Ringing in the New Year with January-born Piano Composers

 Several classical composers started their lives at the beginning of a year: January. As a good first example is one of Tomoko’s favorite harpsichord and fortepiano composers: Mozart, who was born on January 27, 1756 in Vienna.  Here are some more famous January piano composers.

Franz Schubert was born on January 31, 1797, in Himmelpfortgrund, Austria. Although he died early, at age 31, Schubert composed more than 600 secular vocal works and with many piano pieces. Tomoko performed one of his famous works: Trout Quintet.

Giovani Battista Draghi was born on January 4, 1710, om Jesi, Italy. He too died early: at age 26, from tuberculosis. Nevertheless, he is considered one of the greatest composers of the early 18^th century. Known for his Baroque pieces, the most famous is his Stabat Mater. Draghi was also an accomplished organist.

Alexander Scriabin was born on January 6, 1872, in Moscow. He was largely influenced by Chopin and is associated with late Romanticism and Russian symbolism. In turn, he influenced Stravinsky and Prokofiev. During his life, Scriabin was known as a controversial professional pianist besides being a composer. Scriabin’s ten sonatas for piano have become increasingly acclaimed.  

Francis Poulenc was born on January 7, 1899, in Paris. Among his compositions were solo piano works, the most famous one being the Trois Mouvements Perpetuels suite. His Organ Concerto is also well known. Under Satie’s mentorship, Poulenc was part of Les Six: six young neoclassic composers. He started playing the piano at age six, and was influenced by Schubert and Stravinsky.

Frederick Delius was born on January 29, 1862, in Bradford, England. While he taught violin, he took more delight in improvising on the piano. Like Scriabin, Delius was first influenced by Chopin. While he lived in Florida to manage his family’s orange plantation, he began composing, having been influence by African-American music there. He was not successful in agriculture but he was promoted by several conductors. The Delius Society continues to promote him, and sponsors an annual Delius Prize competition for young musicians.  

 

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.

Summery Piano

 

Piano playing knows no season. However, any season has more flavor when savored by playing a seasonal piano piece. Here are ten evocative summery pieces to enjoy.

Benjamin Britten: Holiday Diary. An evocative seaside holiday

Claude Debussy. “Voiles” from Preludes Book 1. A sensory musical expression of breezy sails

Gabriel Fauré. Three Songs, Opus 18 No. 1 “Nell.”: an art song with the sun as a recurring symbol

Edvard Grieg. Lyric Pieces, Book 10 Opus 71, No. 2 “Summer Evening”: A quick sketch of a tranquil Norwegian summer evening

Ernest Moeran. Summer Valley: A pastoral sense of Britain and Ireland

Francis Poulenc. Napoli: A three-movement suite that captures the spirit of an Italian summer evening

Ned Rorem. End of Summer: A chamber piece for piano, clarinet and violin that expresses the sensitivity of summer’s end

William Grant Still. “Summerland”: an almost mesmerizing summer day on the plains

Joseph Suk. A Summer’s Tale, Opus 29: a tone poem of a moody summer day

Pyotr Tchaikovsky. “June,” Barcarolle from The Seasons: sixth of a 12-movement piano piece;it depicts a gondola ride

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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Bringing in Summer on a Tune

 

Summer is a great time to travel, and Tomoko has enjoyed traveling since she was a young woman. Now with the pandemic, it is harder to travel, but Tomoko can enjoy summer travel through the piano pieces she enjoys performing. Many composers of those pieces were inspired by their own travels and sense of place. Here is a sampling to explore.

Probably one of the first thematic piano pieces that might come to mind is George Gershwin’s “Summertime,” which was written for his opera Porgy and Bess. Its tone and pacing reflect a lazy, jazzy afternoon in the South.

Benjamin Britten’s four-part suite of piano pieces, “Ravel’s “Mirrors” (Op. 5), reflects his boyhood pre-war memories of the British seaside where he lived. The lively melody captures summer holiday life with a celebratory movement, stormy sailing, and nighttime peacefulness.  

Claude Debussy’s prelude “Voiles (Veils or Sails)” reminds one of summer breezes, either on land or sea. Its tonality ranges from veiled mystery to bright open sails.

Franz Liszt’s  three-suite set “Années de Pelerinage (Pilgrimage Years)” was inspired by his visits to the Swiss Alps. The piece paints a Romantic picture of flora and fauna as well as still and running water.

Ernest Moeran’s pastoral “Summer Valley” refers to British and Irish landscapes. While he himself lived a creative and lively existence at that time, this composition reflects a more peaceful mood.

