# Interlude

> Interlude is an international online music magazine, with articles, reviews, and think-pieces about the world of classical music. Browse articles for free.

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## Posts

- [A Glimpse of Chopin’s Genius](https://interlude.hk/a-glimpse-of-chopins-genius/): Chopin composed Variations on "Là ci darem la mano," Op. 2, in 1827 at age 17, based on a Mozart Don Giovanni duet. Pianist Natalia Rehling's recording includes a previously unpublished bravura variation discovered in the Austrian National Library autograph score. The album releases February 2026 on Azure Sky.
- [Hélène Jourdan-Morhange: The Great Violinist Who Ravel Loved](https://interlude.hk/helene-jourdan-morhange-the-great-violinist-who-ravel-loved/): Hélène Jourdan-Morhange (1888-1961) was a French violinist who won the Paris Conservatoire's first prize in 1906. She premiered Ravel's Sonata for Violin and Cello (1922) and received the dedication of his G-major violin sonata. Chronic pain ended her performing career. She later became a music writer and radio producer, co-creating...
- [Pēteris Vasks <br/> Echoes from Still Landscapes](https://interlude.hk/peteris-vasks-echoes-from-still-landscapes/): Pēteris Vasks, Latvian composer born 1946, recorded "The Fruit of Silence" in November 2025 at Latvija Concert Hall with State Choir Latvija. The program features sacred and secular works including "Laudate Dominum," "Māte Saule," "Castillo Interior," and "Dona nobis pacem," spanning his career exploring nature, spirituality, and ecological concerns.
- [Seven of Mahler's Unforgettable Love Interests](https://interlude.hk/seven-of-mahlers-unforgettable-love-interests/): Gustav Mahler had romantic relationships with several musicians before marrying Alma Schindler in 1901. These included piano student Josephine Poisl, soprano Johanna Richter, Marion von Weber-Schwabe, violist Natalie Bauer-Lechner, and singers Anna von Mildenburg and Selma Kurz. Bauer-Lechner's memoirs provided key documentation of Mahler's creative process.
- [Behind the Notes: the Classical Musician’s Memoir](https://interlude.hk/behind-the-notes-the-classical-musicians-memoir/): Classical musician memoirs provide insight into interpretive processes, practice development, and musical personality formation. They document conservatoire training, teacher relationships, and psychological costs of early specialization. These accounts address professional realities including financial uncertainty, competition, and career fragility. Recent memoirs by pianists Stephen Hough and Jeremy Denk exemplify this reflective...
- [Best Yuja Wang Encores (Born on February 10, 1987) <br/> Confetti, Fireworks, and Fingers on Fire](https://interlude.hk/best-yuja-wang-encores-born-on-february-10-1987-confetti-fireworks-and-fingers-on-fire/): Pianist Yuja Wang's birthday celebration features her notable encores: Rimsky-Korsakov's "Flight of the Bumblebee" (Cziffra arrangement), Mozart's "Alla Turca," Philip Glass' Etude No. 6, Kapustin's "Toccatina," Horowitz's "Carmen Fantasy Variations," and Prokofiev's Toccata. Repertoire spans classical, jazz-influenced, and minimalist works.
- [Melodies in Search of Song: The Piano Songs of Denis Levaillant](https://interlude.hk/melodies-in-search-of-song-the-piano-songs-of-denis-levaillant/): French composer Denis Levaillant (b. 1952), known for his cross-stylistic compositions in film and jazz, musical shows and improvisations, and his ability to mix genres, has compiled a set of melodies from his catalogue of works dating from 1978 to 2018. Over these 40 years, Levaillant has written music for...
- [5 Unforgettable Conductor Love Stories From Classical Music History: From Bernstein to Barenboim](https://interlude.hk/5-unforgettable-conductor-love-stories-from-classical-music-history-from-bernstein-to-barenboim/): This article examines five conductor marriages: Hans von Bülow and Cosima Liszt (who left him for Wagner), Leopold Stokowski and pianist Olga Samaroff, Leonard Bernstein and Felicia Montealegre, John Barbirolli and oboist Evelyn Rothwell, and Daniel Barenboim and cellist Jacqueline du Pré.
- [Constantin Brâncuși’s Marble Melodies (Born on February 19, 1876) <br/> Bach in the Studio](https://interlude.hk/constantin-brancusis-marble-melodies-born-on-february-19-1876-bach-in-the-studio/): Constantin Brâncuși (1876-1957), founder of modern sculpture, was influenced by classical music, particularly Johann Sebastian Bach. His quote "When you listen to Bach, you see God" reflects music's impact on his abstract forms. Works like "Bird in Space" and "Endless Column" embody musical principles of rhythm, repetition, and variation.
- [Four Fascinating Love Interests of Frederic Chopin](https://interlude.hk/four-fascinating-love-interests-of-frederic-chopin/): Frédéric Chopin's romantic relationships included soprano Konstancja Gładkowska (1829-1830), close friend Tytus Woyciechowski (1827-1830), Maria Wodzińska (1835-1837), and writer George Sand (1838-1847). His correspondence reveals intense emotional attachments. Chopin died of tuberculosis in 1849 at age 39.
- [Playlist: Five Great Song Transcriptions for Solo Piano](https://interlude.hk/playlist-five-great-song-transcriptions-for-solo-piano/): Pianist Siqian Li's debut album features solo piano transcriptions of works by Ravel, Gershwin, and Weissenberg. The article highlights five notable song transcriptions: Schubert/Liszt's Ständchen, Gluck/Sgambati's Melodie, Gershwin/Grainger's Love Walked In, Trenet/Weissenberg's Boum!, and Bach/Petri's Sheep May Safely Graze.
- [Changing the Words: Two Choral Settings by Eric Whitacre](https://interlude.hk/changing-the-words-two-choral-settings-by-eric-whitacre/): Eric Whitacre composed a choral setting of Robert Frost's 1923 poem "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening." Copyright restrictions led Whitacre to commission poet Charles Silvestri to write "Sleep" as alternative lyrics in 2000. When Frost's poem entered public domain in 2019, Whitacre published his original version.
- [György Kurtág (Born on February 19, 1926) <br/> Fragments of Intensity](https://interlude.hk/gyorgy-kurtag-born-on-february-19-1926-fragments-of-intensity/): György Kurtág, Hungarian composer born 1926 in Romania, studied at Franz Liszt Academy under Kadosa, Veress, and Farkas. Influenced by Bartók and Webern, he developed a miniature-focused compositional style. His Játékok cycle contains over 400 piano pieces. He received the Ernst von Siemens Music Prize in 1998.
- [Hear the Voices of the Great American Composers: Gershwin, Barber, and More](https://interlude.hk/hear-the-voices-of-the-great-american-composers-gershwin-barber-and-more/): Collection features interviews with eight American composers: Howard Hanson, George Gershwin, Aaron Copland, Elliott Carter, Samuel Barber, Gian Carlo Menotti, John Cage, and Leonard Bernstein. Topics include Hanson on computerized art dangers, Gershwin's songwriting process with brother Ira, Barber's relationship with Toscanini, and Bernstein's conducting teachers.
- [Musicians and Artists: Welcher and Cassatt](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-welcher-and-cassatt/): American painter Mary Cassatt (1844–1926) studied at Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts before moving to Paris, becoming one of few women in the Impressionist circle. Composer Dan Welcher's String Quartet No. 3 "Cassatt" draws from three of her paintings: Bacchante (1872), At the Opera (1878), and Young Woman in...
- [If You Like Chopin, You Might Like Martha Argerich](https://interlude.hk/if-you-like-chopin-you-might-like-martha-argerich/): Martha Argerich is a leading interpreter of Frédéric Chopin's piano works. Her performances demonstrate technical mastery and understanding of Chopin's rubato style. Notable recordings include Nocturnes, Polonaises, Mazurkas, Etudes, Scherzo Op. 31, Piano Sonata No. 3, and Piano Concerto No. 1.
- [The Chinese Zodiac for Children](https://interlude.hk/the-chinese-zodiac-for-children/): Canadian composer Vincent Ho (b. 1975) wrote The Twelve Chinese Zodiac Animals (2021), a piano collection for student players addressing the lack of culturally authentic Asian-themed educational music. Each piece depicts a zodiac animal in childhood form, incorporating Chinese traditional instrument techniques.
- [Ludwig van Beethoven: Five of His Most Famous Feuds](https://interlude.hk/ludwig-van-beethoven-five-of-his-most-famous-feuds/): Beethoven engaged in notable conflicts throughout his life. He clashed with teacher Joseph Haydn over recognition, blamed Antonio Salieri for a concert scheduling conflict, defeated pianist Daniel Steibelt in an 1800 piano duel, severed ties with patron Prince Lichnowsky over performing for French soldiers, and fought a custody battle against...
- [See Me Now <br/>Thomas Luke, piano](https://interlude.hk/see-me-now-thomas-luke-piano/): British pianist Thomas Luke, 2020 BBC Young Musician Keyboard Category winner, releases debut album "See Me Now" featuring original compositions. The self-produced record combines piano performance with environmental soundscapes, exploring themes of memory and personal identity. Luke composed, performed, edited, and mixed all tracks independently.
- [Exploring Beethoven with Claudio Arrau (Born on February 6, 1903)<br/> A Journey in Sound and Spirit](https://interlude.hk/exploring-beethoven-with-claudio-arrau-born-on-february-6-1903-a-journey-in-sound-and-spirit/): Claudio Arrau (1903–1991), Chilean pianist, recorded Beethoven's complete piano sonatas for Philips in the 1960s. His interpretations emphasize structural clarity, broad tempos, and philosophical depth over technical display. Arrau contributed to the Urtext edition. His cycle remains referenced alongside Brendel, Kempff, and Schnabel recordings.
- [The Most Passionate Composer Love Letters of All Time, Part 1](https://interlude.hk/the-most-passionate-composer-love-letters-of-all-time-part-1/): This article examines love letters from ten classical composers including Haydn, Beethoven, Mozart, Berlioz, Liszt, Robert Schumann, Brahms, Wagner, Mahler, and Sibelius. Letters reveal Haydn's confession about wishing his wife dead, Beethoven's letter to his Immortal Beloved, and Brahms's complex feelings for Clara Schumann.
- [Friedrich Cerha at 100 (Born on February 17, 1926)<br/> Modern Music as Living History](https://interlude.hk/friedrich-cerha-at-100-born-on-february-17-1926-modern-music-as-living-history/): Friedrich Cerha (1926-2023), Austrian composer and conductor, co-founded ensemble Die Reihe in 1958. He completed Alban Berg's opera Lulu, premiered 1979. Professor at Vienna's University of Music (1959-1988), he taught composers including Georg Friedrich Haas. Received Ernst von Siemens Music Prize 2012.
- [The Dialogue Between Bach and God: The Goldberg Variations, Yunchan Lim](https://interlude.hk/the-dialogue-between-bach-and-god-the-goldberg-variations-yunchan-lim/): J.S. Bach's Goldberg Variations, BWV 988, published 1741, comprises 70+ minutes of continuous variations on an opening Aria. Historian Forkel attributed the commission to Count Kaiserling for harpsichordist Johann Gottlieb Goldberg. Yunchan Lim, 2022 Van Cliburn Competition winner, recorded the work live at Carnegie Hall for Decca, released February 2026.
- [The Enduring Melody: The Significance of Childhood Piano Memories](https://interlude.hk/the-enduring-melody-the-significance-of-childhood-piano-memories/): Learning piano in childhood creates lasting cognitive and emotional impacts. Early musical training strengthens neural pathways, enhancing memory, attention, and spatial-temporal skills. Childhood piano pieces form emotional connections and cultural understanding of classical music's core canon. These formative musical experiences persist throughout life, influencing cognitive development and artistic identity.
- [The Colours of Music Selon Kandinsky](https://interlude.hk/the-colours-of-music-selon-kandinsky/): Kandinsky, a synesthete painter and musician, developed color theory inspired by music, associating specific colors with orchestral instruments in "Concerning the Spiritual in Art." He befriended composer Schoenberg, designed Mussorgsky stage sets, and created works like "Impression III (Concert)" connecting sound and color through impressions, improvisations, and compositions.
- [George Lloyd: The Shellshocked Soldier Who Kept Composing](https://interlude.hk/george-lloyd-the-shellshocked-soldier-who-kept-composing/): George Lloyd (1913-1998), British composer, wrote twelve symphonies and three operas. After surviving a traumatic warship attack during World War II, he spent years recovering while farming carnations in Dorset. He resumed composing in the 1970s, gaining recognition through self-funded symphony recordings and international commissions.
- [Cellists and Luthiers Take Note! The Unveiling of a Rare Instrument](https://interlude.hk/cellists-and-luthiers-take-note-the-unveiling-of-a-rare-instrument/): Liang Yi Museum Hong Kong unveiled world's first huanghuali cello January 2026. Luthier Robert Brewer Young crafted instrument using Chinese rosewood with Italian spruce top, based on Stradivari Castelbarco model. Exhibition runs through January 28. Collaboration includes instrument dealer J&A Beare. Museum houses Ming and Qing dynasty furniture collection.
- [Deaf-Blind Pianist Helen May Martin: How She Became a Professional Musician](https://interlude.hk/deaf-blind-pianist-helen-may-martin-how-she-became-a-professional-musician/): Helen May Martin (1893-1947) was a blind-deaf concert pianist from Lincoln, Nebraska. She learned piano through vibrations, studied at Olathe School for the Deaf, and performed professionally. Jan Paderewski praised her abilities. Helen Keller, her inspiration, called Martin the most accomplished deaf-blind person worldwide, noting Martin's unique musicianship achievement.
- [Felix Mendelssohn at the Piano (Born on February 3, 1809)<br/> 10 Deeply Reflective Works](https://interlude.hk/felix-mendelssohn-at-the-piano-born-on-february-3-1809-10-deeply-reflective-works/): Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) composed piano works featuring emotional depth beneath classical clarity. This article examines ten pieces including Venetian Boat Songs, Variations sérieuses Op. 54, Rondo Capriccioso Op. 14, Spring Song, Piano Sonatas, Songs Without Words, and Perpetuum Mobile Op. 119, published for his February 3 birthday.
- [A Lost Master: Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s Orchestral Music](https://interlude.hk/a-lost-master-samuel-coleridge-taylors-orchestral-music/): Raised by his mother in London, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875–1912) started his studies at the Royal College of Music at age 15 as a violin student in 1890. However, the composition bug bit him, and by 1892, he’d abandoned the violin
- [The Seven Most Popular Piano Sonata Videos on YouTube](https://interlude.hk/the-seven-most-popular-piano-sonata-videos-on-youtube/): Analysis of YouTube's seven most-viewed piano sonata videos as of early 2026. Beethoven dominates with six entries. Valentina Lisitsa and creator Rousseau appear multiple times. Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata Movement 3 leads with 66 million views. Daniel Barenboim's 2005 Pathétique performance continues gaining views. Mozart's Sonata No. 16 represents non-Beethoven repertoire.
- [Musicians and Artists: Gregson and Monet](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-gregson-and-monet/): British composer Edward Gregson revised his 1964 Romance for clarinet and piano in 2016 as Le Jardin à Giverny for cor anglais and string quartet. Originally written at Royal Academy of Music for clarinetist Robert Hill, the work was substantially rewritten for Alison Teale, inspired by Claude Monet's 1900 garden...
- [Ranking the Impact of the Most Influential Classical Music Families](https://interlude.hk/ranking-the-impact-of-the-most-influential-classical-music-families/): Article ranks five influential classical music families: Strauss (waltz composers), Mendelssohn (Felix and Fanny), Mozart (Wolfgang, Leopold, Nannerl), Wagner (Richard and descendants managing Bayreuth Festival), and Bach (centuries of German musicians, including Johann Sebastian and sons). Rankings consider family size, musical accomplishments, and cultural impact. Bach family ranked most influential.
- [Elizaveta Ivanova](https://interlude.hk/elizaveta-ivanova-flautist-interview/): Flautist Elizaveta Ivanova debuts in Hong Kong performing Reinecke's Flute Concerto with Hong Kong Sinfonietta. Born Estonia, studied St Petersburg, Basel, Frankfurt. Associate Principal Flute Frankfurt Opera and Museum Orchestra since 2022. BBC New Generation Artist, won Concours de Genève 2023. Balances orchestral work with solo engagements.
- [Iannis Xenakis (Died on February 4, 2001): Sound, Space, and Structure <br/> Making Sense of How He Composed](https://interlude.hk/iannis-xenakis-died-on-february-4-2001-sound-space-and-structure-making-sense-of-how-he-composed/): Iannis Xenakis (1922-2001), Greek-born French composer, architect, and mathematician, rejected serialism for stochastic composition using probability theory. His "sound mass" approach shaped textures rather than individual notes. Key works include Metastaseis, Pithoprakta, and Rebonds. A pioneer of algorithmic composition, he used computers as compositional tools.
- [Musicians and Artists:  Henze and Goya](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-henze-and-goya/): Hans Werner Henze composed Los Caprichos (1936-2012), drawing inspiration from Francisco Goya's 80 etchings (1797-1799) satirizing Spanish society. The work features nine movements based on Goya's images, structured as introduction, theme, and seven variations. Performed by Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra under Marin Alsop, the composition uses non-programmatic music reflecting Goya's...
- [Hear the Voices of the Great British Composers: Britten, Vaughan Williams, Clarke, and More](https://interlude.hk/hear-the-voices-of-the-great-british-composers-britten-vaughan-williams-clarke-and-more/): Historical interviews feature British composers Ethel Smyth, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Arnold Bax, Rebecca Clarke, William Walton, and Benjamin Britten discussing their careers, contemporaries, and creative processes. Topics include Smyth's recollections of Brahms, Clarke's experiences with gender discrimination, Vaughan Williams on hymn editing, and Britten's views on composing for specific performers...
- [Part II - Do you Know These Alluring Piano Trios by Women? Meet Emilie Mayer](https://interlude.hk/part-ii-do-you-know-these-alluring-piano-trios-by-women-meet-emilie-mayer/): Emilie Mayer (1812-1883), German composer called "Female Beethoven," created eight symphonies, seven string quartets, eleven cello sonatas, and eight piano trios. The Hanover Piano Trio premiered three rediscovered trios in 2021. Mayer self-funded publications and performances. Her works exemplify classical and romantic traditions.
- [When Liszt Met Schubert (Born on January 31, 1797) <br/> Lieder Reborn](https://interlude.hk/when-liszt-met-schubert-born-on-january-31-1797-lieder-reborn/): Franz Liszt created approximately fifty-six piano transcriptions of Franz Schubert songs between 1833 and 1846. These works ranged from faithful translations to dramatic reinterpretations, often including printed lyrics above the music. After gaining popularity during Liszt's lifetime, the transcriptions fell out of circulation until the 1980s when recordings renewed interest.
- [Sunset in Classical Music](https://interlude.hk/sunset-in-classical-music/): Article explores classical compositions themed around sunset, featuring works by composers including Greek nationalist Georgios Axiotis, Richard Strauss' Alpine Symphony, Ken Harrison's piano piece, Klaus Paier's accordion work, Richard Hinsley's Scottish-inspired composition, Masatoro Goya's guitar piece, and Frederick Delius' Summer Night on the River, examining musical depictions of evening light...
- [MRI and Music](https://interlude.hk/mri-and-music/): Article discusses music selections for MRI procedures. Author experienced unwanted rock music during first MRI scan. Recommends classical alternatives: operas featuring da capo arias with A-B-A form and vocal embellishments, citing Handel's Ottone. Suggests symphonies, particularly Beethoven Symphony No. 2's Scherzo and Bruckner Symphony No. 9, as engaging options for...
- [Youth and Music: Greater Bay Area](https://interlude.hk/youth-and-music-greater-bay-area/): Youth Music Culture Greater Bay Area brings together musicians aged 18-30 for 15 days of training in Shenzhen, January 29-February 12. Concerts occur in Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, and Macau. Faculty from Berlin Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic, and London Symphony Orchestra provide mentorship. Program includes masterclasses, conducting competition, and performances of...
- [The Fifteen Most-FAQs About Chopin: Early Death, George Sand, and More](https://interlude.hk/the-fifteen-most-faqs-about-chopin-early-death-george-sand-and-more/): Chopin, born 1810 in Poland, composed polonaises, mazurkas, nocturnes, etudes, ballades, and piano concertos. He studied with Wojciech Żywny and Józef Elsner, moved to Paris in 1831, taught aristocratic students, partnered with George Sand, and died of tuberculosis in 1849. He influenced Liszt, Schumann, Debussy, and Scriabin.
- [Mozart & Tchaikovsky](https://interlude.hk/mozart-tchaikovsky/): Mozart significantly influenced Tchaikovsky's music and career direction. Both composers promoted their native cultures through music—Mozart emphasized German language in opera, while Tchaikovsky incorporated Russian folklore. They shared similar orchestration approaches, notably in The Magic Flute and The Nutcracker. Their melodic focus makes their compositions timeless, frequently performed, and accessible...
- [Frederick Delius (Born on January 29, 1862) and his Rhapsodic Concertos](https://interlude.hk/frederick-delius-born-on-january-29-1862-and-his-rhapsodic-concertos/): Frederick Delius composed four concertos: Piano Concerto, Violin Concerto, Cello Concerto, and Double Concerto for Violin and Cello. These works depart from traditional concerto structure, emphasizing introspection and continuity over virtuosic display. Written between 1897-1921, they feature rhapsodic, lyrical qualities reflecting Delius's atmospheric compositional style.
- [The Tragedy and Trauma of Ravel's Military Service](https://interlude.hk/the-tragedy-and-trauma-of-ravels-military-service/): Maurice Ravel served in World War I as a military truck driver despite initial rejection for frailty. He completed his A-minor Piano Trio in 1914 before deployment. The war influenced works including Le Tombeau de Couperin, dedicated to fallen friends, La Valse, and Piano Concerto for the Left Hand, written...
- [The Quiet Art of Reynaldo Hahn (Died on January 28, 1947) <br/> Piano Music from the Belle Époque](https://interlude.hk/the-quiet-art-of-reynaldo-hahn-died-on-january-28-1947-piano-music-from-the-belle-epoque/): Reynaldo Hahn (1874–1947) composed piano works including Sonatine in C Major, Le Rossignol éperdu (53 pieces), waltzes, études, and four-hand pieces. His keyboard music emphasizes melody, clarity, and intimacy over virtuosity, reflecting Belle Époque salon culture and French musical tradition shaped by teachers Massenet and Saint-Saëns.
- [Mozart in Lausanne <br/> Ton Koopman and Julia Lezhneva in Concert](https://interlude.hk/mozart-in-lausanne-ton-koopman-and-julia-lezhneva-in-concert/): ARTE TV broadcast features Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne conducted by Ton Koopman performing Mozart works from various periods. Filmed November 5, 2025 at Théâtre de Beaulieu, Lausanne. Program includes Exsultate jubilate, Magic Flute overture, Prague Symphony, selections from Idomeneo and Le nozze di Figaro. Soprano Julia Lezhneva performs vocal...
- [Anna Caroline de Belleville-Oury: The Forgotten Pianist Admired by the Great Composers](https://interlude.hk/anna-caroline-de-belleville-oury-the-forgotten-pianist-admired-by-the-great-composers/): Pianist Anna Caroline de Belleville-Oury (1806-1880) studied with Carl Czerny in Vienna, performed for Beethoven, and championed works by Chopin and Mendelssohn. She toured Europe extensively, taught at Royal Academy of Music, and composed approximately 200 piano pieces before retiring in 1866.
