Unconscious bursts of creativity that engender significant artistic endeavors are not necessarily inspired by passionate romantic love alone. Greek mythology believed that this kind of stimulus came from nine muses, the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. Muses were long considered the source of knowledge embodied in poetry, lyric songs and ancient myths. Throughout the history of Western art, artists, writers and musicians have prayed to the muses, or alternately, drawn inspiration from personified muses that conceptually reside beyond the borders of earthly love. True to life, however, composer inspiration has emerged from the entire spectrums of existence and being. Nature has always played a decidedly important role in the inspiration of various classical composers, as did exotic cities, landscapes or rituals. Composer inspiration is also found in poetry, the visual arts, and mythological stories and tales. Artistic, historical or cultural expressions of the past are just as inspirational as is the everyday: the third Punic War or the contrapuntal mastery of Bach is inspirationally just as relevant as are the virulent bat and camel. Composer inspiration is delightfully drawn from heroes and villains, scientific advances, a pet, or something as mundane as a hangover. Discover what fires the imagination of people who never stop asking questions.
With his masterworks La Mer and Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune, Claude Debussy reshaped the landscape of orchestral music by emphasising atmosphere, colour, and subtle harmonic explorations. Yet surprisingly, his orchestral catalogue contains a lesser-known work that has eluded widespread
Over the generations, composers have written a surprising number of pieces of classical music about bees. Today, to celebrate World Bee Day, we’re looking at seven examples of classical music inspired by bees – and ending with an amusing bit
Jazz, a catch-all term for a musical style that began to emerge from Black communities in the American South during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, revolutionized the international musical landscape around the turn of the century and beyond.
Butterflies have long symbolised transformation, grace, and fleeting beauty. Their delicate flight and vibrant colours have inspired poets, painters, and composers alike. In classical music, several works echo the elegance and unpredictability of these creatures—sometimes in title, sometimes in spirit.
Toshio Hosokawa is widely regarded as one of the most prominent living composers of contemporary classical music. Born in Hiroshima, Japan, his compositions are distinguished by a unique synthesis of Western avant-garde techniques and traditional Japanese aesthetics. Hosokawa’s compositions reflect
The music of Johann Sebastian Bach has long served as a wellspring of inspiration for composers across centuries. From the Classical era to the Romantic period and beyond, Bach’s music has been adapted for new instruments, ensembles, and audiences. Even
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) wrote 4 Overtures (as he called them), known as his four Orchestra Suites between 1724 and 1731. Each of these suites consists of several movements that are dance-pieces. The form was extremely popular in Bach’s time,
The Goldberg Variations, published by Bach in 1741, is beloved by musicians. Those who don’t play a keyboard instrument have been quick to arrange it for their own specialties. We’ll now look at very large ensembles and a few surprises.
