photo courtesy of www.brightcecilia.net

Few people have heard of Quincy Porter or his fabulous compositions. His undeniable underdogness makes him our Composer of the Week.

b. February 7, 1897 in New Haven, Connecticut

d. November 12, 1966 in Bethany, Connecticut

Quincy Porter, who’s compositional style bridged Impressionism with chromaticism to create his own idiom, composed a catalog of music including two symphonies, a cycle of nine string quartets, and numerous other orchestral and chamber works. Among these are the seven pieces he wrote with the violist in mind—the largest of them being a concerto with orchestral accompaniment. Though he wrote for ensembles both large and small, Quincy Porter’s most sought-after and rewarded musical contributions were the pieces he wrote for chamber ensembles. He was awarded the Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge Medal for his “eminent service to chamber music” and the Pulitzer Prize, which he won for his Concerto concertante for two pianos and orchestra. Porter also earned an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Rochester.

As was typical of many of his contemporaries and predecessors, Porter did a great deal of teaching in addition to his composing.  He held a professorship at Vassar College and in 1938, left the position to take on the role of dean of faculty at the New England Conservatory in Boston. In 1942, Porter assumed the role of conservatory director. Porter returned to Yale as a professor of music in 1946, which also defined the time he spent writing the viola concerto. In 1958 he became master of Pierson College, one of Yale’s twelve residential colleges, in addition to teaching at Yale. Porter retired from teaching in 1965.

Where to start:

-listen to Eliesha Nelson’s album of Quincy Porter’s complete viola works.

-download Quincy Porter’s string quartets

Here’s Blues Lontains in the form of a music video by Eliesha Nelson and John McLaughlin Williams:

This introspective and honest article by Benjamin F. Carlson has been floating around the classical music community over the past week. For obvious reasons, classical people get really excited when someone from “the outside” gives us a nod and says our music is good, too. That aside, the article is a good read for anyone — no matter what your musical preferences may be.

A brief excerpt:

… I feel lucky to know the big secret: there’s no trick. It’s just music. It shreds, yearns, mourns, trills, rages, and smiles. The music is spine-tingling, angry, delicate, vulgar, snobby, bumptious, and transcendental. Anyone who loves music should feel comfortable pulling Messiaen into their mixes.

That’s right, people. Classical music is for everyone!

DYK? The band Phoenix wrote Lisztomania in honor of composer Franz Liszt’s studly awesomeness.

That was yesterday’s weekly classical trivia text message. I thought it only apropos to follow up and post the video on our site!

Here’s Lisztomania by Phoenix (yes, it was featured on Gossip Girl, too):

And that isn’t where “Lisztomania” ends, either! In 1975, a film called Lisztomania was released. I haven’t seen it yet, but when I do I’ll post about it.

Oh, and there’s also a Wikipedia page about Lisztomania aka Liszt Fever. Whoa! Talk about stud. People are still freaking out about Franz Liszt almost 170 years later!

Curious about Salon97’s weekly classical trivia text messages? Sign up on the right in the red box! It’s free. You can also text SALON97 to 41411.

Photo courtesy of pvillarroel.free.fr

Igor Stravinsky wrote a ton of super awesome music — and he is considered by many to be the most influential composer of the 20th century! He is our Composer of the Week.

b. June 17, 1882

d. April 6, 1971

“Consonance, says the dictionary, is the combination of several tones into a harmonic unit. Dissonance results from the deranging of this harmony by the addition of tones foreign to it. One must admit that all this is not clear. Ever since it appeared in our vocabulary, the word ‘dissonance’ has carried with it a certain odor of sinfulness. Let us light our lantern: in textbook language, dissonance is an element of transition, a complex or interval of tones that is not complete in itself and that must be resolved to the ear’s satisfaction into a perfect consonance.”

–Igor Stravinsky

Stravinsky’s father was a leading opera singer with the Imperial Russian Opera. Though young Igor expressed interest in following in his father’s footsteps, he was encouraged to study law instead. He endured four years of law school but rarely attended classes. Clearly, this was not what Stravinsky had in mind for his career.

