Our music appreciation classes have now been expanded to include three sessions:
Each session is independent so why not try one out?
Music Appreciation (Friday @Semitone)
Advanced Music Appreciation (Wednesday online)
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?
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 anyone who is interested in classical music. You needn't have any prior knowledge in order to fully enjoy the sessions.
Day/Time/Location:
Friday 10:30am-12:00pm/@Semitone Studios
Cost: £84 for all twelve sessions or £8 for each individual session
(If this cost is a hardship, please let us know and you may pay what you can afford.)
Friday 4 October: Joseph Haydn, Symphony No 83 in G minor, The Hen, the second of the six symphonies commissioned in 1786 for performance at a series of subscription concerts in Paris
Friday 11 October: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Piano concerto 27 in B flat major, K.595, Mozart’s final piano concerto first performed in 1791, possibly by Mozart at his last public performance
Friday 18 October: Franz Schubert, Symphony No 4 in C minor, D.417, The Tragic, written when Schubert was 19 but not performed until 1849, 21 years after Schubert’s death
Friday 25 October: Antonín Dvořák, Symphony No 4 in D minor, Opus 13, one of the pieces submitted by Dvořák in his application for a state scholarship which so impressed Brahms
Friday 1 November: Carl Nielsen, Symphony No 4, Opus 29, The Inextinguishable, written during the first world war and featuring a violent interchange between two sets of timpani
Friday 8 November: Ralph Vaughan Williams, Symphony No 4 in F minor, of which Vaughan Williams is supposed to have said ‘I don’t know whether I like it, but it is what I meant’
Friday 15 November: Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, Cello concerto in A minor, Wq 170, written in 1750 and also produced in alternate versions for flute and for keyboard
Friday 22 November: Louise Farrenc, Nonet in E flat major, Opus 38, for flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, violin, viola, cello and double bass, which had a triumphant first performance
Friday 29 November: Johannes Brahms, Piano concerto 1 in D minor, Opus 15, initially planned by Brahms as a symphony although it was 20 years later that his first symphony eventually appeared
Friday 6 December: Gustav Mahler, Symphony No 2 in C minor, The Resurrection, the first three movements of which are instrumental but include music from one of Mahler’s songs
Friday 13 December: Gustav Mahler, Symphony No 2 in C minor, The Resurrection, the final two movements involving two solo singers and a chorus which has the most magical first entry
Friday 20 December: Gustav Holst, two orchestral works: Egdon Heath, Opus 47, a homage to Thomas Hardy, and Hammersmith: Prelude and Scherzo, Opus 52, first written for wind band
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.
Day/Time/Location:
Wednesday/2:00pm-4:00pm/Online via Zoom
Cost: £120 for all twelve sessions or £12 for an individual session.
(If cost is an issue for anyone, let us know and you may pay what you can afford.)
The Development of Music for Strings
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 to 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 term’s course will explore the evolution of music for strings and in particular chamber music. The string quartet was a particular important form for many composers. The programme for the
term might be along the following lines. The music discussed and shared will not be restricted to the composers mentioned.
Wednesday 11 September: English and Italian music of the renaissance: Byrd, Dowland, Rossi
Wednesday 18 September: the baroque period: Corelli, Purcell and Vivaldi
Wednesday 25 September: Bach and Handel, the end of an era
Wednesday 2 October: music simplifies for the classical period: Bach’s sons
Wednesday 9 October: Haydn and Mozart, the pinnacle of the classical period
Wednesday 16 October: Beethoven transforms the musical world
Wednesday 23 October: following Beethoven: Schubert, Mendelssohn
Wednesday 30 October: half term break
Wednesday 6 November: which leads to the later romantics: Brahms, Dvořák
Wednesday 13 November: transition to the 20th century: Debussy, Ravel
Wednesday 20 November: the challenge of ‘modern’ music: Berg, Schoenberg, Bartók
Wednesday 27 November: a 20th century giant of the string quartet: Shostakovich
Wednesday 4 December: lots of 20th century music is full of melody
Key composers of string quartets who are likely to feature: Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, Dvořák, Tchaikovsky, Smetana, Janáček, Debussy, Ravel, Bartók, Berg,
Schoenberg, Shostakovich, Britten, Tippett, but I will no doubt seek out some less well-known composers to explore and share.