The love story between Robert and Clara Schumann is often regarded as one of the most romantic in classical music history. Happily for historians, many of their love letters survive. They document their inner thoughts and emotions, as well as
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On This Day
18 June: Peter Donohoe was Born June 18th, 2023Becoming joint winner of the Silver Medal at the 1982 International Tchaikovsky Competition, with no Gold Medal awarded that year, propelled Peter Donohoe to international stardom. Renowned as one of the foremost pianists of our time, his performances radiate mature -
Tchaikovsky’s Wife: Madwoman or Tragic Victim? June 17th, 2023 One of the most-maligned wives in classical music history is Antonina Miliukova. She married Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1877, and their union was a disaster from the beginning. She has often been portrayed as a madwoman intent on ruining her -
Johann Baptist Wendling June 17th, 2023 “Wendling is the foremost flute player of his time” 300 years ago, on 17 June 1723, the town of Rappoltsweiler, now Ribeauvillé, recorded the birth of Johann Baptist Wendling (1723-1797). His family originated from the Alsace region, and his father -
Abandoning All Hope and Finding Paradise
Thomas Adès’ Dante June 17th, 2023Most people who read Dante’s La Divina Commedia love the first part of the trilogy, like the second, and often abandon the whole enterprise when they get to Paradise. The evil is just more interesting, somehow. Dante’s object lessons in -
When Is the Right Time to Start Teaching Piano Technique?
Essential Piano Technique by Penelope Roskell June 16th, 2023Renowned British pianist and pedagogue Penelope Roskell believes that technique should be taught from the outset and her new series of books aimed at children turn learning technique into an enjoyable and stimulating series of exercises, games/quizzes, and imaginative original -
Accessible but Out of Favour
Goltermann’s Cello Concerto No. 1 June 15th, 2023In the 19th century, a time of the travelling virtuoso, to find a virtuoso who wanted to stay home and have a solid playing position was rare, but that was the case with cello virtuoso Georg Goltermann (1824–1898). Goltermann was -
On This Day
15 June: Julia Fischer Was Born June 15th, 2023The German classical pianist and violinist Julia Fischer was born on 15 June 1983 in Munich. Her parents Viera Krenková and Frank-Michael Fischer, a mathematician from East Germany, met as students in Prague. Julia started playing the violin around the -
Musicians and Artists: Pearson and Renoir June 13th, 2023 B.R. Pearson’s Dance at Bougival Inspired by Renoir In his 1883 painting, Dance at Bougival, French painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841–1919) created a near–life-size portrait of two dancers in the milieu of an open-air café. His painting has captured the couple