Betsy Schwarm

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Websites : Betsy Schwarm at the Metropolitan State University of Denver, Classical Music Insights

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Associated with The Music Alliance, part of Encyclopaedia Britannica's Publishing Partner Program.

BIOGRAPHY

Betsy Schwarm is a music historian based in Colorado. She serves on the music faculty of Metropolitan State University of Denver and gives pre-performance talks for Opera Colorado and the Colorado Symphony Orchestra. She also has a dozen years’ experience as a classical radio announcer/producer, through which she honed her music writing style to balance the interests of music professionals and the needs of casual listeners. Ms. Schwarm writes classical program notes for various organizations around the world. The domestic portion of that list includes the Cleveland Orchestra, the Philharmonic Society of Orange County, Mainly Mozart of San Diego, and the Huntsville Symphony, as well as Encyclopaedia Britannica.

In addition to many hundreds of published articles on classical music, Ms. Schwarm has published two books intended to make classical music accessible for the general listener, Classical Music Insights and Operatic Insights.

Primary Contributions (254)

Articles

Porgy and Bess

Porgy and Bess, dramatic folk opera in three acts by George Gershwin. Its English libretto was written by DuBose Heyward (with lyrics by Heyward and Ira Gershwin), based on Heyward’s novel Porgy (1925). The opera—which premiered at the Alvin Theatre in New York City on October 10, 1935—is…

Pachelbel’s Canon

Requiem in D Minor, K 626

Der Ring des Nibelungen

Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125

New World Symphony

Pictures at an Exhibition

Pagliacci

Erich Wolfgang Korngold

Carmina Burana

The Planets, Op. 32

The Nutcracker

Beethoven Piano Sonatas

Symphony No. 40 in G Minor, K. 550

Symphony No. 1 in D Major

Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92

Symphony No. 6 in F Major

Resurrection Symphony No. 2 in C Minor

Leningrad Symphony No. 7 in C Major, Op. 60

Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 67

Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 in C-Sharp Minor

Requiem in D Minor, Op. 48

Rhapsody in Blue

Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 18

Mozart Piano Concertos

Chopin Preludes, Op. 28

Ave Maria!

