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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The Life of the Vampire May 4th, 2016 The composer Heinrich Marschner made the most of the vampire craze that swept Europe in the early 19th century with his opera Der Vampyr. The craze had started with a short story abandoned by Byron that was picked up by -
Ottorino Respighi May 3rd, 2016 Pining for Rome 85 years ago, on 18 April 1936, Ottorino Respighi (1879-1936) died from an inflammation of the inner layer of the heart in Rome. Respighi lived and worked during tumultuous political times, and his historicist interest in Italian -
Minors of the Majors
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: String Quartet No. 2, Op. 22 May 2nd, 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! -
Dashon Burton May 1st, 2016 Furnishing a Roomful of Teeth: Dashon Burton on Freelancing and the Next Generation of Musicians Bass-baritone Dashon Burton hails from the Bronx, New York. Studying at the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music, he was snapped up straight away post-graduation by -
Peter Warlock: In League with the Devil May 1st, 2016 Witches, Warlocks, and Wizards are said to possess magical powers and are able to command supernatural forces. They have played an active part in human history and the imagination since ancient times. At various times in history, witchcraft and wizardry -
The Pits—Orchestra Pits That is! April 30th, 2016 A good part of a musician’s career is spent in a pit, an orchestra pit that is—for opera, ballet and musical theater productions. The pit—an open space beneath and in front of the stage—varies in shape and size and can -
How You Should Feel in the Key of E minor April 29th, 2016 In our earlier series on C major and minor, G major and minor, and D major and minor, and A major and minor, we listed Ernst Pauer’s suggestions from 1876 of pieces that fit the particular affect he assigned for -
The Water Spirits April 28th, 2016 The Oceanids are the water spirits, children of Oceanus, the Titan whose river encircles the world, and Tethys, his sister/wife who oversaw the rivers of the world. Oceanus and Tethys had 3,000 daughters and 3,000 sons. In Greek mythology, however,