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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With Johann Sebastian into the New Year! January 7th, 2016 Johann Sebastian Bach simply had no time for incompetence! In one famous anecdote he pulled off his wig and threw it at another musician with the words, “You should have been a cobbler!” And we all know the anecdote where -
In Memoriam: Kurt Masur (1927-2015) January 6th, 2016 Kurt Masur had a comparatively simple philosophy on music and musical performances. “Conductors,” he once wrote, “should only conduct those pieces where they feel they have something special to say; then people will accept it.” Although Masur has not shied -
A Korean-American Marriage
Young Chang and Albert Weber January 5th, 2016The armistice of 1953, although never signed by South Korea, mercifully ended an extended civil war on the Korean peninsular. A heavily fortified demilitarized zone kept the warring factions apart, but since no peace treaty was ever signed, the two -
Minors of the Majors
Johannes Brahms Albumblatt January 4th, 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! Arnold Wehner was director of music at Göttingen, an -
Music and Art: Klee January 3rd, 2016 Paul Klee (1879-1940) was a Swiss-German painter with a unique style sometimes humorous, sometimes childlike, and always able to draw us into his work. Of all the composers we’ve looked at in this series, it is Klee who has inspired -
“If music be the food of love, play on.”
Shakespeare and Music IV: The Merry Wives of Windsor January 3rd, 2016The shenanigans of Sir John Falstaff, one of William Shakespeare’s great comic characters, is next in our ten-part series of Shakespeare and music. The portly, vain character appears in Henry IV part 1 and Henry IV part 2 and Merry -
Minors of the Majors
Robert Schumann: (New Year’s Song), Album for the Young Op. 68, No. 43 January 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! Robert and Clara Schumann had eight children, all born -
Waltz your Way into 2016! December 31st, 2015 The popping of champagne corks on New Year’s Eve is frequently accompanied by the music of Johann Strauss Junior. The undisputed master of the Viennese waltz, he became the most popular musician of his generation. And while many of his