Specific cities have inspired a huge amount of classical music over the years. Today, we’re looking at a selection of classical works explicitly connected to major cities, examining how each composer responded to each place. Some pieces reflect civic pride
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Who Got It Right and Who Got It Wrong?
Critics and Composers October 28th, 2022We were looking at a book of musical quotations the other day and found some things that make one so glad to have a sense of perspective. Here, John Gregory, writing in 1766 in his A Comparative View of the -
On This Day
27 October: Brigitte Engerer Was Born October 27th, 2022Stanislav Neuhaus, son of the legendary pianist and pedagogue Heinrich Neuhaus, would likely have won the Chopin Prize in 1949. However, the Soviet regime did not allow him to make the trip to Warsaw, and thus he shared the pedagogical -
Recordings vs Live Performance October 26th, 2022 A Musician’s View on the Differences Between Recording Music and Performing in a Live Concert Recordings are, by nature, performances in quite an unnatural environment. Microphones squat beneath you and leer over your shoulders, wires and cables snake around the -
Brianna Matzke: a Champion of New Music October 25th, 2022 Dr. Brianna Matzke is a pianist, educator, collaborator, producer, as well as an advocate of new music. Matzke, who grew up in a small-town Minnesota, was famously known as the “piano girl” playing for major occasions around town. Fast forward, -
On This Day
25 October: Johann Strauss Jr. Was Born October 25th, 2022Johann Strauss Senior was a very wealthy man indeed. Operating under the assumption that “there is a sucker born every minute,” he filled the dance halls of Europe and performed in front of royalty, even playing for Queen Victoria’s coronation. -
Composers and Super-Stars Can Be Normal People October 24th, 2022 For audience members, it’s difficult to imagine musicians anywhere other than on the stage wearing their tails or long gowns, looking serious, playing music with utmost concentration. I remember walking to my car after an evening concert, in my lumpy, -
Four-Hand Piano Works From Latin America II October 23rd, 2022 I am always fascinated with the sounds of Latin American music, and as a pianist, I enjoy discovering more works from Latin America. We have explored four-hand piano music by Méndez, Guastavino, Villa-Lobos and Lacerda last time. Let’s continue to -
On This Day
23 October: Lucas Debargue Was Born October 23rd, 2022Born on 23 October 1990, Lucas Debargue has been described as “A performer of fierce integrity and dazzling communicative power, who draws inspiration for his playing from literature, painting, cinema, jazz, and develops very personal interpretations of a carefully selected