Composers challenge continues.

March 30, 8:40 AMPhiladelphia Orchestral Arts ExaminerChris Kilian

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Now that we all have the hang of how the "Composers Challenge" works, let's dig into the other regions, shall we?

You can continue to register votes on the Russians and the other Europeans all week.  Voting for round 1 will end this weekend.  Check in next Monday for the beginning of round 2.  We should be able to knock out both rounds 2 and 3 next week.  In the meantime, don't forget to check back often and check out my articles regarding all the news in the Philly orchestral and choral music scene.

Don't forget that I've provided links to biographies and music clips for every composer involved.  So, if you don't know who someone is, now you can learn.  Also, remember that by clicking here you can download your own copy of the entire bracket.

Now...onto the brackets!  First up, a battle of European behemoths:  Germany/Austria vs. Italy. 

With #1 seeds Johann Sebastian Bach (Germany/Austria) and Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (Italy) resting up during their two round bye, we are left with some match-ups for the ages!  You decide who will advance:

GERMANY/AUSTRIA

• #2. Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827) bio  music example  vs. #5. Joseph Haydn (1732–1809) bio  music example
• #3. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791) bio  music example  vs.  #4. Johannes Brahms (1833–1897) bio  music example

ITALY

• #2. Antonio Vivaldi (1678–1741) bio  music example  vs. #5. Gian Carlo Menotti (1911-2007) bio  music example
• #3. Giacomo Puccini (1858–1924) bio  music example  vs. #4. Giuseppe Verdi (1813 - 1901) bio  music example

Next, we move a little further East to two nations with a long history of competition on the battle field; Great Britain and France.  Now, we take that battle to the composer brackets.

For Britain, Gustav Holst receives the #1 ranking and a two round bye.  Claude Debussy holds that honor for the French.  Battling it out in round 1 will be:

GREAT BRITAIN

• #2. Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) bio  music example  vs. #5. Sir William Walton (1902-1983) bio  music example
• #3. Sir Edward Elgar (1857-1934) bio  music example  vs. #4. Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) bio  music example

FRANCE

• #2. Hector Berlioz (1803–1869) bio  music example  vs. #5. Gabriel Fauré (1845–1924) bio  music example
• #3. Maurice Ravel (1875–1937) bio  music example  vs. #4. Georges Bizet (1838–1875) bio  music example

Finally, we sail across the pond to the Western Hemisphere in an epic battle of North vs. South; The United States and Central & South America.

The diversity of the music in these two regions is thick with cultural influence.  In the United States, jazz and nationalism flavor the music while in Central and South America we hear the use of non-traditional symphonic instruments such as the guitar and the accordion.  Many of you may not be familiar with these significant Latin composers, so I highly suggest that you check out the links below and experience this wonderful music.

The #1 seeds for these regions go to Aaron Copland (USA) and Ástor Piazzolla (Latin Nations)

THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

• #2. Leonard Bernstein (1918–1990) bio  music example  vs. #5. Samuel Barber (1910–1981) bio  music example
• #3. George Gershwin (1898–1937) bio  music example  vs. #4. Charles Ives (1874–1954) bio  music example

CENTRAL & SOUTH AMERICA

• #2. Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887 - 1959) bio  music example  vs. #5. Manuel Ponce (1882-1948) bio  music example
• #3. Alberto Ginastera (1916-1983) bio  music example  vs. 4. Carlos Chavez (1899-1978) bio  music example

This concludes the first round of the "Composers Challenge" tournament.  Please cast your votes for the above composers by either replying to this article or by emailing me at kilian.chris@gmail.com.  The results of the first round will be announced on Friday, April 3rd.  The second round will begin next week.  Thank you for playing along!  I hope that you're having fun with this and quite possibly learning something about the composers.  If you have not yet voted for the Russians or Europeans, feel free to do so here as well. 

ROUND 1 - COMPOSERS CHALLENGE