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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Cello Lament for The Sycamore Gap Tree December 4th, 2023 Preserving our natural world has become vital for many of us but we sometimes are at a loss as to how we as individuals can make an impact. Italian cellist and composer Riccardo Pes had a visceral reaction when the -
Scott Joplin (1868-1917)
“King of Ragtime and Opera Pioneer” December 4th, 2023Scott Joplin was the pre-eminent composer of piano ragtime. In fact, one of his first and most popular pieces, the “Maple Leaf Rag,” became one of the genre’s most influential mega hits. Joplin considered the ragtime a form of classical -
Miracles, Virgins and Resurrection
New Testament in Music December 3rd, 2023We have musically explored the Old Testament, the original Hebrew Bible, and the sacred scriptures of the Jewish faith. The second section of the Bible is the New Testament, written by Christians in the first century AD. It is a -
The Dangerous Garden of the Sea
Arnold Bax’s The Garden of Fand December 3rd, 2023Arnold Bax (1886–1953) was born in south London and raised in north London, but in his early years sought to develop a link with Ireland. In 1902, after discovering the writing of Irish writer W.B. Yeats, Arnold and his brother -
On This Day
2 December: Maria Callas Was Born December 2nd, 2023Maria Anna Cecilia Sofia Kalogeropoulos, better known as Maria Callas, was born on 2 December 1923 in New York City. She was the daughter of Greek immigrant parents, and her father shortened his surname to “Kakos” and subsequently to “Callas,” -
Secret and Enchanted Gardens
Fabrice Bollon, Judith Bingham and Uljas Pulkkis December 2nd, 2023Frances Hodgson Burnett’s 1911 novel The Secret Garden is a story of redemption. An unloved and sickly child is left orphaned in British India and is adopted by her uncle in England. Out on the Yorkshire moors, Mary learns to -
Harriet Cohen: The Glamorous Pianist Who Brought New Music to Life December 2nd, 2023 Harriet Pearl Alice Cohen was born in London on 2 December 1895. We may have largely forgotten her today, but this little girl turned out to be one of the most important musicians of the twentieth century. The Musical Childhood -
Charles Gounod (1818-1893): “Le Soir”
The Adventures of a Good Tune December 1st, 2023After winning the prestigious Prix de Rome, the young Charles Gounod (1818-1893) arrived in the Eternal City of Rome in 1840. After experiencing a spell of melancholy and homesickness, which he described “this kind of shroud in which I was