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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Bach the Healer January 10th, 2015 In the last decade of the 19th century, European culture was perceived as increasingly decadent and degenerate. Visual art had abandoned representation and liberated color and line; literature weakened the narrative structures and loosened meanings, and music used a technically -
A Timeless Journey
Liszt’s Petrarch Sonnet No. 47 January 8th, 2015Franz Liszt was the ultimate rock star of the 19th century! Handsome, flamboyant and a genius performer with a natural aptitude for the stage, he eventually turned into a prolific thinker and monumental composer. Yet, that path towards enlightenment was -
Name That Tune! January 6th, 2015 How on earth do you remember all those melodies, all those little turns of phrase and all that invention by all those composers? We know from brain studies that combining words and music is a positive way to combine both -
Learning Classical Music As A Child Helps Shape Adulthood January 5th, 2015 I have been asked to write about how my learning of a musical instrument as a child had influenced me in life. As a mother, I have also asked myself this question when thinking about my daughter’s education. I would -
An Unremarkable Centenary
Karl Goldmark (1830-1915) January 4th, 2015In ancient Greece, the coming of the New Year was celebrated by presenting a newborn baby to Dionysus, the God of Wine. Used as a symbol of rebirth, the newborn child also featured prominently in early Christian practices, and today -
Ondine January 4th, 2015 Among the compositions by Maurice Ravel that are highly regarded in the piano repertoire is the suite Gaspard de la Nuit. It is based on three poems by Aloysius Bertrand and is known for its technical difficulties. In this article, -
A Conversation with Behzod Abduraimov January 3rd, 2015 The young Behzod Abduraimov (b. 1990) has rocketed to music’s top ranks. He released his debut recital CD in 2012 (Decca Classics) and has been working with the leading orchestras of the world, including the Royal Philharmonic, the Accademia Nazionale -
The Many Kinds of Winter January 3rd, 2015 Winter – Spring – Summer – Fall: It’s not only Vivaldi who has his four seasons; other composers took up the idea. In Argentina, we find Astor Piazzolla applying the idea to Buenos Aires in a set of tangos. Collectively