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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Best Songs in G Major December 19th, 2020 When I took my first couple years of piano lessons, it seemed that every sonatina or beginner’s etude was written in the key of G major. Maybe that’s the reason I have never really paid special attention to that key, -
Gifts for Classical Music Lovers and Musicians December 18th, 2020 Music-themed gifts for music lovers and musicians – and not just for Christmas! Aaron Copland: Appalachian Spring: Variations on a Shaker Hymn (London Symphony Orchestra; Walter Susskind, cond.) Mozart Kugeln Mozart ‘balls’ are delicious morsels of pistachio marzipan and praline, -
The Courtly Art of Dresden: An Interview with Javier Lupiáñez December 17th, 2020 The German city of Dresden in the late 17th and early 18th centuries was a center for music and the arts. The Elector and ruler of Saxony, Frederick Augustus I, brought together musicians, architects, and painters from all over Europe -
Beethoven’s High Priestess of Music
Dorothea Ertmann December 17th, 2020On 16 January 1817 the Wiener Allgemeine Musikalische Zeitung announced the forthcoming publication of Beethoven’s A-major sonata op. 101. According to the newspaper, with reference to the title page, the sonata was dedicated to “Freyin Dorothea Ertmann née Graumann.” Beethoven -
Josef Strauss and Karoline Pruckmayer
“Always With You, Only Because of You, and Forever for You!” December 16th, 2020The musical Strauss family dynasty took full advantage of the pleasure-seeking and carefree spirit of Imperial Vienna. As members of the public piled into the great dancehalls of the city, the Strauss family gleefully provided the musical background that gaily -
Legendary Beethoven Performances
Symphonies December 15th, 2020Everyone will have an opinion on this – do you want the traditional German heavy recordings? The new interpretive English opinions? Do you want national orchestras? Idiosyncratic readings that make you hear old warhorses with a new manner of understanding? -
Collaboration: A One-Person Job December 14th, 2020 Composers are well-known for spending most of their time in solitude, in the quietness of a room, in front of a desk or an instrument. They are often the loners of music. But is composing always a one-person job? Are -
William Bolcom and His Contribution to the Revival of Ragtime December 13th, 2020 Perhaps you have heard of Scott Joplin and one of his famous works, The Entertainer. Scott Joplin, known as the King of Ragtime, was one of the pioneers creating this American musical art form. Originally it not only referred to