#ClassicsaDay #ClassicalAugust Week 3
By Ralph Graves
For August, the Classics a Day team chose to celebrate some birthdays. Several major composers were born in August, and some deserve rediscovery. The challenge is to post videos of August’s birthday boys and girls to your social media feed.
For this challenge, I tried to match the actual birthdate to the date of the post. (I wasn’t always successful.)
08/19/24 George Enescu (August 19, 1881): Romanian Rhapsody No. 1, Op. 11
Enescu is considered one of Romania’s greatest musicians. He was a virtuoso violinist and pianist, a prolific compooser, a conductor, and a teacher.
8/20/24 Antonio Salieri (August 18, 1750): Piano Concerto in C major
Salieri was a major composer in 18th C. Vienna with an impressive list of students: Franz Liszt, Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Schubert, Johann Nepomuk Hummel, and even Franz Xaver Mozart (Wolfgang Amadeus’ son).
8/21/24 Lili Boulanger (August 21,1893): Les Sirenes
Her older sister taught many of the 20th Century’s greatest composers. Lili focused on composition, winning the Prix de Rome in 1913. Her death at age 24 curtailed a brilliant career.
8/22/24 Claude Debussy (August 22, 1862): La Mer
Debussy was not a favorite with his composition teachers. He simply didn’t follow the rules. Nevertheless, his music had its own internal logic and in time, an international appeal.
8/23/24 Moritz Mozkowski (August 23, 1854): Piano Concerto in E major, Op.59
Moszkowski was considered one of the best pianists of the early 20th Century. Most of his compositions involve the piano, although he did write other forms of music.
