In the revivals of the operas of the 17th and 18th centuries, one of the modern puzzles has been the use of men in women’s roles. We did have male singers, starting in the 1950s with Alfred Deller. At first,

A first work in a genre is often a hard slog in finding out how something works. Praised as ‘distinctive and admirable’ by Liszt, this string quartet by Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg (1843–1907) was the product of much hard work

At some point in your life, if you are interested in music at all, you will have heard a tune or two by George Gershwin (1898-1937). What an absolutely unique composer freely mixing and combining classical and popular music styles.

Are you a stamp collector? I used to be, but not anymore. However, I still enjoy looking at stamps and being fascinated by the different designs. One afternoon, I was looking at my stamp collection, which made me wonder if

When we think about the great composers, it’s easy to imagine them as super-geniuses isolated in their own little rarefied world. But of course, the great composers were only human, living and working alongside other humans. Almost all of the

The words “violin” and “fiddle” are often used interchangeably to refer to the same thing: i.e., a musical instrument with four strings and played under the chin with a bow. However, even though the instruments are almost identical, that doesn’t

Have you ever experienced nostalgia hearing a piece of music? Perhaps you have “your” song with a sweetheart or recall songs from your graduation, prom, or first dance? Instantly the melody catapults us back to the time and place of

The violin and viola are two instruments that look and sound very similar. Each instrument, however, has its own unique timbre, role, character…and partisans. In this article, we’re looking at the differences between the violin and the viola. We’ll be