Eleven Number 1’s

Today is November 1, 2011 or 11/1/11. Music and numerology sometimes go hand-in-hand. The number nine seemed to be the cut point for symphonies. Beethoven, Bruckner, Schubert and Dvorak all got to nine and then wrote no more. Rossini apparently suffered from triskaidekaphobia (the fear of the number 13). Rossini also was worried about Fridays and ironically died on a Friday the 13th. He was also born on a leap year, so the numbers were always against him. 

Album Review - Beethoven: Complete Works for Solo Piano Volume 10

Sample and Buy the Album


Compared to the 32 sonatas and Diabelli Variations, Beethoven’s bagatelles are his least well-known piano works. Of the bagatelles, only one, the bagatelle in A Minor “Für Elise,” is a familiar work. On the other hand, pianists love them and with good reason. Beethoven wrote bagatelles for piano throughout his career and because of that their styles vary; there is always something remarkable to be found in these works. Some of the bagatelles are miniatures of only a few brief measures while others were originally conceived as sonata movements or sketches. What is consistent is the bottomless wit and invention that’s found in each set. Fortepianist Ronald Brautigam continues his traversal of Beethoven’s piano works with this recording of the composer’s complete bagatelles.

All-Star Composer Lineup!

A mid-July favorite, Major League Baseball’s All-Star game is a showcase for the game’s best. But what if there were an all-star game for composers? Who would make the team and what would be the batting order? We selected a composer all-star team and some of their best works, and made some pretty nifty composer baseball cards to go with them...

See the all-star lineup and check out the cards!