Many composers/pianists of the past and present were born during the month of May. I felt that this month we could honor them by featuring a few of their more famous works right here on PianoNotes Online. We hope you enjoy!
Alessandro Scarlatti – Born May 2, 1660
was an Italian Baroque composer especially famous for his operas and chamber cantatas. He is considered the founder of the Neapolitan school of opera. He was the father of two other composers, Domenico Scarlatti and Pietro Filippo Scarlatti. [Read on…]
Wladziu Valentino Liberace – Born May 16, 1919
best known simply as Liberace, was a famous American pianist and vocalist. In a career that spanned four decades of concerts, recordings, motion pictures, television and endorsements, Liberace became world-renowned. During the 1950s–1970s he was the highest-paid entertainer in the world and embraced a lifestyle of flamboyant excess both on and off the stage. [Read on…]
Chopsticks – Although not written by Liberace, it was one of his audiences most beloved pieces to watch him perform. Watch one of Liberace’s performances of Chopsticks here.
Johannes Brahms – Born May 7, 1833
was a German composer and pianist, and one of the leading musicians of the Romantic period. Born in Hamburg, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna, Austria, where he was a leader of the musical scene. In his lifetime, Brahms’s popularity and influence were considerable; following a comment by the nineteenth-century conductor Hans von Bülow, he is sometimes grouped with Johann Sebastian Bach and Ludwig van Beethoven as one of the Three Bs. [Read on…]
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky – Born May 7, 1840
was a Russian composer whose works included symphonies, concertos, operas, ballets, and chamber music. Some of these are amongst the most popular concert and theatrical music in the classical repertoire. He was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression internationally, which he bolstered with appearances as a guest conductor later in his career in Europe and the United States. [Read on…]
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