In essence

1707 Posts
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Franz Liszt and Marie d’Agoult: The Turbulent Romance That Shocked Europe
Few Romantic Era love stories are as passionate – or as tumultuous – as the relationship between Franz Liszt and Marie d’Agoult. What began as an unexpected meeting in a Parisian salon in the early 1830s blossomed into an intense
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Ten Excerpts from Robert Schumann’s Love Letters to Clara
The love story between Robert and Clara Schumann is often regarded as one of the most romantic in classical music history. Happily for historians, many of their love letters survive. They document their inner thoughts and emotions, as well as
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The Chinese Zodiac for Children, Part II
As a continuation of his first book on the animals of the Chinese zodiac (Read more from The Chinese Zodiac for Children), Canadian composer Vincent Ho (b. 1975) wrote a book 2 that builds on Book 1 and takes a
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Seven Composers Who Married Their Students
Throughout classical music history, ostensibly professional relationships between teachers and students have sometimes turned romantic. Some of the resulting marriages ended up being loving, long-lasting partnerships built on deep mutual admiration and respect. Others curdled rapidly due to destructive power
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Peter Burra: How a Critic’s Tragic Death Helped Benjamin Britten Find the Love of His Life
In the 1930s, Peter Burra was a rising star in British letters. But his death at the age of twenty-seven in an airplane crash brought those hopes to a sudden, violent end. Though Burra’s life was cut tragically short, his
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The Devil is a Woman
Eugene Aynsley Goossens and Rosaleen Norton
In 1935, the filmmaker Josef von Sternberg directed a romance film starring actress Marlene Dietrich. Titled “The Devil is a Woman,” it was the last of the six Sternberg-Dietrich collaborations for Paramount Pictures. The plot is based on a novel
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Chamber Music Dedicated to Johannes Brahms
We’ve looked at compositions dedicated to Johannes Brahms before, let’s put our focus on various chamber music pieces dedicated to Brahms this time. Heinrich von Herzogenberg: Piano Quartet in B-flat Major, Op. 95 Heinrich von Herzogenberg: Piano Quartet in B-flat
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Goldfish
“Moving Flowers”
Two visually stunning icons habitually greet visitors to Japan. One, of course, is the iconic Mount Fuji towering over the Kanto plains. The other icon is rather more subtle and it was first brought to Japan in 1502 by Chinese
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