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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Schubertiade
In Praise of Franz Peter Schubert June 10th, 2014In the musical world, Moritz von Schwindt is primarily remembered for his famous drawing entitled “Schubertiade.” The term “Schubertiade” was actually coined by friends of Franz Schubert, and described private and informal musical gathering in the composer’s apartment. In addition -
Pomp and Circumstance June 8th, 2014 It’s graduation season and we start to hear music for ceremonies. At my high school graduation, the concert band played a bit of Wagner: ‘Elsa’s Procession to the Cathedral’ from Lohengrin. It was wonderful music, but when you’d repeated it -
Feats of Social Climbing
Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme June 7th, 2014Do you imagine that social climbing is a modern day phenomenon? Think again! Here’s a piece that humorously illustrates this societal failing— Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme Op. 60 by Richard Strauss. It was written between 1911 and 1917 and is a -
Richard Strauss: A Composer for All Seasons June 6th, 2014 Elektra (1909), proved crucial to Strauss’s later development as a composer of opera, since it marked the beginning of his collaboration with the young Viennese poet Hugo von Hofmannsthal. This tale of multiple murder and bitter vengeance is musically and -
Modern Done Right June 5th, 2014 When you look at the output of composer and conductor Carl Davis, you get a wonderful overview of the many ways that a classical orchestra can take on the pop repertoire. There are orchestral renderings of the music from the -
Richard Strauss and his Leading Ladies June 3rd, 2014 Throughout his life, Richard Strauss surrounded himself with beautiful women! -
Music for Obscure Instruments June 2nd, 2014 We think of instruments as being so well-established (look at any orchestra), that we don’t think about the instruments that were there and are now gone, or have been replaced with something else, or just changed into something else. -
Quatuor Hermès June 1st, 2014 This month, our Artists of the Month are the Quatour Hermès, a young string quartet moving from strength to strength. I caught up quickly with Elise Liu, their second fiddle, ahead of their upcoming tour to China.