Mendelssohn’s “Athalie” Overture: Triumph Over a Villainous Queen

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A notorious villain of the Hebrew Bible, the Baal-worshiping Athalia usurped the throne of Judah, attempted to kill all royal heirs, and ruled as Queen for six years (c. 841–835 BC) before being overthrown. The dramatic story is the subject of Jean Racine’s 1691 play, as well as Handel’s 1733 oratorio. King Frederick William IV of Prussia commissioned Felix Mendelssohn to write incidental music for a Berlin performance of Racine’s Athalie. In …

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Martinů’s Three Madrigals for Violin and Viola: Bohemian Renaissance

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Bohuslav Martinů (1890-1959) was born in the tower of St. Jakub Church in the small Bohemian town of Polička. He was a notoriously bad student at the Prague Conservatory, where he studied violin but was more interested in composing. Briefly, he was a member of the second violin section of the Czech Philharmonic. In 1923, he moved to Paris, where he studied with Albert Roussel and began to compose extensively. Following the …

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Vaughan Williams’ “Household Music” (Three Preludes on Welsh Hymn Tunes): Music for the Waiting Hours of War

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The Blitz, a bombing campaign conducted by the Nazi German Luftwaffe against the United Kingdom, began in September of 1940 and lasted eight months. Its climax brought a firestorm which became known as the Second Great Fire of London. It was during this dark period, when professional concerts were in limited supply, that Ralph Vaughan Williams suggested that composers write music for “combinations of all manner of instruments which might be played …

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Rachmaninov’s Elegie, Op. 3, No. 1: Gary Graffman

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Sergei Rachmaninov was 19 when, in 1892, he composed his set of five solo piano Morceaux de fantasie (“Pieces of fantasy”). The collection was dedicated to Anton Arensky, Rachmaninov’s harmony teacher at the Moscow Conservatory. It includes the famous Prelude in C-sharp minor, with its allusion to the Bells of Moscow. Shortly after publication, the young composer gave a copy to Tchaikovsky, who commented on the quality of the work. The set begins …

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Prokofiev’s Russian Overture: A Joyous Homecoming

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Even as Stalin’s purges intensified, a homesick Sergei Prokofiev returned permanently to the USSR in 1936. In 1918, he fled Russia, living in the United States and then in Paris. He was lured back with promises of artistic freedom and the ability to travel abroad, both of which ultimately were restricted by Soviet authorities. Composed in 1936, and premiered the same year by conductor Eugen Szenkar and the Moscow State Philharmonic, Russian …

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Mozart’s Quintet for Piano and Winds: A Drama of Conversing Voices

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In Mozart’s later piano concertos (Nos. 14-27), written for Vienna, the woodwinds step out from the shadows. Previously relegated to accompanying lines which often doubled the strings, the clarinet, flute, oboe, and bassoon now engaged in direct conversation with the solo piano. As with operatic characters, the persona of each voice came into focus. The same magic can be heard in Mozart’s Quintet for Piano and Winds in E-flat Major, K. 452. …

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Bach’s “Osanna in Excelsis”: Celebrating a Milestone at The Listeners’ Club

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We begin the year by celebrating a milestone at The Listeners’ Club. This is our 2,000th post. I have enjoyed exploring all of this music with you during these years, and I look forward to continuing the journey. For today, I have selected the brief and festive Osanna in excelsis (“Hosanna in the highest”) which opens the fourth section of Bach’s Mass in B minor, BWV 232. Set in 3/8 time, its lively forward …

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