May (Birth) Day for Piano Composers

 Several of Tomoko’s favorite composers were Romantics and were born in May. Here is a sampling of them.

Wagner was born on May 22, 1813, in Leipzig and died in 1883 in Venice. He was particularly known for his Romantic operas.  His lieder that were often performed in the original piano version.

Brahms was born on May 7, 1833, in Hamburg, and died in 1987in Vienna.  His Romantic approach was exhibited in his professional piano composing, performing and conducting. When he toured, he met with several famous peers: Liszt, Wagner, Berlioz, and the Schumans. Most of his music was written for vocal performance, but he also wrote two piano concertos.

Tchaikovsky was born on May 7, 1840, in Votkinsk, Russia and died in 1893 in St. Petersburg. A Romantic composer, he was the first internationally renown composers. His piano music was often targeted to the home market, which increased its popularity. Tchaikovsky started piano lessons at age five, and was quite proficient by age ten, but then he was forced to be trained to become a civil servant. As an adult, he received Western musical theory training, which he merged with his Russian musical upbringing.

Massenet was born on May 12, 1842, in Montaud, France and died on 1912 in Paris. Similarly to Wagner, Massenet is most known for his 30+ Romanic operas, altjough he also wrote piano pieces. To earn a living Massenet started as a private piano teacher and a piano accompanist. His first published composition was a substantial piano work in nine sections.

Fauré was born on May 12, 1845, in Pamiers, France, and died in 1924 in Paris. Fauré’s compositions bridged Romanticism and Modernism.  Although not born into a musical family, he showed promise before the age of ten, and he was trained to be a church organist. However, he preferred the piano to the organ. It was only in middle age that he had enough time to compose, escaping from Paris to focus in the countryside.