Articles

3517 Posts
archive-post-image
Getting Lost in the Hyphenation and Accents
The death of the bass-baritone John Shirley-Quirk in April 2014 and the story in Times obituary about the problems caused by his name got us to think of other mistaken performers and composers. The New York Times obit gave us
Read more
archive-post-image
János Starker Remembrance Week: Starker’s Two Grandchildren Remember Grandpa
By Alexandra Preucil Assistant Concertmaster Cleveland Orchestra For as long as I can remember, family gatherings have been synonymous with music making. Sometimes this took place in fancy concert halls, but more often than not, my family would simply come
Read more
archive-post-image
Instruments of the Orchestra VII: The Clarinet
If we think of the flutes as the air above the woodwind section and the oboes as the kind of nasal-sounding brain, then the heart of the section has to be the clarinet. Unlike the oboe, which is a double-reed
Read more
archive-post-image
Bösendorfer
Carrying the Coat of Arms of Austria
Every pianist knows that the standard grand piano has an 88-key keyboard! And in general, this assumption is certainly correct. However, if you stumble across the Bösendorfer Imperial Model 290 or the Bösendorfer Model 225, you will notice that these
Read more
archive-post-image
Kinds of Orchestras
In many cities, there are multiple orchestras and although we might think that they differentiate themselves solely through their labels: London Philharmonic and London Symphony Orchestra, etc., they may also carry other names that differentiate them by size. The smallest
Read more
archive-post-image
Amateurs take to the stage
The South London Concert Series is a unique concert concept, created and curated by myself and harpsichordist and fellow piano teacher Lorraine Liyanage. Launched in November 2013, the series offers talented amateur pianists the opportunity to perform alongside young and
Read more
archive-post-image
The Great Women Artists Who Shaped Music II – Dorothy DeLay
Other than playing the violin fantastically, what do Itzhak Perlman, Midori, Anne Akiko Meyers, Sarah Chang, Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, Nigel Kennedy, Gil Shaham, Shlomo Mintz Philippe Quint and Cho-Liang Lin have in common? Their teacher! Dorothy DeLay.
Read more
archive-post-image
More Muzzles for Classical Music!
The connection between classical music and political activism of one sort or another is hardly new. When Beethoven disapproved of Napoleon’s shenanigans, he promptly changed the dedication of his Eroica symphony to “the memory of a great hero.” Verdi’s chorus
Read more