piano

Scott Joplin (c. 1867/68 - April 1, 1917) was an African-American composer and pianist, who came to be known as the "King of Ragtime Writers". Joplin was born in to a family of railroad laborers in Texas, but got as much musical knowledge as he could from local teachers, and ended up  forming a vocal quartet, and teaching mandolin and...

Marie-Juliette Olga "Lili" Boulanger (Aug. 21, 1893 - March 15, 1918) was a French composer, and  the younger sister of the famed composition teacher/composer Nadia Boulanger. Born in Paris, Lili Boulanger was a child prodigy; at the age of two, it was discovered that she had perfect pitch. Her parents, both musicians, encouraged her musical education, and she accompanied her sister Nadia...

Josef Suk (Jan. 4, 1874 - May 29, 1935) was a Czech composer and violinist. He began his musical training at an early age, learning the violin, organ, and piano from his father. Suk went on to study composition at the Prague Conservatory, with his most famous teacher being Antonin Dvořák, and the two became close, trusted friends. Suk ended up marrying Dvořák's  daughter, Otilie...

Edwin York Bowen (Feb. 22, 1884 - Nov. 23, 1961) was an English composer and conductor who played several instruments, including viola, horn, organ, and piano. He started piano lessons with his mother when he was very young, and his talent was recognized immediately. His musical education continued at the North Metropolitan College of Music, and then Blackheath Conservatoire of...

Joaquín Turina (Dec. 9, 1882 - Jan. 14, 1949) was a Spanish composer born in Seville, where music was a significant part of his upbringing. He tried his hand at studying medicine, but music was his ultimate calling. He studied in both Seville and Madrid, and from 1905 - 1914, he studied composition with Vincent d'Indy at the Schola Cantorum...

Carl Böhm (Sept. 11, 1844 - April 4, 1920) was a German pianist and composer. Little is known about him, though during his day his works were very popular. He's considered one of the great German songwriters from the 19th century, and has many works that achieved worldwide recognition, such as Still as the Night, Twilight, Maybells, Enfant Cheri, and...

Sir Granville Ransome Bantock (Aug. 7, 1868 - Oct. 16, 1946) was a British composer and conductor, born in London. His parents hoped he would enter the Indian Civil Service, but poor health would prevent him from that. He turned to chemical engineering, but around 20 years old, he started looking at musical manuscripts. His first teacher was at Trinity College of...

Selim Gustav Adolf Palmgren (Feb. 16, 1878 - Dec. 13, 1951) was a Finnish composer, conductor, and pianist. He studied at the Helsinki Conservatory in Helsinki from 1895 to 1899, then continued his piano studies in Berlin. He conducted several orchestras and music societies in Finland, and had successful performances as a pianist in Finland and Scandanavia. In 1921 he moved to the United...

George Augustus Polgreen Bridgetower (Oct. 11, 1778 – Feb. 29, 1860) was an Afro-European violinist and composer born in Poland, though he spent a much of his life in England. Bridgetower showed much promise as a young violinist, giving concerts at only ten years old. in 1791, after giving many successful concerts around Europe, the British Prince Regent, the future...

Erkki Melartin (Feb. 7, 1875 - Feb. 14, 1937) was a Finnish composer, conductor, and teacher. He studied in Helsinki fro 1893 to 1899 with Martin Wegelius, and with Robert Fuchs, in Vienna, from 1899 to 1901. Continue reading →