Max Derrickson

En Saga is a transition work of sorts. Sibelius had just premiered his gigantic “choral symphony” Kullervo in that same year, a piece that required so many musicians for performance that Sibelius only heard it five times in his life. After that gargantuan piece, Sibelius was just beginning to appreciate the beauties of brevity and economy as he launched into En Saga. He had also moved away from his earlier interest in Richard Wagner’s music and methods, finding the idea of Wagner’s “leit motifs” (those recurring themes that represent a character, or action, etc.) too obvious. With En Saga, Sibelius began instead to explore the genre of the tone-poem made popular by Liszt and began working out his unique method of thematic homogeneity – that is, the seamless transfiguration of musical motives and themes throughout a piece.

One of the most heralded Romantic writers in Schumann’s day was (Lord) George Gordon Byron (1788 – 1824). Byron’s writings seemed to epitomize the Romantic spirit, especially in the German literary movement known as “Young Germany.” These were the German Romantics who, as Schumann’s biographer Martin Geck wrote, “ … [were] convinced that their own fates were exceptional, they sought to lead lives that were a mixture of grandiosity, world weariness, lovesick repining, disgust with life, and an entanglement with black magic.” No other work captured this pathos as intensely as Byron’s Manfred (1817). Schumann was deeply moved by Manfred and wanted to bring it to the stage. He wrote an impressive series of incidental music for its performance, including chorus, songs and monastic chanting,…

Even as a young lad, Schubert was working on writing an opera. At the beginning of the 19th Century, opera was usually what made a composer famous, and Schubert very much wished for that fame. Although he eventually wrote eight operas, none of them has endured as his best works, but in the meantime Schubert found that his greatest successes were to be found in other musical genres, with chamber music, art songs, symphonies and in several of his operatic Overtures.

Gypsy music was prominent in Spain during Sarasate’s life – in fact, the music and dance of flamenco is essentially Gypsy music. But for Zigeunerweisen, Sarasate was charmed by Western Europe’s current love affair with the Gypsy music from Hungary, thanks both to Brahms and Liszt. But the underlying tunes are really simply vehicles for virtuosic splendor.

Rossini’s Overture to his 1823 opera, Semiramide, is one of his great Overtures and often played as a concert piece. It is also the last opera he wrote in Italy. Thereafter, Rossini left Italy and within a year moved to Paris, where he wrote several more operas before beginning his lengthy retirement there. The Overture is filled with the kind of excitement and hummable tunes that prove Rossini’s genius. …

The Prelude to Rapsodie Espagnole is a perfect opening … – evocative of the sensuality and slight menace brought on by the fall of darkness. Ravel uses it as a color piece, with misty and suggestive orchestration, whispering of the dances and cavorting that will occur behind closed doors in Madrid that night. …

Sergey Vasilievich Rachmaninoff (Born in Semyonovo, Russia in 1873; died in Beverly Hills, CA in 1943) Symphonic Dances, Op. 45 1. Non allegro 2. Andante com moto (Tempo di valse) 3. Lento assai – Allegro vivace – Lento assai. Come prima – Allegro vivace   Rachmaninoff always wanted to write a ballet, which is hardly […]

Sergey Vasilievich Rachmaninoff (Born in Semyonovo, Russia in 1873; died in Beverly Hills, CA in 1943) Piano Concerto No 3 in D-minor, Op. 30 1. Allegro ma non tanto 2. Intermezzo: Adagio 3. Finale: Alla breve After the wild success of his 1901 Piano Concerto No. 2, Rachmaninoff, the pianist-composer-conductor, was thrust into fame and […]

Ástor Pantaleón Piazzolla (Born in Mar del Plata, Argentina in 1921; died in Buenos Aires in 1992) Milonga Sin Palabras From the time Argentinian-born Ástor Piazzolla was given the large keyboard accordion known as a bandoneón (a Christmas present from his father – he’d asked for skates) at around the age of eight, until his […]

Carl Nielsen (Born in Sortelung, on Funen, 1865; died in Copenhagen, 1931) Carl Nielsen was born on the island of Funen, Denmark, the birthplace of Hans Christian Anderson, and a place so lovely it is rightfully called the Garden of Denmark.  The composer’s family was relatively poor:  his father was a house painter, his mother […]