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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Mozart’s Musical Journey
13 February 1782: Piano Concerto No. 5, K. 175 with new Finale K. 382 February 13th, 2019Trying to establish himself in Vienna, Wolfgang Amadeus was incredibly busy as he writes to his sister. “You must not suppose, from my not answering you, that you and your letters are troublesome. I shall always, dearest sister, with the -
Louis Marchand and Marie Angélique Denis
A Toxic Affair February 12th, 2019Louis Marchand (1669-1732) had an extremely colorful and unpredictable personality. While he was lavishly praised for his prodigious keyboard talents and skills, his reputation was not founded on musical abilities alone. In one famous, and documented instance, soon after his -
At the Center of the Musical Universe
Franz Schubert V February 11th, 2019Franz Schubert composed his set of six German Dances in October 1824 for his piano student Countess Caroline Esterházy. Everybody knew that Schubert was deeply in love with his 18-year old student, and a number of compositions were the direct -
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4
Premiered Today in 1878 February 10th, 2019When Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky‘s Symphony No. 4 in F minor premiered at a Russian Musical Society concert in Moscow on 10 February 1878, it represented a veritable breakthrough in terms of emotional depth and complexity. This symphonic hybrid, which subsequently -
Celebrating Collaboration
The Piano Accompanist February 10th, 2019Piano accompanists are, rather like page turners, the unsung heroes and heroines of the music world, often receiving smaller concert fees and less prominent billing than the singers and instrumentalists with whom they work. Often unfairly regarded as “failed soloists”, -
How Embarrassing—I Have a Dust Bunny in My Instrument! February 9th, 2019 I’d never had one…until today. A dense, dark grey ball the size of a quarter, rolling around inside my cello. I had been practicing the Spanish piece by Gaspar Cassadó Requiebros full of passion and fervor. While wailing on the -
Pigs in and around Music February 8th, 2019 With the zodiac of the Pig taking center stage in the Chinese calendar in 2019, I decided to go on the hunt for “pig music” in the Western musical context. We all know about the Carnival of the Animals, Peter -
Bartók: Piano Concerto No. 3
Premiered Today in 1946 February 8th, 2019Béla Bartók did not see the premiere of his 3rd Piano Concerto. After completing the score—he wrote the Hungarian words “the end” after the last measures of this concerto—Bartók was transferred to a West Side hospital where he died four