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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Movers and Shakers of Music World
Emanuel Schikaneder (1751-1812): The Original Papageno October 8th, 2016He has been called “one of the most talented theatre men of his era,” and we primarily know him for writing the libretto of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s opera The Magic Flute. However, Emanuel Schikaneder was also an impresario, dramatist, actor, -
Patriotism and Nationalism VII: Patriotic Songs but Not National Anthems October 7th, 2016 Many countries have songs that are patriotic but that are not their national anthems. Sometimes these are known as the ‘unofficial national anthems’ and sometimes they’re just more familiar. -
A War Mass October 6th, 2016 Haydn’s Mass No. 10 has a nickname that’s understandable, the Paukenmesse (Timpani Mass) due to its use of the timpani. It also has a name written by Haydn into the manuscript, ‘Missa in tempore belli,’ i.e., Mass in Time of -
My Life as a Hero October 5th, 2016 In 1897, Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904) wrote his last symphonic poem and, in contrast to the preceding four he’d just finished, The Water Goblin, The Noon Witch, The Golden Spinning Wheel, and The Wood Dove, this last work had no story -
Benjamin Britten: A Midsummer Night’s Dream October 4th, 2016 In August 1959, Jubilee Hall in Aldeburgh was undergoing a complete refurbishment, and to celebrate its reopening a year later, a new opera was definitely required. Since Benjamin Britten already was the artistic director of the Festival at that time, -
Connecting with Proust: A Conversation with Steven Isserlis October 3rd, 2016 Cellist Steven Isserlis will be in Hong Kong in October as part of his Asian tour through South Korea, China, and Japan. The entire Asian tour has been entitled ‘Proust and Music’ and in a recent conversation with the cellist, -
Minors of the Majors
George Gershwin: Three Preludes October 3rd, 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! -
Muses and Musings
Therese or Heinrich? Franz Schubert and the Grob Children October 2nd, 2016Nothing stokes the fire of adolescence and the enormous physical and psychological changes that occur during the teenage years quite like the teenage girl and/or boy next door. Franz Schubert spent his formative years in Lichtental, the ninth district in