Obscure Music Mondays

Joseph Leopold Eybler (Feb. 8, 1765 - July 24, 1846) was born in Schwechat, near Vienna, in to a musical family. His father was a choir director, and friend of the Haydn family. Eybler studied music with his father before attending the cathedral school at St. Stephen's Boys College in Vienna, and later studied composition under Johann Georg Albrechtsberger, who claimed Eybler was Vienna's greatest musical genius, apart from Mozart. He also received praise as a composer from Franz Joseph Haydn, and Mozart as well, who he also studied with. Clearly he was highly regarded, which makes it all that more unfortunate that we don't hear his compositions very often. Continue reading →

Felix-Alexandre Guilmant (March 12, 1837 - March 29, 1911) was born in Boulogne-sur-Mer, France, and was quite the virtuosic organist. Not exactly a household name, he nevertheless was a prolific composer, writing almost entirely  for the organ. Guilmant began his organ studies with his father, and eventually went on to teach in Paris for thirty years, before embarking as a virtuoso soloist. He toured in both North America and Europe, where he was especially popular; his concerts in England attracted upwards of 10,000 people. Continue reading →

In the world of the double bass, Bottesini is a well known name, but not so much outside of that world, despite his many operas, chamber works, and solo pieces. Giovanno Bottesini (Dec. 22, 1821 - July 7, 1889) was born in Crema, Italy, and began his early musical education with his father, an accomplished clarinetist and composer. Later on in his life, Bottesini wanted to enter the Milan Conservatory on violin, but lacked the funds. The school only had two scholarships available, for bassoon and double bass. Within a matter of weeks, Bottesini prepared a successful audition on the double bass, and four years later began touring as a soloist, known as "The Paganini of the double bass". Continue reading →

Jan Dismas Zelenka (Oct. 16, 1679 - Dec. 23, 1745) isn't the most common name you think of when it comes to Baroque composers, but nevertheless, Zelenka was a prolific composer during that time. He was especially known for his creative harmonic inventions and counterpoint. J.S. Bach held in Zelenka in high esteem, and had some of his works copied, even using some in church services in Leipzig where he was a cantor. Continue reading →

Alexander von Zemlinsky (Oct. 14, 1871 - March 15, 1942) was born in Vienna, Austria, and played the piano from a young age. Admitted to the Vienna Conservatory in 1884, and won the school's piano prize in 1890. He began writing in1892, when he started studying theory with Robert Fuchs, and composition with Johann Nepomuk Fuchs and Anton Bruckner. Continue reading →

Amanda Maier (February 19, 1853 - July 15, 1894) was born in the Swedish town of Landskrona, and was quite an accomplished violinist, cellist, organist, and composer. Her initial studies in piano and violin were with her father, and later studied at the Royal School of Music at Stockholm, and was their first female music graduate.  While she was there, she won numerous awards for her instrumental playing and compositions as well. After graduating, she moved on to the Leipzig Conservatory, to study composition with Carl Reinecke, and violin with Engelbert Rontgen. Brahms and Grieg spoke very highly of her compositions, though she stopped composing after she got married, and not many of her works were published in her lifetime. While in Leipzig, however, she continued winning awards, including one for her Violin Sonata in b minor. Continue reading →

Charles Ives isn't exactly an obscure composer, but he has many pieces that aren't heard as often as some of his staples (such as the Concord Sonata, or The Unanswered Question). One piece, or rather, one collection of works that isn't as well known, is his 114 Songs. He privately published it in 1922, as an attempt to get his music out to the wider public. The subjects of his songs are wide and varied such as hymns, protest songs, and satirical songs. Ives wrote some of the texts himself. We'll be looking at two today: "The Cage" and "At the River". Continue reading →

Many people are acquainted with Debussy's La Mer, but not so many with Paul Gilson's work of the same name, composed a decade before Debussy's. Paul Gilson (June 15, 1865 - April 3,1942) was born in Brussels, and was an organist and choir director. At the Brussels Conservatory he studied harmony and counterpoint, and won a Prix de Rome for a cantata he wrote. Continue reading →

Charles-Valentin Alkan (Nov 30 1813 – March 29 1888) was a French-Jewish composer and virtuoso pianist. He’s not exactly a household name when it comes to composers, but nonetheless he produced a vast array of works for piano. In the 1830’s and 40’s, he was known as one of the best pianists in Paris, along with his friends Frédéric Chopin and Franz Liszt. Alkan was a child prodigy, and entered the Conservatoire de Paris at the tender age of 6. His examiners noted his talent in his piano audition, commenting “This child has amazing abilities”. Continue reading →

Upon hearing the name of Paul Dukas, many people immediately think about his delightful composition The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, which many know from Disney’s movie Fantasia. Dukas wrote more than that however, and sadly his Symphony in C is oft overlooked. In Dukas’ time (1865 – 1935), French composers weren’t exactly in a rush to write symphonies. They were more known...