I am opening this topic to give folks a place to post about music that is culturally supportive of Europeans and European-Americans, and that derives from those cultures.
There are a lot of notable anniversaries in 2009 for the great composers of the past. Happily, there is a site that has compiled them and shared information on each. Bachtrack is that site, and well worth perusing.
350th Anniversary: Henry Purcell (1659-1695) The bridge from early music to the Baroque.
250th Anniversary: George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) Baroque master in Germany and England.
200th Anniversary: Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) Innovator who changed musical form forever.
200th Anniversary: Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) Child prodigy, conductor, and hero of Romanticism.
100th Anniversary: Francisco Tárrega (1852-1909) Spanish composer, one of the fathers of modern classical guitar.
100th Anniversary - Isaac Albéniz (1860-1909) Fused the music of Spain with the Romantic tradition.
50th Anniversary: Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887-1959) Brazilian composer.
300th Anniversary: Charles Avison (1709-1770) He is considered to be the most important English concerto composer of the 18th century.
50th Anniversary - Bohuslav Martinů (1890-1959) Czech composer.
Some of these composers will be unfamiliar to us, worth a bit of study!
God bless,
Laurel
p.s. This same site has the very useful article for parents titled “Ten top tips for getting little children into classical music”, which I’ve linked to in the homeschooling resources area.
