The solo violin has long been acknowledged as the perfect instrument to express emotions like love, longing, heartbreak, rapture, and romance. The Romantic era lasted from the early nineteenth century to the early twentieth century and produced numerous works that
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Music Therapy II May 2nd, 2014 Following my introduction to music therapy, I wanted a bit more detail, about what goes on in a typical session. I also wanted to figure out how people found their way to a music therapist – not literally, of course, -
Hearing a New Sound May 1st, 2014 Often, it’s an unending bad succession of indifferent performances that will make you move music from ‘love to listen to’ over to the ‘never again’ list. Or, it’s the overuse of a work that makes you not want to listen -
Emmanuelle Haïm May 1st, 2014 French harpsichordist and conductor Emmanuelle Haïm is one of today’s most celebrated interpreters of Baroque music. After a decade performing as a harpsichordist with William Christie and Les Arts Florissants, she began her career as a conductor with the ensemble -
Notre-Dame de Paris–Our Lady of Paris
The Cradle of modern Western Music April 30th, 2014Notre-Dame de Paris is the most famous Gothic Cathedral of the Middle Ages. Construction began in 1163 and had to overcome a number of architectural concerns. The popular Gothic building style called for higher and thinner walls. As the walls -
In touch with Desirée Rancatore April 29th, 2014 Italian soprano Desirée Rancatore is one of the most exciting singers of our time. A leading exponent of the Italian operatic tradition, she maintains a busy schedule at opera houses in her native country and in cities such as Paris, -
Marching with John Philip Sousa April 29th, 2014 Ah, there’s nothing like a march. It’s perfect for parades, for getting small children in order, or even for vacuuming the house – there’s a strong beat, hummable tunes, and they’re designed to get your attention and get you moving. -
Antonio Stradivari
Modern Violin Beats Stradivarius in a Blind Test April 28th, 2014The scholarly paper “Player preferences among new and old violins,” published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in January 2012, shook the foundations of one of the longest held beliefs in Classical music. In this study, judges -
Introduction to Music Therapy April 28th, 2014 The topic of music therapy is, to put it gently, mind boggling. When I began to undertake a couple of articles on music therapy, I thought… I didn’t know what to think, actually. Music therapy was always one of those