Betsy Schwarm

Classical Music Insights: Between the Wars Betsy Schwarm

A century onward, it still speaks to us, sometimes powerfully, sometime poignantly: the music of the years between World War I and World War II. These decades held both echoes and premonitions of danger, but also beauty and delight, all of that, and so much more, expressed in the fine music of the time. From the vivacity of Rhapsody in Blue to the splendor of The Planets, from the fictional China of Turandot to the real-life China of the Yellow River Cantata, from the vintage styles of Saint-Saëns to the futuristic styles of Varèse, a bit of everything is here: 112 compositions from the European masters, American composers, Central and South American composers, and one from China.