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Piano Concerto (Bliss)
The Piano Concerto in B-flat, Op. 58, F.108, was written by Arthur Bliss in 1938 and premiered in 1939. It is a powerful work in the nineteenth-century Romantic tradition, and at the time it was hoped it could prove to be a British "Emperor" concerto. Nicolas Slonimsky described it as "Lisztomorphic in its sonorous virtuosity, Chopinoid in its chromatic lyricism, and Rachmaninovistic in its chordal expansiveness". Background Arthur Bliss had adjudicated at the Ysaye International Competition for Pianists in Belgium in 1938 and was particularly impressed with some of the competitors' performances. He wrote to his wife at the time: I have heard twenty-two pianists play the same piece by Bach, the same piece by Scarlatti, and expect to hear them sixty-three times more. Never again! ... I am learning a lot by listening to these young players — the standard is high — and my Piano Concerto is going to benefit from the experience. ... Hearing hour after hour so much brilliant pi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arthur Bliss
Sir Arthur Edward Drummond Bliss (2 August 189127 March 1975) was an English composer and conductor. Bliss's musical training was cut short by the First World War, in which he served with distinction in the army. In the post-war years he quickly became known as an unconventional and modernist composer, but within the decade he began to display a more traditional and romantic side in his music. In the 1920s and 1930s he composed extensively not only for the concert hall, but also for films and ballet. In the Second World War, Bliss returned to England from the US to work for the BBC and became its director of music. After the war he resumed his work as a composer, and was appointed Master of the Queen's Music. In Bliss's later years, his work was respected but was thought old-fashioned, and it was eclipsed by the music of younger colleagues such as William Walton and Benjamin Britten. Since his death, his compositions have been well represented in recordings, and many of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Five Variants Of Dives And Lazarus
''Five Variants of Dives and Lazarus'' is a work for harp and string orchestra by Ralph Vaughan Williams. The composition is based on the folk tune " Dives and Lazarus", one of the folk songs quoted in Vaughan Williams' '' English Folk Song Suite''. Background Vaughan Williams composed the work on commission from the British Council to be played at the 1939 World's Fair in New York City. The first performance was by the New York Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall on 10 June 1939, conducted by Sir Adrian Boult. The other works premiered on that occasion were Arthur Bliss's Piano Concerto in B-flat, and Arnold Bax's Symphony No. 7. Boult also directed the first UK performance in November 1939 in Bristol. The folk tune had earlier been arranged by Vaughan Williams as a hymn tune "Kingsfold" appearing as "I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say" in The English Hymnal (no. 574 in the original 1906 edition). The village of Kingsfold is in West Sussex, a few miles south from Vaughan Wi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trevor Barnard
Trevor John Barnard (born 3 January 1938) is a British-born Australian pianist and teacher. Life and career Trevor John Barnard was born in London in 1938. He entered the Royal Academy of Music at a young age, followed by private study with Herbert Fryer, a student of Tobias Matthay and Ferruccio Busoni. He later won a scholarship to the Royal College of Music and then studied intensively with Harold Craxton. Barnard appeared as soloist with the London Symphony Orchestra, the Philharmonia Orchestra, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and various BBC orchestras. In 1962, Barnard made the first stereo recording of Sir Arthur Bliss's Piano Concerto in B-flat, with the Philharmonia Orchestra under Sir Malcolm Sargent. He also performed the work in concert under the composer's baton in 1963 and 1966. He had earlier played it under Arthur Dennington in 1958. After moving to the United States, Barnard was pianist-in-residence to the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alicia De Larrocha
Alicia de Larrocha y de la Calle (23 May 192325 September 2009) was a Spanish pianist and composer. She was considered one of the great piano legends of the 20th century. Reuters called her "the greatest Spanish pianist in history", ''Time (magazine), Time'' "one of the world's most outstanding pianists", and ''The Guardian'' "the leading Spanish pianist of her time". She won multiple Grammy Awards and a Prince of Asturias Awards#Arts, Prince of Asturias Award for the Arts. She is credited with bringing greater popularity to the compositions of Isaac Albéniz and Enrique Granados. In 1995, she became the first Spanish artist to win the UNESCO Prize. Life and career Alicia de Larrocha was born in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. She began studying piano with Frank Marshall (pianist), Frank Marshall at the age of three. Both her parents were pianists and she was also the niece of pianists. She gave her first public performance at the age of five at the 1929 Barcelona International Ex ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Proms
The BBC Proms or Proms, formally named the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts Presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hall in central London. The Proms were founded in 1895, and are now organised and broadcast by the BBC. Each season consists of concerts in the Royal Albert Hall, chamber music concerts at Cadogan Hall, additional Proms in the Park events across the UK on the Last Night of the Proms, and associated educational and children's events. The season is a significant event in British culture and in classical music. Czech conductor Jiří Bělohlávek described the Proms as "the world's largest and most democratic musical festival". ''Prom'' is short for '' promenade concert'', a term which originally referred to outdoor concerts in London's pleasure gardens, where the audience was free to stroll around while the orchestra was playing. In the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kendall Taylor
