Playlist: Music for All Souls Day
All Souls Day (November 2) is a day of prayer and remembrance for departed loved ones observed in many branches of Christianity.
Don't Miss a Beat
Your Guide to Chopin’s Nocturnes
Frédéric Chopin composed nocturnes throughout his career, including 18 published between 1832 and 1846 and 3 published posthumously. The first person to title instrumental works of this kind “nocturnes” was John Field. He published a collection of piano nocturnes in the early 19th century. In a eulogistic preface to an 1859 edition of John Field’s collected nocturnes, composer Franz Liszt ...
Playlist: Your Guide to Chopin’s Orchestral Works
Though Chopin did not compose many works for piano and orchestra — just six! — he kept them in his concert repertoire throughout his career.
This Breakdance Duet to Chopin’s ‘Fantaisie-Impromptu’ Will Send You Spinning
When Frédéric Chopin composed his Fantaisie-Impromptu, he probably didn’t expect for the work to serve as the music for a breakdance duet. But at Arabesque 2014, an international ballet competition hosted by the Perm Ballet Opera Theatre, one entry in the “modern choreography” category used Fantaisie-Impromptu for just that purpose. Fantaisie-Impromptu was written in 1834, but it wasn’t published until ...
Playlist: 10 Celestial and Astronomical Classical Works
Composers have long looked to the sky for inspiration. Here are some of our favorite classical works inspired by the moon and night.
Hear These Uncovered Piano Masterworks from Haiti
Haitian composer Ludovic Lamothe has been nicknamed the “Black Chopin” because of his virtuosic writing for the piano. Lamothe is scarcely the only composer from Haiti to compose incredible keyboard works. For centuries, Haitian composers have brought African, French, and Spanish influences together to create pieces – particularly for piano – that reflect the island nation’s cultural identity. Many of ...
Hear Astor Piazzolla’s Tango Take on Vivaldi’s ‘Four Seasons’
Unlike Vivaldi’s concertos, Piazzolla’s Four Seasons wasn’t originally intended to be a series.
After Gathering Dust for 200 Years, How Haydn’s Cello Concerto No. 1 Was Rediscovered
Franz Joseph Haydn’s Cello Concerto No. 1 collected dust for nearly 200 years in the National Museum in Prague before it became a staple of the cello repertoire. Music historians had always known of the concerto’s existence, thanks to Haydn’s diligent records: the work is included in both of his personal catalogues, dating it circa 1765. Beyond those brief mentions, ...
Check Out the Sights and Sounds of Chicago’s Only Classical Music Street Fest
In the summer, Chicago is teeming with block parties and street fests. Over the weekend, the Thirsty Ears Classical Music Street Festival filled the block of Wilson Avenue between Ravenswood and Hermitage with music you won’t likely hear at other Chicago street fests – or at least, not in this format. Thirsty Ears, a two-year-old project of the Chicago organization ...
Hear the Mass Some Believe Saved Church Music
You may not be familiar with his music, but we all benefit from his work. Italian Renaissance composer Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina is often called the "Savior of Church Music."
The Secrets to Heavenly Singing from Peter Phillips, Conductor and Founder of the Tallis Scholars
"A choir is like any instrument. But because it's people, a choir is an instrument that varies far more than a string orchestra would vary, for example, or an organ."
