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MUSIC
KRZYSZTOF
PENDERECKI
BROWNIE MCGHEE
(with Sonny Terry)
Avant classical composer/conductor Krzysztof Penderecki was born in
Poland in 1933, on the eve of Hitler’s
takeover. As a boy, he picked up the
violin and piano, and by his late teens
attended conservatory in Krakow. After
the war, he became a champion at the
Warsaw Competition for Young Composers, setting his trajectory. Penderecki’s trove of works include “Dies
Irae” and “Resurrection,” which premiered at Carnegie Hall. Collaborations
include Berlin Philharmonic; orchestras in France, England, Italy, Austria,
Sweden and Switzerland; and performances with the Chicago Symphony,
the New York Philharmonic, and Isaac
Stern. Accolades include a UNESCO
Award, induction into the American
Academy of Arts and Letters, three
Grammy Awards, and many honorary
doctorates. Discover his groundbreaking “Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima for 52 Stringed Instruments,”
from the 1973 release Penderecki:
Orchestral Works Vol. 1.
Blues duo Brownie McGhee (guitar) and
Sonny Terry (harmonica) are a dominant
force in blues lore. Walter Brown McGhee was born 1915 in Tennessee into a
musical family. He caught polio as a child
and was left with a limp. Saunders Terrell
(Terry) was born in 1911 in North Carolina
into a musical family and in boyhood lost
his sight in a farm accident. McGhee and
Terry first met in 1939 playing with Paul
Robeson in Washington, D.C. In 1941 the
two were busking in New York City, and
by 1944 the pair made their first recording. In 1947, they moved on to separate
projects, but reunited for Tennessee Williams’ musical of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof in
1955, recording three albums together
that year. Their partnership flourished
through the mid-’70s. Collaborations
included Lead Belly, Woody Guthrie
and Pete Seeger. Terry passed away in
1986, and McGhee in 1996. Both are
in the Blues Foundation’s Hall of Fame.
The title “Better Day,” from Smithsonian
Folkways American Roots Collection, is
an authentic and serendipitous marvel.
TAP TO BUY: iTunes.com
GENRE: Classical
ARTIST: Krzysztof Penderecki
SONG: Threnody for the
Victims of Hiroshima for
52 Stringed Instruments
ALBUM: Penderecki: Orchestral
Works Vol. 1
TAP TO BUY: iTunes.com
GENRE: Folk
ARTIST: Brownie McGhee
(with Sonny Terry)
SONG: Better Day
ALBUM: Smithsonian Folkways
American Roots Collection
HUFFINGTON
11.10.13
AARON COPLAND
Iconic American composer and arranger
Aaron Copland was born in New York
City on Nov. 14, 1900. His first musical
inspiration came from his older sister,
who taught him piano. By his teens,
sights set on composing, he went to
Paris, where he became the first American student of the legendary Nadia
Boulanger. (He was selected a few
years later to write a concerto for Boulanger’s American performances.) Copland’s creations run the gamut: orchestral, choral, ballet and film. His most
notable works include “Appalachian
Spring,” “Billy the Kid,” “Rodeo,” “Of
Mice and Men” and “Connotations” (a
piece written for the opening of Lincoln
Center in 1962). Collaborations include
Martha Graham, Orson Welles, Serge
Koussevitzky and Andre Kostelanetz.
His accolades include the 1945 Pulitzer
Prize in Composition for “Appalachian
Spring,” the 1950 Oscar for Best Musical Score (The Heiress), and the 1960
Grammy for Best Contemporary Classical Composition (Orchestral Suite from
The Tender Land). The maestro passed
away in December 1990. Revisit Copland’s epic 1938 title “Billy the Kid: The
Open Prairie Again,” from The Copland
Collection: Orchestral & Ballet Works,
1936-1948; stirring and elegant.
TAP TO BUY: iTunes.
GENRE: Classical
ARTIST: Aaron Copland
SONG: Billy the Kid: The Open
Prairie Again
ALBUM: The Copland
Collection: Orchestral & Ballet
Works, 1936-1948