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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Sigismond Thalberg at the Opera
“Totally Unlike in Style to either Chopin or Liszt” April 14th, 2021Sigismond Thalberg (1812-1871) devised one of the most illustrious and financially successful careers the world of music had ever seen. He was one of the greatest virtuoso pianists of his day, and he performed almost exclusively his own compositions based -
Musicians and Artists: Gary Smart and 4 American Painters April 13th, 2021 American composer Gary Smart combines an interest in Americana, world music, and jazz with his education in Western classical music to create an improvisation style that permits him to react and perform. When his improvisational style meets with 4 painters -
The Best Performances
“Casta Diva” by Vincenzo Bellini April 12th, 2021Vincenzo Bellini (1801-1835) was the undisputed master of writing gorgeous melodies. Sensuous in expression and pure in style, Bellini was closely connected with the “bel canto” style of the great singers of his day. In his music, he always looked -
The Music of Poetry
Wilhelm Müller: Old Poems for New Melodies April 11th, 2021Wilhelm Müller’s poetic imagination is rooted in a strong sense of proportion, in what has been termed his “architectural sense.” However, none of his poems can be forced into the mold of a rigid system. “Everything develops organically between such -
Let’s Celebrate Popular Classical Pieces April 11th, 2021 In 2020, Ralph Vaughan Williams’ ‘The Lark Ascending’ topped Classic FM’s Hall of Fame as Britain’s most favourite piece of classical music. And it’s not the first time this piece has topped a poll of listeners – in fact it’s -
Forgotten Pianists: Sergio Fiorentino April 10th, 2021 “The only other pianist” – Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli “Recently I listened to a pianist on the radio who impressed me very much: Sergio Fiorentino, do you know him?” – Vladimir Horowitz It takes a musical genius to be such highly -
Best Songs in E-Flat Major April 10th, 2021 When I first got interested in classical music, my music teacher told us an interesting story about Beethoven. When the composer had finished his 3rd symphony, he dedicated the work to Napoleon. When Napoleon crowned himself Emperor, however, Beethoven was -
Charles Baudelaire (1821-1867)
“I Have Cultivated My Hysteria With Pleasure and Terror” April 9th, 2021200 years ago this month, on 9 April 1821, Charles-Pierre Baudelaire was born in Paris. Roughly thirty years later, his Les Fleurs du mal (The Flowers of Evil) was considered the most important and influential poetry collection published in all