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
Johann Peter Salomon: “He brought Haydn to England” June 12th, 2016King Edward the Confessor started to rebuild St. Peter’s Abbey—today known as Westminster Abbey—between 1042 and 1052 to provide himself with a royal burial church. And thus he started a tradition that saw most Kings and Queens of England, at -
Misia Sert – Muse and Patron to Poets, Painters and Musicians I June 12th, 2016 One of the most extraordinary and colorful women in France at the turn of the 20th century was Misia Nathanson-Edwards-Sert, née Godebska — muse, inspiration and patron of the arts to many of the most prominent writers, painters and musicians. -
György Kurtág (1926- )
Making music out of almost nothing June 11th, 2016In 1926, the composer György Kurtág was born in the town of Lugoj, a Hungarian/German settlement that was ceded to Romania by the treaty of Versailles in 1919. Growing up at a cultural and linguistic crossroads, it’s hardly surprising that -
How You Should Feel in the Key of C Sharp minor / D flat minor June 10th, 2016 In our earlier series on C major and minor, G major and minor, and D major and minor, and A major and minor, E major and minor, B major and minor, and F sharp major and minor, we listed Ernst -
Always trust your Mother-in-Law!
Max and Elsa Reger June 9th, 2016Throughout the turbulent and highly emotional times of courtship and early marriage, Max and Elsa Reger could steadfastly rely on the support of Auguste von Bagenski, Reger’s mother in law. Auguste had taken an immediate liking to Max, and even -
Time Tracker June 8th, 2016 In the quest for ever more precise measures of time, German inventor Johann Maelzel perfected an earlier invention and created the metronome, a machine with which musicians could regulate their speed. For composers, it meant that they could move away -
Max Reger
“In music, I owe everything to J.S. Bach” June 7th, 2016Already a skilled pianist and organist, young Max Reger (1873-1916) saw performances of Meistersinger and Parsifal during his first Bayreuth pilgrimage. “When I heard Parsifal for the first time, as a fifteen-year-old, I cried for two weeks, and then I -
Minors of the Majors
Giacomo Puccini: Pezzo per pianoforte June 6th, 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!