April Modern Classical Composers

 

If April showers bring may flowers, do piano composers born in April bring music that seems to bloom? You decide about these comparably modern classical musicians.

Sergei Rachmaninoff was born April 1, 1873 in Russia. His compositions exemplified late Romanticism.  His famous piece of voice and piano, “Spring Waters” from his 12 Romances, Opus 14, was dedicated to his first formal teacher: Anna Ornatskaya. At the age of 19, Rachmaninoff performed his first concert, where he premiered his Trio elegiaque No. 1. Besides his impressive compositions, Rachmaninoff was also considered one of the best pianists of his day.

Sergei Prokofiev was born April 23, 1891 in Krasne, Ukraine. His compositions crossed a number of musical genres, although he is considered a key early Modernist. His piano works consisted of five piano concertos and nine piano sonatas. His first piano concertos, which he performed, were controversial because of their innovation and dissonance.

Only eight years late, on April 29, 1899, Duke Ellington was born in Washington, DC. He is now considered a classical jazz composer, and he led the movement to regard jazz as a respected art form. He too was a highly esteemed pianist. Ellington wrote or collaborated on more than a thousand compositions: the largest recorded personal jazz legacy.

Musical Pranks

It's April Fools' Day.: a day of (hopefully harmless) pranks. Musicians and composers have been known to play pranks on the piano. Probably the most famous playful piano perforrmer was the Danish-American pianist and comic Victor Borge.

One piece that Borge liked to perform was a version of Liszt's Second Hungarian Rhapsody (especially the friska section), which is considered a musical comedic classic and has been featured in animated cartoons.

Mozart once wrote an aria for a soprano who tended raise her head for high notes and tuck in her chin for low notes. Mozart hated her, so the nicknamed piece, “The Chicken Dance” in Cosi fan Tutte, featured dramatic fluctuating low and high notes; Mozart took delight in watching the soprano bob her head repeatedly.

More recently, Leroy Anderson is known for his lighthearted compositions, such as The Syncopated Clock. His pieces sometimes featured unlikely instruments such as a typewriter.

Debussy's Carnival of Animals is charming, but how many people realize that his “Tortoises” is actually a very slow version of Offenbach's “Can-Can”?

P. D. Q. Bach is a comedic alias for contemporary composer Peter Schickele. He creates parodies of baroque and classical music, which often employ unusual instruments such as kazoo and slide whistles and even fictional instruments such as the left-handed sewer flute and pastaphone. His humor often draws from odd key changes and inserts of popular music into classical sections.

Violinist Fritz Kreisler played “lost” classical pieces, which she later admitted writing himself. Another violinist, Henri Gustave Casadesus, also wrote faked compositions, supposedly created by Handel and Boccherini.

Some musicians also played practical jokes. For instance, Brahms sketched a fake Beethoven manuscript, and had a street vendor wrap it around a sausage to sell to one of Brahms' friend, who thought he had discovered a lost composition.

Who says composers don't have a sense of humor?

Medical Benefits of Music

 

One of the ways that Tomoko keeps healthy is through her daily practice on the piano. It keeps her muscles flexible and her mind active. As a piano teacher, Tomoko also knows the benefits of piano lessons, not only for the benefits above, but also for hearing and visual acuity. Several aspects of music and medicines interdependence are showcased here.

Music and healing has a long history. Even in Greek mythology, Apollo was the god of both music and healing. More on the human level, Greek physicians used flutes and lyres to heal their patients, with particular attention to musical vibrations to aid digestion and treat mental disturbance. Shakespeare wrote of Lear’s physician who prescribed music the cure the king’s melancholy. Music therapy was mentioned in scientific literature as early as 1789, and early 20^th century surgeons noted positive outcomes when using music during procedures.