Edgar Kendall Taylor CBE, FRCM, Hon FRAM (27 July 1905 – 5 December 1999) was a British pianist, who had an international career as a solo concert pianist. In the United Kingdom, he was well known for his concerts, which were broadcast on the BBC. He was also known for his recitals and broadcasts to the troops during World War II through the Entertainments National Service Association. He also had a career as a teacher and pedagogue.Duchen, Jessica (2001). "Taylor, (Edgar) Kendall". Grove Music Online Miller, Malcolm (January 2001)"Obituaries: Kendall Taylor" '' Musical Opinion'' Article by Michael Gough Matthews (former Director of the Royal College of Music) in ''The Guardian'', 22 February 2000A brief Chronology of the life and career of Kendall Taylor in Arietta vol 2, 2000 Early life Kendall Taylor was born in Sheffield, England. He made his concert début at the age of 6 accompanying his father, Maurice Taylor, a well-known cellist. His debut with a professional o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shulamith Shafir
Shulamis () or Shulamit is the feminine form of the Hebrew name Solomon (in Hebrew, "Shlomo", ), related to the word "shalom" (), or "peace". See Salome (other). "Shula" is a shortened form. The name Salome is also a related form. See also: Shulamith may also refer to: * Shulamith School for Girls * Shulamith, a play by Abraham Goldfaden * Shulamith (cat), the cat that founded the American Curl breed * Shulamith (album), the 2013 album by Poliça People * Shulamite, the name ascribed to the female protagonist in the Song of Songs in the Hebrew Bible. * Shulamit Aloni (1928-2014), Israeli politician and left-wing activist * Shulamith Firestone * Shulamit Goldstein (born 1968), Israeli Olympic rhythmic gymnast * Shulamith Hareven * Shulamit Katznelson, Israeli educator * Shulamith Muller, South African activist * Shulamit Ran * Shulamith Shahar, Israeli historian Conservatory * Ron Shulamit Conservatory The Ron Shulamit Conservatory is a music conservatory in I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Clive Lythgoe
Clive Lythgoe (9 April 1927 – 4 September 2006), was a leading British classical pianist of the 1950s and 1960s, popular in the UK and the United States, where he was considered to be "Britain's answer to Liberace" Early life He was born in Colchester, Essex, on 9 April 1927, the son of a Royal Army Medical Corps sergeant major. He grew up at Wimbledon, where he sang in the church choir, and disappointed his parents by shunning a career in law or accountancy. At seven years of age he was entranced by the piano player in a Carmen Miranda film. Some years later, he won a piano scholarship to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, which marked the start of his musical career. Towards the end of World War II, he joined the RAF. By the 1950s, he had become a regular fixture on the concert circuit. UK career Lythgoe was a protégé of Myra Hess, for whom he turned pages. His career breakthrough was under Arthur Bliss in 1954, performing the conductor's own Piano Concerto in B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ruth Gipps
Ruth Dorothy Louisa ("Wid") Gipps (20 February 1921 – 23 February 1999) was an English composer, oboist, pianist, conductor, and educator. She composed music in a wide range of genres, including five symphonies, seven concertos, and numerous chamber and choral works. She founded both the London Repertoire Orchestra and the Chanticleer Orchestra and served as conductor and music director for the City of Birmingham Choir. Later in her life she served as chairwoman of the Composers' Guild of Great Britain.The Musical Times, Vol. 140, No. 1867 (Summer, 1999), pp. 8-9 Life and career Gipps was born at 14, Parkhurst Road, Bexhill-on-Sea, England in 1921 to (Gerard Cardew) Bryan Gipps (1877-1956), a businessman, English teacher in Germany, and later an official at the Board of Trade who was a trained violinist from a military family, and Hélène Bettina ( Johner), a piano teacher from Basel, Switzerland. They married in 1907, having met at the Hoch Conservatory in Frankfu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Noel Mewton-Wood
Noel Mewton-Wood (20 November 19225 December 1953) was an Australian-born concert pianist who achieved international fame on the basis of many distinguished concerto recordings during his short life. Life and career Born in Melbourne, he studied with Waldemar Seidel at the Melbourne Conservatorium until the age of fourteen. After further study at London's Royal Academy of Music, he took private lessons from Artur Schnabel in Italy. In March 1940, he returned to London for his debut performance at Queen's Hall, performing Beethoven's third piano concerto with the London Philharmonic Orchestra under Sir Thomas Beecham. He then went on tour in the UK as assisting artist accompanying Viennese tenor Richard Tauber, and later performed in France, Germany, South Africa, Poland, Turkey and Australia. Mewton-Wood also possessed considerable talent as a composer. His string trio was featured on the Second Boosey and Hawkes Concerts held at Wigmore Hall on 27 March 1943. He also compose ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tarantella
() is a group of various southern Italian folk dances originating in the regions of Calabria, Campania and Puglia. It is characterized by a fast upbeat tempo, usually in time (sometimes or ), accompanied by tambourines. It is among the most recognized forms of traditional southern Italian music. The specific dance-name varies with every region, for instance ''Sonu a ballu'' in Calabria, ''tammurriata'' in Campania, and '' pizzica'' in Salento. Tarantella is popular in Southern Italy and Argentina. The term may appear as in a linguistically masculine construction. History In the Italian province of Taranto, Apulia, the bite of a locally common type of wolf spider, named "tarantula" after the region, was popularly believed to be highly venomous and to lead to a hysterical condition known as tarantism. This became known as the "tarantella". R. Lowe Thompson proposed that the dance is a survival from a " Dianic or Dionysiac cult", driven underground. John Co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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