- [Schubert's Winterreise: Love, Loss, and Hans Zender's Modern Twist](https://interlude.hk/schuberts-winterreise-love-loss-and-hans-zenders-modern-twist/): Hans Zender's Winterreise: A Composed Interpretation refracts Schubert's 1828 song-cycle through contemporary orchestration, preserving structure and melody while incorporating Expressionist elements. Released on Signum Records, tenor Allan Clayton with Aurora Orchestra and conductor Nicholas Collon perform this work featuring expanded instrumentation including guitar, accordion, and saxophone.
- [Édouard Lalo (Born on January 27, 1823) <br/> One Concerto and Four Cellists](https://interlude.hk/edouard-lalo-born-on-january-27-1823-one-concerto-and-four-cellists/): Édouard Lalo's birthday is January 27. His 1876 Cello Concerto in D minor, composed for cellist Adolphe Fischer, features three movements blending drama and lyricism. Notable recordings include Tortelier's vocal phrasing, Rostropovich's intensity, Maisky's warmth, and Capuçon's clarity, demonstrating the work's interpretive range.
- [Schubert’s <em>Trout</em> and Hummel’s <em>Military</em> Quintets](https://interlude.hk/schuberts-trout-and-hummels-military-quintets/): Johann Nepomuk Hummel and Franz Schubert both composed piano quintets for the same instrumentation: piano, violin, viola, cello, and double bass. Schubert's Trout Quintet incorporates variations on his song Die Forelle, commissioned by Sylvester Paumgartner. Hummel's Military Quintet represents his arrangement of his 1829 Piano Septet No. 2.
- [The 12 Best Olympic Figure Skating Routines to Classical Music](https://interlude.hk/the-12-best-olympic-figure-skating-routines-to-classical-music/): Figure skating has featured classical music for over a century. Notable programs include Torvill and Dean's 1984 Boléro routine, achieving perfect scores; Katarina Witt's 1988 Carmen interpretation; and Yuzuru Hanyu's 2018 Chopin performance. The International Skating Union allowed lyrics in 2014, though classical selections remain popular among competitive skaters worldwide.
- [Jacqueline du Pré (Born on January 26, 1945) <br/> Beyond Elgar](https://interlude.hk/jacqueline-du-pre-born-on-january-26-1945-beyond-elgar/): Cellist Jacqueline du Pré (1945-1987) recorded Elgar's Cello Concerto Op. 85 in 1965 with London Symphony Orchestra and conductor John Barbirolli. Her discography includes concertos by Schumann, Dvořák, and Haydn, plus chamber works by Beethoven and Brahms with pianist Daniel Barenboim. Multiple sclerosis ended her career in her twenties.
- [Seven of the Greatest Women Violists of All Time](https://interlude.hk/seven-of-the-greatest-women-violists-of-all-time/): Article profiles seven notable women violists: Fanny Claus-Prins (1846-1877), founder of all-woman Sainte-Cécile Quartet; Rebecca Clarke (1886-1979), composer of viola sonata; Lillian Fuchs (1901-1995), teacher at Juilliard; Karen Tuttle (1920-2010), developer of coordination technique; Kim Kashkashian (b.1952), contemporary music specialist; Cynthia Phelps (b.1954), New York Philharmonic principal; Tabea Zimmermann (b.1966),...
- [If You Like Rachmaninoff, You Might Like Vladimir Horowitz](https://interlude.hk/if-you-like-rachmaninoff-you-might-like-vladimir-horowitz/): Pianist Vladimir Horowitz interpreted composer Sergei Rachmaninoff's works through shared Russian heritage and technical mastery. Rachmaninoff personally endorsed Horowitz, who premiered revised Piano Concerto No. 2. Horowitz's recordings demonstrate technical virtuosity, dynamic range, and emotional expression characteristic of Rachmaninoff's late Romantic compositions, influencing subsequent pianists and popularizing Rachmaninoff's music.
- [The Night Piano: Sørensen’s Nocturnes](https://interlude.hk/the-night-piano-sorensens-nocturnes/): Danish composer Bent Sørensen's 12 Nocturnes (2000-2014) explores nighttime themes for piano. The cycle features lullabies, barcarolles, and references to Goethe's Mignon character. Pianist Katrine Gislinge performs pieces dedicated to Leif Ove Andsnes' daughter Sigrid. The work progresses from sunset through midnight to sunrise, incorporating Brahmsian and Bachian influences.
- [Between Rooms, Between Worlds <br/>Marina Baranova on Music, Collaboration, and Curiosity](https://interlude.hk/between-rooms-between-worlds-marina-baranova-on-music-collaboration-and-curiosity/): Pianist-composer Marina Baranova, raised in Ukraine by pianist parents specializing in classical and jazz, released albums Salon de Ravel and The Star of Mendelssohn. She curates the ImproVision Festival at Villa Seligmann in Hannover, collaborates with composer-artist husband Damian Marhulets, and incorporates improvisation into performances.
- [Ten of the Oldest Classical Music Recordings of All Time, From 1888 On](https://interlude.hk/ten-of-the-oldest-classical-music-recordings-of-all-time-from-1888-on/): Article presents ten earliest classical music recordings from 1888-1897, preserved on wax cylinders. Features performances by Handel Festival (1888), Brahms playing Hungarian Dance (1889), earliest opera recording by Peter Nicholas Schram, and John Philip Sousa's Marine Band (1894). Recordings made using Edison phonograph technology, documented by engineers including George Gouraud...
- [Musicians and Artists: Adam Schoenberg and Rothko](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-adam-schoenberg-and-rothko/): Adam Schoenberg composed "Finding Rothko" (2007) for IRIS Orchestra after viewing Mark Rothko paintings in Manhattan museums. The four-movement work features movements named Orange, Yellow, Red, and Wine, based on specific Rothko paintings from 1949-1959. Each movement incorporates a recurring "Rothko theme" connecting the continuous composition, premiered by IRIS Orchestra...
- [Baldassare Galuppi at the Keyboard <br/> Conversation in Every Key](https://interlude.hk/baldassare-galuppi-at-the-keyboard-conversation-in-every-key/): Baldassare Galuppi (1706-1785) composed keyboard sonatas bridging Baroque counterpoint and Classical melody. His galant-style harpsichord works, influenced by Venetian opera buffa, feature conversational phrasing, binary forms, and theatrical character. The music suits modern piano performance and influenced Haydn and Mozart.
- [Muzio Clementi (Born on January 23, 1752) <br/> His Ten Most Beloved Piano Sonatas](https://interlude.hk/muzio-clementi-born-on-january-23-1752-his-ten-most-beloved-piano-sonatas/): Muzio Clementi (1752-1832), called "Father of the Pianoforte," transformed keyboard sonatas into vehicles for virtuosity and expression. He influenced Beethoven, designed pianos with Broadwood, published teaching method Gradus ad Parnassum, and composed 60-110 piano sonatas. His work established modern piano technique and design standards.
- [Celebrating 100 Years of the Royal School of Church Music <br/>Join the celebrations with <em>Songs of the Spirit</em>](https://interlude.hk/celebrating-100-years-of-the-royal-school-of-church-music-join-the-celebrations-with-songs-of-the-spirit/): The Royal School of Church Music commissioned Songs of the Spirit, a 40-minute choral suite by composer Thomas Hewitt Jones for its 2027 centenary. The SATB work includes children's choir movements with optional piano, organ, and strings. Choirs can co-commission for £300, receiving exclusive performance rights and published score credit.
- [Four Love-Hate Relationships Between Composers and Critics](https://interlude.hk/four-love-hate-relationships-between-composers-and-critics/): Article examines four influential composer-critic relationships in classical music history: Berlioz versus Fétis representing Romantic-Classical tension; Hanslick supporting Brahms while opposing Wagner in the War of the Romantics; and Lalo's criticism connecting yet dividing Ravel and Debussy, demonstrating how nineteenth-century critics shaped composer reputations and musical movements.
- [ARTE <br/>A Continent in Conversation](https://interlude.hk/arte-a-continent-in-conversation/): ARTE, founded 1992 as Franco-German broadcaster, offers multilingual content across Europe in six languages. Programming includes 56% documentaries, 19% films/drama, 14% news, 5% music. ARTE Concert streams 900 performances yearly. Platform expanded with EU support since 2015, reaching three-quarters of Europeans through ad-free, publicly funded cultural programming.
- [How Klaus Mäkelä's Teacher Jorma Panula Created a Conducting Dynasty](https://interlude.hk/how-klaus-makelas-teacher-jorma-panula-created-a-conducting-dynasty/): Finnish conductor Jorma Panula taught at Sibelius Academy from 1973 to 1993. His students include Osmo Vänskä, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Dalia Stasevska, Santtu-Matias Rouvali, and Klaus Mäkelä. These conductors have led major orchestras including Minnesota Orchestra, Helsinki Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, BBC Symphony, Philharmonia Orchestra, and Chicago Symphony.
- [Sweelinck as a Modal Touchstone: A Talk with Andrea Vivanet](https://interlude.hk/sweelinck-as-a-modal-touchstone-a-talk-with-andrea-vivanet/): Italian pianist Andrea Vivanet records Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck keyboard works including toccatas, variations, and fantasias on piano. Sweelinck (1562-1621) served as organist at Amsterdam's Oude Kerk for 44 years, influenced North German School and English keyboard music, and codified modern fugue form preceding Bach. Recording released on Piano Classics label.
- [Gregor Joseph Werner: The Composer Colleague Who Hated Haydn](https://interlude.hk/gregor-joseph-werner-the-composer-colleague-who-hated-haydn/): Gregor Joseph Werner was Kapellmeister for the Esterházy family from 1728 until semi-retirement in 1761, when Joseph Haydn became assistant Kapellmeister. Werner composed orchestral suites and oratorios during his tenure. He resented Haydn's rising prominence, writing complaints about orchestra management before his death in 1766.
- [Playing Around on Violin: Nicola Benedetti’s <em>Violin Café</em>](https://interlude.hk/playing-around-on-violin-nicola-benedettis-violin-cafe/): Violinist Nicola Benedetti's album Violin Café features guitar, accordion, cello, violin, and Scottish smallpipes accompaniment. The recording includes Wieniawski's Polonaise Op. 4, Sarasate's Carmen Fantasy and Navarra, Ernst Bloch selections, Peter Maxwell Davies' Farewell to Stromness, and Scottish traditional pieces. Released November 2025 on Decca.
- [Plácido Domingo (Born on January 21, 1941) as Otello <br/> Burning Bright and Burning Deep](https://interlude.hk/placido-domingo-born-on-january-21-1941-as-otello-burning-bright-and-burning-deep/): Plácido Domingo performed Verdi's Otello over 200 times across five decades, from 1975 Hamburg debut through global opera houses including Metropolitan Opera, La Scala, and Covent Garden. His interpretation evolved from lyric tenor to dramatic force, incorporating vocal maturation and deepening emotional expression, including Zeffirelli's 1986 film adaptation.
- [Meet the Movers and Shakers <br/>News that Matters in 2025](https://interlude.hk/meet-the-movers-and-shakers-news-that-matters-in-2025/): Chinese classical music in 2025 expanded internationally through tours and competitions while facing geopolitical cancellations affecting Japanese and Korean performers. Shenzhen Symphony toured Japan; Anhui Orchestra launched its first season; Ye Xiaogang received widespread performances; Aozhe Zhang won Premio Paganini; Mariinsky Orchestra performed all Mahler symphonies in five days.
- [The Four Teachers Who Shaped Beethoven](https://interlude.hk/the-four-teachers-who-shaped-beethoven/): Beethoven studied with four key teachers: father Johann van Beethoven provided abusive early training; Christian Gottlob Neefe mentored him in Bonn, introducing Bach's works; Joseph Haydn taught composition in Vienna despite tensions; Johann Georg Albrechtsberger provided rigorous counterpoint instruction, developing Beethoven's technical foundation.
- [Yvonne Loriod (Born on January 20, 1924) <br/> The Pianist who Defined Messiaen](https://interlude.hk/yvonne-loriod-born-on-january-20-1924-the-pianist-who-defined-messiaen/): Pianist Yvonne Loriod (1924-2010) premiered and recorded Olivier Messiaen's piano works, including Vingt Regards sur l'Enfant-Jésus and Catalogue d'oiseaux. Messiaen composed specifically for her technique. Her recordings serve as interpretive benchmarks compared to later pianists Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Steven Osborne, and Angela Hewitt, who offer alternative approaches to Messiaen's repertoire.
- [<em>The Art of Three</em> by the Corda Piano Trio](https://interlude.hk/the-art-of-three-by-the-corda-piano-trio/): Corda Piano Trio's debut album features piano trios by Fauré (Op. 120, 1923), Rachmaninoff (Trio élégiaque No. 1, 1892), and Shostakovich (Op. 8, 1923). The recording pairs Fauré's penultimate composition with early works by Rachmaninoff and Shostakovich, written at ages 18 and 16 respectively.
- [Why Mozart Still Makes Us Laugh](https://interlude.hk/why-mozart-still-makes-us-laugh/): Mozart's 270th birthday on 27 January 2026 highlights his enduring humor rooted in human behavior. Works like Marriage of Figaro Overture, A Musical Joke K.522, Don Giovanni's Catalogue Aria, and The Magic Flute demonstrate comic timing through musical surprise, parody, and character exposure. His music uses orchestral commentary and fake...
- [Twilight in Classical Music](https://interlude.hk/twilight-in-classical-music/): Czech composer Zdeněk Fibich's 1893 orchestral idyll "At Twilight" depicts evening walks on Prague's Žofín Island, with themes representing family members. Arnold Bax's "Into the Twilight" reflects Celtic influences and Irish history through Yeats poetry. Estonian Heino Eller's 1918 symphonic picture follows Scandinavian-Russian compositional models from his St. Petersburg training.
- [If You Like Liszt, You Might Like Lang Lang](https://interlude.hk/if-you-like-liszt-you-might-like-lang-lang/): Franz Liszt (1811-1886), Hungarian composer and pianist, created virtuosic piano works combining technical demands with emotional depth. Contemporary pianist Lang Lang interprets Liszt's repertoire, including "La Campanella," Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2, and Piano Concerto No. 1. Both performers share theatrical stage presence and technical prowess in Romantic piano music.
- [Six Composers Who Supported Political Revolutions](https://interlude.hk/six-composers-who-supported-political-revolutions/): Article examines six composers who supported political revolutions: Joseph Bologne joined French Revolution, led Black légion, imprisoned during Reign of Terror; Berlioz participated in 1830 July Revolution, wrote commemorative works; Chopin's Revolutionary Étude inspired by November Uprising against Russian occupation; Wagner created propaganda, made grenades during Dresden's May Uprising; Verdi...
- [Eight Soldier Composers: Their Horrific, Heartbreaking Wartime Stories](https://interlude.hk/eight-soldier-composers-their-horrific-heartbreaking-wartime-stories/): Eight composers served in World Wars I and II, experiencing profound impacts on their lives and music. Ravel drove ambulances in WWI. Caplet was gassed at Verdun, dying from complications at 46. Kelly, Leigh, and Alain were killed in action. Messiaen composed "Quartet for the End of Time" while imprisoned....
- [The Life and Music of Tomaso Albinoni (Died on January 17, 1751) <br/> Baroque, Bold, and Unbound](https://interlude.hk/the-life-and-music-of-tomaso-albinoni-died-on-january-17-1751-baroque-bold-and-unbound/): Venetian composer Tomaso Albinoni died January 17, 1751, at age 79. Born into wealth in 1671, he composed independently without patronage. Known for oboe concertos and instrumental works that influenced Bach. Wrote over 50 operas, mostly lost. The famous "Adagio in G Minor" was constructed by Remo Giazotto in 1958...
- [A Year Written in Music and Miles <br/>My Top Concert Picks of 2025](https://interlude.hk/a-year-written-in-music-and-miles-my-top-concert-picks-of-2025/): Music critic traveled 120,000 kilometers across nine countries in 2025, attending concerts including Ye Xiaogang's opera Song of Farewell in Hangzhou, Wagner's Tristan und Isolde from Bayreuth Festival in Shanghai, pianist Yin Chengzong's 75th anniversary recital on Kulangsu, Stockhausen's Stimmung in Oslo, and Mariinsky Theatre's Siegfried in St Petersburg. Article...
- [Ten Secrets About Chopin's Piano Teaching Career](https://interlude.hk/ten-secrets-about-chopins-piano-teaching-career/): Chopin taught piano in Paris from 1832 to 1849, instructing approximately 150 students. He charged 20-30 gold francs per lesson, seeing five students daily from October to May. Teaching income subsidized his composition work, as he gave few public concerts and sold publishing rights to his music.
- [Is Serge Koussevitzky One of the Most Important Musicians in History?](https://interlude.hk/is-serge-koussevitzky-one-of-the-most-important-musicians-in-history/): Serge Koussevitzky (1874-1951) was a bassist and conductor who led the Boston Symphony Orchestra for 25 years, commissioned works by Bartók, Copland, Britten, and Bernstein, founded Tanglewood Music Festival and Centre, established the Koussevitzky Music Foundation, and gave 146 world premieres during his tenure.
- [Léo Delibes and Tchaikovsky (Died on January 16, 1891) <br/>The Moment Ballet Music Became Art](https://interlude.hk/leo-delibes-and-tchaikovsky-died-on-january-16-1891-the-moment-ballet-music-became-art/): Léo Delibes died January 16, 1891, transforming ballet music from functional accompaniment into artistically significant composition. His works Coppélia (1870) and Sylvia (1876) demonstrated ballet scores could sustain melodic individuality, orchestral color, and thematic coherence. Delibes influenced Tchaikovsky, whose symphonic ballets further elevated the genre toward dramatic integration and psychological...
- [Six Rivalries Between Twelve Great Pianists](https://interlude.hk/six-rivalries-between-twelve-great-pianists/): Article examines historical piano rivalries from 1780s-1980s, including Mozart versus Clementi's 1781 Vienna duel, Clara Schumann versus Marie Pleyel, Chopin versus Kalkbrenner in Paris, Liszt versus Thalberg's 1837 competition, Horowitz versus Rubinstein, and Richter versus Gilels. These rivalries highlighted contrasting performance styles and techniques.
- [What Happened to Richard Wagner's Children?](https://interlude.hk/what-happened-to-richard-wagners-children/): Richard Wagner and Cosima Liszt had three children: Isolde, Eva, and Siegfried. Born from an extramarital affair, they managed the Wagner legacy and Bayreuth Festival. Family disputes included inheritance lawsuits and estrangement. Eva and her husband Houston Stewart Chamberlain developed Nazi connections. Siegfried, a composer-conductor, married despite homosexuality to produce...
- [A Glimpse Into An Unimaginable Rich Musical Life: Manuel Rodrigues Coelho](https://interlude.hk/a-glimpse-into-an-unimaginable-rich-musical-life-manuel-rodrigues-coelho/): Inventa Records completes six-volume recording of Manuel Rodrigues Coelho's Flores de musica (1620), Portuguese composer's only known work. Recorded using organ, harpsichord, clavichord, and harp on historical Portuguese instruments. Features tentos, alternatim settings, Susanna variations. Performers include Sérgio Silva, André Ferreira, Ana Mafalda Castro, Fernando Miguel Jalôto, Maria Bayley, João...
- [Six Times Composers Collaborated on Chamber Music: Beethoven, Liszt, and More](https://interlude.hk/six-times-composers-collaborated-on-chamber-music-beethoven-liszt-and-more/): Article examines six classical music composer collaborations: Diabelli Variations (1819) featuring Beethoven, Schubert, Liszt; Mendelssohn siblings' 12 Gesänge (1824-1827); Chopin-Franchomme Grand Duo Concertant (1832); Hexameron (1837) by Liszt, Chopin, Czerny, others; Schumann couple's Liebesfrühling (1840); and FAE Sonata (1853) by Dietrich, Schumann, Brahms for violinist Joseph Joachim.
- [How Playing an Instrument Can Improve Mental Health](https://interlude.hk/how-playing-an-instrument-can-improve-mental-health/): Playing an instrument enhances cognitive function, memory, and problem-solving skills while increasing gray matter volume and neural connections. Benefits include stress reduction through lower cortisol levels, improved mood regulation via dopamine and serotonin release, and delayed cognitive decline. Music practice fosters emotional expression, builds resilience, and strengthens social connections through...
- [Decoding Romantic Era Music Catalogs: What WoO, L, K, and Sz. Numbers Really Mean](https://interlude.hk/decoding-romantic-era-music-catalogs-what-woo-l-k-and-sz-numbers-really-mean/): Classical music catalogue numbers like B, WWV, and Sz identify composers' works. Musicologists created these systems: Brown catalogued Chopin's unpublished works; Deathridge, Geck, and Voss created Wagner's WWV; McCorkle catalogued Brahms's WoO works. Other systems include TH (Tchaikovsky), TrV (Strauss), GMW (Mahler), JW (Janáček), M (Ravel), and K (Stravinsky).
- [Where Flamenco Meets the Baroque <br/><em>Origen</em> and the Sound of Time](https://interlude.hk/where-flamenco-meets-the-baroque-origen-and-the-sound-of-time/): Origen: La Semilla de los tiempos is a seven-act production filmed at Teatro de la Maestranza in Seville, featuring Ballet Flamenco de Andalucía and Accademia del Piacere. Choreographer Patricia Guerrero and music director Fahmi Alqhai explore connections between flamenco and Baroque music, examining cultural exchange and shared heritage.
- [Mariss Jansons (Born on January 14, 1943) and the Architecture of Shostakovich](https://interlude.hk/mariss-jansons-born-on-january-14-1943-and-the-architecture-of-shostakovich/): Mariss Jansons, born Riga 1943, recorded complete Shostakovich symphony cycle for EMI Classics using multiple orchestras including Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and Leningrad Philharmonic. His interpretations combined structural precision, disciplined pacing, and emotional restraint. Symphony No. 13 "Babi Yar" recording won Grammy Award. Studied under Mravinsky at Leningrad Conservatory.
- [Exploring the Chameleon of Music: Katie Bray Sings Weill](https://interlude.hk/exploring-the-chameleon-of-music-katie-bray-sings-weill/): Mezzo-soprano Katie Bray's album explores Kurt Weill's diverse output across cabaret, Broadway, and art song. The recording features 'Youkali' as a recurring motif representing Weill's search for safety after fleeing Nazi Germany. Bray performs with accordion, double-bass, and piano, including works with lyrics by Hammerstein, Nash, and Gershwin. Released January...
- [Celebrating Poetry at Work Day (January 13) <br/> Words in Motion](https://interlude.hk/celebrating-poetry-at-work-day-january-13-words-in-motion/): Poetry at Work Day, celebrated annually on January 13, was created by Tweetspeak Poetry editors to honor poets like T.S. Eliot and Robert Frost who maintained day jobs. The celebration emphasizes poetry's universality across cultures, from Japanese haiku to Persian ghazals, encouraging people to recognize poetic elements in everyday language...
- [The Dogs of the Great Composers II](https://interlude.hk/the-dogs-of-the-great-composers-ii/): Article examines relationships between classical composers and their dogs. Covers Rachmaninoff's Leonberger Levko during writer's block recovery, Proust's gift of basset hound Zadig to Reynaldo Hahn, Schoenberg's dog Witz, Berg's terrier Max and greyhound Bella, Gershwin's terriers, Poulenc's fox terrier Mickey, Shostakovich's Airedale Tomka, Britten's dachshunds, Bernstein's multiple dachshunds named...
