Max Bruch was a 19th century German composer, pianist, and violinist. He is most well known for his violin compositions. Bruch also composed a few pieces for the piano. His six pieces for piano (op.12) are fairly early works, but are full of beautiful melody. They are charming pieces that are short and lyrical.
Bruch played both the violin and the piano. He performed in public a few times as a pianist but claimed that he liked the violin more than the piano. According to Bruch the violin could “sing a melody better than the piano can, and melody is the soul of music.”
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is known as a child prodigy (as a performer and as a composer). He played the piano, viola, violin, harpsichord, and organ. Mozart began composing around the age of 5. He is known today for works such as the “Eine Kliene Nachtmusik” suite, the “Jupiter” Symphony, his piano sonatas, and his Requiem among other works.
Mozart also composed pieces for the pipe organ. Mozart only wrote a few organ compositions, and among those compositions the Fantasie in f minor is a masterpiece. The Fantasie is a massive piece that can hold its own alongside the great organ works of J.S. Bach. It is a very difficult piece to play musically. Listen to all the changes of mood and the various tonal colours the organist in this recording gets out of the organ.
Here is a recording of Mozart’s Fantasie in f minor for pipe organ. I am not sure who is playing the piece in this recording. I hope you enjoy this piece.
Teodorico Pedrini was an Italian priest, musician, composer, and missionary. He served as a missionary at the Imperial Court of China for 36 years. Pedrini was the music teacher to three sons of one of China’s emperors. He was the co-author of the first treatise on Western Music theory written in Chinese.
The Sonata no.10 is written for Violin and continuo. Here is a recording of it played by a group called Le Baroque Nomade. It is one of several sonatas written for the Kangxi Emperor. Enjoy!
Johann Schobert (c.1735-1767) was a harpsichordist, fortepianist, and composer. He was an important influence on the young Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Mozart borrowed melodies from movements of Schobert’s harpsichord sonatas and used them in some of his earliest piano concertos. He also borrowed other musical ideas from Schobert and built on those ideas in his earliest piano sonatas.
Here is a recording of Johann Schobert’s Piano Concerto in G major.
Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741) was an Italian composer and violin virtuoso. Today he is best known as the composer of 4 violin concertos called the Four Seasons.
Vivaldi composed around 550 concertos. About 350 of his concertos are for a solo instrument, and of those roughly 230 are violin concertos. Vivaldi also composed some interesting concertos for multiple solo instruments with orchestra (about 30), and nearly 60 concertos for orchestra without a solo instrument (the orchestra is the solo instrument).
Here is a recording of one of Vivaldi’s concertos for diverse instruments (a concerto for multiple instruments) played by the famous baroque ensemble Europa Galante. It is full of rhythmic drive and it is lively. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) was an Austrian composer. He has often been referred to as the the “Father of the Symphony” and the “Father of the String Quartet.” Haydn wrote about 104 symphonies and 80 string quartets. He also wrote music for the church, large scale works for orchestra, soloists, and choruses (such as masses and oratorios), and around 50 piano sonatas. It has been said that when he had an idea for a composition (whatever the instrumentation) he would sit down at the keyboard and improvise and work out musical ideas.
For over 30 years Haydn worked for the Esterhazy family. In 1790, Prince Nicolaus Esterhazy died. Haydn was invited to go to London, England by the impresario J.P. Salomon. It was only once he was out of the Esterhazy court and in London that Haydn received his first real recognition, and gratitude from people for all the fruits of his labour.
Works by Joseph Haydn and his brother Michael Haydn (also a composer) have been unjustly neglected and overshadowed by other composers such as W.A. Mozart.
Some of the music by Joseph Haydn and Michael Haydn is very interesting and in some ways better than some of W.A. Mozart’s music.
Here is a recording of two movements of a Haydn Piano Sonata played by the famous Russian pianist Vladimir Horowitz live in Carnegie Hall in 1966.
John Dowland (1563-1626) was an English composer and virtuoso lute player. During his lifetime he was known for his lute playing and singing voice.
Dowland was a prolific composer of great talent and originality. He wrote about 70 pieces for the solo lute and about 84 songs with lute accompaniment.
Dowland raised up the level of English song. In his best songs the mood and emotion of the verse is perfectly matched by the music. The intensity of the lute accompaniment to the melody, and the skill and virtuosity of the writing in the lute accompaniment is ahead of its time. In his best songs there are some wonderful biting discords in the harmony that Dowland uses to express profound emotion. Another interesting characteristic of Dowland’s music is that some of his songs are in major keys (people sometimes associate major keys with music that is happy) but they have a tinge of a melancholic mood to them.
Paul Agnew is a Scottish operatic tenor. He has worked with many early music ensembles such as the Tallis Scholars, Les Arts Florrisants, and the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra and Choir. In the early 1990s he decided to embark on a solo career. Paul Agnew has made many recordings for different labels.
Christopher Wilson is a well known British lutenist. He has made many recordings and has performed throughout Britain and around the world. Christopher has performed as a soloist, and collaborated with other musicians and ensembles such as Michael Chance, the viol ensemble Fretwork, and The HIlliard Ensemble.
Here is a YouTube link to a recording of Paul Agnew and Christopher Wilson performing John Dowland’s “Weep You No More Sad Fountains.”
Guillaume Lekeu (1870-1894) Was a Belgian composer. He was born in Heusy, Belgium (a small village in Belgium). It was there that Guillaume took his first music lessons in piano from the conductor of the local conservatory brass band, Alphonse Voss.
Lekeu’s family moved to Poitiers, France in 1879 and he continued to study music with his physics teacher. Under this teacher he learnt about the music of J.S. Bach and Beethoven.
He wrote his first composition when he was 15 years old.
Lekeu studied music composition with Cesar Franck and Vincent d’Indy (two very important composers).
Lekeu composed about 50 compositions. Unfortunately most of his works are incomplete. Among his most important compositions are a violin sonata (commissioned by the great violinist Eugene Ysaye), and an orchestral Fantasy. He also composed several works for piano.
Here is a beautiful recording of Lekeu’s Violin Sonata played by Jonathan Morton on violin, and Carole Presland on the piano. Enjoy!
The harp is a beautiful instrument that for some strange reason does not have much of a repertoire. Most pieces I have heard played on the harp were arrangements of piano music (Debussy’s Claire de Lune played on the harp is an example).
Here is a concerto written for the harp by the German composer, conductor, and pianist Carl Reinecke (1824-1910). It is quite a robust and joyful piece and the orchestral part supports the harp very well without overpowering it.
This is a recording done by Fabrice Pierre and the Swedish Chamber Orchestra conducted by Patrick Gallois. You can buy the recording on eMusic. Enjoy!
Ion Voicu (1923-1997) was a Romanian violinist and conductor. He is one of the world’s great violinists. In 1969 he founded the Bucharest Chamber Orchestra which is an internationally acclaimed ensemble. The list of conductors and musicians that Ion Voicu has performed with is incredible. Voicu was a very high level music pedagogue. He taught at many of the world’s leading music institutions. Ion Voicu made hundreds of recordings. Here is a recording of a piece played by Ion Voicu. This piece is quite a catchy tune. I was amazed how he played the piece as I am sure you will be as well.
Musical Treats 