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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So You Want to Play a Home Concert? October 9th, 2014 Musicians are constantly on the hunt! We strive for the spark of deep intimacy and shared experiences with our audiences. So how about playing in a truly intimate setting—chamber music as it was intended—in a parlor? Harkening back to the -
Catching some Z’s
Johannes Brahms October 8th, 2014I always thought that my grandfather was the luckiest person on earth! No matter how dull the conversations, boring the sermon or uncomfortable the journey, he always managed to nod off. At first I thought he was just pretending, but -
Inventing Abstraction 1910-1925
The Early Years I October 7th, 2014“Must we not then renounce the object altogether,throw it to the winds and instead lay bare the purely abstract?”Vasily Kandinsky, 1911 In the early years of the 20th century the relationship between the arts and music was at its closest -
Flutes From Little to Large October 7th, 2014 When we think of flutes, we think of the common concert flute – silver, about 67 cm (26 inches) long, pitched in the key of C. That’s just the start of the flute family, albeit the most familiar. If we -
Edgar Moreau October 6th, 2014 French cellist Edgar Moreau is already making waves on the solo circuit at the tender age of 20. He is currently completing his Masters studies at the internationally renowned Kronberg Academy in Germany, where a specialist programme is offered to -
Blowing the Budget
Giacomo Meyerbeer October 6th, 2014It is prohibitively expensive to stage an opera. In 2012 alone, the Metropolitan Opera in New York had expenses totaling 317 million US Dollars! For one, you need singers, an orchestra of roughly 80 players and a conductor. Some popular -
Cigarettes, Chocolate Milk, and Threesomes
All in a Night’s Work for Rufus Wainwright October 5th, 2014Ah, the Late Night Proms. The only time you can spend in the Albert Hall in summer and not be glared at for shuffling your feet or clapping spontaneously. Starting at 10.15pm, finishing at 11.45, you’d think that this nocturnal -
The Waltz King – Three Strauss Brothers October 4th, 2014 Johann Strauss II, or Junior, or the younger The Waltz King, (not related to Richard), composed over 400 of the world’s most beloved waltzes, polkas, quadrilles, dance music and operettas. These include the perennial favorites: An der Schonen Blauen Donau