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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When the Detective goes to a Concert: Elliot Paul and Homer Evans June 4th, 2015 The American journalist and author Elliot Paul (1891-1958) was born in Massachusetts, served in France in WWI, and returned home to become a journalist and author. He returned to Paris in 1925 to become a writer and part of the -
Singing with William Byrd June 3rd, 2015 William Byrd (1543-1623), in the preface to his Psalmes, Sonnets and Songs of 1588, set out Eight Reasons why everyone should learn to sing. -
A Helping Hand with Music June 2nd, 2015 Guido of Arezzo (991-2 to after 1033) was a famous music teacher first at the Benedictine Abbey of Pomposa then in Arezzo, where he moved around 1025. At the time when Guido was teaching music, he came up with some -
Francesco Piemontesi June 1st, 2015 Telling a personal story The small Italian town of Locarno plays host to the Settimane Musicali di Ascona each summer. At its head is internationally-renowned pianist Francesco Piemontesi, the recently-appointed Artistic Director of his home town’s music festival. ‘I’ve lived -
Variations on Goldberg II June 1st, 2015 Chamber Music Transcriptions of Bach’s Famous Repertoire — Goldberg Variations A variation set for harpsichord that’s considered the model of a variation set? Lots of other instrumental players looked at Bach’s Goldberg Variations in envy and immediately started making arrangements -
Nicolai Gedda: Alive, well and thoroughly immortal May 31st, 2015 Last weekend, unconfirmed reports hit the internet about the great Swedish tenor’s death. By the following Monday the reports were denied by publicists and friends: Nicolai Gedda (born July 11, 1925) is alive and well. -
Arvo Pärt May 31st, 2015 1+1=1 Estonian-born composer Arvo Pärt (b. 1935) has managed to strike a sound of devotional archaism into a world of chaotic modernity. Highly experimental during his early musical career, Pärt’s study of early music inspired a new, and completely unique -
Music in the Mind May 30th, 2015 Cheryl had lost most of her hearing abilities by her late 60s. Her hearing had deteriorated so much that she could barely hear people on the phone, and her partners playing bridge together would have to repeat their bids extra
