Poetry, stories, art, and music from the desk of Jezzie G, a writer without a label
Tarantella
1885
Romantic
David Popper
Romantic
Born: 16 June 1843, Prague, Czechia
Nationality: Bohemian
Died: 7 August 1913, Baden bei Wien, Austria
Popper was a cellist and composer. Born in Prague he studied music at the Prague Conservatory under Julius Goltermann. Popper made his first tour in 1863 and in Germany, he was praised by Hans von Bülow, who recommended him as Chamber Virtuoso in the Court of Prince von Hohenzollern-Hechinger in Löwenberg
Requiem, Op. 66
1892
Romantic
David Popper
Romantic
Born: 16 June 1843, Prague, Czechia
Nationality: Bohemian
Died: 7 August 1913, Baden bei Wien, Austria
Popper was a cellist and composer. Born in Prague he studied music at the Prague Conservatory under Julius Goltermann. Popper made his first tour in 1863 and in Germany, he was praised by Hans von Bülow, who recommended him as Chamber Virtuoso in the Court of Prince von Hohenzollern-Hechinger in Löwenberg
In Autumn
1865
Romantic
Edvard Grieg
Romantic
Born: 15 June 1843, Bergen, Norway
Nationality: Norwegian
Died: 4 September 1907, Bergen, Norway
Grieg was a composer and pianist. He is considered one of the main composers of the Romantic era and his music remains the standard of the global classical repertoire. Grieg made use of Norwegian folk music in his compositions and brought fame to the music of Norway
Funeral Rites
1888
Symphony
Gustav Mahler
Romantic
Born: 7 July 1860, Bohemia
Nationality: Austro-Bohemian
Died: 18 May 1911, Vienna, Austria
Mahler was a Romantic composer and a leading conductor of his time. His compositions acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German traditions and the modernism of the 20th century. In his lifetime Mahler’s status as a conductor was established beyond question whilst his own music gained in popularity mainly after periods of neglect, including a ban on its being performed in much of Europe during the Nazi era. After WW2 his work was rediscovered by a new generation and Mahler became one of the most frequently performed and recorded composers
Finlandia
1899
Romantic
Johan Julius Christian Sibelius
Romantic
Born: 8 December 1865, Hämeenlinna, Finland
Nationality: Finnish
Died: 20 September 1957, Ainola, Finland
Sibelius was a composer of the late Romantic and early modern periods. He is considered to be Finland’s greatest composer and is frequently credited with helping Finland develop its national identity as it struggled for independence from Russia. Sibelius is perhaps best known for Finlandia, the Karelia Suite, Valse Triste, and the choral symphony Kullervo
Cello Concerto No. 9
1760
Romantic
Luigi Boccherini
Classical
Born: 19 February 1743, Lucca, Italy
Nationality: Italian
Died: 28 May 1805, Madrid, Spain
Boccherini was a composer and cellist of the Classical era. Even though he matured apart from the major European musical centres his music retained a courtly and galante style. He is best known for a minuet from his String Quartet No.5 in E and the Cello Concerto in B flat major. Boccherini’s oeuvre also includes several guitar quintets
Elegie
1872
Belle Epoque
Jules Massenet
Romantic
Born: 12 May 1842, Montaud, France
Nationality: French
Died: 13 August 1912, Paris, France
Massenet was a composer of the Romantic era best known for operas, including Manon )41884) and Werther (1892). Massenet also composed oratorios, orchestral works, songs, and other music. He became a professor at the Conservatoire teaching composition from 1878-1896. His students included Ernest Chausson, Gabriel Pierné, and Gustave Charpentier. Massenet’s operas are considered well-crafted and intelligent products of the Belle Époque
Andante Festivio
1922
Romantic
Johan Julius Christian Sibelius
Romantic
Born: 8 December 1865, Hämeenlinna, Finland
Nationality: Finnish
Died: 20 September 1957, Ainola, Finland
