WaterFire has been working hard to create music playlists so fans can enjoy the music they love anytime, anywhere. The featured playlist this week is the WaterFire Classical music playlist, which features music from composers such as Bach and Beethoven. You can download the entire playlist, or selections from the playlist here.
Classical Music Playlist:
French Suite No. 2 in C Minor, BWV 813: III. Sarabande - Glenn Gould/Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach
Cello Concerto in B Minor, Op. 104: I. Allegro – Nuremberg Symphonic Orchestra, Jörg Metzger & Othmar Maga/Composed by Antonio Vivaldi
Sonata No. 4 in C minor, BWV 1017: IV. Allegro – Jamie Laredo & Glenn Gould/Composedby Johann Sebastian Bach
Concerto for Cello in C Minor, RV 402: I. Allegro – Ofra Harnoy & The Toronto Chamber Orchestra/Composed by Antonio Vivaldi
Suite No. 5 in C Minor, BWV 1011: Sarabande – Pieter Wispelwey/Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach
Nocturne No. 8 in D-flat Major, Op. 27, No. 2 - Daniel Barenboim/Composed by Frédéric Chopin
Tre prezzi: for flute and cimbalom I. Allegro vivace- Márta Fábián & other artists/Composed by Giacinto Scelsi
Composer Profiles
Johann Sebastian Bach was a famed German composer and musician from the Baroque period. Bach was a well-rounded musician, talented on the violin, harpsichord, and the organ. He also composed music for the cello and flute. Immediately following his death in 1750, Bach’s popularity declined. His work was considered old fashioned, and it was not until the the late eighteenth century, the time of Beethoven, Mozart, and Chopin, that Bach was truly recognized for his composing abilities. The great composers of the time, those previously listed, as well as Schumann and Mendelssohn, were some of his greatest admirers.
Photo from Wikipedia.
Antonio Vivaldi was an Italian, Baroque style composer, Catholic priest, and violinist. Vivaldi is best known for his composition of instrumental concertos, particularly for the violin, as well as for sacred choral works, and over 40 operas. His best known work is a series of violin concertos called The Four Seasons. Like Bach, Vivaldi’s popularity dwindled following his death, but was later revived, in part due to Fritz Kreisler’s work, Concerto C in the style of Vivaldi, which he passed off as an original Vivaldi work.
Photo from The Guardian.
Frédéric Chopin was a Polish composer and musician, best known for his work on the piano. He published his first composition at the age of 7, and began public performances a year later. By the age of 16, he was studying at the Warsaw Conservatory of Music, and then began travelling to perform in Germany, Austria, and France. He settled in France and developed relationships with other young composers including Vincenzo Bellini and Felix Mendelssohn.
Photo from The Polish-American Center.
Giacinto Scelsi was an Italian composer and poet who lived in the 20th century. He is most well-known for writing music based around a single pitch. Most of his works went largely undiscovered during his lifetime. Scelsi had relationships with famous intellectuals including Jean Cocteau and Virginia Woolf. Following World War II, Scelsi was divorced, changing his musicianship. Instead of composing music, Scelsi would improvise. His recorded improvisations were later transcribed.
Photo from hydramag.com.
Featured photo from WaterFire Flickr.