Thankful for November Piano Composers

 

In the United States, Thanksgiving is celebrated in November. It is a time to be thankful, and we can be thankful for several pianists and composers who were born in November. Here are a few of them.

Francois Couperin was born on November 10, 1668, in Paris, and died there. He is the most well known musician among his musically talented family. He first became an organist like his father, and composed for that instrument. Later he composed for the harpsichord, and wrote a manual on how to play the harpsichord.

Alexander Borodin was born on November 12, 1833, in St. Petersburg, and died there. Borodin was a cellist and is best known for his symphonies, although he also wrote for the piano. Nevertheless, music was more of a hobby, as he was a doctor and chemist, particularly in organic chemistry.

Anton Rubinstein was born on November 28, 1829, in Podolsk, Russia, and died in Petergof (Russia). He was a virtuoso pianist; among his achievements was playing seven concerts that covered the history of piano music. He wrote many piano works, and was a successful teacher—including teaching composition to Tchaikovsky.

Aaron Copland was born on November 14, 1900, in New York City and died there. He has been called the Dean of American composers because his compositions evoke American landscapes and pioneer spirit. Many of his works “speak” the vernacular of America. Hie composed in many genres: from ballet to film scores, along with piano scores. He was also a professional teacher and pianist.

Benjamin Britten was born on November 22, 1913, in Lowestoft, UK. Britten composed for orchestras, chamber groups, the piano, and vocal groups. He was particularly interested in composing for children and amateur performers, for which his opera Noye’s Fludde is the most famous. Britten was also a celebrated pianist.

Who know what young person born in November of the 21^st century will become a famous pianist and composer, who will be thanked by future audiences and musicians?

 

Thanksgiving for Music

 

Thanksgiving is a well known holiday in the United States, and there are several classical music pieces that fit for this time of year.

A popular choice is Aaron Copland’s “Appalachian Spring, which was composed as a ballet to tell the story of American pioneers building a farmhouse. A piano arrangement can be heard at https://youtu.be/zyrOl4vwyD0. Even though the season is spring, this suite expresses the American frontier spirit associated with Thanksgiving.

Vivaldi’s third movement, “Autumn,” from his 1725 composition The Four Seasons certainly capture the feeling of fall. In addition, the lyrics “celebrate the peasant, with songs and dances, and the pleasure of a bountiful harvest.”

England has celebrated days of Thanksgiving for centuries. The 18^th century English composer Maurice Greene wrote the anthem “Thou Visited the Earth, which is very appropriate for Harvest Thanksgiving. The lyrics are based on Psalm 65: ‘Thou visitest the earth, and blessest it; and crownest the year with thy goodness.”

The hymn “For the Beauty of the Earth,” written in 1864 by Folliott Sanford Pierpoint, was first considered a communion hymn, but soon became a popular song for Thanksgiving.

William Lloyd Webber -- a London composer, organist, and choirmaster—wrote “A Hymn of Thanksgiving” in 1936. You probably know his son Andrew Lloyd Webber better because of his 21 musicals and other scores.

But the 4^th century Saints Ambrose and Augustine could be considered the earliest Thanksgiving composers with their “Te Deum,” although Saint Niketas, bishop of Remesiana about the same time in history, is also credited for this hymn of Thanksgiving. The Te Deum is still part of the Liturgy of the Hours, giving thanks to God.

In all these cases, we can be thankful for such classical composers.

Laboring Music

 Labor Day celebrates workers, which includes pianists and other musicians. Here is a sampling of classical music that honors labor. While most of these pieces were not originally composed for the piano, arrangements for piano are usually available.

Probably the most renown piece that celebrates labor is Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man, which honors those who fought in WWII. In response, Joan Tower wrote Fanfares for the Uncommon Woman, which is scored identically to Copland’s Fanfare. Copland also honored cowboys in his ballet Rodeo; the selection “Hoe-Down” is frequently performed on the piano.

For most of civilization, farming has been the job of the majority of people. Schumann's “The Happy Farmer” is one piece from his collection Album for the Young,  which was written for his own children to teach them about the piano. All the pieces are relatively easy to play, unlike the work of the farmer.

Traditionally, learning a job was done through apprenticeships. Dukas’ The Sorcerer’s Apprentice musically demonstrates how a little knowledge can do damage.

Satie's Sonatine Bureaucratique is a humorous parody of Clementi's Sonatina Op. 36 No. 1. It musically depicts the daily life of the Parisian bureaucrat.

Another pointed message about labor is conveyed in Antheil’s Ballet Mecanique. It was written the same year as Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, and focuses on urban labor. In this case, the repetitiveness of factory work is emphasized.

On the other hand, Verdi’s Il Trovatore is best known through its “Anvil Chorus”, sung by gypsies who are proud of their hard work.

The sometimes-troubling life of the worker is depicted in music as well. Mozart’s Figaro, a valet, has trouble with his Count master in The Marriage of Figaro. Later, in Rossini’s The Barber of Seville, Figaro becomes a barber, but still has troubles with the Count.  Bizet’s Carmen follows the deeper troubles of a seductive cigarette worker.

Workers’ hard labor often led to unionization. Arnold’s Peterloo Overture was written for the 1968 centenary of the Trade Union Congress.

This Labor Day, we honor the labor of pianists and other musicians everywhere who make our labor a little easier to bear.

November Piano Composers

Tomoko asserts that pianists should get acquainted with the composers of the piano pieces they are performing. Fall for these ten great piano composers who were born in November.

November 2, 1729: Karl Ditters von Dittersdorf was an Austrian violinist and composer for several instruments, including the piano. He was a friend of Mozart and Haydn.

