Tag: #frenchmusic
🎧 One Thing to Listen for Ravel’s Boléro
A single rhythmic cell is repeated 150+ times, yet the piece is far from static. How does Ravel do it? Timbre, orchestration, and one really long crescendo.
🎧 One Thing to Listen for in Le Ballet Royal de...
1653, France. The "Sun King" takes over the ballet stage and the reins of the country: a legendary moment of art-as-propaganda...
Offenbach turns 200: Quiz Time!
Hereinspaziert, Bienvenue, and Welcome to Offenbach's 200th birthday quiz.
10 Dinner Party Facts about Offenbach
Offenbach was quite a character. French-German, Parisian and Offenbacher, an accomplished cellist and brazen prankster, he lived out his own cariacature...
🎧 One Thing to Listen for in Chopin’s Piano Concerto No....
The piano 🎹 It may seem obvious to listen to the piano in a piano concerto, but if we look closer, there's a bit more to it than that...
Episodes in the life of an artist: The astonishing life and...
150 years after Hector Berlioz's death, we recognise a man who dauntlessly pursued his artistic vision — his life and music a complex web of passion...
🎧 One Thing to Listen for in Bizet’s Carmen
The habanera. Bizet blends a lilting Cuban rhythm, a "borrowed" Spanish melody, and a heavy dose of chromaticism into one of opera's most recognizable hits.
This Week in Music History: The premiere of Carmen (1875)
The debut of Bizet's incendiary femme fatale who, for all her fatal attraction, couldn't win over her first audience...
🎧 One Thing to Listen for in Debussy’s Prélude à l’après-midi...
The opening flute solo. In just four measures, Debussy sets the tone for the sensual dream-like atmosphere that characterizes the whole piece.
This Week in Music History: Francis Poulenc is born (1899)
The start of a year, the end of a century: Francis Poulenc was born on January 7, 1899.
