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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On This Day
25 August: Lenny Bernstein Was Born August 25th, 2023Once Lenny Bernstein, born on 25 August 1918 had graduated from Boston Latin High School, it was time to choose a university. He applied to Harvard, and although his grades had been high, his chances of getting into that most -
Five Ways to Impress Your Music Teacher August 23rd, 2023 Learning an instrument is hard work. Having a good relationship with your music teacher can make everything so much easier. So today we’re looking at five ways to impress your music teacher: 1. Listen carefully to what your teacher has -
Claude Debussy (1862-1918)
Arrangements for 2 Pianos August 22nd, 2023Claude Debussy, born on 22 August 1862, returned to Paris in the spring of 1887 after having spent two years at the Villa Medici in Rome. As a lauded winner of the famed Prix de Rome, he had left Paris -
10 Fun and Exciting Clarinet Duos August 21st, 2023 The clarinet is one of my favourite instruments, and it is very hard to argue against the Mozart Clarinet Concerto or the Brahms Clarinet Quintet. The instrument was a relatively new addition to the woodwind family and was invented by -
When Mahler Found Ives August 20th, 2023 This has to be one of the most tantalising ‘What Ifs’ in musical history. In 1911, at the end of his tenure with the New York Philharmonic and only months before his death, Gustav Mahler visited the office of Tams -
Musicians and Artists: Fuchs and Frankenthaler August 20th, 2023 Kenneth Fuchs: Cloud Slant American artist Helen Frankenthaler (1928-2011) started appearing in American art galleries in the 1950s and continued her career for the next 60 years. Her field was abstract expressionism and her developments over her career changed modern -
13 Facts You Didn’t Know About Tchaikovsky’s Mysterious Benefactress, Nadezhda von Meck August 19th, 2023 In 1877, Tchaikovsky received a letter that would change his life forever. It was from a wealthy woman named Nadezhda von Meck, who described herself as a “fervent admirer.” She commissioned some chamber music from him, and eventually, she began -
The Child Prodigies of Classical Music
From Hummel to Beethoven August 19th, 2023In historical studies of music, compositions by children have generally not been held in high regard. The one exception, of course, is Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, “commonly regarded as the child composer par excellence.” While the focus has so far been