Have you ever wanted to know more about classical music but felt too intimidated to ask? Have you ever been at a concert and enjoyed it, but felt like you didn't totally know what was going on?
Or, are you a classical music enthusiast who wants to know more about your favourite works, or explore some pieces you haven't heard before?
Each session is independent so why not try one out?
Music Appreciation (Friday @Semitone)
Advanced Music Appreciation (Wednesday online)
Semitone's music appreciation classes might be for you. It's informed, but informal; complete but casual. If you want to develop a better appreciation of classical music, then you have to listen to it. Peter introduces each piece by saying something about the composer's place in the development of music, how the piece came to be written and what to listen out for before we listen to it. We listen together, and share our own reactions to each piece.
For any questions about music appreciation classes, please email info@semitonestudios.com or ring 07715 643110.
Music Appreciation
This course is for everyone - you needn't have any prior knowledge of classical music in order to fully enjoy this course.
Current Session
Day/Time/Location:
Friday/10:30am-12pm/@Semitone Studios
Cost: £84 for all twelve sessions or £8 for each individual session.
(If the cost is a hardship, please let us know and you may pay what you can afford.)
Friday 20 June: Arnold Bax, Symphony No 2 in E minor and C major, first performed in 1929 by the Boston Symphony Orchestra conducted by Serge Koussevitsky for whom it was written
Friday 27 June: Ralph Vaughan Williams, Symphony No 9 in E minor, his last symphony written when he was 84, inspired by Thomas Hardy's Tess of the d'Urbervilles
Third Quarter Session
Day/Time/Location:
Friday/10:30am-12pm/@Semitone Studios
Cost: £63 for all nine sessions or £8 for each individual session.
(If the cost is a hardship, please let us know and you may pay what you can afford.)
Friday 4 July: Jan Dismas Zelenka, Simphonie à 8 Concertanti in A minor, ZWV189, one of the few orchestral pieces by this Bohemian contemporary of JS Bach who mainly lived in Dresden, written in 1723 during an extended visit to Prague when he wrote most of his instrumental pieces.
Friday 11 July: no session
Friday 18 July: Joseph Haydn, Symphony No 86 in D major, one of the six symphonies commissioned for Paris in 1784, first performed in 1787. This one has trumpets and drums.
Friday 25 July: no session
Friday 1 August: Franz Schubert, Piano trio No 2 in E flat major, D.929, completed a year before Schubert’s death and one of the few late compositions that the composer heard performed.
Friday 8 August: no session
Friday 15 August: Franz Liszt, Piano concerto No 1 in E flat major, the themes date from 1830 but not completed until 1853 and first performed in 1855 by Liszt with Hector Berlioz conducting.
Friday 22 August: no session
Friday 29 August: Karl Goldmark, Rustic Wedding Symphony, Opus 26, written in 1875, used to be an orchestral favourite but seems now to have disappeared from the repertoire.
Friday 5 September: Ethel Smyth, Serenade in D major, written in 1889 shortly after her return to Britain from studying in Leipzig, first performed in 1890 at the popular Crystal Palace concerts.
Friday 12 September: Jean Sibelius, Symphony No 3 in C major, Opus 52, a more classical piece after the highly romantic first two symphonies, marking the transition to his mature style.
Friday 19 September: Florence Price, Symphony No 3 in C minor, commissioned by the Works Progress Administration's Federal Music Project for unemployed musicians during the Great Depression and first performed in Detroit in 1940 when it was well received.
Friday 26 September: William Walton, Symphony No 2, commissioned by the Liverpool Philharmonic Society and first performed at the Edinburgh Festival in 1960.
Advanced Music Appreciation
This course is for listeners who have at least basic knowledge of classical music - terminology, form, etc. Please enquire if you are unsure.
These Classes will resume in September
Day/Time/Location: Wednesday/2:00pm-4:00pm/Online via Zoom
Cost: £80 for all eight sessions or £12 for an individual session.
(If the cost is a hardship, please let us know and you may pay what you can afford.)
These online sessions set out to explore a range of classical music composed over the past three hundred years or so, including music in a variety of genres: orchestral, instrumental, choral and songs. The aim is to include some well-known pieces but also to explore less familiar repertoire; there is such a wealth of music that we do not normally hear. The theme for each course is chosen to provide a framework for this. Pieces will be introduced and then we will listen to them and share reactions.
This short course of eight sessions will explore the music which was new in eight particular years, thirty years apart, possibly written that year or first performed in that year. We will probably listen to some music other than those listed below which are just given to provide context.