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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Why Isn’t Classical Music Popular? April 9th, 2021 Julian Johnson is a lecturer in music at the University of Oxford. In his book, Who needs classical music?, he asks why isn’t classical music popular? He doesn’t answer the question, either because he can’t, or no one can, or -
Conductors Caricatured April 7th, 2021 To the outsider, the conductor looks as though he holds the oddest position in the orchestra – he may be the focus of the audience’s attention, but the orchestra barely seems to look at him. He turns his back to -
Upcycling Pianos April 6th, 2021 In our last article on this topic, we looked at orchestral instruments, but omitted the most versatile of them all, the piano. The piano offers a world of upcycling possibilities and in a number of different media. First, let’s look -
Why Classics Are, Classics April 5th, 2021 Classics, standards — even at times masterpieces — often make classical music’s true devotees raise an eyebrow. “Oh, not again”. How many times have they been performed, at times doubtful and at rarer exceptional. It is quite true that the -
Arnold Böcklin (1827-1901)
“Nothing in Art Is Created Without Effort” April 5th, 2021The Swiss symbolist painter Arnold Böcklin (1827-1901), who died 120 years ago, was a controversial figure during his lifetime. Considered one of the founders of Symbolism, and highly influential for the development of Surrealism, Böcklin achieved enormous fame in German-speaking -
The Music of Poetry
Wilhelm Müller: “Winterreise” April 4th, 2021On 15 December 1822, Wilhelm Müller wrote a letter to the composer Bernhard Klein. Klein had set a number of poems from “Die schöne Müllerin,” and Müller thanked him for “the musical animation of my verses.” Müller writes, “My songs -
Everything Is Connected April 4th, 2021 My son is a professional chef who has been working in fine dining in London for 6 years. He lived with me during the UK lockdown, and in addition to enjoying his beautiful, inventive and flavoursome cooking, I learnt some -
Discover Margaret Bonds April 3rd, 2021 Because my mouthIs wide with laughterAnd my throatIt is deep with songYou do not thinkI suffer afterI have held my painSo long?Because my mouthIs wide with laughterYou do not hearMy inner cry?Because my feetAre gay with dancingYou do not knowI