#ClassicaDay #PrideMonth Week 4

For the month of June, Classics a Day celebrates Pride Month. And the challenge is to post works from classical composers who self-identified as other than heteronormative.

There are a lot of composers to choose from -- and not just in the modern era. This was a challenge that deepened my knowledge of classical music. And deepened my appreciation of the additional struggles faced by LGBTQ+ composers both past and present. Here are my posts from the fourth week of #PrideMonth.

06/20/22 Marc Blitzstein - Serenade for String Quartet

Although best known for his theater works, Blitzstein also composed in other genres. This serenade was written in 1932, four years before his iconic "The Cradle Will Rock."

06/21/22 Ned Rorem - Piano Sonata No. 1

Rorem is best known for his art songs, but his catalog is quite varied. It includes symphonies, concertos, and chamber music. This 1948 work is the first of his three piano sonatas.

06/22/22 Charles Tomlinson Griffes - Poem for Flute and Orchestra

Griffes wrote this piece in 1918 when he was 33. He died two years later, a victim of the Spanish Flu epidemic.

06/23/22 Lord Berners - Fantasie espagnole for orchestra

Berners was a colorful character. He was a painter, novelist, and composer. He once quipped "I would have been a better composer if I had accepted fewer lunch invitations."

06/24/22 Manuel de Falla - Serenatea andaluza

de Falla premiered this work in 1900. Around this time, he first started exploring the music of his native Andalusia.