Volume 2 of CPO’s series present two Louis Glass works with a common theme. Both the works have strong theosophist elements. Glass found inspiration in the movement’s mystical imagery. The 1912 Fantasia for Piano and Orchestra bears this motto: “From the spirit’s eternal canopy tones calling man sound down. And man turns away from the […]
Romantic period
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CPO Revives Brahms Contemporary, Anton Urspruch
Anton Urspruch (1850-1907) is hardly a household name — even among classical music aficionados. In the 1880s, though, he was a rising star. Urspruch studied composition with Joachim Raff and Ignaz Lachner. He was a star piano pupil of Franz Liszt. As a scholar, he’s credited with the revival of Gregorian Chant. Urspruch enjoyed an […]
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#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 […]
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Wenzel Heinrich Veit String Quartets, Vol. 2 – As Good As the First
When I reviewed Volume 1, I said I was very much looking forward to this release. I’m not disappointed. The Kertész String Quartet performs to the same high standard they established with the first volume. On the whole, this period-instrument quartet has the same warm, rich sound I enjoyed before. This time, though, I detected […]
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#ClassicsaDay #SchumannsCircle Week 3
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 […]
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OperaEnsemble Excels with Louise Farrenc Wind Music
Louise Farrenc was one of the most prominent musicians in mid-19th Century Paris. She was a respected concert pianist and composer. She’s best remembered for her chamber music — and this release demonstrates why. The three works on this album were composed between 1852 and 1856. and they’re all finely crafted compositions. In general, Farrenc’s […]
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Solistes Européens Debut with Farrenc
Louise Farrenc was a major figure of French music. She was both a pianist and composer and served on the faculty of the Paris Conservatory for over 30 years. During her lifetime, and for a while afterward, her chamber music was regularly performed. Not so her symphonies. Beyond their debuts, each had only one or […]
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#ClassicsaDay #WomensHistoryMonth Part 3 – The Romantic Period
One of the ongoing Twitter hashtag groups I participate with is #ClassicsaDay. The idea’s pretty simple: post a link to a classical work, and – in the body of the tweet – provide a little info about it. For March 2017, some of the participants decided to include a theme. In honor of Women’s History Month, […]
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Carl Czerny Symphonies – Better Than Expected
Pianists the world over are familiar with Carl Czerny — or at least his keyboard exercises. But Czerny, a student of Beethoven, also composed many other types of works, including symphonies. Unlike Beethoven, though, Czerny could produce, and produce quickly. Pianist John Field wrote about Czerny’s system after visiting with him: A large cabinet served […]