Sibelius was a composer of the late Romantic and early modern periods. He is considered to be Finland’s greatest composer and is frequently credited with helping Finland develop its national identity as it struggled for independence from Russia. Sibelius is perhaps best known for Finlandia, the Karelia Suite, Valse Triste, and the choral symphony Kullervo
Violin Concerto
1903
Romantic
Johan Julius Christian Sibelius
Romantic
Born: 8 December 1865, Hämeenlinna, Finland
Nationality: Finnish
Died: 20 September 1957, Ainola, Finland
Sibelius was a composer of the late Romantic and early-modern periods. He is considered to be Finland’s greatest composer and if frequently credited with helping Finland develop its national identity as it struggled for independence from Russia. Sibelius is perhaps best known for Finlandia, the Karelia Suite, Valse Triste, and the choral symphony Kullervo
Valse Triste
1903
Romantic
Johan Julius Christian Sibelius
Romantic
Born: 8 December 1865, Hämeenlinna, Finland
Nationality: Finnish
Died: 20 September 1957, Ainola, Finland
Sibelius was a composer of the late Romantic and early-modern periods. He is considered to be Finland’s greatest composer and if frequently credited with helping Finland develop its national identity as it struggled for independence from Russia. Sibelius is perhaps best known for Finlandia, the Karelia Suite, Valse Triste, and the choral symphony Kullervo
Sicilienne
1893
Romantic
Gabriel Fauré
Classical
Born: 12 May 1845, Pamiers, France
Nationality: French
Died: 4 November 1924, Paris, France
Fauré was a composer, pianist, organist, and teacher. He was one of the foremost French composers of his generation with works such as Pavane, Requiem, and Sicilienne. Generally, his best-known works are from his early career however Fauré composed many highly regarded works in his later years in a more harmonically and melodically complex style
Romeo and Juliet
1839
Dramatic Symphony
Hector Berlioz
Romantic
Born: 11 December 1803, La Côte-Saint-André, France
Nationality: French
Died: 8 March 1869, Paris, France
Berlioz was a composer and conductor of the Romantic era. His works include orchestral works, choral pieces, three operas, and compositions of hybrid genres. As the eldest son of a provincial doctor, Berlioz was expected to enter the medical profession, and attended a Parisian medical college before going against his family and taking up a professional music career. His independence and refusal to follow traditional rules and forms and formulas put him at odds with the musical conservatism of the Parisian establishment.
Piano Concerto
1868
Romantic
Edvard Grieg
Romantic
Born: 15 June 1843, Bergen, Norway
Nationality: Norwegian
Died: 4 September 1907, Bergen, Norway
Grieg was a composer and pianist. He is considered one of the main composers of the Romantic era and his music remains the standard of the global classical repertoire. Grieg made use of Norwegian folk music in his compositions and brought fame to the music of Norway.
Karelia Suite
1893
Romantic
Johan Julius Christian Sibelius
Romantic
Born: 8 December 1865, Hämeenlinna, Finland
Nationality: Finnish
Died: 20 September 1957, Ainola, Finland
Sibelius was a composer of the late Romantic and early-modern periods. He is considered to be Finland’s greatest composer and if frequently credited with helping Finland develop it’s national identity as it struggled for independence from Russia. Sibelius is perhaps best known for Finlandia, the Karelia Suite, Valse Triste, and the choral symphony Kullervo.
In the Mists
1912
Romantic
Leoš Janáček
Folk, Opera
Born: 3 July 1854, Hukvsldy, Czechia
Nationality: Czech
Died: 12 August 1928, Ostrava, Czechia
Janáček was a composer, folklorist, musical theorist, teacher, and publicist, inspired by Moravian and other Slavic music to create a modern musical style. He devoted himself to folkloristic research until 1895. Janáček’s early musical works were influenced by his contemporaries such as Antonín Dvořák, however, his later works incorporated his research of national folk music in a modern and original synthesis, such as in the opera Jenůfa (1904). Janáček is considered one of the most important of Czech composers.
