Hoyt Curtain’s compositional processHoyt Curtin (1922-2000) was the primary composer for the Hanna Barbara studios. Popular theme songs he composed include The Flintstones, Top Cat, The Jetsons, Johnny Quest, Superfriends, Josie and the Pussycats, The New Scooby-Doo Movies, and The Smurfs. Of these, his favourite was The Flintsones, “I guess because it is a kick to hear musicians […]
Positive change through creativityYou need something like Sesame Street to sort of increase the volume of good in the world. And also to know that through creativity, you can make change. Positive change can occur if you’re willing to see a problem and try to fix it and do it creatively. — Trevor Crafts Steve Rose, “The Secret […]
Beauty Around UsTitle: Beauty Around Us Composer: Greg Smith Based on text by: Bernhard Severin Ingemann Instrumentation: Piano (easy) Product medium: PDF score Related products: – Beauty Around Us (hymn version) – Beauty Around Us (full piano version) – Beauty Around Us (mp3) SAMPLE:
Perahia on BeethovenMurray Perahia initially found Beethoven hard to understand: “I was always working on Beethoven, but I couldn’t feel close to him. For nearly ten years I didn’t altogether like his music because I felt it showed an aggressive, up-front personality.” But after studying, performing, and recording Beethoven (Appasionata,op. 2, op. 101 and the Piano Concertos), […]
OpportunitiesNo man can tell what the future may bring forth, and small opportunities are often the beginning of great enterprises. — Demosthenes, Ad Leptinem, 162 Harbottle, Thomas Benfield (1897) Dictionary of Quotations (Classical). London: S. Sonnenschein & co, p. 51. Digitally archived at https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofquot00harbiala/page/511/mode/2up, accessed 12 September 2021.
A motorboat experienceRachmaninoff was a great lover of motorboating and used to go out every day. He always steered himself. Often he went out alone. This hobby of his nearly proved fatal during that stay of ours. About an hour before dinner he said: “I think I shall go for a spin on the lake.” He got […]
A new take on the harpsichord soundHarpsichordist Jane Chapman performs both early music and Avante music, including using techniques to use distortion on the harpsichord! “Many early music people are interested in contemporary music, too, and many composers are also interested in early music instruments because they don’t have the baggage of the [classical and romantic periods]. Increasingly, younger generation composers […]
Difficult music is the easiest to playScriabin’s fiery D#-minor Etude, with its relentless triplets and huge leaps, used to just fall under my fingers, while the Lento final movement of the Copland Sonata was a minefield of wrong notes. Why is that? Is it just because we practice hard music 20 times as much as easy music, or is it psychological, […]
Applause“Applause is a receipt, not a bill.” – Artur Schnabel, pianist Cited at Aphorism.ru. Cited 30 March 2013.
Reverie IIReverie II Composer: Greg Smith Instrumentation: Piano (left hand) Product medium: PDF score