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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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 -
The Gift: Bosch and Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors December 22nd, 2021 The most famous opera in America had its premiere 70 years ago on Christmas Eve. At its debut, it was estimated that it had audience of 5 million people – a record for any opera. Giancarlo Menotti’s Amahl and the -
On This Day
22 December: Giacomo Puccini Was Born December 22nd, 2021Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini was born in Lucca, Italy, on 22 December 1858. He was the sixth of nine children by Michele Puccini and Albina Magi, and his birthplace was on the second floor of the historic