Dolly
1893-96
Romantic
Gabriel Fauré
Classical
Born: 12 May 1845, Pamiers, France
Nationality: French
Died: 4 November 1924, Paris, France
Fauré was a composer, pianist, organist, and teacher. He was one of the foremost French composers of his generation with works such as Pavane, Requiem, and Sicilienne. Generally, his best-known works are from his early career however Fauré composed many highly regarded works in his later years in a more harmonically and melodically complex style
Nocturne Op. 9 No.2
1831-32
Romantic
Frédéric François Chopin
Romantic
Born: 1 March 1810, Żelazowa Wola, Poland
Nationality: Polish
Died: 17 October 1849, Paris, France
Chopin was a composer. His first published composition at age 7 which was followed a year later as he began his performing career. He moved to Paris in 1832 and mixed with high society and was well known as a piano tutor
Masques et bergamasques
1919
Romantic
Gabriel Fauré
Classical
Born: 12 May 1845, Pamiers, France
Nationality: French
Died: 4 November 1924, Paris, France
Fauré was a composer, pianist, organist, and teacher. He was one of the foremost French composers of his generation with works such as Pavane, Requiem, and Sicilienne. Generally, his best-known works are from his early career however Fauré composed many highly regarded works in his later years in a more harmonically and melodically complex style
Pavane, op. 50
1887
Romantic
Gabriel Fauré
Classical
Born: 12 May 1845, Pamiers, France
Nationality: French
Died: 4 November 1924, Paris, France
Fauré was a composer, pianist, organist, and teacher. He was one of the foremost French composers of his generation with works such as Pavane, Requiem, and Sicilienne. Generally, his best-known works are from his early career however Fauré composed many highly regarded works in his later years in a more harmonically and melodically complex style
Élégie
1880
Romantic
Gabriel Fauré
Classical
Born: 12 May 1845, Pamiers, France
Nationality: French
Died: 4 November 1924, Paris, France
Fauré was a composer, pianist, organist, and teacher. He was one of the foremost French composers of his generation with works such as Pavane, Requiem, and Sicilienne. Generally, his best-known works are from his early career however Fauré composed many highly regarded works in his later years in a more harmonically and melodically complex style
Violin Sonata No. 1
1877
Sonata
Gabriel Fauré
Classical
Born: 12 May 1845, Pamiers, France
Nationality: French
Died: 4 November 1924, Paris, France
Fauré was a composer, pianist, organist, and teacher. He was one of the foremost French composers of his generation with works such as Pavane, Requiem, and Sicilienne. Generally, his best-known works are from his early career however Fauré composed many highly regarded works in his later years in a more harmonically and melodically complex style
Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini
1934
Romantic
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Romantic
Born: 1 April 1873, Starorussky Uyezd, Russia
Nationality: Russian
Died: 28 February 1943, California, USA
Rachmaninoff was a virtuoso pianist, composer, and conductor of the late Romantic era. His early work, influenced by Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Mussorgsky, and other Russian composers developed into his personal style which was notable for song -like melodic expressiveness and colourful, rich orchestration. After the Russian Revolution, Rachmaninoff and his family left Russia and settled in New York City in 1918. His main income came from piano and conducting performances and demanding tour schedules reduced his time for composition. Failing health led to his relocating to California in 1942. Rachmaninoff was granted US citizenship in 1943, one month before his death from melanoma
Masques
1904
Romantic
Claude Debussy
Romantic, Classical, Impressionist
Born: 22 August 1862, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France
Nationality: French
Died: 25 March 1918, Paris France
Debussy was a composer. He is seen as the first impressionist composer, although he himself rejected the term. Among the first influential composers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries he was born to a family of modest means and little cultural involvement. He showed a musical talent enough to be admitted to the Conservatoire de Paris, France’s leading musical college, at age ten. Initially a student of the piano, he found his vocation in innovative composition and took many years to develop his mature style. He was nearly forty when he achieved international fame with his only opera, Pelléas et Mélisande
Te Deum
1849
Romantic
Hector Berlioz
Romantic
Born: 11 December 1803, La Côte-Saint-André, France
Nationality: French
Died: 8 March 1869, Paris, France
Berlioz was a composer and conductor of the Romantic era. His works include orchestral works, choral pieces, three operas and compositions of hybrid genres. As the eldest son of a provincial doctor, Berlioz was expected to enter the medical profession, and attended a Parisian medical college before going against his family and taking up a professional music career. His independence and refusal to follow traditional rules and forms and formulas put him at odds with the musical conservatism of the Parisian establishment
Serenade for Strings
1880
Classical, Romantic
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Classical, Romantic
Born: 7 May 1840, Votkinsk, Russia
Nationality: Russian
Died: 6 November 1893, Saint Petersburg, Russia
Tchaikovsky was a Romantic composer and the first Russian composer to make a lasting international impression. In 1884 Tsar Alexander III honoured him with a lifetime pension. Tchaikovsky was educated for a career as a civil servant as there was little opportunity for a musical career in Russia and no public music education system. When the opportunity arose he entered Saint Petersburg Conservatory, and graduated in 1865.
