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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In touch with Daniel Oren:
A life in Opera July 30th, 2013Being chosen by Leonard Bernstein to sing the boy solo part in Chichester Psalms, conductor Daniel Oren seems to be destined for the opera house from an early age. Indeed, when I saw him stepping onto the podium to conduct -
Back to Bach
Hindemith and Bach July 29th, 2013In his Suite 1922, Paul Hindemith had not only referenced in popular music genres; he also paid homage to the gestures and aesthetic of the high Baroque. Like many composers of the time, Hindemith was looking for greater objectivity and -
Charles-Valentin Alkan July 28th, 2013 From the Diary of a Hermit At one time or another, Charles-Valentin Alkan (1813-1888) was mentioned in the same breath with Frédéric Chopin and Franz Liszt and even compared with Hector Berlioz. Not only was Alkan — he was born -
Ravioli à la Paganini July 25th, 2013 In 1906, Gertrude Clarke of Belleview, Nebraska married Matthew John Whittall —roughly twenty-five years her senior — who had made his substantial fortune producing and dealing in carpets and rugs. While John was busy weaving another mat, Gertrude developed a -
Paris Ballet Now July 24th, 2013 The atmosphere was electric! We were at Paris’s Palais Garnier to attend a ballet performance just five days before the one-hundredth anniversary of the riot surrounding the premiere of Igor Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring in May of 1913. To top -
Mozart’s Party Piece? ‘Gran Partita’ examined July 22nd, 2013 MOZART, W.A.: Serenade No. 10, “Gran Partita” Sabine Meyer Wind Ensemble Mozart’s Serenade K.361 has a lot of mystery surrounding it, generating many articles, thoughts and opinions (both scholarly and informal) with regards to its genesis and function. The work’s -
St. Thomas in Leipzig July 20th, 2013 J. S. Bach: St. Matthew Passion, “Kommt ihr Töchter helft mir klagen” One of the most wonderful experiences while traveling in Europe is the ability to visit monuments, castles, churches and civic buildings, and the spaces within the urban or -
The Land of Limited Impossibilities
Paul Hindemith and Gertrud Rottenberg III July 20th, 2013Paul Hindemith: Der Schwanendreher (Viola Concerto), II If you have ever taken wedding vows, you might still remember uttering the words “for better or for worse.” For Gertrud and Paul Hindemith, the “worse” was slightly more threatening than merely worrying