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Antonio Il Verso - 450 Years
Our Antonio Verso continued the tradition of the Venetian School in Sicily and was certainly the prime representative of the Sicilian Polyphonic School. (1)Antonio Il Verso (ca. 1560/1565 - 1621),...
View ArticleChristmas 2015 - Part 1
My focus this year has been on early anniversary composers, the latest of them born in or around 1565. Among the interesting composers and their works, time and again, I discovered beautiful Christmas...
View ArticleChristmas 2015 - Part 2. John Sheppard
It's time to enjoy some Christmas music from the Tudor era, courtesy of John Sheppard (1510s - 1558/59) who was next to Thomas Tallis one of the fine English Church composers of that era.Sheppard's...
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Christmas 2015 - Part 3. Cipriano de Rore
Cipriano de Rore (1)St. Hermes Church, Ronse (2)Discovering Cipriano de Rore (1515/16 - 1565) and his wondrous madrigals, often set to Petrarch poems, was for me one of the high points this year. Along...
View ArticleNew Year 2016 - 1. Instrumental music
2015 came and went, and I never made it beyond the composers of the sixteenth century! Granted, it was all very interesting, but it's time now to explore the more recent past for songs and dances...
View ArticleNew Year's Day 2016 - 2. Music from Europe
There were some good songwriters and singers among the musicians born 150 and 100 years ago both in Europe and in America. Let's celebrate them before 2015 comes to an end, starting with Europe. Here...
View ArticleNew Year's Day 2016 - 3. Music from the Americas
Before we say goodbye to the old and embrace the new, let's listen to some lighter fare from the Americas.Old Dan Tucker and Dixie were two songs written by Dan Emmett (1815-1904). It is very well...
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2016 Anniversaries - From Aristotle to Jan Hakan Aberg
This year, to mix things up a bit, I will start with composers and musicians born in 1916 and go back in time. We'll see where it leads.Aristotle (1)But first, let's celebrate the 2,400th anniversary...
View ArticleRostom Alagian - 100 Years
Rostom Aramovic Alagian (1916 - 2009) was a Soviet composer, conductor, and veteran of World War II. (1)His Armenian father and Greek mother were forced from their home and yarn processing plant in...
View ArticleDenis ApIvor - 100 Years
Someone said to me that Denis ApIvor has the heart of a lion. His commitment to his art in spite of almost total disinterest is in itself proof of an almost reckless energy. - Gordon Rumson (1)Denis...
View ArticleMilton Babbitt - 100 years, 1. Intro, Mass and Round (Madison)
"The time has passed when the normally well-educated man without special preparation could understand the most advanced work in, for example, mathematics, philosophy and physics. Advanced music, to the...
View ArticleMilton Babbitt - 100 Years, 2. Works for Piano
Understanding the technological processes and their enactment within one of his works is about as integral to the experience of that work as understanding the chemical composition of tungsten is...
View ArticleMilton Babbitt - 100 Years, 3. Works for other solo instruments, synthesizer...
I love going to the studio with my work in my head, realizing it while I am there and walking out with the tape under my arm. I can then send it anywhere in the world, knowing exactly how it will...
View ArticleMilton Babbitt - 100 Years, 4. Chamber music for two, four and five instruments
A large part of Milton Babbitt's (1916 - 2011) catalog consists of chamber works. There are a number of works for one instruments and piano, a series of String Quartets, and many works involving wind...
View ArticleMilton Babbitt - 100 Years, 5. Large Chamber and Orchestral Works
The intellectual beauty of his music is invigorating and inspiring, and contrary to perceived wisdom, nobody would be interested in his theories if his music wasn’t so potent and unique.(1)His ensemble...
View ArticleMilton Babbitt - 100 Years, 6. Art Song and other vocal works
Disjunct vocal lines, formidable rhythms, and a generally theoretical approach have not endeared Babbitt to the average singer. Nevertheless, his attention to the sonic properties of words and his...
View ArticleMilton Babbitt - 100 Years, 7. Late songs and other vocal works
Mr. Babbitt's vocal writing, typical of the serialist style, abounds in sudden dips and leaps. But he understands the voice...(1)Milton Babbitt (1916 - 2011) continued to compose vocal works in his...
View ArticlePhilip Bezanson - 100 Years
Philip Bezanson (1916 - 1975) was an American composer and educator. He first studied at Yale, served in World War II, enrolled at the University of Iowa for graduate studies and later became a...
View ArticleKarl-Birger Blomdahl - 100 Years, 1. Life and early works
There remained an affinity with melodic concepts in much of his output, which took in every genre from opera to instrumental music(1)Karl-Birger Blomdahl (1916 - 1968) was a Swedish composer and...
View ArticleKarl-Birger Blomdahl - 100 Years, 2. Instrumental Works (1950s - 1960s)
In the 1950s Karl-Birger Blomdahl (1916 - 1968) remained true to twelve-tone techniques and to Hindemith's legacy. The works often display an explicit lyricism alternating with a rhythmic drive, all in...
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