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.
