Week of June 5, 2023 - American Masters, Part I The first week in our series exploring great but lesser-known American composers: all born in the last decade of the 19th century. These are composers whose names are not Ellington, Gershwin, Copland, Barber, or Bernstein — Howard Hanson from Wahoo, Nebraska; Walter Piston from Rockland, Maine; William Grant Still born in Woodville, Mississippi; and Ruth Crawford Seeger born in East Liverpool, Ohio. This week of Exploring Music is full of many beautiful works that you will enjoy.
Week of June 12, 2023 - The Class of 1809: Six composers born over a five-year period 1809 - 1813 Our six extraordinary composers are Felix Mendelssohn, Frederic Chopin, Robert Schumann, Franz Liszt, Richard Wagner, and Giuseppe Verdi. 1809 also brought the death of Papa Haydn and the birth of Abraham Lincoln, plus Beethoven wrote Les Adieux “Farewell,” and the Emperor Concerto for his friend and sponsor, Archduke Rudolf. This is the time of the Battle of Wagram, after which the Austrian nobility withdrew to safer realms as Napoleon closed in on Vienna. Starting in 1809, the 19th century opens up, and we’ll follow our six composers to Verdi’s death in 1901.
Week of June 19, 2023 - Ned Rorem (1923-2022) This week Bill invites us to celebrate the music of American Pulitzer Prize winning composer Ned Rorem. For years, the great singers of the world have treasured his art songs, but there is so much more. Rorem composed three symphonies, four piano concertos and other orchestral works, chamber music, ten operas, choral works, ballets and music for the theatre, plus he published sixteen books! His diaries are well known for their candor about his life and loves. And many of his solo piano works were written for his longtime partner James Holmes. At his death, the New York Times wrote, “Over his long career, his reason for actually writing the music itself, he said, was simple: “Because I want to hear it.”
Week of June 26, 2023 - Soundtracks Since the beginning of cinematography classical music has been there to enhance the narrative and drama of the silver screen. For the next five days, we will listen to the soundtracks composed for the films E.T., Zorba the Greek, and Robin Hood, plus many more film scores composed by illustrious composers of the 20th century.
