As a mythological character, Hercules is one who has always captured our attention. Famed for his strength and for his adventures around the known world, he’s caught the attention of writers and musicians for centuries. The stories and feats of
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Cristóbal de Morales April 30th, 2012 Cristóbal de Morales (c. 1500–1553) was the first Spanish composer of international renown. Two years after his death, the Spanish theorist Juan Bermudo — primarily known for his treatise on playing the vihuela — wrote, “for composing polyphony I would -
Marry your Violin, my Son, never a Woman!
Pablo de Sarasate and Marie Lefébure-Wély April 26th, 2012Jean-Delphin Alard’s motivation for uttering the immortal words “marry your violin, my son, never a woman” to his most famous charge, the teenage violinist Pablo de Sarasate, might have been twofold. For one, he was rather unhappily married to the -
The Curse of the Ninth April 25th, 2012 Gustav Mahler Das klagende Lied (1880) Kindertotenlieder (1904) Symphony No. 9 (1909) Summer of 1907 came as a nightmare for Austrian-Jewish composer Gustav Mahler (1860-1911). His five year old daughter Maria Anna died of scarlet fever and diphtheria; he lost -
Make Money or Art? April 23rd, 2012 Within the first two months of 2012, China has hosted the London Phil, the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Concertgebouw, the London Symphony Orchestra and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra. The Philharmonia, St Martin in the Fields and the -
Miloš Karadaglić April 14th, 2012 If you were asked to name classical music’s most legendary guitar players, you’d probably come up with Andres Segovia, Julian Bream and John Williams. Miloš Karadaglić, who is already being hailed by fans and critics for his brilliant technique and -
The Creative Power of Love!
Isaac Albéniz and Rosina Jordana April 13th, 2012In April 1883, Rosina Jordana Lagarriga — daughter of the industrious businessman S. Simon Jordana, who lived and operated in the Catalonian capital of Barcelona — went to a local music store to look for sheet music by the sensational -
PROMS April 12th, 2012 The Minnesota Orchestra Anton Bruckner Symphony No. 4 in E flat major, WAB 104, “Romantic” (1888 version, ed. B. Korstvedt) Beethoven Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125, “Choral” Proms. The word brings to mind memories of parties past, -
The Golden Age of Spain in Music, Arts and Literature April 10th, 2012 Tomas Luis de Victoria O magnum mysterium (1572) Domine ad adjuvandum me festina Cristóbal de Morales Puer natus est nobis (1543) Missa Benedicta es caelorum regina (excerpts) (1544) Antonio de Cabezon (Click here for our related “In love” article) Pavana