The solo violin has long been acknowledged as the perfect instrument to express emotions like love, longing, heartbreak, rapture, and romance. The Romantic era lasted from the early nineteenth century to the early twentieth century and produced numerous works that
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5 Great Piano Sonatas March 4th, 2021 The piano sonata genre boasts some of the finest music written for the instrument, from the wit and inventiveness of Haydn or the rhetoric and forward vision of Beethoven to the passionate romanticism of Chopin and Liszt, and the modernism -
Igor Stravinsky March 3rd, 2021 “My music is best understood by children and animals” Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971) graced the cover of Time Magazine in 1948. The supporting article described him as a “Master Mechanic,” a man to be hired, on his terms, to write music -
Le Tombeau de Couperin
A Tribute to Friends and Music March 2nd, 2021Nestled somewhere in Ravel’s output there resides a curious set of piano pieces, entitled Le Tombeau de Couperin – literally, Couperin’s Tomb. The set of six piano pieces were composed between 1914 and 1917; four of the six then went -
Alana Youssefian March 1st, 2021 ‘If you can’t do your own art your own way it doesn’t seem worth it’ Hailing from New Jersey, violinist Alana Youssefian is equally at home with the baroque violin as with the modern – her performance of Vivaldi’s Spring -
20 Quotes From Famous Cellists March 1st, 2021 “Playing lifts you out of yourself into a delirious place.”– Jacqueline du Pré (1945-1987) Arguably one of the best cellists in the 20th century, the brief career and short life of Jacqueline du Pré (1945-1987) are a tragic story: A -
Musicians and Artists: Somers and Picasso February 28th, 2021 Most composers seek to capture a single artwork in their compositions based on art works. Canadian composer Harry Somers (1925-1999), in his Picasso Suite (1964), sought to capture the entire life of a painter in the sweep of his work. -
Musicians & the Menopause February 28th, 2021 Menopause is the hardest teacher I’ve met. Harder than fame– Tori Amos, singer-songwriter York Bowen: Evening Calm (Joop Celis, piano) No one likes to be reminded of increasing age and for women the menopause is perhaps the most obvious indication. -
An Audition Won the Hard Way February 27th, 2021 Many of us have unique and sometimes daunting audition stories. I was fortunate enough to win the position of associate principal cello of the Minnesota Orchestra but not without an ordeal. In 1979, I held the same position with the