The love story between Robert and Clara Schumann is often regarded as one of the most romantic in classical music history. Happily for historians, many of their love letters survive. They document their inner thoughts and emotions, as well as
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Classical Music for Weddings September 13th, 2013 Having been to several weddings in the last six months and having celebrated my own nuptials earlier this month, I thought I would share some of my thoughts on wedding music in this article. I have often been asked to -
In touch with Celso Albelo September 12th, 2013 Tenerife-born tenor Celso Albelo is one of the most exciting voices of today. Still young by operatic standards, he has already made debuts at the major opera houses in Paris, Vienna, Milan, Berlin, Zurich, Venice and Rome and is one -
How my Cello found me September 12th, 2013 My Cello and Me — We Were Made for Each Other I was smitten from the first moment. Finding an instrument is like finding your soul mate — you know it instantly. I was twenty- two- years old and had - The Three “B’s”.
Britten, Bridge, and Berg September 11th, 2013During his apprenticeship with Frank Bridge, Benjamin Britten began work on a set of variations on a theme by his teacher. It took Britten 5 years and a specific request from the conductor Boyd Neel and the Salzburg Festival in -
Is it just ‘a bit of fun’? September 10th, 2013 Theme and variations for Clarinet and Piano ‘You should learn his Theme and Variations’, said my teacher. I was never a fan of variations, but Françaix’s take on the form changed my view of them quite a bit. (I also, -
Tying the knot Medici style! September 9th, 2013 For most of us — and I have been down the aisles twice — weddings tend to be rather jolly affairs; amongst much food, drink and pageantry, a varying number of relatives and friends come together to witness the ritual -
Music and the Arts in 19th and 20th Century Russia I September 8th, 2013 The recent exhibition of ‘Diaghilev and the Ballets Russes’ at the National Gallery in Washington, D.C. and several of the recent Interlude articles on the same subject raised interesting and important questions about the connection and inter-relationship between the arts - Coming out!
Britten, Auden, and Berkeley September 7th, 2013While Benji Britten was delighting in his fondness for the young of his own sex, he himself became the object of the desires of the poet WH Auden and the composer Lennox Berkeley. In 1935, the General Post Office Film
