Wolf, Verborgenheit Hugo Wolf (1860-1903) is known primarily as a late-Romantic composer of German Lieder, a successor to Schubert and Schumann. He drew his texts from numerous sources, including some poets favored by Schubert and Schumann such as Goethe, Heine, and Rückert. He was born … Read more
Scriabin, Poem of Ecstasy The Poem of Ecstasy by Alexander Scriabin (1872-1915) often goes by its French title Le poème de l’extase. It is one of only five symphonic works written by Scriabin, along with Prometheus: Poem of Fire and three numbered symphonies. He tended … Read more
Morales, Lux aeterna The renowned early music scholar Gustav Reese called Cristóbal de Morales (1500-1553) the “first great Spanish master of the Late Renaissance.” Where does that fit with our discussion a few weeks back about Juan de Anchieta (1462-1523)? Morales belonged to the generation … Read more
Hummel, Trumpet Concerto Johann Nepomuk Hummel (1778-1837) was recognized early as a child prodigy. At the age of 8, he was taken by his father (a violinist) to Vienna and began studying piano with Mozart and even lived under Mozart’s roof (a practice not uncommon … Read more
Veracini, Overture No. 6 in G minor Francesco Maria Veracini (1690-1768) was born into a musical family in Florence, Italy. He forged a successful performing career as a violinist in Venice. From there he secured a position in Dresden from 1716 to 1723. Returning to … Read more
A favorite podcast of mine happens to be Classical Et. Cetera, a production of Memoria Press. In the interests of full disclosure, I adore the people who regularly populate its episodes: Paul Schaeffer, Martin Cothran, Tanya Charlton, and, until recently, Sean Saxon. Other folks move … Read more
Viet Cuong, Re(new)al It is traditional to ring in the New Year with a toast, accompanied hopefully by a sense of optimism. So we can start a new year of our Friday Performance Picks the same way. Viet Cuong begins his composition Re(new)al with a … Read more
Praetorius, Lo How a Rose E’er Blooming Christmas is not over yet. We are in the midst of the Christmas Season—the twelve days of Christmas—although this post probably won’t hit the weekly digest until the season is almost over. The source of the text of … Read more
Kent, I’ll Be Home for Christmas First recorded in 1943 by Bing Crosby, “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” expressed the desire of U.S. Soldiers in World War II to be back home. The song’s enormous popularity soon took it well beyond that original context, and … Read more
Warlock, Bethlehem Down Peter Warlock is the pseudonym of Philip Arnold Heseltine (1894-1930). Heseltine was born in London to a wealthy family. His father soon died and his mother was remarried to a landowner in Wales. Heseltine’s Welsh roots would form part of his lifelong … Read more
