For as long as composers have been writing music, they’ve been inspired by the mystery, mood, and mythology of the night. We’ve gathered ten pieces of classical music about the night that explore themes associated with the hours after dark,
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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 -
Messian’s L’Ascension and Puccini’s Suor Angelica ; “Taiwan Philharmonic, the National Symphony Orchestra” April 9th, 2012 When Lü Shao-chia (呂紹嘉) returned from the Staatsoper Hannover for the directorship of the NSO, he inherited an ensemble already steeped in Austro-German music and musicianship, on account of both the education of many orchestra members and the directorship of -
Johannes Brahms: Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 77 April 6th, 2012 Among the great composer-musicians of the nineteenth century, Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) stands as somewhat of an anomaly. In an age that worshiped flamboyant personalities and in which composers strove to break from tradition in radical new ways, Brahms was a -
Seeing with the Heart!
Antonio de Cabezón and Louisa Nuñez de Mocos March 31st, 2012Antonio de Cabezón Tiento XXV de sexto tono Pavana Italiana The immediate consequence of a rather messy political game of conspiracy and intrigue involving his own mother saw Charles V ascend to the throne of both Castile and Aragon in -
Boosting China’s Cultural Power March 29th, 2012 One can’t help but notice the new major policy unveiled in 2011 and continuing well into 2012 – the supreme importance of strengthening Chinese culture. At the end of last year, President Hu published an essay in which he drew -
9 Justice Drive
Admiralty, Hong Kong March 28th, 2012A mere 15 years ago, Hong Kong proudly escaped the shackles of British colonial rule and happily pledged its allegiance to an even more aggressive ruler in the north. There were no cries for independence or democracy, no calls for