Category: Uncategorized

Classical Period I: Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)

Haydn was not the first classical composer. As noted last week, Bach's son, CPE Bach, Antonio Salieri, and Christoph Gluck, among many, many others, pioneered the slow movement away from the Baroque. Some of these efforts were well underway prior to 1750 and some of these early classical composers--Salieri in particular--continued to soldier on into … Continue reading Classical Period I: Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) →

Interlude: Transitional Figures at the Side of the Road

From time to time, I've gone back to highlight the work of composers who have been (un)fairly (depending on your point of view) neglected in this history. Today, I am pausing to recognize the important work of a group of 18th century composers who between, roughly, the 1740s and 1770s were part of the so-called … Continue reading Interlude: Transitional Figures at the Side of the Road →

Introduction to the Classical Period

It is a gross simplification to say that Bach died, the Baroque Period ended, and the Classical Period was born.  Some scholars place the start of the Classical Period some years before the death of Bach; some don’t start it until 1775 or so.  For me (and I’d venture for most musicologists), the Classical Period … Continue reading Introduction to the Classical Period →

The Baroque Legacy

I love Baroque music. So too do many great musicians of our age. Jimmy Hendrix once talked about being visited by Handel in a dream. (Oh to have been a fly on the wall for that Conversation!) Prog rock artists from ELP to Jethro Tull, Genesis and others take inspiration (and, at times, license) from … Continue reading The Baroque Legacy →

A Conversation Without End

Bach is the beginning and end of all music.Max Reger I had no idea of the historical evolution of the civilized world's music and had not realized that all modern music owes everything to Bach.Niccolai Rimsky-Korsakov Bach is a colossus of Rhodes, beneath whom all musicians pass and will continue to pass. Mozart is the … Continue reading A Conversation Without End →