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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Don’t lose your Head: Haydn’s Skull June 7th, 2013 Around the turn of the 19th century, Schädellehre (doctrine of the skull) — better know as phrenology — was considered on the cutting edge of medical theory. Developed by the renowned Viennese neuroanatomist and physiologist Dr. Franz Joseph Gall, the -
Lise Lindstrom June 6th, 2013 The New York Post once claimed that ‘the tall, slender Lindstrom wielded the icy glamour of a 30s film star, working the trains and veils of her elaborate costumes with the panache of a runway model’. About six feet tall, -
Music and Religion:
The Catholic Retaliation June 5th, 2013The Counter-Reformation, also known as the Catholic Revival or Catholic Reformation, began with the Council of Trent in 1545 and ended at the close of the Thirty Year’s War in 1648. A direct response to the Protestant Reformation, it sought -
In touch with Marco Berti:
The Otello of the Future June 4th, 2013Sharing the same birthplace, Como, with Cosima Liszt, the daughter of Franz List and second wife of Richard Wagner, tenor Marco Berti is perhaps destined for greatness. After hearing Marco Berti’s debut as Otello at the Festival de Opera de -
Searching for Authenticity: Turandot May 31st, 2013 Ever since the seventeenth century, composers in every generation have explored the Orient for musical and dramatic inspiration. In fact, the sheer durability of this Orientalist obsession in music has greatly extended the language of music by employing eastern instruments, -
Intimacy Revisited: A Look at Hong Kong’s Performer/Composer Summit, Two Years Later May 29th, 2013 Two years on, the question remains: what, exactly, is Hong Kong’s University of Science and Technology doing dropping gobs of money to invite top-class musicians from around the world to spend two weeks on a campus without a music department? -
Without Music, Life would be an Error:
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche May 29th, 2013Friedrich Nietzsche Das zerbrochene Ringlein Piano Sonata in G Major “God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him.” This most widely quoted statement originating with Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (1844-1900) first appeared in the 1882 publication Die fröhliche -
Envy the Cellist May 28th, 2013 Why I Love the Cello Because it is me. Because it is the closest sound to the human voice. Because I can engulf it with my body in an embrace. Because when I tell people that I play the cello