TCDM: November 11th - Béla Bartók

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Béla Bartók (1881-1945)

Bio

Prominent Hungarian pianist and ethnomusicologist, Bartók studied and then taught at the Budapest Academy of Music. He traveled the world as a successful concert pianist and eventually settled in the United States. He wrote extensively on folk music, on the cultural differences found in music, and is considered one of the two greatest Hungarian composers, next to Franz Liszt. 

 

Music

Microcosmos, Part I, II, & III

Concerto for Orchestra

Violin Concerto No. 2

The Wooden Prince, Op. 13, Sz. 60

Symphony in E flat major DD 68, BB 25

The Miraculous Mandarin, Op. 19, Sz. 73

Thanks!

TDCM: November 10th - Samuel Barber

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Samuel Barber (1910-1981)

Bio

2x Pulitzer Prize-winning American composer and Prix de Rome winner. Barber studied in Philadelphia and held a Guggenheim Fellowship. His earliest composition to achieve notoriety was published in 1929 and he remained relevant well into his 60s.

Music

Adagio for Strings

Violin Concerto Op. 14

I. Un poco adagio - Allegro con sprito

II. Andante con moto

III. Dance - Allegro giocoso

The School for Scandal, Op. 5

Music for a Scene from Shelley, Op. 7

Symphony No. 1, Op. 9: I. Allegro ma non troppo

Symphony No. 1, Op. 9: II. Allegro molto

Symphony No. 1, Op. 9: III. Andante tranquillo

Adagio for Strings, Op. 11

First Essays for Orchestra, Op. 12

I. Allegro

II. Andante

III. Presto in motor perpetuoso

Second Essay, Op. 17

Commando March

Funeral March

Symphony No. 2, Op. 19: I. Allegro ma non troppo

Symphony No. 2, Op. 19: II. Andante, un poco mosso

Symphony No. 2, Op. 19: III. Presto, senza battuto - Allegro risoluto

Capricorn Concerto, Op. 21: I. Allegro ma non troppo

Capricorn Concerto, Op. 21: II. Allegretto

Capricorn Concerto, Op. 21: III. Allegro con brio

I. Allegro moderato

II. Andante sostenuto

III. Molto allegro e appassionato

Horizon

I. Parados

II. Choros. Medea and Jason

III. The Young Princess. Jason

IV. Choros

V. Medea

VI. Kantikos Agonias

VII. Exodos

Medea's Meditation and Dance of Vengeance, Op. 23a

Thanks for listening! 

TDCM: November 9th - Sir Granville Bantock

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Sir Granville Bantock (1868-1946)

Bio

British conductor who traveled the world and met many of the other greats of his day particularly noted as a friend of Sibelius. Held various prestigious posts around Great Britain including chairman of the Tower in New Brighton, principal of the Birmingham School of Music, and a Doctor of Music from Edinburgh. Was knighted in 1930. 

Music

A Celtic Symphony

Hebridean Symphony

Omar Khayyam

TDCM: November 8th - Don Banks

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Don Banks (1923-1980)

Bio

Australian Jazz musician. Don studied in London and Florence before returning to Canberra to become the chairman of the Australian Council for the Arts, the head of composition at Canberra School of Music, the Composers' Guild of Australia, and the School of Composition Studies at Sydney Conservatorium. Today the highest music honor awarded by the Australian Council for the Arts is the Don Banks award. 

Music

Three Studies for Cello and Piano

Sequence for Solo Cello

Coney Island

Blues for Two Clarinet

Trio for Horn, Violin, and Cello 1

Four Pieces for String Quartet

Nexus

TDCM: November 3rd - Michael Balfe

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Michael Balfe (1808-1870)

Bio

Irish opera singer and composer, met Rossini and Cherubini while traveling in Italy. Wrote a large collection of Operas, the most famous of which was The Bohemian Girl which debuted at Drury Lane theater in 1843. 

Music

The Bohemian Girl Overture

The Maid of Artois

Concert Overture in C Major

TDCM: November 2nd - Mily Balakirev

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Mily Balakirev (1837-1910)

Bio

A Russian composer who founded the Russian Free School of Music and was the educational father of "The Five" - Mussorgsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Borodin, Glazounov, and Cui. He was also the conductor of the Russian Music Society and the director at the Imperial Chapel. Represents the shift of Russian classical music into the Romantic period. 

Music

Symphony No. 1 in C Major

Symphony No. 2 in D Minor

Piano Sonata No. 2 in B flat Minor

Valses

Tamara

TCDM: November 1st - J.S. Bach

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Bio

An able musician, violinist, singer, organ player, and obviously composer, Bach got caught in Lutheran politics and spent much of his time bouncing from job to job. Eventually, he latched onto the Court of King Leopold and enjoyed a measure of stability. His first wife died in 1720 and he remarried fairly quickly and ended up with 20 children, 11 of which survived to adulthood. He attempted to meet Handel but it never happened. He settled in the Netherlands for a brief time but went back to Germany because as a Lutheran he didn't want his children in Calvinist schools. His grave was lost for nearly 150 years but was rediscovered in the 1890s. 

Music

Keyboard Concerto No. 7

Keyboard Concerto in D Minor

Brandenburg Concertos 1-6

The Violin Concertos

Toccata and Fugue in D Minor

Harpsichord Concertos