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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Anton Bruckner October 11th, 2021 “It is to God that I must give account” 125 years ago, on 11 October 1896, Anton Bruckner (1824-1896) died from acute heart disease brought on by persistent alcoholism. His funeral took place in the Karlskirche in Vienna on 14 -
The Pulitzer Prize in Music
1940s and 1950s October 10th, 2021The Pulitzer Prize was first awarded in 1917, following instructions left by newspaper publisher Joseph Pulitzer in his 1904 will. The Pulitzer Prize in Music was established in 1943 after being converted from an annual scholarship for “the student of -
Making It Easier for Audiences October 10th, 2021 As concert life begins to return to something resembling “normal” after months of silence – the result of government restrictions in response to the coronavirus pandemic – venues, promoters and indeed the performers themselves can do a great deal to -
Bright Celebrations: Shostakovich’s Festive Overture October 9th, 2021 Written in a rush for a celebratory concert, Shostakovich’s Festive Overture is a joyous bubble starting with a brilliant fanfare. Written for a concert in Moscow at the Bolshoi Theatre celebrating the 37th anniversary of the October 1917 Revolution, this -
Chamber Music by Women Composers II
Mendelssohn, Lombardini, Bonis, Smith, and Tailleferre October 9th, 2021Musicologists have suggested that “the life of Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel (1805-1847) is compelling proof that women’s failure to compete with men on the compositional playing-field has been the result of social prejudice and patriarchal mores, which in the nineteenth century -
On This Day
9 October: Giuseppe Verdi Was Born October 9th, 2021We do know that Giuseppe Verdi was born in the small village of Roncole, near Busseto in the Duchy of Parma. What is not clear, however, is the exact date of his birth. The baptismal register of 11 October records -
Folk Instruments Blossom in the Concert Hall October 8th, 2021 Creativity never ends! Our predecessors contributed a lot of fantastic musical compositions using what have become known as “standard” orchestral instruments. Our contemporary composers continue to build on this tradition. However, “folk” and “classical” music has become more blended in -
From Lucretius to Goethe to Strauss: Metamorphosen October 7th, 2021 In the last days of WWII, German composer Richard Strauss saw the world he knew in tatters around him. Germany was occupied by foreign powers, the great monuments of German culture had been destroyed – its opera houses and theatres,