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Composer Of The Day

Sam_Cooke_2

January 22nd: Sam Cooke

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Sam Cooke 22 January 1931 – 11 December 1964

A Change Is Gonna Come

Bring It On Home to Me

Sam Cooke
By RCA Victor Records – Billboard. Vol. 78, No. 15. page 21, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=28594467

Sam Cooke was an American singer and songwriter who became known as the King of Soul. He began by singing gospel music in church with his family, then moved into pop and soul songs. His clear, powerful tenor voice helped songs like You Send Me, Wonderful World and Chain Gang become big hits. Cooke did not only sing; he also wrote songs and helped run his own record label, showing business skill as well as talent.

Cooke was born in Mississippi in 1931 and later moved to Chicago. As he grew older, he chose a new path and added an e to his surname. He wanted his music to reach more people and make them happy. Cooke also supported the civil rights movement, using his fame to stand up for fairness.

In 1964, Cooke died in Los Angeles after a tragic and disputed incident at a motel. Some people questioned the official account. Even so, his music lived on, and many other singers were influenced by his style, voice and legacy.

Jennifer_Higdon_at_2014_Cabrillo_Festival_of_Contemporary_Music

December 31st

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Jennifer Higdon Born 31 December 1962

Viola Concerto

Jennifer Higdon
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=124575620

Jennifer Higdon is a famous American composer known for her contemporary classical music. She was born in 1962 in Brooklyn, New York, and spent her childhood in Atlanta and Tennessee. As a child, she enjoyed art, photography, and writing, but did not hear much classical music at home. Instead, she listened to rock and folk music. Jennifer began learning the flute and percussion in high school, teaching herself with a book. She studied flute at university, where her teacher encouraged her to try composing. Although she found music theory difficult at first, she worked hard and became a successful composer. Higdon has written many pieces for orchestras and soloists, including her famous Violin Concerto, which won the Pulitzer Prize for Music. She has also won three Grammy Awards for her compositions. Jennifer’s music is known for its lively rhythms and beautiful melodies, often inspired by nature and her early love of popular music. She has taught at the Curtis Institute of Music and worked with many famous musicians. Today, Jennifer Higdon is celebrated for her creativity, resilience, and for inspiring others to enjoy and appreciate classical music from different backgrounds.

Alex Baranowski-photo by Marc Brenner

December 30th

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Alex Baranowski 30th December 1983

Margot

Alex Baranowski
By Marc Brenner, supplied by the composer.

Alex Baranowski is a composer from London who creates music for films, television, theatre, and ballet. He wrote the music for The Kitchen on Netflix, collaborating with Grammy-winning artist Labrinth. He also composed for The Windermere Children, a film about child survivors of the Holocaust. Among his notable works is Midas Man, a film about the Beatles’ manager.

For television, Alex has contributed music to HBO’s Rain Dogs and BBC’s Staged, featuring David Tennant.

In theatre, he was nominated for a Tony Award for The Cripple of Inishmaan and worked with director Danny Boyle on Frankenstein at the National Theatre. He has also created music for ballet, with his adaptation of Nineteen Eighty-Four winning a prestigious award.

His music has been featured in BBC Two idents and adverts for brands like H&M and Coca-Cola. In 2024, he created a short film for Sainsbury’s Christmas advert featuring the BFG.

Philip_Sparke

December 29th

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Philip Sparke Born 29 December 1951

Flowerdale from Hymn of the Highlands

Concert Prelude

Philip Sparke
By Wilhelm Wienemann (Kalwien at de.wikipedia) – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=15346674

Philip Allen Sparke was born on 29 December 1951 in London. He is renowned as an English composer and musician, particularly for his concert and brass band compositions. Sparke began his musical journey at the Royal College of Music, where he studied composition, trumpet, and piano. It was here that his passion for bands developed, leading him to form a brass band with fellow students and compose various pieces for both brass and wind ensembles.

His early significant work, “The Land of the Long White Cloud – Aotearoa,” was written in 1980 for a brass band championship in New Zealand. Over the years, he has won several prestigious awards, including the Sudler Prize for his work “Dance Movements” and the Iles Medal for his contributions to brass bands. Since 2000, Sparke has published his music through his own label, Anglo Music Press. His compositions are performed worldwide, greatly influencing the brass band community.

Daniel_Léo_Simpson_-_Composer

December 28th

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Daniel Léo Simpson Born 28 December 1959

Trio for Oboe, Viola & Pianoforte in Eb

Daniel Léo Simpson
By Scoreperfect – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=77727788

Daniel Léo Simpson is a well-known American composer, born in 1959. He began learning music at Buena High School in Arizona, where he studied music theory and even wrote the school’s Alma Mater. Simpson later attended the University of Arizona, where he continued his studies and earned a master’s degree in composition. A composer is someone who writes music, and Simpson has created many pieces that have been performed around the world. One of his famous works, “Tuscaloosa Tango,” won a competition and was first performed at the University of Alabama. This piece has also been played by orchestras in Iraq and Brazil. Simpson’s “Ave Maria” was first performed in Germany, showing that his music is enjoyed internationally. He has also written music for new instruments, such as the Viola Profonda, which was invented by Gerardo Yañez. In 2012, all twenty-four of Simpson’s piano inventions were performed and recorded in Berlin. Simpson’s achievements show how music can connect people from different countries and cultures. His work helps us understand the importance of composers and the impact they can have on the world of music.

