For as long as composers have been writing music, they’ve been inspired by the mystery, mood, and mythology of the night. We’ve gathered ten pieces of classical music about the night that explore themes associated with the hours after dark,
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Dragonflies in Music December 5th, 2023 Dragonflies are the flying insects no one minds – they don’t bite, and we love to depict them in art, from rock paintings to the greatest representation in Art Nouveau jewelry and in Japanese Ukiyo-e art. They live on every -
On This Day
5 December: Krystian Zimerman Was Born December 5th, 2023Krystian Zimerman is one of the rare cult figures among pianists today. In fact, there are not enough superlatives to describe his pianism, or what he calls “the art of organising emotions in time.” Anything he touches reveals infinite expressive -
Cello Lament for The Sycamore Gap Tree December 4th, 2023 Preserving our natural world has become vital for many of us but we sometimes are at a loss as to how we as individuals can make an impact. Italian cellist and composer Riccardo Pes had a visceral reaction when the -
Scott Joplin (1868-1917)
“King of Ragtime and Opera Pioneer” December 4th, 2023Scott Joplin was the pre-eminent composer of piano ragtime. In fact, one of his first and most popular pieces, the “Maple Leaf Rag,” became one of the genre’s most influential mega hits. Joplin considered the ragtime a form of classical -
Miracles, Virgins and Resurrection
New Testament in Music December 3rd, 2023We have musically explored the Old Testament, the original Hebrew Bible, and the sacred scriptures of the Jewish faith. The second section of the Bible is the New Testament, written by Christians in the first century AD. It is a -
The Dangerous Garden of the Sea
Arnold Bax’s The Garden of Fand December 3rd, 2023Arnold Bax (1886–1953) was born in south London and raised in north London, but in his early years sought to develop a link with Ireland. In 1902, after discovering the writing of Irish writer W.B. Yeats, Arnold and his brother -
On This Day
2 December: Maria Callas Was Born December 2nd, 2023Maria Anna Cecilia Sofia Kalogeropoulos, better known as Maria Callas, was born on 2 December 1923 in New York City. She was the daughter of Greek immigrant parents, and her father shortened his surname to “Kakos” and subsequently to “Callas,” -
Secret and Enchanted Gardens
Fabrice Bollon, Judith Bingham and Uljas Pulkkis December 2nd, 2023Frances Hodgson Burnett’s 1911 novel The Secret Garden is a story of redemption. An unloved and sickly child is left orphaned in British India and is adopted by her uncle in England. Out on the Yorkshire moors, Mary learns to