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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The Voice of Nature: Enescu’s Tone Poems July 24th, 2021 In 1935, Romanian composer George Enescu (1881-1955) started working on what was going to be a symphonic suite entitled Voix de la nature (Voice of Nature). He only completed one movement, Nuages d’automne sur les forêts (Autumn Clouds over the -
Composer Scott Ordway and Cellist Arlen Hlusko
The Evolution of a Vibrant Solo Piece July 24th, 2021Recently a new solo cello work entitled Nineteen (Nineteen Movements for Unaccompanied Cello) and the close collaboration between two outstanding young artists, composer Scott Ordway, and cellist Arlen Hlusko, captured my imagination. Scott is currently the Assistant Professor of Composition -
Dante Alighieri
“Francesca da Rimini” July 23rd, 2021Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) was a keen observer of the human condition, and a number of his contemporaries become important characters in his “Divine Comedy.” One such contemporary was Francesca da Rimini, the daughter of Guido da Polenta of Ravenna. Francesca -
Musicians and Artists: Beethoven and Auchentaller July 22nd, 2021 After the overwhelming flood of Beethoven during the 2020 Beethoven Year, it’s a pleasure to see a different view of the man’s works. Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony was the inspiration for Viennese Jugendstil artist and Klimt colleague Josef Maria Auchentaller (1865-1949) -
Symphonic Transformations
From Weber to Hindemith to Lawrence July 21st, 2021One of the most interesting cross-generational music styles is the theme and variations, particularly when a composer delves into the past to find his inspiration. How a work gets changed and modernized, its style developed, and a new work created -
Tomaso Albinoni and Margherita Raimondi
“Seducing Florinda” July 20th, 2021On 7 November 1699 the San Salvatore Theatre in Venice produced the drama per musica “L’amar per virtù” (To love for the sake of virtue), with music attributed to Antonio Draghi. The plot focuses on the establishment of Moorish rule -
Johann Sebastian Bach Top 10 July 19th, 2021 I love all kinds and styles of music, but my true love belongs to classical music. Whether it is Liszt or Mozart, Schubert or Handel, Monteverdi or Mahler, the universe of classical music seems endless. Sometimes my schoolmates want to -
The Music of Poetry
Giovanni Battista Guarini: “Dear Heart, I Prithee, Do Not Waste Away” July 18th, 2021Under the heading “Pietà dolente” (Sorrowful Piety), Giovanni Battista Guarini published his simply poem “Cor mio, deh, non languire” (Dear Heart, I prithee, do not waste away) in Venice in 1598. The poet could not possibly have foreseen that this