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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On ‘Letting Go’ as a Musician
Part 1 – Letting Go of the Music November 15th, 2020Writers, artists and musicians all understand this dilemma – when do we “let go” of that article or book manuscript, painting or piece of music? Given half the chance, most of us would happily continue tinkering and refining ad infinitum, -
Famous Composers as Subjects of Opera II November 14th, 2020 The life of Alessandro Stradella (1639-1682) was characterized by turbulence, adventure and amorous escapades. In fact, in 1677 an attempt was made to murder him for reasons unknown, although it was believed to be at the instigation of a Venetian -
The Knowing Audience
Don Giovanni: Gia la mensa e preparata November 13th, 2020In the dramatic final scene of Don Giovanni, Mozart includes an on-stage band, a Tafelmusik, that plays light fluff of the day for the party that Don Giovanni is planning. The music the group plays, however, may be fluff, but -
Nicky Spence at Wigmore Hall November 12th, 2020 Jess Dandy: mezzo-soprano, Julius Drake: piano 16 November 2020: Janáček 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 -
On the Road: Jürgen Saalmann’s 28 Days November 12th, 2020 Remember when you used to run out, get in the car, and just drive? Somewhere? Anywhere? Those days have been pretty much finished since early 2020 but in 2019, guitarist Jürgen Saalmann designed his own road trip and his new -
Tōru Takemitsu
A Composer Between Two Traditions November 11th, 2020As a composer, Tōru Takemitsu (1930-1996) was essentially self-taught. In fact, as he freely admits, his first real teacher was the radio. During the post-war occupation of Japan, Takemitsu worked for the U.S. Armed Forces. He contracted tuberculosis and was -
Beethoven’s Lairs
“Ossolynskisches Schloß, Baden” November 10th, 2020By 15 November 1815, Beethoven’s brother Caspar Carl’s health had suddenly deteriorated, and he suddenly collapsed and died on that very day. In his will, he appointed Beethoven the sole guardian of his only child, the 9-year-old Karl, but an -
Five Notes
How the Pentatonic Scale Guided the Evolution of Contemporary Classical Music November 9th, 2020Five notes, endless possibilities… The pentatonic scale is often associated with popular music — and for a very good reason, it has been used extensively from blues to jazz, rock, pop and everything in between. However, as much as it