In a recent interview, Rick Beato called Japanese jazz musician Hiromi “the most electrifying pianist alive.” Regarding the fusion of influences which can be heard in her music, Hiromi explains, I don’t want to put a name on my music. Other people can put a name on what I do. It’s just the union of what I’ve been listening to and what I’ve been learning. It has some elements of classical music, …
The word “metamorphosis” signifies a transformation from an embryonic state to maturity. Symphonic Metamorphosis on Themes of Carl Maria von Weber by Paul Hindemith (1895-1963) employs this process. The four-movement orchestral work, completed in 1943, is based on obscure music by Weber, an innovative opera composer who is credited with expanding the size and dramatic scope of the orchestra at the dawn of the Romantic period. The themes, almost completely preserved, are drawn …
Cristian Ganicenco, principal trombonist of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, has passed away. He was 58. Last Friday, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Cincinnati Pops Orchestra put out the following statement: It is with immeasurable sadness we share the passing of our Principal Trombone, Cristian Ganicenco, after a private battle with cancer. Cristian was a longtime and deeply valued member of our Orchestra. Since joining in 1999, he contributed to our mission through …
In 1880, Edvard Grieg composed a cycle of songs for voice and piano (12 Melodies, Op. 33) based on the poetry of fellow Norwegian nationalist Aasmund Olavsson Vinje (1818–1870). A year later, Grieg transcribed two of the songs, The Wounded Heart (Hjertesår) and The Last Spring (Siste vår), for string orchestra under the title, Two Elegiac Melodies, Op. 34. Divided into multiple shimmering lines, and preserving the natural rhythms of speech, the …
In 1876, while completing the ballet score for Swan Lake, Tchaikovsky composed The Seasons, a series of atmospheric tone paintings for solo piano. Commissioned by the publisher, Nikolay Bernard, the brief pieces were published on the first day of each month in the St. Petersburg music journal, Nuvellist. Set in D minor, Tchaikovsky’s October submission, Autumn Song, is quiet and melancholy. It accompanies a poem by Tolstoy which describes yellow windswept leaves. The interpretive marking is …