Specific cities have inspired a huge amount of classical music over the years. Today, we’re looking at a selection of classical works explicitly connected to major cities, examining how each composer responded to each place. Some pieces reflect civic pride
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A Piano Trio Symphony
Beethoven: Symphony No. 2 April 3rd, 2022A recent recording by Emanuel Ax, Yo-Yo Ma, and the Greek violinist Leonidas Kavakos provided an interesting examination of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 2, but as arranged for piano trio. The music was arranged by Beethoven’s right-hand man, Ferdinand Ries (1784-1838). -
Classical Music Moments in Movies IV April 3rd, 2022 Some say that feminist musicology started at the movies, and that it all kicked off with Stanley Kubrick’s dystopian crime film “A Clockwork Orange” of 1971. The central character Alex is a charismatic and antisocial delinquent who is interested in -
On This Day
3 April: Johannes Brahms Died April 3rd, 2022Johannes Brahms was certainly open to life’s pleasures, and he would never decline a good meal. He once told a friend, “I live in Vienna as if I were in the country,” and he ate his lunch at the same -
John Woods Duke: 3 Chinese Love Lyrics April 2nd, 2022 The American composer and pianist John Woods Duke (1899-1984) might not be a household name, but he was certainly one of the most talented composers of art song in the 20th century. Duke was fascinated by the “strange and marvelous -
Musicians and Artists: Fibich and 5 Painters April 2nd, 2022 Zdeněk Fibich: Studies of Painters (Malířské studie) In this 1899 work, Czech composer Zdeněk Fibich (1850-1900) chose works by 5 different painters from the 15th to the 18th centuries to illustrate in his Studies of Painters, Op. 56 (Malířské studie). -
Ryan Corbett April 1st, 2022 ‘Understand their world through your own life experience’ Ryan Corbett: Spanische Caprice Originally starting self-taught on the instrument, young Scottish accordionist Ryan Corbett has become a rising star. Currently in his final year of study at the Royal Conservatoire of -
On This Day
1 April: Sergei Rachmaninoff Was Born April 1st, 2022Throughout the history of music, a good many composers had been able to claim aristocratic lineage. Such is certainly the case with Sergei Rachmaninoff, born on 1 April 1873. His father Vassili Rachmaninoff, son of the landowner Arkadi Rachmaninoff and -
Cat Music March 31st, 2022 Cats are our life companions, yet they remain separate. They walk alone. They delight us in their fantasies (what is in that corner they’re staring at? Should I be concerned?). They amaze us with their ability to fly gracefully to