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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Ensemble Tips A to Z July 3rd, 2014 A is for Audition. Have a plan to learn your material and be able to play it any tempo, any dynamic under any circumstance with absolute accuracy, rhythm and expression. Recruit your scariest friends to play through your material in -
The Talich Quartet: Kalliwoda String Quartets July 2nd, 2014 It’s a real treat, in these days of so much being available at the drop of an internet query, to find a recording of music that truly is rare. We heard the other day a recording of Johan Wenzel Kalliwoda’s -
Avi Avital July 1st, 2014 A Mandolin in Carnegie Hall? Surely not? But yes, it’s been done, in addition to Wigmore Hall and the Lincoln Center. Israeli-born Avi Avital is on a mission: to make the mandolin as at-home in the concert hall as the -
Skipping Town: Christoph Willibald Gluck June 30th, 2014 Christoph Willibald Gluck (1714-1787) was a prodigious musical talent. By age 13—entirely self-thought—he was a proficient vocalist and expert performer on the violin, cello, harpsichord, and the organ. Regrettably, his father, a successful and prosperous forester did not share his -
The Miracles of Salzburg
Maria Plain and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart June 29th, 2014Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Missa Brevis, K. 192 “Credo” Leopold Mozart and his wife Anna Maria Walburga had seven children, of whom only two survived infancy. Being good Catholics and all, they continued to sponsor Holy Masses for their dead children. -
Orchestral Foibles A-Z June 28th, 2014 A is for audition. Get used to it. You’ll have to. And accompaniment. That’s what you are—not the soloist! B is for Body odor. None appreciated— even the most expensive perfume. Onstage it’s a no-no. C is for Cough drops. -
Psychoanalysis of a Dysfunctional Family
Richard Strauss: Elektra June 26th, 2014Richard Strauss: Elektra In Greek mythology, Elektra is widely considered the most psychologically advanced Greek tragedy. The Greek dramatist Sophocles constructed a play that centers on the heroine’s obsession to avenge her father’s murder. Elektra lives in hope that her -
In touch with Paul Lewis June 25th, 2014 Paul Lewis, protege of the renowned pianist Alfred Brendel, has in some ways followed in his master’s footsteps, making a name for himself performing all 32 of the Beethoven piano sonatas while on tour in the United States and Europe