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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Walkin’ round the World Again May 30th, 2022 Ensembles and Bands That Preserve and Evolve Ancestral Musical Expressions It is a horrifying fact, but as many as half of the world’s 7,000 languages are expected to be extinct by the end of this century. “The effect of language -
Musicians and Artists: Adler and Pollock May 29th, 2022 Samuel Adler: Pasiphae In the mid-1940s, Jackson Pollock started on a series of mythologically themed pictures, the largest of which was Pasiphae. Pasiphaë was the daughter of the god of the sun, Helios, and Perse, an Oceanid nymph. She was -
Georges Braque
“Truth exists, only falsehood has to be invented” May 29th, 2022How the artistic camaraderie between Braque and Picasso inspired classical composers Born 140 years ago in Argenteuil, Val-d’Oise, Georges Braque (1882-1963) played a decisive role in the revolutionary art movement of Cubism. Guided from a young age toward creative painting -
On This Day
29 May: Erich Wolfgang Korngold Was Born May 29th, 2022Erich Wolfgang Korngold, possibly the most phenomenal musical prodigy of all time was born in Brünn, currently Brno, on 29 May 1897 to Julius Korngold and Josefine née Witrowsky. His older brother was named Hans Robert, with their middle names -
Norma Fisher At The BBC
Rediscovering a Lost Piano Star May 28th, 2022The classical music world has been given a wonderful opportunity to rediscover the brilliant British pianist Norma Fisher, now internationally renowned as one of the finest piano teachers in the world, who enjoyed a sparkling career as a concert pianist -
From Quartet to Orchestra to the World
Barber’s Agnus Dei May 28th, 2022In 1936, American composer Samuel Barber (1910-1981) composed his only string quartet. Its Molto allegro and appassionato first movement carries more than a little of the strength of Beethoven’s own first string quartet, Op. 18, No. 1. It’s the three-note -
On This Day
28 May: Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau Was Born May 28th, 2022Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, born on 28 May 1925 in Berlin, is widely considered one of the greatest singers of the century. In fact, the French press dubbed him “Le miracle Fischer-Dieskau,” and Elisabeth Schwarzkopf called him “a born god who has -
More Than a Double Quartet: The Joy of the String Octet May 27th, 2022 The string quartet, made up of 2 violins, viola, and a cello, was one of the great developments of musical genre. With these three instrumental sounds, an entire world of music was created. One writer compared it to four intellectuals