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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Music and Art – Watteau November 21st, 2015 Watteau, in many ways, was a painter of rococo love. His pink and frothy paintings overflow with courting couples and cupids galore. His 1717 painting, L’Embarquement pour Cythère (The Embarkation for Cythera) is such a work, with cupids circling in -
Killer Cellos November 20th, 2015 Two cellists, coming from neighboring Balkan countries, studying in England but at different conservatories, are starting to make us look at cellists and the highly versatile instruments they play in a very new way. No longer just the lower support -
Bohuslav Martinů: In search of his musical voice November 19th, 2015 Bohuslav Martinů composed a large quantity of music in various styles and forms, but according to the composer “in pure chamber music I am always more myself.” His first Piano Trio, nicknamed “Cinq pièces brèves” spontaneously emerged in Paris in -
Beethoven: Cello Sonata No. 5 in D major, Op. 102 No.2 November 18th, 2015 The year 1812 marked a turning point in Beethoven life. He consistently experienced poor health, emotional stress and lived in great financial anxiety. He spent considerable time at the spas in Teplitz, Karlsbad and Franzensbrunn, and in September he wrote -
Carmen Fantasy November 17th, 2015 Opera dominated the musical life of most European cities in the nineteenth century. People from all social classes could participate in the theatrical form by simply buying a ticket. In lavish settings, audiences marveled at singers and musicians combining text, -
Favorite Dvořák Chamber Music: Wind Serenade and Two Quintets November 16th, 2015 Well-known for his nine symphonies, Antonin Dvořák was one of the first composers to infuse his music with the folk idioms of his native land, enchanting us with Czech, Moravian and other Slavic melodies. He wrote an enormous number of -
Variations on a Subject in Poetry, Music and Art November 15th, 2015 In 1894, the French writer and poet Stéphane Mallarmé gave a lecture in Oxford and Cambridge, England, about the relationship between music and literature, in which he alluded to the origin of the artistic creation — the ‘trace’ — whether -
“If music be the food of love, play on.”
Shakespeare and Music I: Romeo and Juliet November 15th, 2015William Shakespeare’s mastery of metaphor, lyricism, cadence and phrasing resonates with musicians. His poetic output has so much musicality it’s no wonder that the works of Shakespeare have inspired composers. His influence on music for the last five hundred years