In classical music, the Romantic Era lasted from around 1810 to around 1910. That century gave us some of the most famous symphonies in the repertoire. Nineteenth-century composers like Tchaikovsky, Brahms, Dvořák, Schubert, Mahler, Rachmaninoff, and others elevated the symphony
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A New Orchestral Sound: Martinaitytė’s Saudade August 13th, 2021 We’re used to the classical orchestral sound – the violins, the winds, the mostly ignored lower brass. Žibuoklė Martinaitytė (b. 1973), a Lithuanian composer currently based in New York, uses the symphony orchestra as her instrument of many voices – -
Musicians and Artists: Hahn and Proust and Others August 12th, 2021 We think of Marcel Proust (1871-1922) mainly as the novelist, author of À la recherche du temps perdu (In Search of Lost Time / Remembrance of Things Past) but in his youth, he was a poet as well. In his -
Listening to Choral Composers
David Wordsworth: “Giving Voice to My Music” August 10th, 2021Conductor David Wordsworth has taken advantage of his connections within the choral world and the fact that everyone’s been home for quite a few months to speak with 24 of the world’s leading choral composers. He started with a list -
Marcel Dupré (1886-1971)
The Organ in the Living Room August 10th, 2021Orgue de Marcel Dupre à Meudon In 1925, Marcel Dupré (1886-1971) bought a large house in the Parisian suburb of Meudon. He quickly installed a house organ that had once belonged to the revered organist Alexandre Guilmant (1837-1911). Aristide Cavaillé-Coll -
Marcel Proust
Portraits de Musiciens August 9th, 2021Marcel Proust’s oeuvre is rife with musical references. He openly refers to composers, librettists, performers and musical compositions. One anecdote reports that Proust woke up Gaston Poulet, the leader of the Poulet Quartet, in the middle of the night. The -
Inspired and Fertilized by Music II
Khnopff, Cook, Lupertz and Hardy August 8th, 2021The Belgian Symbolist painter and sculptor Fernand Khnopff (1858-1921) is best known for his paintings that blend precise realism with a dreamlike atmosphere. His scenes are quite realistic, but then he mixes in motive and ideas from history and the -
Toy Piano: From Kid’s Toy to Concert Hall Instrument! August 8th, 2021 When I was four years old, I received a toy piano as a Christmas present. I loved it. I remember I spent at least half an hour playing it almost every day. I made up songs, and then I performed -
Cello Music by Women Composers
Boulanger, Smyth, Bonis and Bosmans August 7th, 2021Accomplished women composers of yesteryear wrote music that was highly regarded by both their male peers and the listening public in their day. These composers, who struggled for recognition, their works neglected for decades, deserve the accolades and attention they