Convention Chronicles

Theodor Blumer

John Bailey has been researching the life and music of Theodor Blumer, and in his one-hour lecture recital on Blumer we learned that Blumer was a composer and pianist in Dresden in the first half of the 20th century and that his music is characterized by lush romantic harmonics and quick shifts. While it was written as salon music and sounds easy, it is actually more difficult to play than most salon music.

Blumer wrote a concerto and a sonata, but the sonata is not, Bailey noted, a good piece. Bailey played From the Animal Kingdom, From the Plant Kingdom, and selections from Ten Walzer. The interplay between the flute and piano in this music is enchanting. Laura Silverman was the pianist. Both Bailey and Silverman played beautifully, and this was an informative, lovely session.