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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Minors of the Majors
Niccolò Paganini: Concertino for Horn, Bassoon and Orchestra, MS 65 May 23rd, 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! Niccolò Paganini (1782-1840) is customarily credited with representing the -
Music à la “Mode”
Dorian Universe May 22nd, 2016Pope Gregory I (540—604) was something of a religious superstar during his days. A talented administrator who initially served as a prefect of Rome, he eventually managed to establish papal supremacy. This doctrine assured supreme and universal power over the -
More Audience Antics: Let’s Play Audience Disruption Bingo! May 22nd, 2016 Attending a classical music concert still elicits visions of powdered wigs and stuffy concert halls, stiff collars and blue-haired ladies in mink stoles. Inaccessible, incomprehensible, controlled. One doesn’t know when to clap, what to wear, how to behave. -
Théodore Dubois and the Hooligans May 21st, 2016 During his early days as a composition student at the Paris Conservatoire, Maurice Ravel was called a “mediocrely gifted debutant, who will perhaps become something if not someone in a about ten years, if he works hard.” Much of this -
How You Should Feel in the Key of F Sharp Major / G flat major May 20th, 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,and B major and minor, we listed Ernst Pauer’s suggestions from 1876 of pieces -
The Explosion to End the World May 19th, 2016 One of the most prolific of modern composers, the American composer Alan Hovhaness (1911-2000) seems to figure rarely on the modern concert stage. He wrote some 70 symphonies, and his surviving works number over 500 pieces. -
Christian August Sinding (1856-1941)
The Forgotten Norwegian Composer May 18th, 2016Ambitious amateur pianists primarily remember the Norwegian composer Christian August Sinding (1856-1941) for his Frühlingsrauschen (Rustle of Spring) Op. 32, No. 3. However, during his lifetime he was not only considered the musical heir to his compatriot Edvard Grieg, but -
Sir Donald Francis Tovey
“All Art contains Conflict” May 17th, 2016Throughout the 20th century, Donald Francis Tovey (1875-1940) was probably one of the most widely read music critics in English-speaking countries. He launched his career as a pianist, composer, and writer of music in London, and was immediately identified as