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Composer-Pianist Robert Cunningham

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Life and Career of Robert CunninghamNocturne for Woodwinds and Piano
November 26, 2018 Robert Cunningham

The Forgotten Nocturne

Many of my listeners are familiar by now with my two piano nocturnes, both of which can be heard on

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Life and Career of Robert Cunningham
September 25, 2018 Robert Cunningham

Coming Back

In past posts to this blog, I have described the musical soirées I started putting on in my home in

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Life and Career of Robert CunninghamThe Composer's Craft
September 19, 2018 Robert Cunningham

Sketches

In my file cabinet there is a thick folder labeled simply “Sketches.”  It contains musical sketches, ranging from early compositional

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Lament for Flute and Piano
September 7, 2018 Robert Cunningham

Vincenzo Galilei and the Lament

I composed my Lament for Flute and Piano in 1991 but did not attempt to get it performed at the

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HarmonyRomance for Oboe and Piano
September 1, 2018 Robert Cunningham

A is for Ambiguity

An intriguing feature of my Romance for Oboe and Piano is the ambiguity between A-natural and A-flat.  In the piece’s home

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HarmonyRhapsody for Woodwinds and Piano
August 20, 2018 Robert Cunningham

Rhapsodic Harmonies

Harmonically, a typical classical work begins by defining the tonality to the listener, through the use of tonic flanked by

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Harmony
August 14, 2018 Robert Cunningham

Equal Divisions of the Octave

A significant feature of the chromatic harmony in late Romantic music is the use of nontraditional harmonies to convey subdominant

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Life and Career of Robert Cunningham
July 24, 2018 Robert Cunningham

Remembering Katherine Bacon

During my year at Juilliard (1970-1971), I studied with English pianist Katherine Bacon.  Bacon had been a child prodigy and

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Life and Career of Robert Cunningham
July 6, 2018 Robert Cunningham

Fiddler in the Storm

I have posted here before about the musical soirées I put on in my home in the early 1980s, which

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Harmony
June 21, 2018 Robert Cunningham

Fearful Symmetry

“What immortal hand or eye Could frame thy fearful symmetry?” — William Blake Based on the principle of octave equivalence,

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Life and Career of Robert Cunningham
June 15, 2018 Robert Cunningham

Siena

I have traveled to Europe only once, exactly half a century ago.  For two months in the summer of 1968,

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The Performer's Craft
June 6, 2018 Robert Cunningham

Deep Practice and the Pianist

In a previous post to this blog, I discussed why attaining the highest levels of musical performance requires not just lots

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Melodic TransformationNocturne No. 1 for Piano
May 10, 2018 Robert Cunningham

Music of the Night

We usually think of piano nocturnes as tranquil pieces, typically featuring a lyrical melody over left-hand arpeggios.  Yet some of

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Life and Career of Robert Cunningham
May 5, 2018 Robert Cunningham

My Time with Edward Kilenyi

Acclaimed pianist Edward Kilenyi, known for his interpretations of Debussy, Chopin, Liszt, and Beethoven, was born on May 7, 1910. 

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Life and Career of Robert Cunningham
April 18, 2018 Robert Cunningham

From Scarlatti to Scriabin

This program is from a solo recital I gave in Atlanta almost exactly 30 years ago, on April 23, 1988.

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Music Blog

  • Life and Career of Robert Cunningham
  • Music Theory
    • Counterpoint
    • Foundations of Music
    • Harmony
    • Melody
      • Melodic Transformation
    • Meter
    • Modes
    • Octatonic
    • Rhythm
    • Schenkerian Analysis
  • Romanticism
  • Technology and Music
  • The Composer's Craft
  • The Performer's Craft
  • Uncategorized
  • Works by Robert Cunningham
    • Adagio for Violin and Piano
    • Horn Trio
    • Lament for Flute and Piano
    • Meditation
    • Nocturne for Woodwinds and Piano
    • Nocturne No. 1 for Piano
    • Nocturne No. 2 for Piano
    • Piano Quartet
    • Poems
    • Preludes
    • Rhapsody for Woodwinds and Piano
    • Romance for Clarinet and Piano
    • Romance for Oboe and Piano
    • Sonatas
      • Piano Sonata No. 1
      • Piano Sonata No. 3
      • Piano Sonata No. 4
      • Sonata for Oboe and Piano
    • Sonnet XVIII
    • Variations for Flute and Piano
    • Vocal/Choral Works

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Recent Posts

  • The Story of Piano Sonata No. 1
  • The Octatonic Collection in the Piano Quartet
  • Thematic Transformation in the Piano Quartet
  • Tonal Structure of the Piano Quartet
  • My Aesthetic Goals in the Piano Quartet
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