Doctors have been musicians themselves.  In the early 19^th century Dr. Rene Laennec invented the first stethoscope, which was a long hollow wood tube resembling a flute, which built on his knowledge as a flutist.  The late 19^th century innovative surgeon Theodor Billroth wanted to become a professional pianist, but his family convinced him to pursue medicine. Nevertheless, he held music gatherings and was a close friend of Brahms. Both Billroth and cardiac physician—and cellist-- T. W. Englemann had quartets dedicated to them by Brahms.  

The American Medical Association (AMA) asserts that music and the medical profession harness discipline and creativity.  Both musicians and doctors realize the importance of performance – and the amount of practice and coaching needed to perform will. Both require focused self-discipline and commitment to gain excellence.  And practicing the piano can be very therapeutic while going through medical school.

Music is also a stress reliever, which is another reason Tomoko values piano playing. Studies discovered that “just thirty minutes of listening to relaxing classical music and decrease levels of stress hormones in the blood,” states Caroline Brennan (MyChart, Oct. 31, 2023). So maybe piano practice a day keeps the doctor way – and helps the doctor perform better.

Praising Easter through Music

When Tomoko was in college, she played the organ for Catholic masses. Easter is the most important event in Catholicism, and music has been an important part of Mass throughout the ages, including at Easter. Here are some representive samples of classical pieces for Easter.

Probably the most famous classical piece played at Easter is Handel's Messiah, particularly the “Hallelujah” chorus. The entire composition, which traces the highlights of Jesus's life, took Handel 14 years to finalize, in 1741.

Over a hundred years earlier, in the 1630s, Italian composer Gregorio Allegri set the Latin text of Psalm 51 to music, Miserere mei, Deus, for two choirs. Pope Urban VIII first used it for Holy Week services in the Sistine Chapel.

Bach's first major composition for Easter was St. John Passion, written in 1724 for that year's Good Friday Vespers service. Bach used John 18 and 19's account of Christ's crucifixion as the basis for his masterpiece.

St. Matthew Passion, also written by Johann Sebastian Bach, is often played at Easter because it is the story of Christ's suffering and death. It was performed only three times in the 18^th century, and not performed again until almost a hundred years later.

One more Bach piece, his Easter Oratorio, was first conceived as a cantata for Easter Sunday in 1725.

Even though Haydn was an Austrian composer, his orchestral work The Seven Last Words of Christ (which Haydn also approved in piano version) was written for the 1786 Good Friday service at Oratoria de la Santa Cueva in Spain.

Mahler's 1894 Symphony No. 2, Resurrection, evokes the beauty of that event. At the same time, this piece has both its light and dark moments.

Rimsky-Korsakov's 1888 Russian Easter Festival Overture evokes a grand Easter morning service.

While it is often associated with the American South, the song “Amazing Grace” dates back to 1779, written by John Newton: a clergyman in the Church of England. Poet William Cowper collaborated with him on this hymn.

The more contemporary hymn “How Great Thou Art,” often sung at Easter, was actually based on a traditional Swedish folk tune.

Political Musical Pieces

 

Music has often been associated with patriotism and politics. Certainly national anthems have inspired a sense of unity. Politicians have also used music to excite citizens: think of “The Marseillaise.” Here are some more examples.

Even in the 18^th century, music could affirm a country’s leader. Handle’s piece Zadok the Priest was written to confirm England’s George II’s confirmation as kind.

Sadly, but effectively, Beethoven’s and Wagner’s music were used to sway the German people to affirm their superiority and that of Hitler.

On the other hand, Chopin’s Polonaise was broadcast on the radio during World War II to rally the Polish people against Hitler’s invasion. That piece earlier stirred the Poles in 1848 to revolution.

While Messiaen was a World War II prisoner of war in Germany, he composed Quartet for the End of Time, which moved even the camp’s soldiers and resulted in his escape.

Likewise, Shostakovich’s Leningrad symphony referred to World War II invasion and war. The piece was first broadcast throughout the city while the Soviets and Germans fought – although the battle paused to hear the music.

