Chantal Incandela

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 →

Felix August Bernhard Draeseke (Oct. 7, 1835 - Feb. 25, 1913) was a German composer and teacher who was drawn to music very early in life; his first composition was at the age of 8. Continue reading →

Theodor Albin Findeisen (Oct. 1, 1881 - March 3, 1936) was a German double bassist, composer and pedagogue. Continue reading →

Josef Suk (Jan. 4, 1874 - May 29, 1935) was a Czech composer and violinist. He began his musical training at an early age, learning the violin, organ, and piano from his father. Suk went on to study composition at the Prague Conservatory, with his most famous teacher being Antonin Dvořák, and the two became close, trusted friends. Suk ended up marrying Dvořák's  daughter, Otilie. Continue reading →

Joseph Joachim Raff (May 27, 1822 - June 24 or 25, 1882) was a German-Swiss composer, pianist, and teacher who was largely self taught. As a child he showed much talent on the piano and violin, and taught himself the rudiments of music. Continue reading →

Selim Palmgren (Feb. 16, 1878 - Dec. 13, 1951) was a Finnish composer, conductor, and pianist. At the age of 20, he traveled to Berlin to study with Conrad Ansorge (a student of Liszt) and also to Weimar where he had a masterclass with Ferrucio Busoni. Palmgren's successful career was planted firmly when he was the soloist for the premiere of his First Piano Concerto; it was met with acclaim. During a tour of the USA in 1919, he was offered a position at the Eastman School of Music, in Rochester, NY, teaching composition (Sibelius was offered this position earlier, but declined). Palmgren held the post from 1921 - 1926, and from 1939 until his death, he was professor of Composition at the Sibelius Academy Helsinki. Continue reading →

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. Continue reading →

Carl Bohm (Sept. 11, 1844 - April 4, 1920) was a German pianist and composer. Little is known about him, though during his day his works were very popular. He's considered one of the great German songwriters from the 19th century, and has many works that achieved worldwide recognition, such as Still as the Night, Twilight, Maybells, Enfant Cheri, and The Fountain. Bohm's publisher, N. Simrock, said that the profits from his compositions provided the capital for the publication of those of Brahms". That goes to show the popularity and salability of his works during his time. Continue reading →

William Mason (Jan. 24, 1829 - July 14, 1908) was a composer and pianist, born in Boston, Massachusetts. He grew up in a musical family; his father Lowell Mason was an important figure in church music, and his brother Henry Mason was a co-founder of the piano manufacturers Mason and Hamlin. Continue reading →

Hermann Gustav Goetz (Dec. 7, 1840 - Dec. 3, 1876) was a German critic, pianist, and composer. He didn't begin any formal music lessons until age seventeen, when he picked up the piano, but had begun composing a few years before that. He stared working towards a degree in mathematics at the end of the 1850s, but left to attend the Stern Conservatory in Berlin, where he studied piano, and composition with Hans von Bülow. He graduated in 1862. A year later he was appointed the city organist in Winterthur, Switzerland, and taught piano, and began to get his name out as a composer. He had the organist position until 1872, and from1870 - 74, he also wrote reviews for a music magazine. Continue reading →