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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The Sweet Voice of the Clarinet February 11th, 2024 This is one instrument where we will ignore the ancient history. Yes, there were single-reed instruments in the ancient world and there was a Baroque single-reed instrument called the chalumeau that had been based on a recorder model. For the -
Bach for Beginners: 12 Pieces to Make You Love Bach February 10th, 2024 Johann Sebastian Bach was born in present-day Germany in 1685. Before we dive into his music, here are a few things you should know about him first: Music was Bach’s family business. Almost every man in his family was a -
Developing From Stereotype to Reality
Joaquín Turina’s Mujeres españolas I, II and Mujeres de Sevilla February 9th, 2024Spanish composer Joaquín Turina (1882–1949) invoked the magic of the women of Spain in three sets of piano music, his Mujeres españolas, Series 1, Op. 17, of 1916; Mujeres españolas, Series 2, Op. 73, in 1932; and finally, Mujeres de -
PLAYLIST The Rustle of Spring February 8th, 2024 Piano music for the new season Welcome the arrival of spring with this selection of atmospheric piano pieces inspired by or evocative of springtime. Christian Sinding: Rustle of Spring No playlist of piano music for Spring would be without this -
Celebrating Spring
Raff’s Symphony No. 8 in A Major, Op. 205, “Frühlingsklänge” (Sounds of Spring) February 6th, 2024Swiss composer Joachim Raff (1822–1882) is barely known today, and if you do remember him, it’s most probably in relation to Liszt. While Liszt was in Weimar, Raff was his assistant for a while and was responsible for the orchestration -
The Changing Sound of the Horn February 3rd, 2024 In the 19th century, the horn took itself off the battlefield and became part of the orchestra. As a natural horn with no valves, the tuning on a horn had to be controlled by adding extra length to the horn. -
Here Be A Dragon February 2nd, 2024 With a joyous call on his horn, Siegfried announces his presence in the great forest of Fafner. Turned into a dragon by the lure of the Ring, Fafner, one of the two giants who built Valhalla for Wotan, is being -
A Major Minor Opera: Nadia Boulanger’s La ville morte, The Performance January 31st, 2024 In the first part of this article “A Major Minor Opera: Nadia Boulanger’s La Ville morte, A History”, we explored the background of Nadia Boulanger’s opera. Jumping forward to the modern day, the first staging of the full opera was