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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“COVID fan tutte”: 2020 Comic Opera February 4th, 2023 Viral pandemics are pretty dire affairs, with millions of people falling sick and dying. COVID-19 hit us right in the face, mercilessly taking advantage of our human vanities and frailties, praying on our complacency, deceits, and political nonsense. In one -
The Art of the Keyboard Case February 4th, 2023 When you think of a piano, you think of it closed – a big black box. Sits in the corner. Its colour is only revealed when you uncover the keyboard, and the contrast of the white and black keys is -
Soloists Who Conduct: The Allure of the Podium February 3rd, 2023 “Put your hands up and step away from the podium…” This is the feeling that many musicians have when a prominent soloist appears on stage not in their usual guise, but as a conductor. It’s a bit like trying to -
Wilhelm Furtwängler
The Conducting Composer February 2nd, 2023Wilhelm Furtwängler (1886-1954) is known as one of the greatest conductors of the 20th century, but he saw himself primarily as a composer for whom conducting was “the roof under which I have taken refuge in life because I was -
On This Day
2 February: Fritz Kreisler Was Born February 2nd, 2023Almost every biography of Fritz Kreisler quotes his famous saying, “I knew musical scores instinctively before I knew my A B C. It was a gift of Providence. I did not acquire it.” I have always wondered how this statement -
Rachell Ellen Wong February 1st, 2023 “Play It How You Want To” The worlds of ‘modern’ and ‘historical’ performance are often seen as two very different beasts – but not for young violinist Rachell Ellen Wong. The only early music practitioner to have ever received an -
On This Day
1 February: Puccini’s La Bohème Was Premiered February 1st, 2023Giacomo Puccini’s (1858-1924) La Bohème is one of his best-loved and most frequently performed operas. After its premiere on 1 February 1896 it was quickly adopted into the repertory of all the major theatres across Italy. However, the response of -
Victor Hugo’s Les Djinns
By Gabriel Fauré, César Franck and Louis Vierne January 31st, 2023Victor Hugo’s 1829 poetry collection, Les Orientales, was inspired by the Greek War of Independence, where, between 1821 and 1829, the Greeks worked to overthrow the Ottoman Empire. Assisted by the British, the French, and the Russians, the Greeks overthrew