The viola may be the less flashy sibling of the violin, but in the hands of these seven great women composers, the viola truly shines as a solo instrument. From the bold modernism of Marga Richter and Peggy Glanville-Hicks to
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Musicians – Enough With the Servility
Part 1: The Dress Code December 4th, 2020A while ago, I read an interesting story about the evolution of the performance dress code for musicians. It stated that the tradition of black-tie formal wear in classical music harks back to the Victorian era, where manservants and butlers -
Doric String Quartet at Wigmore Hall December 3rd, 2020 7 December 2020: Mozart, Britten This concert will be live streamed on the Wigmore Hall website in HD, and all concerts in the Autumn Series will be available on demand for 30 days after the date of the concert. This -
Josef Strauss December 2nd, 2020 “Pepi (Josef) is the more gifted of us two; I am merely the more popular…” When it comes to dynasties in classical music, it’s difficult to upstage the Viennese Strauss family. They were musical megastars of international reputation whose dance -
Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir December 1st, 2020 December’s Artist of the Month is Icelandic-American cellist Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir. Currently based in Seattle, she has appeared as a soloist with orchestras including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, BBC Symphony Orchestra and NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester. Sæunn also teaches cello at the -
My Beethoven by Anson December 1st, 2020 Unlike others, I often find it difficult to recall my first encounter with a certain composer. So, for Beethoven, it could have been his Für Elise, Symphony No.5 (ta-ta-ta duh) or something else – I don’t know. But anyways, as -
When the Eye Meets the Ear
How Are Intricate Music Concepts Represented in Visual Arts November 30th, 2020In my article When the Ear Meets the Eye, I mentioned how music and visual arts have collaborated throughout the years, and particularly how composers have taken inspiration in works of visual art to create their own musical works. I -
The Music of Poetry
John Keats: Ode to a Nightingale November 29th, 2020In the woods in May 1819, a nightingale sings of summer and her notes fall on the ears of the poet John Keats. He uses the metaphor of the audible but invisible bird, singing to the open skies, as a -
That’s “My” Music! November 29th, 2020 How often a listener returning from a recital by an important performer remains unsatisfied. Not because of the imperfection of the artist’s playing but because of lack of penetration into the composer’s ideas – ideas that the amateur has cultivated