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.

Vasily Kallinikov – Elegy

When an umbrella-shaped viburnum serves a part of a composer’s monument, you catch on without further ado: this must be someone you have to learn more about. A monument I’m talking about perpetuates Vasily Kallinikov, Russian bassoonist and composer. For those not having a copious vocabulary of Russian words it may be not obvious what a viburnum have to do with him, but everything is explained simply: his surname is a derivative of “kalina,” i.e. “viburnum” in Russian.

Kallinikov's music at all is hard not to be associated with nature, trees, and pastoral landscapes. Folk motifs strike the eye in his oeuvre; even symphonic works of Kallinikov bear their imprint. Elegy is his entrancing solo piano piece, a true pleasure to play and listen. Download it here: Elegy.

Gounod – Faust. Even Bravest Heart May Swell, for Voice and Piano

Those who like classical music usually have an eye for a good literature as well – a classical music generally involves a good taste. There is a number of books are as immortal as pieces of Beethoven or Tchaikovsky. Referring to the most important matters of existence, those works do not age; even though Goethe’s Faust was written centuries ago, it is still as relevant and thought-provoking as it has always been. Thanks to Charles Gounod, a French composer of opera, ballet, and even a national anthem of Vatican City (concurrently, Vatican State), we can not only read this amazing tragic play, but see it on stage. Here is Gounod’s Faust. Even Bravest Heart May Swell, for Voice and Piano – enjoy this fine piece of music.

Psyché – a song by Émile Paladilhe

Despite his name doesn’t seem to be well-known nowadays, Émile Paladilhe was quite a conspicuous figure during his lifetime. First of all, he was the youngest composer to win the Prix de Rome – a French award granting a privilege to live in Italy for three to five years. Just to note, some of the better-known composers (and men of art in general) failed to receive an award, with one of them – a painter Jacques-Louis David, – being so desperate to consider suicide. It’s not David coming in depression over nothing – Eric Satie also had been feeling sore for the same reason; the Prix de Rome was quite an indicator of recognition back in days.

Another fact of Paladilhe’s biography that deserves a special mention is that he died exactly after composing his last opus. Download a piece by this gifted and dedicated ‘til the very moment of his death composer here: Psyché (for piano and voice).

Violin Concerto No.9 by De Bériot

Rarely if ever have I met a composer of mainly violin music who was equally, if not to say more, good at piano. However, in the nineteenth century it seemed to have been more common: Belgian violinist and composer Charles Auguste de Bériot was also a pianist, and, which is particularly impressing – a virtuosic one.

Fate of this Romantic composer is quite tragic. Deafness of Beethoven is well-known even to people with little to no interest in classical music, but not many know that by the end of his life, De Bériot became blind and, perhaps even worse, a paralysis of the left arm made him unable to play an instrument. Be that as it may, he composed a lot of violin works before that to happen. Among them are educational music and violin concertos, and the latter are being almost entirely forgotten these days. Both time and neglect are impuissant to affect their value still: these have always been among the finest violin works of Romantic era. Here is De Bériot’s Violin Concerto No.9, Op.104 (Score for Two Performers).