Month: January 2026

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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