Blogs

archive-post-image
Charles Villiers Stanford
“Heaven must be in me before I can be in heaven” As a composer, Charles Villiers Stanford (1852-1924) might not be a household name, but he is remembered as a teacher of several generations of British composers at the RCM
Read more
archive-post-image
The Turkish Five
In all the numbered composer groups, such as Les Six or The Five, one you rarely hear about were the Turkish Five. The five, Ahmet Adnan Saygun (1907-1991), Ulvi Cemal Erkin (1906-1972), Cemal Reşit Rey (1904-1985), Hasan Ferit Alnar (1906-1978),
Read more
archive-post-image
It’s Such a Load to Learn the Modes!
Learning scales is an essential step on the road to develop our playing. Once we learn the fingerings, we should be able to spontaneously play the scales that appear in the music even on sight. Learning all the modes can
Read more
archive-post-image
Siegfried Wagner: The Tragic Fate of Richard Wagner’s Composer Son
The life of Siegfried Wagner – son of Richard Wagner and grandson of Franz Liszt – touches on a wide range of questions that classical musicians are still wrestling with today. Questions like: How does it affect an artist’s life
Read more
archive-post-image
Twenty Trivia Questions About Classical Music
Need some trivia questions about classical music? We’ve got you covered! Today we’re looking at the history of classical music for trivia inspiration. Learn about everything from a composer who murdered his wife, to a Venetian orchestra of talented orphans,
Read more
archive-post-image
Heino Eller (1887-1970)
Father of Modern Estonian Music
There is nothing I like better than getting to know and explore lesser-known classical music and composers. Of course, notoriety and fame are completely relative, but I haven’t been exposed to the vast musical universes outside the conventional mainstream. Have
Read more
archive-post-image
Indian Music
The presence of Indian classical music in Western classical music is more than evident, although one might not notice it at first, it is undeniably here. Often disguised, and peppered in works and identities, Indian classical music’s way of functioning
Read more
archive-post-image
Are Piano Keys Made of Ivory?
Have you ever wondered where the phrase “tickling the ivories” comes from? Is it just a colloquialism, or is it meant literally? Is making piano keys out of ivory legal? And is ivory the preferred material for piano-builders today? If
Read more