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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In Touch With Paul Wee April 29th, 2021 “I revel in every opportunity that I have to sit down at the keyboard” Paul C.K. Wee, an Australian with Singaporean-Malaysian heritage, is a London-based barrister, and also a concert pianist. He took up the piano as a young child, -
The What, How, and Why of Arrangements April 27th, 2021 Classical music is no stranger to arrangements. The history of music is littered with adaptations, adjustments and rescorings – even Bach rearranged and incorporated his own works into other pieces – but what really is an arrangement? How do we -
Musical Quotation April 26th, 2021 Musical quotation is the art of integrating one’s musical words and sentences into another one’s work. It is quite similar to how quoting works in spoken languages but differs in the capacity in which the quote can adapt and almost -
Know the Best Cello Pieces Ever Written in History! April 26th, 2021 Why does one choose a piece of music over another? The best cello pieces ever written are, for me, the ones that I return to over and over that always seem to offer new insights and emotions. The greatest repertoire - The Music of Poetry
Pablo Neruda: “Odes to Common Things” April 25th, 2021The Chilean poet and politician Pablo Neruda (1904-1973) wrote four volumes of odes to ordinary objects. Among them are odes to salt, a chair, a table, socks, and soap, among others. “I have a crazy, crazy love of things,” he - On ‘Letting Go’ as a Musician
Part 2 – Letting Go of Criticism and Negative Feelings April 25th, 2021In my first article, I discussed how musicians can judge when it’s time to ‘let go’ of a piece of music and decide it is ready for performance or should be put aside for a while. In this second part -
Rediscovering Clichés in Classical Music April 24th, 2021 There are always pieces that classical music lovers have heard so many times to the extent of finding them annoying. Yet I’d like to invite you to re-visit some of them and perhaps you will discover something interesting! Bach: Toccata -
Best Songs in C Minor April 24th, 2021 When I was a little girl, my parents took me to the Cathedral in Hong Kong. I just loved that huge space that seemed to have so many memories. But what was really fascinating was the fact that it was
