From the category archives:

Romantic Music

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 1

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 1, Professor Carol explains Gustav Holst’s The Planets and some of the techniques that lead to the style of John Williams.
Works Discussed: Gustav Holst, The [...]

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Chopin and Liszt in Paris

November 1, 2006

What’s this program about?
In post-revolutionary France, the piano had replaced the harpsichord and the driving force behind the arts was moving from the court to the salons of Paris high society. Two composers, Liszt and Chopin, capitalized on these changes in very different ways and between them defined the future of piano music.
Where you can [...]

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The Story Behind the Chopin Ballades

September 19, 2006

What’s this program about?
A ballad tells a story, and this popular literary form was appropriated by Romantic composers into songs. Carol explains how the ballad was transformed by Chopin into solo piano works.
Works Discussed: Chopin, Ballade No. 4 in F Minor; Chopin, Impromptu No. 2; Schiller, Der Taucher (The Diver).
Where you can find:
Chopin Nocturnes and [...]

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