We're now in the month of March, which means elsewhere on the internet you'll be able to find a plethora of basketball games, scores, and brackets.  I figured I'd jump on the March celebrations as well, so I've decided that Take Note will now enter into March Movie Mania.  All month, my blogs will take a look at some famous movie soundtracks.  Some of my favorite pieces of classical music are the orchestral scores from various movies, and I honestly can't get enough of them.  My choice for this Continue Reading

For this week's post, I have chosen a song from one of my favorite composers: Johann Sebastian Bach, who is primarily known for his organ compositions.  In fact one of the most recognizable organ pieces is by Bach (check out his Toccata et Fugue in D Minor).  I, however, have decided to discuss his "Little Fugue in G Minor".  This piece is a rather straightforward example of what a fugue is, and it also allows me to show you the skills of a professional organist. A fugue can be defined as a Continue Reading

Modest Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition is a very moving suite of music aimed at paying homage to the composer's closest friend, Victor Hartmann.  Hartmann was a prominent Russian artist, and upon his untimely death in 1873, a tribute exhibition of his art was held in St. Petersburg.  Mussorgsky was deeply moved when viewing all of his friend's paintings, drawings, and other artwork, and returned home to compose his now famous piece. Each movement within the suite represents a different Continue Reading

  We've officially made it through half of February...and you know what that means! Valentine's Day is here once again! In honor of the holiday, I have chosen one of the most iconic overtures depicting one of the most well-known romantic stories. Pyotr Tchaikovsky completed the final version of his Romeo and Juliet overture in the 1880's.  Following many revisions and three successive rewrites of the piece, Tchaikovsky finally landed on the overture which is performed by Continue Reading