Specific cities have inspired a huge amount of classical music over the years. Today, we’re looking at a selection of classical works explicitly connected to major cities, examining how each composer responded to each place. Some pieces reflect civic pride
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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 -
Auld Lang Syne packaged by Joseph Haydn December 30th, 2015 Welcoming the New Year frequently involves a glass of champagne and a celebratory kiss from somebody nearby. At the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve the English-speaking world, either before or after extensive toasting and kissing, also collectively launches -
Sergei Prokofiev: Enfant Terrible December 29th, 2015 The piano was the prominent vehicle for Sergei Prokofiev’s musical expression. In the tradition of the great piano virtuosos of the 19th century, he was initially looking to impress his audiences with his considerable keyboard skills. Igor Stravinsky attended a -
Minors of the Majors
Felix Mendelssohn: “On New Year’s Day,” Op 79, No.2 December 28th, 2015“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! -
Muses and Musings
Lusty Eye for the Music Guy: Johann Mayrhofer and Franz Schubert December 27th, 2015Johannes Brahms considered the poet Johann Mayrhofer “the most serious of all Schubert’s friends.” This complicated man, full of self-hatred and driven by emotions whose violence he could not accept, transferred the conflict-ridden passions of his inner world into powerful -
Music and Art: Mendelssohn and Leighton December 27th, 2015 In our series on Music and Art, we’ve been looking at works of music inspired by works of art. The influence also goes the other way, where works of art have been inspired by music. Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) came from -
Old Flames burn the hottest!
Sergei Prokofiev and Eleonora Damskaya December 26th, 2015Sergei Prokofiev would make a compelling case study for a textbook investigating the psychology of the exceptional child. Supremely talented in musical matters, Sergei had composed a number of overtures, various piano pieces and his first opera The Giant by -
Ludwig van Beethoven: String Quartet in G Major, Op. 18, No. 2 December 25th, 2015 The early career of Ludwig van Beethoven was decisively shaped by the patronage of Count Ferdinand Ernst Gabriel von Waldstein and Prince Joseph František Maximilian Lobkowicz. In fact, without the unquestioning support and friendship from these two individuals, Beethoven’s musical