Maurice Ravel’s “Mirrors” evokes the impressionistic sound of the ocean, especially movement #3 “A boat on the Ocean.” It is considered one of his three water-themed masterpieces.

Francis Poulenc’s three-movement suite “Napoli” was written during his visit to Italy. The piece certainly plays an homage to Italian barcarolle and caprice. The music’s color mirrors summer streets and shores of Naples.

Whatever the summer mood, there's likely to be a summer piano piece to celebrate summer, no matter where one is. 

Poetic Poulenc

 

Classic composers can also be poetic. One of Tomoko’s favorites is Frenchmen Francis Poulenc, who was also a celebrated pianist.

 Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc was born in Paris on the cusp of the 20^th century: January 7, 1899. Poulenc’s mother played the piano competently, and Poulenc developed broad musical taste. However, his father would not allow Poulenc to study at a music conservatory. Fortunately, early 20^th century Paris was a cultural hot bed and Poulenc was able to befriend piano and composition mentors Ricardo Viñes, George Auric and Erik Satie. The young composers admitted him to “Les Nouveaux Jeunes,” a circle of protégé musicians. In the 1920s, Poulenc was known as one member of “Les Six”: up and coming composers. Poet Cocteau served as the group’s father figure.

Indeed, Poulenc met several avant-garde poets and set their poems to music. In fact, his first public composition, Rapsodie nègre, featured African-style poetry. Only 18 at the time, his five-movement piece was impressive enough that Stravinsky helped Poulenc to get a contract with a music publisher. Even while serving in the French army, Poulenc set poems (in this case, Apollinaire) to music; the resultant song cycle was an international success. His incorporation of poetry continued in the 1930s, at which point his music was one of the first to be broadcast on BBC television. During World War II Poulenc set French Resistance poets’ works to music, which sometimes could not be performed in France when it was under German occupation – so was broadcast in England. Poulenc also performed his songs; Pierre Bernac and he dueted for over twenty years in Paris and internationally.

Poulenc also composed operas, ballet music, liturgical works, and chamber music thoughout his life, which ended in 1963 from a heart attack.

Tomoko’s album Baroque-20^th Century features Poulenc’s break-out piece Movements Perpétuels” and his mid-career “Villageoises,” which was inspired by the French countryside. Like Poulenc, Tomoko appreciates the natural rhythm of poetry, which music can accentuate.

The Sounds of Paris

Even as a child, Tomoko looked to Europe for musical inspiration. When Tomoko was in college, she loved to go to concerts when European musicians toured in Tokyo. “One day I will witness such performers in their home country,” Tomoko remembers saying to herself then

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Tomoko’ own first European performance took place in Paris: at the Long-Thibaud International Piano Competition in Paris, which promoted classical music. She admitted, “I feel a little guilty having such a good time here.” Tomoko wasn’t sure if she would ever have a chance to visit Europe again so she took every opportunity to see the sites of Paris.  

Tomoko isn’t the only musician to be inspired by Paris. Certainly, some of Tomoko’ favorite composers spent valuable time in the memorable city.

As a ten-year old protégé, Mozart gave recitals in the homes of wealthy Parisians. Later a local musical society commissioned his “Paris” Symphony No. 31. Unfortunately, most of Mozart’s time in Paris was not enjoyable, especially because his mother died there.

More than fifty years later, Chopin arrived in Paris and stayed for most of the rest of his life, even becoming a French citizen. He gave only thirty public performances because he preferred giving recitals in private salons where his intimate keyboard technique was better suited. Most of his income, though, came from giving private lessons and getting commissions to compose. 

Four years earlier than Chopin, Liszt moved from Vienna to Paris where he gave piano and composition lessons. Liszt stood out because of his virtuoso piano performance technique, but Chopin was sometimes annoyed that Liszt would embellish Chopin’s compositions when performing. Nevertheless, the two men were friends, and made joint appearances at several concerts. 

A generation later, Gabriel Fauré started studying classical music in Paris when nine years old; by his mid teens he was tutored by Saint-Saëns. Later in life, Fauré himself taught at the Paris Conservatoire; among his pupils was Ravel. The music of Mozart and Chopin greatly influenced him; over the years Fauré stylistically bridged romanticism and impressionism.

One of Tomoko’s 20^th century admired composers is Francis Poulenc, who was actually born in Paris at the turn of the century. One of her set pieces that Tomoko performs is “Trois mouvements perpétuels,” which Poulenc composed as a teen on a local elementary school piano. 

The sounds of Paris have certainly influenced Tomoko.