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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Ten Tips for Productive Practice May 26th, 2015 When it comes to practising instruments, most people are concerned about quantity. ‘But I practised 20 minutes every day!’ ‘I practised yesterday!’ ‘I spent a total of five hours practising this week!!!’ But I urge you to concentrate on quality, -
Robert Schumann: Paradise and the Peri, Op. 50 May 25th, 2015 When Robert Schumann premiered his secular oratorio Das Paradies und die Peri, Op. 50 (Paradise and the Peri) in December 1843 in Leipzig, the composer was instantly catapulted from provincial to international fame. In the first decade after the composition, -
The Great Women Artists Who Shaped Music IV – Dame Myra Hess May 24th, 2015 British pianist Dame Myra Hess was a legend. She garnered fame during World War II when concert halls had to be blacked out during the evenings. She organized 1700 day time concerts during the London Blitz—the six years of bombings -
Music and Art: Goya May 24th, 2015 Francisco Goya (1746 – 1828) lead a life in and out of favour with the Spanish king and his highly dramatic paintings and etchings, particularly in relation to the various Spanish wars, were highly influential. His pictures of woman, his -
Old Wine in New Bottles
Chopin in the 20th Century May 23rd, 2015The first transcriptions of Chopin’s music appeared as early as the 1830s, shortly after the publication of the original compositions. In time, some 1500 composers took up the task, with some popular works transformed hundreds of times for all possible -
Swept Away Festival May 22nd, 2015 Tired of hearing summer festivals filled with the same old Mozart and Bach? The Swept Away Festival, organized by The Continuum Ensemble, will be looking at music from Berlin and Vienna in the Twenties and will take place in London -
In the Service of Music
Béla Bartók and Ditta Pásztory May 21st, 2015Béla Bartók had always been interested in young girls. His first wife Márta was only sixteen when they married, and he did have an extramarital affair with the fifteen-year-old poetess Klára. Bartók also vigorously but unsuccessfully pursued the young violinist -
Score it for Richard Strauss May 20th, 2015 The idea that orchestration, the technique of employing instruments to portray any musical aspect, is an integral and creative aspect of the compositional art has only gradually been accepted.