August 2020
-
Obscure Music Monday: Delius' Summer Night on the River
Frederick Theodore Albert Delius (Jan. 29, 1862 - June 10, 1934) was an English composer, born in to a wealthy family. Delius didn't want to go in to business and commerce like his family, and resisted it as much as possible. While the family was heavily involved in commerce, the Delius household liked to entertain musicians often, and Delius found... -
Obscure Music Monday: Joplin's A Breeze from Alabama
Scott Joplin (c. 1867/68 - April 1, 1917) was an African-American composer and pianist, who came to be known as the "King of Ragtime Writers". Joplin was born in to a family of railroad laborers in Texas, but got as much musical knowledge as he could from local teachers, and ended up forming a vocal quartet, and teaching mandolin and... -
Obscure Music Monday: Beach's Nocturne
Amy Marcy Cheney Beach (Sept. 5, 1867 - December 27, 1944) was an American composer and pianist. Extremely gifted from a young age, Beach's talents seemed to run in the family, with various members playing instruments or singing, and showing great aptitude for music. Continue reading → -
Obscure Music Monday: Price's Adoration (arr. for Violin or Viola)
Florence Beatrice Price (April 9, 1887 - June 3, 1953) was an African-American pianist and composer, and the first African-American woman to have a piece played by a major symphony orchestra. Born in Little Rock, Arkansas, Price's first piano teacher was her mother, a music educator, and Price's first recital was at the age of 4. After high school (which she... -
Obscure Music Monday: Scriabin's Rêverie
Alexander Nikolayevich Scriabin (Jan. 6, 1872 - April 27, 1915) was a composer and pianist, born in Moscow to a Russian noble family. He was exposed to the piano at a young age, as his mother was a concert pianist. He went on to serve as a military attaché, and later attended the Moscow Conservatory, studying both piano and composition...