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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Forgotten Pianists: Marcelle Meyer October 20th, 2021 The French pianist Marcelle Meyer (1897-1958) learned piano at age 5 from her older sister and entered the Paris Conservatoire at age 14. Two years later, she was awarded the Premier Prix after studying first with Marguerite Long and then -
On This Day
20 October: Charles Ives Was Born October 20th, 2021The Ives family, prominently active in business, civic improvement and social causes, resided in Danbury, Connecticut. Charles Ives was born there on 20 October 1874 to George Edward Ives and his wife Mary Elizabeth Parmelee-Ives. George Ives was a U.S. -
Style and Culture: An Interview With Simone Menezes October 19th, 2021 Italian-Brazilian conductor Simone Menezes faced the problem of being a female conductor in the classical world head on. She noted that her male contemporaries were getting jobs and she wasn’t. She seemed to fall out of the way people think -
Music in View – The National Gallery, London October 19th, 2021 The National Gallery of Art in London holds art from the mid-13th century up to 1900 – other collections in London hold other varieties of art: sculpture and applied art are at the Victoria and Albert Museum, The British Museum -
The Best Performances
“Una Voce Poco Fa” by Rossini October 18th, 2021Gioachino Rossini’s opera “The Barber of Seville” is one of the most fun operas in the entire repertoire. It’s full of humour and romantic encounters, and for a change, nobody dies. The story is set in Sevilla, Spain during the -
The Pulitzer Prize in Music
1960s, 1970s, and 1980s October 17th, 2021See here for the history of the prize. 1960s When we look at the awards for the 1960s, we see a distinct turn away from large symphonic works towards quartets and works that include new technology, such as electronic tape. -
On This Day
17 October: Frédéric Chopin Died October 17th, 2021Frédéric Chopin suffered from serious and chronic health problems throughout his short life. Already in his teens, Chopin suffered from frequent respiratory problems that included coughing, headaches, and the swelling of the cervical lymph glands. Biographers and doctors have detailed -
Ways of Listening October 17th, 2021 “Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.” This quote from the French artist Edgar Degas could be paraphrased for music – Music is not what you hear, but what you make others hear. In other