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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The Cultural Ambassador – pianist Xu Zhong June 29th, 2012 Once a French concession, Shanghai, with its rich culture and roadside platanes, is regarded as the ‘Paris’ in China. Pianist Xu Zhong, who grew up in Shanghai and furthered his study with Dominique Merlet in Paris, is perhaps one of -
Let’s get the Party started!
Franz Liszt and Caroline de Saint-Cricq June 28th, 2012One of the foremost musical personalities and arguable the greatest virtuoso of his day, Franz Liszt (1811-1886) expanded the technical limits of the piano and the performer in both his own playing and in his compositions. However, what really distinguished -
Cello Concerto Overview – Two Three and Four cellos! June 27th, 2012 Virtually every time I mention that I play the cello, the response is an enthusiastic “Oh I love the cello!” Despite the fact that the soulful instrument is very popular today, the solo concerto repertory is not abundant like the -
Franz Liszt versus Sigismond Thalberg June 26th, 2012 The culture of the traveling virtuoso, so prevalent in the first half of the nineteenth century and clearly reincarnated in today’s concert environment in which pianists like Lang Lang play more than 300 concerts a year, brought forth a unique -
Mozart and his World: Salzburg I June 25th, 2012 For one reason or another, the name Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart has become a marketing cliché, selling everything from alcohol to chocolates. Perfectly sane and healthy people swoon at the mere mention of his name, and he is habitually referred to -
Beethoven and Shostakovich 9th June 22nd, 2012 Leonard Slatkin conducts Shostakovich and Beethoven: 2 Ninth SymphoniesOrchestre National de Lyon, The Gulbenkian Choir, Manuela Uhl, Bea Robein,Christian Elner, Morten Frank Larsen29 June 2012, Auditorium de Lyon Watch the concert Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125, “Choral” -
Isabelle Faust June 15th, 2012 Winner of the 1987 Leopold Mozart Competition and the 1993 Paganini Competition, Isabelle Faust is one of the most prominent young violinists of the day. Born in Esslingen, Germany, ten miles southeast of Stuttgart, Faust started playing the violin at -
The Song of the Nightingale
Felix Mendelssohn and Jenny Lind June 14th, 2012By 1843, Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) was at the pinnacle of his career. He was almost universally acknowledged as an exceptional composer, conductor and educator. He had just founded the Leipzig Conservatory, and hired Ignaz Moscheles, Robert Schumann, Ferdinand David, Joseph