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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If You Were on the Jury, Whom Would You Choose as Winner of the 18th Chopin Piano Competition? October 29th, 2021 This was the most frequently posed question among my friends and colleagues at the conclusion of the Chopin Piano Competition in 2021. I suspect that it did not come from those who approved of the jury’s official verdict, but probably -
Remembering Debussy
Le Tombeau de Claude Debussy Premiered in 1921 October 29th, 2021In 1920, Henry Prunières, editor of the French music journal Revue Musicale, commissioned 10 of the leading composers of the day to contribute to a work in memory of Claude Debussy, who had died from cancer 2 years earlier. The -
Recording Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas, at Last! October 28th, 2021 My closest, most long-standing musical relationship is with Beethoven. The essential joy of life as an interpreter is, to me at least, in making friends with these extraordinary composers through their music; I know his moods, his rough humour, his -
Ancient and Modern and Left-Handed: Korngold’s Suite October 27th, 2021 When up-and-coming pianist Paul Wittgenstein (1887-1961) returned from WWI, it was without his right arm, amputated by necessity in a Russian prison camp. He did return to a family with money and so was able to commission works that he -
On This Day
27 October: Niccolò Paganini Was Born October 27th, 2021Niccolò Paganini was born in Genoa, then capital of the Republic of Genoa, on 27 October 1782. His father, Antonio Paganini was a dockworker and unsuccessful trader who supplemented his meager income by playing the mandolin for social occasions. Unsurprisingly, -
Music in View: The Victoria and Albert Museum October 26th, 2021 The collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London is idiosyncratic, to say the least. Within the British national collections, that V&A holds sculpture and applied arts. The first musical piece of applied art is an 18th century work -
On This Day
26 October: Domenico Scarlatti Was Born October 26th, 2021The Scarlatti family was one of the most prominent musical dynasties in Italy, with various branches of the family living in Sicily, Rome, and in northern Italy. Alessandro Scarlatti (1660-1725) became the most important opera composer of his generation in -
Scary Music for a Scary Night October 25th, 2021 Whether you decide to venture out for the end of October holiday or stay home and just scare people with the music you’re playing, there’s a lot of scary music out there to chose from. Opening with 12 strokes of