Marked by its technical bravura, Widmung (or Dedication in English) has remained one of the most popular encore pieces in piano recital, allowing pianists to display their virtuosity. However, Widmung is much more than a mere showpiece – containing probably

Beethoven was starting to have some serious health problems when Prince Nikolai Galitzine—an amateur cellist in St. Petersburg and great admirer of Beethoven’s music—wrote to him on 9 November 1822. “May I ask,” the Prince inquired “for one, two, or

The United States of America (the India that Christopher Columbus thought he reached) and the real India lie on diametrically opposite sides of the globe; noon here, midnight there. The two lands only had sporadic contact in the distant past.

Freshly married, Mr. and Mrs. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart visited Salzburg from the end of July to October 1783. For one, Wolfie wanted to introduce Constanze to his family and smooth things over with his father, who had been adamant that

How Do Musicians Express Their Emotions through Music? Music is a powerful means of communication, by which people share emotions, intentions, and meanings, and our personal engagement with music, whether in a live concert, listening to a CD or via

A musician’s pre-concert anxieties often show up in our worst nightmares—you are on stage and have no idea what piece you are playing, or you show up for the concert and you are the piano soloist (you don’t play the

I never intended to be a piano teacher. I worked for ten years in art and academic publishing after leaving university and I continued to freelance in this sector when I stopped full-time work to have my son. But as

The residential district of “Ziegelhausen” is situated at the eastern perimeter of the city of Heidelberg, Germany. Picturesquely located on the banks of the Neckar River it idyllically stretches into the “Odenwald Forest.” Dotted by charming bed and breakfast establishments,