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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Piano Music in the Key of D June 24th, 2021 D major is unquestionably one of the “bright” keys – perhaps the brightest, and, allegedly, for Mozart the “happiest” key (he wrote three piano concertos in D major and four piano sonatas, including the sonata for two pianos KV 448). -
The Sound Around: Rautavaara’s Cantus Articus June 23rd, 2021 Finnish composer Einojuhani Rautavaara (1928-2016) started his studies at the University of Helsinki and the Sibelius Academy before Jean Sibelius recommended that he study at the Juilliard School. There, in addition to his studies with Vincent Persichetti, and at Tanglewood -
The Best Performances
“Voi Che Sapete” by Mozart June 21st, 2021When it comes to Mozart operas, “The Marriage of Figaro” is one of my all-time favorites. Mozart composed this opera buffa in 1786 to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte. The libretto is based on a stage comedy by -
Dreaming of Summer
Piano Music Evocative Of Summertime and Holidays June 21st, 2021It’s still cool here in the UK, but when the sun is out I can already feel its warmth on my face, beckoning summer. The ongoing coronavirus pandemic may mean that summer holidays are limited but that doesn’t stop us -
The Music of Poetry
Friedrich Hebbel: “Wiegenlied” June 20th, 2021Robert Schumann (1810-1856) suffered from various mental illnesses from an early age. Counselors and historian suggest that his diagnosis was dementia praecox, an illness soon renamed schizophrenia. Beginning in 1849, Schumann began to suffer from auditory hallucinations, and he heard -
Musical Punctuation Marks June 20th, 2021 Imagine if you were listening to someone speak, perhaps reading out the news on television, or reciting a poem. The speaker’s voice sounds the same the entire time they are speaking, with no rise or fall in sound, no changes -
That Summer Sound
Mister Softee June 19th, 2021The truck comes down the street, playing its little melody, summoning all the little (and big) kids out for ICE CREAM. The Mister Softee ice cream trucks first hit the streets of Philadelphia in 1956 and now operate in about -
Musicians and Artists: Suckling and De Waal June 19th, 2021 The ceramic art of writer and potter Edmund de Waal focuses on porcelain pieces, usually in a single colour, against a plain background. The installations carry their own rhythm and, when Scottish composer Martin Suckling looked at the works from