The Music Workshop Company Blog

Each month the Music Workshop Company publishes two blogs. One blog, written by the MWC team addresses a key issue in Music Education or gives information about a particular genre or period of music. The other blog is written by a guest writer, highlighting good practice or key events in Music Education. We hope you enjoy reading the blogs.

We embed multimedia content in many of our blog posts, if you have rejected cookies for this website, you may have white spaces where the multimedia content should be. This is due to a recent change of policy by YouTube, Spotify and other platforms. We are in the process of updating all our posts. If you come across white spaces in a blog post, you can open the link in another browser or private browser and approve cookies to access all the content. We are sorry for any inconvenience this causes.

To contribute as a guest writer please email Maria@music-workshop.co.uk

Posts tagged “COMPOSER”

Back to all posts

Puccini 100 years on

Posted on 15th October 2024 at 15:40

Giacomo Puccini is widely regarded as one of the greatest opera composers of all time, and second only to Verdi in terms of the great Italian opera writers.

Puccini was one of the young school of composers who were active in Italy as Verdi’s long career was coming to an end. Many of his works were written in the ‘verismo’ style – placing everyday people at the heart of the action, with subject matter that often focused on romance and passion.

Several of his operas are now considered staples of the genre, such as ‘La bohème’, ‘Madama Butterfly’ and ‘Tosca’ (a favourite of our Artistic Director, Maria Thomas).

Puccini died on 29th Nov 1924, and as the 100th anniversary of his death approaches, we take a closer look at his career.

Walker Lyric for Strings

Posted on 19th June 2024 at 16:50

George Walker had a long, prolific composing career, was a respected teacher and was the first Black composer to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music alongside many other accolades.

As a composer, he drew from a wide range of influences, and he made a huge impression on the music world, in spite of the racism that he experienced throughout his career.

We explore his life and works, and suggest an activity inspired by his best-known composition, ‘Lyric for Strings’, which is recommended by the Model Music Curriculum for Year 4 and above.

Image: Composer George Theophilus Walker at the piano, early 1940s. Source unknown.

Chaminade Flute Concertino

Posted on 13th April 2024 at 09:53

Cécile Chaminade was a prolific composer, publishing more than 400 pieces in her lifetime, as well as being a successful international touring solo pianist.

Perhaps her most well known piece is her “Flute Concertino in D Major” Op. 107, which is listed in the Model Music Curriculum, however her vast repertoire is well worth exploring. She composed piano pieces (solo and duo), Piano Trios, songs, a ballet, an opera and concerto style works.

In her many recital tours, Chaminade would feature programmes entirely made up of her own music.

On the 80th anniversary of her death, we explore her life and most famous piece. Our activity this month explores composition within limitations.

Image: Cécile Chaminade

Originally from en:Wikipedia en:Image:Cecile chaminade.jpg

Henrici, L. O. Representative Women. Kansas City, Mo.: The Crafters Publishers. 1913

Original source: What We Hear in Music, Anne S. Faulkner, Victor Talking Machine Co., 1913.

Fanny Mendelssohn Piano Trio Op. 11

Posted on 14th November 2023 at 09:24

Fanny Mendelssohn’s music is now reaching a wider public, having been overshadowed by her more famous brother, Felix Mendelssohn both during her lifetime and in subsequent years. Despite periods of her life where she was unable to compose, Mendelssohn established herself as a composer, conductor and performer in a largely male-dominated environment. Her life highlights some of the challenges female composers have faced throughout history.

We explore her Piano Trio in D minor, Opus 11, which is suggested in the Model Music Curriculum as a piece suitable for Year 5, and offer some activities to help you study the composition.

"Fanny-mendelssohn-9ba7472d-18ca-43cc-9f62-85362217db2-resize-750" by Wikiludiki is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/?ref=openverse.

Stuart Hancock: my musical journey as a composer

Posted on 30th October 2023 at 10:48

From hobbyist to professional: my musical journey as a composer

This month on the blog, composer Stuart Hancock tells us how he first began playing and composing music, and the light-bulb moment that led to his career. Stuart also gives us a sneak preview into what promises to be a special event this November: a series of family performances of the classic Oscar-winning film Peter and the Wolf, complete with live orchestra.

MWC is pleased to be able to offer our blog readers a discount on tickets for the 18th November Peter and the Wolf performance - see the end of the post for details.

William Byrd 400 years on: celebrating the father of music

Posted on 15th June 2023 at 11:14

It’s been 400 years since his death on 4 July 1623, but the composer William Byrd’s music is still a staple of religious services today. With an enormous output that ranged from simple choral pieces to complex exhibitions of polyphony, Byrd’s music was intrinsically linked to his own Catholic faith and to the Protestant religion that dominated during his life. We look at the impact of his work for his peers, and at the legacy he left for music lovers today.