Karl Georg Reutter II was appointed choirmaster at St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna in 1738.  The following year he went on tour to recruit choristers.  In the town of Hainburg, Joseph Haydn (at stage seven years of age) auditioned.  The contemporary biography Guiseppe Carpani recalled: Reutter gave him a tune to sing at sight. The […]

Title: Big Business (silent film soundtrack) Composer: Greg Smith Instrumentation: Piano Product medium:PDF score (31 pages) BACKGROUND: Film:     Directors: James W. Horne & Leo McCarey     Starring: Stan Laurel & Oliver Hardy     Year of release: 1929     Synopsis: Two salesmen are trying to sell Christmas trees in california. The customers, however, are not so keen. Who would […]

Recordings Scores Brass Brass ensemble Trombone Orchestra/Concert band Concert band Piano Piano solo Piano method Strings Cello and piano String ensemble Vocal and choral General Sacred Woodwind Bassoon

A letter from the conductor Leopold Stokowski to Sylvan Levin gives an insight into his sense of humour: Caro Maestro Illustre, Now that you have not a thing to do!!!!! Do you think you would have time to do me a favor and time the whole of Parsifal without cuts?  I suggest you do this […]

Beethoven, who is often bizarre and baroque, takes at times the majestic flight of an eagle, and then creeps in rocky pathways. He first fills the soul with sweet melancholy, and then shatters it by a mass of shattered chords. He seems to harbor together doves and crocodiles. A review of Beethoven’s First Symphony, Tablettes […]

While the Century Theatre in Broadmeadow (Australia) primarily operated as a cinema, it was also hosted concerts, including by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. On one occasion, Claudio Arrau performed in the theatre, as recalled by Harry Armstrong: With only a few minutes to go before the famous pianist was scheduled to commence his performance, which […]

Beauty captivates the flesh, seeking permission to pass directly to the soul. — Simone Weil S. Weil, G Panichas (ed.) The Simone Weil Reader, New York, McKay, 1977, p. 378.

“The more horrifying this world becomes, the more art becomes abstract.” Paul Klee, Swiss painter Cited at QuotationsBook

Title: On the day I call for help Text: Psalm 137 (138): 1-3, 6-8. R. v.3 Composer: Greg Smith Instrumentation: SATB and piano Product medium: PDF score and part Sample:    

Title: Lord, make us turn to you Text: Psalm 79 (80) Composer: Greg Smith Instrumentation: SATB and piano Product medium: PDF score and part Sample: