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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2 November: George Bernard Shaw Died November 2nd, 2021Long before George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) became a Nobel-prize winning dramatist and author of more than sixty plays, including Man and Superman of 1902 and Pygmalion of 1912, he worked as a music critic. He wrote his first musical criticisms -
Dai Miyata November 1st, 2021 Once In A Lifetime Experiences Ponce: Estrellita (Dai Miyata, cello; Hibiki Tamura, piano) Our November’s Artist of the Month is Japanese cellist Dai Miyata who, since winning every major competition in Japan, went on to study at the Kronberg Academy -
4 Hands 4 More Piano Fun III November 1st, 2021 It is certainly telling that the earliest surviving music by Franz Schubert is the extended Fantasie D. 48 for piano duet. Composed at the age of thirteen, Schubert composed prolifically for the medium until his untimely death at the age -
On This Day
1 November: World Vegan Day November 1st, 2021Since 1994, World Vegan Day is celebrated on November 1. It commemorates the 50th anniversary of the UK Vegan Society devoted to non-dairy vegetarianism. Donald Watson and his future wife Dorothy Morgan coined the word “vegan,” and veganism is defined -
Johann Sebastian Bach and His Circle of Friends II October 31st, 2021 Johann Georg Schübler (1720-1755?) was an engraver and organist, and a private student of J.S. Bach. “He learned the music in Leipzig with the famous Bach,” but Schübler’s name is more notably connected with the publication of a set of -
Going Against the Composer’s Wishes: Mahler’s Sentinel’s Night Song October 31st, 2021 In his settings of songs from the von Armin and Bretano collection Das Knaben Wunderhorn, Mahler set the martial Der Schildwache Nachtlied (The Sentinel’s Night Song), which is the musing of a night guard. As everyone slumbers around him, he -
On This Day
31 October: Halloween October 31st, 2021In some parts of the word, Halloween is a hugely profitable holiday for retailers. In fact, roughly 25 percent of all the candy sold annually in the United States is purchased for Halloween. Halloween isn’t just a holiday for kids, -
Cello Music by Women Composers VII
Mazzoli, Clyne, and Montgomery October 30th, 2021Today major orchestras and artists are commissioning young women composers to write music for them. Here are three rising stars. Missy Mazzoli was selected as a featured composer by the Minnesota Orchestra’s Composer’s Institute more than a decade ago. We