His compositional career is divided into three periods: nationalism (The Rite of Spring, The Firebird Suite, Petrushka), neoclassicism (Pulcinella Suite), and serialism (Cantata, The Flood).

Stravinsky was known to be somewhat of a rabble-rouser. His famous work, The Rite of Spring, generated a historic riot upon its debut. Audiences were stunned by the depiction of fertility rites and violent dance steps within the ballet.

Additionally, Stravinsky was arrested for creating a shocking arrangement of “The Star Spangled Banner” — he was accused of tampering with public property. Guess the U.S. really liked that gift, eh?

Where to start:

-Listening to all the pieces mentioned above should keep you busy for awhile!

-The Rite of Spring is a must. Hint: it was featured in the 1940 release of Fantasia.

Here’s video footage of Stravinsky conducting The Firebird Suite:

And here is a recording Stravinsky playing his Piano Sonata:

On June 17 we’re coming to Citizen Space in San Francisco! Please join us for a fun-filled evening of beautiful summer-themed classical music along with networking and merry-making.

Who: You and your peeps.

What: Salon97 Summer Soiree

Where: Citizen Space: 425 – 2nd Street, #100 (near Harrison) San Francisco, CA 94107

When: Thursday, June 17, 6:45 p.m. (program begins at 7:15!)

Why: Because classical music should be fun for everyone, and summer-themed music is just delightful!

How: Suggested donation: $10. Pay what you can. Salon97 is growing and every bit helps! No one will be turned away.

Remember, no knowledge of classical music is necessary.  We’ll keep the actual “listening” to about an hour and will save time for everyone to mix and mingle. Everyone is welcome! And who knows who you’ll meet when you’re here? Friendships, business partnerships, and artistic collaborations have been forged over the last two years at Salon97 listening parties. Bring friends!

Super big thanks to Citizen Space, a co-working space in the heart of San Francisco, for sponsoring this event. You guys rock!

Photo courtesy of estemb.org

Previously heard at Salon97’s “Living Composers in the Dead of Winter” and “Terrible Twos” events, Arvo Pärt is a truly one of a kind and amazing composer, and he’s our Composer of the Week!

b. September 11, 1935 in Paide, Estonia

Arvo Pärt began studying music at an early age and had already worked as a recording engineer, film composer, and stage composer by the time he completed his conservatory studies in 1963.

Due to the Soviet Union’s occupation of Estonia, Pärt had very little access to Western culture in the 60s and for the duration of time he spent living in Estonia. Despite this setback, he found himself working with serialism and collage techniques — keeping Estonia musically current. Pärt’s first two symphonies and his work Perpetuum Mobile are examples of his serialist phase, and the jarring Collage uber BACH is an excellent example of his work with the collage composition technique.

Pärt has taken several periods of secluded silence in which he studies a specific musical genre from the 14th, 15th, or 16th centuries. After breaking his silence, Pärt generates beautiful works in homage to the art in which he’d recently been immersed.

Where to start:

-You may have heard Pärt’s music without even knowing it! Annum per Annum was featured in the film Thin Red Line and Fratres for Cello and Piano was highlighted in There Will Be Blood.

-Download Missa brevis for 12 cellos and vocal works such as Magnificat and Summa. (all are available on iTunes)

-Take a look at the videos below!

Collage uber BACH. Brilliantly disturbing!

Fratres for Cello and Piano. Featured in There Will Be Blood.

The New York Philharmonic recently presented an innovative production of Ligeti’s Le Grand Macabre. To accompany this brilliant show, the NY Phil’s marketing department put together a series of behind-the-scenes flip cam videos. So many times we wonder what it takes to put together the wonderful concerts we attend, and thankfully, the New York Phil has given us a backstage pass via YouTube.

They say the show will be back in 2012, and I can’t wait to see it.

Here are a few highlights from the flip cam series, along with a couple videos from the Alan Gilbert + Death set.

Alan Gilbert and Death play Guitar Hero. Hilarious!

Maybe they’ll create another riot?

Set and prop building — very entertaining!

So…what is this show about?

