The Classics a Day team honors Robert Schumann’s birthday (June 8, 1810). The theme for June is Schumann and his circle. During the month, you’re encouraged to share works written by Schumann, his friends, his colleagues, his rivals — and of course, his wife. Here are my #ClassicsaDay selections for the first week of #SchumannsCircle. […]
Johannes Brahms
-
-
#ClassicsaDay #Stokowski Week 1
For April, 2021, the Classics a Day Team celebrates a legend — Leopold Stokowski. He was born in April (1882), and became a cultural icon. His recording legacy spans over 60 years. And whether he was conducting a premier orchestra or a group of studio musicians, the sound was unmistakable. To share all of Stokowski’s […]
-
Charlottesville Symphony dazzles with contemporary work
The Charlottesville Symphony that opened its 2019-20 season was not the same ensemble as last year’s. About a third of the musicians were new to the orchestra, including two new principal players. Although new, the symphony seemed to retain the weaknesses and strengths of its former self. The first work of the evening, Mozart’s Symphony No. 32 […]
-
Tasmin Little Plays a Favorite
In a Violin Channel interview, Tasmin Little named Brahms as her favorite composer. I think that affection is evident in this release. There’s an easy familiarity in these performances I find quite appealing. The Violin Sonata No. 1 was developed from two earlier songs by Brahms. The lyrical nature of the material is at the […]
-
#ClassicsaDay #FamousLastWorks Week 2
For the month of October, the #ClassicsaDay team (of which I’m a part), decided to go with a Halloween theme. The idea is to share works marked in some way with the composer’s demise. It can be the last piece a composer completed before death, or one left incomplete at death. For my part, I […]
-
#ClassicsaDay #Bernsteinat100 Week 5
August 2018 is the centennial of Leonard Bernstein’s birth. Many classical radio stations, performance groups, and writers marked the occasion. And so did #ClassicsaDay. Bernstein was known as a composer, conductor, performer and an educator. Since #ClassicsaDay is primarily a music feed, I concentrated on the first two of those roles (and occasionally the third). […]
-
#ClassicsaDay #SchumannsCircle Week 4
Robert Schumann was born on June 8, 1810. Some of us contributing to the #ClassicsaDay feed decided to celebrate that birthday. For the month of June, we encouraged folks to post works by Schumann and his circle. Schumann worked with several major composers of the day. He also reviewed up-and-coming composers in his magazine. Here […]
-
#ClassicsaDay #Opus1 Annotated List Week 1
I’m a regular contributor to the #ClassicsaDay Twitter feed. For January 2018, I decided to mark the first month of the new year with firsts. Each post features the first published work of a different composer. Emphasis on the word “published,” In some cases, the Opus 1 is the first mature work of the composer. […]
-
Barbara Westphal – Convergences
Barbara Westphal’s latest release is an interesting blend of old and new, original music with arrangements. Johannes Brahms didn’t write any solo music for the viola, but that hasn’t stopped violists from making arrangements of some of his music for their instrument. In this case, Westphal plays arrangements of Brahms’ Sonata in E minor, Op. […]