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Posts Tagged ‘composers’

Leonard Bernstein 100

Friday, August 24th, 2018

August 24, 2018

Tomorrow, August 25, is the 100th anniversary of the birth of legendary American  conductor, composer, and pianist Leonard Bernstein in 1918. Bernstein ranks among the most famous figures in American music of the 1900′s. Bernstein served as musical director of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra from 1958 to 1969, the first American to hold that position. During this period, the orchestra’s prestige increased greatly. Bernstein often performed as solo pianist with the orchestra while conducting at the same time. He was a strong supporter of modern American composers and often programmed their music with the orchestra. Bernstein died at age 72 on Oct. 14, 1990.

Leonard Bernstein making annotations to musical score, 1955. Credit: Library of Congress

Leonard Bernstein works on a musical score in 1955. Credit: Library of Congress

Bernstein was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts, on Aug. 25, 1918, and graduated from Harvard in 1939. He studied with the famous conductors Serge Koussevitzky and Fritz Reiner and, in 1943 and 1944, served as assistant conductor of the New York Philharmonic. Bernstein became famous in August 1943 when, on short notice, he conducted a Philharmonic concert that was broadcast nationally.

West Side Story is one of the most popular musicals in American theater history. Jerome Robbins was the director and choreographer. Stephen Sondheim wrote the lyrics and Leonard Bernstein the music for the story based on William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Rita Moreno, center, was one of the stars in the 1961 film version that won 11 Academy Awards. Credit: AP/Wide World

Rita Moreno leads the cast of the 1961 film version of West Side Story. Credit: AP/Wide World

Bernstein became best known for his musicals, including On the Town (1944), Wonderful Town (1953), Candide (1956, revised 1973), and West Side Story (1957). He also wrote the important concert compositions Symphony No. 1, Jeremiah (1944); Symphony No. 2, The Age of Anxiety (1949); and Symphony No. 3, Kaddish (1963). He wrote the music for the ballets Fancy Free (1944), Facsimile (1946), and Dybbuk (1974) as well as the Serenade for violin, strings, harp, and percussion (1954). Bernstein composed two operas, the short Trouble in Tahiti (1952) and its sequel, the full-length A Quiet Place (1983); and the music for the film On the Waterfront (1954).

Among Bernstein’s concert works for voice are Mass, composed for the opening of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., in 1971; Chichester Psalms (1965), for chorus and orchestra; and Songfest (1977), for six vocal soloists and orchestra.

Tags: broadway, composers, leonard bernstein, music, musicals, New York Philharmonic Orchestra
Posted in Arts & Entertainment, Current Events, History, People | Comments Off

Claude Debussy 100

Friday, March 23rd, 2018

March 23, 2018

On March 25, 1918, 100 years ago this Sunday, French composer Claude Debussy died in Paris, France, at age 55. Debussy was one of the most important composers of his era. His revolutionary treatment of musical form and harmony helped change the direction of music in the early 1900′s.

Claude Debussy, a French composer, is regarded as the leader of Impressionism in music. He helped create new tonalities (relationships among various tones) with such orchestral masterpieces as La Mer (1905), Images (1905, 1907), and the piano pieces Estampes (1903). Credit: Public Domain

French composer Claude Debussy helped create new tonalities (relationships among various tones) with such works as La Mer (1905) and Images (1905, 1907). Credit: Public Domain

Debussy felt closer to painters and poets than to other musicians, and he acknowledged the influence of literature and painting on his music. He sought a style of composition that was free from conventional musical forms, and he often used descriptive titles. He is regarded as the leader of Impressionism in music, helping create new tonalities (relationships among various tones).

Achille-Claude Debussy was born in St.-Germain-en-Laye on Aug. 22, 1862. He entered the Paris Conservatory at the age of 10. His major works of the late 1800′s include the String Quartet in G minor (1893) and the three Nocturnes, the first two for orchestra (1900) and the third (1901) for female voices. The popular piano piece Reverie (1890) is from this period, as is the Suite bergamasque (1890, revised 1905). The suite’s popular third movement, “Clair de Lune” (“Moonlight”), is often played separately.

The turning point in Debussy’s career came in 1902 with his opera Pelleas and Melisande. Written as a series of short scenes that end without climaxes, the opera emphasizes natural speech as opposed to brilliant singing. In spite of the controversy caused by its unconventional style, the opera was an immediate success and began an extremely productive period for Debussy. His following compositions greatly expanded previous limits of musical structure and tonality. This period lasted about 15 years and included the orchestral masterpieces La Mer (1905) and Images (1913); the piano works Estampes (Engravings, 1903), Masques (1904), L’Isle joyeuse (The Island of Joy, 1904), two sets of Images (1905, 1907), and two books of Préludes (1910, 1913); and several sets of songs.

In 1909, Debussy suffered the first symptoms of cancer. He died of the disease nine years later. Probably because of his illness, he began working at a much slower pace. He started some operas and other large-scale projects but did not finish them.

From 1913 to 1917, Debussy abandoned Impressionism for a more severe, abstract style. He returned to Classicism with three chamber sonatas. They were the sonata for piano and cello (1915); the sonata for flute, violin, and harp (1915); and the sonata for violin and piano (1917). He also composed his most daring works. They include Syrinx for solo flute (1913), the 12 Etudes for piano (1915), and the ballet Jeux (Games, 1913). Some critics consider the ballet to be Debussy’s finest and most influential work. It was first presented by the famous Ballets Russes, which commissioned the score. The choreography was created by the great Russian dancer Vaslav Nijinsky.

Tags: claude debussy, composers, france, music
Posted in Arts & Entertainment, Current Events, History, People | Comments Off

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