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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Klais Organs: The Power behind the Throne July 22nd, 2015 The age-old craft of organ building is a highly creative profession that demands constant analysis of tradition, while simultaneously keeping abreast of the latest technical, practical and aesthetic developments. Respect for proven values and tradition has to be carefully balanced -
Brahms by Arrangement July 21st, 2015 During his early compositional career, Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) exhibited a heightened sense of musical insecurity. He self-consciously responded to criticism, even when leveled by his closest personal friends, by ruthlessly destroying or severely reshaping his compositions. His Piano Quintet in -
Instruments of the Orchestra XII: The Tuba July 20th, 2015 The youngest instrument added to the orchestra is also the largest. At the bottom of the brass section, providing the support to carry all those other brass and wind instruments is the tuba. It made its appearance in the modern -
Too Good for Hong Kong July 19th, 2015 The HKPhil has recently been under fire for actively suppressing local artistic talent. A quick glance at the orchestra’s 2015-2016 concert season, merely featuring one local conductor, a pop singer and a magician, clearly seems to support that impression. In -
The Best of Tchaikovsky
Reflections on the 2015 Tchaikovsky Competition July 18th, 2015Sadly, the 2015 Tchaikovsky Competition, celebrating the 175th anniversary of the composer’s birth, ended this week. After numerous hours of intense music listening, from thousands of miles away via Medici TV, my adrenaline rush climaxed with the two final galas -
Music and Art: Gericault July 18th, 2015 It might be termed a double tragedy: one is a monumental artwork commemorating a tragic episode in French history and the other a monumental musical work that suffered from the political tensions of the day. -
Miss Manners— Chamber Music Style July 17th, 2015 Most musicians both amateur and professional aspire to play chamber music, some of the greatest works of classical music. It would be difficult to single out a favorite but my list would include the following works— Brahms Piano Quintet, and -
Tuning Up July 16th, 2015 The orchestra is assembled, the concertmaster comes to the stage, turns his back on the audience and signals the oboist. A pure clear note sounds and then lots of other notes. What is this all about?