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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25 December: Bach’s Magnificat BWV 243a Was Premiered December 25th, 2021Johann Sebastian Bach: Magnificat in E-flat Major, BWV 243a The church of St. Nicholas in Leipzig is named after the patron of travelers and merchants. Construction began around 1165, and originally the church featured twin towers. It was extended and -
Lieder for and about X-Mas December 24th, 2021 In the Lieder oeuvre of Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, and Franz Schubert, we find a substantial variety of folksongs and folksy carols, but none of them are directly related to Christmas. For these famous composers, Christmas was squarely located in the -
Merry Christmas From Leipzig and Johann Sebastian Bach December 24th, 2021 Gottfried Vopelius (1645-1715) published his “Neu Leipziger Gesangbuch” (The new Leipzig hymnbook) in 1682. Vopelius was a Lutheran academic and hymn-writer, and he writes in the preface that the hymns are “compiled from the most beautiful and best songs; In -
LIVE From London
Christmas 2021 December 24th, 2021The VOCES8 Foundation presents its fifth online festival series “LIVE from London.” Founded in 2020 during lockdown, the festival covers a broad spectrum of modern and contemporary pieces alongside traditional choral Christmas music. A stellar lineup of vocal ensembles and -
Balancing Act: Evelyn Chang on Life as a Professional Musician, and a Mother December 23rd, 2021 Evelyn Chang is a Taiwan-born, Hong Kong-based pianist who enjoys collaborations with artists and composers around the world, including Maxim Rysanov and Dobrinka Tabakova. She trained in the UK, first at the Purcell School and then at the Royal College -
The Unique and Unconventional PH Piano December 23rd, 2021 “An instrument is always beautiful” A grand piano is a striking piece of fine furniture, and even a baby or boudoir grand brings elegance, class and grandeur to a room. The design of the grand piano, as we know it -
On This Day
23 December: Beethoven’s Violin Concerto Was Premiered December 23rd, 2021During his formative years in Bonn, Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1828) took organ and keyboard lessons from Christian Gottlob Neefe. Concurrently, he received instructions on the violin and viola from the court musician Franz Georg Rovantini and from Franz Ries, Electoral-Court -
Some Other Nutcrackers December 22nd, 2021 You can hear it one too many times. It’s the season for every ballet company to line up all their children dancers, get their prima ballerinas primed and put on their annual edition of The Nutcracker. It serves as the