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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On This Day
7 May: Beethoven’s 9th Symphony Was Premiered May 7th, 2018The Premiere of Beethoven’s Last Symphony During the final stages of putting the finishing touches on his 9th symphony (which was also Beethoven’s last symphony), Beethoven was adamant that it should be premiered in Berlin. For years, Beethoven had lamented -
Salon Culture in St. Petersburg III
The Belyayev Circle May 6th, 2018Mitrofan Petrovich Belyayev (1836-1904) was the son of a highly affluent timber merchant. Educated at the German-speaking Reform School in St. Petersburg, he took lessons in piano, violin and viol. At the age of 15, Belyayev joined his father’s booming -
Dedication and passion: the inspiring world of the adult amateur pianist May 6th, 2018 Amateurs have nothing to lose by being musically true to themselves…… professionals are sometimes too intimidated to display their individuality– Daniel Martyn Lewis, concert pianist -
Forgotten Cellists: May Mukle May 5th, 2018 In 1909, May Mukle, one of the first female British cellists to achieve international acclaim, received rave reviews for her playing of the Viktor Herbert Concerto at the promenade concerts in London, “Her splendid command of technique and her complete -
Making the Notes Sing and Dance May 4th, 2018 Steven Malinowski got frustrated at reading a complicated score and decided to animate it, and thus, the Music Animation Machine was born. Its first life was last century – way back in the mid-1970s… a time before personal computers, before -
Writer and Pianist, or is that Pianist and Writer – an interview with Jeremy Denk May 3rd, 2018 Jeremy Denk made one name as a thoughtful and imaginative pianist. He made another name in 2013 when he wrote a piece for The New Yorker on learning to be pianist and his relationship with his most influential teacher, György -
Poulenc: Concert champêtre
Premiered Today in 1929 May 3rd, 2018Francis Poulenc first met Wanda Landowska at a private performance of Falla’s El Retablo de Maese Pedro in June 1923. On that occasion, Landowska requested concertos from both composers, and Falla’s effort premiered on 5 November 1926 in Barcelona. Poulenc, -
Stretching the Etude: Alkan’s Remarkable Op. 39 May 2nd, 2018 The trouble is that what most people know about the composer Charles-Valentin Alkan (1813-1888) is about how he died, rather much about his music. And even the story about his death isn’t true.