We all know Bess’ song from Porgy and Bess: ‘Summertime, and the Livin’ is Easy’. We decided to do a survey of what other composers thought about summer and were surprised at the very different moods and modes composers used
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Love and Death in Music October 3rd, 2014 Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde tells the story of good intentions gone wrong. Tristan is sent to Ireland to fetch the beautiful Isolde, the intended bride of King Mark of Cornwall. Tristan killed Isolde’s fiancé, Morold, and Isolde is in despair -
Diversion of the Mind
Victor Borge October 2nd, 2014I always find music a fun thing to do: musical instruments are ‘played’, and the word ‘music’ lends itself to other words like ‘amuse’, ‘amusing’ and ‘amusement’. If ones looks up the meaning of ‘amusement’ on OED.com, one would find -
The Stepmother Syndrome
Charles Burney and Elizabeth Allen October 1st, 2014After Esther Burney died of cancer in September 1762, Charles Burney remained a widower for five years. The reason it took him so long to remarry and find a new mother for his six children was because Elizabeth Allen turned -
Charles Burney September 30th, 2014 Music is an innocent Luxury Charles Burney (1726-1814) may only have been a relatively minor composer, but he was definitely a giant as a writer about music and the music scene of his time. In fact, his four-volume General History -
Gilbert and Gewandhaus – and so many singers September 29th, 2014 I love the Proms. Despite the fact that everyone always seems to be ill. Always. Of course there’ll be the odd cough in the quiet bits like at any concert, but in between movements is when the army of splutterers -
The Kreutzer Sonata
Beethoven-Tolstoy-Janačék September 28th, 2014Music and Literature are like twin sisters. Not necessarily identical, but deeply connected in ways that can’t be easily explained. When the great Russian novelist and writer Leo Tolstoy published his1889 novella on the ideal of sexual abstinence and jealous -
Playing only One Note September 28th, 2014 Russia is home to many unique things and in music, one of the unique groups is the Horn Orchestra. So, you’re thinking – what’s so strange about an orchestra made up of horn players? The unique aspect comes in when -
Qatar Philharmonic Music Director Resigns After Proms Performance September 27th, 2014 I get home from the Qatar Philharmonic Prom, notes in hand, ready to start reviewing. Thinking I’ll start writing in the morning, I wake up to the news that the conductor of the orchestra I saw the night before has