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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Making It in the Music World I July 12th, 2019 If you have been playing and practicing music for most of your life, you probably see those who have made it in concert halls and onto the world stage as amazing beings that transcend most mortal humans. You may be -
Romanticism Reincarnated: Bill Evans’ ‘Peace Piece’ July 11th, 2019 A peaceful ostinato figure, grounded and tranquil, opens the work. After a few bars, a serenely beautiful yet simple melody is heard in the treble which melts into a series of increasingly complex variations, the initial theme dissolving into trills - Prokofiev’s Visions Fugitives: Little Impressionist Worlds July 9th, 2019 Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953) started experimenting with a number of short piano works in 1915, completed them in 1917, and gave them their first public performance on 15 April 1918 in Petrograd/St. Petersburg. At a private performance some months before, the
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What’s with Bach July 8th, 2019 For over three centuries, Bach’s music has fascinated both musicians, composers and performers, and listeners. It seems like his music never ages and finds context in each century, generation after generation. Musicians from all genres—from classical to popular music—learn from - Mozart’s Musical Journey
7 July 1791: “Even my work gives me no pleasure” July 7th, 2019To prepare for the birth of her sixth child, Constanze Mozart visited a local spa in 1791. Located near Vienna, the small town of Baden had since medieval times provided relaxation and cures for Austria’s ruling families. Constanze certainly needed -
Unwritten Things – Going Beyond the Notes July 7th, 2019 The music is behind those dots. You search for it…I play, so to speak, from the other side of the printed score, looking backVladimir Horowitz The notated musical score is a wonderful thing. Contained within it are myriad markings, signs, -
The Sound of 78s July 5th, 2019 I remember growing up listening to my grandmother’s gramophone. As a child, the sound always enthralled me, it still does. - “The Fantastic Whirl of Destiny”
Ravel’s La Valse July 4th, 2019What is Ravel’s La Valse about? Is it a portrait of the disintegration of decadent pre-First War Europe, the dying embers of the Belle Epoque? Or simply a rollicking dance, a sensuous hommage to the Viennese Waltz?
