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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Georges Braque and Erik Satie – A Musical Friendship August 2nd, 2014 Violins, guitars, mandolins, music sheets and references to classical composers are very much part of Braque’s oeuvre, particularly during his analytic and synthetic cubist period, which essentially started in the early part of the 20th century and lasted well into -
Martynas Levickis August 1st, 2014 With already a Decca album under his belt at the age of 22, Martynas Levickis is a concert accordionist ready to take on the world and its assumptions of the accordion. Quickly skyping in between concerts at the world-famous Schleswig-Holstein -
Salzburg Festival
It’s not for “Jedermann”! July 31st, 2014The War to end all Wars—as World War I was colloquially known—put a brutal stop to most cultural events on the European continent. Although some determined aficionados managed to ignore the devastation caused by this all-encompassing conflict, most theaters, opera -
What’s “English” about Bach’s English Suites? July 29th, 2014 Throughout his long and industrious musical career, Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) never strayed far away from home. Content to live and work in his native community, and possibly remembering that he was once thrown in jail for overstaying his leave -
Between Mahler and Gropius
Oskar Kokoschka and the Alma Doll July 28th, 2014When Gustav Mahler died in 1911, his widow Alma first sought comfort in the arms of her already-lover Walter Gropius. However, Alma still harbored resentment that Gropius had intentionally misaddressed an envelope and thus exposed their affair to Gustav. In -
Pimp my Schimmel July 27th, 2014 Apparently, it is rather common practice to take the most expensive cars straight from the factory to a tuning shop. These specialists outfits tweak engines to produce the raw horsepower of the space shuttle and attach all manner of exterior -
Famous Musical Siblings
Musical Dynasties Part II July 26th, 2014Talent certainly runs in the family. Celebrity brothers and sisters are everywhere. Take for example Casey and Ben Affleck, actors, Venus and Serena Williams, tennis players, or Alec and Evelyn Waugh, authors of Island in The Sun and Brideshead Revisited -
Dobrinya the Dragonslayer July 22nd, 2014 Alexander Grechaninov displayed prodigious musical talents at an early age. However, his father was a barely literate tradesman who expected his son to follow in his footsteps. Against the clear wishes of his father but with financial support from his