Obscure Music Mondays

The music of Belgian composer Joseph Jongen is often overlooked outside of his works for organ (we looked at a work for viola & piano a few months ago). Jongen’s dramatic style and lush harmonies, however, sound wonderful in his works for other instruments, like his rarely hear Trio for Piano, Violin & Viola ('Prélude, Variations and Finale’), Op. 30 that we look at today, written in 1906-1907. Continue reading →

This week we move to a 20th century composer of Finnish descent. While most would immediately think of Sibelius, we instead are looking at music by Uuno Klami, who was 15 years Sibelius' junior. Klami was most known for his orchestral works, but often preferred a smaller scale work (even in his orchestral music, he wrote many short works rather than working exclusively in large form symphonic forms). Today we look at an early work for piano, his Barcarole, Op. 5. Continue reading →

Albert Dietrich is today known more for his friendship with Johannes Brahms than his work as a composer, however Dietrich had a sizable output of works. While much of that output was in short lieder, today we’ll take a look at his Symphony in D Major, Op. 20, first performed in 1871 and one of a select few orchestra works Dietrich wrote. Continue reading →

British composer Cyril Scott was greatly admired by his contemporary composers, including Debussy, Ravel, and Stravinsky, yet his music is rarely heard today. Living until 1970, Scott had a prolific output, but today is known mostly for his solo piano work Lotus Land (also arranged for Violin & Piano by Kreisler). Today we take a look at a lesser known work from 1912, his Poems for solo piano. Continue reading →

This week, we take a look at a very simple work with a more unique structure. Paul Wetzger was an accomplished flautist who lived from 1870-1937. While mostly known for his work as a performer, Wetzger did write a few pieces that survive, mostly for flute as one would expect. His work Avant et Retour (Forward and Backwards) is a very simple work that can be played by a duet of treble instruments, be it flutes, oboes, clarinets or violins. Continue reading →

We continue this week with another work by a female composer of the late 1800's/early 1900's, this time looking at an exceptionally early work by Amy Marcy Beach. Mrs. Beach showed talent at an early age, both as a performer and composer, but had little in the way of formal studies. Despite the limited training she was able to receive, she received her first publication in 1883 (at the age of 16!) with the song "The Rainy Day". Continue reading →

A few weeks ago, we took a look at the Cello Sonata of Ethel Smyth, an English composer of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Today we look once again at her writing for strings, this time the String Quartet in E minor, from 1914. Continue reading →

This week we move to a composer well-known to most musicians, but a song not often performed. Originally written for voice and orchestra, Camille Saint-Saëns' Extase is a beautiful setting of text by Victor Hugo that is now only rarely performed as a work for either Mezzo-Soprano or Baritone and Piano. Continue reading →

While we have typically looked at works that are more challenging as part of our exploration of somewhat forgotten music, there is also much music that is easier to perform and ideal for beginner to intermediate skilled performers. Today we take a look into this area with a set of three easier pieces by Edgar Bainton, his 3 Little Sketches for solo piano. Continue reading →

Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg is known to musicians and audiences around the world for famous works in the repertoire like the Piano Concerto, Peer Gynt, and many others. Today, however, we go into his lesser known catalog of works (many of which never had opus numbers assigned) and look at his Intermezzo for Cello & Piano, EG115. Continue reading →