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
Latest article
Spotlight
-
Looking at Beethoven: After His Death May 26th, 2020 The first image we have of Beethoven after his death is his death mask. It was common to take a death mask of famous people, either to serve as a memory or as a basis for portraits. The method was -
Celebrating Celia May 25th, 2020 “I always sang. Both my father (Edwin) and his sister, Muriel were gifted singers, but Edwin was streets ahead because he was also a brilliant pianist and, from my very youngest years, I had the pleasure and honour of listening -
Friedrich Hölderlin (1770–1843)
“We Are Nothing; What We Search for Is Everything” May 24th, 2020Today, as we celebrate the 250th birthday of Friedrich Hölderlin (1770–1843), we consider him among the greatest of German lyric poets. During his lifetime, however, Hölderlin gained little recognition—he was a colleague of Hegel and Schelling—and he was almost totally -
Will Coronavirus Cause a Rethink in Attitudes and Habits of Musicians and Audiences? May 24th, 2020 There is no question that the coronavirus pandemic has had a profound effect on our daily lives, and its effect and after-effects will continue to be felt for many months and possibly years to come. For musicians, the effect of -
Babe Magnet Gabriel Fauré
Emma Bardac & Cie. May 23rd, 2020Biographers have suggested that Gabriel Fauré “always retained a great affection for his wife Marie Frémiet.” She did have, it was said, a withdrawn, bitter and difficult character. Combined with Fauré’s keen sensuality and desire to please, it possibly helps -
Women Conductors Breaking Through the Glass Ceiling
Xian Zhang May 23rd, 2020Conductor Xian Zhang has perhaps had a more difficult road than many conductors. She was born in Dandong, China, in 1973 just after the Cultural Revolution during which western music was forbidden. Named Xian, which means ‘string’—of a stringed instrument—her -
A Short Image of a Musical Ekphrasis May 22nd, 2020 The ancient Greeks used Ekphrasis as a method for training students to describe a visual object. Ekphrasis is a verbal or written description of a visual object. Down through history it has been used by artists to relate to other -
Unusual Instruments: Arnold’s Grand Grand Festival Overture May 21st, 2020 One of the delights of the 2003 movie Les Triplettes de Belleville was the nightclub scene where the triplets, who had been stars of the French music halls in the 1930s, take the stage in their very old age with