TDCM: July 12th - Igor Stravinsky

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971)

Bio

Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky was born in Oranienbaum, west of Saint Petersburg. He eventually became an ex-patriot Soviet in France and the United States. He studied under Rimsky-Korsakov and like many of his contemporaries was commissioned by Sergei Diaghilev to compose. He went through several distinct phases and pushed 20th-century theory into what is now known as modernism.

Music

Rite of Spring

The Firebird

Symphony in C

Symphony in E-flat major

Symphony in 3 Movements

Violin Concerto

Petrushka

TDCM: July 11th - Richard Strauss

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Richard Strauss (1864-1949)

Bio

Richard Georg Strauss was born in Munich. His father was the principal horn player for the Court Opera. Richard was precocious and began composing at age 6. Eight decades later, he died as one of the most successful German composers of the Late Romantic period. His music was celebrated by the Nazis but he negotiated the relationship deftly. He was captured by American soldiers at the end of the war and one of them asked him to compose an Oboe Concerto.

Music

Also sprach Zarathustra

Death and Transfiguration

Don Quixote

Symphony No. 1 in D minor

Alpine Symphony

Symphony No. 2 in F minor

Ein Heldenleben

TDCM: July 10th - Johann Strauss II

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Johann Strauss II (1825-1899)

Bio

Johann Baptist Strauss II was born near Vienna. His father was also a successful composer. Johann Jr. became perhaps the most prolific waltz composer of all time. He and his father developed a rivalry in his early years but eventually, he eclipsed him and became internationally renowned.

Music

The Blue Danube

Overtures and Marches

Waltzes, Polkas, Czárdás, Marches

TDCM: July 7th - Karlheinz Stockhausen

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Karlheinz Stockhausen (1928-2007)

Bio

Karlheinz Stockhausen was born in Cologne. He studied at the Hochschule für Musik Köln and with Messiaen in Paris. He is considered an important figure in the development of electronic music, aleatoric music, and spatialization. He also taught in several countries and four of his children are musicians. 

Music

Gruppen

Momente

Opus 1970

Gaze Through the Stars

TDCM: July 6th - Robert Still

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Robert Still (1910-1971)

Bio

Robert Still was born in London. He studied at Eton, Trinity College, Oxford, and the Royal College of Music. He served in the artillery orchestra during World War II. He spent much of his career composing and giving lessons but also wrote on psychology and psychoanalysis. 

Music

Unable to find any recordings of Still's music.

TDCM: July 5th - Charles Villiers Stanford

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Charles Villiers Stanford (1852-1924)

Bio

Sir Charles Villiers Stanford was born in Dublin. He studied at Cambridge, Leipzig, and Berlin. He was one of the founding professors at the Royal College of Music and had many significant students including Gustav Holst and Ralph Vaughan Williams. 

Music

Symphony No. 3 "Irish"

Symphony No. 1 in B-flat major

Symphony No. 7

Symphony No. 4

TDCM: July 3rd - Carl Stamitz

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Carl Stamitz (1745-1801)

Bio

Carl Philipp Stamitz was born in Mannheim, Germany. His father, Johann, was the last composer in the dictionary and the founder of the Mannheim school of composing. Carl continued his father's legacy and was a virtuoso violinist. He composed 50 symphonies and a number of other works despite a relatively short career.

Music

Clarinet Concerto No. 3

Clarinet Concerto No. 5

Viola Concerto in D major

Piano Concerto in F major

Concerto for Clarinet and Violin in B-flat major