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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Dancing the Classics
Bach, Schubert, Debussy and Mozart January 2nd, 2023Bodily movement is such a natural and emotional response to music. I think that dance has been a part of human culture since the very beginning. It is a way of communicating, celebrating, and expressing an infinite number of feelings, -
On This Day
2 January: Pascal Amoyel Was Born January 2nd, 2023Pianist Pascal Amoyel has produced a number of award-winning recordings of the piano music of Liszt, Chopin, and Scriabin, and also received commendations for his duo performances with cellist Emmanuelle Bertrand. He has composed a number of smaller-scale compositions, but -
Happy New Year
Johann Strauss Jr.’s Die Fledermaus “Overture”: “The Bat” in Arrangement January 1st, 2023Ever since I was a little girl, my parents made me watch the New Year’s concert of the Vienna Philharmonic. Apparently, as they kept telling me, “it is good for you.” They needn’t have worried, because I loved to watch -
Nicholas Mulroy January 1st, 2023 Communicate Something Somehow to Everyone All the Time Tenor Nicholas Mulroy started his singing career in his native Liverpool’s cathedral choir, and after a hiatus from singing in his teen years, joined the chapel choir of Clare College, Cambridge, where -
Cellists and Their Composers
The Romantic Cello: Brahms Sonatas December 31st, 2022Cellists over the world relish playing the works of Johannes Brahms. The chamber music—his string quartets, piano trios, piano quartets, piano quintet, and the two string sextets are lush and rewarding to play. Brahms intended to perform the piano parts -
Happy New Year 2023
A Journey into Becoming December 31st, 2022As we say goodbye to 2022 and hello to 2023, we embark once more on a journey into the unknown. We might have gained the upper hand in the seemingly never-ending struggle against Covid-19, but new flu variants are once -
Most Memorable Events in China’s Classical Music Scene 2022 December 30th, 2022 Here are my picks to remember 2022 in music. Nixon in China according to TANG Jianping How about a different narrative of Nixon in China, probably from a Chinese perspective? Beijing-based composer TANG Jianping’s opera Premier ZHOU (2019) got its -
The Witches of the New Year
Jesús Arámbarri’s Gabon-zar sorgiñak December 29th, 2022Basque composer Jesús Arámbarri (1902-1960) used both his Spanish and Basque links in his music. On one hand, the Spanish tradition of composers such as Felipe Pedrell, and Isaac Albéniz were valuable, but the addition of the music of his