- [New English Orchestral Music: David Matthews](https://interlude.hk/new-english-orchestral-music-david-matthews/): SOMM Recordings releases David Matthews' orchestral works including Anna symphonic diptych from his 2023 opera about 1989 Central European revolutions, Symphony No. 11 Op. 168, and Flute Concerto Op. 166. Ulster Orchestra conducted by Jac van Steen. Features flutist Emma Halnan. Release October 2025.
- [The Ten Best Concertos for Double Bass of All Time](https://interlude.hk/the-ten-best-concertos-for-double-bass-of-all-time/): Article surveys ten notable double bass concertos spanning 1762-2012. Featured composers include Dittersdorf, Vaňhal, Sperger, Bottesini, Koussevitsky, Nanny, Tubin, Rota, Rautavaara, and Martin. Works demonstrate evolution from Classical era through Romantic period to contemporary compositions, highlighting instrument's solo capabilities beyond traditional orchestral foundation role.
- [Seven Composers Who Married Their Students](https://interlude.hk/seven-composers-who-married-their-students/): Article examines seven historical composer-student marriages including Verdi-Barrezzi, Tchaikovsky-Miliukova, Leschetizky-Yesipova, Elgar-Roberts, Janáček-Schulzová, Bartók-Ziegler, and Respighi-Olivieri-Sangiacomo. Relationships varied from tragic brief unions to long partnerships. Some involved problematic age gaps and power dynamics. Several student-spouses became musical collaborators, teachers, or advocates for composers' works.
- [If You Like Haydn, You Might Like Alfred Brendel](https://interlude.hk/if-you-like-haydn-you-might-like-alfred-brendel/): Alfred Brendel's recordings of Joseph Haydn's piano sonatas and concertos demonstrate clarity, structural precision, and interpretive insight. Brendel's performances capture Haydn's compositional characteristics: wit, formal innovation, transparent textures, and emotional depth. His interpretations balance humor with sophistication, employing subtle rubato and dynamic contrasts to highlight musical surprises organically.
- [The Emotional Architecture of Chords: Major, Minor, and the Power of Dynamics](https://interlude.hk/the-emotional-architecture-of-chords-major-minor-and-the-power-of-dynamics/): Major and minor chords create emotional responses through interval structures and dynamics. Major thirds convey stability; minor thirds introduce tension. Dynamics alter emotional weight: loud major chords sound triumphant, soft major chords peaceful, loud minor chords angry, soft minor chords melancholic. Composers from Bach to modern film scorers exploit these...
- [E.T.A. Hoffmann at 250 (Born on January 24, 1776)<br/> The Romantic Polymath and the Art of Living Between Worlds](https://interlude.hk/e-t-a-hoffmann-at-250-born-on-january-24-1776-the-romantic-polymath-and-the-art-of-living-between-worlds/): Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann (1776-1822) was a German Romantic composer, writer, music critic, and visual artist. Born in Königsberg, he studied law while pursuing music composition. His literary works include Ritter Gluck and Fantasiestücke. His opera Undine premiered in 1816. He influenced Robert Schumann and wrote influential criticism on Beethoven.
- [Which Composers Were the Worst People?](https://interlude.hk/which-composers-were-the-worst-people/): Article examines six classical composers who committed harmful acts: Carlo Gesualdo murdered his wife and her lover; Jean-Baptiste Lully allegedly abused choirboys and employees; Hector Berlioz stalked actress Harriet Smithson and planned murder-suicide; Richard Wagner promoted antisemitism influencing Nazi ideology; Claude Debussy's infidelity caused two suicide attempts; Leoš Janáček married...
- [Storm in the Organ Loft](https://interlude.hk/storm-in-the-organ-loft/): Geoffrey Álvarez's 2014 organ symphony St Paul's Shipwreck depicts the Biblical storm during Paul's 60 AD voyage to Rome. Premiered at University of Glasgow Memorial Chapel, the work uses plainsong, chromatic dissonance, and pedal solos representing the sea. Organist Tom Winpenny performs on St Albans Cathedral's Harrison organ.
- [Potpourri: Melodies in Medley](https://interlude.hk/potpourri-melodies-in-medley/): Musical potpourri compositions combine pre-existing melodies from operas and popular songs into single works. Prominent in late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, the genre showcased instrumental virtuosity through works by Spohr, Hummel, Giuliani, Sullivan, and Johann Strauss II. Later composers including Liszt, Thalberg, Wieniawski, Krenek, and Richard Strauss evolved the...
- [Mischa Maisky (Born on January 10, 1948) <br/> The Cello in Dialogue](https://interlude.hk/mischa-maisky-born-on-january-10-1948-the-cello-in-dialogue/): Cellist Mischa Maisky, born 10 January 1948 in Riga, studied with Mstislav Rostropovich at Moscow Conservatory. Article highlights five chamber music recordings: Brahms Piano Quartet with Argerich, Kremer, Bashmet; Grieg Cello Sonata with Argerich; Schubert Arpeggione Sonata with Takács-Nagy; Shostakovich Piano Trio with Argerich and Kremer; Piazzolla Le Grand Tango...
- [Peter Burra: How a Critic's Tragic Death Helped Benjamin Britten Find the Love of His Life](https://interlude.hk/peter-burra-how-a-critics-tragic-death-helped-benjamin-britten-find-the-love-of-his-life/): Peter Burra, British critic and writer, died in 1937 airplane crash at age twenty-seven. His death brought together composer Benjamin Britten and tenor Peter Pears while clearing Burra's possessions. They formed a lifelong creative partnership. Burra published Van Gogh and Wordsworth biographies, edited Farrago magazine, and worked as Times arts...
- [Francesco Cavalli (1602-1676) <br/> Architect of Opera’s Human Voice](https://interlude.hk/francesco-cavalli-1602-1676-architect-of-operas-human-voice/): Francesco Cavalli died January 14, 1676 in Venice. Composer of over forty operas, he transformed opera from courtly spectacle into commercial theatre after 1637. Studied under Monteverdi at St Mark's Basilica. Known for expressive recitative, laments, comic elements, and works including Giasone, La Calisto, Didone, and Ormindo.
- [Airplane Music](https://interlude.hk/airplane-music/): Article examines classical compositions inspired by aviation and flight. Featured works include George Antheil's Airplane Sonata, Leo Ornstein's Suicide in an Airplane, Michael Daugherty's Blue Electra about Amelia Earhart, Avril Coleridge-Taylor's Comet Prelude, and Gabriel Jackson's Airplane Cantata referencing Icarus and early twentieth-century aviation history.
- [Six Times Composers Collaborated on Orchestral Works: Mozart, Liszt, and More](https://interlude.hk/six-times-composers-collaborated-on-orchestral-works-mozart-liszt-and-more/): Classical composers occasionally collaborated on works, contrary to single-composer attribution norms. Examples include Mozart and Michael Haydn's 1767 singspiel, Liszt-Doppler's Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 orchestration, Strauss brothers' Pizzicato Polka, Liszt-Tchaikovsky-Menter's Ungarische Zigeunerweisen, ten French composers' 1927 ballet L'éventail de Jeanne, and Britten-Berkeley's Mont Juic suite inspired by Barcelona folk dances.
- [The Bestseller of the Baroque Age <br/> Violin Sonatas Op. 5 by Arcangelo Corelli (Died on January 8, 1713)](https://interlude.hk/the-bestseller-of-the-baroque-age-violin-sonatas-op-5-by-arcangelo-corelli-died-on-january-8-1713/): Arcangelo Corelli's Violin Sonatas Op. 5, published in Rome in 1700, became the Baroque era's best-selling instrumental music. The twelve sonatas appeared in nearly fifty editions across Europe by mid-eighteenth century, pirated and arranged for flute, recorder, oboe, and keyboard, demonstrating wide appeal to professionals and amateurs alike.
- [What Happened to Franz Liszt's Children?](https://interlude.hk/what-happened-to-franz-liszts-children/): Franz Liszt had two long-term relationships: with Countess Marie d'Agoult (ages 22-29) and Princess Carolyne zu Sayn-Wittgenstein (ages 36-75). He raised six children total: Marie d'Agoult's daughters Louise and Claire, three biological children with Marie (Blandine, Cosima, Daniel), and Princess zu Sayn-Wittgenstein's daughter Marie.
- [Beethoven, Wagner & Schoenberg](https://interlude.hk/beethoven-wagner-schoenberg/): Beethoven, Wagner, and Schoenberg transformed music history through distinct innovations. Beethoven bridged Classical and Romantic periods, establishing composers as independent artists. Wagner revolutionized harmonic development and orchestral writing, influencing film music. Schoenberg created atonality through the Second Viennese School, departing from traditional tonal systems established since Ancient Greece.
- [When Breasts Revolt <br/> <em>Les mamelles de Tirésias</em> by Francis Poulenc (Born on January 7, 1899)](https://interlude.hk/when-breasts-revolt-les-mamelles-de-tiresias-by-francis-poulenc-born-on-january-7-1899/): Francis Poulenc composed Les mamelles de Tirésias in 1947, based on Guillaume Apollinaire's surrealist play. The opera features gender transformation, social satire, and cabaret-influenced music. Character Thérèse becomes Tirésias, while her husband produces thousands of children. Poulenc combined French musical traditions with surrealism, creating commentary on post-war society and gender...
- [A Calendar of the Cosmos](https://interlude.hk/a-calendar-of-the-cosmos/): Ukrainian composer Marina Baranova's "Cosmic Calendar" for small ensemble comprises twelve movements representing cosmic evolution from Big Bang to human existence. Recording 885470032771 features Baranova on piano with flute, trumpet, violin, and cello. Each month-titled movement depicts universal stages: particles, galaxies, Milky Way, sun formation, and humanity's emergence.
- [Alexander Scriabin (Born on January 6, 1872): Symphony No. 1 <br/> In Praise of Art](https://interlude.hk/alexander-scriabin-born-on-january-6-1872-symphony-no-1-in-praise-of-art/): Alexander Scriabin completed Symphony No. 1 in E major, Op. 26, between 1899-1900. The six-movement work features a choral finale expressing art as spiritual transformation. Premiered in Saint Petersburg in 1900, the vocal movement was initially removed but performed complete in Moscow in 1901. The symphony won the Glinka Prize.
- [The Dogs of the Great Composers I](https://interlude.hk/the-dogs-of-the-great-composers-i/): Classical composers and their dogs: Mozart owned terrier Pimperl in 1770s. Chopin adopted stray Mops in 1840; Marquis allegedly inspired Minute Waltz. Wagner kept multiple dogs including Newfoundland Robber. Verdi owned Maltese Lulu and hunting dog Blach. Elgar's Cairn Terriers Marco and Mina inspired orchestral work. Busoni's Newfoundland Lesko inspired...
- [A Look Back at 2025: Your 10 Most-Read and Beloved Articles](https://interlude.hk/a-look-back-at-2025-your-10-most-read-and-beloved-articles/): Classical music magazine's 2025 top articles included Mitsuko Uchida's listening philosophy, holiday music pairings, animal-inspired compositions, Shostakovich's three wives, pianist Yunchan Lim's videos, Mozart's piano sonatas, Holocaust survivor pianists, Leonard Bernstein's relationships, Klaus Mäkelä and Yuja Wang's partnership, and Yuja Wang's artistry profile.
- [<em>Reflections</em>: Music by Lars A. Bisgaard](https://interlude.hk/reflections-music-by-lars-a-bisgaard/): World premiere recordings of Danish composer Lars A. Bisgaard's works for piano, guitar, and string orchestra. Features Triptych, Hassler Variations combining two hymn tunes, Easy-Going Variations on 1300 Danish folk tune, Piano Sonata based on Beethoven sketches, and three fugues. Performed by Carl Petersson, Alan Liu, and Orquestra Filarmonía Ibérica.
- [8 of the Best Young Classical Musicians of the 21st Century (So Far)](https://interlude.hk/8-of-the-best-young-classical-musicians-of-the-21st-century-so-far/): Eight classical musicians born 2000-2008 have won major international competitions including Van Cliburn, Menuhin, and Chopin competitions. Featured performers include conductors, violinists, cellists, and pianists from Germany, Italy, Spain, Israel, Korea, Singapore, Australia, and China, with contracts at Deutsche Grammophon and Warner Classics.
- [50th Anniversary of the Death of Agatha Christie (Died on January 12, 1976) <br/>Murder & Melody](https://interlude.hk/50th-anniversary-of-the-death-of-agatha-christie-died-on-january-12-1976-murder-melody/): January 12, 2026 marks the 50th anniversary of Agatha Christie's death (1890-1976). The crime writer studied piano and voice in Paris, admired Wagner, Elgar, Sibelius, Bach, and Mozart. Classical music influenced her novel structure, pacing, and character development, particularly in works like Murder on the Orient Express.
- [Wings of Joy <br/> Celebrating National Bird Day (January 5)](https://interlude.hk/wings-of-joy-celebrating-national-bird-day-january-5/): National Bird Day, observed January 5, was launched in 2002 by Avian Welfare Coalition and Born Free USA. The celebration promotes bird conservation, welfare, adoption of rescued birds, and awareness of habitat loss and illegal pet trade. Classical composers including Messiaen, Vaughan Williams, Vivaldi, and Respighi incorporated birdsong into compositions.
- [Setting the Style for Children: Bizet’s <em>Jeux d’enfants</em>](https://interlude.hk/setting-the-style-for-children-bizets-jeux-denfants/): Georges Bizet's 1871 Jeux d'enfants comprises 12 pieces for two pianos four hands depicting children's games including the swing, spinning top, doll, battledore and shuttlecock, blind man's buff, and leap-frog. The suite influenced later French composers Debussy, Fauré, and Ravel in creating childhood-themed works.
- [First Symphonies, Last Symphonies: How the Great Composers Evolved](https://interlude.hk/first-symphonies-last-symphonies-how-the-great-composers-evolved/): Article examines symphonic evolution of eight composers (Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Bruckner, Brahms, Mahler, Sibelius, Shostakovich) by comparing their first and last symphonies. Early works show traditional forms and smaller orchestration. Final symphonies demonstrate expanded instrumentation, increased complexity, and mature compositional voices, reflecting career-long creative development.
- [Seven Heartbreaking Classical Pieces Composed After Breakups](https://interlude.hk/seven-heartbreaking-classical-pieces-composed-after-breakups/): Seven classical pieces inspired by tragic romances: Wagner's Tristan und Isolde reflects his affair with Mathilde Wesendonck. Brahms composed Alto Rhapsody after Julie Schumann married another. Tchaikovsky wrote Romeo and Juliet Overture following Désirée Artôt's sudden marriage. Fauré's Piano Quartet emerged from broken engagement. Zemlinsky's Die Seejungfrau mourns losing Alma...
- [In the Shadow of Asrael <br/> Josef Suk (Born on January 4, 1874) and Transfigured Grief](https://interlude.hk/in-the-shadow-of-asrael-josef-suk-born-on-january-4-1874-and-transfigured-grief/): Josef Suk (1874-1904), Czech composer and Dvořák's student and son-in-law, composed Symphony No. 2 "Asrael" Op. 27 following the deaths of Dvořák (1904) and his wife Otilie (1905). The five-movement work marks Suk's shift from Romanticism toward modernism, employing chromatic harmony and cyclic structure. Premiered February 1907 in Prague.
- [Eight Best Violin Concertos Openings of All Time](https://interlude.hk/eight-best-violin-concertos-openings-of-all-time/): Article ranks eight violin concertos by opening impact. List includes Mozart No. 5, Prokofiev No. 1, Berg, Tchaikovsky, Mendelssohn, Beethoven, Korngold, and Sibelius (ranked first). Discusses compositional techniques, historical context, melodic characteristics, and solo violin entrance methods. Highlights unconventional approaches like Mendelssohn's immediate soloist entry and Beethoven's timpani opening.
- [Superficial Spain with a Deep Background](https://interlude.hk/superficial-spain-with-a-deep-background/): The 1937 Paris International Exhibition featured commissioned piano works published as Parc d'attractions Expo 37 by Max Eschig. Ernesto Halffter's L'Espagnolade satirized Spanish music clichés, referencing Manuel de Falla's La vida breve. The Spanish pavilion displayed Picasso's Guernica, Calder's Mercury Fountain, and Miró's political works during Spain's civil conflict.
- [If You Like Brahms, You Might Like Radu Lupu](https://interlude.hk/if-you-like-brahms-you-might-like-radu-lupu/): Romanian pianist Radu Lupu's interpretations of Johannes Brahms' piano works demonstrate exceptional sensitivity to tone, rhythmic clarity, and emotional depth. His performances balance technical mastery with introspective expression, handling complex textures and dynamic nuances in Brahms' compositions including Piano Concerto No.1, Op.15, and various piano pieces.
- [Baldassare Galuppi](https://interlude.hk/baldassare-galuppi-italian-composer/): Baldassare Galuppi (1706-1785), Venetian composer known as Il Buranello, composed over one hundred operas and shaped opera buffa development through collaboration with Carlo Goldoni. He served as maestro di cappella at St. Mark's Basilica and worked internationally in London and Saint Petersburg, bridging late Baroque and Classical styles.
- [Eight of the Best Composer Museums Around the World](https://interlude.hk/eight-of-the-best-composer-museums-around-the-world/): Article surveys eight notable composer museums worldwide. Featured locations include Beethoven-Haus in Bonn, Mozart's Birthplace in Salzburg, Franz Liszt Memorial Museum in Budapest, Tchaikovsky State Museum in Klin, Bach House in Eisenach, Grieg's Troldhaugen in Bergen, Villa Puccini in Torre del Lago, and Handel House Museum in London. Museums contain...
- [Snowflakes and Snow](https://interlude.hk/snowflakes-and-snow/): Classical music magazine article surveys snow-themed compositions. Featured works include Breiner's A Little Snowflake, Schroeder's Snowflake Song, Broderick's A Snowflake, Sviridov's Snow is Falling, Tchaikovsky's The Snow Maiden opera, Howells' Walking in the Snow, and Tower's Snow Dreams. Composers from American, Russian, German, and British traditions explore snow imagery through...
- [The Critic in Musical Parody](https://interlude.hk/the-critic-in-musical-parody/): Jennifer Stevenson's 2022 composition "Musical Invective," commissioned by clarinet-voice duo Whistling Hens, sets historical critical reviews to music styled after five composers: Beethoven, Debussy, Webern, Lili Boulanger, and Gershwin. The work uses contemporary criticism from 1804-1929, including reviews from Vienna, Boston, and New York publications, transforming negative assessments into musical...
- [Vilém Vlček](https://interlude.hk/vilem-vlcek-czech-cellist-artist-of-the-month/): Czech cellist Vilém Vlček, born 1998 in Prague, won two 2023 competitions: Krzysztof Penderecki Cello Competition and International Instrumental Competition Markneukirchen. His Martinů complete cello-piano works recording with Denis Linnik earned Gramophone's Recording of the Month. Based in Basel, Vlček discusses managing performance nerves, reframing soloist-orchestra relationships as chamber music,...
- [Why 1926 Was a Turning Point Year in Classical Music History](https://interlude.hk/why-1926-was-a-turning-point-year-in-classical-music-history/): Classical music in 1926 marked transition from Romanticism to modernism. Puccini's Turandot and Sibelius's Tapiola represented late-Romantic finales. Weill, Hindemith, and Janáček advanced modernist opera. Schoenberg's twelve-tone method gained recognition. Jazz influenced Copland and Gershwin. Shostakovich's Symphony No. 1 premiered. Neoclassicism and early-music revival emerged alongside atonality.
- [Grant Us Peace <br/> A New Year’s Journey Through Music and Hope](https://interlude.hk/grant-us-peace-a-new-years-journey-through-music-and-hope/): The Latin phrase "Dona nobis pacem" (Grant us peace) from the Roman Catholic Mass has been set by composers across centuries. Settings range from medieval rounds to Baroque polyphony, Romantic masses, and twentieth-century cantatas. Composers including Bach, Mozart, Haydn, Schubert, and Vaughan Williams interpreted the text, reflecting cultural and historical...
- [Tango, Myth, and the City <br/> <em>María de Buenos Aires</em>](https://interlude.hk/tango-myth-and-the-city-maria-de-buenos-aires/): Astor Piazzolla's 1968 "operita" María de Buenos Aires fuses tango nuevo with surrealist poetry by Horacio Ferrer. The Grand Théâtre de Genève 2023 production, directed by Daniele Finzi Pasca and conducted by Facundo Agudin, features Raquel Camarinha. The work chronicles María's birth, death, and mythic rebirth as embodiment of Buenos...
- [The 10 Most-Viewed André Rieu Performances on YouTube](https://interlude.hk/the-10-most-viewed-andre-rieu-performances-on-youtube/): Dutch violinist-conductor André Rieu performs light classical music, waltzes, opera, and popular songs with Johann Strauss Orchestra at massive global venues. His top YouTube videos include performances of "The Lonely Shepherd" (214 million views), "Beautiful Blue Danube," and collaborations with young singers, totaling hundreds of millions of views despite criticism...
- [Sounds of a Warming World <br/>Classical Music Confronting Climate Change](https://interlude.hk/sounds-of-a-warming-world-classical-music-confronting-climate-change/): Contemporary classical composers increasingly address climate change as central subject through works incorporating environmental data, field recordings, and ecological themes. Featured compositions include John Luther Adams' Become Ocean, Ludovico Einaudi's Elegy for the Arctic, Mason Bates' Liquid Interface, and Sarah Kirkland Snider's Mass for the Endangered, transforming climate science into...
- [Attunement and Experience – Classical Music <em>Will</em> Survive](https://interlude.hk/attunement-and-experience-classical-music-will-survive/): Gen-Z author argues classical music faces survival challenges due to younger generation's misattunement, stemming from societal stigmas perpetuated by popular media portraying it as pretentious and exclusive. Author advocates attunement between artist and audience as key to classical music's longevity despite generational disconnect.
- [Paavo Järvi and the Art of Rehearsal (Born December 30, 1962)](https://interlude.hk/paavo-jarvi-and-the-art-of-rehearsal-born-december-30-1962/): Grammy-winning conductor Paavo Järvi, born December 30, 1962 in Tallinn, Estonia, leads rehearsals emphasizing precision, structural clarity, and active listening over authority. His efficient, meticulously prepared approach treats rehearsal as intellectual collaboration, focusing on rhythm and avoiding over-rehearsal to preserve spontaneity in performance.
- [Singing A New Song with a Message: Chopin’s Ballades](https://interlude.hk/singing-a-new-song-with-a-message-chopins-ballades/): Chopin transformed the Ballade from German narrative poetry into musical form. His first Ballade (1835-1836) was inspired by Mickiewicz's poem Konrad Wallenrod, depicting Polish resistance against Russian domination. Hungarian pianist Agi Jambor recorded this piece in 1957, having fled Nazi Germany and joined Hungarian resistance before immigrating to America.
- [Wallis Giunta (Born on December 29, 1985) <br/> Sung from the Inside Out](https://interlude.hk/wallis-giunta-born-on-december-29-1985-sung-from-the-inside-out/): Canadian mezzo-soprano Wallis Giunta, born December 29, 1985 in Ottawa, performs repertoire spanning Baroque to contemporary works including Mozart, Handel, Rossini, Mazzoli, and Adams. Currently ensemble member at Wiener Volksoper, her 2025/26 season includes roles in Carmen, Die Fledermaus, Hänsel und Gretel, and Les Contes d'Hoffmann. Known for collaborative approach...
