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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Best Premieres at the “Société Nationale de Musique” August 6th, 2021 Paris has always provided the fertile soil for specialized music societies. Some have focused on early music, individual composers or single genres. Others were born from political division, or attempts to bridge them. A good many societies were based on -
Daily Confrontations: Mussorgsky’s Songs and Dances of Death August 5th, 2021 When many composers do songs about death, it’s death as an abstract concept. In Mussorgsky’s Song and Dances of Death, however, Death (capital D) is an active character. He rocks babies, he sings to children, he gets drunk men to -
Rossini and His Overtures August 4th, 2021 We celebrate Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868) as one of the most successful and popular operatic composers of his time. And although you might never have actually seen or heard a complete Rossini opera, I am sure you know a good many -
Marcel Dupré August 3rd, 2021 “Paganini of the Organ” Marcel Dupré (1886-1971), who passed away 50 years ago, was one of the greatest organists of all time. He had complete technical command over his instrument, and his brilliant technique accentuated his extraordinary talents as an -
Forgotten Pianists: Aldo Ciccolini August 2nd, 2021 Erik Satie: Gymnopédie No. 1 A celebrated interpreter of Erik Satie’s music, Aldo Ciccolini (1925 – 2015) was born and raised in Naples, Italy. Enrolled at the Naples Conservatory at the age of 9 as an exceptional case, he studied -
María Dueñas August 1st, 2021 ‘Have The Will To Be Inspired’ Young Spanish violinist María Dueñas is taking the classical music world by storm. Not even 20 years old, she has already performed with orchestras including the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra, the Philharmonic Orchestra of Russia, -
Inspired and Fertilized by Music
Klinger, Whitman, Klimt and Woolf August 1st, 2021There never was, and never will be, a defining boundary between music and the other arts. The arts are constantly engaged in a process of circular cross-fertilization that continuously shape and refine artistic practices, visual expressions and sonic experiences. We -
Persistence and the Concept of ‘Grit’ August 1st, 2021 How many times were you told as a child or teenager during your piano lessons that “practice makes perfect”? It’s a well-worn cliché and like most clichés it contains more than a grain of truth. Not only does regular practice