The Merry Widow

Giselle

The Tales of Hoffmann

Così fan tutte

Florencia en el Amazonas

Dissonance Quartet

Jupiter Symphony

William Tell Overture

Pathétique Symphony

The Pirates of Penzance

Eroica Symphony

Piano Concerto No. 3 in D Minor, Op. 30

Billy Budd

La Bohème

The Stars and Stripes Forever

The Barber of Seville

American Ballads

Peer Gynt

The Lord of the Rings

Tosca

Parsifal

La traviata

Symphony No. 5 in C-Sharp Minor

Symphony No. 4 in E-flat Major

Bachianas Brasileiras No. 2

The Skaters’ Waltz, Op. 183

Preludes

Lyric Pieces

Oboe Concerto

Nights in the Gardens of Spain

Piano Sonata No. 1, Op. 22

Clarinet Concerto in A, K 622

Eine kleine Nachtmusik

Wozzeck

Atmosphères

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

An Alpine Symphony, Op. 64

Elvira Madigan

Erlkönig

The Well-Tempered Clavier, BWV 846–893

Short Ride in a Fast Machine

Spem in alium nunquam habui

Konzertstück, Op. 86

Requiem

Water Music

Scarlatti keyboard sonatas

Suites for Unaccompanied Cello, BWV 1007–1012

The Firebird

Des Knaben Wunderhorn

Liebeslieder waltzes

Slavonic Dances, Op. 46 and Op. 72

The Blue Danube, Op. 314

Pomp and Circumstance March in D Major, Op. 39, No. 1

The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra

Symphony No. 8 in E-Flat Major

Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin

The Moldau

Quartet for the End of Time

Asturias

Suite bergamasque

Concerto for Four Violins and Cello in B Minor, Op. 3, No. 10

Piano Concerto No. 1 in D-flat Major, Op. 10

Serenade No. 1 in D Major, Op. 11

Variations on a Theme by Haydn, Op. 56

Emperor Concerto

Verklärte Nacht, Op. 4

Symphonie fantastique, Op. 14

Transcendental Études

Music for the Royal Fireworks

Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun

Hungarian Dances

Estancia

Ave Verum Corpus, K 618

Marche Slave, Op. 31

The Red Violin

Heroic Polonaise

Symphony No. 9 in C Major

Violin Concerto in E Minor, Op. 64

Symphony No. 1 in B-flat Major, Op. 38

Scheherazade

Les Préludes

Les Indes galantes

St. Matthew Passion, BWV 244

Spartacus

Faust

Der Hirt auf dem Felsen

Finlandia

Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion

Sinfonía india

Symphony No. 4, Op. 29

Symphony No. 3

Appalachian Spring

Piano Sonata No. 6 in A, Op. 82

Symphony No. 2

Night on Bald Mountain

Symphony No. 2: The Age of Anxiety

Henry V

L’Arlésienne

Violin Concerto No. 2

The Comedians, Op. 26

Cello Concerto in B Minor, Op. 104

Piano Sonata No. 11 in A Major, K 331

Clarinet Quintet in A Major, K 581

Academic Festival Overture, Op. 80

Chaconne

Italian Symphony

A German Requiem, Op. 45

La noche de los Mayas

Le Grand Tango

The Lark Ascending

Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, BWV 565

Trout Quintet

Brandenburg Concertos

Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat Minor, Op. 23

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

The Red Pony

Cello Concerto in E Minor, Op. 85

Horn Concerto No. 1 in E-flat Major

The Plow That Broke the Plains

Gnarly Buttons

Alleluia

Harold in Italy, Op. 16

Three Places in New England

Elijah, Op. 70

Orpheus in the Underworld

Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43

Symphonic Dances, Op. 45

Spanisches Liederbuch

Pathétique Sonata

Romeo and Juliet, Op. 64

Archduke Trio

Choral Fantasy in C Minor, Op. 80

Symphony No. 3

Pines of Rome

Cavalleria rusticana

Violin Concerto No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 26

Spiegel im Spiegel

Adagio for Strings

Violin Sonata in A Major

Diabelli Variations, Op. 120

Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 77

Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 61

Cantique de Jean Racine, Op. 11

Octet for Strings in E-flat Major, Op. 20

La strada

The Creation

Abdelazer

Symphony No. 5 in D Minor, Op. 47

String Quartet No. 2

Frauenliebe und-leben

Concerto for Two Trumpets in C Major

Piano Sonata No. 4 in F-sharp, Op. 30

Die Fledermaus

Sonatas and Interludes for Prepared Piano

The Devil’s Trill

Psycho

Exsultate, Jubilate, K 165

Star Wars

Piano Quartet in E-flat Major, Op. 47

Siegfried Idyll

Symphony No. 5 in E-flat Major, Op. 82

Piano Concerto in A Minor, Op. 54

Symphony No. 1 in C Minor, Op. 68

Symphony No. 4 in F Minor, Op. 36

Four Fugitive Pieces, Op. 15

Twelve Variations on Ah, vous dirai-je, Maman, K 265

The Marriage of Figaro

Gypsy Melodies, Op. 55

Air and Simple Gifts

Il trovatore

The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba

Azul

Woodwind Sonatas

Carmen

Concerto for Saxophone Quartet and Orchestra

La campanella

Publications (1)

Classical Music Insights: Understanding and Enjoying Great Music (2011)

By Betsy Schwarm

If you enjoy great music but want to know more about how it came to be the way it is - without investing time in a graduate degree - here are the background stories of over 200 great compositions. If you're only just coming to experiment with great music, here are guideposts to help you understand and enjoy what you encounter. The stories and sounds behind the scenes: welcome to Classical Music Insights.