As a mythological character, Hercules is one who has always captured our attention. Famed for his strength and for his adventures around the known world, he’s caught the attention of writers and musicians for centuries. The stories and feats of
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Niels Gade January 12th, 2017 200th Birthday Celebration In terms of Scandinavian musical superstars, Finland has Sibelius, Norway has Grieg, and Denmark has Carl Nielsen! However, the most important figure in nineteenth century Danish music was the composer, conductor, organist, violinist, teacher, and administrator Niels -
Unsung Concertos
Ralph Vaughan Williams: Piano Concerto in C major January 11th, 2017The reputation of Ralph Vaughan Williams as the most important English composer of his generation squarely rests on his compositions for the operatic stage and the Concert Hall. These theatrical dramas and orchestral essays characteristically reference the landscapes, myths and -
Another Casualty of War
Alexandrov Ensemble January 10th, 2017Flying is supposed to be the safest form of transportation; at least that’s what statistics will tell you. In very recent memory, a crash in South America has received lots of media coverage because it carried a first division Brazilian -
Manuscripts and Technology
An Interview with Nicholas Kitchen of the Borromeo Quartet January 10th, 2017Founded in 1989 by students at the Curtis Institute for Music, the Borromeo Quartet has grown over the last decades into a quartet of power and assurance. Of interest in the past few years have been their explorations of the -
Forgotten Pianists: Samuil Feinberg January 9th, 2017 The pianist Samuil Feinberg (1890-1962) was a contemporary of Heinrich Neuhaus and they both taught at the Moscow Conservatory. He’s now largely remembered for being the first pianist to play the complete Well-Tempered Clavier by J.S. Bach in Russia. -
Musical Giants of the 20th Century: Spinto Tenor January 8th, 2017 The spinto is a tenor with a larger, slightly pressed voice (from spingere, Italian for push). While it is distinctly different from a light lyric tenor in a standard Mozart opera (for example a Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni), a -
Seeing the Inner Person: The Art of Carl Köhler January 8th, 2017 Swedish artist Carl Köhler (1919-2006) has left a body of art in the neo-modernist style that was virtually ignored at the time of his death. His son, Henry, has taken up his father’s legacy and over the past decade has -
Composers and Their Poets: Wolf III January 6th, 2017 In his great spate of lieder writing, the last great collection Hugo Wolf (1860-1903) took on was the Italienisches Liederbuch, translated by Heyse and Geibel, the same translators of the Spanisches Liederbuch. This collection of poetry is translations into German