on-music

Article

On Music: Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet

Sergei Prokofiev was one of those precocious Mozartian geniuses, composing his first piece at the age of five and his first opera at the age of seven. He also mastered chess early on and I think even went on to compete against some heavy-duty Russian world-champion types later in life. Don't think the biographies I've read of him ever said whether he won or not, but I'd imagine not. Still, I've always been fascinated with chess and those that are really good at it. But this... READ ON

Article

On Music: Mozart's Serenade for Winds

So we've explored the brass and string sections of the orchestra, leaving the winds and percussion. While there are many superb symphonic pieces that feature winds, of course, I thought a better introduction to the wind section would be via one of my all-time favorite Mozart pieces, his Serenade for Winds. We're going to listen to an excerpt from the 3rd movement, which he wrote for oboes, clarinets, French horns, bassoons, double bass, and something called a basset horn, which was the... READ ON

Article

On Music: the French Horns in Symphony of Psalms

In our first installment of ON MUSIC, we fluttered hi and low through the brass section of the orchestra, but never really got to know the French Horn, my very favorite in the section. Developed in England as a hunting horn around 1650, the modern-day French Horn has evolved through a series of technological innovations that enable a French Hornist to cover a super-ginormo range, one of the largest of any orchestral instrument. A talented player can also get a variety of colors from the instrument... READ ON

Article

On Music: the strings in Symphonie Fantastique

I'm thrilled at how you've already taken to the ON MUSIC feature! Lots of great comments yesterday, which I'll take into consideration going forward, especially the request to feature 20th century music. Today I'm digging out the Berlioz, however. The most "romantic" of all the Romantics. Besides all the juicy love affairs and near love affairs, his attempts to kill himself and his outrageous hairdo, Berlioz was something of a rogue, getting into trouble often,... READ ON

Article

On Music: the use of brass in Scheherazade

Today's an exciting day for me here at the _floss. I'm kicking off a brand new feature called ON MUSIC, which I hope you're gonna enjoy reading as much as I will posting. The idea behind ON MUSIC is this: every week or so I'll be writing about something to do with so-called "classical" music. I put it in quotes because I really hate the label. But the alternatives aren't much better: "concert music" "“ "longhaired music"?? Blech. So until we come up... READ ON