Remembering the forgotten #BLM
Among piano students, the familiar pieces of music you are presented with are Beethoven, Mozart Sonatas, Chopin Ballades or Waltzes, and when you have achieved a high level, perhaps Lizst piano pieces.
This is the most accepted and prevalent repertoire that piano tutors present to their students to perform.
But in the history of music, there are a plethora of composers that were forgotten and their pieces are rarely performed in concert halls today. Many are the reasons why this happens; perhaps the audience does not feel inclined to “take risks” into listening to rare or infrequent pieces.
We do accept that the names quoted above are a brand of success, and this is also known by the performers themselves, that in order to secure their audience’s attendance to their concerts, prefer to play, let’s say, a formula that is assured to guarantee the liking of the general public.
There have been many prodigious composers that lived in the shadow of the great masters, but their music was as exquisite as the most famous and renowned pieces.
This is the case of Joseph Bologne, also called “the black Mozart.”
He was an incredible sight-reader, improviser and pianist. Many of the noblemen who listened to his compositions and concerts were left perplexed at the capacity of this composer of multitasking and improvising along with a live concert — something only a few concerts of the époque could do, like Mozart.
Another brilliant musician was George Bridgetower. An amazing violinist who was so popular Beethoven dedicated a full Sonata to his name, “Kreutzer” Violin Sonata №9.
Among the Opera, we have William Grant, who implemented African- American themes to the classical formed operas, resulting in a fantastic and exotic clash of sounds and colours.
Lastly, perhaps the most “famous” among the forgotten, we have Scott Joplin, most “known as the pianist who played two pianos facing opposite to each other and backwards, this artist was also a composer, who influenced a lot of composers of the 20th Century.”
Click on the link aforementioned to read the full article and learn all about this forgotten voices of classical music and history of music.
