flute

Thanks to one of our loyal customers, we've discovered the works of Leonhard von Call (also known as Leonhard de Call). A talented guitar and mandolin player, Call became known for his works written for his student ensembles. Today we look at one of those for the unique combination of Flute, Viola, & Guitar, the Sérénade, Op. 66. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k83cB6DGifA Call...

Théodore Akimenko (also known as Feodor, Fedir, and Fyodor) has been featured long ago on Obscure Music Mondays, but we're visiting another work of his, this time the Idylle for Flute & Piano, Op. 14. Akimenko was born in Ukraine, near the currently troubled city of Kharkiv, before studying in St. Petersburg, relocating to Paris, teaching in Prague, and returning...

Mélanie Hélène Bonis, known as Mel Bonis, (Jan. 21, 1858 - March 18, 1937) was a French late Romantic composer. Bonis wrote an incredible amount of music for many genres. Bonis grew up in a strict Catholic household, and her parents did not encourage her musical interests, though she did teach herself the piano. When she was twelve, a professor...

Albert Charles Paul Marie Roussel (April 5, 1869 - Aug. 23, 1937) was a French composer, who started his musical journey as an adult. As a child, Roussel was interested in mathematics, and then went went in to the French Navy. After resigning in 1894, he turned to music, and attended the Scholar Cantorum de Paris until 1908. He worked...

Sir Arnold Edward Trevor Bax (Nov. 8, 1883 - Oct. 3, 1953) was an English poet, author, and composer. His output was prolific, and spanned several genres, from choral works to chamber pieces to orchestral music. His music was for a while neglected, and then revived, though predominantly as recordings; we still don't see his work programmed very often in concert halls. Continue reading →

Louise Farrenc (May 31, 1804 - Sept. 15, 1875) was a French pianist, teacher, and composer. Born in Paris, she started the piano at an early age, and later on also showed a knack for composition. At the age of fifteen, her parents let her study composition with Anton Reicha at the Paris Conservatory. Later on she embarked upon a...

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

Hedwige Chrétien (July 15 - 1859 - 1944) was a French composer, and not a great deal is known about her.  She studied at the Paris Conservatory with Ernest Guiraud starting in 1874, and became a professor there in 1889. While she was a student, she won several awards for piano, counterpoint, harmony, and fugue, and she would go on to write around 150 compositions, of various genres. Continue reading →

Marie-Juliette Olga "Lili" Boulanger (Aug. 21, 1893 - March 15, 1918) was a French composer, and  the younger sister of the famed composition teacher/composer Nadia Boulanger. Born in Paris, Lili Boulanger was a child prodigy; at the age of two, it was discovered that she had perfect pitch. Her parents, both musicians, encouraged her musical education, and she would accompany her sister Nadia to classes at the Paris Conservatory, studying music theory and organ. Her sister Nadia was one of her teachers, and later on studied with Paul Vidal, George Caussade, and Gabriel Faure, who was particularly impressed by her abilities. Lili would go on to win the Prix de Rome at the age of 19; she was the first woman to ever win the composition prize. Tragically, she died at the young age of 24. Continue reading →

Paul Lacombe (July 11, 1837 - June 4, 1927) was a French composer and pianist. He was born in to a wealthy family, and his first music lessons were with his mother, on piano. Later on his studied harmony and counterpoint with Francois Teysseyre, who graduated from the Conservatoire de Paris. Lacombe was a great admirer of George Bizet, and began a correspondence with him, asking for compositional advice, which Bizet gave, from 1866 to 1868. They would eventually become good friends, and Bizet promoted much of Lacombe's works. Lacombe music sadly never gained widespread popularity, as he was unwilling to leave his hometown of Carcassonne for Paris. Continue reading →