Posts by beaverbase
Vivian Fine, Concertante for Piano and Orchestra
Vivian Fine’s multifaceted output as a composer included vocal, chamber, orchestral, and theater works. Fine was also a highly regarded pianist, and her Concertante reflects her deep attachment to the keyboard. The work is readily connected to neoclassicism—a term that suggests a strong interest in forms and styles of the baroque and classical periods. A…
Read MoreJacob Druckman, Prism
Born June 26, 1928, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Died May 24, 1996, in New Haven, Connecticut Composed in 1979–80 Premiered on May 21, 1980 in Baltimore, with the Baltimore Symphony, conducted by Sergiu Comissiona Performance Time: Approximately 22 minutes Jacob Druckman’s Prism is perhaps best understood, at first, through the lens of a work Druckman admired:…
Read MoreWilliam Schuman, Symphony No. 3
Born August 4, 1910, in New York City Died February 15, 1992, in New York City Composed in 1941 Premiered on October 17, 1941, with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Serge Koussevitzky Performance Time: Approximately 31 minutes When William Schuman completed his Symphony No. 3 in 1941, he had an illustrious advocate: Boston Symphony…
Read MoreWhitman and Democracy
Among the most arguably difficult of literary enterprises is the art of translation. Vladimir Nabokov was obsessed about the matter; his complicated and controversial views on the processes of transferring the sensibilities evoked by one language to another have themselves inspired volumes of commentary. The challenge resides in an irresolvable paradox: if the translator aims…
Read MoreOthmar Schoeck, Trommelschläge
Born September 1, 1886, in Brunnen, Switzerland Died March 8, 1957, in Zürich, Switzerland Composed in 1915 Premiered on March 5, 1916 at Tonhalle, Zürich, with the Tonhalle-Orchester Performance Time: Approximately 5 minutes The horrors of the First World War intruded upon the Swiss composer Othmar Schoeck personally: the only manuscript copy of one of…
Read MoreKurt Weill, Four Walt Whitman Songs
Born March 2, 1900, in Dessau, Germany Died April 3, 1950, in New York City Composed in 1942–47 Premiered in 1947 for Concert Hall Records, with tenor William Horne and pianist Adam Garner Performance Time: Approximately 18 minutes Unlike some émigrés who fled Europe ahead of the Nazi menace, Kurt Weill never indulged in backward…
Read MoreFranz Schreker, Vom ewigen Leben (From Eternal Life)
Born March 23, 1878, in Monaco Died March 21, 1934, in Berlin, Germany Composed in 1923 Premiered in 1929 Performance Time: Approximately 20 minutes Franz Schreker was celebrated principally as a dramatic composer during his lifetime: his first success came in 1908 with a pantomime, Der Geburtstag der Infantin, based on The Birthday of the…
Read MoreRalph Vaughan Williams, A Sea Symphony
Born October 10, 1872, in Down Ampney, England Died August 26, 1958, in London Composed in 1903–09 Premiered on October 12, 1910 at the Leeds Festival, England Performance Time: Approximately 70 minutes In 1892, Bertrand Russell recommended Walt Whitman’s poetry to a fellow undergraduate at Trinity College, Cambridge: the aspiring young composer Ralph Vaughan Williams.…
Read MoreThe Key of Dreams
Based on the French play Juliette, ou La clé des songes (Juliette, or The Key of Dreams) by Georges Neveux, Martinů’s operatic masterpiece Julietta, one of the greatest 20th-century works for the stage, explores the intersection of dreams and reality. Set in a seaside town, this psychological drama follows Michel, a traveling salesman, who finds…
Read MoreSounds of the American Century
Robert Mann Photo by Charles AbbottNew York City composers of the mid-20th century sought to define a new American sensibility in orchestral music. The abstract works of Robert Mann, the legendary founder of the Juilliard Quartet, and Jacob Druckman explored the possibilities of orchestral color and sound. Vivian Fine and William Schuman brought their compositional…
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