violin

Theodor Albin Findeisen (Oct. 1, 1881 - March 3, 1936) was a German double bassist, composer and pedagogue. 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. Continue reading →

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (Aug. 15, 1875 - Sept. 1, 1912) was born in London, England, to Alice Hare Martin, an English woman, and Dr. Daniel Peter Hughes Taylor, from Sierre Leone. They were not married, and Daniel Taylor returned to Africa before 1875, not even knowing he had a son. Martin named her son after the poet, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and was raised in Croydon, Surrey by his mother, and her father. Coleridge-Taylor studied violin at the Royal College of Music, and was later on appointed a professor at the Crystal Palace School of Music, and conducted the orchestra at the Croyden Conservatory. 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 →

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 numerous awards for her instrumental playing and compositions as well. After graduating, she moved on to the Leipzig Conservatory, to study composition with Carl Reinecke, and violin with Engelbert Rontgen. Brahms and Grieg spoke very highly of her compositions, though she stopped composing after she got married, and not many of her works were published in her lifetime. While in Leipzig, however, she continued winning awards, including one for her Violin Sonata in b minor. 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 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 →

A few weeks ago, we looked at solo piano music by Joachim Raff, his Metamorphosen, this week we revisit the prolific output by Raff. The self-taught composer wrote much chamber music, including the delightful late Piano Trio No. 4, Op. 158. Continue reading →

The early 20th Century brought about a wide variety of musical styles - from the overtly romantic stylings of Richard Strauss to the academic stylings of Schoenberg's 12 tone system. What is often overlooked is the theatrical works of composers of the early 20th Century, which often fed the concept of the modern movie score - a genre unto itself for many modern day music lovers. Today we look at Max von Schillings' Violin Concerto No. 1, a dramatic work for violin and orchestra that is rarely performed today. Continue reading →