Born in Somero, Finland, on 5 September 1960, Karita Mattila can turn any performance into an event. She is one of opera’s most compelling actors, combining conscious artistry with a “truly physical and vocal performance.” In fact, she has been
September, 2024
Classical music composers have always been drawn to the inspiration present in the natural world, and many have gotten close to it by gardening themselves or even writing music about gardens. Today, we’re looking at ten pieces of classical music
The music of Anton Bruckner, born as the son of a schoolmaster and church organist in Ansfelden near Linz on 4 September 1824, still strongly resonates today. Yet he was more than just an artist, he was a visionary. One
This year, in 2024, we are celebrating the 200th birthday of an inventive and revered composer of the late 19th century, Anton Bruckner. Having performed his symphonies many times, what better way to honor the composer than to make a
Have you ever attended a concert featuring classical music and sound therapy? An ensemble group called Transposed, founded by pianist Elena Toponogova and soprano Eleanor Penfold (Ellie), is offering a classical and meditative sound bath experience. During the conversation, they
Croatian composer Matej Meštrović (b.1969) brought interesting instruments to his 2018 work Danube Rhapsody, adding in the hammer-struck cimbalom and the Croatian long-necked lute, the tambura or tamburitza. Meštrović uses the folklore of the countries that border the Danube, and
The Threepenny Opera, the most famous collaboration between Bertold Brecht and Kurt Weill premiered on 31 August 1928. It was a resounding success with critics and audiences alike. A contemporary critic writes that the work is “the weightiest possible lowbrow