- [From Mozart's Birthday to Schubert's Death Day: Daily Classical Music Anniversaries for January](https://interlude.hk/from-mozarts-birthday-to-schuberts-death-day-daily-classical-music-anniversaries-for-january/): January marks significant classical music events including Mozart and Schubert's births, premieres of Wagner's Flying Dutchman, Puccini's Tosca, and Prokofiev's Fifth Symphony. Notable deaths include Johann Christian Bach, John Field, Grazyna Bacewicz, and Léo Delibes. The article chronicles daily January anniversaries of composers, performers, and premieres throughout classical music history.
- [Four Strings and One Soul <br/>A Love Letter to the Cello <br/>Celebrating International Cello Day (December 29)](https://interlude.hk/four-strings-and-one-soul-a-love-letter-to-the-cello-celebrating-international-cello-day-december-29/): International Cello Day, celebrated 29 December, marks Pablo Casals' birthday. Casals revived Bach's Solo Cello Suites in concert repertoire. The cello, originating in the 16th century, features in classical, jazz, folk, and contemporary music. Notable performers include Yo-Yo Ma, Zoë Keating, and Hauser.
- [Eight Best Orchestra Works Dedicated to Women](https://interlude.hk/eight-best-orchestra-works-dedicated-to-women/): Article examines eight orchestral works dedicated to women supporters: Liszt's Les préludes (Princess Carolyne von Sayn-Wittgenstein), Mahler's Symphony No. 8 (Alma Mahler), Debussy's Images pour orchestre (Emma Bardac), Ravel's La valse (Misia Sert), Stravinsky's Suite No.1 (Eugenia Errázuriz), Ravel's Boléro (Ida Rubinstein), Bartók's Concerto for Orchestra (Natalie Koussevitzky), and Matthews'...
- [5 Composers Who Were Also Accomplished Visual Artists](https://interlude.hk/5-composers-who-were-also-accomplished-visual-artists/): Five classical composers created visual art alongside music: Felix Mendelssohn produced hundreds of Romantic landscape watercolors and sketches; Arnold Schoenberg painted Expressionist portraits during 1908-1912; George Gershwin created over 100 oil paintings and portraits; Paul Hindemith drew whimsical cartoons throughout his life; John Cage made chance-driven watercolors and prints during...
- [Maurice Ravel (Died on December 28, 1937): <em>Gaspard de la nuit</em><br/> Imagery, Temporality, and Virtuosity](https://interlude.hk/maurice-ravel-died-on-december-28-1937-gaspard-de-la-nuit-imagery-temporality-and-virtuosity/): Maurice Ravel's 1908 piano work Gaspard de la nuit adapts three poems from Aloysius Bertrand's 1842 collection. The movements "Ondine," "Le Gibet," and "Scarbo" translate Romantic prose poetry into virtuosic pianistic idiom through texture, harmony, and rhythm, exemplifying Symbolist aesthetic principles and early twentieth-century musical innovation.
- [Ten Debunked Myths About Classical Composers](https://interlude.hk/ten-debunked-myths-about-classical-composers/): Article examines ten classical music myths about Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, and others. Topics include Bach's twenty children timeline, Salieri-Mozart rivalry, Beethoven's tinnitus experience, women composers' societal barriers, Paganini rumors, Liszt's later religious life, Rite of Spring premiere reactions, Debussy-Ravel Impressionist label rejection, Tchaikovsky's cholera death theories, and humanizing composer...
- [Musicians and Artists: Matheson and Chagall and Matisse](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-matheson-and-chagall-and-matisse/): Union Church of Pocantico Hills features stained glass windows by Henri Matisse and Marc Chagall, commissioned by the Rockefeller family. Matisse designed the rose window (1954); Chagall created nine windows depicting biblical scenes (1964-onwards). Composer James Matheson's piano work "Windows" (2016) interprets five windows musically, celebrating the church's centennial.
- [If You Like Saint-Saëns, You Might Like Aldo Ciccolini](https://interlude.hk/if-you-like-saint-saens-you-might-like-aldo-ciccolini/): Pianist Aldo Ciccolini's recordings of Saint-Saëns piano concertos demonstrate technical virtuosity and French musical tradition. Born 1925 in Naples, later French citizen, Ciccolini specialized in French repertoire including Debussy, Ravel, and Saint-Saëns. His performances with Orchestre de Paris capture Saint-Saëns' clarity, elegance, and balance between emotional expressiveness and formal restraint.
- [Jian Wang (Born on December 26, 1968) <br/>Once Voice Across Centuries](https://interlude.hk/jian-wang-born-on-december-26-1968-once-voice-across-centuries/): Cellist Jian Wang, born December 26, performs repertoire spanning Bach's Six Suites for Solo Cello, Romantic works by Dvořák, Schumann, and Brahms, plus 20th-century compositions by Shostakovich and Prokofiev. His interpretations bridge Western classical and Chinese musical traditions, demonstrating technical precision and cultural versatility across centuries.
- [Cancellations and Returns to the Stage <br/>Why Musicians are Susceptible to Injury and What to Do When it Happens](https://interlude.hk/cancellations-and-returns-to-the-stage-why-musicians-are-susceptible-to-injury-and-what-to-do-when-it-happens/): Musicians increasingly cancel performances due to injuries including nerve damage and herniated discs. Cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason cancelled 2025 concerts for finger injury; violinist Hilary Hahn withdrew from December recitals following double-pinched nerve recovery. Contributing factors include overuse, poor posture, demanding schedules, and insufficient rest. Early treatment and gradual return to...
- [Seven Times Teenaged Composers Wrote Classical Music Masterpieces](https://interlude.hk/seven-times-teenaged-composers-wrote-classical-music-masterpieces/): Seven masterpieces written by teenage composers include Mozart's Symphony No. 25, Schubert's Gretchen am Spinnrade, Mendelssohn's Octet, Bizet's Symphony in C, Boulanger's Les sirènes, Korngold's Sinfonietta, and Shostakovich's Symphony No. 1. These works demonstrate technical mastery, emotional depth, and originality despite composers' youth.
- [Sonya Yoncheva (Born on December 25, 1981) <br/> Opera without Armour](https://interlude.hk/sonya-yoncheva-born-on-december-25-1981-opera-without-armour/): Soprano Sonya Yoncheva, born December 25, pursues vocally demanding operatic roles including Norma, Tosca, Violetta, Anna Bolena, Médée, and Desdemona. Her repertoire spans Baroque, Romantic, and Verismo periods. Training in early music informed her text-focused approach. Yoncheva prioritizes expressive interpretation and psychological authenticity over vocal safety in performance.
- [Simple Gifts <br/>Simplicity, Song, and the Gifts of Christmas](https://interlude.hk/simple-gifts-simplicity-song-and-the-gifts-of-christmas/): "Simple Gifts," written in 1848 by Joseph Brackett, is a Shaker hymn emphasizing simplicity, presence, and freedom from excess. Aaron Copland incorporated the melody into Appalachian Spring. The song features symmetrical phrases spanning one octave, reflecting Shaker communal worship dances and values of balance over material abundance.
- [The 8 Most-Viewed Mozart Symphonies on YouTube](https://interlude.hk/the-8-most-viewed-mozart-symphonies-on-youtube/): Mozart composed 41 symphonies between ages eight and 32. Most-viewed Mozart symphonies on YouTube include Symphony No. 40 (6.3 million views), Symphony No. 41 "Jupiter" (3.4 million), and Symphony No. 25 (1.5 million). Other popular works include Symphonies 35 "Haffner," 29, 38 "Prague," 39, and 31 "Paris," showcasing his compositional...
- [Which Famous Novels Prominently Feature Classical Music? Part II](https://interlude.hk/which-famous-novels-prominently-feature-classical-music-part-ii/): Article examines music's role in literature through Thomas Mann's Doctor Faustus and William Golding's The Pyramid. Mann's novel uses composer Adrian Leverkühn's Faustian pact to explore ethical conflicts, drawing on Arnold Schoenberg's twelve-tone serialism. Golding portrays music more realistically, depicting daily musical life in English village settings.
- [Hear Eight Great Composers Performing Their Own Works](https://interlude.hk/hear-eight-great-composers-performing-their-own-works/): Article examines eight historical recordings of twentieth-century composers performing their own works, including Gershwin, Elgar, Bartók, Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev, Stravinsky, Copland, and Britten. Recordings from 1924-1964 reveal interpretive approaches to tempo, phrasing, and orchestration that differ significantly from modern performances, preserving authentic compositional intent through electronic documentation.
- [All Hail the Christmas Turkey <br/> A Very Merry Gobble](https://interlude.hk/all-hail-the-christmas-turkey-a-very-merry-gobble/): Article explores turkey's history as Christmas centrepiece, from domestication in Mexico to European adoption in 16th century. Discusses preparation methods, cultural variations across Britain, U.S., France, Sweden, and Italy. Addresses sustainability concerns and ethical farming trends. Features classical music selections including Corelli's Christmas Concerto, Rameau, Schubert, Bartók, Brahms, and Hahn.
- [Winnie Cheung: A Life in Music, From Hong Kong to the Heartbeat of Tango](https://interlude.hk/winnie-cheung-a-life-in-music-from-hong-kong-to-the-heartbeat-of-tango/): Hong Kong-born pianist Winnie Cheung studied at University of Chicago and Eastman School of Music, earning doctorate in composition with piano performance minor. Since 2015, she specializes in Argentine tango, performing globally through project Tango With Winnie. She also plays bandoneon, learned during pandemic.
- [Frances Nash Watson: The Gutsy American Pianist Who Played With Albert Einstein](https://interlude.hk/frances-nash-watson-the-gutsy-american-pianist-who-played-with-albert-einstein/): Frances Nash Watson (1890-1971) was a Nebraska-born pianist who studied in Berlin and Munich, debuted with major American orchestras from 1915, and performed at Carnegie Hall. She married diplomat Edwin Watson, played chamber music with Albert Einstein and Queen Elisabeth of Belgium, and maintained her concert career despite diplomatic obligations...
- [For The Patron: The <em>Jour de Fête</em> Quartet](https://interlude.hk/for-the-patron-the-jour-de-fete-quartet/): Publisher Mitrofan Belaieff hosted Friday musical gatherings in St Petersburg for composers including Rimsky-Korsakov, Glazunov, and Liadov, forming the Second Petersburg School. They performed string quartets, premiering new works including collaborative compositions like the 1885 Jour de Fête quartet. The 1950 Galimir Quartet recording preserves Glazunov's Christmas movement.
- [Khatia Buniatishvili <br/>Master Pianist or Master of Hype?](https://interlude.hk/khatia-buniatishvili-master-pianist-or-master-of-hype/): Pianist Khatia Buniatishvili divides opinion between admirers and critics. She competed in major piano competitions including the Artur Rubinstein Competition (2008). Buniatishvili uses social media and self-fashioned image to build visibility. Her repertoire includes Liszt, Schubert, Debussy, and Rachmaninoff. She navigates modern classical music through performance ability and contemporary self-promotion...
- [An Ode to the Cello: the Early History of the Instrument](https://interlude.hk/an-ode-to-the-cello-the-early-history-of-the-instrument/): Author chronicles learning cello in December while providing instrument history. Violoncello emerged from bass violin around 1665, appearing in Monteverdi's Orfeo. Stradivari established 75-76cm body size by 1700s. Wirewound strings enabled smaller instruments. Modern C-G-d-a tuning adopted by 1725 England. Endpin introduced 1882. Thumb position and vibrato techniques developed gradually...
- [The Most Christmas-y Classical Music of 20 of the Great Composers](https://interlude.hk/the-most-christmas-y-classical-music-of-20-of-the-great-composers/): Article surveys Christmas-themed classical music compositions spanning three centuries, from Alessandro Scarlatti's 1695 Cantata pastorale per la Natività to Benjamin Britten's 1942 A Ceremony of Carols. Featured composers include Bach, Haydn, Chopin, Mendelssohn, Tchaikovsky, Puccini, Debussy, and Prokofiev, highlighting their festive works and compositional approaches to Christmas themes.
- [Seven Best Piano Sonatas Dedicated to Women](https://interlude.hk/seven-best-piano-sonatas-dedicated-to-women/): Article examines piano sonatas dedicated to women, covering works by Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schumann, Brahms, Bax, and Prokofiev. Discusses dedicatees including students Marianna Auenbrugger, Theresia von Trattner, Julie Guicciardi, and romantic partners Harriet Cohen and Mira Mendelson. Explores relationships between composers and dedicatees, publication dates, and historical context.
- [Some of the Most Well-Known Christmas Classical Music](https://interlude.hk/some-of-the-most-well-known-christmas-classical-music/): Classical Christmas music spans baroque to contemporary composers. Beyond Bach, Handel, Tchaikovsky, recent composers include Pärt, Tavener (Holy Minimalism movement), Britten's "A Ceremony of Carols," British composers Williams, Adès, Nyman. Eastern European works feature Ukrainian Leontovych's "Shchedryk" (basis for "Carol of the Bells"), composers Martinov, Sisask. Religious themes dominate festive...
- [<em>John Rutter: A Clare College Celebration</em> - A Conversation with Graham Ross](https://interlude.hk/john-rutter-a-clare-college-celebration-a-conversation-with-graham-ross/): John Rutter, knighted choral composer with 60-year career, celebrated in new Clare College Choir album. Graham Ross, Director of Music, discusses recording featuring premiere of chamber arrangement of The Gift of Life and a cappella Ukrainian Prayer. Rutter produced all 23 Clare recordings, demonstrating expertise as composer, conductor, producer, and...
- [Rediscovering Zdeněk Fibich (Born on December 21, 1850) <br/> Timeless Piano Music](https://interlude.hk/rediscovering-zdenek-fibich-born-on-december-21-1850-timeless-piano-music/): Czech composer Zdeněk Fibich (1850–1900) created intimate piano miniatures emphasizing emotional depth over virtuosity. His cycle "Moods, Impressions and Reminiscences" (Op. 41, 44, 47, 57) reflects his relationship with writer Anežka Schulzová. Unlike contemporaries Smetana and Dvořák, Fibich avoided nationalist elements, favoring inward European Romanticism with lyrical phrasing and harmonic...
- [Is Stand Sharing dead? To Use or Not to Use an iPad](https://interlude.hk/is-stand-sharing-dead-to-use-or-not-to-use-an-ipad/): Orchestra musicians increasingly use iPads instead of traditional sheet music and stand sharing. Brussels Philharmonic adopted tablets in 2015; New York Philharmonic shows 20% player usage. Benefits include reduced paper consumption, easier page turns, and space efficiency. Challenges include shared viewing difficulties, battery concerns, and potential vision issues from screen...
- [The Tastes and Smells of the Holiday Season](https://interlude.hk/the-tastes-and-smells-of-the-holiday-season/): Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker divertissements feature Spanish, Arabian, and Chinese dances representing chocolate, coffee, and tea. Holiday-themed classical works include Monckton's cinnamon ode, 15th-century spice music, Dorman's percussion concerto, Bax's pine forest piece, and Rebikov's Christmas Tree opera waltz exploring sensory holiday experiences.
- [Why These Eight Great Composers Gave Up Composing](https://interlude.hk/why-these-eight-great-composers-gave-up-composing/): Article examines eight composers who ceased composing years before death. Rossini stopped opera composition in 1829 at 37. Alkan withdrew after career disappointments around 1853. Elgar stopped after wife's death in 1920. Smyth quit composing due to deafness. Sibelius burned manuscripts including eighth symphony after 1926. Lang stopped in 1919....
- [Mitsuko Uchida (Born on December 20, 1948) <br/> The Art of Listening](https://interlude.hk/mitsuko-uchida-born-on-december-20-1948-the-art-of-listening/): Japanese-English pianist Mitsuko Uchida, born December 20, 1948, approaches performance as ethical practice emphasizing listening, score fidelity, and composer responsibility. Trained in Vienna and Japan, she interprets Mozart, Schubert, Beethoven, and twentieth-century works through transparency and restraint rather than emotional manipulation or technical display.
- [Six Saddest Pieces of Music by Beethoven](https://interlude.hk/six-saddest-pieces-of-music-by-beethoven/): Beethoven's saddest compositions include Piano Sonata No. 26 "Les Adieux," Symphony No. 3's funeral march, Symphony No. 7's slow movement, Moonlight Sonata, String Quartet No. 13, and Piano Concerto No. 4. These works feature funeral march rhythms, minor keys, and reflect themes of separation, war, and loss.
- [William Christie’s Musical Homecoming (Born on December 19, 1944)<br/>  Finding France Again](https://interlude.hk/william-christies-musical-homecoming-born-on-december-19-1944-finding-france-again/): William Christie, born December 19, 1944 in Buffalo, New York, founded Les Arts Florissants in 1979. The American harpsichordist and conductor revived French Baroque repertoire by composers including Lully, Charpentier, Campra, and Rameau. His 1987 production of Lully's Atys proved breakthrough. Christie became French citizen in 1982, teaching at Juilliard...
- [Édith Piaf (Born on December 19, 1915) <br/>The Little Sparrow Who Conquered the World](https://interlude.hk/edith-piaf-born-on-december-19-1915-the-little-sparrow-who-conquered-the-world/): Édith Piaf (1915-1963) rose from Paris street performer to international chanson icon. Discovered by nightclub owner Louis Leplée in 1935, she earned nickname "La Môme Piaf." Her signature song "La Vie en Rose" (1940) defined her career. Piaf achieved global fame through minimalist performances and emotional delivery.
- [Tchaikovsky's Eight Most Wintry Pieces of Music](https://interlude.hk/tchaikovskys-eight-most-wintry-pieces-of-music/): Tchaikovsky's wintry works include "The Seasons: November (Troika)," "Sérénade mélancolique," Symphony No. 1 "Winter Dreams," Symphony No. 5 Movement 2, "The Nutcracker: A Pine Forest in Winter," Piano Concerto No. 1, "Serenade for Strings," and Piano Trio in A-minor, featuring melancholy moods, French horn solos, and string-heavy instrumentation.
- [Someone Else’s Music: Opera and the British <br/> Alexandra Wilson](https://interlude.hk/someone-elses-music-opera-and-the-british-alexandra-wilson/): Alexandra Wilson's book "Someone Else's Music: Opera and the British" examines changing UK attitudes toward opera. Wilson demonstrates opera was historically accessible through touring companies, music halls, recordings, and affordable venues, attracting diverse working-class audiences. The "elitist" label emerged in the 1980s due to political anxieties about class and identity,...
- [Christmas Medleys for All](https://interlude.hk/christmas-medleys-for-all/): Article examines Christmas carol medleys across seven recordings. Featured composers include John Fox's Carol Fantasia (1980s BBC Radio), Leroy Anderson's A Christmas Festival (1950 Boston Pops), and arrangements by Rathbone, Beard, Harvey, and Sorenson. Discusses transitions between traditional carols and popular songs, highlighting Johnny Marks' compositions performed by various orchestras...
- [Ludwig van Beethoven (Born on December 17, 1770) <br/> Youthful Gems for Piano and Strings](https://interlude.hk/ludwig-van-beethoven-born-on-december-17-1770-youthful-gems-for-piano-and-strings/): Beethoven composed three piano quartets WoO 36 in 1785 at age 14-15 in Bonn. Works for piano, violin, viola, and cello were unpublished during his lifetime, appearing posthumously in 1828. These chamber pieces show Mozartian influence and contain themes later recycled in Piano Sonatas Op. 2.
- [Babx & Adrien Mondot: <em>Piano Piano</em> <br/>  The Art of Gentle Wonder](https://interlude.hk/babx-adrien-mondot-piano-piano-the-art-of-gentle-wonder/): Babx and Adrien Mondot present Piano Piano, combining live piano performance with digital projection and visual art. French pianist Babx performs instrumental works from his 2023 album, while visual artist Mondot creates responsive projections. The multidisciplinary ARTE performance merges sound and image into an immersive experience.
- [The Most Memorable Composer Christmases: Chopin, Schumann, and More](https://interlude.hk/the-most-memorable-composer-christmases-chopin-schumann-and-more/): Article examines four composers' Christmas experiences: Wagner composed Siegfried Idyll for wife Cosima's birthday in 1870; Chopin spent lonely 1830 Christmas in Vienna during Polish November Uprising; Tchaikovsky received harsh criticism of Piano Concerto No. 1 from Rubinstein December 1874; Schumann exchanged romantic letters and compositions with Clara Wieck in...
- [Jane Austen (Born on December 16, 1775) <br/> A Novelist with Perfect Pitch](https://interlude.hk/jane-austen-born-on-december-16-1775-a-novelist-with-perfect-pitch/): Jane Austen (1775-1817) practiced pianoforte daily, owned roughly 600 sheet music pieces including works by Mozart, Haydn, Clementi, Pleyel, and Cramer. Her novels use musical performance to reveal character, class, gender dynamics, and social aspiration. Recent scholarship examines music's narrative function in Austen's fiction and Georgian domestic life.
- [François-Adrien Boïeldieu](https://interlude.hk/francois-adrien-boieldieu-french-composer/): François-Adrien Boïeldieu (1775-1834), born in Rouen on December 16, 1775, composed over forty operas including his masterpiece La Dame blanche (1825). Called "The French Mozart," he transformed opéra comique into romantic form, taught at Paris Conservatoire, served as court composer in St. Petersburg, and composed the notable Harp Concerto.
- [Philosopher and Composer: Gurdjieff Played by Hayk Melikyan](https://interlude.hk/philosopher-and-composer-gurdjieff-played-by-hayk-melikyan/): George Gurdjieff (1866-1949) was a philosopher, mystic, and spiritual teacher who created sacred dances called Gurdjieff Movements. His music, transcribed by Thomas de Hartmann, drew from Armenian and regional folk sources. Armenian pianist Hayk Melikyan's new recording features works from 1920s collections including Songs and Rhythms of Peoples.
- [The Other Kinds of Nuts](https://interlude.hk/the-other-kinds-of-nuts/): Article explores alternative arrangements of Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite beyond traditional orchestral versions. Featured adaptations include Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn's 1960 jazz ensemble arrangement, organ versions, guitar quartet, electronic remix, mandolin quartet, Percy Grainger's piano paraphrase, British wind ensemble, seven-cello ensemble, and modern saxophone interpretation, demonstrating the ballet's versatility across...
- [The Opera with the Body Count: GNO’s <em>Tosca</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-opera-with-the-body-count-gnos-tosca/): Greek National Opera revived Nikos S. Petropoulos's 1998 Tosca production, relocated to 1944 Rome with Fellini-inspired neorealist design. Aleksandra Kurzak debuted as Tosca, with Marcello Puente as Cavaradossi and Dimitri Platanias as Scarpia. Black-and-white sets created visual contrast. Orchestra volume balance issues noted. Non-traditional ending replaced Tosca's suicide with exit...
- [Harmony in the Heart of Christmas <br/> John Rutter’s Timeless Carols](https://interlude.hk/harmony-in-the-heart-of-christmas-john-rutters-timeless-carols/): John Rutter, prominent choral composer, creates widely-performed Christmas carols and arrangements. His first published compositions were "Nativity Carol" and "Shepherd's Pipe Carol." Rutter co-edited the influential Carols for Choirs series with David Willcocks, selling over one million copies and shaping British Anglican Christmas music traditions.
