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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Yamen Saadi October 1st, 2023 ‘Be in the music, and the rest will come by itself’ Last year, at just age 25, violinist Yamen Saadi was appointed Concertmaster of the Vienna State Opera and Vienna Philharmonic. Yamen holds this position alongside a busy schedule of -
The Young Romantic: Sibelius’ Florestan October 1st, 2023 Lying at home recovering from an illness, the young Jean Sibelius (1865-1957) took the opportunity to reassess his life. In early 1889, he’d played solo violin in Beethoven’s Romance in F with the Academic Orchestra. When he fell ill in -
The Music of Poetry
Chopin’s Polish Songs October 1st, 2023Frédéric Chopin was not only one of the greatest pianists the world had ever known, he also left us the finest body of music for his instrument. The so-called “poet of the piano” left us with nearly 250 fabulous works, -
On This Day
1 October: André Rieu Was Born October 1st, 2023André Rieu is one of today’s most successful classical performing artists. In fact, he is one of the most successful touring artists in the world, easily outselling most popular music acts. Rieu founded the Johann Strauss Orchestra, the largest private -
Rescuing Something from the Wreckage
Berlioz’s Benvenuto Cellini and Roman Carnival Overture September 30th, 2023Hector Berlioz (1803-1869) was a master of orchestration and his 1844 book on the subject was the standard not for years, but for decades after his death. He lived his life with his heart on his sleeve and works such -
The Seven Saddest Chopin Nocturnes September 30th, 2023 We, classical music lovers, can be a moody bunch, and sometimes we just get in the mood to listen to sad piano music. And when it comes to sad piano music, Frédéric Chopin always delivers, especially when it comes to -
On This Day
30 September: Mozart’s Magic Flute Was Premiered September 30th, 2023The Theater auf der Wieden, located in the then-suburban Wieden district of Vienna existed only for 14 years, between 1787 and 1801. For most of this period, the director of the theater was the German impresario, dramatist, actor, singer, and -
Are We Really Obsessed With Quality September 29th, 2023 Let’s address one of the elephants in the music room; do we really recognise and pay attention to quality nowadays? Do we even understand what it is? How many of us can recognise high from low levels of quality? How