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
18 August: Antonio Salieri Was Born August 18th, 2022The town of Legnago is situated on the Adige River, in relatively close proximity to Venice, Mantua, Verona, and Vincenza. Since it is located on a rich agricultural plane, it long served as a center of grain trading. On 18 -
Magical Instruments August 17th, 2022 Magic flutes, bells, bagpipes, and ocarina from operas and video games! More powerful than any simple musical instrument, magical musical instruments can change the world around them. Where do we find them? In the opera Die Zauberflöte, both the hero, -
Stopping Time
Žibuoklė Martinaitytė’s Nunc fluens. Nunc stans August 16th, 2022The Lithuanian composer Žibuoklė Martinaitytė writes under self-imposed strictures: for the piece here, she confines herself to the diatonic notes, the white notes, of the piano, with only rare movements onto the chromatic, black keys. Her time signs are confined -
On This Day
16 August: Richard Wagner’s Siegfried Was Premiered August 16th, 2022Cosima Wagner, daughter of a great musician and wife of another, was instrumental in helping to found Bayreuth, the festival featuring her husband’s operas, “and ensuring its survival as an annual event of worldwide fame.” Every year, large audiences gather -
Music Practice
Music Theory August 15th, 2022When I first started taking music lessons in college, I thought that music theory was one of the most boring subjects in the world. My professors dutifully explained that music theory “is how musicians explain and describe the phenomena heard -
On This Day
15 August: Aldo Ciccolini Was Born August 15th, 2022There are several reasons as to why Aldo Ciccolini is not habitually listed among the top pianists in the world. For one, his tasteful and understated style of playing, a combination of humble stage demeanor paired with emotional restraint, did -
War Memorials August 14th, 2022 Music on Wars and World Crises There is a lot of music that takes place during war, such as the marching songs that help you get your troops in place, the campfire songs to encourage comradery off the battlefield, and -
Musicians and Artists – de Meij and Venetian Art August 14th, 2022 Johan de Meij: The Venetian Collection Dutch composer Johann de Meij (b. 1954) was inspired by four paintings in the Peggy Guggenheim collection in Venice to create his own Venetian Collection. The paintings he chose come from some of the