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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Sergei Rachmaninoff March 28th, 2023 “Music is enough for a lifetime, but a lifetime is not enough for music” On 28 March 2023 we commemorate the 80th anniversary of Sergei Rachmaninoff’s death. After a concert career as a pianist that lasted fifty years, Sergei Rachmaninoff -
Musical Prayers for Peace March 27th, 2023 Just over one year ago, Vladimir Putin ordered his armies to invade Ukraine, an independent country with a democratically elected government. Putin’s full-blown criminal invasion has left a trail of devastation, with towns and cities in ashes. Specifically targeting civilian - Cellists and Their Composers
The Romantic Cello: Richard Strauss and Edvard Grieg March 26th, 2023A number of cello sonatas composed around the time of the Brahms sonatas reveal burgeoning cello writing. I’d like to feature two of my favorite romantic cello sonatas, which I heard my father play when I was growing up. The -
Instrumental Architecture March 26th, 2023 We know that poetry and art inspire music – and we thought we’d look at the question from the other way around. How has music inspired art, in this case, architecture. We’ve found some unusual buildings in the shapes of - On This Day
26 March: Ludwig van Beethoven Died March 26th, 2023A biographer reports, “A violent thunderstorm struck Vienna in the afternoon of 26 March 1827. At 5:45 pm, a sudden flash of lightning was reported, and the dying man suddenly raised his head, stretched out his own right arm majestically—like -
Henri Dutilleux – Mysterious, Crystalline and Colourful March 25th, 2023 Think of the world of French modernism, and many may speak of Ravel, Debussy, Boulez, or Messiaen. Henri Dutilleux (1916-2013), while not perhaps immediately springing to mind, represents a fusion of the many strands of mid twentieth century French music. -
The Musician’s Curiosity March 25th, 2023 The important thing is not to stop questioning… Never lose holy curiosity – Albert Einstein One of the tenets of my own musical study, my writing, and my life in general is to “stay curious”. I’ve always been curious and - On This Day
25 March: Béla Bartók Was Born March 25th, 2023It is somewhat ironic that not a single Hungarian town in which Béla Bartók spent his youth is now within Hungarian boundaries. At the time of his birth on 25 March 1881, the town of Nagyszentmiklós was part of the
