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Ten Excerpts from Robert Schumann’s Love Letters to Clara
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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  • Pablo Ferrández Pablo Ferrández
    Pablo Ferrández, Berlin-based Spanish cellist and Instagram superstar, makes his Hong Kong debut this month with the Hong Kong Sinfonietta, playing Dvořák’s Cello Concerto.
  • J.S. Bach and J.J. Bach: Departure and Farewell J.S. Bach and J.J. Bach: Departure and Farewell
    We always think of J.S. Bach as a thoroughly German composer and always in terms of his own family – who he married, how many children he had, what those children did – but we rarely think of him in
  • The Ferment of Life: Schubert’s Last Piano Sonatas II The Ferment of Life: Schubert’s Last Piano Sonatas II
    Alfred Brendel describes Schubert as “a sleepwalker”, yet in his final three sonatas, we see Schubert’s innate sense of musical geometry and his bold treatment of traditional sonata form. These are tightly-organised woks with almost perfectly-balanced structures, perhaps most obviously
  • Cooking with the Classics Cooking with the Classics
    I was in a shop recently and found BeepEgg, an egg timer that goes into the water with your eggs and lets you know when they’re done. I bought the one with Classical Music themes, called BeepEgg Nori, decorated with
  • Theodor Leschetizky: For the Love of 4 Students Theodor Leschetizky: For the Love of 4 Students
    Theodor Leschetizky’s (1830-1915) unbelievable teaching career lasted the better part of 75 years! It is said that in excess of 1200 eager piano students passed through his studio, and that included piano superstars Schnabel, Gabrilovich, Friedman, Moiseiwitch, Yesipova, Vengerova, and
  • Musicians and Artists: Berlin, Whiteman, Dove and others Musicians and Artists: Berlin, Whiteman, Dove and others
    As part of his six 1927 music paintings, Arthur Dove did three on George Gershwin’s music and one on Irving Berlin’s music. The link between Dove and these six paintings was Paul Whiteman and his Experiments in Modern Music concert
  • The Weight of History The Weight of History
    Politicians in particular talk a lot about the “weight of history” or of feeling “the hand of history on our shoulders”, especially when faced with a serious national crisis or significant policy decision.