Adagio for Clarinet and String Quintet – Baermann

Seldom do composers write their opuses for a particular musician or singer, and if it happens, it means a lot. Honestly, I’m not aware of many such cases – Fyodor Chaliapin comes to mind and I can assume that if there had been many composers of vocal music in the seventies and eighties, they perhaps would make a good use of Freddie Mercury’s four octave range (given the agreement of the latter, of course).

On this subject – of pieces written specially for a certain performer, – Heinrich Baermann had had many such, receieved from Carl Maria von Weber, Felix Mendelssohn, and others. Baermann was a German clarinet virtuoso and, interestingly, a composer himself. Among his own works my favorite is Adagio for Clarinet and String Quintet, Op.23 – a sincere and profoundly melancholic slow-tempo piece. Download it here: Adagio for Clarinet and String Quintet.

Works for Organ and Harpsichord by G. Böhm

The more I learn about organ music, the stronger is my feeling that it relies on improvisation more heavily than any other branch of classical music. I mean, it’s not that all pianists play reading notes on sheet music; however those exceptions to the rule have been belonging to a jazz camp as a matter of fact.

The composer I want to write about today is Georg Böhm, German Baroque organist and one of the primary contributors to the genre of the chorale partita. In the first instance Böhm is notable for writing in the stylus fantasticus – a method of composing which is not unencumbered with conditionalities. Invented by Athanasius Kircher, the first man to see microbes with his own eyes, this style gives rare freedom to a composer, comparable to such provided by white verse to a poet. What is also interesting about Böhm’s works is that in the most cases they can be played on various instruments, depending on a musician’s preference – for example, organ and harpsichord. One such can be found by the following link:

Complete Works for Organ and Harpsichord. Book I

Enjoy!

Poet and Peasant. Overture (by Franz von Suppé)

Rarely heard in the concert halls nowadays, Austrian composer Franz von Suppé would have been surprised to know that his pieces are very popular among cartoons’ creators. Quite a few of his overtures were used in Mickey Mouse, Bugs Bunny, and Popeye – namely and in corresponding order, overture to Light Cavalry, Morning, Noon, and Night in Vienna, and Poet and Peasant. As concerns the last one, originally symphonic, it was brilliantly arranged for piano by Clemens Schultze-Biesantz and is a great addition to repertoire of a performing pianist. Download it here: Poet and Peasant. Overture (Arrangement for Piano).

Thirty Etudes by Louise Farrenc

As far as I remember, I haven’t yet written a single word about female composers in this blog. This is the mistake that needs to be corrected – perhaps there is not a plenty to choose from (OK, in relation to classical music – nowadays it is simpler), but quite a few names definitely stand apart.

One of my favorites is Louise Farrenc, French composer, teacher and virtuoso pianist. It makes me really happy to know that some of her works are performed even these days. Particularly popular is her chamber music, however no pianist should overpass her etudes. By the following link you will find a great collection of these: Thirty Etudes in All Major and Minor Keys, Op.26. Enjoy!

Sonata No.3 'Norse' by Edward MacDowell

Personally, when I think about American composers to mind come those associated with minimalism and early electronic music. Talking about the latter, most synthesizers – its typical instruments, – originate from the United States and sometimes even were developed in association with composers (e.g., the ideas of Morton Subotnick were always attentively taken into account by Don Buchla, a creator of complex and organically sounding modular systems).

However, this is what comes to mind first and it doesn’t mean I’m not aware about American classical music – otherwise, hearing good Romantic pieces from the US always fascinates me. Very notable in this sense is Sonata No.3 by Edward MacDowell – a piece I would remorselessly rank among the best in the genre. Unfortunately, his works are not especially well-known nowadays, and with this post I want to remedy the situation. Here is MacDowell's Sonata No.3 'Norse', Op.57 – I hope it will instigate you to explore more of his oeuvre.