Blogs

archive-post-image
Dvořák in America: Five Masterpieces Inspired by the New World
In September 1892, Antonín Dvořák arrived in America with his wife and two of his children, ready to start a new life in the New World. His American sojourn only lasted for three years, but those three years produced some
Read more
archive-post-image
Musical Memories
My earliest memories of music are probably my parents listening to BBC Radio 3 and playing LPs of their favourite pieces and performers. When I was older, probably around 8 or 9, they took me to concerts and it was
Read more
archive-post-image
Romantic Era Classical Music Inspired by Composers’ Wives
Classical music lovers don’t always like acknowledging it, but every idolised canonical composer has been deeply inspired by the people who surrounded him. And in many cases, one of the most inspirational people in any artist’s life is their spouse.
Read more
archive-post-image
It’s Alive!
Frankenstein Friday
Ah, Frankenstein Friday! That electrifying evening when the veil between the living and the undead thins just enough for monsters to mingle with mortals. You might know it by its more common alias, Halloween, but let’s crank up the voltage
Read more
archive-post-image
Michael Haydn: The Overlooked Genius Behind His Famous Brother
Michael Haydn was born on 14 September 1737 in the Austrian village of Rohrau. His father was Mathias Haydn, a wheelwright and local government official. His mother was Maria, a cook, wife, and mother. Both parents were enthusiastic amateur musicians
Read more
archive-post-image
The Lyrical Improvisation
Saint-Saëns’ La muse et le poète
French composer Camille Saint-Saëns (1835–1921) spanned a change in eras that opens with the child prodigy being recognised by Rossini and Hector Berlioz and ends with the radical changes of the early 20th century. He did not like atonality or
Read more
archive-post-image
The Evolution of Sampled Music
As creative as the human mind gets, it seems we constantly find situations in which we repeat what has been done in the past. In fact, in art, one could question how much new there really is and how much
Read more
archive-post-image
Mana-Zucca: Composer, Pianist, Actress, and Forgotten American Icon
Mana-Zucca is, beyond a shadow of a doubt, one of the most interesting American composers you’ve never heard of. She was a child prodigy who debuted in Carnegie Hall with the New York Symphony, was admired by Puccini, and was
Read more