In classical music, the Romantic Era lasted from around 1810 to around 1910. That century gave us some of the most famous symphonies in the repertoire. Nineteenth-century composers like Tchaikovsky, Brahms, Dvořák, Schubert, Mahler, Rachmaninoff, and others elevated the symphony
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Composers and their Poets: Ravel I April 7th, 2017 Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) was regarded in the early 20th century as France’s greatest living composer. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire but his time there ended badly. He entered as a piano student at age 14 but by age 18, -
Knowing the Score April 6th, 2017 Pange lingua (Alice Halstead, soprano; Clare College Choir, Cambridge; Graham Ross, cond.) A recent article in The Guardian which asserts that musical notation (i.e. the dots, lines, squiggles and marks on a written or printed page) is “a cryptic, tricky -
Second Time Around
Repeats in Schubert’s last piano sonata April 6th, 2017Whether or not to meticulously observe the exposition repeat in Schubert’s final piano sonata No, 21 in B-flat major, D960, is a question which continues to trouble pianists, musicologists and listeners alike. The debate concerns aspects such as authenticity, personal -
Unsung Concertos
Julius Klengel: Concerto for 2 Cellos, Op. 45 April 5th, 2017He was frequently compared to Paganini, and in central European cello circles, Julius Klengel (1859-1933) was even called an institution. A natural-born cellist, he stopped having formal instructions at the age of 14! At fifteen Klengel performed for the first -
Germaine Tailleferre April 4th, 2017 “Perhaps women have always been in closer contact with reality than men” Germaine Tailleferre (1892-1983) was the sole female member of the intriguing group of young French composers eventually known as “Les Six.” Her association with “Les nouveaux jeunes” aside, -
Very Quiet Screeching Allowed April 4th, 2017 We were looking at a score by the Finnish composer Perrtu Haapanen and found his performance directions very interesting for his 2014 work Compulsion Island, commissioned by the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra. His instructions for the strings are very specific -
Forgotten Pianists: Theodor Leschetizky April 3rd, 2017 Theodor Leschetizky (1830 –1915) is a pianist who crosses wide musical and time scales. His father was a talented pianist and teacher; after his first lessons with his father, he was taken to Vienna to study with Carl Czerny. At -
Muses and Musings
Salon Marie Trélat April 2nd, 2017Beginning in the late 18th century, something magical happened in Paris on Friday! As a contemporary observer wrote, “Friday is the day that was adopted by most artists as the day to entertain; on this day, everyone visits their painter.