November 6, 1860: Ignacy Jan Paderewski was a Polish music teacher and composer; he was also an internationally popular piano performer. He served as Poland’s prime minister in World War I, and signed the Treaty of Versailles.

November 7, 1810: Ferenc Erkel was a Hungarian pianist and composer. He is known as the father of Hungarian opera, and composed Hungary’s national anthem.

November 11, 1668: Francois Couperin was a French Baroque composer and organist. His most famous books was The Art of Harpsichord Playing, and he composed four volumes of harpsichord music.

November 14, 1900: Aaron Copland was an American composition teacher and conductor, and well as being called the Dean of American Composers. He is known for his populate style.

November 22, 1913: Benjamin Britten. One of Tomoko’s favorite composers, Britten was an English pianist, conductor and composer. Besides writing operas, he wrote solo pieces. He was also interested in writing music for children, the most notable piece being Noye’s Fludde.

November 24, 1868: Scott Joplin was an African American pianist and composer. He has been called the King of Ragtime, and considered this musical genre a form of classical music.

November 25, 1785: Franz Gruber was a German organist and composer. He is best known as the composer of Silent Night.

November 25, 1897: Virgil Thompson was an American    He studied piano at Harvard, and composed for that instrument – as well as composed operas and film music. He was awarded that National Medal of Arts by President Reagan.

November 28, 1829: Anton Rubinstein was a Russian performing pianist, conductor and composer.  He was also Tchaikovsky’s composition teacher. 

Animal Music

 

               Tomoko appreciates the sound of animals: birds chirping at dawn in her garden and even donkeys braying in a Rumanian field. “He had a special way of braying,” Tomoko remembers. “I felt sorry for the little fellow because he was separated from his mother.”  

               Piano composers have also been inspired by animals as evidenced in the pieces they have written. Such allusions date back to the 18^th century with Luis-Claude Daquin’s 1735 harpsichord suite, which includes “The Cuckoo.”

               Several of Tomoko’s favorite composers captured the essence of animals in their compositions. For instance, Chopin’s famous “Minute Waltz” was originally titled “Waltz of the Little Dog,” a piece that aimed to musically describe George Sand’s dog.  

               Another Tomoko favorite, Edvard Grieg, musically painted an assortment of animals. Lyric Pieces, Book 3, Op. 43, No. 4 is “Little Bird.” In his collection 25 Norwegian Folksongs and Dances, Op. 17, Grieg features a cow, a pig, a snake, a fly, and a horsefly.

               Continuing in the 20^th century, Tomoko favorite Oliver Messiaen was not only a composer but also an ornithologist. Messiaen transformed 13 bird songs into his piano collection Catalog of the Birds, each piece reflecting each unique bird and the French region in which it lived.

               Francis Poulenc, another 20^th century composer favorite of Tomoko, wrote The History of Babar, the Little Elephant for piano and narrator.

               At the other end of the animal spectrum, at least in size, is Aaron Copland’s piano composition The Cat and the Mouse. Even though the piece is atonal, the overall sound reminds the listener of animated cartoons. Another 20^th century composer who featured cats in his piano works is Bohuslay Martinu’s composition “Procession of the Cats on Solstice Night.”

               All of these animal piano works enables the pianist to perform more eloquently than kittens on the keyboard.

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Piano Music for Gardening

 

The adage “April showers bring May flowers” signals the time for gardening, a favorite pastime of Tomoko. She considers it as a way to wake up, to recharge her psychic batteries. “It’s a fresh feeling.”

Refresh yourself with these ten piano pieces inspired by gardens, with a little information about each piece.

In the 1930s Hungarian Bela Bartok wrote a collection of 85 short pieces entitled For Children. One of those compositions is "Rose Garden." These pieces attest to his belief in the importance to educating youngsters in contemporary musical styles.

Amy Beach was the first major American female composer of large-scale art music. Her 1922 Opus 97, Grandmother’s Garden, consists of five parts, each capturing a different flower.

Aaron Copland’s Down a Country Lane was commissioned by Life magazine to be featured in a 1962 issue, which includes photographs and an article explaining that this piano piece was one of the few compositions written express for young students by a major composer.

Claude Debussy’s “Jardins sur la pluie” (Gardens in the rain) is part of his 1903 composition Estampes (Prints). It captures the round of raindrops that storm a French garden. 

As a gift to his mother, Australian Percy Aldridge Grainger arranged an English folk tune into the 1918 piano piece “Country Gardens.” The piece was his greatest success financially, selling over 40,000 copies yearly in the United States. However, Grainger came to resent having to perform it constantly.

A visit to a monastic garden inspired English composer Albert Ketelbey to write “In a Monastery Garde.” In 1915. Ketelbey was known for light orchestral music, and wrote music for silent films.

Czech composer Bohuslav Martinu’s 1938 suite Window on the Garden consists of four lyrical movements. The piece reflects his short stay in Paris just before escaping from the forthcoming Nazi invasion.

Edward McDowell was America’s best known composer at the beginning of the 20^th century. His 1902 piano New England Idyls combines classical European harmonic elements and American textual imagery, as exemplified in the piece "An Old Garden."

Rachmaninoff became known for his lyrical inspiration, where the piano captures the sentiments of the text. Lilacs, Op 21, No. 5 “Lilacs, along with Daisies” was composed in 1902 as a song with accompaniment, but was later transcribed as a sensitive piano solo miniature.

In 1893 Tchaikowsky wrote his last solo piano work, 18 Pieces, one a day. Value-bluette, No. 11, was dedicated to the daughter of his lawyer and friend Nikolay Kondratyev.

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