Claude Debussy was born today in 1862 in France. Debussy was rather ahead of his time. His music sort of bridges the gap between romantic and contemporary styles. His music is the prototype of the impressionistic period, although he didn't particularly like that label.
I used to adore Debussy's music, listened to it all the time, and played through it a lot. I'm slightly bored with it now, and I think Ravel has much more depth. Debussy's music is very refreshing, though - a wash of colors.
As usual, although he wrote a lot of music, I am mostly familiar with his piano compositions. I particularly enjoy the following:
- Suite Bergamesque - contains his most famous work, "Claire de lune"
- Children's Corner - dedicated to his 3-yr-old daughter, these are delightful little pieces. Includes his famous "Golliwog's Cake-Walk", a sort of rag-time sounding piece that sarcastically quotes Wagner's Tristan and Isolde theme in the middle.
- Estampes - 3 beautiful pieces, each depicting a different country/ethnicity. The first is Pagodes, depicting Javanese music.
- Images - 2 sets of 3 pieces each: includes the famous "Reflections in the Water", a wonderful little picture of all sorts of water - deep, still, pools leading into gurgling streams followed by a majestic waterfall, finally ending again with quiet pools. Also includes "Goldfish" - more water, with lots of splashing around. These pieces are a great example of his impressionistic style.
- Preludes - some of his most popular piano pieces, these have been compared to Chopin's preludes. Two of the most famous are "The Girl with the Flaxen Hair" and "The Sunken Cathedral". The last prelude, "Fireworks" is an example of one of how far he travelled from the romantic period into truly modern music. It is full of sparks and poppers, both small and large displays of fireworks.
Friday, August 22, 2008
Saturday, August 16, 2008
The Greatest Jazz Pianist
I know I've focused on the lives of classical composers up to this point, but I can't pass up the opportunity to highlight someone with just as much talent and musicianship as those I've previously blogged about.
The great American jazz pianist Bill Evans was born on this date in 1929 in New Jersey. Even though I'm such a die-hard classical music fan, I've gotten into jazz as a result of Bill Evans, and I've learned parts of his pieces by ear because the sounds and rhythms he produced so intrigue me.
From the wikipedia article: "In addition to introducing a new freedom of interplay within the piano trio, Evans began (in performances such as "My Foolish Heart" from the Vanguard sessions) to explore extremely slow ballad tempos and quiet volume levels which had previously been virtually unknown in jazz. His chordal voicings became more impressionistic, reminiscent of classical composers such as Debussy, Ravel, Scriabin, and Satie..."
Perhaps that's why I like his music so much - I love the music of these composers! Here's a lovely performance of the above-mentioned "My Foolish Heart" from 1965. He sure plays and looks like a serious musician - no flamboyance here, just pure music.
The first music I heard of Bill Evans was his solo album "Alone". It is amazing stuff. Here's the opening number on that album, "Here's That Rainy Day", and here is another number, "On A Clear Day".
Here are some other highlights, from the Bill Evans Trio:
Waltz for Debby, George Gershwin's Summertime, and Nardis.
Bill Evans was also an educator, and he had some interesting ideas about composing, improvising, and performing, as viewed here, an excerpt from the film, "The Universal Mind of Bill Evans". Evans makes the case that improvisational jazz is really a compositional form - a looking back to the days of Bach, Mozart, Chopin, etc., in which composers and performers were one and the same, and composing 1 minute of music often took place in 1 minute, not in days or months (Bach was the ultimate improviser, and many of his compositions sound like improvisatory material). Interesting thoughts.
Tragically, Evans struggled with an addiction to heroin probably since the 1950's, which he seemed to overcome, only later to get hooked on cocaine. Drugs undoubtedly contributed to his early death in 1980. Here is an amazing performance of In Your Own Sweet Way one year prior to his death, with his last trio. He sure looks different here!
I hope you've enjoyed this detour into the world of jazz, highlighting one of it's most talented composers/performers.
The great American jazz pianist Bill Evans was born on this date in 1929 in New Jersey. Even though I'm such a die-hard classical music fan, I've gotten into jazz as a result of Bill Evans, and I've learned parts of his pieces by ear because the sounds and rhythms he produced so intrigue me.
From the wikipedia article: "In addition to introducing a new freedom of interplay within the piano trio, Evans began (in performances such as "My Foolish Heart" from the Vanguard sessions) to explore extremely slow ballad tempos and quiet volume levels which had previously been virtually unknown in jazz. His chordal voicings became more impressionistic, reminiscent of classical composers such as Debussy, Ravel, Scriabin, and Satie..."
Perhaps that's why I like his music so much - I love the music of these composers! Here's a lovely performance of the above-mentioned "My Foolish Heart" from 1965. He sure plays and looks like a serious musician - no flamboyance here, just pure music.
The first music I heard of Bill Evans was his solo album "Alone". It is amazing stuff. Here's the opening number on that album, "Here's That Rainy Day", and here is another number, "On A Clear Day".
Here are some other highlights, from the Bill Evans Trio:
Waltz for Debby, George Gershwin's Summertime, and Nardis.
