Composed: 1933–35 Premiered: 1938, Zürich Libretto by the composer Scene I Mathis is painting a fresco. Schwalb, a leader of the peasants’ revolt, shelters in the monastery with his daughter Regina. He reproaches Mathis for ignoring his fellow men. Mathis helps them escape. Scene II Catholics quarrel with Protestants. Riedinger, a wealthy Protestant, successfully protests to ...
(Poul Hin’-de-mit) 1895–1963 German composer and violist Hindemith began his career as an enfant terrible, shocking conservative audiences with a ragtime based on a theme by J. S. Bach and a trilogy of one-act operas – Mörder, Hoffnung der Frauen (‘Murder, Hope of Women’), Das Nusch-Nuschi, Sancta Susanna (‘Saint Susannah’) – that mingled themes of sexual obsession ...
1895–1963, German A composer, solo performer, conductor, teacher and theorist, Hindemith’s work boasted an eclectic array of musical styles, ranging from the expressionism of his first three one-act operas – now all but forgotten – to the polyphony of his later neo-Baroque output. The first signs of this transition could be heard in Cardillac (1926 ...
Blues and hard-rock guitarist Paul Kossoff, son of British actor David Kossoff, was born in Hampstead, London in 1950. He studied classical guitar as a child, but had given it up by his early teens. Inspired by John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, featuring Eric Clapton, he resumed playing and teamed up with drummer Simon Kirke in the ...
Too often, the music created by so-called ‘shred’ guitarists comes across as too cerebral and serious to elicit enjoyment from any but the most die-hard shred fan. Fortunately for all other fans of instrumental guitar, Paul Gilbert (b. 1966) prefers to dish out his hungry-man portions of notes with humour and irreverence matched only by his technical ferocity. Gilbert ...
The enduring and iconic guitarist and songwriter Paul Weller (b. 1958) was born John William Weller in Woking, Surrey. He was a boyhood Beatles fanatic before discovering The Who and, through them, the mod movement. His father, who managed him for the majority of his career, bought his 12-year-old son an electric guitar for Christmas; at ...
Les Paul (1915–2009) developed a reputation in modern music beyond his status as a successful performer and guitar innovator through his pioneering work with multitrack recording. Born Lester Polsfuss in Waukesha, Wisconsin, the nine-year-old Paul first picked up the harmonica from a street musician. Soon, he was playing for money in the streets. He was attracted to electronics ...
(Violin, bandleader, 1890–1967) Erroneously dubbed ‘The King Of Jazz’ by press agents, Whiteman led his first dance band in San Francisco in 1918. Arriving in New York in 1920, he assembled some of the city’s top musicians and gained popularity with hits such as ‘Japanese Sandman’ and ‘Whispering’. In 1924 his orchestra premiered George Gershwin’s Rhapsody In ...
(Piano, synthesizer, b. 1932) Paul Bley came from Montreal to New York in the early 1950s and worked with Jackie McLean. Later, in Los Angeles, he pioneered free jazz with Ornette Coleman. Throughout his career Bley has performed the compositions of his ex-wives – keyboardist Carla Bley and singer/pianist Annette Peacock – and his own pieces, ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 1963–67) Harmonica player and singer Butterfield conditioned his band – Jerome Arnold (bass), Elvin Bishop and Mike Bloomfield (guitars), Sam Lay (drums, vocals) and Mark Naftalin (keyboards) – in black Chicago clubs. They backed Dylan’s electric debut at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival and helped to usher blues into the psychedelic era, with the groundbreaking East-West ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 1989–present) English harmonica virtuoso Lamb (b. 1955) initially learned to play from recordings, but was mentored by Sonny Terry after they met at the World Harmonica Championships when Lamb was 15. He performed with other blues legends, including Buddy Guy and Junior Wells, before forming the five-piece Paul Lamb & The King Snakes. They released ...
(Vocal duo, 1993–present) This Cambridge, Massachusetts-based duo embrace vintage music styles with absolute authenticity. Brooklyn-born Rishell (b. 1950, vocals, guitar) discovered traditional blues in the 1960s and played with Son House and Johnny Shines. He began leading bands and performing solo in 1975, releasing his debut Blues On Holiday in 1990. He then met Raines (b. ...
(Bandleaders, 1940s) Curley Williams (1914–70) and Paul Howard (1908–84) were – outside of Pee Wee King – the chief exponents of western swing east of the Mississippi during the music’s 1940s heyday. Both led excellent, hot bands on the Grand Ole Opry and both found it necessary to leave the Opry in order to play the music they wanted ...
1785–1838, Austrian This Austrian soprano studied in Vienna with Antonio Salieri. In 1803, she made her debut in Vienna as Juno in Der Spiegel von Arkadien (‘The Mirror of Arcadia’, 1794) by Franz Xaver Süssmayr (1766–1803), a one-time pupil of Mozart. In 1805 Milder-Hauptmann created the role of Leonore in Beethoven’s Fidelio. She was, however, dissatisfied with ...
1865–1935, French A contemporary of Debussy and Ravel who joined the French Wagnerian movement, Dukas is primarily known for his orchestral fantasy L’apprenti sorcier (‘The Sorcerer’s Apprentice’, 1897), memorably featured in Disney’s animated feature Fantasia. He was a perfectionist who spent years rewriting his partially written works. Two of Dukas’ operas remained unfinished: the Wagner-inspired Horn et Riemenhild (1892) ...
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