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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Inspired and Fertilized by Music V
Mann, Nguyen Tuan, Miró and Prix August 29th, 2021Thomas Mann (1875-1955) won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1929 for his highly symbolic, ironic and epic novels and novellas. A determined social critic, his writings provide biting insights into the psychology of the artist and the intellectual within -
The Self-Coached Musician August 29th, 2021 I’m not that interested in sport, but I did watch the Olympic cycling from Tokyo this year. I was surprised to discover that the Austrian cyclist Anna Kiesenhofer, who won the gold medal in the Tokyo Olympics women’s road race, -
Symphonies by Women Composers
Kaprálová, Beach, Auner, Mayer, Larsen, and Pavlova August 28th, 2021Vítězslava Kaprálová (1915-1940) was one of the most impressive and exciting musical voices at the beginning of the 20th century. She wrote her first compositions for piano solo at the age of nine, and graduated from Brno Conservatory with a -
Happiness in Love: Debussy’s L’isle Joyeuse August 28th, 2021 The Fêtes galante style was a term specifically created by the French Academy in the early 18th century to describe Watteau’s paintings of country or parkland parties. It was his way of giving his patrons what they wanted, namely, pictures -
What Does Music Do to You? August 27th, 2021 So, what does music do to you? I’m not asking how music makes you feel. I’m asking does music make you change your mind about the world. Does it help you appreciate life and give meaning to your existence? When -
The Losses of Another War: Bax’ In Memoriam August 25th, 2021 A work from 1916 entitled In memoriam would normally be assumed to be work commemorating the losses of World War I. This work by English composer Arnold Bax, however, is for a different struggle – the armed uprising in Ireland -
Caravaggio (1571-1610)
“Amore Vincit Omnia” (Love Conquers All) August 24th, 2021Film director Martin Scorsese commented in 2005, “If Caravaggio were alive today he would have loved the cinema; his paintings take a cinematic approach… He painted religious subject matter but the models were obviously people from the streets; he had -
Dragging Bach Into the 21st Century August 23rd, 2021 Ludwig van Beethoven would have been decidedly unhappy in the 21st Century, I think. He didn’t have the highest opinion of humanity to begin with, and all this social media influencing and posturing would have driven him downright crazy. Yet,