Amy_Beach_01

December 27th

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Amy Marcy Cheney Beach 5 September 1867 - 27 December 1944

Op. 15, No. 3: Dreaming

Amy Beach
By George Grantham Bain Collection (Library of Congress) – This image is available from the United States Library of Congress’s Prints and Photographs divisionunder the digital ID cph.3b12657.This tag does not indicate the copyright status of the attached work. A normal copyright tag is still required. See Commons:Licensing., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6517425

Amy Marcy Cheney Beach, born on September 5, 1867, in Henniker, New Hampshire, was a pioneering American composer and pianist. Notably, she became the first successful female composer of large-scale art music in America. Her “Gaelic” Symphony premiered in 1896, marking it as the first symphony composed by a woman in the United States. Beach’s remarkable talent was evident from a young age; she began composing at four and gave public recitals by the age of sixteen. Despite societal constraints, she thrived in a male-dominated field, gaining acclaim for her compositions and performances.

Married to a surgeon in 1885, she faced limitations on her career, agreeing to perform only a few concerts a year. Nevertheless, she continued to compose significant works, including the Mass in E-flat major. Beach’s legacy as a musician and mentor remains influential, inspiring generations of women composers. She passed away on December 27, 1944, leaving behind a rich catalogue of music that celebrated the spirit of her era.

Hely-Hutchinson

December 26th

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Victor Hely-Hutchinson 26 December 1901 – 11 March 1947

Carol Symphony

The Young Idea: Rhapsody for Piano & Orchestra

Victor Hely-Hutchinson
From https://static.files.bbci.co.uk/webarchive/asset/674dbe74f7a30dbec186aa0cb20d84153acd64f701f72137d54f60257e81904d.jpeg

Victor Hely-Hutchinson was a British composer, conductor, and pianist, born in Cape Town in 1901. He showed musical talent from a young age, composing pieces before he was ten. After moving to England, he studied piano and attended Eton College. Although he began studying history at Oxford, he soon switched to music, training at the Royal College of Music. Hely-Hutchinson worked at the BBC, where he became Director of Music, and also taught at the University of Birmingham.

His best-known work is the Carol Symphony, based on traditional English Christmas carols. He also wrote music for children, including settings of nursery rhymes.

During the Second World War, he served as an ARP warden and moved his family for safety. He died in 1947 from meningitis, after refusing to use heating to save fuel. Today, he is remembered for his contributions to British music and his popular carol arrangements.

Mather_Brown,_William_Ward_-_Monsieur_de_St_George,_1788,_NPG_D4132,_London

December 25th

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Chevalier de Saint-Georges 25 December 1745 – 9 June 1799

Symphony No. 1 I: Allegro

Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges
By Mather Brown, William Ward – National Portrait Gallery, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=122498240

Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, was a famous French violinist, composer, conductor – and also a champion fencer and excellent horse rider. He was born on 25 December 1745 on the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe. His father was a rich white plantation owner, and his mother, Nanon, was an enslaved Black woman. As a child he was taken to France, where he went to school and trained in fencing and music.

By his late teens he was one of the best fencers in Paris and became an officer in the king’s bodyguard. At the same time, he was stunning audiences as a violin soloist. He led one of the finest orchestras in Europe and wrote violin concertos, string quartets, symphonies and operas.

Because of racism, some singers blocked him from becoming director of the Paris Opera. During the French Revolution he became a soldier and led a unit of “citizens of colour”. He was later jailed during the Reign of Terror. Saint-Georges died in 1799, aged 53. Today he is often called the first famous Black classical composer.

St_Albans_West_End_Wickhamstede_window

December 24th

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John Dunstaple c. 1390 – 24 December 1453

Ave Maris Stella

John Dunstaple had connections to St Albans Abbey, Hertfordshire.
By Engraved by R. Rolfe from a drawing by G. Shepherd 1805 – http://www.hertfordshire-genealogy.co.uk/data/places/places-s/st-albans/st-albans-old-prints.htm, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=15679578

John Dunstaple was an important English composer who lived from around 1390 to 1453. He helped music move from the medieval period to the Renaissance, a time of great change in art and culture. Dunstaple is best known for creating the Contenance angloise style, which means “English manner.” This style used new types of harmony, especially with thirds and sixths, making the music sound richer and more pleasant. Dunstaple’s music was mainly vocal and often used isorhythms, a special pattern in music. Although little is known about his early life, he was probably born in Bedfordshire and worked for important people like the Duke of Bedford and the Duke of Gloucester. He may have travelled to France and had links with St Albans Abbey. Most of his music was lost during the English Reformation, but some pieces survived in other countries. Dunstaple’s ideas influenced many European composers, such as Du Fay and Binchois. He is often mentioned alongside William Byrd and Henry Purcell as one of England’s greatest early composers. Dunstaple’s work shows how English music helped shape the sound of the Renaissance across Europe.

Boismortier_par_Ranc

December 23rd

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Joseph Bodin de Boismortier 23 December 1689 – 28 October 1755

Sonata No. 2 for Flute and Violin Op 51

Joseph Bodin de Boismortier
By Jean Ranc – http://www.artsunlight.com/artist-NR/N-R0016-Jean-Ranc/N-R0016-0010-joseph-bodin-de-boismortier-prisant-du-tabac.html, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1406318

Joseph Bodin de Boismortier was a famous French composer born in 1689. He lived during the Baroque and Rococo periods, times known for beautiful and detailed music and art. Boismortier wrote many types of music, including chamber music, cantatas, opéra-ballets, and vocal pieces. Unusually, he did not have wealthy patrons to support him. Instead, he earned money by selling his music to the public, which was rare for composers at that time. He published over 100 works and became very successful.

Boismortier was the first French composer to use the Italian concerto form, which is a piece for a solo instrument and orchestra. He wrote for many instruments, especially the flute, and even created an instruction book for it. His music was popular because it was elegant and creative. He was known for being forgetful and sometimes did not conduct his own music.

Today, his music is still played, especially his sonatas for flute and harpsichord.

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