In the wake of the terrible attacks in Paris, I found myself listening to a lot of French music and thinking about the Leonard Bernstein quote going around on Facebook: "This will be our reply to violence: to make music more intensely, more beautifully, more devotedly than ever before." This list came to seem like my natural response. A very small response, I know. This list is chronological and leaves off people I should probably include. The forty [note: now forty-one] composers listed below are merely a start.
Léonin Aka Leoninus (c.1135-c.1201)
The Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris in the 1100s was a major musical center, and Léonin (the first named composer from whom we have notated polyphonic music) was a crucial figure for defining the liturgical use of organum, the first polyphony. Earlier organum was fairly simple, involving parallel intervals and later contrary motion, but the mid-12th century brought...
Léonin Aka Leoninus (c.1135-c.1201)
The Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris in the 1100s was a major musical center, and Léonin (the first named composer from whom we have notated polyphonic music) was a crucial figure for defining the liturgical use of organum, the first polyphony. Earlier organum was fairly simple, involving parallel intervals and later contrary motion, but the mid-12th century brought...
- 11/15/2015
- by SteveHoltje
- www.culturecatch.com
Lorin Maazel, who died at age 84 on Sunday, from complications of pneumonia, was a true Renaissance man of music: a child prodigy as a conductor and violinist, and later a composer as well.
Born in France in 1930 to American parents, he was raised in Los Angeles. His family was musical: one grandfather was a violinist in the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Lorin’s father taught voice and piano, and Lorin’s mother started the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orchestra. A child prodigy blessed with perfect pitch, Lorin was playing violin at age five and piano at age seven, but was especially captivated by conducting. Studying with Vladimir Bakaleinikov, the associate conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Maazel made his conducing debut at age eight with the University of Idaho Orchestra and quickly moved on to more prestigious ensembles. When Bakaleinikov became assistant conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra the same year, the Maazel family went with him.
Born in France in 1930 to American parents, he was raised in Los Angeles. His family was musical: one grandfather was a violinist in the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Lorin’s father taught voice and piano, and Lorin’s mother started the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orchestra. A child prodigy blessed with perfect pitch, Lorin was playing violin at age five and piano at age seven, but was especially captivated by conducting. Studying with Vladimir Bakaleinikov, the associate conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Maazel made his conducing debut at age eight with the University of Idaho Orchestra and quickly moved on to more prestigious ensembles. When Bakaleinikov became assistant conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra the same year, the Maazel family went with him.
- 7/14/2014
- by SteveHoltje
- www.culturecatch.com
Huppert/Radio France Choir/Gatti/Orchestre National de France
(Radio France)
Le Martyre de Saint Sébastien – a "mystery" by Gabriele d'Annunzio for which Debussy wrote the incidental music – caused ructions in its day (1911), thanks to the fact that the text drew parallels between Christianity and the classical cult of Adonis. Nowadays, we're more likely to ponder why two such publicly heterosexual men collaborated on so deeply homoerotic a work. That the title role was written to be performed in drag by d'Annunzio's then mistress, Ida Rubinstein, only adds to the piece's complex sexual implications. The "orchestral fragments" Debussy assembled after the premiere have become familiar in the concert hall. This Radio France production from 2009 gives us the complete score, together with a drastic abridgement of the play. Sébastien is played by Isabelle Huppert, sounding androgynous and admirably restrained. The closely recorded soloists are nothing special, but the choral singing is exquisite,...
(Radio France)
Le Martyre de Saint Sébastien – a "mystery" by Gabriele d'Annunzio for which Debussy wrote the incidental music – caused ructions in its day (1911), thanks to the fact that the text drew parallels between Christianity and the classical cult of Adonis. Nowadays, we're more likely to ponder why two such publicly heterosexual men collaborated on so deeply homoerotic a work. That the title role was written to be performed in drag by d'Annunzio's then mistress, Ida Rubinstein, only adds to the piece's complex sexual implications. The "orchestral fragments" Debussy assembled after the premiere have become familiar in the concert hall. This Radio France production from 2009 gives us the complete score, together with a drastic abridgement of the play. Sébastien is played by Isabelle Huppert, sounding androgynous and admirably restrained. The closely recorded soloists are nothing special, but the choral singing is exquisite,...
- 5/10/2012
- by Tim Ashley
- The Guardian - Film News
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.