December, 2016

41 Posts
archive-post-image
Unsung Concertos
Nikolaus Kraft: Cello Concerto No. 1 (1815)
Antonín Kraft was one of the earliest cello superstars! A close personal friend of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven he became a founding member of the Schuppanzigh Quartet and helped to establish the tradition of modern string quartet playing. Considered one
Read more
archive-post-image
Mysteries of the Sustain Pedal
“The more I play, the more I am convinced the pedal is the soul of the pianoforte!” Arthur Rubinstein “….abusing the pedal is only a means of covering up a lack of technique, and that making a lot of noise
Read more
archive-post-image
Minors of the Majors
Edvard Grieg: 25 Norwegian Folk Songs and Dances, Op. 17
“Minors of the Majors” invites you to discover compositions by the great classical composers that for one reason or another have not reached the musical mainstream. Please enjoy, and keep listening!
Read more
archive-post-image
The Devil Takes a Wife
In Ottorino Respighi’s 1923 comic opera Belfagor, the eponymous devil comes to a small village in Italy. This was Respighi’s fifth attempt at opera and we see him still struggling to get the correct coordination between the music and the
Read more
archive-post-image
Musical Giants of the 20th Century: The Art of Lieder (Female Interpreters)
When we talk about giants among the female Lieder interpreters of the 20th century, we really must start with the great Polish soprano Marcella Sembrich (1858-1935). Sembrich performed for Liszt, and after studying in Vienna and Milan, secured long-term contracts
Read more
archive-post-image
A Girl’s Best Friend: Ethel Smyth and Marco
Nowadays composer Ethel Smyth is known less as a composer and more as a memoirist. Her multiple autobiographies are colorful windows into the musical life of the late nineteenth century. In 1919 she published Impressions That Remained, a book in
Read more
archive-post-image
Hugo Wolf: Kennst du das Land?
Die Bekehrte (Goethe) From Hugo Wolf: Kennst du das Land? (2016) Released by Harmonia Mundi Wolf: Die Bekehrte (Goethe)Goethe . . . Eichendorff . . . Mörike . . . These names resound in the ears of all who love
Read more
archive-post-image
Composers and their Poets: Beethoven II
Although he set the great poets such as Goethe, Beethoven set one poem by a German writer who was better known for his plays. In music, many of those plays were the basis for great operas: Wilhelm Tell became Rossini’s
Read more