What Can Classical Music do for You?
Posts related to Black classical composers
I have a lot of friends of every kind of ethnicity and cultural background, and while my friends know better, I hear a lot of people saying that classical music isn’t relevant to them because it was written by “white” Read More …
As many of you know, I am writing a book on forgotten classical composers. While this composer is not a part of my book, I thought I would take a minute to write about Joseph Boulogne, le Chevalier de Saint-Georges. Read More …
In the U.S.A., February is celebrated as Black History Month, and this year, we really have something to celebrate! Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, an English-born composer (not to be confused with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, the eighteenth-century poet), wrote an opera titled Thelma Read More …
Today I thought I’d share some fabulous video. If you haven’t seen Diva, I highly recommend it. Yes, it’s French. Yes, it’s in French. Yes, it has subtitles. Yes, it’s complicated to follow. See it anyway. Related posts: Black History Month Read More …
A compelling and mesmerizing production of Don Giovanni, directed by Peter Sellars, and featuring the magnificent Eugene Perry as Don Giovanni, and his equally-magnificent twin brother, Herbert Perry, as Leporello, which unfortunately eclipses the wonderful Elmore James as Masetto. Make Read More …
If we listened to music other than the greatest hits of the anointed few, might we be impressed by some ignored masterpiece? For example, consider Florence Price, the first black woman to have had her music performed by a major Read More …
In Music of the Heart. a film about violin teacher Roberta Guaspari, Naeem’s mother, Mrs. Adisa, pulls Naeem out of Guaspari’s violin class, and the following dialogue ensues: MRS. ADISA My son’s got more important things to do than learn Read More …
We’ll start off the month with one of my favorites, Edmond Dédé. He’s got a Wikipedia article that has some detail. But to really understand his legacy and the odds against him, look at this article from New Orleans Public Read More …
An English composer, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor has a Wikipedia entry. . We have a few (not nearly enough) recordings on Amazon: He was a prolific composer, again surmounting incredible odds, and was often referred to as “The African Mahler.” There is Read More …
Ballanta has a Wikipedia article. There’s a World Heritage Encyclopedia article with a reasonable reference section, a Facebook fan page which is mostly empty, and an interesting legal question about his legacy. His musical scores can be found in a Read More …