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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That’s Padre Pedrini to you and I! December 14th, 2013 Teodorico PedriniViolin Sonata in A Major, Op. 3, No. 1, “Nepridi” My editor keeps reminding me that my quiz questions are just too simple and too easy! “What’s the use of having a quiz if everybody instantly knows the answer?” -
In touch with the Miró Quartet December 13th, 2013 String Quartet No. 12 in C Minor, D. 703, “Quartettsatz” The other day, I got a chance to chat with Joshua Gindele, one of the founding members of the internationally-acclaimed Miró quartet, and gain an insight into the history and -
Have a Musical Christmas! December 12th, 2013 -
Jingle that Bell! December 11th, 2013 First published as “The One Horse Open Sleigh” in 1857, “Jingle Bells” has become one of the most recognized and best-loved Christmas songs. Originally, however, it was neither connected with Christmas nor was it commercially successful. Only after the composer -
Metrono-no? December 10th, 2013 If there’s one thing that divides opinions almost as equally as it divides beats per minute, it’s the metronome. Its controversy began right since its inception in the early 19th century, and remains a highly contentious topic for many musicians. -
70 Children and Counting!
Cardinal Ottoboni and Arcangelo Corelli December 9th, 2013Concerto Grosso in D Major, Op. 6, No. 1 By all accounts, Cardinal Pietro Ottoboni — grandnephew of Pope Alexander VIII —loved “pomp, prodigality and sensual pleasure.” Apparently, portraits of his mistresses disguised as saints, including the angelic Margarita Pio -
The Hungarians and Chinese are related
— The Pentatonic Scale December 8th, 2013“But I don’t want to practice scales! They’re boring!” Have you heard this complaint from your students? Or perhaps you have said it yourself? When I was a young student I became enamored of playing them — really! I knew -
Corelli goes Viral! December 7th, 2013 The Italian ensemble sonata — in the mold established by Arcangelo Corelli — took Europe by storm. It was soon imitated and adapted by composers far and wide, and Corelli himself brought the genre to England. John Jenkins, Henry Purcell