In 2011 the New York Time’s principal music critic, Anthony Tommasini, published a list of his top ten “classical” composers. Beginning with three iconic figures, Bach, Beethoven and Mozart, Tommasini then named Franz Schubert as the fourth most important composer the western world has yet produced. Here is some of what Tommasini said about Schubert: “You have to love the guy, who died at 31, ill, impoverished and neglected except by a circle of friends who were in awe of his genius. For his hundreds of songs alone—including the haunting cycle ‘Winterreise,’ which will never release its tenacious hold on singers and audiences—(he) is central to our concert life.” I, along with many others, believe that Tommasini could have said the same with regard to some of Schubert’s piano works, selected chamber music and late symphonies, not to mention another song cycle and several of the most famous individual songs ever composed, and I propose eight talks on the composer beginning with an overview of his life and concluding, as Tommasini concluded, with speculations regarding Schubert’s influence on the future. Talks will focus primarily on representative works of the composer, but other aspects of Schubert will also be considered. Participants are encouraged to listen to recordings ahead of time.
Session 1: The short life of Franz Schubert; an overview of his musical journey; the place of several of his songs
Sessions 2 and 3: Schubert’s piano music with concentration on Four Impromptus, D. 899 and the Fantasie in F minor for four-hand piano, D. 940.
Sessions 4 and 5: Schubert’s chamber music with concentration on the Octet in F major, D. 803 and the String Quintet in C major, D. 956
Sessions 6 and 7: Schubert’s symphonies with concentration on the Symphony No. 8 in B minor, D. 759 (“Unfinished”) and Symphony No. 9 in C major, D. 944 (“the Great”).
Session 8: Every session will also consider one or more of Schubert’s songs. This last session will focus on his song cycles with concentration on Die schöne Müllerin D. 795 and Winterreise, D. 911.
The letter D above stands for Otto Deutsch who in 1951 published the first comprehensive catalogue of Schubert’s music.
Finding CDs of Schubert’s music is not difficult. Recordings made in the last two decades should be splendid, but historical recordings, too, have their place here; As Tommasini said, Schubert’s music has long occupied “a central place in our concert life.” Along with the internet, consider <youtube.com> as a source. The trick is preventing the deluge of information easily obtained from overwhelming what is important.
Ray Sprenkle is recently retired from the Peabody Conservatory where he taught as a member of the theory and history faculties beginning in 1973. Last summer Crystal Recordings re-released Sprenkle’s “Six Songs on Text of Emily Dickinson,” a CD featuring the Annapolis Brass Quintet and the acclaimed mezzo-soprano, Elaine Bonnazi.
Tuition: $25 for Roland Park Place residents. $100 for all others.
Checks should be made payable to "Ray Sprenkle" and handed to Tim Baker (not to Ray Sprenkle) at the first class on April 16.
To register and reserve your place, email [email protected].
Session 1: The short life of Franz Schubert; an overview of his musical journey; the place of several of his songs
Sessions 2 and 3: Schubert’s piano music with concentration on Four Impromptus, D. 899 and the Fantasie in F minor for four-hand piano, D. 940.
Sessions 4 and 5: Schubert’s chamber music with concentration on the Octet in F major, D. 803 and the String Quintet in C major, D. 956
Sessions 6 and 7: Schubert’s symphonies with concentration on the Symphony No. 8 in B minor, D. 759 (“Unfinished”) and Symphony No. 9 in C major, D. 944 (“the Great”).
Session 8: Every session will also consider one or more of Schubert’s songs. This last session will focus on his song cycles with concentration on Die schöne Müllerin D. 795 and Winterreise, D. 911.
The letter D above stands for Otto Deutsch who in 1951 published the first comprehensive catalogue of Schubert’s music.
Finding CDs of Schubert’s music is not difficult. Recordings made in the last two decades should be splendid, but historical recordings, too, have their place here; As Tommasini said, Schubert’s music has long occupied “a central place in our concert life.” Along with the internet, consider <youtube.com> as a source. The trick is preventing the deluge of information easily obtained from overwhelming what is important.
Ray Sprenkle is recently retired from the Peabody Conservatory where he taught as a member of the theory and history faculties beginning in 1973. Last summer Crystal Recordings re-released Sprenkle’s “Six Songs on Text of Emily Dickinson,” a CD featuring the Annapolis Brass Quintet and the acclaimed mezzo-soprano, Elaine Bonnazi.
Tuition: $25 for Roland Park Place residents. $100 for all others.
Checks should be made payable to "Ray Sprenkle" and handed to Tim Baker (not to Ray Sprenkle) at the first class on April 16.
To register and reserve your place, email [email protected].