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
George Gershwin: Lullaby for Strings May 16th, 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! -
Movers and Shakers of Music World
Domenico Barbaja – the first of the great opera impresarios May 15th, 2016Only the most hard-boiled opera lovers could name the leading impresarios of today: Peter Gelb of the Metropolitan Opera in New York, Alexander Pereira of La Scala of Milan (formerly of Zurich Opera and the Salzburg Festival) and possibly Stéphane -
The Great Women Artists Who Shaped Music XIX: Winnaretta Singer, Princesse de Polignac May 15th, 2016 Without patrons of the arts many great masterworks of the 20th century would not be delighting us today. Exceptional benefactors shaped our culture by opening their homes and hearts, creating opportunities for composers and performers. -
Music, Art and Nature May 14th, 2016 Over the course of the last two centuries, there has been an interesting, changing relationship between music and the other arts, and concepts and depictions of nature. During the Classical period nature was represented as a backdrop in paintings for -
How You Should Feel in the Key of B minor May 13th, 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, we listed Ernst Pauer’s suggestions from 1876 of pieces that fit the particular -
Blüthner: The Piano with the Golden Tone May 11th, 2016 What do Queen Victoria, Franz Liszt, Johannes Brahms, Tsar Nicholas II, Sergei Rachmaninoff and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and numerous others have in common? They all purchased and played instruments produced by the Leipzig piano manufacturer Blüthner. Around 1900, Blüthner was -
One heart and one soul!
Ottorino Respighi and Elsa Olivieri Sangiacomo May 10th, 2016Tendonitis or related inflammations have ruined the aspiring careers of numerous young hopeful pianists. True to life, however, with one door of opportunity closing forever another door is just a likely to open up. Elsa Olivieri Sangiacomo grew up in -
Minors of the Majors
Georg Philipp Telemann: Overture in A minor, TWV 55:a1 May 9th, 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!