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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J’Nai Bridges May 1st, 2021 ‘I Have Listened And Followed My Heart’ Gounod: Sapho: O ma lyre immortelle I chat to American mezzo-soprano J’Nai Bridges just as she is about to travel to Amsterdam to perform excerpts from Donizetti’s Tudor Trilogy with the Dutch National -
Fashion in Classical Music
“Naked people have little or no influence in society.” April 30th, 2021Mark Twain has always been one of my favorite writers. I just love the way he tells stories that focus on the follies of human nature. Twain was world-famous for his witty quotes and he once said, “Clothes make the -
Good Taste in Music and Geminiani April 30th, 2021 Francesco Geminiani (1687-1762) was, in his day, one of the great composers and musicians in Europe, often considered the equal of Handel or Corelli. Born in Lucca, Italy, he made his career in London and later Paris, arriving as a -
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