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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X’Mas with Johannes Brahms December 24th, 2016 In his later years, Johannes Brahms looked like a veritable Santa Claus! With his flowing full beard and mischievous blue eyes, he’d be the star of any Christmas parade! With Christmas just around the corner, let’s have a look at -
Composers and Their Poets: Wolf I December 23rd, 2016 If Schumann had his song year of 1840, then Hugo Wolf (1860-1903) had his song year of 1888. He had been a song composer long before this, and, as were most song composers in the years between 1855 and 1880, -
V is for Virtuoso December 22nd, 2016 Going beyond the notes …a virtuoso was, originally, a highly accomplished musician, but by the nineteenth century the term had become restricted to performers, both vocal and instrumental, whose technical accomplishments were so pronounced as to dazzle the public. ‘Music -
Unsung Concertos
Robert Schumann: Violin Concerto, WoO 23 December 21st, 2016One might reasonably assume that anything written by Robert Schumann for the concerto stage would be played the world over. But that simply is not the case, as onstage performances of his Violin Concerto remain a rarity. So, what actually -
The Taras Bulba of the Pampas: Ginastera’s Ollantay December 20th, 2016 Alberto Ginastera (1916-1983) was born in Buenos Aires and studied at the conservatory there. One of his best known students is the tango composer Ástor Piazzola, who studied with him in 1941. Ginastera was inspired by the life of Argentina, -
Minors of the Majors
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov: String Sextet in A Major December 19th, 2016“Minors of the Majors” invites you to discover compositions by the great classical composers that for one reason or another have not reached the musical mainstream. Please enjoy, and keep listening! -
German Cities or Classical Composers? December 18th, 2016 Theile The Baltic Sea is sometimes referred to as the “Mediterranean of the North.” For centuries it has been a vital thoroughfare for trade and travel across ethnic and religious borders. And the cities of Lübeck, Rostock, Danzig, Copenhagen and -
Musical Giants of the 20th Century
Historically Informed Performances December 18th, 2016What do you get when you enrich the subjectivity of artistic interpretation with the objectivity of scholarly study? In terms of terminology you get “historically informed performances.” However, in philosophical terms you get one of the most contentious topics since