piano

Florence Beatrice Price (April 9, 1887 - June 3, 1953) was an African-American pianist and composer, and the first African-American woman to have a piece played by a major symphony orchestra. Born in Little Rock, Arkansas, Price's first piano teacher was her mother, a music educator, and Price's first recital was at the age of 4. After high school (which she graduated top of her class), she studied piano and organ at the New England Conservatory, and pretended to be Mexican, due to the stigma that African-Americans faced during that era. She also studied composition and counterpoint with George Chadwick and Frederick Converse, and graduated in 1906 with Continue reading →

Sergei Prokofiev (April 23, 1891 - March 5, 1953) was a Russian and Soviet pianist, composer, and conductor.  A graduate of the St. Petersburg Conservatory, Prokofiev is undoubtedly one of the most well known composers of the 20th century, and many of his works are staples in the repertoire, from his concertos for violin, cello, and piano,  seven symphonies, and to his ballets and operas. Some of his works have remained under the radar though, for whatever reason, such as the one we are looking at today: Things In Themselves, a work for solo piano. Continue reading →

Ferdinand Ries (Nov. 28, 1784 - Jan. 13, 1838) was born to a musical family in Bonn. He received piano lessons from his father, and also played the cello and organ. In the early 1800s, Ries became a pupil of Ludwig van Beethoven, and later on his secretary and close friend. 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 →

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 →

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 →

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 →

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 →

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 →