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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Sophie Dartigalongue February 1st, 2015 Sophie Dartigalongue personifies the fact that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. The bassoon often becomes the butt of many of the orchestra’s jokes, and the comical contrabassoon only sees a double serving of this teasing, but the - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
The Obligation of the First Commandment, K. 35 February 1st, 2015Sigismund von Schrattenbach was Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg from 1753 to 1771. He appointed Leopold and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart as members of the episcopal court orchestra, but only after Wolfgang had passed a rigorous test! Schrattenbach had always been suspicious that -
Alexander Scriabin January 31st, 2015 Agonies and Ecstasy! What happens when new neural connections within your brain break down the boundaries that normally exist between the senses? For one, hearing a particular musical note might cause you to see a particular color, or you may -
Bach Parody January 31st, 2015 Irony and Parody became key moments in German modernism. But parody and irony are not identical. While irony might be described as a strategy, most successful parodies derive their effect from the comic incongruity between the original and its parody. -
Snuggling at the Piano January 29th, 2015 I was at a concert the other evening where the opening work was Schubert’s Fantasia for Piano 4-hands. Two pianists, sitting side by side, at one piano performed one of Schubert’s greatest pieces. The two pianists angled their benches carefully -
The dangers of having a (critical) mind! January 28th, 2015 Aren’t you just sick and tired of lazy and unimaginative programming justified by the eternal excuse, “I am just giving my audience what they want to hear!” -
The Beauty of the English String Sound January 27th, 2015 We forget how much the English contributed to the beauty of orchestral music through their lush pastoral string writing. And the Bridge is Love, a new recording by the English Chamber Orchestra led by Julian Lloyd-Webber, brings all of this - The Taste and Color of Music
Alexander Scriabin January 27th, 2015There is a fine line between genius and madness. Given the current zeal for psychoanalyzing dead composers, Alexander Scriabin (1872-1915) would seem to be a perfect subject. He showed serious mental instability during the early stages of his life, and
