Ralph Vaughan Williams’ quintessential work for violin and for the summer is The Lark Ascending. We are so familiar with its trilling and rising skylark, personified by the violin, who takes flight above a quiet chamber orchestra. Vaughan was inspired

A recent recording by Emanuel Ax, Yo-Yo Ma, and the Greek violinist Leonidas Kavakos provided an interesting examination of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 2, but as arranged for piano trio. The music was arranged by Beethoven’s right-hand man, Ferdinand Ries (1784-1838).

Some say that feminist musicology started at the movies, and that it all kicked off with Stanley Kubrick’s dystopian crime film “A Clockwork Orange” of 1971. The central character Alex is a charismatic and antisocial delinquent who is interested in

The American composer and pianist John Woods Duke (1899-1984) might not be a household name, but he was certainly one of the most talented composers of art song in the 20th century. Duke was fascinated by the “strange and marvelous

Cats are our life companions, yet they remain separate. They walk alone. They delight us in their fantasies (what is in that corner they’re staring at? Should I be concerned?). They amaze us with their ability to fly gracefully to

In 1859, English poet and writer Edward FitzGerald published the first translation of what he called the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám. Coming from one of the wealthiest families in England, FitzGerald could do as he wished and one of the

Ever since sound was first coupled with moving images at the turn of the 20th century, classical music has played an important role. In fact, the new film medium provided the avenue for Western classical music to reach people from

The psalm text “Ecce quam bonum et quam iocundum habitare fratres in unum” (Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity) (Vulgate Ps. 132, King James Ps. 133) was widely used in medieval