the up-and-coming Benjamin Britten. 

Music

Symphony No. 1

Symphony No. 2

Richard III

Hamlet

Bratschenkonzert

Belshazzar's Feast

TDCM: September 6th - Richard Wagner

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Richard Wagner (1813-1883)

Bio

Wilhelm Richard Wagner was born in Leipzig. He studied at Leipzig University and greatly impressed his music teachers there. He began composing operas and quickly gained the attention of Meyerbeer, Hiller, Semper, and others with several successes. His political activity forced him to leave Germany for a time but he eventually returned and was a celebrity of the highest order throughout Europe. He advanced musical theory while establishing the most successful German opera career to date.

Music

Der Ring des Nibelungen arr. De Vlieger

Symphony in C major

Tannhauser Overture

Overtures and Preludes

TDCM: Review of the "V" Composers

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

List, Stats, Curiosities of the "V" Composers

1. Edgard Varèse
2. Ralph Vaughan Williams
3. Giuseppe Verdi
4. Tomás Luis de Victoria
5. Henri Vieuxtemps
6. Heitor Villa-Lobos
7. Antonio Vivaldi

Nationalities

French 1
English 1
Italian 1
Spanish 1
Belgian 1
Brazilian 1
Venetian 1

Earliest

Composer - Tomás Luis de Victoria (1548-1611)
Composition - Vivaldi's 12 Violin Sonatas (1709)*

*Earliest dated composition

Latest
Composer - Heitor Villa-Lobos (1678-1741)
Composition - Varèse's Ecuatorial (1961)

Total Compositions Sampled - 28

Top 5 Ranked "V" Composers

Ranked on a purely subjective personal enjoyment scale

Ralph Vaughan Williams (10/10)

English, 1872-1958

Sinfonia Antartica

Heitor Villa-Lobos (10/10)

Brazilian, 1887-1959

Symphony No. 3

Henri Vieuxtemps (9/10)

Belgian, 1820-1881

Violin Concerto No. 1

Antonio Vivaldi (9/10)

Venetian, 1678-1741

Four Seasons

Giuseppe Verdi (8/10)

Italian, 1813-1901

Requiem

TDCM: September 5th - Antonio Vivaldi

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)

Bio

Antonio Lucio Vivaldi was born in Venice. His father was a professional violinist and Vivaldi was also proficient on the instrument. He studied for the priesthood and worked at an orphanage as the primary musical teacher. He also served in the court of Philip of Hesse-Darmstadt and in Vienna for Emperor Charles VI. Known as the Red Priest for his hair, Vivaldi is one of the most important composers of the Baroque time period.

Music

Four Seasons

Violin Concertos

Violin Sonatas

TDCM: September 4th - Heitor Villa-Lobos

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887-1959)

Bio

Villa-Lobos was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He learned music as a child by watching performers come to his father's home. He studied the indigenous cultures of Brazil and their influence is found in his composing. He was skilled in multiple instruments and is considered the best-known South American composer of all time.

Music

5 Preludes, 12 Studies & Modinha

Symphony No. 3

Symphony No. 2 

Bachianas Brasileiras

TDCM: September 1st - Henri Vieuxtemps

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Henri Vieuxtemps (1820-1881)

Bio

Henri François Joseph Vieuxtemps was born in Verviers, Belgium. His father played the violin and the young Henri was a precocious performer. As a boy he met Spohr, Schumann, Berlioz, and Paganini whom he was often compared to. He studied in Paris, Vienna, and Saint Petersburg and served in Tsar Nicholas I's court. He is considered one of the great violinists and Belgian composers.

Music

Violin Concerto No. 1

Violin Concerto No. 2

Violin Concerto No. 5

Ballade et Polonaise

6 Morceaux pour Violon Seul