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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Musicians and Artists: Steffens and Picasso February 7th, 2021 The German composer Walter Steffens has made a life’s work about being inspired by art. Over 100 of his compositions have artists’ works as their inspiration. Works by a wide range of artists including Picasso, Hieronymus Bosch, Edvard Munch, Bernard -
Curious Soundworlds
Piano Music Using Extended Techniques February 7th, 2021‘Extended techniques’ are those which involve using unconventional or unorthodox methods to create sounds and unusual sonic effects. Perhaps the most famous of these is the “prepared piano”, whereby everyday objects such as nuts and bolts, nails and small pieces -
Best Classical Songs for Valentine’s February 6th, 2021 When all thoughts turn to love, and lovers express their affection with greetings and gifts, it must be Valentine’s Day. That very special day for lovers falls annually on February 14, because it is named after a Christian martyr by -
Interview With a Maestro – Roland Peelman February 5th, 2021 It can be hard to describe someone who is a conductor, a pianist, a mentor and a music director. But with so much experience in arts organisations in Australia, most recently as the Artistic Director of the Canberra International Music -
Working With Composers February 5th, 2021 We tend to think of lots of classical music as being set in stone, as always having had that form or those notes in those places; what we often forget is that music is the result of a process of -
Pavel Kolesnikov Plays Bach’s Goldberg Variations February 4th, 2021 What is it about the Goldberg Variations which gives them such an enduring appeal? Two new recordings have been released in as many months, by two leading pianists of the 21st-century, yet each quite different in their approach. Maybe it -
Anton Arensky February 3rd, 2021 Anton Stepanovich Arensky (1861-1906), born in Novgorod 160 years ago, never considered himself a musical rebel. He was not particularly interested in musical folklore or Russian musical identity, but rather combined his native musical influences with a much more cosmopolitan -
Franz Schubert and His Circle of Friends IV February 2nd, 2021 The baritone singer and composer Johann Michael Vogl (1768–1840) was a key figure in Schubert’s success as a Lied composer. Vogl was engaged at the Vienna Court Opera, and he met Schubert for the first time in 1817. Renowned for