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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On This Day
20 June: Jacques Offenbach Was Born June 20th, 2022Jacques Offenbach composed some of the catchiest tunes and melodies ever written, and he exerted a powerful influence on subsequent composers for the music theatre. Initially, however, he was primarily known as a traveling cello virtuoso. He was born Jacob -
Musicians and Artists:
Saariaho and the 15th century Bridal Couple June 19th, 2022Kaija Saariaho: Orion – I. Memento mori A painting in the Cleveland Museum of Art was the unexpected inspiration for composer Kaija Saariaho’s orchestral work Orion. Orion was the giant hunter in Greek mythology. A son of Poseidon, he was -
Morningside Music Bridge Brings Its 26th Annual Summer Music Training Program to Boston June 19th, 2022 For our 26th annual summer program this year, Morningside Music Bridge has selected 65 outstanding musicians, aged 12 to 18, from 11 countries. Representing the highest international standards of excellence, the young violinists, violists, cellists, and pianists will receive full -
On This Day
19 June: Elgar’s Enigma Variations Was Premiered June 19th, 2022One October evening in 1898, having returned home after a long day teaching, Edward Elgar lit a cigar and began to improvise at the piano. Elgar recalls, “I began to play, and suddenly my wife interrupted by saying: ‘Edward, that’s -
Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527)
“It is better to be feared than loved, if you cannot be both” June 18th, 2022Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527) is frequently called the father of modern political philosophy and political science. Machiavelli’s best-known book Il Principe (The Prince) was written around 1513 and contemplates a new type of ruler not guided by the conventions of heredity. -
Anton Reicha: Inventing the Wind Quintet June 17th, 2022 Antonín Rejcha, later Antoine or Anton Reicha (1770-1836) came from a hard childhood. His father, Simon, the town piper of Prague, died when he was 10 months old and at age 11, he ran away from his mother who couldn’t -
On This Day
17 June: Charles Gounod Was Born June 17th, 2022Charles Gounod, born on 17 June 1818 in Paris, is primarily remembered as the composer of the opera Faust and an Ave Maria descant to the first prelude of J.S. Bach’s C-major prelude from the WTC. Yet in his day, -
King and Composer:
Henry VIII of England (1491-1547) June 16th, 2022We have a variety of images of Henry VIII, King of England (1491-1547). The majority of them come from late in his life, when he was overweight and suffering from a sequential wife problem. Or maybe it was a sequence