Most recently, Catherine Likhuta’s 2017 composition Bad Neighbors was commissioned when Russia started invading Ukraine. The piece evokes fighting and dialogue, and calls for freedom and peace.

In short, composers and their music can stir people to action.

Classical Piano Enriched by Black Musicians

The classical piano world has been helped by a variety of musicians. Because February is celebrated as Black History month, it is good to focus on Black contributions.

Scott Joplin is one of the most recognized piano composers of the 20^th century, and even won a Pulitzer Prize in 1976. As a teenager, he studied classical piano and recognized the art of music, not just for entertainment. In his ragtime compositions, he merged European romanticism with American folk music syncopation to achieve both contrapuntal and innovative harmonies in a classical miniature form.

Another notable pianist and composer was George Walker, who wrote almost 100 piece of music, including vocal works. He too blended spirituals and Western classical forms. In 1996 he became the first Black composer to be awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Music.

Tom “Blind Tom” Wiggins was the highest paid pianist at one point in the 19^th century – at the age of ten! He was known for performing pieces by Bach and Beethoven, and wrote more than 100 piano compositions.

Noted songstress Nina Simone studied classical piano. In her song writing and piano performance, she has incorporated complex contrapuntal features inspired by Bach.

Another musical prodigy, Hazel Scott, studied at Julliard when she was eight years old. She performed both jazz and classical music “live,” on the radio, and in film. She was the first African American to host a network TV show in America, which featured a variety of musical performances.

Music is both international and culturally developed. We have much to thank Black musicians for enrichening the classical piano experience. Including their work in piano repertoires benefits everyone.

AI in Music Composing

 With the advancements in generative artificial intelligence (AU) have emerged questions about its impact on music composing.

Generative artificial intelligence is based on searching through vast data sets of information, in this case, music, to identify patterns. Algorithms provide directions on how to search, categorize, sort and synthesize the resultant data to fit human-developed specifications.

The simplest area of music composition utilizing generative AI tools is lyrics because of the quantity of textual material that is readily available. Other AI tools sift through existing songs to predict variables that are characteristic of popular, profitable compositions. For instance, fast tempos and major keys are more popular. Based on that information, people can give prompts to AI music-generating tools to create melodies and harmonies that audience will enjoy listening too. AIVA (Artificial Intelligence Virtual Arts) can generate pieces that are hard to distinguish from music created by classical composers.

Often the source materials has been gathered without regard to copyright, and lyricists and music publishers are starting to sue companies that develop and promote their AI text generating tools. The plaintiffs are demanding licensing deals and royalties for their works. While copyright allows for compositions that may be based on another work, the new composition must differ significantly not to be confused with the prior work and add new value to the music.  What the composers assert that they are due is consent (permission), credit (attribution), and compensation (typically money).

Nevertheless, AI is not truly creative. It has no feelings and no sense of nuanced context. Were composers to depend on AI tools to write music, the results would probably become more homogenous and duller, certainly not inspiring the listener – or the musician.

January Piano Composers

 

Start the year right by celebrating great piano composers who, themselves, began their lives in January. Several of them rate high with Tomoko.

Probably her favorite composer, Mozart, was born in Salzburg on January 27, 1756. Tomoko was married in Salzburg, and visited Mozart’s landmarks there.

One of the earlier composers, who competed with Mozart, is Musio Clementi, who was born in Rome on January 23, 1752. He was influenced by Scarlatti, Haydn and Bach; in turn, he influenced Beethoven and Chopin, two more favorite composers of Tomoko. Clementi produced is own brand of pianos and was a music publisher.

Another special composer on Tomoko’s list is Franz Schubert, who was born in Himmelpfortgrund, Austria, on January 31, 1797. This early Romantic composer died when he was only 32, but he left over 600 secular vocal works as well as symphonies operas and many piano compositions.

Almost a hundred years later, Parisian Francis Poulenc was born on January 7, 1899. He wrote light-hearted pieces such as the piano suite Trois Mouvements Perperpetuels, and in his later years composed religious pieces.