Articles

3138 Posts
archive-post-image
Qigang Chen Brings Fresh “Joy” to Lunar New Year Celebration
La joie de la souffrance (The Joy of Suffering)
New York Philharmonic Lunar New Year Celebration Long Yu, conductor; Yiwen Lu, erhuJanuary 31, 2023 The highlight of the New York Philharmonic’s Lunar New Year concert this year, Qigang Chen’s 2017 composition La joie de la souffrance (The Joy of
Read more
archive-post-image
On This Day
16 February: Massenet’s Werther Was Premiered
On 24 January 1892, Jules Massenet left for Vienna and stayed at the famous Hotel Sacher, across from the stage entrance of the opera house. He had arrived to oversee rehearsals for his new opera Werther, and wrote, “All the
Read more
archive-post-image
Musicians – Are You Incessantly in Your Head?
We musicians spend a great deal of time in our heads. We are constantly analyzing the music in front of us, searching the score for hints from the composer as to how he or she intended the piece to sound;
Read more
archive-post-image
Comrade Composers
Aaron Copland, Louis Durey and Alan Bush
A group of foreign delegates arrived in New York in late March 1949 to advance the cause of world peace. The “Cultural and Scientific Conference for World Peace” was to prove that the Iron Curtain did not divide the world,
Read more
archive-post-image
On This Day
14 February: Renée Fleming Was Born
For Renée Fleming, born on 14 February 1959 in Indiana, Pennsylvania, music was part of her earliest memories. “My memories so often involve someone singing,” she writes, “or me singing, or someone striking the first notes on the piano that
Read more
archive-post-image
On This Day
13 February: Ignaz Friedman Was Born
On 13 February 1882 in Podgórze, near Kraków, Salomea (Salcia) Friedman (Freudmann) gave birth to her son Solomon Isaac (Ignacy). She had already suffered six miscarriages and stillbirths before giving birth, and she had married the father Nachman Wolf (Wolko)
Read more
archive-post-image
Cellists and Their Composers
Mendelssohn Sonatas: On the Cusp of the Romantic Cello
Although Felix Mendelssohn predated Brahms, his cello music is on the cusp of romanticism, bridging the classical and the romantic periods of music. He wrote two cello sonatas, No. 1 in B-flat Op. 45, and No. 2 in D Major
Read more
archive-post-image
The Pilgrimage of the Rose
Robert Schumann’s Der Rose Pilgerfahrt
Roses are gorgeously beautiful flowers, and they are associated with romantic love and beauty. And as far back as I can remember, which isn’t really all that long, the rose has been one of the most recognized symbols of Valentine’s
Read more