Meeting the great composers - Brahms

Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) was born in Hamburg, Germany. He studied piano when he was seven and soon began to play well enough to get a job playing in restaurants and theatres. At age 19, he made his first concert tour and when he was 20, he was introduced to Robert Schumann, a famous composer of the time. Schumann gave Brahms a lot of help and encouragement. By the time Brahms was 35, he was a famous composer himself. He had a reputation as a "grump" but was also very loveable. When he went for his daily walks, he passed out candy to children. Brahms has been called one of the three great "B's" of German composers. Do you know who the other two are?

Brahms has composed music both vocal and instrumental music. You may have heard one of the famous piece by him when you were still a baby:

This version is sung by Celine Dion, a famous Canadian singer. The original version of the song is sung in German.

Another tune you may recognize by Brahms is the Hungarian Dance No.5, Let's listen to the tune played on a set of glass harp.

Many people see Brhams as the successor of Beethoven because his composition is brilliant. However, Brahms did not write symphony until later in his composing life because he was afraid that his work is not good enough. He ended up writing 4 symphonies as well as other orchestral piece for chamber music.

Let's travel in time to the 1890's Vienna, where Brhams lived! This adventure will tell you what chamber music was all about.

Click here to access "Brahms in 1890's Vienna"~~~

Year 5 music: TOP OF THE WORLD

The Carpenters was a very popular American vocal and instrumental duo in the 1970s. Karen and Richard Carpenter are siblings and they play different roles in the duo. Karen Carpenter is known for her low register in singing and therefore, a lot of their songs features Karen using her chest voice. The siblings have multi-talents in music which helped to lead to their tremendous success in their music career. TOP OF THE WORLD is the title of a song by The Carpenters from 1972.

Meet the great composers 2 - Debussy

The second great composer we will meet this year is from France. His name is Claude-Achille Debussy (1862-1918) He was born in a city near Paris, Saint-Germain-en-Laye. Many see Debussy as the most important of all French composers. How important was he? His portrait has appeared on France's bank note!

Debussy studied piano at the Paris Conservatory of music but eventually deicided to be a composer instead of a performer. Instead of following the composition rules set by his teachers, Debussy liked experimenting with different kinds of music. As a result, he contributed to the creation of a new style of music! Debussy also liked writing about the nature; listen to the following two piano solo pieces, is about the moonlight another one is an Arabic style song, according to Debussy. (Certainly it sounds VERY different from REAL Arabic music)

Claire de lune (1890)

Arabesque #1 (1888)

So how would you describe Debussy's style - I think it is very dreamy and it somewhat , don't you think his style is very different from Beethoven's?

Other than his famous piano work, Debussy also compose for orchestras and voices. Click HERE to find a mermaid song by him.

The Composer Time Machines

There are 2 Composer Time Machines online that can help you found out when all the famous composers from the past lived.

Click here to launch Time Machine 1

Click here to launch Time Machine 2

He tells stories through music! - Sergei Prokofiev

Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953) was a Russian composer, born in Ukraine. His father was an engineer and his mother was a pianist. Prokofiev showed his music talent since a very young age. At around 6 years old, he composed his first piano piece, which his mother helped him put it on the manuscripts. He continued to like music as well as other academic subjects, like math and science. In fact, chess playing became his second love and he became a very competent chess player.

Prokofiev's first long trip happened when he was about 8 years old. He went to Moscow where he saw two operas. When he went home, he decided to write an opera called "The Giant," which he performed to his family.

Prokofiev loved telling story through music. One of his most famous piece was Peter and the Wolf, which is a story loved by children of generations to come. You may click HERE to see the animated version of Peter and the Wolf.

Another famous work is Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet. (Click on the link to access to see an animation of an exerpt from this.

Evelyn Glennie - the percussionist who plays with bare feet

Before I tell you the story about Evelyn Glennie, let's hear her play first.

Don't you think she's amazing? But let me tell you a secret of Evelyn Glennie - she has been deaf since the age of 12. However, this disability has not hindered her in persuing a career in music. She always plays bare feet so that she can feel the music. To her, if you can feel the music in the body, anything can be an instrument! Evelyn Glennie has become a very successful percussionist and an inspiration to many. Here's another appearance she has made in Sesame Street.

If you'd like to know more about this amazing Scottish virtuoso, you may click HERE to visit her website.

Meeting the Great composers 1 - Beethoven

Do you know this tune?

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) is one of the greatest composers of all time! He was born in Germany and started composing when he was 12. Beethoven started to lose his hearing in his late twenties - this is a terrible news for a composer who relies on his hearing to compose!! However, Beethoven never gave up on composing. He continued to write music that is still the greatest music of all time! The following selections from the 5th and the 9th symphony are two of the examples.

If you want to learn about the life of Beethoven, you may see the biography cartoon produced by Discovery Education. (It's divided into small chunks)

Fifth Symphony - first movement, Allegro con brio (1804-1808)

Ninth Symphony - Finale (Ode to Joy)

How about this version on wine glasses?

Not all of his compositions were published during his life. The following piece, for example, was published 40 years after Beethoven has died!
Für Elise