July 2017
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Obscure Music Monday: Tosti's Summer
Francesco Paolo Tosti (April 9, 1846 - Dec. 2, 1916) was a composer and music teacher, born in Ortona, Italy. Tosti's musical education started at age 11, at the Royal College of San Pietro a Majella, where he studied both violin and composition. He also studied at the conservatory in Naples as well, but illness forced him to return home for a while. Continue reading → -
Obscure Music Monday: Hahn's Pièce en Forme d'Aria et Bergerie
Reynaldo Hahn (Aug. 9, 1874 - Jan. 28, 1947) was a Venezuelan, naturalized French composer, composer, conductor, and music critic. He predominantly wrote songs, written in the French tradition of the mélodie. Continue reading → -
Obscure Music Monday: Glière's 2 Morceaux for Double Bass
Reinhold Moritzevich Glière (Jan. 11, 1875 - June 23, 1956) was a Russian/Soviet composer and violinist born in Kiev, of German-Polish descent. Son of a wind instrument maker, Glière showed talent as a child, and entered the Kiev School of Music in 1891, studying the violin. In 1894 he entered the Moscow Conservatory, and graduated in 1900, after composing a one act opera entitled "Earth and Heaven", and winning a gold medal for it. Glière would later go on to teach in many conservatories, including those of Kiev and Moscow. Continue reading → -
Obscure Music Monday: Rebel's Le Caractères de la Danse
Jean-Féry Rebel (April 18, 1666 - Jan. 2, 1747) was a French composer, conductor, violinist, and harpsichordist. The son of a tenor in Louis XIV's private chapel, he was a child prodigy, and would go on to study with Jean Baptiste Lully. Rebel was highly innovative; he was the first composer to utilize a tone cluster (a musical chord made up of at least three adjacent tones in a scale}, and one of the first French composers to compose sonatas in the Italian style of the day. Continue reading → -
Obscure Music Monday: Gottschalk's Battle Cry of Freedom
Louis Moreau Gottschalk (May 8, 1829 - Dec. 18, 1869) was an American composer and pianist, born in New Orleans. He started piano at an early age, and was recognized as a prodigy. At thirteen, he traveled to Europe to further his studies, but was turned down from the Paris Conservatory due to his nationality. He eventually would gain access thanks to family friends. Gottschalk played across the US and in Central and South America, and was highly praised for this playing. Continue reading →