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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Cello Concerto Overview: The Ought to Haves Part I October 6th, 2018 Musicians through the ages have had a keen sense of responsibility to the music of composers of their time. We are fortunate there were cellists who inspired composers to write new works for the instrument, (Rostropovich inspired both Prokofiev and -
On This Day
6 October: Szymanowski’s Violin Concerto No. 2 Was Premiered October 6th, 2018The legendary violinist Paweł Kochański maintained a lifelong personal friendship and working relationship with the composer Karol Szymanowski. Both were active in a movement known as “Young Poland,” which sought to promote modernist attitudes in Warsaw. Originating during a period -
The Toccata in the 20th Century October 5th, 2018 Ottorino Respighi was a master of looking to the past for inspiration while, at the same time, producing music that was truly modern. We would expect a work entitled Toccata to be like the toccatas we know from the past: -
At the Center of the Musical Universe
Giacomo Meyerbeer II October 3rd, 2018Giacomo Meyerbeer completed his opera Le Prophète in 1849. Based on the Anabaptist seizure of power in the 16th century, it details the elevation of John of Leyden as “the Prophet,” and culminates in a final cataclysm when John and -
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky October 2nd, 2018 “Inspiration does not willingly visit the lazy” Ten days after the successful premiere of his Sixth Symphony in 1893, a raging cholera epidemic claimed the life of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893), one of Russia’s most famous composers. His music appealed -
Ivan Krpan October 1st, 2018 Something Beautiful and Something Natural 21 year-old Croatian pianist Ivan Krpan makes his Hong Kong debut this October, playing a programme of Beethoven, Busoni, and Liszt. Before Hong Kong, Ivan travels to Venice and Milan, playing some of the repertoire -
Music and Nature: Birds October 1st, 2018 For music and nature, birds are the natural – they sing! Or, rather, we hear their communication as singing. A friend in Hong Kong trains birds to sing, playing them beautiful songs from model birds to learn. The ones with -
Classical Music and Wine
“In Wine, There’s Truth” September 30th, 2018When Beethoven was on his deathbed, his publisher supposedly sent him a case of red wine. According to eyewitnesses, Beethoven weakly muttered, “Pity, pity, too late!” Dr. Wawruch, the physician in attendance throughout Beethoven’s final illness, opened his medical report