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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The One-Armed Swordsman
Paul Wittgenstein and Ravel’s Left Hand Piano Concerto July 30th, 2011“The One-Armed Swordsman” (Dubei dao “獨臂刀”) is an old Chinese film depicting the life of a swordsman of the Golden Sword School. During a ferocious fight, the swordsman’s right arm tragically gets cut off, ending his career as a swordsman. -
Valse-Scherzo of Lust
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky and Yosif Kotek July 29th, 2011Yosif Kotek with Tchaikovsky The interaction between teacher and student, at its most fundamental level, might be described as the attempt to forge a meaningful relationship to the past. This relationship depends on the extent to which it takes traditions -
Li-Wei Qin July 15th, 2011 “Li-Wei is the most gifted young cellist I have heard. Aside from an extraordinary technical fluency, he has a musical intelligence and sensitivity which is breathtaking both for its maturity and profound vision” – Paul Cutts, The Strad “Li-Wei is -
The Classical Age in Music and the Arts July 12th, 2011 In the middle of the 18th century the last shadows of the Baroque faded into the more intimate, colorful and pastoral Rococo period. All of the art forms, particularly those in painting and music, emphasize the “artificial” disguised as the -
Quintet of Discontent
César Franck and Augusta Holmès July 11th, 2011The actress Madam Félicité Saillot Desmousseaux, better remembered as the dutiful wife of César Franck (1822-1890), greeted the arrival of her husband’s Piano Quintet in F minor with public condemnation, fiery scorn and a deeply professed hatred. Surprisingly, the same -
Pinnock’s smile: baroque music at its best July 8th, 2011 There is an illuminating – if difficult to verify – account that, during the French Revolution, the harpsichords of the Paris Conservatoire were dismantled and used for firewood. Such stories are, sadly, recurring themes in times of instability: proud intellectuals -
Beyond Bach July 7th, 2011 Johann Sebastian Bach passed away 326 years ago, in July, so I thought what could have been better than starting my column here with the ‘Father of Music’, a composer with whom I have had a love-hate relationship. When I -
Alfredo Casella July 1st, 2011 Scarlattiana, Op. 44 (1926) Alfredo Casella (1883 – 1947) was an outstanding Italian composer who led several of his contemporaries, such as Respighi, Malipiero and Pizzetti, to modernize the music of their home country. The interests of Casella as a