WRTI.org: Music by Composers of African Descent with violinist Samuel Nebyu

Music By Composers of African Descent

Samuel Nebyu, Violin

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WRTI

Classical Album of the Week: Music by Composers of African Descent with violinist Samuel Nebyu

By Jack Moore • Jun 19, 2018 

What a fascinating collection!  Young violinist Samuel Nebyu, who earned a bachelor’s degree from Temple University’s Boyer College of Music & Dance, has come out with a debut album that bears repeated listening. Samuel Nebyu, violin – Music by Composers of African Descent is a treasury of compositions, and a celebration of his Ethiopian-Hungarian heritage.

The disc features violin and piano selections by composers of color: Joseph Bologne Chevalier de Saint-Georges, Henry Thacker Burleigh, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor and Clarence Cameron White. While these names may not be immediately familiar, they all played a role in the development of music during the 18th and 19th centuries. 

Burleigh introduced Dvořák to spirituals. Samuel-Coleridge Taylor (referred to as the African Mahler) wrote some extraordinary music during his day, and was encouraged by Edward Elgar. Joseph Bologne was known far and wide as a great violinist, a champion swordsman, and prolific composer and conductor who led premieres of Haydn’s “Paris” Symphonies.