From the category archives:

Music History

Programming the Recital

April 4, 2007

What’s this program about?
Chopin would have been surprised at the idea of a solo piano recital in a concert hall. Professor Carol talks about the programming of recitals and works of Bach-Busoni, Beethoven, Chopin, and Debussy.
Works Discussed: Bach-Busoni Chorale Preludes; Beethoven Sonata No. 21, Opus 53 (“Waldstein”); Chopin Sonata No. 2; Debussy “Children’s Corner”
Where you [...]

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They All Came to Hollywood

March 6, 2007

What’s this program about?
Hollywood is heir to the European musical traditions. The classic films were scored by composers trained in Europe and schooled in the classical traditions and by immigrant composers who escaped Germany after their work was denounced by the Nazis as “degenerate music” (Entartete Musik).
Works Discussed: Bernard Herrmann: Psycho, Vertigo; Erich Korngold: Robin [...]

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Schumann’s Papillons and Fantasy

March 2, 2007

What’s this program about?
Professor Carol gives a biography of Schumann’s early years, comparing Schumann’s youthful work Papillons with his later Fantasy in C Major against the backdrop of his courtship of the young pianist Clara Wieck and the emerging Romantic image of the artist.
Works Discussed: Schumann: Papillons, Op. 2; Fantasy in C Major, Op. 17
Where [...]

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Bands of the Battle

March 2, 2007

What’s this program about?
Military music inspires the troops, facilitates maneuver, intimidates the enemy, sends signals, marks daily events of camp life, entertains the troops in their leisure time, and comprises an important part of the pageantry and tradition of military life.
Works Discussed: Scotland the Brave, Yankee Doodle, Mozart’s Abduction from the Seraglio, Bugle Calls, The [...]

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Big Band Swing

February 7, 2007

What’s this program about?
Carol interviews Dean Bouras, arranger for the Dallas Wind Symphony Big Band concerts, and John Trapani, leader of the John Trapani Big Band about the era, the music, and its popularity today.
Works Discussed: Glenn Miller, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Woody Herman, Norman Leyden
Where you can find:
Big Band Collection
Big Band Magic

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Beethoven the Musical Wordsmith

January 23, 2007

What’s this program about?
Beethoven sliced and diced his themes, using musical rhetoric that rebelled against the natural melodic style of Mozart and that charted a path into 19th-century Romanticism. Professor Carol uses the Piano Sonata in E-Flat, Op. 31, to show how he did it.
Works Discussed: Beethoven: Piano Sonata in E-Flat, Op. 31
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Tales of the Young Brahms

January 22, 2007

What’s this program about?
A youthful Brahms finds his signature style early in the Opus 10 Ballades based on the Scottish Ballad “Eduard” by Herder.
Works Discussed: Brahms: Four Ballades, Op. 10
Where you can find:
Brahms Op. 10 Ballades

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Slavic, Exotic, Romantic 2

January 15, 2007

What’s this program about?
Slavic composers Smetana, Rimsky-Korsakov, and Rachmaninov cared deeply about their national roots and national identity, and each knew how to seduce the ear of listeners with gorgeous melody, ravishing orchestration, and a heart-racing sense of the dramatic.
Works Discussed: Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 2, Smetana’s The Moldau, and Rimsky-Korsakov’s Sheherazade
Where you can find:
Rachmaninov: [...]

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Slavic, Exotic, Romantic 1

January 15, 2007

What’s this program about?
Slavic composers Smetana, Rimsky-Korsakov, and Rachmaninov cared deeply about their national roots and national identity, and each knew how to seduce the ear of listeners with gorgeous melody, ravishing orchestration, and a heart-racing sense of the dramatic.
Works Discussed: Smetana’s The Moldau, Rimsky-Korsakov’s Sheherazade, and Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 2
Where you can find:
Smetana: [...]

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Just a Few Notes 2

December 19, 2006

What’s this program about?
The tone poem of the late romantic era painted pictures and portrayed stories with a rich orchestral style that became the model for film music. In Part 2, Professor Carol explains features of John Williams’ famous film scores and how we hear music differently when it accompanies drama.
Works Discussed: John Williams, E.T., [...]

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