- [The Keyboard Sonatas of C.P.E. Bach (Died on December 14, 1788) <br/> Between Reason and Rupture](https://interlude.hk/the-keyboard-sonatas-of-c-p-e-bach-died-on-december-14-1788-between-reason-and-rupture/): Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach's keyboard sonatas embody Empfindsamkeit and Sturm und Drang aesthetics through structural fragmentation, abrupt contrasts, and psychological volatility. His works employ unusual modulations, chromatic harmonies, and expressive immediacy that parallel contemporary German literary movements. Bach's treatise advocated music that moves listeners emotionally, influencing Haydn and anticipating Romanticism.
- [Krystian Zimerman in Tokyo – Preludes & Co](https://interlude.hk/krystian-zimerman-in-tokyo-preludes-co/): Krystian Zimerman performed in Japan featuring Schubert Impromptus Op. 90 and Debussy works in the first half. The second half presented "Preludes & Co," a varying selection of preludes by composers including Bach, Chopin, Rachmaninoff, Scriabin, Debussy, Gershwin, Bacewicz, and Kapustin, announced at each concert.
- [Seven Best Piano Concertos Dedicated to Women](https://interlude.hk/seven-best-piano-concertos-dedicated-to-women/): Article examines seven piano concertos dedicated to women performers and composers from 1784-1931. Works include Mozart's Concerto No. 18 (Maria Theresia von Paradis), Mendelssohn's Concerto No. 1 (Delphine von Schauroth), Tchaikovsky's Concert Fantasia (Anna Yesipova, Sophie Menter), Beach's Piano Concerto (Teresa Carreño), Tailleferre's Concerto No. 1 (Winnaretta Singer), Vaughan Williams's...
- [The Lovely Flakes: Sviridov’s <em>Snow is Falling</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-lovely-flakes-sviridovs-snow-is-falling/): Georgy Sviridov (1915-1998) composed "Snow is Falling" in 1965, a small cantata setting three Boris Pasternak poems. The Russian composer studied under Shostakovich at Leningrad Conservatory and later led the Composer's Union. The work features female choir, children's choir, and orchestra with simple rhythms and modal-harmonic progressions.
- [Finishing the Unfinished <br/>Martin Helmchen’s Schubert Sonatas](https://interlude.hk/finishing-the-unfinished-martin-helmchens-schubert-sonatas/): German pianist Martin Helmchen releases first volume of complete Schubert piano sonatas on Alpha Classics, featuring his completion of the fragmentary Sonata in F-sharp minor, D571. Recording made on Bösendorfer 280 piano commemorates Schubert's 200th death anniversary in 2028. Previous completions attempted by Badura-Skoda, Bilson, and Tirimo.
- [Bomsori Kim (Born on December 13, 1989) <br/>  A Global Voice Shaped by Korean Breath](https://interlude.hk/bomsori-kim-born-on-december-13-1989-a-global-voice-shaped-by-korean-breath/): Violinist Bomsori Kim integrates Korean musical sensibility into classical performance through phrasing, breath control, and emotional depth. Her approach reflects traditional Korean concepts including sigimsae (expressive ornaments) and han (emotional complexity), creating artistry that is globally recognized yet culturally rooted without relying on superficial gestures or branding.
- [International Violin Day (December 13) <br/>Strings of the Soul](https://interlude.hk/international-violin-day-december-13-strings-of-the-soul/): International Violin Day, celebrated December 13, 2025, honors the violin's historical significance and expressive range. The observance features concerts, masterclasses, workshops, and competitions globally. Repertoire spans Vivaldi, Beethoven, Paganini, Tchaikovsky to contemporary composers. Events occur in concert halls, community centers, and online platforms, celebrating both traditional and innovative violin music...
- [Maurice Ravel 1903 – 1911: from Classical Aesthetics to the Rhythms of Spain](https://interlude.hk/maurice-ravel-1903-1911-from-classical-aesthetics-to-the-rhythms-of-spain/): Maurice Ravel composed piano works Sonatine and Miroirs between 1903-1907, reflecting classical aesthetics and harmonic innovation. He created Spanish-influenced pieces including opera L'Heure espagnole for his engineer father. Ravel studied with Ralph Vaughan Williams, emphasizing piano for harmonic invention. His perfectionism resulted in smaller compositional output compared to contemporaries.
- [The Complete Works of 10 Classical Composers On Spotify - For Free!](https://interlude.hk/the-complete-works-of-10-classical-composers-on-spotify-for-free/): Article presents ten Spotify playlists featuring complete works of classical composers: Chopin, Debussy, Mahler, Wagner, Tchaikovsky, Brahms, Beethoven, Bach, Mozart, and Vivaldi. Playlists range from 20 hours (Chopin) to 209 hours (Vivaldi). Most are organized by cataloguing systems like opus numbers, BWV, Köchel numbers, or chronologically by composition date.
- [Kurt Atterberg (Born on December 12, 1887) <br/> Beauty and Its Shadows](https://interlude.hk/kurt-atterberg-born-on-december-12-1887-beauty-and-its-shadows/): Kurt Magnus Atterberg (1887-1974) was a Swedish composer and civil engineer who produced nine symphonies, concertos, operas, and chamber works while working at Sweden's Patent Office. His 1928 Symphony No. 6 won the Schubert centenary competition. He led Swedish musical organizations but faced post-war marginalization due to Nazi-era associations and...
- [Opus 109 – Vikingur Olafsson](https://interlude.hk/opus-109-vikingur-olafsson/): Icelandic pianist Vikingur Olafsson's new Deutsche Grammophon album pairs Beethoven's Sonata Opus 109 with works by Bach and Schubert. The concept album unifies pieces in E major and minor, exploring connections between Beethoven's late period and Bach's influence through polyphony and thematic links.
- [Eight Saddest Pieces of Music by Tchaikovsky](https://interlude.hk/eight-saddest-pieces-of-music-by-tchaikovsky/): Tchaikovsky composed emotionally intense classical music exploring different types of sadness. Eight notable works include "Chanson Triste," Violin Concerto Movement 2, Eugene Onegin aria, "None But the Lonely Heart," Symphony No. 5 Movement 2, Romeo and Juliet Overture, Piano Trio in A-minor, and Symphony No. 6, his saddest masterpiece completed...
- [Beginning and Ending in White: Pēteris Vasks’ <em>Seasons</em>](https://interlude.hk/beginning-and-ending-in-white-peteris-vasks-seasons/): Latvian composer Pēteris Vasks created piano cycle Gadalaiki (The Seasons) beginning with Winter, not Spring. Four movements—White Scenery, Spring Music, Green Scenery, Autumn Music—incorporate birdsong and depict seasonal transitions from snow's stillness through spring's chaos, summer's joy, to autumn's gradual return to winter peace. Performed by pianist Reinis Zariņš.
- [Hector Berlioz (Born on December 11, 1803) and the Literary Muse](https://interlude.hk/hector-berlioz-born-on-december-11-1803-and-the-literary-muse/): Hector Berlioz (1803-1869) was a Romantic composer influenced by Goethe, Shakespeare, and Byron. Goethe's Faust inspired La Damnation de Faust, Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing became Béatrice et Bénédict, and Byron's poetry influenced Harold en Italie. Berlioz used orchestration and the idée fixe technique to translate literary narratives into music.
- [Ten Terrifying Composers' Carriage and Car Accidents](https://interlude.hk/ten-terrifying-composers-carriage-and-car-accidents/): Article examines transportation accidents involving ten composers from Handel (1750) through Hough (2006). Documents carriage accidents affecting Handel, Mozart, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Chopin, Franck, and MacDowell; car accidents involving Puccini, Ravel, and Hough. Some composers recovered and continued composing; others experienced declining health leading to death. Includes specific dates, locations, injury...
- [Out for the Day: Blancafort’s Fun Fair](https://interlude.hk/out-for-the-day-blancaforts-fun-fair/): Manuel Blancafort (1897-1987) composed in Barcelona, influenced by pianola factory work and Paris music scene. His composition El parc d'atraccions premiered 1926 in Paris by pianist Ricard Viñes. The six-movement piano work combines French impressionism, Catalan folklore, and cyclic form, depicting carousel, memories, abstractions, equilibrist polka, military band, and dancing...
- [Challenging the Clarinetist: Nielsen’s Clarinet Concerto](https://interlude.hk/challenging-the-clarinetist-nielsens-clarinet-concerto/): Jonas Frølund records Carl Nielsen's 1928 Clarinet Concerto, written for two soloists: clarinet and snare drum. Composed for Aage Oxenvad, the one-movement work features strings, horns, and bassoons. The concerto explores contrasting personalities through the clarinet's lyrical and percussive qualities. Performed with Danish Chamber Orchestra conducted by Ádám Fischer.
- [Complementary Preludes: Chopin and Scriabin](https://interlude.hk/complementary-preludes-chopin-and-scriabin/): Mikhail Pletnev recorded Chopin's 24 Preludes Op. 28 and Scriabin's 24 Preludes Op. 11 for Deutsche Grammophon, released December 2025. Both composers organized preludes using circle of fifths, departing from Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier model. Recording made at Emil Berliner Studios, Berlin, marks Pletnev's first studio album since 2005.
- [The Most Famous Mistresses In Classical Music History: Part 2](https://interlude.hk/the-most-famous-mistresses-in-classical-music-history-part-2/): Article examines relationships between five classical composers and their mistresses: Claude Debussy and Emma Bardac, Giacomo Puccini's multiple affairs, Alban Berg and Hanna Fuchs-Robettin, Igor Stravinsky and Vera de Bosset, and Sergei Prokofiev and Mira Mendelson. Details include how relationships began, wives' reactions, and mistresses' influence on composers' works and...
- [A House of Ghosts <br/>Piano music by Francis Pott <br/>Duncan Honeybourne, piano](https://interlude.hk/a-house-of-ghosts-piano-music-by-francis-pott-duncan-honeybourne-piano/): Duncan Honeybourne performs British composer Francis Pott's piano works from 1983-1997 on album 'A House of Ghosts'. Short pieces and miniatures reference medieval song, Chaucer, T.S. Eliot, and St Kilda archipelago. Music reflects memory, landscape, and legend with influences from Byrd, Mahler, Vaughan Williams. Released December 5 by Signum Records.
- [Alexandre Tharaud and the Art of Rediscovery (Born on December 9, 1968) <br/>Rewriting the French Music Canon](https://interlude.hk/alexandre-tharaud-and-the-art-of-rediscovery-born-on-december-9-1968-rewriting-the-french-music-canon/): Alexandre Tharaud, born December 9, 1968, specializes in reviving neglected French repertoire. His recordings feature overlooked composers including Reynaldo Hahn, Maurice Delage, and French Baroque works by Couperin, Rameau, and Daquin. Tharaud performs salon music and interwar Paris cabaret pieces, expanding the French piano canon beyond Debussy and Ravel.
- [Two Pianos as a Home Orchestra](https://interlude.hk/two-pianos-as-a-home-orchestra/): Piano duo Tessa Uys and Ben Schoeman perform two-piano transcriptions of Holst's The Planets, Elgar's Introduction and Allegro, and Salut d'Amour. These arrangements enabled home performance of orchestral works in the early 20th century before radio and recordings became widespread. Released on SOMM Recordings SOMMCD 0709.
- [Get to Know Yunchan Lim With These Ten Video Clips](https://interlude.hk/get-to-know-yunchan-lim-with-these-ten-video-clips/): Yunchan Lim won the 2022 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition at age 18, becoming the youngest winner in competition history. The South Korean pianist signed with Decca label and performs internationally. His Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 3 performance garnered 17 million YouTube views, demonstrating technical skill and musical interpretation.
- [Flowers We Are <br/>Kurtág & Couperin <br/>Yehuda Inbar, piano](https://interlude.hk/flowers-we-are-kurtag-couperin-yehuda-inbar-piano/): Israeli pianist Yehuda Inbar's album pairs Couperin's Ordres with Kurtág's Játékok, released before Kurtág's 100th birthday in February 2026. The recording explores connections between composers separated by 200 years through nature-inspired pieces and autobiographical portraits. Released on Hänssler Classic label on CD and streaming.
- [Jean Sibelius (Born on December 8, 1865) <br/> Where Myths Become Music](https://interlude.hk/jean-sibelius-born-on-december-8-1865-where-myths-become-music/): Finnish composer Jean Sibelius (1865-1957) drew inspiration from Finnish mythology, particularly the Kalevala national epic. Works include The Swan of Tuonela, Lemminkäinen Suite, Kullervo Symphony, and Tapiola. His music integrated mythological characters like Väinämöinen, Lemminkäinen, and Kullervo with Finnish landscapes, creating atmospheric compositions that influenced modern film composers.
- [Pietro Mascagni (Born on December 7, 1863) <br/> A Japanese Dream in Italian Music: <em>Iris</em>](https://interlude.hk/pietro-mascagni-born-on-december-7-1863-a-japanese-dream-in-italian-music-iris/): Pietro Mascagni's 1898 opera Iris depicts Japan through European Japonisme aesthetics, predating Puccini's Madama Butterfly. The work synthesizes Italian verismo with Japanese visual elements inspired by ukiyo-e woodblock prints. Iris tells of a flower seller exploited by society, combining restrained orchestration with Japanese-influenced staging and thematic elements.
- [Nine Best Pieces of Violin Music Dedicated to Women](https://interlude.hk/nine-best-pieces-of-violin-music-dedicated-to-women/): Article explores violin compositions dedicated to women, spanning Mozart's 1781 sonata for pianist Josephine Aurnhammer to Higdon's 2008 Pulitzer Prize-winning concerto for Hilary Hahn. Featured composers include Sarasate, Fauré, Beach, Bartók, Vaughan Williams, Ravel, and Clarke. Dedicatees include violinists Wilhelmina Norman-Neruda, Maud Powell, Stefi Geyer, Marie Hall, and Jelly d'Aranyi.
- [If You Like Grieg, You Might Like Leif Ove Andsnes](https://interlude.hk/if-you-like-grieg-you-might-like-leif-ove-andsnes/): Norwegian pianist Leif Ove Andsnes interprets Edvard Grieg's compositions, including Piano Concerto in A minor and Lyric Pieces. Born in Karmøy in 1970, Andsnes shares Grieg's cultural heritage. His 2018 project "The Grieg Experience" paired Grieg with Schumann, Liszt, and Debussy, contextualizing the composer's romantic-era influence and Norwegian folk traditions.
- [A Rare Spotlight on the Right Hand <br/>ALL RIGHT for piano right-hand](https://interlude.hk/a-rare-spotlight-on-the-right-hand-all-right-for-piano-right-hand/): Béla Hartmann's 'All Right' contains nine piano pieces for right hand alone for advanced pianists. The collection includes Consolation, Chase, Valse Fugitive, Menuet, March, Elegy, Song of the Thief, Etude, and Prelude, arranged by difficulty, serving therapeutic and pedagogical purposes for left-hand injuries.
- [Modernist Classical Music Inspired by Composers' Wives](https://interlude.hk/modernist-classical-music-inspired-by-composers-wives/): Classical composers' wives inspired canonical works including Bartók's Bluebeard's Castle (dedicated to Márta Ziegler), Debussy's Violin Sonata (Emma Bardac), Stravinsky's Octet (Vera de Bosset), and Hindemith's Kammermusik No.4 (Johanna Rottenberg). These spouses shaped composers' legacies through sacrifice and support, proving essential to musical creation during periods of personal and stylistic...
- [Traveling by Water: Peter Lieuwen’s <em>Bright River</em>](https://interlude.hk/traveling-by-water-peter-lieuwens-bright-river/): Dutch composer Peter Lieuwen's album Nambé features "Bright River," commissioned by clarinettist Wonkak Kim and pianist Eunhye Grace Choi. The composition follows a river downstream using diminished scales and pandiatonic sections. Piano provides the riverbed while clarinet weaves through the musical fabric, depicting waterfalls, rapids, and pools.
- [Seven of the Best Musical Instrument Museums Around the World](https://interlude.hk/seven-of-the-best-musical-instrument-museums-around-the-world/): Seven major musical instrument museums are highlighted: Musée de la Musique in Paris with 8,000 items including Stradivari instruments; Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix featuring 15,000 instruments from 200 countries; Galleria dell'Accademia in Florence housing Medici family instruments; Metropolitan Museum of Art displaying Cristofori's 1720 piano; Berlin's Musikinstrumenten-Museum with 3,000...
- [Monteverdi’s Memorial for Caterina Martinelli](https://interlude.hk/monteverdis-memorial-for-caterina-martinelli/): Monteverdi's Sixth Book of Madrigals (1614) marks his Venice appointment as Maestro di Cappella at St. Mark's. The collection includes a sestina lament for soprano Caterina Martinelli, who died of smallpox in 1608 before performing in his opera L'Arianna. Most music dates from his Mantua period.
- [Josephine Weinlich: The First Major Woman Conductor?](https://interlude.hk/josephine-weinlich-the-first-major-woman-conductor/): Josephine Amann-Weinlich, born 1848 in Slovakia, was an early woman conductor who founded multiple women's orchestras. She toured Europe and America from 1869-1876, eventually conducting men's orchestras in Lisbon. She edited a music magazine before dying of tuberculosis in 1887 at age thirty-eight.
- [Mozart’s String Quintets (Died on December 5, 1791) <br/> Intimacy, Elegance, and Profundity](https://interlude.hk/mozarts-string-quintets-died-on-december-5-1791-intimacy-elegance-and-profundity/): Mozart composed six string quintets for two violins, two violas, and cello between 1773 and 1791. The second viola creates deeper textures than his string quartets. Key works include K. 515 in C Major and K. 516 in G minor from 1787, representing monumental and tragic expressions respectively. Mozart preferred...
- [Countess Anna Maria Erdődy: Beethoven's Beloved Patroness and Roommate](https://interlude.hk/countess-anna-maria-erdody-beethovens-beloved-patroness-and-roommate/): Countess Anna Maria Erdődy patronized Beethoven, housing him in 1808 and helping arrange financial support to keep him in Vienna. Beethoven dedicated works to her including the Ghost Trio (Op. 70) and two cello sonatas. She died in 1837; her Beethoven correspondence was reportedly destroyed in 1838.
- [Why Do We Feel Good Listening to Classical Music?](https://interlude.hk/why-do-we-feel-good-listening-to-classical-music/): Classical music influences brain wave activity, promoting alpha and theta waves associated with relaxation and creativity. Studies show it reduces cortisol levels, improves memory retention, aids pain management, and enhances sleep quality. The "Mozart Effect" temporarily boosts spatial reasoning but does not permanently increase IQ. Compositions by Mozart, Bach, and...
- [María Dueñas in the Age of Social Media (Born on December 4, 2002)<br/> Virtuosity and Algorithm](https://interlude.hk/maria-duenas-in-the-age-of-social-media-born-on-december-4-2002-virtuosity-and-algorithm/): Violinist María Dueñas uses social media strategically to balance artistic integrity with digital presence. Born December 4, 2002, she shares rehearsal videos and backstage moments, creating intimacy with audiences while avoiding sensationalism. Her curated online presence bridges classical music with younger listeners without compromising musical depth or artistic identity.
- [Anatoliy Brandukov: The Forgotten Cellist Who Inspired Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff](https://interlude.hk/anatoliy-brandukov-the-forgotten-cellist-who-inspired-tchaikovsky-and-rachmaninoff/): Russian cellist Anatoliy Brandukov (1859-1930) inspired works by Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff. Tchaikovsky composed Pezzo Capriccioso for him in 1887. Brandukov premiered Rachmaninoff's Cello Sonata in 1901 and served as best man at his wedding. He taught at Moscow Conservatory from 1921, mentoring cellist Gregor Piatigorsky.
- [An Attempt to Highlight Distinctive Attributes of the 11 Finalists at the 2025 Chopin Piano Competition](https://interlude.hk/an-attempt-to-highlight-distinctive-attributes-of-the-11-finalists-at-the-2025-chopin-piano-competition/): The 2025 Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw attracted 642 applicants from 28 countries. From 162 preliminary candidates, 85 qualified pianists competed October 2-23. After three rounds, 11 finalists competed for six prizes; ties resulted in eight winners. Jury deliberations lasted five hours due to significant disagreements among jurors regarding candidate...
- [Centenary of the Premiere of the Controversial Concerto in F](https://interlude.hk/centenary-of-the-premiere-of-the-controversial-concerto-in-f/): George Gershwin's Concerto in F, composed in 1925, was commissioned by Walter Damrosch for the New York Symphony Orchestra. Premiered at Carnegie Hall on December 3, 1925, the three-movement concerto blends jazz and classical music, featuring syncopations, blues melodies, and sophisticated orchestration, establishing legitimacy for jazz in concert halls.
- [Echoes and Tensions <br/> Shostakovich and Walton under Mäkelä](https://interlude.hk/echoes-and-tensions-shostakovich-and-walton-under-makela/): Orchestre de Paris under Klaus Mäkelä performed Shostakovich and Walton works on 30 May 2023, featuring soloists Sol Gabetta and Willard White. Program included Shostakovich's Suite for Jazz Orchestra No. 2 and Cello Concerto No. 2, plus Walton's Belshazzar's Feast, exploring 20th-century contrasts and emotional extremes.
- [The Most Famous Mistresses in Classical Music History: Part 1](https://interlude.hk/the-most-famous-mistresses-in-classical-music-history-part-1/): Article examines relationships between four composers and their mistresses: Rossini and Olympe Pélissier, Berlioz and Marie Recio, Wagner and Cosima Liszt von Bülow, and Johann Strauss I and Emelie Trampusch. Details how each relationship developed, wives' reactions, divorces, marriages, and mistresses' influence on composers' careers and creative output.
- [What are Satie, Debussy & Ravel Made of](https://interlude.hk/what-are-satie-debussy-ravel-made-of/): French composers Debussy, Satie, and Ravel drew influences from Russian culture, medieval plainchant, Baroque composers like Couperin, Indonesian gamelan, Spanish music, jazz, and cabaret. They collaborated with Russian patrons and formed artistic groups like les Apaches. Stravinsky also influenced their work and French musical innovation.
- [Maria Callas at the Centre (Born on December 2, 1923) <br/> Tebaldi, Sutherland, Schwarzkopf and the Evolution of Opera](https://interlude.hk/maria-callas-at-the-centre-born-on-december-2-1923-tebaldi-sutherland-schwarzkopf-and-the-evolution-of-opera/): Maria Callas transformed twentieth-century operatic interpretation through vocal dramaturgy, using technique as psychological instrument. Born December 2, 1923, her approach contrasted with contemporaries: Renata Tebaldi emphasized vocal beauty, Joan Sutherland prioritized bel canto technique, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf focused on textual precision. Callas redefined operatic performance by making drama audible through color,...
- [Dreaming of Sax (and Piano): Duo HaLo’s <em>Imaginary Folksongs</em>](https://interlude.hk/dreaming-of-sax-and-piano-duo-halos-imaginary-folksongs/): Duo HaLo's recording "Imaginary Folksongs" features saxophone and piano works by Stephen Lias, Florence Price, Lori Laitman, Ryota Ishikawa, and Jennifer Jolley. Andrew Harrison (Sonoma State University) and Jason Lo (University of La Verne) formed their duo in 2018, performing compositions including Lias's six-piece suite and Price's spiritual transcriptions.
