During the first decades of the 19th Century, the city of Vienna must have been a real party town. Conductors, performers and composers from all parts of Europe flocked to the city to take advantage of the rapidly expanding employment
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The character of Dr. Daniel Athanasius in Hans Pfiztner’s 1931 opera Das Herz returns us to the Faustian pacts we saw in the 19th century, however, this opera has a very different ending. Instead of being dragged down to hell,
Christian Li Plays Handel Halvorsen Violin and viola duo Once again, it’s back to school time and music teachers are preparing their classrooms with equipment and with innovation. You’d be surprised how many issues a music teacher encounters. Organizing the
We know of Henry V through Shakespeare’s eponymous history play, telling of the events surrounding the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. We first met Henry V when he was plain Hal, bouncing around the play Henry IV, parts 1 and
My job as a piano teacher has given me many opportunities to work with children. For the most part, I always have a wonderful time with them. Children are born without knowing any rules and boundaries, and their imagination can
In May 2022, shortly before the Platinum Jubilee, I began to work on a story on Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II considering it apt to look into HM’s connection with Chinese musicians, particularly those who had met her and had
Having recently given a performance of Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 5, I was reminded how lyrical, intense, and downright wonderful this piece is. With that said, Prokofiev’s music can take some getting used to. I speak from personal experience: it took
Tchaikovsky String Sextet in D Minor Op. 70 Souvenir de Florence was composed in 1890 – a remembrance of the wonderful summer spent in Rome, Florence, and Venice away from harsh Russian winters. Although Tchaikovsky found composing for this complement