Obscure Music Mondays

Ladislas de Rohozinski (1886 - Sept. 4, 1938) was a French composer, music critic, and conductor born in Saint Petersburg, of Polish descent.  Continue reading →

Charles Wakefield Cadman (Dec. 24, 1881 - Dec. 30, 1946) was an American composer, pianist, and music critic trained entirely in America.  Continue reading →

Zdeněk Fibich (Dec. 21, 1850 - Oct. 15, 1900) was a Czech composer and pianist. Having a Czech father and German Viennese mother, Fibich grew up bilingual. Because of his father's work (a forestry official), he spent a lot of time moving around and living on various wooded estates, and the woods would become a source of inspiration for some of his compositions.  Continue reading →

Selim Gustav Adolf Palmgren (Feb. 16, 1878 - Dec. 13, 1951) was a Finnish composer, conductor, and pianist. He studied at the Helsinki Conservatory in Helsinki from 1895 to 1899, then continued his piano studies in Berlin. He conducted several orchestras and music societies in Finland, and had successful performances as a pianist in Finland and Scandanavia. In 1921 he moved to the United States to teach at the Eastman School of Music, and from 1936 - 1951, he was Professor of Harmony and Composition at the Sibelius Academy.  Continue reading →

Marion Bauer (Aug. 15, 1882 - Aug. 9, 1955) was an American composer, music critic, teacher, and writer. Born in Walla Walla, Washington, she was the youngest of seven children. Her father noticed her musical inclinations and she began studying piano  with her elder sister Emilie, who was 17 years older than her.  Continue reading →

Jacques François Antoine Marie Ibert (Aug. 15, 1890 - Feb. 5, 1962) was a French composer, born in Paris. His father a businessman, and mother a talented pianist, young Ibert was encouraged in his musical journeys. He started piano and violin at age four, and entered the Paris Conservatory in 1910. His studies were interrupted by World War I, where he was a naval officer, but he resumed his studies later on, and won the famous Prix de Rome on his first attempt in 1919.  Continue reading →

Anton Friedrich Wilhelm von Webern (Dec. 3, 1883 - Sept. 15, 1945) was an Austrian composer and conductor. Along with Arnold Schoenberg and Alban Berg, Webern was a key figure in the Second Viennese School. Continue reading →

César Antonovich Cui (Jan. 18, 1835 - March 13, 1918) was a Russian composer and music critic, and also an army officer, and military academic. He's widely known for being a part of the "The Five" (also known as the Mighty Five, or the New Russian School), along with Mily Balakirev, Modest Mussorgsky, Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov, and Alexander Borodin.  Continue reading →

Toivo Ilmari Hannikainen (Oct. 19, 1892 - July 25, 1955) was a Finnish composer, born in to a musical family. His father Pekka Junani Hannikainen was a composer, as was his  brother Väinö Hannikainen. His brother Tauno Hannikainen was a conductor. Ilmari studied music at the University of Helsinki, and went on to study in Vienna, St. Petersburg, and Paris. He taught piano at the Helsinki Conservatory, and was later a professor at the Sibelius Academy.  Continue reading →

Isaac Manuel Francisco Albéniz y Pascual (May 29, 1860 - May 18, 1909) was a Spanish conductor, composer, and pianist. He was a child prodigy, and was performing at only four years old.  Continue reading →