June 2024

Hélène de Montgeroult (1764-1836) was a trailblazing composer and teacher who's talent and achievements have been overlooked. During her lifetime, however, she was recognized as an excellent performer and improvisor, who maintained artistic relationships with famous composes such as Viotti and Balliot. Her Piano Sonata in F minor, published in 1795, features many dramatic elements of early romanticism that are...

We've previously taken a look at the Piano Quartet No. 1 by the talented Mel Bonis. This week, we look at her Piano Quartet No. 2, Op. 124, a later work from 1927. The second Piano Quartet is dedicated to her classmate at the Paris Conservatoire. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQDZFUsGPIA Rudersdal Chamber Players perform Mel Bonis' Piano Quartet No. 2 The first movement opens...

Charles-Marie Widor was a powerhouse writer for the organ, writing many symphonies for organ alone that took advantage of the varied voices to give a full symphonic form. It was in 1880, however, that he was approached by the future King Edward VII of the United Kingdom to create a work for Organ & Orchestra. Out of that request came...