- [Rudolf Buchbinder’s Beethoven (Born on December 1, 1946)<br/>Architect of Clarity](https://interlude.hk/rudolf-buchbinders-beethoven-born-on-december-1-1946architect-of-clarity/): Pianist Rudolf Buchbinder distinguishes his Beethoven interpretation through textual fidelity, Classical clarity, and scholarly precision. He collects thirty-plus sonata editions, prioritizes structure over emotion, avoids interpretive mannerism, and employs symphonic thinking. Despite performing complete sonata cycles sixty times, he maintains spontaneity while balancing discipline with musical imagination in his performances.
- [James Baillieu](https://interlude.hk/james-baillieu/): James Baillieu is an internationally-acclaimed collaborative pianist and Senior Professor of Ensemble Piano at the Royal Academy of Music. Originally from South Africa, he began piano lessons at age 9-10 to address coordination issues. Baillieu specializes in chamber music and song repertoire, performing with singers and instrumentalists worldwide, including partnerships...
- [10 Most Popular YouTube Performances by the World’s Best Orchestras](https://interlude.hk/10-most-popular-youtube-performances-by-the-worlds-best-orchestras/): Analysis of top ten orchestras' most popular YouTube videos based on 2023 Bachtrack rankings. London Symphony Orchestra leads with 139 million views for Mr. Bean's Olympics performance. Los Angeles Philharmonic second with Pavarotti's Nessun Dorma. Chicago Symphony's Beethoven Ninth has 54 million views. Repertoire ranges from Beethoven, Schubert to Star...
- [Eight Pieces of Classical Music With the Weirdest Names](https://interlude.hk/eight-pieces-of-classical-music-with-the-weirdest-names/): Article examines eight classical compositions with unusual titles, including Mozart's scatological canon "Leck mich im Arsch," Alkan's "Funeral March on the Death of a Parrot," Satie's seven-piece suite titled "Three Pieces in the Form of a Pear," and La Monte Young's minimalist "Composition 1960 #7" featuring sustained tones.
- [Iveta Apkalna (Born on November 30, 1976) <br/> Transforming the Organist’s Path](https://interlude.hk/iveta-apkalna-born-on-november-30-1976-transforming-the-organists-path/): Organist Iveta Apkalna holds titular position at Hamburg's Elbphilharmonie concert hall rather than traditional church post. Her career exemplifies shift from liturgical service to international concert performance. Appointed 2017, she performs repertoire from Bach to contemporary composers on Klais organ with 69 stops, representing broader trend of organs in secular...
- [Radu Lupu (Born on November 30, 1945) <br/>Three Competitions That Shaped His Legend](https://interlude.hk/radu-lupu-born-on-november-30-1945-three-competitions-that-shaped-his-legend/): Pianist Radu Lupu won three major competitions between 1966-1969: Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, George Enescu International Piano Competition, and Leeds International Piano Competition. These victories launched his international career, led to recording contracts with Decca, and established his reputation for poetic, introspective performances until his retirement in 2019.
- [From Musical Royalty to Tragic Heroine<br/>Violinist and Conductor Alma Rosé](https://interlude.hk/from-musical-royalty-to-tragic-heroineviolinist-and-conductor-alma-rose/): Alma Rosé, violinist and niece of Gustav Mahler, founded the Wiener Walzermädeln women's orchestra. Deported to Auschwitz in 1943, she conducted the women's camp orchestra, using music to save musicians from slave labor. She died April 1944. Cellist Anita Lasker-Wallfisch survived as orchestra member, later founding British Chamber Orchestra.
- [Seven Best Chamber Music Works Dedicated to Women](https://interlude.hk/seven-best-chamber-music-works-dedicated-to-women/): Article examines seven chamber music works (1797-1940) dedicated to women, including Beethoven's Trio Op.11 (Maria von Thun), Farrenc's Piano Quintet No.2 (Duchess Helene), Borodin's String Quartet No.2 (Ekaterina Borodina), Schoenberg's Suite (Gertrud Schoenberg), Bartók's String Quartet No.5 (Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge), Martinů's String Quartet No.5 (Vítězslava Kaprálová), and Enescu's Piano Quintet...
- [Puccini’s Lost Swallow (Died on November 29, 1924)<br/>The Story Behind <em>La Rondine</em>](https://interlude.hk/puccinis-lost-swallow-died-on-november-29-1924the-story-behind-la-rondine/): Puccini's La Rondine premiered March 27, 1917 at Monte Carlo. Opera Rara performs the 1921 final version December 5, 2025 at Barbican Centre. The opera tells courtesan Magda's story, choosing love over security but ultimately sacrificing happiness. Puccini created three versions; the third remained unperformed during his lifetime.
- [If You Like Prokofiev, You Might Like Yuja Wang](https://interlude.hk/if-you-like-prokofiev-you-might-like-yuja-wang/): Pianist Yuja Wang performs Sergei Prokofiev's piano works including Concertos No. 2 and 3, Sonatas No. 6 and 8, and Toccata in D minor Op. 11. Wang's technical precision, theatrical interpretations, and bold performance style align with Prokofiev's modernist compositions, characterized by rhythmic complexity, dissonance, and virtuosic demands.
- [A Mystery Wrapped in an Enigma: The <em>Poirot Variants</em>](https://interlude.hk/a-mystery-wrapped-in-an-enigma-the-poirot-variants/): British composer Christopher Gunning (1944-2023) created the distinctive saxophone theme for ITV's Agatha Christie's Poirot (1989-2013). His Poirot Variants composition for Chandos Records adapts episode music into orchestral suite format, reversing traditional theme-and-variations structure by presenting the main theme last, mirroring mystery storytelling techniques.
- [Alexander Siloti: Rachmaninoff's Genius Cousin Composer and Conductor](https://interlude.hk/alexander-siloti-rachmaninoffs-genius-cousin-composer-and-conductor/): Alexander Siloti (1863-1945) was a pianist, conductor, and teacher who studied with Liszt and Tchaikovsky at Moscow Conservatory. He conducted the premiere of Rachmaninoff's Second Piano Concerto and organized Siloti Concerts (1903-1917) in St. Petersburg, introducing Stravinsky's music. Rachmaninoff's cousin, he taught at Juilliard after fleeing Russia in 1918.
- [Late-Romantic Classical Music Inspired by Composers' Wives](https://interlude.hk/late-romantic-classical-music-inspired-by-composers-wives/): Article examines classical compositions inspired by composers' wives. Features Rimsky-Korsakov's 6 Romances for Nadezhda Rimskaya-Korsakova, Elgar's Salut d'Amour for Alice Roberts, Grieg's Wedding Day at Troldhaugen celebrating 25th anniversary with Nina Hagerup, Mahler's Symphony No. 8 dedicated to Alma Schindler, and Schoenberg's String Quartet No. 2 for Mathilde Zemlinsky during...
- [Viktoria Mullova’s Bach (Born on November 27, 1959)<br/>The Art of Transformative Interpretation](https://interlude.hk/viktoria-mullovas-bach-born-on-november-27-1959the-art-of-transformative-interpretation/): Viktoria Mullova's 2009 Onyx recording of Bach's Six Solo Sonatas and Partitas uses gut strings, lower tuning, and Baroque bow techniques. Trained in Soviet conservatory tradition, she transitioned from modern instruments to historically informed performance, emphasizing contrapuntal clarity, harmonic relationships, and flexible phrasing without rigid authenticity.
- [Echoes of War, Shadows of Home: The Storytelling Soundworld of <em>Two Brothers</em> and <em>Five Curiosities</em>](https://interlude.hk/echoes-of-war-shadows-of-home-the-storytelling-soundworld-of-two-brothers-and-five-curiosities/): Composer Charles Mauleverer's orchestral works Two Brothers and Five Curiosities explore World War One history and Jersey's landscape. Two Brothers emerged from archival research about teenage soldiers Arthur and Charles Mallet. Five Curiosities features five movements depicting Jersey locations including Mont Orgueil Castle and St Ouen's Bay. Royal Scottish National...
- [How Tchaikovsky's Fascinating Family Preserved His Legacy](https://interlude.hk/how-tchaikovskys-fascinating-family-preserved-his-legacy/): Tchaikovsky's siblings significantly influenced his life and legacy. Brother Modest wrote a three-volume biography and co-founded the Tchaikovsky House-Museum at Klin. Brother Ippolit served as museum curator and published Tchaikovsky's diaries. Sister Aleksandra's children became important figures in the composer's life, including nephew Vladimir, to whom Tchaikovsky dedicated his Sixth...
- [2025 International Opera Awards <br/>Between Ceremony and Contemporary Urgency](https://interlude.hk/2025-international-opera-awards-between-ceremony-and-contemporary-urgency/): The 2025 International Opera Awards in Athens featured 1,200 nominees from 60 countries. Ten world-premiere productions addressed contemporary themes including identity, trauma, institutional corruption, and social violence. Mark-Anthony Turnage and Lee Hall's "Festen," adapted from the 1998 Dogme 95 film, won recognition for confronting family abuse through operatic form.
- [Veteran Composer of Musical Theater Turns To Symphony Composing: Frank Wildhorn’s <em>Danube</em> and <em>Odessa Symphonies</em>](https://interlude.hk/veteran-composer-of-musical-theater-turns-to-symphony-composing-frank-wildhorns-danube-and-odessa-symphonies/): Broadway composer Frank Wildhorn has released two symphonies, the Danube Symphony and Odessa Symphony, performed by Wiener Symphoniker. Both feature programmatic movements with concrete titles depicting European history and geography. Orchestrator Kim Scharnberg collaborated on the works, which avoid Broadway sound while showcasing Wildhorn's melodic style.
- [The Monkey King’s Dream of Power](https://interlude.hk/the-monkey-kings-dream-of-power/): San Francisco Opera premiered Huang Ruo's "The Monkey King" November 14-30, 2025. Libretto by David Henry Hwang adapts Wu Cheng'en's 16th-century "Journey to the West." Three performers portray the title character: tenor Kang Wang, dancer Huiwang Zhang, and puppet. Production features extensive puppetry by Basil Twist. Opera covers first seven...
- [Did Brahms Break Up the Marriage of the Joachims?](https://interlude.hk/did-brahms-break-up-the-marriage-of-the-joachims/): Violinist Joseph Joachim and composer Johannes Brahms maintained a thirty-year friendship that fractured during Joachim's 1884 divorce. Brahms wrote a letter defending Amalie Joachim against Joseph's adultery accusations, which she used in court proceedings. Joseph felt betrayed, straining their relationship until Brahms composed his Double Concerto in 1887 as reconciliation.
- [The Wide World of Opera: The International Opera Awards 2025](https://interlude.hk/the-wide-world-of-opera-the-international-opera-awards-2025/): The 2025 International Opera Awards at Greek National Opera recognized achievements across opera categories including singers, conductors, directors, designers, and sustainability programs. Awards included Teatro Real Madrid for sustainability, Paolo Fantin for design, Alain Altinoglu for conducting, Agnes Baltsa for lifetime achievement, and MusikTheater an der Wien as opera company...
- [“You Can’t Taste Technique!”](https://interlude.hk/you-cant-taste-technique/): Article explores piano performance philosophy using culinary metaphor "You can't taste technique" from Masterchef: The Professionals. Argues technical mastery enables expression but emotional resonance, not mechanical precision, defines artistry. Discusses risks of prioritising accuracy over interpretation in contemporary classical music culture. References Alfred Brendel, Chopin Nocturnes, Rachmaninov Preludes.
- [Falling in the Abyss: Clément Lefebvre’s Scriabin](https://interlude.hk/falling-in-the-abyss-clement-lefebvres-scriabin/): In his exploration of the early piano works of Alexander Scriabin (1872–1915), French pianist Clément Lefebvre speaks of coming to the edge of the abyss when he plays the finale of the Russian composer’s Piano Sonata No. 3. This is
- [From Mozart’s Death to The Nutcracker: Daily Classical Music Anniversaries for December](https://interlude.hk/from-mozarts-death-to-the-nutcracker-daily-classical-music-anniversaries-for-december/): December marks major classical music anniversaries including premieres of Beethoven's Fifth and Sixth Symphonies, Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker, and Bach's Christmas Oratorio. Notable births include Maria Callas, Jean Sibelius, and Olivier Messiaen. Mozart died December 5, 1791. Other significant events include Bartók's Concerto for Orchestra premiere and New York Philharmonic's founding.
- [Angelika Kirchschlager (Born on November 24, 1965) <br/> The Poetry of Sound](https://interlude.hk/angelika-kirchschlager-born-on-november-24-1965-the-poetry-of-sound/): Mezzo-soprano Angelika Kirchschlager, born 24 November 1965, excels in German art song recitals through vocal technique, textual interpretation, and pianist collaboration. Her performances of Mahler, Strauss, Brahms, Wolf, Liszt, and Schumann demonstrate storytelling ability, diction precision, and vocal color mastery, treating lieder as integrated poetry-music works requiring psychological insight.
- [Decoding Classical Music Catalogues: What BWV, Kochel, and Hoboken Numbers Really Mean](https://interlude.hk/decoding-classical-music-catalogues-what-bwv-kochel-and-hoboken-numbers-really-mean/): Classical music catalogue numbers like BWV, K., and Sz. identify composers' works. Opus numbers indicate publication order for published works. Composer-specific catalogues address unpublished pieces: Bach uses BWV numbers grouped by type; Haydn employs Hoboken numbers with Roman numerals; Mozart features Köchel chronological numbers; Beethoven has opus, WoO, and H....
- [Which Famous Novels Prominently Feature Classical Music? Part I](https://interlude.hk/which-famous-novels-prominently-feature-classical-music-part-i/): This article examines classical music references in literature, analyzing how authors incorporate musical works despite the challenges of describing sound through text. Part one discusses Tolstoy's "The Kreutzer Sonata" featuring Beethoven, Forster's "A Room With a View" with Beethoven's Opus 111, and Proust's "In Search of Lost Time" with fictional...
- [Musicians and Artists: Akhunov and Matisse](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-akhunov-and-matisse/): After Henri Matisse's 1941 surgery limited his mobility, he created Jazz, a 1947 portfolio of twenty gouache paper cutouts depicting circus, travel, and folklore themes. Ukrainian composer Sergey Akhunov created a fifteen-movement violin-piano work inspired by Matisse's imagery and improvisational approach, performed by Julia Igonina and Maxim Emelyanychev.
- [Melodies of Myth and Majesty <br/>Exploring the French Cantata](https://interlude.hk/melodies-of-myth-and-majesty-exploring-the-french-cantata/): French cantatas emerged circa 1700, blending Italian influences with French Baroque aesthetics. Composers including Louis-Nicolas Clérambault, André Campra, Élisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre, Michel Pignolet de Montéclair, and Louis-Antoine Dornel created works for solo voice with continuo, performed in salons. These cantatas featured mythological themes, alternating recitatives and airs, emphasizing...
- [Stephen Hough (Born on November 22, 1961) <br/> Where Music Meets the Mind](https://interlude.hk/stephen-hough-born-on-november-22-1961-where-music-meets-the-mind/): Stephen Hough, born 22 November 1961, is a pianist, composer, and writer. His publications include The Bible as Prayer (2007), novel The Final Retreat (2018), essay collection Rough Ideas (2019), and memoir Enough (2023). His writing explores spirituality, Catholic faith, sexuality, and musical life, interweaving theological reflection with performance practice.
- [Conflict and Hope: Paul Huang’s <em>Mirrors</em>](https://interlude.hk/conflict-and-hope-paul-huangs-mirrors/): Violinists Paul Huang and Helen Huang perform Poulenc's Violin Sonata FP 119 and Prokofiev's Violin Sonata No. 1 Op. 80, both composed 1938-1943 during WWII. Arvo Pärt's 1978 Spiegel im Spiegel separates the wartime works. Recorded at Abeshouse Recording Studio, released on Naïve Records V8617.
- [Imaginary Masterpieces: Top Ten Pieces of Classical Music I Wish Existed](https://interlude.hk/imaginary-masterpieces-top-ten-pieces-of-classical-music-i-wish-existed/): Article explores hypothetical classical compositions never completed by major composers. Discusses Beethoven's Symphony No. 10, Wagner's second symphony, Brahms's third piano concerto, Debussy and Ravel violin concertos, Rebecca Clarke viola concerto, Cole Porter art songs, Stravinsky flute concerto, Gershwin violin concerto, and Shostakovich Hollywood film score. Author examines historical context...
- [Beyond Fear to Passion: Ten Pieces to Make You Love Schoenberg, Berg and Webern](https://interlude.hk/beyond-fear-to-passion-ten-pieces-to-make-you-love-schoenberg-berg-and-webern/): Second Viennese School composers Schoenberg, Berg, and Webern progressed from late Romantic tonality to atonal and twelve-tone techniques. Ten recommended works trace this evolution: Webern's Langsamer Satz, Berg's Piano Sonata and Altenberg Lieder, Schoenberg's Five Pieces and Pierrot Lunaire, Berg's Violin Concerto and Lulu Suite, Webern's Bagatelles and Symphony, and...
- [When Today Looks to Yesterday: Ivana Gavrić’s <em>Throwback to Dance</em>](https://interlude.hk/when-today-looks-to-yesterday-ivana-gavrics-throwback-to-dance/): Ivana Gavrić's new album, "Throwback to Dance," explores how historical dance forms influenced composers like Grieg, Ravel, Chaminade, Pejačević, and Frances-Hoad. It showcases ancient dances reinterpreted through modern piano music, revealing unique connections and offering a fresh perspective on familiar works, prompting listeners to think and dance.
- [How These Three Great Composers Rescued Schubert From Obscurity](https://interlude.hk/how-these-three-great-composers-rescued-schubert-from-obscurity/): Franz Schubert died in 1828 at age 31 with most music unpublished. Brother Ferdinand preserved manuscripts. Robert Schumann discovered Symphony No. 9 in 1839; Felix Mendelssohn premiered it. George Grove and Arthur Sullivan found more works in Vienna in 1867, establishing Schubert's lasting reputation.
- [Getting It All Right: Musica Gloria’s Chandos Anthems](https://interlude.hk/getting-it-all-right-musica-glorias-chandos-anthems/): Musica Gloria, a Bruges-based baroque ensemble founded in 2006, records Handel's Chandos Anthems Nos. 6 and 10. The performance employs Original Pronunciation research by Professor David Crystal, recreating 18th-century English pronunciation. The recording includes Concerto HWV 302a. Handel composed eleven Chandos Anthems during 1717-1718 for Lord Brydges's estate chapel services.
- [8 Surprising Ways Classical Music Can Help You Focus and Study](https://interlude.hk/8-surprising-ways-classical-music-can-help-you-focus-and-study/): Classical music may enhance focus and studying through eight mechanisms: releasing dopamine while suppressing cortisol, balancing energy levels, masking distractions, lacking distracting lyrics, potentially inducing alpha brain waves, matching resting heart rate tempo at 60 BPM, providing predictable structures, and offering companionship during isolation.
- [Musical Joy: Checking Back with Beatrice Nicholas](https://interlude.hk/musical-joy-checking-back-with-beatrice-nicholas/): Pianist Beatrice Nicholas completed five Black History Month concerts in UK, performing works by Florence Price, Margaret Bonds, Nina Simone, and Jessie Montgomery. Events included solo recitals, duo collaborations with Leon Bosch and Mebrakh Haughton-Johnson, church performance, and Downing Street celebration hosted by Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy.
- [World Philosophy Day <br/> Thinking About Thinking](https://interlude.hk/world-philosophy-day-thinking-about-thinking/): UNESCO's World Philosophy Day occurs annually on the third Thursday of November. Established in 2002, it encourages sharing philosophical heritage and critical thinking. The observance celebrates philosophical inquiry from ancient traditions through modern applications, encompassing Western thinkers like Socrates, Descartes, and Nietzsche, plus Eastern philosophy concepts including mindfulness and non-duality.
- [Brahms's Last Love? Meet Alice Barbi, Musical Genius](https://interlude.hk/brahmss-last-love-meet-alice-barbi-musical-genius/): Mezzo-soprano Alice Barbi (1858-1948) studied violin and voice in Bologna. She debuted at La Scala in 1882, toured Europe, and became acquainted with composer Johannes Brahms in 1889. Brahms admired her artistry and considered marriage, but incompatibility prevented it. She retired after marrying Baron Boris von Wolf-Stomersee in 1894.
- [Franz Schubert (Died on November 19, 1828) and Anselm Hüttenbrenner: Kindred Spirits and Custodianship](https://interlude.hk/franz-schubert-died-on-november-19-1828-and-anselm-huttenbrenner-kindred-spirits-and-custodianship/): Franz Schubert met Anselm Hüttenbrenner in 1815 while studying with Antonio Salieri. Hüttenbrenner arranged Schubert's symphonies for piano and received the "Unfinished" Symphony manuscript around 1823. He withheld the score until 1865, when conductor Johann von Herbeck premiered it. Hüttenbrenner's 1854 memoirs provide recollections of Schubert's life and character.
- [Minasi & Pahud with Radio France Philharmonic <br/>Mozart at the Heart](https://interlude.hk/minasi-pahud-with-radio-france-philharmonic-mozart-at-the-heart/): Conductor Riccardo Minasi, flautist Emmanuel Pahud, and Radio France Philharmonic Orchestra performed Mozart's Flute Concerto No. 1 in G major K. 313, Schubert's Overture in Italian Style, and Mendelssohn's Midsummer Night's Dream excerpts on 17 September 2025. Debussy's Syrinx performed as encore. Concert premiered on ARTE television.
- [Elim Chan (Born on November 18, 1986) <br/> Feminine Revolution in Conducting](https://interlude.hk/elim-chan-born-on-november-18-1986-feminine-revolution-in-conducting/): Elim Chan, born November 18, 1986 in Hong Kong, became the first female winner of the Donatella Flick Conducting Competition in 2014. She served as chief conductor of Antwerp Symphony Orchestra and principal guest conductor of Royal Scottish National Orchestra, challenging male-dominated orchestral conducting traditions through artistic merit.
- [Tchaikovsky's Governess Shares Secrets From His Childhood](https://interlude.hk/tchaikovskys-governess-shares-secrets-from-his-childhood/): Rosa Newmarch's 1906 Tchaikovsky biography details the composer's childhood. Few family members were musical. His mother Alexandra, orphanage-educated, sang and played piano. Governess Fanny Dürbach taught Tchaikovsky from 1844-1848, noting his sensitivity and musical obsession. He practiced piano intensely, once breaking a window while drumming tunes, prompting formal music education.
- [Audience Needed, No Experience Necessary](https://interlude.hk/audience-needed-no-experience-necessary/): Classical music faces perception as elitist despite historical accessibility. UK radio and TV featured classical programming in 1960s-70s. Current audiences skew over-50. Venues pursue younger demographics using casual language like "bangers." Phrase "audience needed—no experience necessary" promotes inclusivity without patronizing listeners, emphasizing emotional appeal over technical knowledge for broader accessibility.
- [The New Solo Instrument: Bach’s Brandenburg No. 5](https://interlude.hk/the-new-solo-instrument-bachs-brandenburg-no-5/): Rising in stately spirals, J. S. Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 opens in the strings and flute before the keyboard enters. One of the most noble of the Six Brandenburgs, it uses the basic chamber music ensemble of flute, violin, and
- [Sir Charles Mackerras at 100 (Born on November 17, 1925) <br/> Intellect Meets Emotion](https://interlude.hk/sir-charles-mackerras-at-100-born-on-november-17-1925-intellect-meets-emotion/): Pioneer of historically informed performance, Sir Charles Mackerras specialized in Czech music, particularly Janáček operas, Mozart, and Handel. Studied with Václav Talich in Prague from 1947. Served as Principal Conductor English National Opera, Music Director Welsh National Opera, Chief Conductor Sydney Symphony. Combined scholarly research with emotional interpretation.
