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Latest Listeners’ Club Posts

Balakirev’s “Islamey”: A Spirited Dance from the Caucasus Mountains June 30, 2025

It was a trip to the Caucasus Mountains that inspired Russian composer Mily Balakirev (1837-1910) to write Islamey: Oriental Fantasy, one of the most technically challenging works ever conceived for solo piano. In a letter, Balakirev commented on the spirited folk music he heard there, as well as the natural beauty of the region, which lies […]

Jascha Heifetz and Bing Crosby: Berceuse from Godard’s “Jocelyn” June 27, 2025

Jascha Heifetz was the ultimate “crossover artist” before the term existed. During the Second World War, Heifetz joined popular entertainers such as Bing Crosby and Bob Hope in performances for U.S. servicemen. Heifetz’ collaborations with Crosby included this performance, recorded in Los Angeles on July 13, 1946, months after the War’s end […]

Holst’s “Nunc Dimittis”: Homage to Renaissance Polyphony June 25, 2025

English composer Gustav Holst found inspiration, not only in the folk music of his native land, but also in the early music of William Byrd and Palestrina. Nunc dimittis for eight-part choir is Holst’s homage to Renaissance polyphony. Composed in 1915 for Richard Terry, organist of Westminster Cathedral, the work was performed on Easter Sun […]

Mendelssohn’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”: Music Inspired by Shakespeare June 23, 2025

As a teenager, Felix Mendelssohn was drawn to the works of Shakespeare, especially the shimmering fairytale magic of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. After reading a German translation of the comedy, Mendelssohn’s sister Fanny wrote, We were entwined in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and Felix particularly made it his own. He identified with all of […]

The Vocalise: Music of André Previn and John Williams June 20, 2025

Free of the literal meaning of a text, the wordless vocalise floats into a dreamy and surreal landscape. In André Previn’s Vocalise, the singer enters into a haunting musical conversation with the solo cello and the instrumental voices of the orchestra. Composed at Tanglewood on July 18, 1995 for Sylvia McNair and Yo Yo Ma, the work was ori […]

Remembering Alfred Brendel June 18, 2025

Alfred Brendel, the Czech-born Austrian pianist, writer, composer, and lecturer, passed away on Tuesday (June 17) at his home in London. He was 94. Largely self-taught after the age of 16, Brendel followed a unique path to the top. As a teenager, he was already an author and an exhibited painter. At the age of 14, in the final days of the S […]

Poulenc’s Violin Sonata: A Wartime Elegy June 16, 2025

Francis Poulenc’s Violin Sonata is music born out of war and tragedy. It is one of a series of defiant, politically charged works Poulenc composed between 1942 and 1943 while remaining in occupied France.* The Sonata was dedicated to the Spanish poet, Federico García Lorca, who was arrested, imprisoned without trial, and executed by Falangi […]