Gioachino Rossini is a name well-known in opera circles. Although the Italian composer did write many songs, chamber works, and piano pieces, his 39 operas are what propelled him to fame during his time and what keeps his name alive in concert programs around the world. He is the man behind The Barber of Seville and William Tell – both of which have parts that are often heard in movies, TV shows, and cartoons (the famous ending of the William Tell Overture is the Lone Ranger theme). In fact, we performed “Una voce poco fa” from The Barber of Seville at our concert on May 3, 2019 because it can ..read more

Mozart wrote 41 symphonies (according to original numbering) and some are arguably better than others. Number 41, nicknamed the “Jupiter Symphony”, is rated by many critics as among the greatest in classical music. Number 40 is another of his most famous works. But there’s something about Symphony No. 25 that is truly gripping, that helps it stand out from the rest, and that made it the perfect opening music for the film Amadeus. Perhaps it’s the minor key or the dramatic style. Regardless of the reason, there’s definitely more to this work than its unassuming name. Here are 6 interesting fac ..read more

Marjan Mozetich – from mozetich.comLike many modern composers, Marjan Mozetich isn’t exactly a household name, particularly in the US. However, he is certainly a composer of the 20th and 21st century who has been making a name for himself with his symphonic works, chamber music, and solo pieces. He has been called “one of the most important composers of our time” (Kingston Whig-Standard) and his music has been described as “compellingly beautiful”. Mozetich was born in Italy in 1948 to Slovenian parents but moved to Ontario Canada in 1952. His early musical training included studying piano an ..read more

Imagine this. Someone asks you to name a famous German composer. You might answer with any number of names including Beethoven, Bach, Brahms, Schumann, Mendelssohn, or Handel. Similarly, if someone asks you to name an Austrian composer, you could go with Haydn, Mozart, Schubert, or Strauss. But, what if someone asks you for a Swiss composer? Hmm… Well, here’s your answer. Joachim Raff (pronounced /rof/ rhyming with “cough”). Born in Lachen, Switzerland 200 years ago (1822), Raff was prolific and well-known in his time with numerous famous names in his circle of friends, students, and colleague ..read more

The Parker Symphony is set to play a piece titled La chasse du jeune Henri (“Young Henri’s hunt”) in October by a composer named Étienne Méhul, but who exactly is he? Méhul, born in 1763 in France, isn’t exactly a household name like Mozart or Beethoven and even among orchestral musicians and classical music enthusiasts, he isn’t well-known. This may be because he is mainly a composer of operas. In fact, La chasse du jeune Henri is an overture from his failed opera Le jeune Henri. Yes, Le jeune Henri was a failure. In fact, the audience hissed at the libretto’s author Bouilly for its poor qua ..read more

It’s Back to School season and that means kids are heading back to the classroom – whether on campus or at home. These are truly unprecedented times, but that doesn’t mean you can’t still celebrate students’ returning to learning, and what better way to do so than with music. Here is a short list of classical music related to school: Brahms – Academic Festival Overture With the word “Academic” in its name, it’s not surprising that this concert overture made the list. Brahms composed the work during the summer of 1880 as a tribute to the University of Breslau after the school notified him that ..read more

How Maria Theresia von Paradis overcame the odds after losing her eyesight to become a musician and composer in 1700’s Vienna. And how her lost works haven’t stopped her from being found again. Mozart. Haydn. Those are probably at the top of your list of famous Viennese composers. Maria Theresia von Paradis? Probably not. However, it’s time people discover what she overcame to become a musician and composer. As if being a woman composer wasn’t difficult enough, she was also blind. Born in 1759, Paradis was named for the Empress Maria Theresa. She lost her eyesight sometime between the age of ..read more

Ruth Crawford Seeger was one of a group of American composers known as “ultramoderns” who wrote works during the 1920s and 1930s. Her distinctive style was once referred to as “post-tonal pluralism”, marked by dissonance and irregular rhythms. Perhaps this is part of the reason why she is not a household name in classical music. Most of her works are jarringly different from what we typically think of as “classical” or “orchestral” and lean more toward the “academic” and “eclectic”. While she certainly saw success early on, becoming the first woman to receive the Guggenheim Fellowship, the De ..read more

Who would win the award for “best classical composer” is debatable, but there’s no denying that Ludwig van Beethoven would win the “most famous” award (along with Mozart). His name is recognized worldwide among classical music enthusiasts and those who don’t know a thing about the genre. And those who know a little something about the man know that 2020 was a big year – it was the Beethoven anniversary! 2020 marked the 250th anniversary of his birth and because of that, many orchestras planned to perform his works that year. Unfrotunately, due to the pandemic, many of those performances were c ..read more

If you haven’t heard of the composer Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov, there’s a very good reason. Despite writing numerous operas, orchestral works, pieces for ensembles, and songs, most of his music is rarely heard today. The exception? His Caucasian Sketches. Caucasian Sketches is a pair of orchestral suites with a rich and colorful sound written in 1894 and 1896. After spending years as a conductor and director of a music school in what is now Tbilisi, Georgia, Ippolitov-Ivanov developed an interest in the Caucasus area’s folk music and was inspired to write a work celebrating the sounds of Turkme ..read more