The solo violin has long been acknowledged as the perfect instrument to express emotions like love, longing, heartbreak, rapture, and romance. The Romantic era lasted from the early nineteenth century to the early twentieth century and produced numerous works that
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Muses and Musings
Oh! Susanna
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Nancy Storace May 8th, 2016The Austrian Emperor Joseph II was crazy about Italian opera buffa! And since he had the required resources and lots of taxpayer money, he simply went ahead and founded a new opera company in 1783. Since the Emperor took his -
Stravinsky and the Power of Oedipus Rex May 7th, 2016 Oedipus Rex, subtitled an “Opera-Oratorio after Sophocles,” has been recognized as one of the high points of Stravinsky’s work, yet is rarely performed today. Sophocles’ drama tells of an entire family’s attempts to avoid their fate, while at the same -
How You Should Feel in the Key of B major May 6th, 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 -
“Atonality, thank heaven, that’s done for!”
Ottorino Respighi (1879-1936) May 5th, 2016During the Middle Ages, the Italian peninsula was home to a collection of smaller independent city-states and kingdoms. Only in 1861 did Italian nationalists and monarchists create a unified Kingdom of Italy. Characterized by severe economic hardship, particularly found in -
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