- [10 Greatest Violin Concertos (And the Most Popular Performance of Each)](https://interlude.hk/10-greatest-violin-concertos-and-the-most-popular-performance-of-each/): Article ranks ten greatest violin concertos subjectively, from Bach to Beethoven. List includes works by Bruch, Shostakovich, Bartók, Mozart, Tchaikovsky, Sibelius, Mendelssohn, and Brahms. Provides YouTube performance links, view counts, historical context, compositional details, and popular violinists including Hilary Hahn, Julia Fischer, Ray Chen performing these concertos.
- [On My Music Desk <br/>Dream Children by Edward Elgar](https://interlude.hk/on-my-music-desk-dream-children-by-edward-elgar/): Elgar composed Dream Children in 1902, originally for small orchestra, later transcribed for solo piano. The two-movement work draws inspiration from Charles Lamb's 1822 essay about imagined children. Features Andante first movement in 12/8 time and Allegretto piacevole second movement. Requires Grade 6-7 piano technique with emphasis on sensitivity and...
- [Musicians and Artists: Seabourne, Lynch and Matisse](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-seabourne-lynch-and-matisse/): Henri Matisse's 1952 paper cut-out "La Tristesse du roi" depicts the artist as a black central figure, inspired by Rembrandt's biblical paintings of King Saul and David. The work explores themes of aging and remembrance. British composers Peter Seabourne and Graham Lynch created musical interpretations of Matisse's self-portrait, translating visual...
- [Clarinet à la Carte <br/> A Musical Banquet for the Soul](https://interlude.hk/clarinet-a-la-carte-a-musical-banquet-for-the-soul/): National Clarinet Day on November 16 celebrates the clarinet's evolution from 18th-century German folk instrument to versatile musical voice. Mozart's Clarinet Concerto, Brahms' sonatas, and jazz performances by Benny Goodman and Artie Shaw demonstrate the instrument's range across classical, jazz, klezmer, and film score genres.
- [Eight Most Fascinating Composer Power Couples in Classical Music History](https://interlude.hk/eight-most-fascinating-composer-power-couples-in-classical-music-history/): Eight classical music "power couples" profoundly shaped their art. Partners provided inspiration, critical feedback, and crucial support, enabling composers like Schumann, Liszt, and Britten to create iconic works. These relationships often promoted careers, preserved legacies, and ensured their music's enduring impact, proving personal connections were integral to their creative output.
- [The Vision of Daniel Barenboim (Born on November 15, 1942) <br/> When Music Becomes Dialogue](https://interlude.hk/the-vision-of-daniel-barenboim-born-on-november-15-1942-when-music-becomes-dialogue/): Daniel Barenboim, born November 15, 1942 in Buenos Aires, founded the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra in 1999 with Edward Said. The ensemble brings together young Arab and Israeli musicians, transcending political boundaries through music. Initially based in Weimar, later Seville, the orchestra performs Beethoven, Wagner, and other classical repertoire with technical...
- [HK Duo at 25: A Journey of Friendship, Freedom, and Faith in Music](https://interlude.hk/hk-duo-at-25-a-journey-of-friendship-freedom-and-faith-in-music/): Pianists Hui Ling and Julie Kuok celebrate HK Duo's 25th anniversary with December concert featuring Beethoven Symphony No. 5, Schubert Fantasy in F minor, and world premiere of Kuok's Dance of Metamorphosis. Program includes four-hand duets and two-piano works by Saint-Saëns, McCray, and Pann, balancing emotional intensity with playful pieces.
- [Eight of the Oldest Composers to Ever Live](https://interlude.hk/eight-of-the-oldest-composers-to-ever-live/): This classical music magazine article profiles eight composers who defied stereotypes by living past 100 years old. Featured composers include Grete von Zieritz, Elliott Carter, Jenő Takács, Margaret Ruthven Lang, Matilde Capuis, Leo Ornstein, Roy Douglas, and Cecilia Seghizzi. Many continued composing into their 90s. Seghizzi lived 111 years.
- [An Introduction to the Cello <br/>Lullabies and Late-Night Listening for You and Your Youngster](https://interlude.hk/an-introduction-to-the-cello-lullabies-and-late-night-listening-for-you-and-your-youngster/): Cello music recommendations for relaxation and bedtime listening include Debussy's Rêverie, de Falla's "Nana," and Casals' El Cant dels Ocells. Featured works span Schubert's "Trout" Quintet, Strauss' Don Quixote, Haydn Cello Concerto, Mozart chamber music, Dvořák Cello Concerto, and orchestral pieces by Brahms and Mahler showcasing cello's expressive range.
- [NOËL <br/>Sonorité Saxophone Quartet](https://interlude.hk/noel-sonorite-saxophone-quartet/): The Sonorité Saxophone Quartet's "NOËL" album offers a delightful mix of traditional carols, new arrangements (Prokofiev, Puccini, Liszt), and original works. Featuring pianist Jill Morton, it captures the festive season's joy and reflection, showcasing the quartet's versatility and rich sonorities.
- [Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel’s Piano Sonatas (Born on November 14, 1805)<br/>Three Sonatas that Rewrote Music History](https://interlude.hk/fanny-mendelssohn-hensels-piano-sonatas-born-on-november-14-1805three-sonatas-that-rewrote-music-history/): Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel composed over 460 works including three surviving piano sonatas spanning 1824-1843. Her Sonata in C minor, Sonata in G minor, and Easter Sonata demonstrate Classical form with Romantic expressivity. Social restrictions limited publication during her lifetime, but her works reveal sophisticated harmonic language and pianistic technique.
- [Élisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre: The Greatest French Baroque Composer?](https://interlude.hk/elisabeth-jacquet-de-la-guerre-the-greatest-french-baroque-composer/): Élisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre was a leading French Baroque composer born in 1665 into a musical family. She performed at Versailles at age five for Louis XIV and published keyboard works, sonatas, cantatas, and operas. She pioneered sonata form in France and became the first French composer to give...
- [Marguerite Long (Born on November 13, 1874) <br/> The French Piano Revolution](https://interlude.hk/marguerite-long-born-on-november-13-1874-the-french-piano-revolution/): Marguerite Long (1874-1966) was a French pianist and pedagogue, championing a refined, light touch over Germanic virtuosity. Collaborating with Debussy and Ravel, her method, detailed in "Le Piano," emphasized poetic expression and clarity. Her influence shaped generations, teaching pianists to find "poetry" in their playing, leaving a subtle yet profound...
- [Minimalism as World Music](https://interlude.hk/minimalism-as-world-music/): Musical minimalism emerged in 1950s-60s New York with composers Riley, Reich, and Glass. Unlike visual minimalism's geometric simplicity, musical minimalism emphasizes rhythm complexity, repetition, and diatonic harmonies. The genre incorporates diverse influences including Indonesian gamelan, Indian classical music, African rhythms, jazz improvisation, and recording technology, creating works that focus on...
- [Ferdinand Schubert: The Composer Who Stole His Brother's Music](https://interlude.hk/ferdinand-schubert-the-composer-who-stole-his-brothers-music/): Ferdinand Schubert, Franz Schubert's older brother, was a composer, teacher, and organist who wrote over ninety works including masses and choruses. He claimed some of Franz's compositions as his own, including the Deutsches Requiem. After Franz's death in 1828, Ferdinand managed his brother's musical legacy, working with publishers and composers...
- [Kristine Opolais (Born on November 12, 1979)<br/>Adagio of Separation](https://interlude.hk/kristine-opolais-born-on-november-12-1979adagio-of-separation/): Soprano Kristine Opolais and conductor Andris Nelsons, a former classical music power couple, divorced in 2018. Despite their separation, they maintain an amicable co-parenting relationship for their daughter and continue professional collaborations, demonstrating resilience and mutual respect. Their story highlights Opolais's desire for individual identity alongside shared artistic and parental...
- [Who Was Harriet Smithson? The Actress Who Inspired Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique](https://interlude.hk/who-was-harriet-smithson-the-actress-who-inspired-berliozs-symphonie-fantastique/): Harriet Smithson was an Irish actress born in 1800 who inspired Hector Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique. She achieved fame performing Shakespeare in Paris in 1827, particularly as Ophelia in Hamlet. Berlioz obsessively pursued her, eventually marrying her in 1833. Their marriage deteriorated as her career declined and health failed, ending with...
- [Can Sound Be Felt or Seen? How Do Deaf People Experience Music?](https://interlude.hk/can-sound-be-felt-or-seen-how-do-deaf-people-experience-music/): Deaf individuals experience music through vibrations, visual representations, and technology rather than traditional hearing. Methods include bone conduction, vibrational devices, sound visualization technology, and sign language interpretation. Innovations like haptic wearables, vibrating concert venues, and ASL performances make music accessible to deaf communities, demonstrating music's multisensory nature.
- [Ping Pong Gintonería Presents The Odyssey, Book VIII on November 27th — A Solo Violin Recital by Abylay Nurlybek](https://interlude.hk/ping-pong-gintoneria-presents-the-odyssey-book-viii-on-november-27th-a-solo-violin-recital-by-abylay-nurlybek/): Ping Pong Gintonería welcomes violinist Abylay Nurlybek for The Odyssey, Book VIII, a solo recital taking place on November 27th, that brings Homer’s timeless epic into dialogue with music. Abylay Nurlybek is an award winning musician whose training spans the Central Music School and Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory to his...
- [Consumed by Jealousy: GNO’s <em>La Gioconda</em>](https://interlude.hk/consumed-by-jealousy-gnos-la-gioconda/): Greek National Opera's La Gioconda featured superb singing but incoherent modern costumes. The production controversially reinterpreted the plot, including a violent "Dance of the Hours" and a final act where La Gioconda kills her enemies and finds freedom, departing from the original's suicide, leading to a mixed critical reception.
- [Aristo Sham’s <em>Timeline</em>: A Meditation on Music and Time](https://interlude.hk/aristo-shams-timeline-a-meditation-on-music-and-time/): Aristo Sham's "Timeline" album transcends mere chronology, exploring music's relationship with time, transformation, and human experience. Featuring Bach, Busoni, Brahms, and Grieg, Sham's interpretations are praised for their clarity, emotional depth, and ability to connect diverse eras. The album showcases his artistic maturity, offering a profound meditation on continuity in...
- [Pianist Adelina de Lara: Clara Schumann's TV Star Student](https://interlude.hk/pianist-adelina-de-lara-clara-schumanns-tv-star-student/): Adelina de Lara (1872-1961) was a British pianist and composer. A direct student of Clara Schumann, she had a seven-decade career, made numerous recordings, and wrote vivid accounts of Schumann. Despite her significant contributions and connections to musical greats, her legacy is only now being rediscovered.
- [The Key Conductor: Pierre Monteux](https://interlude.hk/the-key-conductor-pierre-monteux/): French conductor Pierre Monteux (1875–1964) always seemed to be the right man at the right time. As a student of violin and viola at the Paris Conservatoire, his fellow students included George Enescu, Fritz Kreisler, and Alfred Cortot. Upon graduation,
- [What Charitable Causes Did These Eight Great Composers Support?](https://interlude.hk/what-charitable-causes-did-these-eight-great-composers-support/): Classical composers like Handel, Beethoven, Liszt, Schumann, Tchaikovsky, Elgar, Bernstein, and Verdi leveraged their fame for philanthropy. They supported abandoned children, wounded soldiers, disaster victims, fellow musicians, war efforts, AIDS activism, and elderly artists, showcasing a profound commitment to giving back to society.
- [Touring the Town in a Sonata: Turina’s <em>Sanlúcar de Barrameda</em>](https://interlude.hk/touring-the-town-in-a-sonata-turinas-sanlucar-de-barrameda/): Joaquín Turina's virtuosic piano sonata, Sanlúcar de Barrameda (1921), is a "picturesque sonata" inspired by the Spanish city. Its four movements depict different facets of the town: "En la torre del castillo" (castle views), "Siluetas de la calzada" (street life), "La playa" (waves on the beach), and "Los pescadores en...
- [Kapustin: Between the Lines <br/>Ophelia Gordon, piano](https://interlude.hk/kapustin-between-the-lines-ophelia-gordon-piano/): Nikolai Kapustin fused classical rigor with jazz vitality, creating notated works that sound improvised. Pianist Ophelia Gordon's debut album, "Between the Lines," celebrates his unique style, reflecting her own genre-spanning background. Her performance showcases Kapustin's vibrant, energetic pieces with natural virtuosity, bridging classical and jazz worlds.
- [Johann Sebastian Bach and the Deaths That Shaped His Life](https://interlude.hk/johann-sebastian-bach-and-the-deaths-that-shaped-his-life/): Johann Sebastian Bach, a prolific composer, endured immense personal loss throughout his life, including parents, wives, and many children. His profound grief often coincided with or influenced his monumental works, such as cantatas, the Chaconne, St. Matthew Passion, and Mass in B-minor, showcasing his deep faith amidst sorrow.
- [Sir Bryn Terfel (Born on November 9, 1965) <br/> High Priest of Rugby and Opera](https://interlude.hk/sir-bryn-terfel-born-on-november-9-1965-high-priest-of-rugby-and-opera/): Bryn Terfel, the Welsh bass-baritone, blends operatic stardom with a deep Welsh identity forged in rugby. Known for Wagner and diverse repertoire, his powerful voice and charismatic flair define his career. His personal life, including a high-profile second marriage, reflects resilience. Terfel embodies his motto, "achieve more with less," distilling...
- [The Voice of the Past: Paul McNulty and Viviana Sofronitsky on the Living Art of the Fortepiano](https://interlude.hk/the-voice-of-the-past-paul-mcnulty-and-viviana-sofronitsky-on-the-living-art-of-the-fortepiano/): Paul McNulty, inspired by an Amadeus piano, became a renowned fortepiano builder in Prague, meticulously recreating historical instruments. His wife, Viviana Sofronitsky, a pianist, discovered the true essence of classical music, especially Mozart, by playing these period instruments. Their collaborative work revives historical sounds, connecting art and craft across centuries.
- [Second-Best Symphonies: 7 Overlooked Works by the Great Composers](https://interlude.hk/second-best-symphonies-7-overlooked-works-by-the-great-composers/): This article highlights brilliant symphonies by famous composers, often overshadowed by their popular works. It spotlights Mozart's 39th, Beethoven's 4th, Schubert's 5th, Brahms's 3rd, Dvořák's 7th, Tchaikovsky's 1st, and Sibelius's 1st, encouraging discovery of these equally valuable, yet overlooked, musical gems.
- [Four Brazilian Fantasies by Francisco Mignone](https://interlude.hk/four-brazilian-fantasies-by-francisco-mignone/): Francisco Mignone's Fantasias Brasileiras (1929-1936) blend Brazilian nationalism with international appeal. Recorded by Fabio Martino and the São Paulo Symphony, these piano-orchestra works showcase Mignone's improvisatory skill. Premiered often by Souza Lima, they brought Brazilian music to the world stage, influencing and reinforcing contemporaries like Villa-Lobos.
- [César Franck (Died on November 8, 1890) <br/> Rejected Gems of Precocity](https://interlude.hk/cesar-franck-died-on-november-8-1890-rejected-gems-of-precocity/): César Franck was a child prodigy, exploited by his father, composing early works he later disowned. His true genius blossomed late, redefining French music. Breaking from his father freed him to become the "cathedral composer," pioneering cyclic form, evident even in one surviving youthful piece, foreshadowing his masterpieces.
- [World Pianist Day <br/>Alchemists of Emotion](https://interlude.hk/world-pianist-day-alchemists-of-emotion/): World Pianist Day, celebrated November 8 (8/11, like 88 piano keys), honors pianists globally. Founded in 2014, it's an inclusive celebration of the instrument's emotional alchemy, recognizing human creative labor and the magic of turning feeling into sound. It highlights the piano's unique ability to convey emotion.
- [Fire and Fury <br/>How Gwyneth Jones Redefined the Valkyrie (Born November 7, 1936)](https://interlude.hk/fire-and-fury-how-gwyneth-jones-redefined-the-valkyrie-born-november-7-1936/): In the summer of 1976, the Bayreuth Festspielhaus, the cathedral of sound built by Richard Wagner himself, witnessed something extraordinary. The Green Hill had crowned Germanic sopranos for a century, including Lilli Lehmann, Kirsten Flagstad, and Astrid Varnay. And then the daughter of a Welsh miner strode onto the stage...
- [Marie Curie’s Secret Score (Born on November 7, 1867)<br/>Polonium Waltz](https://interlude.hk/marie-curies-secret-score-born-on-november-7-1867polonium-waltz/): She was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, the first person to win a Nobel Prize twice, the only person to win a Nobel Prize in two scientific fields, and the first woman to become a professor at the University of Paris. She was born Maria Salomea Skłodowska...
- [Violinist, Patron, and Pulitzer Winning Poet: Leonora von Stosch Speyer](https://interlude.hk/violinist-patron-and-pulitzer-winning-poet-leonora-von-stosch-speyer/): Leonora von Stosch Speyer is a particularly fascinating figure in the history of classical music. Not only was she a celebrated violin soloist, but also a noted patroness of many composers in the early 1900s. She also became a celebrated
- [Don’t be Afraid of Self-Promotion](https://interlude.hk/dont-be-afraid-of-self-promotion/): In addition to writing about classical music for this site and my blog, The Cross-Eyed Pianist, I am a publicist/PR working with a number of musicians and music organisations. I have no formal training for this role, but I spend a lot of time observing how other musicians and organisations,...
- [Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky](https://interlude.hk/pyotr-ilyich-tchaikovsky-russian-composer/): Beyond the Tormented Genius Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840–1893) stands as one of the most enigmatic and beloved figures in the Romantic era, a composer whose music pulses with raw emotion, sweeping melodies, and an unerring sense of drama. Born into the vast, turbulent landscape of imperial Russia, Tchaikovsky bridged the...
- [Tchaikovsky's Illegitimate Heir: Georgy Tchaikovsky, Part 2](https://interlude.hk/tchaikovskys-illegitimate-heir-georgy-tchaikovsky-part-2/): In this entry, we’re sharing more of the history behind Tchaikovsky’s heir. To sum up the story so far, in late 1883, Tchaikovsky’s young niece Tatyana came to the composer for help when she became pregnant out of wedlock. Tchaikovsky
- [Small Treasures <br/>Sarah Beth Briggs, piano](https://interlude.hk/small-treasures-sarah-beth-briggs-piano/): In her latest release, British pianist Sarah Beth Briggs celebrates the notion that “small is beautiful”, including two of the greatest sets of miniatures ever written – Robert Schumann’s Waldszenen (Forest Scenes) and Brahms’s 4 Klavierstucke op. 119. These are
- [Suzana Bartal: Capturing Romanticism in Motion](https://interlude.hk/suzana-bartal-capturing-romanticism-in-motion/): For Franco-Hungarian pianist Suzana Bartal, her new album, Grieg & Saint-Saëns: Piano Concertos, marks an important milestone in her artistic life. Released by Channel Classics, the recording pairs Edvard Grieg’s Piano Concerto in A minor with Camille Saint-Saëns’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in G
- [Nordic Twilight <br/>Camilla Nylund and the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra](https://interlude.hk/nordic-twilight-camilla-nylund-and-the-ndr-elbphilharmonie-orchestra/): Filmed in the open-air embrace of the 2025 Usedomer Musikfestival, Camilla Nylund steps forward to reclaim Jean Sibelius from the monumental shadow of his symphonies. She is not merely an interpreter, but a luminous conduit for Sibelius’ soul-stirring introspection. The
- [Tchaikovsky's Illegitimate Heir: Georgy Tchaikovsky, Part 1](https://interlude.hk/tchaikovskys-illegitimate-heir-georgy-tchaikovsky-part-1/): Pyotr Tchaikovsky never had children. He was a gay man, and his only marriage fell apart within weeks. His wife would go on to have children with other men that legally he could have claimed as his own, but he chose not to. However, despite this, he did die with...
- [Honouring Your Teacher: A Present for Gabriel Fauré (Died on November 4, 1924)](https://interlude.hk/honouring-your-teacher-a-present-for-gabriel-faure-died-on-november-4-1924/): In the October 1922 issue of La revue musicale, the musical supplement contained an Hommage to Gabriel Fauré. The 7 piano pieces were all to be written using Fauré’s name, done into pitches. His entire name came out as GABDBEE
- [Felix Mendelssohn’s Piano Sonata Legacy <br/> The Mozart of the 19th Century (Died on November 4, 1847)](https://interlude.hk/felix-mendelssohns-piano-sonata-legacy-the-mozart-of-the-19th-century-died-on-november-4-1847/): Felix Mendelssohn (1809–1847) is often celebrated for his orchestral masterpieces like the Italian Symphony or the incidental music to A Midsummer Night’s Dream. However, Mendelssohn was not only a prodigious composer but also one of the finest pianists of his
- [The Passage of Sound: Aristo Sham’s Musical <em>Timeline</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-passage-of-sound-aristo-shams-musical-timeline/): Fresh from his victory at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition and the release of a new recording titled Timeline, pianist Aristo Sham reflects on a period of extraordinary growth. Preparing for one of the world’s most demanding competitions and recording a major album immediately afterwards transformed both his artistry...
- [Sławomir Dobrzański: Rediscovering Antoni Kątski’s Romantic Journeys](https://interlude.hk/slawomir-dobrzanski-rediscovering-antoni-katskis-romantic-journeys/): The Polish pianist and scholar Dr. Sławomir Dobrzański continues his impressive exploration of overlooked Romantic repertoire with Antoni Kątski: Piano Works, Vol. 3, the newest release in Acte Préalable’s praised series. This album takes listeners on a musical journey through the
- [Seven Must-See Víkingur Ólafsson Performances: His Most Popular YouTube Videos](https://interlude.hk/seven-must-see-vikingur-olafsson-performances-his-most-popular-youtube-videos/): Víkingur Ólafsson has become one of the most identifiable classical pianists of his generation. His artistic personality is restrained, studious, rather austere, and extremely Icelandic. Today, we’re looking at his seven most-viewed performances on YouTube, which feature repertoire from Bach to Philip Glass. All of these performances have resonated strongly...
