Amplifying Black Voices from Past to Present
Iman J. Williams
Hi, I’m Iman, the new Classics for Kids Intern! I am a flutist, activist, and plant enthusiast. I’ve been playing the flute since I was 10 years old! I am excited to share my passion for music and history with the Classics for Kids community!
After World War I, African Americans began traveling North to seek a better life full of economic and social equality at the end of Slavery. Also known as The Great Migration, over 250,000 African Americans had migrated North. Harlem in New York City had become a popular destination for folks to settle down, be free, and be “unapologetically Black”, after years of being silenced.
Georg Philipp Telemann 3: Self-Taught Composers
Georg Philipp Telemann never studied composition – he taught himself how to write music. There are quite a few composers who taught themselves, including Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Edward Elgar, Francis Poulenc, […]
Georg Philipp Telemann 2: Go for Baroque
Georg Philipp Telemann composed during the Baroque period, which ran from about 1600 to 1750. Suzanne Bona, host of the National Public Radio program Sunday Baroque, talks with Naomi Lewin […]
Georg Philipp Telemann 1: About Georg Philipp Telemann
Telemann loved to write. He wrote more pieces of music than any other composer, and he also wrote not one, not two, but THREE autobiographies.
Johann Strauss, Jr. 4: Musical Conversation
Tritsch-Tratsch — the title of a polka by Johann Strauss, Jr. — is Austrian slang for “chit-chat.” A lot of composers used music to portray people making sounds: talking, laughing, […]
Johann Strauss, Jr. 3: The Waltz
The waltz is a dance in 3/4 time that was very popular in Vienna, Austria in the 19th century. But the roots of the waltz go back to the German […]
Johann Strauss, Jr. 2: Other Members of the Strauss Family
Johann Strauss, Sr. had three musical sons: Johann, Jr.; Josef; and Eduard. Sometimes they worked together as musicians, but other times, there was bitter rivalry.
Johann Strauss, Jr. 1: About Johann Strauss, Jr.
Johann Strauss, Jr. was the son of a very successful violinist and orchestra leader. Eventually, Johann, Jr. was in competition with his father, conducting an orchestra of his own. When […]
Aaron Copland 5: Classical Music in Pop
What do Frank Sinatra, Blood Sweat and Tears and John Denver have in common? They all used classical music in some of their pieces. After Aaron Copland composed his Fanfare […]
Aaron Copland 4: What’s in a Name
In 1942, Eugene Goossens, music director of the Cincinnati Symphony, invited two dozen or so composers to write fanfares honoring those serving in World War II. Hear some more of […]
