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
Latest article
Spotlight
-
Qigang Chen Brings Fresh “Joy” to Lunar New Year Celebration
La joie de la souffrance (The Joy of Suffering) February 17th, 2023New York Philharmonic Lunar New Year Celebration Long Yu, conductor; Yiwen Lu, erhuJanuary 31, 2023 The highlight of the New York Philharmonic’s Lunar New Year concert this year, Qigang Chen’s 2017 composition La joie de la souffrance (The Joy of -
Edgar Allan Poe: “The Raven” and Four Composers February 17th, 2023 Let me tell you a big secret. Although my parents hate it, I am a great fan of Gothic movies and Gothic fiction. Sometimes it is considered a part of the broader category of horror as “it tantalizes us with -
Musicians – Are You Incessantly in Your Head? February 16th, 2023 We musicians spend a great deal of time in our heads. We are constantly analyzing the music in front of us, searching the score for hints from the composer as to how he or she intended the piece to sound; -
On This Day
16 February: Massenet’s Werther Was Premiered February 16th, 2023On 24 January 1892, Jules Massenet left for Vienna and stayed at the famous Hotel Sacher, across from the stage entrance of the opera house. He had arrived to oversee rehearsals for his new opera Werther, and wrote, “All the -
Schubert Complete Piano Sonatas – An Interview With Paul Lewis February 15th, 2023 “I love the vulnerability of Schubert. I love the fragility. I love the lack of resolution. In a way, it’s the most real and human music.” – Paul Lewis Schubert: Piano Sonata in A Major D. 664, II. Andante | -
Paraskeva Clark’s Petroushka February 15th, 2023 The crowd gathers in the cobbled yard, children lifted to their shoulders. They are called to the puppet theatre by the showman with the bass drum on his back. On top of the theatre appear three characters: a man in -
Comrade Composers
Aaron Copland, Louis Durey and Alan Bush February 14th, 2023A group of foreign delegates arrived in New York in late March 1949 to advance the cause of world peace. The “Cultural and Scientific Conference for World Peace” was to prove that the Iron Curtain did not divide the world, -
On This Day
14 February: Renée Fleming Was Born February 14th, 2023For Renée Fleming, born on 14 February 1959 in Indiana, Pennsylvania, music was part of her earliest memories. “My memories so often involve someone singing,” she writes, “or me singing, or someone striking the first notes on the piano that