(Ro’-bârt Shoo’-man) 1810–56 German composer Robert Schumann, in his life and music, embodied many of the central themes of the German Romantic movement: steeped in German literary Romanticism, he composed Lieder combining the melodic simplicity of German folk tradition with expressive harmonic setting, wrote poetically titled miniatures, and composed music rich in literary inspiration and allusion. His ...
c. 1490–c. 1546 Scottish composer Carver’s first composition may have been for the coronation of James V (1513); the Dum sacrum mysterium Mass is composed in 10 parts. Four of his other Masses remain extant and demonstrate the influence of Franco-Flemish style of composition characteristic of Josquin and others of the age. Recommended Recording: Missa Dum sacrum mysterium, Motets, ...
Progressive-rock pioneers King Crimson have seen a revolving door of band members through its almost 40-year existence, including such highly respected musicians as bassists Greg Lake, John Wetton and Tony Levin, drummer Bill Bruford and guitarist Adrian Belew. But one figure has remained steadfast, and that is guitarist Robert Fripp (b. 1946). Born in Wimborne Minster, ...
The hold that the legend of Robert Johnson (1911–38) exerts on the blues is out of all proportion to his career and output. He died relatively unknown at the age of 27 and recorded just 29 songs. But those songs of dreams and nightmares, crossroads and hellhounds revealed a darkness at the heart of Johnson’s blues, expressed with a ...
(Kla’-ra Shoo’-man) 1819–96 German pianist Clara made her debut at the age of 11 and soon became famous as a virtuoso soloist. She also composed music – usually for herself to perform. Early works include a piano concerto (1833–35) and several piano pieces. After a fierce battle with her father, she married Robert Schumann in 1840 and continued to perform, ...
(Vocals, guitar, 1896–1987) Mississippi-born Robert Wilkins’ blues style, as evidenced on records he made for Victor, Brunswick and Vocalion from 1928–35, featured vivid lyric imagery couched in asymmetrical verses, laid over rudimentary strumming. After being ordained in the 1930s, Wilkins quit the blues for religious music. ‘Prodigal Son’ on the Rolling Stones’ Beggars Banquet ...
While blues music has produced dozens of great, innovative musicians, vocalists and songwriters, the continuing influence of Robert Johnson over the years has shown that no other performer has succeeded in combining all the elements in quite the exceptional way that he did. The fascination that Johnson holds for so many people lies not only in his extraordinary ...
(Guitar, vocals, 1909–67) Robert Lee McCollum was born in Helena, Arkansas. He was taught guitar by his cousin, Houston Stackhouse, in 1930. He moved to St. Louis in 1934, now calling himself Robert McCoy, and first recorded in 1937 on acoustic guitar. He took the name Robert Nighthawk and used it professionally from the ...
(Guitar, harmonica, vocals, 1915–2006) Lockwood is thought to be the only musician given lessons by Robert Johnson, who was infatuated with Lockwood’s mother. But Lockwood, who was raised in Helena, Arkansas, also assimilated jazz chords and swinging rhythms to become one of the most sophisticated guitarists to emerge from the Delta. After decades as ...
Although Robert Cray’s clean, good looks, precise guitar lines and slick presentation earned him some knocks from critics early on in his career (hardcore blues aficionados tended to dismiss him as ‘blues lite’ for yuppies), he later gained their respect for his smart songwriting and razor-sharp guitar licks, along with an intensely passionate vocal style reminiscent of the ...
(Fiddle, 1887–1975) To fiddler Eck Robertson, and his often overlooked partner Henry Gilliland, goes the credit for recording, in June 1922, the first unequivocal country record: ‘Arkansaw Traveler’, an intricate fiddle duet, and ‘Sallie Gooden’, a virtuoso version of the traditional tune played by Robertson alone. He recorded again in the late 1920s with his ...
(Vocals, songwriter, b. 1956) Texan Robert Earl Keen Jr. first came to notice with his self-financed 1984 album No Kinda Dancer, which included ‘The Front Porch Song’, co-written with Lyle Lovett. Keen’s raspy vocals coupled with his conversational-styled songs have produced such albums as West Textures (1989) and What I Really Mean (2005). Styles & Forms | New ...
1888–1952, German Soprano Schumann made her debut in the Neues Stadt-Theater in Hamburg in 1909 and stayed there until 1919. Richard Strauss persuaded her to join the Vienna Staatsoper where she remained until 1938. She made her Covent Garden debut in 1924 as Sophie in Der Rosenkavalier. From 1938 she took up residence in New York where she had already ...
1861–1936, Austro-American Schumann-Heink’s voice was renowned for its richness and wide range. Studies with Marietta von Leclair led to her concert debut in 1876 and her operatic debut in Dresden two years later, in Il trovatore. For many years she sang at Hamburg and Bayreuth, while also appearing at London’s Covent Garden in Wagnerian roles. Schumann-Heink made her ...
(Ro-bâr’-to Gâr’-härd) 1896–1970 Catalan composer Like Falla, Gerhard was a pupil of the great apostle of Spanish national music, Pedrell, but Gerhard also studied with Schoenberg. Much of his music reflects this duality, which was sharpened by his exile from Spain after the Civil War (1936–39), when he lived in England. His opera The Duenna (1947), his ...
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