Bill Evans was also an educator, and he had some interesting ideas about composing, improvising, and performing, as viewed here, an excerpt from the film, "The Universal Mind of Bill Evans". Evans makes the case that improvisational jazz is really a compositional form - a looking back to the days of Bach, Mozart, Chopin, etc., in which composers and performers were one and the same, and composing 1 minute of music often took place in 1 minute, not in days or months (Bach was the ultimate improviser, and many of his compositions sound like improvisatory material). Interesting thoughts.
Tragically, Evans struggled with an addiction to heroin probably since the 1950's, which he seemed to overcome, only later to get hooked on cocaine. Drugs undoubtedly contributed to his early death in 1980. Here is an amazing performance of In Your Own Sweet Way one year prior to his death, with his last trio. He sure looks different here!
I hope you've enjoyed this detour into the world of jazz, highlighting one of it's most talented composers/performers.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
My Daughters Are So Talented, Part 2
My other daughter, Rachel, has had a 2-year head-start over Rebekah on acquiring talent. If I listed all her talents, it would take me too long. Here are some that come to mind (currently age 2 years, 1 month):
Rachel knows a lot about classical music already (big suprise, huh?). She recognizes the faces and says the names of the following classical composers: Bach, Handel, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Strauss, Mendelssohn, Chopin, Schumann, Liszt, Wagner, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Grieg, Debussy, McDowell, and Rachmaninoff. She recognizes Baroque music, and knows that Bach and Handel are both from this period. She can recognize music specifically by Bach and Mozart sometimes even if she's never heard it before.
She is very particular about music. The other day, I sang a song she knows, except I sang the harmony instead of the melody, and she got very upset. At first I had no idea what the problem was. Then I sang the melody instead, and she blurted out "that's bettoh (better)!". She still has not sung yet, but I suppose that will come soon. Do kids start singing around 3 y/o usually? I know I started singing when I was probably 2 1/2, but I suppose everyone's different. Rachel also gets up on the piano with me and presses single notes at a time, saying "what's dat?" whereupon I say "that's A (or B, or E-flat, etc.)" and she repeats what I say with delight. This goes on for a while sometimes...
Rachel has her favorite music. Her all-time favorite is what she calls "acappella" - a CD of the Haven of Rest A Cappella hymns from 1991. I'm actually rather pleased she likes it. It's one of my favorites, too. I even bought the sheet music and I frequently sing along with the bass part. She also loves to listen to Chris Tomlin, See the Morning, which is really good stuff, too. She also used to specifically ask to listen to Bach piano music, and she generally enjoys all of Bach's works that I play. She has such good taste!
It has become a ritual of hers, when I sit down to play the piano, to request songs, specifically from Walt Disney's Jungle Book movie. "Want the bear song!" (I then proceed to play "The Bear Necessities"). "Wanna sing the gorilla song!" (I switch to playing "I Want To Be Like You-Hoo" - the song "King Louie" of the apes sings to Mowglie). "Wanna sing the elephant song!" (I play the March of the Elephants). "Wanna sing the girl song!" (I play the last song of the movie, sung by the girl Mowglie meets in the Man-village). She dances and claps pretty wildly with a huge grin on her face whenever I play any of these songs. What a cutie!
What else does Rachel know? Her shapes, colors, letters (she says the words to the ABC song), numbers (she counts up to 30), about 10% of the U.S. states (she has a states puzzle), a few books of the Bible, days of the week, months of the year, and probably a lot of other things I'm forgetting. She also plays hard. We go on walks around the neighborhood several times a week after dinner. There is a path away from the streets that she likes to run on. And I mean run. She runs the WHOLE WAY with a few breaks to pick up some rocks, etc. I think it's probably close to a mile if you count going both ways. Maybe she'll be a long-distance runner when she grows up?
Here are some pictures for your enjoyment of my multi-talented Rachel:
Rachel knows a lot about classical music already (big suprise, huh?). She recognizes the faces and says the names of the following classical composers: Bach, Handel, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Strauss, Mendelssohn, Chopin, Schumann, Liszt, Wagner, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Grieg, Debussy, McDowell, and Rachmaninoff. She recognizes Baroque music, and knows that Bach and Handel are both from this period. She can recognize music specifically by Bach and Mozart sometimes even if she's never heard it before.
She is very particular about music. The other day, I sang a song she knows, except I sang the harmony instead of the melody, and she got very upset. At first I had no idea what the problem was. Then I sang the melody instead, and she blurted out "that's bettoh (better)!". She still has not sung yet, but I suppose that will come soon. Do kids start singing around 3 y/o usually? I know I started singing when I was probably 2 1/2, but I suppose everyone's different. Rachel also gets up on the piano with me and presses single notes at a time, saying "what's dat?" whereupon I say "that's A (or B, or E-flat, etc.)" and she repeats what I say with delight. This goes on for a while sometimes...
