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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A day in the life of Perugia… Part II
Music Fest Perugia April 24th, 2014After having talked with the Artistic and Executive Directors of Music Fest Perugia, Ilana Vered and Peter Hermes, I decided to see how the festival fared in the eyes of some of its young participants. Nathan Lee and Vanessa Haynes, -
Four Friends April 23rd, 2014 In all of classical music, there’s nothing quite as wonderful as a string quartet. Four voices but which produce a world of sound. In a letter to the composer C.F. Zelter in late 1829, Goethe described a string quartet as -
In touch with Ilari Kaila April 23rd, 2014 Hailed as “the city’s most innovative music experience” by the Financial Times, the Intimacy of Creativity, founded by Chinese-American composer Bright Sheng, begins its fourth cycle this April, to bring together internationally acclaimed performers and composers for creative dialogue and -
In touch with Andy Akiho April 22nd, 2014 Composer Andy Akiho did not grow up with classical music training. If you had asked him what a string quartet was a few years ago, “I would have told you violin, viola, cello and bass. I wouldn’t have known it -
Red Roses!
Richard Strauss and Lotti Speyer April 22nd, 2014During the summer of 1883, the nineteen-year-old Richard Strauss (1864-1949) spent a short ten-day holiday at the little spa of Heilbrunn. Located between Bad Tölz and the Kochelsee in Bavaria, the natural thermal springs and forested rolling hills had long -
The Supernatural in Music
VI Possessed by the Demon: Exposed Virtuosity April 20th, 2014Performers with extraordinary talent were often accused of having made a pact with the devil to achieve their seemingly un-human abilities. We’ve already seen the temptation of Tartini. This accusation has been levelled against performers from violinist Nicolò Paganini in -
How Czech is Czech?
Antonin Dvořák: Symphony No. 6 in D major, Op. 60 April 19th, 2014Like practically every composer working in the nineteenth century — regardless of their origin or nationality — Antonin Dvořák (1841-1904) was profoundly nationalist in many respects. In fact, he was expressively patriotic regarding Czech rights within the German dominated Habsburg -
Walking Around Art
Modest Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition April 17th, 2014Modest Mussorgsky’s piano work Pictures at an Exhibition take us on a tour around an art gallery of the work of the Russian artist and architect Viktor Hartmann. The seemingly passive title might be clearer if we look at the