My composer friends

First off, I must give sincere thanks to producer, Ezra Wall for providing me with a delicious afternoon treat today in the form of a chocolate malt. Thanks, Ez!

Earlier this afternoon, I played the only symphony written by Italian-born composer Luigi Cherubini--perhaps a self-indulgent choice. This is because Cherubini is one of my favorites, though just a few short years ago, his name only rung a faint bell in my head. As a graduate student, I was assigned a research project on Cherubini's Requiem. Everyone else in my class was assigned a concept, genre or musical school and I was assigned a piece. One piece. Needless to say, I examined that piece and the composer rather closely. I even got to go to Hill Memorial Library (which looks a lot like I thought Grigott's would look) on LSU campus. Hill Memorial is where all of the rare books are kept. It's an austere building where you have to cram all of your belongings into a locker as soon as you walk in and are only allowed one pencil and a sheet of paper. You also only have three hours to look at your rare book, which, in my case, was a music theory text book written by Cherubini for his students at the Paris Conservatory. It was during this research that I discovered I really like Cherubini...the person, not just his music. It was the first time I felt a sort of connection to a composer outside of a musical experience.

Since then, I've enjoyed wondering about composers' personalities. Would Tchaikovsky and I have gotten along? What sort of mannerisms did Haydn have when telling stories? I imagine Messiaen might doodle on his napkin over lunch. So now I pose the question to you: Which composers do you think you would have gotten along with?

It's got that new blog smell...

Hello Classical Fans! Welcome to my new blog. Think of this as the teacher's edition or supplemental reading for Midday Classical, Modern Classical (which we call ModCL), Symphony at Six and all other musical goings-on at MPB. Sometimes when I'm presenting music on the air, I'll hit on a topic that requires more explanation than time allows. Sometimes I like to have music-inspired daydreams. This blog gives me a chance to explain a lenthy concept, give more historical context, ramble a little bit and maybe even start up a musical conversation with you.

Stay tuned to this blog for more classical music updates and musings!

Hello from Karen's Classical Corner

Greetings and salutations