An article published in The Economist (‘Musical ability is in the DNA’) suggested that one’s musical ability is determined by genetics, and that despite Malcolm Gladwell’s bold statement that 10,000 hours of practice will guarantee expertise in almost any field,

I had the pleasure of attending the Berkeley Symphony Orchestra opening concert for the 2014/15 season—my first classical music concert since moving to the U.S.A. The concert took place at UC Berkeley’s Zellerbach Hall. The building has a surprisingly small

Free Concerts for Advent In many Western Christian churches, the season of Advent prepares believers for the celebration of the nativity of Jesus at Christmas. Traditionally, Advent marks the beginning of the Church Year, and symbolizes the spiritual journey towards

When we hear Renaissance madrigals sung, we often hear these lovely, long-drawn out pieces of pure counterpoint and then forget why they were written. The Italian madrigal came out of what we might think of as the upper-class men’s clubs

Italy has long been an influence on the development of music in Europe – perhaps it was due to the money inherent in its courts and the musical developments they supported, the promotion of art during the Renaissance, or just

One could argue that all creative process is improvisation: for that flash of creativity that generated the art, which distinguished whatever the artist was doing from merely replicating a past behaviour, was improvisation. Afterwards, the artist can do whatever he