orchestral

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 →

Sir Arnold Trevor Bax (Nov. 8, 1883 - October 3, 1953) was an English author, poet, and composer. Born in a suburb of London to a wealthy family, his parents encouraged him to study music. As he had a private income,  he followed his own whims when it came to composition. He attended the Hampstead Conservatoire, and the Royal Academy of Music. While at the academy, he became an admirer of the music of Richard Wagner, Richard Strauss, and Claude Debussy (the latter two were frowned upon by the faculty). Bax became highly interested in Ireland and Celtic culture, and lived in Dublin for a time, and grew an interest in Nordic culture as well. Later on Bax would travel to Russia, and some of his works were influenced by his travels there. Continue reading →

Edvard Grieg ( June 15, 1843 - September 4, 1907) was a Norwegian composer and pianist. Raised in a musical family, his mother was his first piano teacher at age six. Grieg later on enrolled in the Leipzig Conservatory where he focused predominantly on the piano.  Continue reading →

Vincent d'Indy (March 27, 1851 - Dec. 2, 1931) was a French composer and teacher born in to an aristocratic family. He took piano lessons from his grandmother at a young age, and studied harmony at 14 from Albert Lavignac. He enlisted in the National Guard during the Franco-Prussian War when he was 19, but came back to music as soon as the fighting was over. He became a student at the Paris Conservatory, and later on became dissatisfied with the standard of teaching there, and with Charles Bordes and Alexandre Guilmant, founded the Schola Cantorum de Paris in 1894. d'Indy would teach there, and at the Paris Conservatory, until his death. Continue reading →

Frank Bridge (Feb. 26, 1879 - Jan. 10, 1941) was an English composer, conductor and violist. Born in Brighton, Bridge attended the Royal College of Music in London from 1899 to 1903, and spent much time playing in quartets, along with conducting as well. He decided to devote himself to composition, with one of his most famous students being Benjamin Britten, who respected and admired his teacher deeply. Continue reading →

Edward Alexander MaDowell (Dec. 18, 1860 - Jan. 23, 1908) was an American composer and pianist, born in New York City. He was a part of the Second New England School, known more commonly as the Boston Six. Continue reading →

George Whitefield Chadwick (Nov. 13, 1854 - April 4, 1931) was an American composer, teacher, conductor, and organist. Along with composers Amy Beach, Arthur Foote, Edward MacDowell, John Knowles Paine and Horatio Parker, he was a part of the Second New England School, more commonly known as the Boston Six. Continue reading →

Marie-Juliette Olga "Lili" Boulanger (Aug. 21, 1893 - March 15, 1918) was a French composer, and  sister of the famous composer and teacher Nadia Boulanger. We have featured Lili's works before for Obscure Music Monday, which you can read about here and here, along with more of her background. Lili Boulanger was found to have perfect pitch at age 2, and...

Augusta Holmès (Dec. 18, 1847 - Jan. 28 1903) was a pianist and composer, born in Paris, and of Irish descent. Despite showing great talent as a child, she wasn't allowed to take piano at the Paris Conservatory. Instead she took private piano lessons with Mademoiselle Peyrnnet, and later on, harmony and counterpoint with Henri Lambert, and composition lessons with Hyacinthe Klosé. Holmès became a student of César Frank in 1876, and considered him her greatest teacher. Continue reading →

Henry Kimball Hadley (Dec. 20, 1871 - Sept. 6, 1937) was an American violinist, composer and conductor, born in to a musical family in Somerville, Massachusetts. Continue reading →