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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The Piazzolla Music Competition
Celebrating the Legacy of Piazzolla February 24th, 20212021 marks 100 years since the birth of Astor Piazzolla, and the inaugural year of the Piazzolla Music Competition. The competition aims to celebrate the legacy of the composer synonymous with the reinvention of the tango, and the winner will -
Musicians – Enough With the Servility
Part 2: The Existential Quest for Independent Values February 23rd, 2021Part Two of this article series was originally going to explore the mindset of musicians with regards to financial support during the Covid-19 pandemic – a call to action for artists to choose innovation and creative thinking over consistent begging -
Consonance & Dissonance February 22nd, 2021 Consonance and dissonance are two concepts that are taught both inside and outside of music education. In my opinion, more often than not, wrongly. Aside from a purely physical level of definition, the perception of consonance and dissonance is entirely -
Musical Spoofs and Lampoons February 22nd, 2021 Carnival celebrations typically involve public parades, street parties and entertainments. In some parts of the world, large decorated platforms are towed through the streets in dedicated carnival floats featuring everything from flowers, elements from the circus and the sideshow to -
When Musical Worlds Collide
Classical Mozart vs. Romantic Beethoven February 21st, 2021When we read textbooks on music history, Mozart is frequently classified as a Classical, and Beethoven as a Romantic composer. It almost sounds like that these two musical giants were diametrically opposed to each other—like two boxers in a ring—with -
Animals in Musical Society: The Caricatures of J.J. Grandville February 21st, 2021 Jean-Jacques or J.J. Grandville, the pseudonym of Jean Ignace Isidore Gérard (1803-1847), looked at the world around him and saw it as a vast human comedy that, for him, could be played out with animals. The collection that made his -
Keyboard Circus Tricks “Ain’t Got Nothing to Do With Music-Making” February 21st, 2021 The quote in the title is from celebrated pianist Leon Fleisher, who died in August 2020 at the age of 92. In the many tributes to him, his wisdom and good sense, as a musician and a human being, and -
In Memoriam
Armando “Chick” Corea (1941-2021) February 20th, 2021Long before we needed childish simplifications and social media overhype to describe the musical explorations of different musical style and genres, there was Chick Corea (1941-2021). To him, musical styles and genres were not restrictive constructs, but an invitation for