Scherzo in D minor
1888
Romantic
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Romantic
Born: 1 April 1873, Starorussky Uyezd, Russia
Nationality: Russian
Died: 28 February 1943, California, USA
Rachmaninoff was a virtuoso pianist, composer, and conductor of the late Romantic era. His early work, influenced by Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Mussorgsky, and other Russian composers developed into his personal style which was notable for song -like melodic expressiveness and colourful, rich orchestration. After the Russian Revolution, Rachmaninoff and his family left Russia and settled in New York City in 1918. His main income came from piano and conducting performances and demanding tour schedules reduced his time for composition. Failing health led to his relocating to California in 1942. Rachmaninoff was granted US citizenship in 1943, one month before his death from melanoma
Danse sacrée et Danse profane
1904
Romantic
Claude Debussy
Romantic, Classical, Impressionist
Born: 22 August 1862, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France
Nationality: French
Died: 25 March 1918, Paris France
Debussy was a composer. He is seen as the first impressionist composer, although he himself rejected the term. Among the first influential composers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries he was born to a family of modest means and little cultural involvement. He showed a musical talent enough to be admitted to the Conservatoire de Paris, France’s leading musical college, at age ten. Initially a student of the piano, he found his vocation in innovative composition and took many years to develop his mature style. He was nearly forty when he achieved international fame with his only opera, Pelléas et Mélisande
Piano Concerto No. 2
1901
Romantic
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Romantic
Born: 1 April 1873, Starorussky Uyezd, Russia
Nationality: Russian
Died: 28 February 1943, California, USA
Rachmaninoff was a virtuoso pianist, composer, and conductor of the late Romantic era. His early work, influenced by Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Mussorgsky, and other Russian composers developed into his personal style which was notable for song -like melodic expressiveness and colourful, rich orchestration. After the Russian Revolution, Rachmaninoff and his family left Russia and settled in New York City in 1918. His main income came from piano and conducting performances and demanding tour schedules reduced his time for composition. Failing health led to his relocating to California in 1942. Rachmaninoff was granted US citizenship in 1943, one month before his death from melanoma
Brahms’ Lullaby
1868
Romantic
Johannes Brahms
Romantic
Born: 7 May 1833, Hamburg, Germany
Nationality: German
Died: 3 April 1897, Vienna, Austria
Brahms was a composer, pianist and conductor. He spent much of his professional life in Vienna. Brahms composed for orchestras, chamber ensembles, organ, piano and voice. A virtuoso pianist he premiered many of his own works himself. He is grouped with Bach and Beethoven as one of the ‘Three B’s’ of music
Wiegenlied
1868
Romantic
Johannes Brahms
Romantic
Born: 7 May 1833, Hamburg, Germany
Nationality: German
Died: 3 April 1897, Vienna, Austria
Brahms was a composer, pianist and conductor. He spent much of his professional life in Vienna. Brahms composed for orchestras, chamber ensembles, organ, piano and voice. A virtuoso pianist he premiered many of his own works himself. He is grouped with Bach and Beethoven as one of the ‘Three B’s’ of music
Die Forelle
1817
Romantic
Franz Schubert
Classical, Romantic
Born: 31 January 1797, Vienna, Austria
Nationality: Austrian
Died: 19 November 1828,, Vienna, Austria
Schubert was a composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. He left behind a cast oeuvre despite his short life, including over 600 secular vocal works, 7 symphonies, sacred music, and a large collection of piano and chamber music
Cello Sonata
1901
Romantic
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Romantic
Born: 1 April 1873, Starorussky Uyezd, Russia
Nationality: Russian
Died: 28 February 1943, California, USA
