Over the centuries, many of history’s most important women composers were forced to publish under male pseudonyms. Across the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, dozens of women composers adopted masculine or gender-neutral identities so their work would be reviewed
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The Mermaid and the Prince
Alexander Zemlinsky and Alma Schindler August 31st, 2011Alexander Zemlinsky Die Seejungfrau (The Mermaid) (1902-3) He only stood 157 centimeters, and his asymmetrical face featured bulging eyes, a large pointy nose and a receding chin. She towered at a statuesque 172 centimeters, with large hazel eyes, finely chiseled -
Jacques Loussier Trio August 25th, 2011 Aix-en-Provence 12th August 2011 It would be difficult not to mention Jacques Loussier when we think of cross-disciplinary music. For over half a century, the classically trained pianist has become the icon of a particular genre of music bridging classical -
Beyond all Mortal Dreams August 24th, 2011 Some of the best choral discs, in my mind, have come from British choirs exploring repertoire outside of the English choral tradition. So many of the staples of the cathedral, church and college chapel diet have been recorded so many -
The Romantic Age in Music and the Arts August 15th, 2011 Beethoven Minuet in G Beethoven “Moonlight” Piano Sonata no.14, C sharp Minor Carl Maria von Weber Der Freischutz, J277 Schubert Winterreise, Op. 89, D. 911 The events during and following the French Revolution in 1789 represented not only a complete -
Tchaikovsky Again? August 15th, 2011 BBC Music Magazine asked ten critics to name the masterpieces they found most boring – a good trick to create buzz and drive forum discussions. How then do you qualify a boring masterpiece? For that matter, if the piece is -
In Touch with Richard Pontzious – Live for a Dream August 15th, 2011 I was leaning at the fench on the first floor of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, waiting. Two men came out of the opposite concert hall; a tall white man with silver hair, next to him, a Chinese -
Funeral Rites for Gustav
Gustav Mahler and Marion Mathilde von Weber August 15th, 2011Gustav Mahler Symphony no.2 in C minor “Resurrection” (1894) After conducting a performance of Carl Maria von Weber’s comic opera Die drei Pintos (The three Pintos) on January 20, 1888—with Peter Illyich Tchaikovsky in the audience—Gustav Mahler (1860-1911) went home -
The life of Martins August 11th, 2011 The opening scenes of the Irene Langemann’s documentary Die Martins-Passion (Martins’ Passion, 2004) are exquisitely adequate in presenting the life of Brazilian pianist Joao Carlos Martins: a grand piano is hoisted up dozens of floors outside an apartment building in