TDCM: Review of the "K" Composers

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

List, Stats, Curiosities of the "K" Composers

1. Dmitry Kabalevsky
   
2. Aram Khachaturian
3. Oliver Knussen
4. Zoltán Kodály
5. Charles Koechlin
6. Erich Wolfgang Korngold
7. Karl Korte
8. Ernst Křenek
9. György Kurtág

Nationalities

American 3
Russian 2
Hungarian 2
English 1
French 1

Earliest

Composer - Charles Koechlin (1867-1950)
Composition - Kodály's Summer Evening (1906)

Latest
Composer - György Kurtág ( b. 1926 )
Composition - Korte's Elements: Fire (2013)

Total Compositions Sampled - 54

Top 5 Ranked "K" Composers

Ranked on a purely subjective personal enjoyment scale

Erich Wolfgang Korngold (10/10)

American, 1897-1957

Kings Row

Aram Khachaturian (10/10)

Russian, 1903-1978

Symphony No. 3 "Symphony-Poem"

Zoltán Kodály (10/10)

Hungarian, 1882-1967

Dances of Galánta

Dmitry Kabalevsky (9/10)

Russian, 1904-1987

Violin Concerto in C major

Charles Koechlin (7/10)

French, 1867-1950

Violin Sonata

TDCM: October 24th - György Kurtág

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

György Kurtág ( b.1926 )

Bio

György Kurtág was born in Lugoj, Romania. His parents were Hungarian and he moved to Budapest and became a Hungarian citizen in his 20s. He studied at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music but left Hungary after the 1956 uprising. He studied under Messiaen, Deutsch, and Milhaud in Paris. He has held several teaching posts and won several awards including the Ernst von Siemens Music Prize, the John Cage Award, and just recently in 2020 the Rolf Schock Prize. 

Music

Officium breve, in memoriam Andreae Szervánszky

da Játékok

Double Concerto No. 2

Stele

12 Microludes for String Quartet

Quartetto per archi

TDCM: October 21st - Ernst Křenek

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Ernst Křenek (1900-1991)

Bio

Ernst Heinrich Křenek was born in Vienna. His father was a Czech soldier and he also was drafted into the military but remained in Vienna and studied music during his service. He was briefly married to Mahler's daughter, was forced out of Germany by the emerging Nazis, and eventually became an American citizen in 1945. He taught at a number of Universities including Vassar College, Hamline University in St. Paul, and the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto.  

Music

Sinfonia No. 1

Sinfonia No. 2

Twelve Short Pieces for Piano

Dream Sequence

TDCM: October 20th - Karl Korte

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Karl Korte (1928-2022)

Bio

Karl Korte was born in Ossining, New York. He studied at Juilliard under Copland. He taught at Williams College in Massachusetts and at the University of Texas at Austin. He won several awards for his contributions to American contemporary classical music. 

Music

Elements: Fire

Pale Is This Good Prince

Southwest

Whistling Wind

TDCM: October 19th - Erich Wolfgang Korngold

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Erich Wolfgang Korngold (1897-1957)

Bio

Erich Wolfgang Korngold was born in Brünn, Austria-Hungary to a Jewish family. His father was a music critic and Erich was a child prodigy. He was playing advanced piano pieces at the age of 5 and began composing original pieces two years later. He impressed Mahler as a child and played for Emperor Franz Josef in Vienna. In his 40s, he was invited to Hollywood to begin scoring films. He found enormous success and eventually became a naturalized US citizen. He scored hits such as Captain Blood, The Adventures of Robin Hood, The Sea Wolf, and Kings Row. He is considered the first internationally renowned composer to sign a deal with a film studio and scored 22 films winning 2 Oscars and being nominated for 2 others. 

Music

Kings Row OST

The Prince and the Pauper, selections

Sinfionietta in B major

Symphony in F-sharp major

Violin Concerto

Symphonic Serenade for string orchestra in B-flat major

TDCM: October 18th - Charles Koechlin

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Charles Koechlin (1867-1950)

Bio

Charles-Louis-Eugène Koechlin was born in Paris. He studied engineering initially but wasn't successful so instead turned to music and enrolled in the Paris Conservatory. He was a contemporary of Enescu and Hahn and they studied under Ravel and Fauré. He was very prolific and composed in an eclectic impressionist neoclassical style.

Music

Violin Sonata

Les Heures Persanes

La course de printemps

The Seven Stars' Symphony

Quartetto per archi No. 2

TDCM: October 17th - Zoltán Kodály

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Zoltán Kodály (1882-1967)

Bio

Zoltán Kodály was born in Hungary. He studied at the University of Budapest and the Hungarian Academy of Music. He was successful enough to travel to Paris for tutoring from Charles Widor. He returned to Hungary and began studying the local folk music. He and Bartók became friends and worked to support one another's careers. He wrote extensively on Hungarian folk music and on musical education and was a prolific composer.  

Music

Háry-János-Suite

Summer Evening

Concerto for Orchestra

Peacock Variations

Dances of Galánta

Sonata for Solo Cello

Nine Pieces for Piano

7 Pieces