The Musical Almanac

Nadine Dana Suesse (/ˈswiːs/; December 3, 1911 – October 16, 1987) About a week ago, I looked in the local “Little Library” about a block from my house and found a disc called “Jazz Nocturne, The Collected Piano Music of Dana Suesse.” I think a music critic must live nearby, because virtually every time I peer in, someone has left CDs. Those aren’t uncommon finds, of course. What is out of the…

Maria Callas sings Alfredo Catalani

“Ebben? Ne andrò lontana” (“Well, then? I’ll go far away”) from Catalani’s opera, “La Wally” Does Maria Callas need any introduction? A Greek-American soprano born in 1923 in New York, she became arguably the greatest soprano ever. Her mother and father had a tempestuous marriage, and her mother returned to Greece with Maria and siblings in 1937. Recognized for her musical precociousness, her…

Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893)

Easter Sunday is on May 2 this year in the Orthodox church. This work (the last of the three presented here), was composed in 1878 when Tchaikovsky was 38. It was immediately confiscated by church sensors since there was a prohibition against Russian composers setting sacred text to “modern” music. They wanted to preserve tradition, but of course, what they thought was historically authentic had…

Alan Hovhaness (1911-2000): Prayer of St. Gregory

Notre Dame University sits just north of my home town of South Bend, Indiana. Though famous for the fighting Irish, for me its most important contribution was having the only classical music FM stationin the berg. When I was in high school and started “discovering” classical music, the channel thereby lifted the cultural profile of the town for me from desert to oasis. On Sunday afternoons, they…

July 11. Birthday of Liza Lehmann (11 July 1862 – 19 September 1918

Liza Lehmann (11 July 1862 – 19 September 1918) was an English operatic soprano and composer, known for her vocal compositions.

Bird Songs

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July 6, birthday of Nancy Dalberg (July 6, 1881 – September 28, 1949)

Nancy Dalberg studied with Carl Nielsen and was the first Danish woman to write a symphony.

Nancy Dalberg : Scherzo for string orchestra op. 6

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July 3, birthday of Ruth Crawford Seeger (1901-1953)

Ruth Crawford Seeger is a surprise and delight. Originally a pianist, she began studying composing after moving to Chicago from Jacksonville, Florida. In the windy city, she came under the influence of Alexander Scriabin’s music and Theosophy. After marrying Charles Seeger (a musicologist and father of Pete), she moved with him to Washington, DC, where she worked closely with John and Alan Lomax…

March 10, Birthday of Florence Aylward (1862-1950)

This is a rerun from March 2017 Since July 2016, I have been concentrating solely on female composers.  You can read about that in my post from July 19.  If I can’t find one born on the calendar day, I may not post.  On with today’s composer. Florence Aylward started composing music for ballads at an early age and she started to become known at the ripe old age of 12.  Here’s the Wikipedia entry…

Since July, I have been concentrating solely on female composers.  You can read about that in my post from July 19.  If I can’t find one born on the calendar day, I may not post.  On with today’s composer. Maude Nugent was an American singer and composer. See Wikipedia entry here. Sweet Rosie O’Grady Mamie Reilly sung by the Haydn…

Henry Purcell born today in 1659: https:

Henry Purcell born today in 1659: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Purcell

August 5, Birthday of Betsy Jolas (b. 1928)

Born in Paris between WWI and WWII, Jolas grew up in an enviable milieu. Her mother was a well-known translator and her father founded the literary magazine, “transition,” which published James Joyce’ Finnegan’s Wake as a “Work in Progress.” Her studies at the Paris Conservatory were interrupted by WWII and she and her family decamped to the US, where she completed her studies at Bennington.…

July 30, birthday of Alexina Diane Louie (b. 1949)

Alexina Diane Louie, OC OOntFRSC (born July 30, 1949) is a Canadian composer. She is of Chinese descent who has written many pieces for orchestra, as well as pieces for solo piano. “O Moon” I Leap Through The Sky With Stars Warrior…

July 29, birthday of Sophie Menter (1846 — 1918)

From wikipedia: Sophie Menter (29 July 1846 — 23 February 1918) was a German pianist and composer who became the favorite female student of Franz Liszt.[1] She was called l’incarnation de Liszt in Paris because of her robust, electrifying playing style[1] and was considered one of the greatest piano virtuosos of her time.[2] She died at Stockdorf, near Munich. Etude in A flat op. 9…

July 16-22. Female Composers born this week: Eve Beglarian, Elisabeth Meyer,

Katharina Elisabeth Meyer née Tuxen (b. 19 July 1859, d. 4 July 1927) was a Danish composer. I cannot find any links to her music online. (more…)