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
Latest article
Spotlight
-
Pulling Out All the Stops
Celebrated Organ Concertos December 25th, 2018“In my eyes and ears,” wrote Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, “the organ will forever be the King of Instruments.” And Ludwig van Beethoven apparently considered organists superior musicians “because of their improvisatory skills and multi-limbed virtuosity.” -
Wagner: Siegfried Idyll
Premiered Today in 1870 December 25th, 2018Birthday presents come in all forms, shapes and sizes. When Cosima Wagner awoke on 25 December 1870 to celebrate her 33rd birthday, a group of 17 musicians had assembled on the stairs leading to her bedroom. With Richard Wagner conducting, -
X-mas Disguised Once More December 24th, 2018 A good many carols associated with X-mas were composed between the 14th and 17th century in England, Italy, France, Germany, Spain and elsewhere. However, it took the scholarly efforts of the 19th century for these old songs to be collected -
On This Day
24 December: Giuseppe Verdi’s Aida Was Premiered December 24th, 2018One of the most endearing myths in Classical Music states that Giuseppe Verdi wrote his opera Aida in celebration for the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869. It is a great headline, but it’s not even remotely true. To -
1,001(Arabian) Nights II
Folk Tales in Music December 23rd, 2018When John Adams visited an exhibition at the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris detailing the history of the “Arabian Nights,” he was struck by how the archetypal story of Scheherazade has evolved over the centuries. “The casual brutality toward -
The Piano Concerto
Part 2 – More “Greats” of the Genre December 23rd, 2018A selection of the great piano concertos will always be subjective, but the following choices are based on conversations with concert pianists and listeners, and represent both the concertos which make regular appearances in concert halls, and those which pianists -
Beethoven: Symphony No. 5
Premiered Today in 1808 December 22nd, 2018The famous “short-short-short-long” motive that initiates the opening of Beethoven’s 5th Symphony has become the most compact and commanding gesture in all of symphonic literature. Powerfully introduced by the whole orchestra in the minor mode, the module is ambiguous in -
Music and Nature
Seasons: Winter December 22nd, 2018What’s your vision of winter? Cold, snow everywhere, or simply a more temperate time of year? Is it crisp days that make your nose crinkle or soft sunshine and no air-conditioning? No matter what kind of winter you have, there’s