Born in Dublin, Sept 30, 1852
Died in London, March 29, 19241
Era: Late Romantic (~1860 – 1920)
Born in Stockholm, Feb 7, 1871
Died in Stockholm, Nov 20, 1927
- Stenhammar was a Swedish conductor, organist, and pianist. He studied organ and theory with private teachers, but as a composer, he was mostly self-taught.
- Fun fact: Stenhammar came from an artistic family that included and architect and composer (his father) a visual artist (his mother), singers (his uncle and aunt), and a choral conductor (his cousin). As a child he was part of a family choir that sang for upper-class families.
- Stenhammar was a conductor who held posts directing the Stockholm Philharmonic Society, the Swedish Royal Opera, the New Philharmonic Society, and the Göteborg Orchestral Society.2
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STRAUS, Oscar
Born in Vienna, March 6, 1870
Died in Bad Ischl, Jan 11, 19543
Pieces
Born in Munich, June 11, 1864
Died in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Sept 8, 19494
Pieces
- Also Sprach Zarathustra (Thus Spake Zarathustra), Op. 30
- Der Rosenkavalier
- Don Juan, Op. 20
- Don Quixote, Op. 35
- Ein Heldenleben (A Hero’s Life), Op. 40
- Eine Alpensinfonie (An Alpine Symphony), Op. 64
- Elektra
- Festival Procession (Feierlicher Einzug)
- Josephslegende (The Legend of Joseph)
- Macbeth, Op. 23
- Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks, Op. 28
- Vier letzte Lieder (Four Last Songs)
- Violin Concerto in d minor, Op. 8
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SUK, Josef
Born in Křečovice, Jan 4, 1874
Died in Benešov, nr Prague, May 29, 1935
- Josef Suk was the child of a choirmaster/ schoolmaster, from whom he learned to play piano, violin, and organ. In 1885 (age 11), Suk entered the Prague Conservatory. He stayed on an extra year after graduation to study composition with Antonín Dvořák, becoming the composer’s favorite pupil.
- Fun fact: in 1898, Suk married Dvořák’s daughter, Otilie (Otilka).
- In 1922, Suk himself became a professor of composition at the Prague Conservatory.
- As a composer, Suk was most at home with instrumental music. He was seen by many as Dvořák’s musical successor. His earlier works display qualities of sensuous late romanticism. Following the deaths of his father-in-law in 1904 and his wife in 1905, Suk’s music took a dramatic turn towards more complexity, introspection, and even polytonality.
- Unlike many of his Czech predecessors, Suk almost never drew on folk music or literary sources for inspiration.
- In addition to composition, Suk led a distinguished international career as a violinist in the Czech Quartet until he retired from performing in 1933.5
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TOBIAS, Rudolf
Born in Käina, Hiiumaa Island, May 29, 1873
Died in Berlin, Oct 29, 19186
- Rudolf Tobias was an extremely important figure in the founding of an Estonian classical music tradition. His “Julius Caesar” Overture is considered to be a foundational symphonic work in the emergence of a distinct classical music culture in the country.7
- Tobias’s compositional output includes works for orchestra, chamber ensemble, choir, solo piano and organ, and solo voice.8
Born in London, Oct 30, 1894
Died in London, Dec 17, 19301
“Peter Warlock” was a pseudonymn. He was born Philip Arnold Heseltine.
Biography from Boosey & Hawkes
Sources
Barry Smith, “Warlock, Peter,” Grove Music Online (2001), accessed February 23, 2021, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000029912.
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YSAŸE, Eugène
Born in Liège, July 16, 1858
Died in Brussels, May 12, 1931
[EU-zhen ee-zah-EE]
- Eugène Ysaÿe was a revered virtuoso violinist, composer, and conductor.
- Ysaÿe was the dedicatee of many violin works by his contemporaries, including Franck’s Violin Sonata in A Major, Chausson’s Concert for Violin, Piano and String Quartet and Poème, and d’Indy’s String Quartet No. 1 (among others).10
- As a performer, Ysaÿe championed the works of his contemporaries – over 50 works were written specifically for him to perform.11
- Fun fact – Ysaÿe never received formal training in composition.
- Ysaÿe’s most well-known compositions are his Six Sonatas for Violin Solo, each one written for a famous violinist of the time: Joseph Szigeti, Jacques Thibaud, Georges Enescu, Fritz Kreisler, Mathieu Crickboom, and Manuel Quiroga.
- As a conductor, Ysaÿe led an orchestra in Berlin that later became the Berlin Philharmonic. Later in life, Ysaÿe also led the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.
- As his health declined in the last couple of decades of his life, Ysaÿe prioritized conducting and composing over performing.12
- In addition to performing, composing, and conducting, Ysaÿe served as professor of violin at the Brussels Conservatory for over a decade.13
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Biography via Interlude
Pieces
Born in Vienna, Oct 14, 1871
Died in Larchmont, NY, March 15, 1942
- Alexander Zemlinsky was a composer, conductor, and educator whose contributions to classical music at the turn of the century have largely been overshadowed by his Austrian contemporaries.
- The composer’s earlier works reflect the influence of Brahms and Wagner. Coincidentally, one of Zemlinsky’s earliest advocates was Johannes Brahms, who was impressed by the young composer’s music.
- Unlike his contemporaries of the Second Viennese School, Zemlinsky rejected atonality. Rather, his music is known for its emotional intensity.
- Zemlinsky had a lifelong friendship with Arnold Schoenberg. The two met in 1895 when Schoenberg joined an amateur orchestra that Zemlinsky was conducting at the time called the Polyhymnia. Zemlinsky would go on to instruct Schoenberg in composition. And in 1901, Schoenberg married Zemlinsky’s sister, making the two brothers-in-law.
- Fun fact – Zelminsky was involved in a passionate love affair with Alma Schindler, one of his composition students, shortly before she married Gustav Mahler.14