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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Auroras June 30th, 2022 They appear in the sky at the poles, flickering patterns of light that can cover the whole sky or sweep across like a curtain. The Auroras, named for the goddess of dawn, are one of the wonderful natural light displays -
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30 June: Rafał Blechacz Was Born June 30th, 2022Winning the prestigious International Chopin Piano Competition in 2005 immediately thrust Rafał Blechacz into the international limelight. He had became the first Polish musician to win the competition in 30 years, and in addition to winning first prize, he was -
A Variety of Opera Singers in Ceramic June 29th, 2022 The ceramic modeler Johann Joachim Kändler designed many music objects for the porcelain maker Meissen. In addition to the figures of the singer with the fox at the keyboard, he also did other figurines of singers. This group of two -
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29 June: Anne-Sophie Mutter Was Born June 29th, 2022Anne-Sophie Mutter was born on 29 June 1963 in the German town of Rheinfelden, Baden-Württemberg. Her parents Karl Wilhelm Mutter and Gerlinde Mutter did not play musical instruments, but they were passionate about classical music. Anne-Sophie took up the piano -
Sing Cucu!
Updating a 13th-Century Song June 28th, 2022Collaborative Variations on Sumer is icumen in Written in the Wessex dialect of Middle English, the 13th century song Sumer is icumen in welcomes the warmest season with open arms. The cuckoo is called on to sing, the seeds are -
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28 June: Sergiu Celibidache Was Born June 28th, 2022In the eyes of many critics, the career of Romanian conductor, composer and music theorist Sergiu Celibidache was deeply controversial and beset by contradictions. “While advocating the gentle themes of Zen, he could treat individuals with brutal contempt.” In fact, -
Climate Change and Music
9 Pieces Inspired by Climate Change June 27th, 2022Climate change has been triggering a growing number of natural disasters worldwide. The tragedies, such as tornadoes, floods, and fire, cause death and unimaginable damage to peoples’ homes, their lives, and threaten the existence of wildlife around the globe. Music, -
A World of Influences
The Orchestral Music of Thomas de Hartmann June 26th, 2022The Ukrainian-born composer Thomas de Hartmann (1885-1956) studied at the Imperial Conservatory of Music with the three greatest Russian composers of the late 19th-century: Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Anton Arensky, and Sergei Taneyev after entering the conservatory at age 11. The first