New January Store Update - Composers of Piano Sonatinas

Happy new year! We’re excited to enter 2024 with a new avatars and backgrounds update in the Practice Space shop. We update the shop monthly so that you can motivate your students with fun new items regularly! As always, our goal is to make the store updates both entertaining and educational!

If you’re new here, your students can add avatars and backgrounds to their inventory to keep their home screen fresh. Students can only purchase from the Practice Space shop after completing their practice goal for the day! (A great motivator, we know!)

Take a look at the January composer update below! Each one comes with their own quotes so the musical individual can tell us about themselves and their achievements. Below are the five composers for this month and the facts they’ll share on the app. We’ve also included a little biography if you’d like to share with your students!

Frank Lynes (1858-1913) was an American composer known for his piano pieces.

Facts in app:

1. I am an American composer, born in Massachusetts.

2. I studied at the New England Conservatory of Music, and the Sonatinas I wrote were for my students.

3. At the Conservatory, I studied piano, organ and music theory.

4. I continued my education in Leipsig, Germany, where I wrote my pieces in a conservative classical style, reminiscent of Kuhlau and Diabelli.

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Laura Valborg Aulin (1860-1928) was a Swedish composer and pianist.

Facts in app:

1. I was a Swedish pianist and composer born to musical parents.

2. I took piano lessons from my grandmother and had my first public performance when I was 20 years old.

3. I won a traveling Fellowship that allowed me to study in Copenhagen and Paris.

4. I was a piano teacher, organist, concert pianist, and loved organizing concerts.

5. The bulk of my work consisted of piano compositions (including Piano Sonata in F-minor "Grande Sonate serieuse" and works for piano and voice. I also wrote two string quartets.

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Thomas Attwood (1765-1838) was an English composer and organist.
Facts in app:

1. I am an English composer, and had the privilege to study with Mozart.

2. Many say that they can hear many attributes of Mozart in my Piano Sonatinas.

3. I was able to conduct some of my own works and some of Mozart's symphonies.

4. I was friends with Mendelssohn who wrote his Kyrie Elieson in my home, and even dedicated it to me.

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Muzio Clementi (1752-1832) was an Italian-British composer, pianist, conductor, and music publisher.

Facts in app:

1. I have a very long full name! (Muzio Filippo Vincenzo Francesco Saverio Clementi)

2. I am very busy as a composer, virtuoso pianist, pedagogue, conductor, music publisher, editor, and piano manufacturer, mostly in England.

3. Once, in London I engaged in a piano competition with Mozart!

4. I am considered to be an influence on Beethoven and Chopin.

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Georg Anton Benda (1722-1795) was a composer, violinist, and Kapellmeister from the from the Kingdom of Bohemia.

Facts in app:

1. I am more acclaimed for my operas than my piano compositions, although students continue to play my Piano Sonatinas.

2. I, along with CPE Bach am known for bridging the Baroque and Classical music eras.

3. I am the 5th of 6 children born to parents who were both musicians.

4. I am fluent as a violinist, clavier performer and oboist.

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Background Update

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Some other fun additions
These all cheer the student on but also talk about tempo and other musical terms!