The love story between Robert and Clara Schumann is often regarded as one of the most romantic in classical music history. Happily for historians, many of their love letters survive. They document their inner thoughts and emotions, as well as
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On Isolation April 16th, 2020 The current world situation and the spread of the biggest pandemic of the century — resulting in quarantine and isolation —has brought many people in front of one of their scariest fear: solitude. Contradictorily, for the artists it is a -
Music Under Quarantine
Feel the Burn April 15th, 2020Best Classical Music to Workout to Even When You Are at Home Recently I read that an enthusiastic chap completed a marathon run inside his apartment. That’s right, unable to train in the outside world because of the Covid-19 lockdown, -
Henry Vieuxtemps and Josephine Eder April 15th, 2020 “Harmony cannot fail to rule over their household.” On 19 April 1833 the musical magazine Bohemia published the following review of pianist Josephine Eder (1815-1868): “She treats the light and difficult parts with the same certainty, combines taste and delicacy, -
Music Under Quarantine
Counting Sheep April 14th, 2020In times of medical quarantine and government lockdowns, our stress levels can go through the roof. And that’s a particularly nasty problem when it comes to falling and/or staying asleep. We’ve all spent nights of restless tossing and turning with -
Beethoven and Money April 14th, 2020 For much of his career and life, Beethoven was struggling financially. He would on occasion make a shedload of money, which he tended to invest in bank shares. However, the severe depreciation of the Austrian currency as a result of -
Staying Healthy: Mental Health With Help Musicians April 13th, 2020 Life as a musician brings with it its own unique set of problems and challenges, and in my previous article I talked about how I try to stay healthy and happy while away from home. Perhaps even more pressing than -
The Different Voices of Spring April 13th, 2020 What does Spring mean to you – a season of soft breezes? A season of soft mud? The return of the birds? The return of liquid water? The return of the green trees? Flowers pushing up through the snow? Or -
The Music of Poetry
Paul Verlaine: “En Sourdine” April 12th, 2020Paul Verlaine (1844-1896) has been called “one of the most purely lyrical of French poets…an initiator of the modern word-music that marks a transition between the Romantic poets and the Symbolists.” His best poetry declared that the French language could