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 everyone - you needn't have any prior knowledge of classical music in order to fully enjoy this course.
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 10 January: Joseph Haydn, Symphony No 84 in E flat major. one of the six symphonies commissioned in 1784 for performance at a series of subscription concerts in Paris.
Friday 17 January: Franz Schubert, Symphony No 8 in B minor, The Unfinished, D.759, although only two movements were completed this is one of Schubert’s most popular works.
Friday 24 January: 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 31 January: Johannes Brahms, Symphony No 4 on E minor, Opus 98, the finale is a magnificent passacaglia (set of variations) based on a theme by Johann Sebastian Bach.
Friday 7 February: Antonín Dvořák, The Wood Dove, one of the four symphonic poems written after Dvořák’s return from the United States based on Czech folk tales.
Friday 14 February: Dmitri Shostakovich, Chamber symphony in C minor, Op. 110a, the string orchestra arrangement of his eighth string quartet written in Dresden in 1960.
Friday 21 February: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Symphony No 25 in G minor, the first of Mozart’s symphonies which is in the standard orchestral repertoire.
Friday 28 February: Ludwig van Beethoven, four overtures: Coriolan, Opus 62, Egmont, Opus 84, King Stephen, Opus 117, The Consecration of the House, Opus 124.
Friday 7 March: Felix Mendelssohn, String Symphony No 8 in D major, one of the thirteen string symphonies Mendelssohn wrote in his early teens, there is a version with added wind parts.
Friday 14 March: Arthur Sullivan, Symphony in E major, Irish, his only symphony, begun when aged 21 he was on holiday in Ireland, the first performance received rave reviews.
Friday 21 March: Jean Sibelius, Symphony No 6 in D minor, Opus 104, completed in 1923 and described by the composer as ‘cold spring water’ compared with other music of the time.
Friday 28 March: Gustav Holst, The Hymn of Jesus, written in 1917 just after The Planets, setting a text from the Apocryphal Acts of St John which Holst translated from the original Greek.
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 the cost is a hardship, please let us know and you may pay what you can afford.)
This term’s course will explore the music written by twelve composers who are probably underrated, some well known and some not so well known.
Wednesday 8 January: Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714-1788) greatly admired by Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven and in the second half of the eighteenth century his reputation higher than his father’s.
Wednesday 15 January: Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) several of whose works are in the standard repertoire but we may not fully recognize their greatness or the breadth of his output.
Wednesday 22 January: Louise Farrenc (1804-1875) the only female professor at the Paris Conservatoire in the 19 th century, well-known in her lifetime as a pianist and composer but now mostly forgotten.
Wednesday 29 January: Arthur Sullivan (1842-1900) well-known for his collaborations with WS Gilbert but in fact the leading British composer of his day although most of his other music now forgotten.
Wednesday 5 February: William Grant Still (1895-1978) the leading Afro-American composer of his generation, known primarily for the first of his five symphonies first performed in 1931 and well-received.
Wednesday 12 February: Malcolm Arnold (1921-2006) a prolific and popular composer writing successful film music whose tuneful music symphonies and concertos were dismissed by the musical establishment.
Wednesday 19 February: half term break
Wednesday 26 February: Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) recognised as a great composer, but the range, variety and sheer inventiveness of his music is not always fully appreciated.
Wednesday 5 March: Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921) well-known for a small number of works but in fact a key figure in the development of music in France with a wide range of compositions.
Wednesday 12 March: Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904) well-known for his last three symphonies, final string quartets and the cello concerto but so much wonderful music of his is little known.
Wednesday 19 March: Ethel Smyth (1858-1944) one of the leading British composers of her time now mainly remembered for her opera The Wreckers recently performed at Glyndebourne.
Wednesday 26 March: Arnold Bax (1883-1953) a prolific British composer writing seven symphonies, his music is now largely forgotten apart from his symphonic poem Tintagel.
Wednesday 2 April: George Lloyd (1913-1998) wrote twelve symphonies, five concertos, three operas and works for brass band: tuneful music dismissed by the musical establishment.