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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...

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...

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...

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. He became a Professor of Composition there in 1899, but quit in 1909 after he became an inspector for music education until 1930. He wrote a great deal, but his output slowed down significantly after 1905; at that point he mainly wrote about music theory, criticism, and composition. 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 →

Henri Édouard Dallier (March 20, 1849 - December 23, 1934) was a French organist born in Reims. Dallier was a student of César Franck at the Paris Conservatory, and received a First prize diploma in organ and fugue in 1878.  In 1879 he became "titular du grand orgue" of Saint Eustache, and in 1905 succeeded Gabriel Faure as the organist of la Madeleine. 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 →

Known foremost as a pianist in his time, Friedrich Kalkbrenner was also an accomplished composer. Looking through his output, one sees a significant amount of solo piano music, with a few chamber works (and a very limited selection of vocal works). Today we turn to Kalkbrenner's chamber output, with his Septet, Op. 132, also known as the Grand Septet. Continue reading →

This week, we take a look at a work by Gustav Holst with a unique instrumentation, his Terzetto for Flute, Oboe, & Viola. While known for his massive orchestral work The Planets, Holst's style for his other works is less the massive movie music sounds of the plants, and more daring in tonality. Continue reading →