The Austrian Emperor Joseph II was crazy about Italian opera buffa! And since he had the required resources and lots of taxpayer money, he simply went ahead and founded a new opera company in 1783. Since the Emperor took his

Oedipus Rex, subtitled an “Opera-Oratorio after Sophocles,” has been recognized as one of the high points of Stravinsky’s work, yet is rarely performed today. Sophocles’ drama tells of an entire family’s attempts to avoid their fate, while at the same

During the Middle Ages, the Italian peninsula was home to a collection of smaller independent city-states and kingdoms. Only in 1861 did Italian nationalists and monarchists create a unified Kingdom of Italy. Characterized by severe economic hardship, particularly found in

The composer Heinrich Marschner made the most of the vampire craze that swept Europe in the early 19th century with his opera Der Vampyr. The craze had started with a short story abandoned by Byron that was picked up by

“Minors of the Majors” invites you to discover compositions by the great classical composers that for one reason or another have not reached the musical mainstream. Please enjoy, and keep listening!

Witches, Warlocks, and Wizards are said to possess magical powers and are able to command supernatural forces. They have played an active part in human history and the imagination since ancient times. At various times in history, witchcraft and wizardry

The Oceanids are the water spirits, children of Oceanus, the Titan whose river encircles the world, and Tethys, his sister/wife who oversaw the rivers of the world. Oceanus and Tethys had 3,000 daughters and 3,000 sons. In Greek mythology, however,

The Russian composer and pianist Nikolai Medtner (1880-1951) was utterly despised by the Russian community in Paris. Considered an old fart and hopelessly out of touch with modern times, he was even facetiously called the “Russian Brahms.” Much of this