Rachel has her favorite music. Her all-time favorite is what she calls "acappella" - a CD of the Haven of Rest A Cappella hymns from 1991. I'm actually rather pleased she likes it. It's one of my favorites, too. I even bought the sheet music and I frequently sing along with the bass part. She also loves to listen to Chris Tomlin, See the Morning, which is really good stuff, too. She also used to specifically ask to listen to Bach piano music, and she generally enjoys all of Bach's works that I play. She has such good taste!
It has become a ritual of hers, when I sit down to play the piano, to request songs, specifically from Walt Disney's Jungle Book movie. "Want the bear song!" (I then proceed to play "The Bear Necessities"). "Wanna sing the gorilla song!" (I switch to playing "I Want To Be Like You-Hoo" - the song "King Louie" of the apes sings to Mowglie). "Wanna sing the elephant song!" (I play the March of the Elephants). "Wanna sing the girl song!" (I play the last song of the movie, sung by the girl Mowglie meets in the Man-village). She dances and claps pretty wildly with a huge grin on her face whenever I play any of these songs. What a cutie!
What else does Rachel know? Her shapes, colors, letters (she says the words to the ABC song), numbers (she counts up to 30), about 10% of the U.S. states (she has a states puzzle), a few books of the Bible, days of the week, months of the year, and probably a lot of other things I'm forgetting. She also plays hard. We go on walks around the neighborhood several times a week after dinner. There is a path away from the streets that she likes to run on. And I mean run. She runs the WHOLE WAY with a few breaks to pick up some rocks, etc. I think it's probably close to a mile if you count going both ways. Maybe she'll be a long-distance runner when she grows up?
Here are some pictures for your enjoyment of my multi-talented Rachel:
My Daughters Are So Talented, Part 1
My daughters are so talented. Of course, I suppose I'm biased, but I'll let you judge whether or not I'm correct. This post will be devoted to the many talents of my youngest daughter, Rebekah. She is only 190.5 hours old right now, yet she can:
1. Sleep
2. Eat
3. Poop
4. Pee
5. Cry
6. Dance (with a little of daddy's help)
7. Enjoy Scarlatti sonatas played by daddy on the piano
8. Make hilarious faces that could rival any veteran thespian
And now... the moment you've all been waiting for.
I present to you the many faces of Rebekah:
1. Sleep
2. Eat
3. Poop
4. Pee
5. Cry
6. Dance (with a little of daddy's help)
7. Enjoy Scarlatti sonatas played by daddy on the piano
8. Make hilarious faces that could rival any veteran thespian
And now... the moment you've all been waiting for.
I present to you the many faces of Rebekah:
Saturday, August 9, 2008
A New Addition to the Family
I'd like to take a little welcome break from composer birthdays to announce that we have a new addition to the family. Our beautiful Rebekah was born on August 6 around 9 pm. We just got home from the hospital this morning and everyone's getting a much-needed rest. Similar to my other daughter, Rachel, Rebekah has some newborn jaundice and had to be kept an extra night on phototherapy. Slightly inconvenient, since we had to spend the night in the waiting room, with my wife nursing her in the nursery every 3 hours (my wife had used up her maximum of 2 post-partum nights in the hospital already). But Rebekah's bilirubin is leveling off, so there is no need for home phototherapy. Yippee! Isn't she adorable? Aren't both my kids the cutest little things you ever saw?
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Disney Music
I know I'm a little bit late with this Birthday, but on July 22, 1949, American composer/singer/song-writer Alan Menken was born in New York. I just heard a program on classical radio today interviewing him, and thus the blog-post.
As the program host, Jim Svejda, noted, Menken is growing to be one of the most award-decorated film composer/song-writers of all time, in some ways coming close to Alfred Newman and John Williams. According to wikipedia, he has won 12 awards (academy awards, tony awards, etc) and has been nominated for 10 more on top of that. His most popular music has been from recent Disney animated films, including The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Pocahontas, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and the recent Disney film, Enchanted.
I remember watching Beauty and Beast in the theater when it came out. I was only 13 years old at the time (why would a 13-year-old boy care about sissy fairy-tales?) As soon as the movie began, I was absolutely transfixed by the music in the prologue to the story, and I remember getting goose-pimples all over and my eyes moistening up with tears. Needless to say, Beauty and the Beast is probably my favorite Walt Disney animated movie (although Robin Hood comes pretty close, for different reasons).
As the program host, Jim Svejda, noted, Menken is growing to be one of the most award-decorated film composer/song-writers of all time, in some ways coming close to Alfred Newman and John Williams. According to wikipedia, he has won 12 awards (academy awards, tony awards, etc) and has been nominated for 10 more on top of that. His most popular music has been from recent Disney animated films, including The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Pocahontas, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and the recent Disney film, Enchanted.
I remember watching Beauty and Beast in the theater when it came out. I was only 13 years old at the time (why would a 13-year-old boy care about sissy fairy-tales?) As soon as the movie began, I was absolutely transfixed by the music in the prologue to the story, and I remember getting goose-pimples all over and my eyes moistening up with tears. Needless to say, Beauty and the Beast is probably my favorite Walt Disney animated movie (although Robin Hood comes pretty close, for different reasons).
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