The classical music world today is rife with startups – everywhere you look, there are exciting new orchestras, opera companies, choirs, and all manner of small ensembles. Yet while there are many people working at rethinking the way we experience
September, 2015
In 1997, conductor Claudio Abbado had a somewhat novel idea. He was looking to establish an independent and free international orchestra that plays at the highest artistic level. Instead of relying on a dedicated government funding structure, Abbado envisioned an
Chopin took up the medieval idea of the ballad, combined it with the idea of the Italian dance called the ballata, and mixed in a bit of standard sonata form and created the Ballade. These one-movement pieces call for an
In order to pay rent, composers frequently take up secondary jobs. Borodin was a licensed chemist, Ives worked in the insurance industry, and the pioneer of minimalist music Philip Glass supported himself by working as a plumber, furniture mover and
Musical instruments in China were traditionally classified into 8 groups delineated by the material used in the instrument: Silk, Bamboo, Wood, Stone, Metal, Clay, Gourd and Hide. We will look at selected instruments in six of these groups in this
Composer Gabriel Fauré, once called Marguerite Long, “a shameless woman who uses my name to get on.” Nonetheless she became the foremost woman pianist of France during the first half of the twentieth century, performing and teaching at the Paris
I always had issues practising when growing up. I hated the idea of anyone being able to hear me practice, no matter what stage I was at with a piece. Standing in our living room playing scales terrified me for
