Obscure Music Mondays

Ignaz Brüll (Nov. 7, 1846 - Sept. 17, 1907) was born in Moravia, but lived and worked in Vienna. Born to wealthy merchants, Brüll had a musical upbringing; his mother played piano, and his father was a baritone. Though Brüll was to inherit the family business, he was encouraged to pursue music after he started taking lessons at eight years old, and showed clear talent. By this time, the family had already moved to work in Vienna, and not long after, Brüll began studying with Julius Epstein at the Vienna Conservatory, and he studied composition and instrumentation with Johann Rufinatscha and Felix Otto Dessoff. His abilities as a pianist were such that Brahms requested that he play alongside him for his four-hand compositions. Continue reading →

Niels Wilhelm Gade (Feb. 22, 1817 - Dec. 21, 1890) born in Copenhagen, was the son of an instrument maker. Gade, a violinist, composer, and conductor, started his career with the Royal Danish Orchestra as a violinist, and was able to see compositions of his played by the orchestra. Felix Mendelssohn was an early champion of Gade's work, and they became close associates. Robert Schumann was a good friend as well, and the influence of the significant composers of the German Romantic style (Schubert, Schumann, Mendelssohn) can be heard in his works. Gade went on to influence other composers himself, such as Edvard Grieg and Carl Nielsen. Gade is considered one of the most important Danish composers, though we sadly don't see his works programmed frequently. Continue reading →

Jules Demersseman (Jan. 9, 1833 - Dec. 1, 1866) isn't the most common name to come out of classical repertoire, but his contribution has been significant, particularly for the flute. Demersseman was born in France, near the Begian border, and was a flute student at the Paris Conservatory, winning first prize there at the age of 12. He was considered a virtuoso, and went on to write many works for the flute. His Solo de Concert No. 6 is one of his most well known. Continue reading →

Joaquin Turina (Dec. 9, 1882 - Jan. 14, 1949) was born in Seville, where music was a significant part of his upbringing. He tried his hand at studying medicine, but music was his ultimate calling. He studied in both Seville and Madrid, and from 1905 - 1914, he studied composition with Vincent d'Indy at the Schola Cantorum de Paris. He was attracted to the style of Debussy and Ravel, but his interests changed course, however, when he met fellow countrymen Manuel de Falla and Isaac Albinez, who encouraged him to embrace his Spanish and Andalucian heritage. His Scene Andalouse was written for viola, piano, and string quartet, and is in two movements. Continue reading →

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

Ferdinand Ries (Nov. 28, 1784 - Jan. 13, 1838) was born to a musical family in Bonn. He received piano lessons from his father, and also played the cello and organ. In the early 1800s, Ries became a pupil of Ludwig van Beethoven, and later on his secretary and close friend. Continue reading →

George Enescu (Aug.19, 1881 - May 4, 1955) has long been regarded as Romania's most important musician. In addition to composing, he was also a violinist, pianist, and conductor. At age seven he became the youngest student ever admitted to the Vienna Conservatory, studying with Robert Fuchs, and Sigismund Bachrich. Later on he studied at the Paris Conservatory, studying with Jules Massenet, and Gabriel Faure. Continue reading →

Mikhail Glinka (June 1, 1804 - Feb. 15, 1857)  has often been called the father of Russian classical music; his works were strong influences on Mussorgsky, Borodin, and Rimsky-Korsakov, just to name a few. HIs output as a composer was considerable; he wrote operas, symphonic works, chamber pieces, and more. Today we are looking at  his Viola Sonata, a work that is often forgotten about among his large number of works. Continue reading →

Béla Bartók (March 25, 1881 - Sept. 26, 1945) is certainly not an obscure name, but just like any composer, has works that aren't championed as well as others.  Born in Hungary, he showed significant musical talent at a very young age, and began studying music with his mother. Later on Bartok attended The Royal Academy of Music in Budapest, where he wrote his first major orchestra work, which we are looking at today: his symphonic poem Kossuth. It is not programmed anywhere near as often as his other works such as Concerto for Orchestra, Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta, or The Miraculous Mandarin. It seems oft overlooked, but is very much worth a listen. Continue reading →

Vincent d'Indy (March 27, 1851 - Dec. 2, 1931) was born in Paris, France into an aristocratic family, and began studying the piano at an early age with his grandmother. At 14 he was studying harmony, and later on attended the Conservatoire de Paris, where he was a devoted student of Cesar Franck (who initially didn't think much of his compositional attempts, despite the recommendations of Massenet and Bizet). Later on however, he became unhappy with the standard of teaching at the Conservatory, and founded the Schola  Cantorum de Paris with Charles Bordes and Alexandre Guilmant. Some of d'Indy's students included Erik Satie,  Joseph Cantaloube, Darius Milhaud, and Cole Porter, and during his time, d'Indy was considered an important and influential composer. Continue reading →