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 Great Women Artists Who Shaped Music XV: Susan Wadsworth November 14th, 2015 How did a young woman who played the piano and violin become a “king/queen maker” of such distinguished artists as pianists Murray Perahia, Emanuel Ax, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, and Richard Goode, the Tokyo, St. Lawrence, and Borromeo Quartets, violinists Pinchas Zukerman, -
Page Turning; It’s Harder Than You Think… November 13th, 2015 I’m often asked to turn the pages for pianists at my local music society, but I tend to decline because the responsibility of page-turning is one which should not be taken lightly. An ability to read music well does not -
Impossible Instruments November 12th, 2015 Man’s creativity comes to the fore in music: new sounds, new rhythms, new combinations. But, are there times when imagination can outstrip reality? We’ve found a couple of impossible instruments that seem to meet that criterion. -
Little Chunk of Wood and Little Song
Bohuslav Martinů and Vítĕzslava Kaprálová November 11th, 2015In 1937, Bohuslav Martinů visited the city of Prague to prepare for the premiere of his opera Julietta. During that visit, he met the highly talented composer Vítĕzslava Kaprálová, who had written her first two compositions for piano solo by -
Fireman Shostakovich November 10th, 2015 With the German Sixteenth Army strategically entrenched just thirty miles southeast of Leningrad, the city also known as St. Petersburg got ready for the most prolonged siege of World War II. Among the citizens of Leningrad was a thirty-four-year-old composer -
A Hymn to the Sun November 9th, 2015 What do you do if you’re stuck in the frozen north and are looking longingly at the sunny south where your wife is working? Well, you take a holiday and then, if you’re a composer, you write something that brings -
To Boo, Not to Boo or Shriek Bravo – Unruly Audiences November 8th, 2015 Does an audience have a right to boo? Or is it boorish, arrogant and rude? There is a long tradition of riots in the concert hall complete with hissing and catcalls and throwing food—tomatoes, radishes (in the case of Maria -
Chinese Musical Instruments: Gourd November 8th, 2015 Musical instruments in China were traditionally classified into 8 groups delineated by the material used in the instrument: Silk, Bamboo, Wood, Stone, Metal, Clay, Gourd and Hide. We will look at selected instruments in six of these groups in this