Music, much like any art form, has been a staple in nearly every culture for thousands of years. We often forget where these arts have their roots, and to better understand the music of the last few hundred years, we must go back even further… no matter how grim.
Thank you for celebrating The Composer Chronicles’ one-year anniversary with me! Although the podcast turned 1-year-old on April 29th, we had a lot to celebrate this month.
The warm, rich tones produced by the cello have been a siren to many composers, calling them to compose for the instrument whether or not it was in their best interest to do so. Cellist Steven Chen gives his professional knowledge and opinion on the cello and the pieces written for it!
Andrew Gavin was The Composer Chronicles’ first composer feature back in August, 2020. Since his first appearance, he has been back for an episode of “Movie Night”, has composed the theme music to Unscripted, and has also compose the music of the Alexandria Media pre and post episode tags. On this first episode in the “Backstage” series of Unscripted, Andrew is back again! On this series, past guests of The Composer Chronicles come back to talk about whatever they want with no formal questions asked.
In the first drafts of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3, there is a name that appeared as the subtitle before it was scribbled out and changed to ‘Eroica’. Originally Beethoven dedicated this symphony to his personal hero, a man who would soon instigate his own demise when he crowned himself Emperor, Napoleon Bonaparte.
Brooks Leibee has dedicated much of his career to the art of film making. However, it is his scores for those films that he is most proud of. In this episode, Brooks shares his journey and gives deeper insight into his world.
Coming off of the success of his first two operas, young Erich Wolfgang Korngold set out to write his third. His success was so massive, that opera houses all over duked it out for the rights to stage the premier, leaving Korngold with the tough decision of who to give those rights to.
Have you ever tried recalling a tune from a film you love and have a hard time remembering what it is? Or, have you been so mesmerized by a tune that you’ll never forget it in all your days? Ben Morales Frost, a composer of film scores, is a strong advocate for the use of melody in film music. In this episode, Ben talks about some of his own film scores as well as some of his favorites that have inspired him.
The world of opera isn’t all glitz and glam. Opera maker Evan Kassof has dedicated his life to telling stories in a way that gives audiences a chance to step out of the opera house and potentially stumble upon something new in an unsuspecting place. Evan voices his opinions about the opera world of the past and how he is actively pushing the art in a direction that gives more people the chance to see the artform in a brand new light.
Mother Goose has been a staple in many a child’s life. Her tales of magic and adventure inspire wonder, and even in adulthood, her stories touch us. They certainly were of great importance to Maurice Ravel, who wrote a piano suite using several fairytales, and was so touched by them that he orchestrated them and then turned it into a ballet.
