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 My Music Desk……
Ravel – Tombeau de Couperin October 29th, 2020Popular in concert programmes and a staple of the pianist’s repertoire, Ravel’s Tombeau de Couperin is the last work he wrote for solo piano. It cleverly melds his sensibilities with a full appreciation of his Baroque antecedents, notably the brilliant -
Hummel Fools Field October 28th, 2020 In his day, Johann Nepomuk Hummel (1778-1837) was considered the greatest pianist in Europe. Even Chopin, who wasn’t particularly forthcoming with praise of other composers, wrote in a letter “such great masters as Mozart, Beethoven and Hummel, the masters of -
Beethoven’s Lairs
“Rotes Haus, Alservorstädter Glacis 173” October 27th, 2020In the spring of 1804, Ludwig van Beethoven moved into the “Rotes Haus” (Red House) where his friend Stephan von Breuning was lodging. Beethoven had been sick for some time, and von Breuning invited the composer to stay with him -
Listen to the Best of Baroque Music This Christmas! October 26th, 2020 There is no better way to celebrate the holiday season than to listen to joyful and uplifting Baroque music. For me, it’s the best and most inspiring classical Christmas music, and it includes Messiah by Handel, the beautiful Christmas Oratorio -
Reconverted Musicians
How Working in a Different Art Field Shaped These Composers’ Music Uniquely? October 26th, 2020While some composers are famous for having previous non-musical careers — the most recent and famous example being Glass, who has been amongst others, a taxi driver, a mover and a plumber. However in many of these cases, the primary -
The Music of Poetry
Alfred de Musset: “La coupe et les lèvres” October 25th, 2020When Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924) was commissioned to compose a new opera in 1884, his choice of story fell on Edgar, a tragedy inspired by La coupe et les lèvres by Alfred de Musset. The librettist Ferdinando Fontana took some liberties, -
Challenging Technical Perfection October 25th, 2020 “my jump is not high enough, my twists are not perfect, I can’t place my leg behind my ear…..Sometimes there is such an obsession with the technique that this can kill your best impulses. Remember that communicating with a form -
Musicians and Artists: Bruegel and Ferneyhough October 24th, 2020 Flailing and falling, so Icarus descends from the skies, having melted his wings in the heat of the sun. In this landscape, we see life going on and then, in the bottom right corner of the work, the legs of