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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We Will Remember (We Can’t Forget): Paul K. Joyce January 18th, 2022 Commemorating all NHS workers who lost their lives during the Covid-19 pandemic In early 2021, the British Medical Association (BMA) opened applications for a commission that would commemorate the lives lost of those who worked for Britain’s National Health Service -
The Next Operatic Stars
Five Promising Young Singers That You Should Watch Out For in 2022 January 17th, 2022Once again, it is time for the annual pick of the most promising opera singers of the new year. But first, like any good stock picker, we need to take account of how last year’s winners fared. Stock pickers would -
Chopin and His Circle of Friends II January 16th, 2022 Chopin did not gain an international reputation as a composer until 1833. And while his reception was generally positive, he certainly had his detractors. The influential editor and critic Ludwig Rellstab writes, “In his dances the author satisfies the passion -
Better Than It Can Be Performed January 16th, 2022 The great pianist Artur Schnabel famously spoke of his interest in music which was “better than it can be performed”, in particular the works of Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert. In this quote, he expresses why the sonatas of Beethoven, for -
On This Day
16 January: Arturo Toscanini Died January 16th, 2022On New Year’s Day 1957, Arturo Toscanini suffered a stroke. Unable to recover, he passed away on 16 January at the age of 89 at his home in the Riverdale section of the Bronx in New York City. His body -
Conductors 2/3: The Technical Stuff January 15th, 2022 The job of a conductor has evolved greatly over the years. From a simple timekeeper, to rehearsal director, to full-blown interpreter, the conductor’s role has no doubt grown in prominence. But how do they do what they do? What’s all -
Piano Practice
From Czerny to Chopin January 15th, 2022Glenn Gould is my favourite pianist. There, I said it. The reason I like him is because he is unconventional; unconventional in his approach to the stuffy world of classical music, unconventional in his interpretations, and unconventional in his mannerisms. -
On This Day
15 January: Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty Was Premiered January 15th, 2022On 25 May 1888, Ivan Vsevolozhsky, the Director of the Imperial Theatres in St. Petersburg, approached Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893). “I am planning to write a libretto on “La Belle au Bois Dormant” after Perrault’s fairy tale,” he writes. “I