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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Peter Burra: How a Critic’s Tragic Death Helped Benjamin Britten Find the Love of His Life January 9th, 2026 In the 1930s, Peter Burra was a rising star in British letters. But his death at the age of twenty-seven in an airplane crash brought those hopes to a sudden, violent end. Though Burra’s life was cut tragically short, his -
Seven Heartbreaking Classical Pieces Composed After Breakups January 4th, 2026 For generations, classical music composers have poured the emotional fallouts from their romantic lives into their music, creating some of the most emotional works in the repertoire. Today, we’re looking at seven of the saddest classical music pieces inspired by -
Eight Best Violin Concertos Openings of All Time January 3rd, 2026 When it comes to classical music generally and violin concertos specifically, some pieces take their time to grab your attention. Others, however, seize you instantly. Today, we’re looking at examples of the latter: works that offer something especially fresh or -
Sounds of a Warming World
Classical Music Confronting Climate Change December 31st, 2025Climate change is the defining crisis of the 21st century. It has reshaped how we understand the world around us and our place within it. While the sciences describe the mechanisms of warming and the economics examine mitigation strategies, the -
The Most Christmas-y Classical Music of 20 of the Great Composers December 22nd, 2025 Every December, churches and concert halls the world over present programs of classical music associated with Christmas. Today, we’re wondering: what is the most Christmas-y piece ever written by each of the great composers? In this list, we look at -
Some of the Most Well-Known Christmas Classical Music December 21st, 2025 If one thinks of Christmas music, it often is from the 1940s-50s movie soundtracks which have now become festive classics, or through the many pop standards that have made the cut, and delight — or not — our ears each -
The Tastes and Smells of the Holiday Season December 20th, 2025 One of the wonderful parts of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s ballet The Nutcracker is the divertissements set in the Kingdom of Sweets. First, we have the Spanish Dance, setting us up for that wonderful drink from South America, Chocolate. Even the -
Six Saddest Pieces of Music by Beethoven December 19th, 2025 Ludwig van Beethoven is famous for composing deeply emotional music. After all, the nickname of one of his most famous melodies is “Ode to Joy.” But which of his works are sad? And which of those are the saddest? Today,