Rachmaninoff was a virtuoso pianist, composer, and conductor of the late Romantic era. His early work, influenced by Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Mussorgsky, and other Russian composers developed into his personal style which was notable for song -like melodic expressiveness and colourful, rich orchestration. After the Russian Revolution, Rachmaninoff and his family left Russia and settled in New York City in 1918. His main income came from piano and conducting performances and demanding tour schedules reduced his time for composition. Failing health led to his relocating to California in 1942. Rachmaninoff was granted US citizenship in 1943, one month before his death from melanoma
Violin Concerto in E Minor
1844
Romantic
Felix Mendelssohn
Classical
Born: 3 February 1809, Hamburg, Germany
Nationality: German
Died: 4 November 1847, Leipzig, Germany
Mendelssohn was a composer, pianist, organist, and conductor of the Romantic period. His compositions include concertos, symphonies, piano music, organ music, and chamber music. Among his best-known works are the overture and incidental music for A Midsummer’ Night Dream, the Scottish Symphony, The French Symphony, the oratorios Elijah and St. Paul, and the overture The Hebrides. He also composed the melody for the Christmas carol Hark! The Herald Angels Sing. He was born into a prominent Jewish family but was raised without religion until seven years old, when he was baptised as a Reformed Christian. Recognised at an early age for his musical talent, his parents were cautious and did not capitalise on his abilities
Faust Symphony
1857
Romantic
Franz Liszt
Romantic
Born: 22 October 1811, Raiding, Austria
Nationality: Hungarian
Died: 31 July 1886, Bayreuth, Germany
Liszt was a composer, conductor, virtuoso pianist, arranger, music teacher, and organist of the Romantic era. Widely regarded as one of the greatest pianists of all time he was also a philanthropist, writer, Hungarian nationalist. Liszt gained popularity in Europe in the early 19th century as a prodigious virtuoso as a pianist. He was also a prolific composer, one of the most prominent of the Neudeutsche Schule
Piano Concerto No 1
1830
Romantic
Frederic Chopin
Romantic
Born: 1 March 1810, Żelazowa Wola, Poland
Nationality: Polish
Died: 17 October 1849, Paris, France
Chopin was a composer. His first published composition at aged 7 which was followed a year later as he began his performing career. He moved to Paris in 1832 and mixed with high society and was well known as a piano tutor
1827
Romantic
Classical, Romantic
Born: 31 January 1797, Vienna, Austria
Nationality: Austrian
Died: 19 November 1828,, Vienna, Austria
Schubert was a composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. He left behind a cast oeuvre despite his short life, including over 600 secular vocal works, 7 symphonies, sacred music, and a large collection of piano and chamber music
Piano Concerto in A Minor
1845
Romantic
Robert Schumann
Classical
Born: 8 June 1810, Zwickau, Germany
Nationality: German
Died: 29 July 1856, Bonn, Germany
Schumann was a composer, pianist, and music critic. Regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era, Schumann left the study of law to pursue a career as a pianist, but a hand injury ended his dream. Instead he turned his talents to composing and until 1840 he wrote exclusively for the piano. Later he composed for piano and orchestral works, and many Lieder
A German Requiem
1868
Romantic Era
Johannes Brahms
Born: 7 May 1833, Hamburg, Germany
Nationality: German
Died: 3 April 1897, Vienna, Austria
Brahms was a composer, pianist, and conductor. He spent much of his professional life in Vienna. Brahms composed for orchestras, chamber ensembles, organ, piano and voice. A virtuoso pianist he premiered many of his own works himself. He is grouped with Bach and Beethoven as one of the ‘Three B’s’ of music
Title: Ballade No 1 in G minor op 23
Date: 1836
Era: Romantic
Composer: Frederic Chopin
Born: 1 March 1810, Żelazowa Wola, Poland
Nationality: Polish
Died: 17 October 1849, Paris, France
Chopin was a composer. His first published composition at aged 7 which was followed a year later as he began his performing career. He moved to Paris in 1832 and mixed with high society and was well known as a piano tutor
Jezzie G 