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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At the Center of the Musical Universe
Niccolò Paganini November 20th, 2017Niccolò Paganini (1782-1840) almost single-handedly established a new brand of performing musician, the touring virtuoso. In a brilliant strategy of self-promotion, he even circulated the rumor that he had sold his soul to the devil in exchange for his uncanny -
In the valley, by the water, on the mountain November 19th, 2017 The new trend of village festivals In the early 4th century, Wang Xizhi (王羲之), often hailed as the greatest calligrapher of all times and best known for his running style calligraphy, wrote Lanting Xu (蘭亭集序 Preface to the Orchid Pavilion) -
Thinking Aloud November 19th, 2017 Much of my teaching is based on visualisation, a technique I learnt from my first teacher as an adult pianist and one which I use daily with my students and my own practising and playing as a way of engaging -
Mapping the Musical Genome: The Gibbons Family November 18th, 2017 Orlando Gibbons (1572-1625) was born in Oxford, son of a town wait—essentially a town musician whose duties included playing his instrument for the townsfolk, welcoming Royal visitors, and leading processions on civic occasions. William Gibbons moved back and forth between -
Rock-A-Bye Baby II
Crossing from Folk to Art November 17th, 2017The lullaby, a gentle song intended for lulling young and/or ailing children to sleep originated in various folk repertories. It easily crossed into art music not only as a song but also as a short instrumental piece, frequently scored for -
Erich Korngold and Luzi Sonnenthal
A Triumph of Love November 16th, 2017Luise von Sonnenthal (1900-1962) was born into a dynasty of ennobled actors. Her grandfather Adolf Ritter von Sonnenthal was not only Vienna’s most popular classical actor and matinee idol at the Burgtheater, he was also one of the first Jewish -
Copland’s Ballets: Billy the Kid, Rodeo, Appalachian Spring November 15th, 2017 Aaron Copland, son of Polish and Lithuanian emigrants, was born in Brooklyn in 1900 and by the time he was 24, his compositions were already gaining interest. He was Nadia Boulanger’s first American pupil in Paris, laying the groundwork for -
Works Disliked By Their Composers! Part II November 14th, 2017 What happens when a composer writes a piece of music…and then ends up not liking it? In Part I, we saw how Saint-Saëns, Ravel, and Sibelius dealt with the problem. Now we look at how three more composers did: