June 2017

Frank Bridge (Feb. 26, 1879 - Jan. 10, 1941) was an English composer, violist and conductor. Born in Brighton, he attended the Royal College of Music in London from 1899 to 1903, and was active as a violist in several string quartets. He also did a bit of conducting for awhile before devoting himself to composition, with one of his most famous students being Benjamin Britten. Bridge was prolific in his output, but his music is still comparatively little known, and nowhere near as programmed as you'd think. It's especially vexing as what is written about him is glowing; he's nowhere near the household name one would think he'd be. Continue reading →

Sir Arnold Edward Trevor Bax (Nov. 8, 1883 - Oct. 3, 1953) was an English poet, author, and composer. His output was prolific, and spanned several genres, from choral works to chamber pieces to orchestral music. His music was for a while neglected, and then revived, though predominantly as recordings; we still don't see his work programmed very often in concert halls, save a few compositions. Continue reading →

Franz Bendel (March 23, 1833 - July 3, 1874) was born in Schönlinde Bohemia, and not that much is known about this pianist and composer. He studied with Liszt for five years in Weimar, and in 1862 he lived in Berlin and taught at Neue Akadamie der Tonkust. He wrote over 400 compositions, mainly all for piano. He died from typhoid fever while on tour in America, at 41. Continue reading →

Franz Ignaz Danzi (June 15, 1763 - April 13, 1826) was a German composer and conductor, and like his father Innocenz Danzi, a cellist. Continue reading →