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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Are Hip Hop and Classical Music Similar? October 25th, 2019 You might think that this is a crazy question. To quote Wikipedia, Hip Hop is a “stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted”. That doesn’t sound like classical music does it? Of -
Great Performers: Maria João Pires October 24th, 2019 “what I feel is very deep. I need to have a total connection with the music” – Maria João Pires One of the finest musicians of her generation, pianist Maria João Pires brings exquisite refinement, profound emotional depth, and intellectual -
“Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary”
Nursery Rhymes in Urban Legend and Music October 23rd, 2019A good many nursery rhymes have acquired various historical explanations. Although it is much debated whether such explanations are grounded in fact or simply a matter of urban lore, it is clear that these innocent sounding rhymes support multiple levels -
The Announcement of Death October 22nd, 2019 One of the most dramatic scenes in an opera is the announcement of the hero or heroine’s death. It’s a striking point where histrionics come to the fore and emotions run rampant. These scenes were present even in the earliest -
Bohuslav Martinů’s Moon Prosody October 21st, 2019 Escaping Nazi oppression, Bohuslav Martinů and his wife Charlotte arrived in Lisbon on 11 January 1942. Roughly two months later they boarded S.S. Exeter with destination Hoboken, New Jersey. As with other artists who arrived in similar circumstances, life in -
Cultural Gatekeeping and the Maverick Musician October 20th, 2019 Ravel: Gaspard de la Nuit (Ivo Pogorelich) I will never forget the first time I heard Croatian concert pianist Ivo Pogorelich live in concert at London’s Royal Festival Hall. The concert, in 2015, had been heavily trailed, hinting that this -
Musicians and Artists: William Grant Still and Sculpture October 20th, 2019 In 1943, William Grant Still wrote his Suite for Violin and Piano, which took as its inspiration three sculptures: Richmond Barthé’s African Dancer, Sargent Johnson’s Mother and Child, and Augusta Savage’s Gamin. Each of these works was created in the -
Lucas Debargue: When I Play Scarlatti, I Join Scarlatti’s Time October 19th, 2019 Four years have passed since the music world discovered Lucas Debargue at the 15th Tchaikovsky Competition. His peculiar path to music has created a new, different perspective on piano art. The conversation took place at the Riga Jurmala Music Festival,