NVYO March 8th concert: Meet the composers!

Meet the Composers As an American composer in the early 20th century, Florence Price had the double disadvantage of being both African-American and a woman. Either of those distinctions made it very difficult to have been performed in America in the 1930s. Born in Little Rock, Ark., in 1887 to a mixed-race family, Price was a talented pianist from a young age. She enrolled in the New England Conservatory of Music at 14, where she studied composition and graduated in 1907. She died unexpectedly in 1963, and then in 2009, a substantial number of her works were found in an abandoned house. Though the Chicago Symphony performed her Symphony in E Minor in 1932 giving it national fame, she is still only beginning to receive the recognition that she deserves. Price’s compositions offer a charming and authentic blend of jazz, spirituals, African-American church music and European art music.

Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-George (1745–1799) was much more than simply a composer. Not only was he among the most important musicians in Paris during the pre-revolutionary period but he was also a superb all-round athlete and man of arms. Bologne was born in Guadaloupe, son of a plantation owner and a black slave, and was sent to France for training and education. A wildly successful violinist, composer, athlete, and soldier, Bologne was also a political activist who founded a French anti-slavery group. Bologne was among the most fascinating figures during the years at the end of France's old regime and during its age of revolution at the end of the eighteenth century.

Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky was a member of “The Five," a group of Russian composers known for their efforts to create a unique Russian identity through music. When Modest was young, he learned of the Russian fairy tales from his nurse, sparking a catalyst for his nationalistic approach to composition. Modest Mussorgsky took his first piano lessons at the age of six with his mother, and was performing in public at the age of nine. In August of 1849, Mussorgsky continued his piano lessons while training for the military at the Cadet School of the Imperial Guards in St. Petersburg. Upon graduation in 1856, Mussorgsky entered into the Imperial Guards Regiment in St. Petersburg where he met several other Russian composers including his composition teacher, Mily Balakirev. A number of trials, including the loss of his parents and his family's estate, as well as Balakirev's rejection of some of his music, contributed to Mussorgsky’s battle with depression, anxiety, and alcoholism, ultimately leading to his death shortly after his 42nd birthday.

José Elizondo graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) with degrees in Music and Electrical Engineering. He also attended Harvard University where he studied musical analysis, orchestration and conducting. Only a part-time composer, Elizondo also does technology work focusing on language-related technology that combines his interests in linguistics, computer science and artificial intelligence. Elizondo’s music has been performed by over 100 orchestras around the world. Most recently his work “Otoño en Buenos Aires” has been performed by notable performers Yo-yo Ma, Carlos Prieto, and Sheku Kanneh-Mason. Elizondo enjoys working with musicians from around the world, especially youth orchestras, in creating compositions for orchestras and chamber ensembles.

German composer, conductor, and pianist Johannes Brahms is one of the most well-known composers of the Romantic period. Beginning piano lessons with his father at a young age, it was clear that he was a gifted pianist, and at the age of seven he began studying more seriously with a new teacher. At age 14, he played piano at inns to earn money for his family, while working on composition. Brahms career as a composer took off when in 1853 he met violinist Joseph Joachim who introduced him to Robert Schumann. An immediate friendship formed between the two, and led Schumann to praise Brahm’s compositions in a prominent periodical of the time. In his life, Brahms wrote many significant works, which according to some, put him in the ranks of Bach and Beethoven.

Amy Beach was the first woman to have a symphony performed by a major US orchestra. A successful piano performance and touring career was put to a stop when she married at 18 to a prominent surgeon who expected her to stay at home, and told her to refrain from performing or teaching. He encouraged her to compose, but expected that she do so without seeking any further formal training. Restrictions like these were unfortunately very typical for middle- and upper-class women of the time.

Amy had remarkable success as a composer of symphonies, chamber music, and a well-received mass. After her husband's death, she resumed several decades of performing, composing, and teaching, and founded the Society of American Women Composers.

Russian composer Nicholas Rimsky-Korsakov began his musical career with piano lessons at the age of six, but showed no strong interest in playing. Though he had a strong musical ear and began composing at the age of ten, Rimsky-Korsakov preferred literature over music. It wasn’t until his piano lessons with Feodor A. Kanille, that he was inspired to study music for a career. In 1861, Kanille introduced Rimsky-Korsakov to Mily Balakirev who influenced Rimsky-Korsakov in his musical studies. Through Balakirev, Rimsky-Korsakov developed close friendships with many other Russian composers, and became a member of “The Five,” of which Mily Balakirev was the leader. In addition to his many compositions including Flight of the Bumblebee, Rimsky-Korsakov is remembered for teaching over 250 students at the St. Petersburg Conservatory.