In classical music, the Romantic Era lasted from around 1810 to around 1910. That century gave us some of the most famous symphonies in the repertoire. Nineteenth-century composers like Tchaikovsky, Brahms, Dvořák, Schubert, Mahler, Rachmaninoff, and others elevated the symphony
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A Musical Language Beyond Words: An Interview with Anne Queffélec June 22nd, 2016 Pianist Anne Queffélec (b. 1948) entered the Paris Conservatoire at age 16, winning the first prize for piano in 1965 and the first prize for chamber music in 1965, and those two fields have been the core of her performing -
A Symphony of Life, Love, and the World June 21st, 2016 Requiring a large orchestra and with 10 movements, the first symphony written by Olivier Messiaen (1908-1992) was a monumental achievement. Commissioned by Sergey Koussevitzky for the Boston Symphony Orchestra, it took Messiaen 2 years to write it, completing it in -
Minors of the Majors
Georges Bizet: Chants du Rhin June 20th, 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! -
An Artist at the Opera: David Hockney June 19th, 2016 In earlier articles we’ve looked at how art has inspired music. Now, we’re taking a look at the artists working within music. The English artist David Hockney (b. 1937) works in many different media as a painter, a draughtsman, printmaker, -
Movers and Shakers of Music World
Sir Rudolf Bing June 18th, 2016The opera stars of the1950s to 1970s have become household names: Maria Callas, Renata Tebaldi, Richard Tucker, Robert Merrill, Joan Sutherland and Franco Corelli. The names of the great impresarios of that time, however, remain largely in the dark. With -
Where is the Common Man? June 18th, 2016 Beginning with a crash and a boom, Aaron Copland (1900-1990) beings his Fanfare for the Common Man. The work was inspired by a number of sources, both political and musical. On the political side, reference is made to a 1942 -
How You Should Feel in the Key of A flat major June 17th, 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, F sharp major and minor, and C sharp major -
Pearls of the Orient
Pearl River Piano Company June 16th, 2016In this week’s episode, I would like to introduce you to the largest piano manufacturer in the world! The Pearl River Piano Group was established in 1956 in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province in China, and it claims to produce the World’s