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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10 April: Yefim Bronfman Was Born April 10th, 2022The American novelist and short story writer Philip Milton Roth is known for fiction that “features intensely autobiographical characters, for philosophically and formally blurring the distinction between reality and fiction, for its sensual, ingenious style and for its provocative explorations -
Films Adapted from Dostoevsky Novels
“The Gambler” April 9th, 2022Gerard Schurmann: The Gambler Suite The Russian novelist, short story writer, essayist, and journalist Fyodor Dostoevsky (1821-1881) had a serious gambling addiction. Like a good many gamblers, he believed that he had found the secret to winning at the tables. -
Reaching Out of the Darkness
Julia Wolfe’s Oxygen April 7th, 2022COVID times have been hard on musicians – ensembles closed down, operas and orchestras relied on streaming older material, lockdowns prevented rehearsals, social distancing regulated not only the number of people in the audience but also the number of people -
On This Day
7 April: Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 “Eroica” Was Premiered April 7th, 2022Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 “Eroica” premiered on 7 April 1805 at the Theater an der Wien, Vienna. It was immediately recognized as an important work of unprecedented length and complexity. All the movements depart in unexpected ways from his previous -
Giving the Lark New Wings
Ralph Vaughan Williams: The Lark Ascending April 6th, 2022Ralph Vaughan Williams’ quintessential work for violin and for the summer is The Lark Ascending. We are so familiar with its trilling and rising skylark, personified by the violin, who takes flight above a quiet chamber orchestra. Vaughan was inspired -
On This Day
6 April: Igor Stravinsky Died April 6th, 2022At the age of 88, Igor Stravinsky died on 6 April 1971 at his apartment in New York City. The composer had been in frail health for years but returned much refreshed from a two and a half month holiday -
Recommended Recordings of Chopin Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, Op. 11 April 5th, 2022 One of the greatest piano concertos ever, Chopin Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor has long been a cornerstone in the repertoire of many concert pianists. It was actually Chopin’s second piano concerto, as it was written after the -
On This Day
5 April: Louis Spohr Was Born April 5th, 2022Louis Spohr (1784-1859), actually born Ludewig Spohr in Braunschweig on 5 April 1784, was the greatest violinist of his generation and a prolific composer. He wrote roughly 300 much admired compositions in a variety of genres, but is probably most