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
Latest article
Spotlight
-
Music in View: The J. Paul Getty Museum November 2nd, 2021 The J. Paul Getty Museum, aka the Getty, is housed in Los Angeles. Founded by Jean Paul Getty, the museum opened in 1974. Getty’s collecting had started in the 1930s, after the depression hit, when European art was readily available -
On This Day
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,