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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On This Day
10 February: Offenbach’s The Tales of Hoffmann Was Premiered February 10th, 2023The “opera fantastique” The Tales of Hoffmann (Les Contes d’Hoffmann) by Jacques Offenbach was first played publically, without the third act, at the Opéra-Comique in Paris on 10 February 1881. The composer did not live to see the premiere, as -
Haydn and the Merry Widow
Joseph Haydn and Rebecca Schroeter February 9th, 2023During his two London visits, Joseph Haydn was treated like royalty. As one of the most celebrated composers in Europe, he led highly successful concerts and composed a number of his best-known works, including his last twelve symphonies. With a -
On This Day
9 February: Alban Berg was Born February 9th, 2023In 1885, as Johannes Brahms was writing his Fourth Symphony, Albano Maria Johannes Berg was born on 9 February. The “o” on his first name quickly disappeared, and he was the third of four children of Johanna and Conrad Berg. -
Moments of Grace
The Quatuor Arod and Bruno Monsaingeon February 8th, 2023There’s a point in Bruno Monsaingeon’s new documentary about the Quatuor Arod, Ménage à Quatre, where it all becomes clear – you understand what they’re talking about and the minutiae of sound elements that they’re dealing with when Jérémy Garbarg, -
An Orchestral version of Schubert’s Erlkönig February 8th, 2023 One of the great delights of Franz Schubert’s setting of Goethe’s poem Erlkönig is all the voices that appear in the work: in the vocal line, we have the narrator, the father, the child, and the Erl-king. The piano is -
Charles Dickens
“Ask no questions, and you’ll be told no lies.” February 7th, 2023Charles Dickens, born on 7 February 1812 on Portsea Island (Portsmouth), Hampshire, is known for creating some of the best-known fictional characters in literature. We all are familiar with Ebenezer Scrooge, Tiny Tim, Little Nell, Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, Samuel -
Anton Rubinstein’s Persian Love Songs February 7th, 2023 The classical bilingual poet in Azerbaijani and Persian, Mirza Shafi Vazeh (1796-1852) was widely known as the “sage of Ganja,” the town of his birth. He initially studied Arabic and Persian but got expelled from school for questioning the arrogance -
On This Day
7 February: Germaine Mounier was Born February 7th, 2023The exceptional pianist and pedagogue Germaine Mounier, born on 7 February 1920 in Neuilly-sur-Seine, had a reputation as one of the most successful piano teachers in Paris. She taught a very large class at the École Normale over many years