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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Beethoven’s Piano Trio Opus 1 December 17th, 2023 As we celebrate the birthday of Ludwig van Beethoven on 17 December, we are once again reminded that the composer and thinker elevated musical expression to a new level of consciousness. From his early days, it was clear that Beethoven -
The Less-Classical Cello Concerto
Miguel del Águila’s Concierto en Tango December 17th, 2023Uruguayan-American composer Miguel del Águila (b. 1957) was commissioned by Buffalo Philharmonic principal cellist Roman Mekinulov for a cello concerto. Specifically a ‘concerto in tango form that would explore the less classical sound and technique of the cello’. Mr. Águila -
Antigone in the New World
Carlos Chávez’s Sinfonia de Antígona December 16th, 2023In 1932, Mexican composer Carlos Chávez wrote incidental music for a staged performance of Jean Cocteau’s version of Sophicles’ Antigone. Cocteau had created the play a decade earlier and called it a ‘contraction’ of the original. The original, one of -
Sheep May Safely Graze
A Personal X-mas Reflection December 16th, 2023Truth be told, I am almost apprehensive when watching or reading the morning news these days. Front pages and screens are full of yet more atrocities against humanity, and the death of innocent people from around the world is treated -
On This Day
16 December: Camille Saint-Saëns Died December 16th, 2023When Camille Saint-Saëns died of a heart attack on 16 December 1921 in Algiers, his body was taken back to Paris for a state funeral at the Madeleine. His career had spanned 70 years and five continents. He performed as -
Dance Music of the 1840s
Johann Strauss I, Joseph Lanner and Hans Christian Lumbye December 15th, 2023The early to mid-19th century was more than just a time of waltzes, it was also the polka and the galop that held the floor. The most important dancemen came from Vienna: Johann Strauss I and Joseph Lanner. A group -
On This Day
14 December: Martin Fröst Was Born December 14th, 2023Clarinet superstar Martin Fröst has been described as having “a virtuosity and a musicianship unsurpassed by any clarinettist, perhaps any instrumentalist, in recent memory.” In 2014 he received the Léonie Sonning Music Prize, one of the world’s highest musical honours, -
On This Day
13 December: Bomsori Kim Was Born December 13th, 2023In Korean, the name “Bomsori” basically means “the sound of spring,” but professionally, the violinist Bomsori Kim has earned the nickname “Competition Huntress.” Indeed, she has won a long list of competitions, including the 62nd ARD International Music Competition, the