November is the eleventh month. And so the Classics a Day team opted to make eleven the month’s then. The challenge is to post works that are numbered 11 in some fashion, either an opus number, a series number, or even a suite number.
It turns out that there’s a lot of great music associated with elevens. By the time most composers publish their eleventh opus, symphony, string quartet, or sonata, they’ve mastered their art. As I quickly discovered.
Here are my posts for the third week of #ClassicsaDay #November11
11/22/21 Gerald Finzi – Romance in E-flat major, Op. 11
Finzi wrote this piece in 1928 but continually revised it. He finally allowed publication in 1951.
11/23/21 George Enescu – Romanian Rhapsody No. 1, Op. 11
Enescu wrote the first of his two Romanian Rhapsodies at age 19. It draws heavily from lăutărească music (Romani folks music) and quotes several traditional dance tunes.
11/24/21 Clara Schumann – Three Romances for Violin and Piano, Op. 11
These pieces were written for virtuoso violinist Joseph Joachim. He often performed them with Johannes Brahms at the piano.
11/25/21 Sergei Prokofiev – Toccata, Op. 11
Prokofiev wrote this work in 1912, when he was 21. He premiered the piece four years later in Petrograd.
11/26/21 Paul Hindemith – Sonata for Viola and Piano in F major, Op. 11 No. 4
Hindemith completed his five Op. 11 sonatas in 1919. The first two are for violin, the third for cello, and the last two are for viola.
11/29/21 Richard Strauss Concerto for French Horn and Orchestra
Strauss composed two versions of his 1882 concerto – one for piano accompaniment, the other for orchestra. Strauss was 18 years old when he wrote the work.
11/30/21 Felix Mendelssohn – Symphony No. 1 in C minor, Op. 11
Mendelssohn completed his first symphony at age 15. It received its public premiere three years later, and was published four years after that in 1831.
11/31/21 Norburt Burgmuller Symphony No. 2 in D major
When Burgmuller died at age 26, he had completed the first two movements of his second symphony and sketched out the third movement. After his death, Robert Schumann completed the movement and arranged for the work’s publication.
Next month:
