The solo violin has long been acknowledged as the perfect instrument to express emotions like love, longing, heartbreak, rapture, and romance. The Romantic era lasted from the early nineteenth century to the early twentieth century and produced numerous works that
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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 -
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