Let’s talk about organs. Pipe, non-pipe, mechanical, and also electric organs. These huge, complicated, and often misunderstood instruments. But nevertheless, instruments which have accompanied the history of art, music, and religion and which endure to this day. The most common

Her music was admired by Leopold Mozart. She was one of the first composers to write string quartets. As a young woman, she wrote a set of six violin concertos and performed them to great acclaim. She toured Europe as

My partner often says this to me when we are out on our mountain bikes. Momentum will enable you to cruise over uneven ground, tree roots, and other gnarly features on single-track paths. But reach for the brakes and, at

Self-sufficiency, in the context of music, refers to a musician’s ability to manage various aspects of their career independently. Today, more than ever, self-sufficiency is crucial for musicians in an increasingly dynamic and competitive music industry. At a most basic

The autocratic conductor is almost a relic of the past. Musicians and music lovers have heard tales of outbursts from Arturo Toscanini, Fritz Reiner, and others. Toscanini can be heard on tape screaming, “You have no ears. You have no

Being great at playing one instrument doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be great at another. But over the decades, a handful of fabulous concert violinists have proven to be fabulous pianists, too. Today we’re looking at how these five violinists’ gifts

One of the most important Polish composers of the 20th century, Karol Szymanowski (1882-1937) is a reflection of the most relevant currents and trends in music during his life. Initially fascinated by the music of Chopin and Wagner, Szymanowski’s music

Schubert’s song cycle Winterreise has none of the bright optimism of his earlier Die schöne Müllerin. The spring day of ‘Das Wandern’ is now the cold frozen dusk of ‘Gute Nacht’. Our hero starts off isolated, leaving town in the