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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On My Music Desk……
Franz Schubert – Impromptu in G-flat, D899/3 May 13th, 2021Schubert’s first set of Impromptus (D899) are amongst my most favourite pieces of piano music, ever since my mother, who admired the pianist Alfred Brendel, bought me the score of the Impromptus and Moments Musicaux after hearing Brendel perform them -
Dedicated to Ysaÿe
“Ysaÿe Plays the Fiddle as the Birds Sing” May 12th, 2021Eugène Ysaÿe (1858-1931) was not only one of the greatest violinists of his time, but he was also a composer, conductor, and teacher. And what is more, great composers inspired him, and in turn, his exceptional artistry inspired them to -
How to Prepare for Rehearsals May 11th, 2021 As a classical musician, we are often faced (in more normal times, at least) with the dilemma of having too many notes to learn and not enough time to learn them in. Concerts and opportunities come in at the last -
The Best (Sexiest) Performances
“Habanera” by Georges Bizet May 10th, 2021If there is one opera I love above all others, it has to be Georges Bizet’s Carmen. It contains beautiful and ethnic melodies, plenty of action and great drama. But the reason I personally rate it above others in the -
The Music of Poetry
Pablo Neruda: “Poems of Love and of Protest” May 9th, 2021Pablo Neruda famously quipped, “Love is so short, forgetting is so long.” In his “Saddest Poem” he laments the loss of a lover who has moved away from him. The strong connection of the poem to the stars and sky -
Online Communities for Musicians Offer Advice, Support and Inspiration May 9th, 2021 Some years ago, when I was working on two of Rachmaninoff’s Opus 33 Etudes-Tableaux for a performance diploma, I posted on Facebook a screen shot of a passage which was giving me some issues and asked if anyone had some -
Wolfgang A. Mozart and His Fellow Musicians II May 8th, 2021 Recently, Antonio Salieri (1750-1825) has gotten some seriously bad PR. But we need to be clear about the fact that he did not cause Mozart’s death. Salieri was a serious and steady man, but there is also mention of him -
Art and Music: Romare Bearden and Music in Collage May 8th, 2021 Music has so many aspects in art and we were looking at the collage art of American artist Romare Bearden to see how he captured both sound and sight in his work. Romare Bearden (1911-1988) was not only an artist