Over the last couple of days, I have conducted a little musical experiment. I noticed that 35 out of 106 Symphonies by Joseph Haydn carry a nickname of sorts. There is a “Bear,” a “Queen,” a “Philosopher,” a “Surprise,” a

The most valuable violins in the world sport colorful nicknames that disclose the providence of ownership or describe the sound quality or shape of the instrument. We just have to think of the “Molitor Stradivari,” the “Virgin Stradivari,” or the

A 2006 article in the British medical journal BMJ looked at 200 years of opera and how they treated doctors. This prompted us to take up the question ourselves. Doctors – good guys or bad guys? Well, it depends…. Characters

The court of King Frederick II (1712-1786) of Prussia was one of the most musically sparkling of its time. Led by its flute-playing king, the court began with a chamber orchestra with 17 members conducted by Johann Gottlieb Graun and

Finnish composer Selim Palmgren (1878-1951) was a prolific composer for the piano, writing some 300 small piano works, 5 piano concertos, choral works and one opera (another opera was never completed). Although in his 1948 biography, Minusta tuli muusikko (I

How many conductors does it take to change a lightbulb? Nobody knows. Nobody is watching. Gustav Holst: The Planets Op. 32 Mars, the Bringer of War (E. Ormandy) It’s an unprecedented time for symphony orchestras. There are numerous and prestigious

How classical operas can relate to our current life We were looking at a list of opera titles the other day and started noting (with a certain snarkiness) that many of the title could be applicable to today’s news. Just

Audience members may be surprised to hear that we classical musicians are not staid, dour, formal, and stiff. Yes, we are serious about our art, and achieving excellence takes diligence, hard work, sacrifice and years of practice. But we cannot