CPO’s ambitious cycle of Christoph Graupner cantatas continues. Graupner wrote over 1,200 cantatas. This series is limited to the ten he wrote for Lent in 1741. The first of the three cantatas included in this release is the first of the Lenten cycle. Kommt, Seelen, sied in Andacht stille (Come, ye souls, be silent in worship) sets […]
Classical
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British Cello Works – quality chamber music by women
When I present classical music on the radio, I never identify a composer by race or sex. I think it creates the impression that these are subsets of the main group of composers. There are composers, and there are women composers. Almost as good, but not quite. I don’t think that’s true, and (apparently), neither […]
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Leopold Kozeluch Masonic music well-crafted
Leopold Kozeluch’s career somewhat paralleled Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s – as did his music. Both were pianists. Like Mozart, Kozeluch wrote many symphonies (30) and piano concertos (22). He succeeded Mozart as the Hofmusik Compositor of the Viennese court. And Kozeluch, like Mozart, was a Freemason and wrote music for the Order. Kozeluch’s contribution was a […]
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#ClassicsaDay #ClassicalEleven Week 1
Numbers have meaning. But meaning can depend on context. The Classics a Day team made “eleven” the theme for November, the eleventh month. The challenge is to post performances of classical music that involve the number. I chose a mix. Some pieces involve eleven players. Some are the eleventh type of piece by a composer. […]
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Josef Labor Piano Quintets late-Romantic gems
Josef Labor wasn’t one to be hampered by disability — although it could inspire him. Labor lost his sight in childhood but went on to become a respected organist, pianist, teacher, and composer. He was also the first composer-pianist Paul Wittgenstein commissioned to write a left-hand concerto. (Wittgenstein lost his right arm in WWI.) Labor […]
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Hermann Graedener Violin Concertos make the grade
This is what I like about Toccata Classics. They don’t just do a single release of a composer I’ve never heard of — they do a whole series. And their instincts are usually spot on. In this case, the composer is Hermann Graedener (1844-1929). In his early years, he was a colleague and friend of […]
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The quiet beauty of Dora Bright and Ruth Gipps concertos
Somm has done a real service to classical music with this release. It features piano concertos by two women — composers who deserve wider audiences. Both compositions by Dora Bright and one of the two Ruth Gipps works are world premiere recordings. All four works are beautifully constructed and enthusiastically performed. Dora Bright was born […]
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Robert Ballard lute music played with elegance and taste
Robert Ballard II was a lute virtuoso who also happened to have a pretty good gig. He was a music tutor to a young Louis XIII. His father and cousin ran a prestigious music publishing house in Paris. And they, of course, published young Robert’s two collections of lute works. Lutenist Richard Kolb performs 30 […]
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#ClassicsaDay #ClassicalAutumn Week 5
In 2019 the Classics a Day team has been making its way through the seasons. We’ve had Classical Winter (January), Classical Spring (April), and Classical Summer (August). For October, we complete the cycle with Classical Autumn. I tried to steer clear of the really obvious choices (like Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons”). In the process, I managed […]