violin

Today we take a look at a longer waltz by Francis Popy (1874-1928), his Sphinx. This waltz for piano was believed to have been performed on the ill-fated journey of the RMS Titanic, earning it the nickname of the "Titanic Waltz." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k74oBvtOwO8 With a traditional format of Waltz-Trio-Waltz, this work is easily approachable and shows us some of the movement...

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...

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...

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...

Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges (Dec. 25, 1745 – June 10, 1799) was a composer, violinist, and conductor, born to George Bologne de Saint-Georges, a wealthy married planter, and Anne dites Nanon, his wife's African slave. Though born in Guadeloupe, his father took him to France when he was a child, where he was educated, and he became a skilled fencer. Later on...

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...

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...

Amanda Maier (February 19, 1853 - July 15, 1894) was born in the Swedish town of Landskrona, and was quite an accomplished violinist, cellist, organist, and composer. Her initial studies in piano and violin were with her father, and later studied at the Royal School of Music at Stockholm, and was their first female music graduate.  While she was there, she won...

Dame Ethel Mary Smyth DBE (April 22,1858 - May 8, 1944) was an English composer and member of the women's suffrage movement. The fourth of eight children, Smyth showed a keen interested in music as a career. Her father, a major general in the Royal Artillery, was not particularly supportive, though that didn't stop her from pursuing music anyway. Smyth studied...

Jean Huré (Sept. 17, 1877 - Jan. 27, 1930) was a French organist and composer; much of his musical knowledge was self-taught. After some musical instruction in Angers, Huré was advised by teachers to study at the Paris Conservatory, but he much preferred to go his own way. He made his living in Paris as an organist at several churches...