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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Musical Giants of the 20th Century: Harpist, Mandolin and Banjo January 29th, 2017 Three legendary 20th century harpists stand out. British harpist Sidonie Goossens’s remarkable career extended just short of seven decades. A member of the BBC Symphony Orchestra from its founding in 1930 until 1980, she was known for her brilliant playing -
Year of the Fire Rooster 2017 January 28th, 2017 In the ancient system of Chinese astrology, the Lord Buddha summoned all the animals to wish him goodbye before he departed from Earth. Alas, only twelve animals came to bid him farewell. So he rewarded them by naming a year -
Music, Medicine and Happiness January 28th, 2017 Did you ever wonder why the Chinese character for Music (“樂”) shares the exact same character for happiness (“樂”), and why the Chinese character for medicine (“藥”) is simply the same character with the symbol for plants placed on top? -
Composers and Their Poets: Debussy II January 27th, 2017 In his delicately titled, Ariettes oubliées (Forgotten Little Songs), Claude Debussy (1862-1918) took the poetry of Paul Verlaine (1844-1896) and created a song cycle to match the stylistic subtleties of his poems. Debussy met the older poet via his mother-in-law. -
A Tune for My Tot!
Claude Debussy: Children’s Corner January 26th, 2017As a new mother, I am always looking for things with which to entertain my ten-month-old. Because I’m a musician, the first thing I would turn to is music. Not impressed with the Mozart for Babies CDs, and bored of -
Baltic Visions: Veljo Tormis (1930-2017) January 25th, 2017 It is with great sadness that we report the passing of Estonian composer Veljo Tormis. Regarded as one of the most prolific and most innovative choral composers of the 20th century, he ceaselessly kept alive the memories of ancient peoples -
Unsung Concertos
Carl Nielsen: Flute Concerto January 25th, 2017“The flute cannot deny its own nature, its home is in Arcadia and it prefers pastoral moods. Hence, the composer has to obey its gentle nature, unless he wants to be branded a barbarian.” That’s how Carl Nielsen, one of -
The Musician as Entrepreneur January 24th, 2017 It’s very hard to carve a career as a musician, never more so in today’s fast-paced, highly competitive and image-driven world. The changes in the industry are unparalleled in history and therefore so are our roles. Today it’s not enough