Music Director Alan Gilbert speaks on what it’s like to rehearse “Le Grand Macabre.”

Venus on stilts:

…and where does all that great choreography come from?

Being a percussionist is serious fun.

photo courtesy of Wikipedia

Modest Mussorgsky wrote some wonderfully iconic additions to the classical repertoire, and that is why he is our Composer of the Week!

b. March 21, 1839 in Karevo, Russia
d. March 28, 1881 in St. Petersburg, Russia

Modest Mussorgsky began studying piano with his mother at age six and went on to become one of “The Five” nationalist Russian composers. He worked as a civil servant for much of his life and led his life as a composer in tandem. Though raised as a part of a wealthy family, his wealth slowly disappeared during the Great Reform. Mussorgsky later became an alcoholic — an addiction that ultimately ended his life.

Mussorgsky’s most famous works include Pictures at an Exhibition –actually inspired by a friend’s gallery exhibition– and St. John’s Night on the Bare Mountain, which was later revised by Mussorgsky and fellow “Five” member Rimsky-Korsakov to become Night on Bald Mountain. We all know and love this wonderful work as a result of the large roll it played in Disney’s Fantasia.

Where to start:

-start with the famous stuff! Pictures at an Exhibition was originally written for piano. Maurice Ravel later orchestrated the work for full orchestra. Listen to both to hear the difference! It’s fascinating to hear how Ravel chose to orchestrate the piece.

-watch our videos below!

Pictures at an Exhibition (piano version):

Pictures at an Exhibition (orchestral version):

Night on Bald Mountain in Fantasia (even creepier than I remember!):

photo courtesy of www.femininemusique.com

It’s high time we get a female composer represented up in here! Amy Beach is super awesome, so she’s the first.

b. Henniker, New Hampshire, September 5, 1867

d. New York, New York, December 27, 1944

From an early age it was obvious that Amy Cheney Beach was a musical prodigy, and though her mother was a piano teacher, she resisted the fact that her daughter embodied such vast musical talent — Beach was forbidden to study piano until the age of six. Despite the resistance she met at home, the young musician could not be stopped. Beach had perfect pitch, excellent memorizations skills, and as a child had a color identification system for keys: C, white; E, yellow; G, red; A, green; Ab, blue; Db, violet; Eb, pink; F# and G# minor, black.

At the age of 18, in 1885, Amy Cheney married Henry Harris Aubrey Beach, a widower in his early forties. A surgeon at Harvard Medical School, Dr. Beach encouraged his new wife to spend her time composing music, and he drastically reduced her performance schedule. It was this request that instilled her new once-per year benefit recital. Though Beach abhorred the request and thought of herself as a pianist first and foremost, she abided by the request and began working on larger works.

Throughout her life, Beach was often recognized for her compositional abilities. She was an honorary member of the Chromatic Club of Boston—a group of professional musicians who were trained in Europe. Additionally she was the only female member of “The Boston Six,” a group said to be the first to write classical music in the United States. Beach was recognized internationally in an exhibit at the Paris Opera House, and was thought to be an important icon in American culture.

Where to start:

-Her Gaelic Symphony and Piano Concerto are among her most famous works

-Listen to some samples of Beach’s music on last.fm

-Download a recording of her work From Grandmother’s Garden. Beautiful!

Here is a portion of her Piano Concerto:

We had a new guest at our “Terrible Twos” celebration on Saturday, Chloe Veltman, a musician and freelance culture correspondent for the New York Times. A few days later, Chloe wrote me to ask if we’d submit a guest post for her blog, Lies Like Truth, with the ArtsJournal network of cultural blogs. We are honored!

Here’s a segment of her post:

At the weekend, I attended an hour or so of a lively Salon97 music-appreciation salon. I wish I could have stayed longer at the gathering, organized by a local music lover, Cariwyl Hebert, but I had to be at a concert rehearsal. At any rate, from the short time I spent at Cariwyl’s home in the Upper Haight, I could tell that she and her friends are on to something. The event provides a wonderful high-engagement yet low-key format for listening and discussing music.

And here is a link to the full post. Thank you, Chloe!