#ClassicsaDay #Classical1921 Week 3
By Ralph Graves
What better way to celebrate a new year than with a look back? In this case, the Classics a Day team decided to go back 100 years. For January 2021 the challenge is to post works that were completed in or recordings released in 1921.
It turns out there was quite a lot going on that year. Here are my #ClassicsaDay posts for the third week of #Classical1921
Sophie Braslau – La Girometta (1921)
This American contralto debuted at the Met in 1913 at age 21. Her greatest fame came from her recordings. Sergei Rachmaninoff and Jasha Heifitz performed at her funeral in 1935.
01/19/21 Sergei Prokofiev – Five Poems after Balmont, Op. 36
Prokofiev set these poems by his close friend Konstantin Balmont in 1921. They were composed for soprano Lina llubera, who he would marry two years later.
01/20/21 Amy Beach – Water Sprites, Op. 90
In 1921, when she wrote “Water Sprites,” Beach began attending the MacDowell Colony as a Fellow. She would spend part of each summer going forward at the colony, composing and meeting with other women composers.
01/21/21 Alberto Salvi – Chopin Fantasie-Impromptu Op. 66
In the early 1920s, Alberto Salvi toured extensively, billed as “the world’s greatest harpist.” This is one of a series of recordings he did in 1921.
01/22/21 Ethel Smyth – Fête galante (1921–22)
This one-act opera is based on a Maurice Baring story. It’s a mannered comedy with aristocrats in romantic mix-ups with a commedia dell’arte troupe at a party.
