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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Bomsori Kim May 1st, 2018 Currently based in New York, Korean violinist Bomsori Kim plays with Pallavi Mahidhara in Hong Kong this month, with a programme of Ysaÿe, Sibelius, Debussy and Kreisler. -
Mozart: Le nozze di Figaro
Premiered Today in 1786 May 1st, 2018Empress Maria Theresa of Austria founded the “Burgtheater” in Vienna in 1741. In time, it became one of the most important German language theatres in the world, and it saw the premiere of three Mozart operas! On 1 May 1786, -
Berlioz: Te Deum
Premiered Today in 1855 April 30th, 2018On 30 April 1855, an ensemble of 950 performers piled into the Church of Saint-Eustache, in Paris. They were getting ready to finally premier a Berlioz work that had been specifically composed for the coronation of Louis Napoleon Bonaparte in -
Chilling With Chopin in the Tokyo Metro April 30th, 2018 Trying to catch a train at Tokyo’s Shinjuku Station during rush hours is not a pleasant task. As a main connecting hub for rail traffic throughout greater Tokyo, it handles an average of 3.64 million people per day! And that -
Salon Culture in St. Petersburg II
From Glinka to Anton Rubinstein April 29th, 2018The orientalist and journalist Osip Senkovsky (1800-1858) prolifically published articles on topics ranging from Chinese, Mongolian and Tibetan languages, to mathematics and medicine. Under the pen name “Baron Brambeus” he issued a series of fantastic voyages, including one to the -
Schools of Influence April 29th, 2018 What is the Russian sound, or French style in piano playing? What differentiates a pianist who was taught in the English piano tradition from one who studied in Germany? The history of piano playing is built from a large network -
Forgotten Cellists: Bernard Greenhouse April 28th, 2018 The acclaimed Beaux Arts Trio toured worldwide for nearly five decades, but you may not know their founding member, the magnificent cellist Bernard Greenhouse. I first heard him play in a performance with the Bach Aria Group. His luscious sound -
Stravinsky: Apollon Musagète
Premiered Today in 1928 April 27th, 2018He was born Giorgi Melitonovitch Balandchivadze in Saint Petersburg in 1904, and he danced his way into the State Theater of Opera and Ballet, better known as the Mariinsky Ballet. After fleeing to Paris and westernizing his name to George