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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Ning Feng : A Musician’s Musician March 9th, 2013 On this auspicious day, the 3rd day of the 3rd month of year 2013, my husband and I made a trip into the city ( Vancouver ) from our snowy mountain home ( Whistler ) specifically to attend a concert -
Lucy Crowe March 8th, 2013 Lucy Crowe has established a reputation as one of the world’s leading lyric sopranos. Acclaimed for her powerful stage presence, she is a regular performer at the Glyndebourne Festival, and increasingly in demand at opera houses across the world, from -
In touch with Eli Marshall March 6th, 2013 Bringing to the table a new composition entitled Duo: in cerca, American composer Eli Marshall is 90% excited and 10% nervous about the upcoming Intimacy of Creativity workshop, calling it not only a challenge to “think outside the box, but -
Le Roi Soleil February 27th, 2013 Jean-Baptiste Lully Marche des Mousquetaires du Roy de France Trios pour le coucher du Roi For countless centuries, monarchs, royalty and nobility carried cognomens, that is, nicknames appended either before or after their real names. Frequently these monikers made reference -
Turtle Song February 27th, 2013 I spend most of my time at Cambridge involved in activities that are almost entirely self-serving. I work towards a degree; I engage in musical projects to practice conducting; I seek work either to earn money or to gain valuable - Tempting Fate!
Gustav Mahler: Symphony No 6 in A minor (1903-1904) February 26th, 2013In November 1901, Gustav Mahler (1860-1911) first met Alma Schindler, Vienna’s most eligible Bachelorette. Stepdaughter of the painter Carl Moll, Alma took painting lessons from Gustav Klimt and composition lessons from Josef Labor and Alexander Zemlinsky, with whom she also - Grandes Ambitions!
Wagner, Auber, and Rossini February 25th, 2013During his tenure in Magdeburg (1834-6) and Riga (1837-8), Richard Wagner rehearsed and conducted the opera La muette de Portici (The Mute Girl of Portici). Composed by Daniel François Esprit Auber to a libretto by Augustin Eugène Scribe — one -
Is Audience Behaviour a Fair Measure of Civility? February 25th, 2013 Even now, I often see our press and expert critics sigh about the behaviour of audiences when they talk about concerts, as if whether they applauded between movements is the only standard by which to judge how civilised they are.
