The solo violin has long been acknowledged as the perfect instrument to express emotions like love, longing, heartbreak, rapture, and romance. The Romantic era lasted from the early nineteenth century to the early twentieth century and produced numerous works that
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Forgotten Pianists: Jean-Claude Englebert October 4th, 2017 French pianist Jean-Claude Englebert (1923-2011) was born in Paris to a family of musicians. His father, Oscar, was a renowned violist and his mother, Suzanne, was a concert singer. He attended the Paris Conservatoire, taking the first prize in music -
10th Anniversary of Premiere Performances Hong Kong October 3rd, 2017 Hardly a month goes by without yet another international music festival rolling down the shutters and closing its doors forever. Festival d’Ile-de-France, City of London Festival or Lugano, the message is always the same. “Despite new directions and initiatives, the -
Vivaldi’s Internationally Renowned Orphanage Orchestra October 2nd, 2017 Imagine you’re a poor single woman in eighteenth century Venice. You have no family, no fortune, and your career options are – obviously – limited. Every year during Carnival, hundreds of wealthy men descend on Venice, busy taking their Grand - Muses and Musings
La Comtesse Greffulhe: Female Entrepreneurial Power October 2nd, 2017She was described as “that beautiful and unchallenged sovereign of sophisticated Paris; a leader of the smart intelligentsia and unchallenged queen of the upper monde; the most distinguished lady in the whole of Parisian society.” She was born Elisabeth de -
Andrew Tyson October 1st, 2017 Learning from Other Genres Performing an eclectic mix of music in Hong Kong this month is young American pianist Andrew Tyson. Originally from North Carolina, he studied at the Curtis Institute and went on to New York’s prestigious Juilliard School. -
How to Listen to Music You Haven’t Heard October 1st, 2017 Some years ago I read a fascinating book by French psychoanalyst and University of Paris literature professor Pierre Bayard, How to Talk About Books You Haven’t Read, in which the author makes a very good case for freeing ourselves from - Born in a Mental Institution
The Operetta in France September 30th, 2017After a hard day of coming to terms with personal demons and morbid obsessions in a mental institution, not everybody is in the mood to sit through a seemingly endless Wagnerian musical drama or the monumental theatricality of a Verdi - Tangentenflügel
Mozart’s favorite keyboard instrument (for a while) September 29th, 2017Today I accidentally stumbled over another rarity from the vault of unusual and singular instruments! The instrument in question—variously called “Tangent piano” in English, “Tangentenflügel” in German, “cembalo angelico” in Italian, and “clavecin harmonieux et celeste” in French—sounds like a
