We think of serenades like lullabies – songs to put you in a sleepy mood and to help carry you off into dreams. Serenades, however, are from a different source – they’re not designed to lull you to sleep like

In the last article, I mentioned several composers from different Latin American countries. This article will introduce two important Mexican composers, Manuel Ponce and Carlos Chávez. They were both significant figures in Mexican music history. While Ponce was influential to

The music of Mozart fascinates. Often, his name is synonymous with musical genius, and he is perhaps the most popular classical composer ever. His musical output and extraordinary life, including musical precocity, have been the subject of many studies, books,

Glenn Gould claimed to “detest” audiences, regarding them as “mob rule” and “a force for evil” (he retired from performing in public at 31), but most performers take a far more positive and generous attitude towards audiences. Audiences – real

I met the American composer Libby Larsen when we were both just beginning our careers. I had joined the Minnesota Orchestra and with three other colleagues formed The Minneapolis Artists Ensemble, whose mandate was to play a variety of chamber

When it comes to Mozart operas, “The Marriage of Figaro” is one of my all-time favorites. Mozart composed this opera buffa in 1786 to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte. The libretto is based on a stage comedy by

Imagine if you were listening to someone speak, perhaps reading out the news on television, or reciting a poem. The speaker’s voice sounds the same the entire time they are speaking, with no rise or fall in sound, no changes

Ill-timed coughs, un-silenced cellphones, rustling sweet wrappers… the frustration felt by some musicians towards their audiences at concerts is unfortunately all too well documented. You’d almost think some musicians prefer performing to an empty room. But, come to think of