In classical music, the Romantic Era lasted from around 1810 to around 1910. That century gave us some of the most famous symphonies in the repertoire. Nineteenth-century composers like Tchaikovsky, Brahms, Dvořák, Schubert, Mahler, Rachmaninoff, and others elevated the symphony
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18 May: Gluck’s Iphigenie en Tauride Was Premiered May 18th, 2023Iphigénie en Tauride has always been one of Willibald Gluck’s most frequently performed operas. It was the sixth of his seven operas for Paris, and premiered on 18 May 1779 by the Paris Opéra at the second Salle du Palais-Royal. -
17 May: National Mushroom Hunting Day May 17th, 2023 Did you know that there are over 50,000 species of mushrooms? Some are hallucinogenic, a small percentage poisonous, and a few are used for their medical properties. Although the majority of mushrooms are edible, very few varieties are actually flavorful. -
Alistair McGowan’s Ludlow Piano Festival May 17th, 2023 Celebrity impressionist, comedian, and actor turned pianist Alistair McGowan has launched the inaugural Ludlow Piano Festival, which takes place between 24 and 28 May in the beautiful, historic town of Ludlow, Shropshire, England. Alistair McGowan: The Piano Show This new -
On This Day
17 May: Erik Satie Was Born May 17th, 2023Eric Alfred Leslie Satie, who signed his name Erik Satie after 1884, was born at nine in the morning of 17 May 1866 in the coastal town of Honfleur. He was the son of a Scottish mother, née Jane Leslie -
In Praise of the Classical Music Nerd May 16th, 2023 A nerd is a person seen as overly intellectual, obsessive, [or] introverted…. Such a person may spend inordinate amounts of time on unpopular, little known, or non-mainstream activities, which are generally either highly technical, [or] abstract….to the exclusion of more -
9 Greatest Arias by Gaetano Donizetti May 15th, 2023 175 years ago, Gaetano Donizetti (1797-1848) died in a state of mental derangement due to neurosyphilis. His disease was confirmed by autopsy, and many commentators have “speculated that the composer’s brain disease may have had an influence on his ability -
On This Day
15 May: Stravinsky’s Pulcinella Was Premiered May 15th, 2023In 1917, Igor Stravinsky and Pablo Picasso made an excursion to Naples, with the composer commenting on its “half Spanish character, on the pleasure he found in the aquarium, and in the Neapolitan watercolors.” They also attended a commedia dell’arte -
Music for Every Room
Dr. J. Clarence Chambers’ All American May 14th, 2023Dr. J. Clarence Chambers (1910–2006), in his studies at Amherst College, became the rehearsal pianist for the music department’s operetta performances. He graduated in 1934 from Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons and did his internship at Harlem Hospital.