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: The Sound of Paintings I August 8th, 2015 In many of my previous articles for this publication I have written about the close relationship between art and music. Over the course of the next few months, I would like to concentrate on specific artists and their direct relationship -
Ignacy Jan Paderewski: Virtuoso, Composer, and Statesman! August 8th, 2015 It is not entirely unusual for celebrities to take up high political office. Ronald Reagan, for example, graduated from the B movie industry to serve as the 33rd Governor of California, and the 40th President of the United States. Conan -
Reading the Walls August 7th, 2015 As you walk around the cities in Europe, read the walls. In London, Blue Plaques tell you about the famous people who lived in ‘a house on this site.’ If you’re at 20 Frith Street in London, look up for -
Sounds of Sorrow: Elegies and Laments I August 6th, 2015 In classical poetry, an Elegy is a mournful, melancholic, or plaintive poem, sometimes written as a lament for the dead and other times covering sad topics such as war. Elegies to lost love are also part of the genre. Ovid -
Instruments of the Orchestra XIV: Percussion August 4th, 2015 These might be thought of as the best toy-set in the world: things to bang, things to crash, things to ring, things to thump, and it’s all music! We can divide the percussion section into two parts: tuned and untuned -
Reciprocal Muse
Sergei Rachmaninoff and Marietta Shaginyan August 3rd, 2015During the first decade of the 20th century, Sergei Rachmaninoff was the undisputed superstar of the piano circuit. Devoted fans camped outside his house to catch a quick glimpse of their idol, and a more diehard core followed him from -
The Great Women Artists Who Shaped Music IX- Marian Anderson August 2nd, 2015 With regal bearing and a voice of rich intrinsic beauty, contralto Marian Anderson was one of the most celebrated singers of the twentieth century but she had to struggle to overcome racial prejudice that was rampant during the time she -
David Aaron Carpenter August 1st, 2015 ‘We need to get out of our comfort zones’ David Aaron Carpenter is a violist with a mission. As well as championing an instrument which unfortunately spends most of its time as the butt of the orchestra’s jokes, he is