- [Modern English Piano Quintets](https://interlude.hk/modern-english-piano-quintets/): Two of the four works on this new album of piano quintets, played by Peter Donohoe on piano and I Musicanti (Zsolt-Tihamér Visontay, violin; Robert Smissen, viola; Ursula Smith, cello; and Leon Bosch, double bass and director) were the results
- [Ermonela Jaho with Opera Rara <br/>Rediscovering Donizetti and Reviving Puccini](https://interlude.hk/ermonela-jaho-with-opera-rara-rediscovering-donizetti-and-reviving-puccini/): It was once again time to catch up with the deliciously busy Ermonela Jaho, described in The Economist as “the world’s most acclaimed soprano. ” But was it more than that, Jaho is surely one of the most eloquent and outspoken
- [What Is Music For?](https://interlude.hk/what-is-music-for/): “All these years, I’ve been trying to convince people that music is not there to please them; it’s there to disturb them. ” Pierre Boulez, composer and conductor A powerful quote, capturing Pierre Boulez’s radical philosophy towards art and sound. He
- [Eight Classical Musicians Who Died in Plane Crashes](https://interlude.hk/eight-classical-musicians-who-died-in-plane-crashes/): The rise of air travel over the past century has proven transformative for touring artists, completely rewriting what an international career as a singer, pianist, violinist, or conductor looks like. But that same technology has also led to some of
- [Harmony over Algorithms <br/>Müller-Schott’s Mission in the Age of AI (Born on November 2, 1976)](https://interlude.hk/harmony-over-algorithms-muller-schotts-mission-in-the-age-of-ai-born-on-november-2-1976/): Daniel Müller-Schott, born on 2 November 1976 in Munich, Germany, leapt to global attention by winning first prize at the 1992 International Tchaikovsky Competition for Young Musicians. Mentored by Anne-Sophie Mutter and performing with elite orchestras, Müller-Schott blends technical brilliance
- [Musical Memories](https://interlude.hk/musical-memories/): My earliest memories of music are probably my parents listening to BBC Radio 3 and playing LPs of their favourite pieces and performers. When I was older, probably around 8 or 9, they took me to concerts and it was
- [Dvořák in America: Five Masterpieces Inspired by the New World](https://interlude.hk/dvorak-in-america-five-masterpieces-inspired-by-the-new-world/): In September 1892, Antonín Dvořák arrived in America with his wife and two of his children, ready to start a new life in the New World. His American sojourn only lasted for three years, but those three years produced some
- [Playlist: Seven Pianist-Composers of Yesterday and Today](https://interlude.hk/playlist-seven-pianist-composers-of-yesterday-and-today/): Since its invention in the eighteenth century, the piano has stood as both an expressive outlet and a tool of innovation, and its versatility has allowed countless composers to explore new emotional depths, technical possibilities and stylistic revolutions. Among the towering figures of music are those who not only played...
- [Justina Gringytė](https://interlude.hk/justina-gringyte-mezzo-soprano/): ‘Following an Instinct’ Lithuanian mezzo-soprano Justina Gringytė has garnered praise for her ‘knockout technique’ (The Times) and ‘thunderously powerful voice’ (Daily Telegraph). She has performed on stages across the UK, Lithuania, Russia, Italy, Portugal and Korea, including at the opening
- [Cradle and Crescendo <br/>Alondra de la Parra’s Birthday Duet (Born on October 31, 1980)](https://interlude.hk/cradle-and-crescendo-alondra-de-la-parras-birthday-duet-born-on-october-31-1980/): Born on 31 October 1980 in New York City, conductor Alondra de la Parra has lived a story of crossing borders, including geographic, cultural, and professional, while raising two sons in Berlin since 2019. Her journey as a trailblazing conductor,
- [Romantic Era Classical Music Inspired by Composers' Wives](https://interlude.hk/romantic-era-classical-music-inspired-by-composers-wives/): Classical music lovers don’t always like acknowledging it, but every idolised canonical composer has been deeply inspired by the people who surrounded him. And in many cases, one of the most inspirational people in any artist’s life is their spouse.
- [It’s Alive! <br/>Frankenstein Friday](https://interlude.hk/its-alive-frankenstein-friday/): Ah, Frankenstein Friday! That electrifying evening when the veil between the living and the undead thins just enough for monsters to mingle with mortals. You might know it by its more common alias, Halloween, but let’s crank up the voltage
- [Michael Haydn: The Overlooked Genius Behind His Famous Brother](https://interlude.hk/michael-haydn-the-overlooked-genius-behind-his-famous-brother/): Michael Haydn was born on 14 September 1737 in the Austrian village of Rohrau. His father was Mathias Haydn, a wheelwright and local government official. His mother was Maria, a cook, wife, and mother. Both parents were enthusiastic amateur musicians
- [The Lyrical Improvisation <br/>Saint-Saëns’ <em>La muse et le poète</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-lyrical-improvisation-saint-saens-la-muse-et-le-poete/): French composer Camille Saint-Saëns (1835–1921) spanned a change in eras that opens with the child prodigy being recognised by Rossini and Hector Berlioz and ends with the radical changes of the early 20th century. He did not like atonality or
- [Leonidas Kavakos (Born on October 30, 1967)<br/>Reviving the Unheard](https://interlude.hk/leonidas-kavakos-born-on-october-30-1967reviving-the-unheard/): Leonidas Kavakos, born on 30 October 1967 in Athens, Greece, emerged as a violin prodigy whose early life was steeped in the rhythms of a musical household. His father, a violinist, and his mother, a pianist, created an environment where
- [Mana-Zucca: Composer, Pianist, Actress, and Forgotten American Icon](https://interlude.hk/mana-zucca-composer-pianist-actress-and-forgotten-american-icon/): Mana-Zucca is, beyond a shadow of a doubt, one of the most interesting American composers you’ve never heard of. She was a child prodigy who debuted in Carnegie Hall with the New York Symphony, was admired by Puccini, and was
- [The Evolution of Sampled Music](https://interlude.hk/the-evolution-of-sampled-music/): As creative as the human mind gets, it seems we constantly find situations in which we repeat what has been done in the past. In fact, in art, one could question how much new there really is and how much
- [Musicians and Artists: Anna Clyne and 5 Abstract Artists](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-anna-clyne-and-5-abstract-artists/): Inspirations Behind Anna Clyne’s Abstractions The suite Abstractions (2016) uses the works of five contemporary abstract artists to create an image of art today. The works were all in the collection of the Baltimore Museum of Art and came from
- [Odd Sympathies: Matthew Schellhorn, piano](https://interlude.hk/odd-sympathies-matthew-schellhorn-piano/): This new release from British pianist Matthew Schellhorn draws together an interesting and eclectic selection of piano pieces. As a champion of contemporary composers through commissions and premières, Schellhorn brings new music to a wider audience. The pieces on this new album are all by living composers, including Cheryl Frances-Hoad,...
- [Music for Reading: Jane Austen’s <em>Pride and Prejudice</em>](https://interlude.hk/music-for-reading-jane-austens-pride-and-prejudice/): The great English writer Jane Austen (1775–1817) only completed six novels, but they were novels that are not just stories but telling and pointed commentary on English landed gentry at the end of the 18th century. The definition of people
- [How Baroque Composer Francesca Caccini Became the Godmother of Opera](https://interlude.hk/how-baroque-composer-francesca-caccini-became-the-godmother-of-opera/): When music lovers think of the origins of opera, names like Claudio Monteverdi often come to mind. However, before opera became dominated by male composers, a remarkable woman was composing groundbreaking works in the genre. Francesca Caccini, born in Florence
- [Crossing Keys: Olivier Latry’s <em>Bach to Notre-Dame</em>](https://interlude.hk/crossing-keys-olivier-latrys-bach-to-notre-dame/): Olivier Latry, titular organist of the Great Organ of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, brings us an album of the organ music of the greatest of Protestant composers, J. S. Bach, on the Cavaillé-Coll organ of the very Catholic of cathedrals, Notre-Dame
- [Beyond the Caprices <br/> Paganini’s Secret Sonatas for Violin and Guitar (Born on October 27, 1782)](https://interlude.hk/beyond-the-caprices-paganinis-secret-sonatas-for-violin-and-guitar-born-on-october-27-1782/): The prevailing image of Niccolò Paganini immediately brings his thunderous violin concertos to mind. Hardly surprising, as they are such wondrous orchestral spectacles where Paganini tamed the instrument like a wild stallion. And let’s not forget the legendary 24 Caprices,
- [Ten Saddest Works Written by Grieving Composers](https://interlude.hk/ten-saddest-works-written-by-grieving-composers/): When composers grieve, they often turn to music to express what words can’t. Some of the most powerful works of classical music ever are connected to the deaths of loved ones: spouses, siblings, friends, and others. From Johann Sebastian Bach’s Chaconne, composed after the sudden death of his wife, to...
- [The Plains: A Sonic Journey Beyond Time](https://interlude.hk/the-plains-a-sonic-journey-beyond-time/): The latest collaboration between pianist Cheryl Duvall and composer Linda Catlin Smith marks the beginning of a remarkable multi-volume recording project devoted to Smith’s complete piano works. Its first installment, The Plains, is an hour-long solo piece that invites listeners to enter an expansive world
- [Musicians and Artists: Pépin and Pollock](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-pepin-and-pollock/): Jackson Pollock’s Autumn Rhythm Inspires Composer Camille Pépin American artist Jackson Pollock (1912–1956) created Autumn Rhythm (Number 30) in his studio in Springs, New York, working with an unprimed canvas on the ground while he poured and scattered paint on
- [Who Were Classical Music's Richest Composers?](https://interlude.hk/who-were-classical-musics-richest-composers/): Trying to compare the net worths of classical composers across the centuries is tough. Currencies have changed; governments have fallen; and financial systems of the 1720s aren’t particularly comparable to those of the 2020s. And yet despite all that, it’s
- [If You Like Debussy, You Might Like Jean-Yves Thibaudet](https://interlude.hk/if-you-like-debussy-you-might-like-jean-yves-thibaudet/): Claude Debussy, the French composer whose evocative and innovative works reshaped the landscape of Western classical music, remains a towering figure in the canon of impressionist music. His compositions, characterised by fluid harmonies, delicate textures, and a painterly approach to
- [Six Composer Children Overshadowed by Their Parents](https://interlude.hk/six-composer-children-overshadowed-by-their-parents/): For many people, the names of Bach, Mozart, and Wagner evoke feelings of gratitude and awe for their musical works. But for the children of these composers, their names – and the growing legacies that became associated with them –
- [Pablo Picasso (Born on October 25, 1881) <br/> Fragmented Melodies](https://interlude.hk/pablo-picasso-born-on-october-25-1881-fragmented-melodies/): Can you imagine a world where jagged geometric shapes dance to the swelling strings of a symphony orchestra? That’s the unlikely yet captivating intersection of Pablo Picasso and classical music. Picasso, the Spanish maestro of modern art, revolutionised painting with his Cubist explosions, but his life was equally tuned to...
- [Wine Tasting: Bubbly!](https://interlude.hk/wine-tasting-bubbly/): Faster than a waltz and designed to get the dancers really moving, the Galop moved in the 1820s from country dances to sophisticated Paris society. It was the predecessor to the next fast item to hit the dancefloor, the polka.
- [Petroc Trelawny’s Classical Music Puzzle Book](https://interlude.hk/petroc-trelawnys-classical-music-puzzle-book/): Can you tell your Wagner from your Wallen? Or your Schubert from your Seeger? Test your classical music general knowledge and your powers of puzzle-solving alongside fascinating insights into the lives and works of the great composers, living and dead,
- [How Tchaikovsky Met Nadezhda von Meck, The Benefactress Who Changed His Life](https://interlude.hk/how-tchaikovsky-met-nadezhda-von-meck-the-benefactress-who-changed-his-life/): Some people know the outlines of the famous story of Tchaikovsky’s eccentric benefactress, Nadezhda von Meck: how she supported his composing career for years, how they made a pact never to meet in person, and how she suddenly and unexpectedly
- [The Gobbi-Callas Rivalry <br/>Passion and Power (Tito Gobbi Born on October 24, 1913)](https://interlude.hk/the-gobbi-callas-rivalry-passion-and-power-tito-gobbi-born-on-october-24-1913/): In the pages of opera history, few partnerships have burned as brightly or as fiercely as that of Tito Gobbi and Maria Callas. Their collaboration in Giacomo Puccini’s Tosca, particularly in the landmark 1953 Angel Records recording, remains a touchstone
- [Musicantes 2025: New Horizons in Peruvian Music](https://interlude.hk/musicantes-2025-new-horizons-in-peruvian-music/): The Musicantes Festival 2025, organized and produced by the Cultural Center of the University of Piura under the direction of Dr. Enrique Banús Irusta, continues to broaden its scope of contemporary musical creation in Peru. It provides a platform for
- [Louise Japha: Pianist, Composer, and Brahms's Childhood Friend](https://interlude.hk/louise-japha-pianist-composer-and-brahmss-childhood-friend/): When pianist Louise Japha was in her late teens, a precocious eleven-year-old boy played a piano sonata for her. She was impressed by the child’s talent, and the two went on to become friends. That little boy was none other
- [Music & Meditation](https://interlude.hk/music-meditation/): Music and meditation, for composers... Cage has many times drawn parallels between spirituality and music, and his approach to music was very akin to a meditative practice. He would often perceive his music as meditations to measure the passing of
- [Kirill Gerstein’s Musical Odyssey (Born on October 23, 1979) <br/> Improvising Tradition](https://interlude.hk/kirill-gersteins-musical-odyssey-born-on-october-23-1979-improvising-tradition/): In the world of music, where boundaries between genres often seem rather rigid, Kirill Gerstein is a shining exception. He is a pianist whose journey from a self-taught jazz prodigy to a Grammy-nominated classical virtuoso redefines what it means to
- [Alessandro Scarlatti’s Soulful Legacy (Died on October 22, 1725)<br/>10 Arias that Still Stir the Heart](https://interlude.hk/alessandro-scarlattis-soulful-legacy-arias-that-still-stir-the-heart/): In 2025, we’re celebrating 300 years since Alessandro Scarlatti (1660-1725) left his mark on music history. Born in Palermo, Scarlatti composed over 100 operas and 600 chamber cantatas, many featuring exquisite da capo arias renowned for their lyrical elegance and
- [Barbara Strozzi: Is She the Greatest Woman Composer of the Baroque?](https://interlude.hk/barbara-strozzi-is-she-the-greatest-woman-composer-of-the-baroque/): Composer and singer Barbara Strozzi is one of the best-known women composers of the Baroque era. Born in Venice in 1619, her upbringing and natural talent combined to make her one of the most prolific women composers in a time
- [The Resonant Rebirth <br/>Concert for Notre-Dame](https://interlude.hk/the-resonant-rebirth-concert-for-notre-dame/): On 7 January 2025, the vaulted nave of Notre-Dame, once scarred by the inferno of 15 April 2019, reverberated once more with sacred cadences of voices and strings. Notre-Dame de Paris emerged from its chrysalis of scaffolding and silence into
- [The Dedicatees of Clara Schumann's Music](https://interlude.hk/the-dedicatees-of-clara-schumanns-music/): Clara Schumann was a giant of the Romantic Era. Not only was she a major inspiration to her husband, composer Robert Schumann, but she was also one of the greatest pianists of her generation. For the first few decades of
- [The Screaming Skull <br/>Georg Solti Igniting a Golden Age in Chicago (Born October 21, 1912)](https://interlude.hk/the-screaming-skull-georg-solti-igniting-a-golden-age-in-chicago-born-october-21-1912/): When Georg Solti stepped onto the podium as Music Director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) in 1969, he inherited an ensemble with a storied history but a reputation in need of revitalisation. Over the next 22 years, Solti’s leadership
- [A Song of Love: The Dvořák Cello Concerto](https://interlude.hk/a-song-of-love-the-dvorak-cello-concerto/): The authors of Interlude have frequently written about Antonín Dvořák’s Cello Concerto in B minor, with good reason. While the score presents a formidable challenge for both the virtuoso soloist and the finest conductor, its power lies not in dazzling
- [The Whirling Life: <em>Dance in Vienna</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-whirling-life-dance-in-vienna/): Long before Paris became the world’s music centre, it was Vienna. From Haydn through the Strauss family, there was always a place for music in Vienna. The State Opera, the Vienna Philharmonic and many other orchestras, and the opportunities for
- [Seven Must-See Seong-Jin Cho Performances: His Most Popular YouTube Videos](https://interlude.hk/seven-must-see-seong-jin-cho-performances-his-most-popular-youtube-videos/): Ever since winning the 2015 International Chopin Piano Competition, pianist Seong-Jin Cho has captivated audiences with his poetic touch, razor-sharp technique, and quiet, yet convincing, charisma. He’s especially popular on YouTube, where his performances garner millions and millions of views. Today, we’re looking at his seven most popular videos, noting...
- [Blue Prince, Bart Knol, and Bass Clarinet <br/>An Interview with the Composer Behind the Smash Hit Indie Game](https://interlude.hk/blue-prince-bart-knol-and-bass-clarinet-an-interview-with-the-composer-behind-the-smash-hit-indie-game/): Note: this article contains some very minor spoilers about the game. In a funny twist of fate, life has brought me to one of the spacious vintage leather armchairs of coffeecompany Delft, a cosy work-friendly café in the Netherlands that serves ferociously strong filter coffee. Opposite me sits Bart Knol...
- [Who Were the First Women Conductors?](https://interlude.hk/who-were-the-first-women-conductors/): Over the past decade, it has become more and more common to see women conducting orchestras. Many people believe that women only started conducting in the twentieth century, but that belief would be mistaken. As of 2025, we’re still waiting
- [Musicians and Artists: Holt and Goya’s Dwarves](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-holt-and-goyas-dwarves/): Inspirations Behind Simon Holt’s a book of colours – No. 1. duendecitos The three grotesques are at their meal, cups and bread ready. But these are Goya’s vision of the clergy of his day: rapacious and demanding, full of false
- [Emil Gilels (Born October 19, 1916) <br/> Pioneering Soviet Music](https://interlude.hk/emil-gilels-born-october-19-1916-pioneering-soviet-music/): Emil Gilels, born on 19 October 1916 in Odessa, is widely regarded as one of the greatest pianists of all time. Universally admired for his superb technical control and polished tone, his discography details his development from early impulsiveness and
- [‘Where the journey begins’ <br/>Opus 1 : Anna Geniushene, piano](https://interlude.hk/where-the-journey-begins-opus-1-anna-geniushene-piano/): This new release from prize-winning Russian pianist Anna Geniushene explores the early creativity of the great Romantic composers Chopin, Schumann, Brahms, Berg and Tchaikovsky, revealing the ambition, curiosity and individuality that shaped their musical identities. ‘The title Opus 1 carries
- [Rosalyn Tureck: The Greatest Bach Pianist You've Never Heard Of](https://interlude.hk/rosalyn-tureck-the-greatest-bach-pianist-youve-never-heard-of/): Most classical music lovers know about Glenn Gould and his legendary recordings of Bach’s Goldberg Variations. But do you know about Rosalyn Tureck, the incredible keyboard player who inspired him? Over the course of her very long career, Rosalyn Tureck
- [If You Like Schubert, You Might Like András Schiff](https://interlude.hk/if-you-like-schubert-you-might-like-andras-schiff/): Franz Schubert is renowned for his melodic genius, emotional depth, and his ability to capture the human experience in music. His works, ranging from intimate lieder to expansive symphonies, have left an enduring mark on classical music. For those drawn
- [Seasonal Selection <br/> Autumn: The Chill Winds](https://interlude.hk/seasonal-selection-autumn-the-chill-winds/): The summer’s last green leaves the trees, and the winds of autumn start to make their way through the branches. The leaves start to turn colours and, as the wind catches them, they tumble to the ground. How can we
- [Romantic Lyricism and Sacred Expression <br/>Choral Music by Charles Gounod (Died on October 18, 1893)](https://interlude.hk/romantic-lyricism-and-sacred-expression-choral-music-by-charles-gounod-died-on-october-18-1893/): The prominent French composer Charles Gounod (1818–1893) is best known for his operas and his lyrical vocal works. However, his sacred choral music represents a significant yet often underappreciated facet of his oeuvre. Gounod’s choral works range from large-scale oratorios
- [Modest Tchaikovsky: A Younger Brother In the Shadows](https://interlude.hk/modest-tchaikovsky-a-younger-brother-in-the-shadows/): Pyotr Tchaikovsky is one of the most beloved composers of the Romantic Era. One reason Tchaikovsky’s music has endured is that he had a devoted younger brother named Modest, who spent years of his life tending to his brother’s legacy.
- [Narratives of the Soul <br/>10 Most Magnificent Chopin Polonaises (Died on October 17, 1849)](https://interlude.hk/narratives-of-the-soul-10-most-magnificent-chopin-polonaises-died-on-october-17-1849/): During Frédéric Chopin’s lifetime, Poland was partitioned among Russia, Prussia, and Austria. Living in exile in Paris, Chopin used the Polonaise to express his longing for his homeland. But they are more than just musical compositions; they are cultural artefacts. As an important scholar notes, “Chopin’s Polonaises serve as a...
- [The Joys of Music: An Interview with Beatrice Nicholas](https://interlude.hk/the-joys-of-music-an-interview-with-beatrice-nicholas/): We had a talk the other day with pianist and composer Beatrice Nicholas. She’s a virtuoso pianist and at the same time is so active in imagining all the places the music can go that you really need to follow to see what she’s doing next! We looked at Beatrice...
- [Oscar Wilde (Born October 16, 1854) <br/> Chords of Paradox](https://interlude.hk/oscar-wilde-born-october-16-1854-chords-of-paradox/): Oscar Wilde (1854-1900), the Irish wit whose velvet-clad rebellion upended Victorian propriety, lived as if life were a grand opera. Classical music, that lofty domain of soaring strings and thunderous brass, was both his muse and his target. Wilde was no composer, nor did he pretend to be, but his...
- [Konstancja Gładkowska: The Singer Who Was Chopin's First Love](https://interlude.hk/konstancja-gladkowska-the-singer-who-was-chopins-first-love/): Konstancja Gładkowska, a talented Polish soprano, was a major figure in the life of Frédéric Chopin. Without even knowing it, Gładkowska became Chopin’s muse when he was in his late teens and early twenties. Their relationship may never have been
- [Tabloid Tempests <br/>Dmitri Hvorostovsky’s Heartbreak Aria (Born October 16, 1962)](https://interlude.hk/tabloid-tempests-dmitri-hvorostovskys-heartbreak-aria-born-october-16-1962/): An old saying suggests that “art thrives in the wreckage of the heart. ” That’s certainly true in the glittering and unforgiving world of opera, where voices soar like eagles and egos clash like thunder. After all, personal scandals can eclipse
- [Whistling Hens: Bold Voices, Blue Chickens, and the Future of Classical Music](https://interlude.hk/whistling-hens-bold-voices-blue-chickens-and-the-future-of-classical-music/): When soprano Jennifer Piazza-Pick and clarinettist Natalie Groom set out to record their new album, Big Crass Monster, they never expected to compete with lawnmowers. “Even in a state-of-the-art concert hall at UMBC, the sound of three or four mowers
- [Was Brahms Forced to Play in Brothels?](https://interlude.hk/was-brahms-forced-to-play-in-brothels/): It’s one of the most famous stories about the life of Johannes Brahms: he played piano in brothels as a teenager, and the experience scarred him for the rest of his life. However, is this mythology based on truth? Some
- [Music and Stress: How the Right Playlist Can Soothe Your Nerves](https://interlude.hk/music-and-stress-how-the-right-playlist-can-soothe-your-nerves/): Music has the power to influence emotions, energise the body, and calm the mind. In today’s fast-paced world, stress is an unavoidable part of life, but music can be a simple yet effective tool for relaxation and mental well-being. By
- [Rediscovering Forgotten Soundscapes <br/> Pianist-Scholar Ziad Kreidy on Grieg, History, and the Future of the Piano](https://interlude.hk/rediscovering-forgotten-soundscapes-pianist-scholar-ziad-kreidy-on-grieg-history-and-the-future-of-the-piano/): Some musicians live comfortably within the boundaries of the modern concert grand. Others, like Lebanese-born pianist and scholar Ziad Kreidy, spend their careers questioning those boundaries, searching instead for the forgotten voices of the past and the hidden colours of
- [Freddy Kempf (Born on October 14, 1977) <br/>From Tchaikovsky Snub to Global Triumph](https://interlude.hk/freddy-kempf-born-on-october-14-1977-from-tchaikovsky-snub-to-global-triumph/): In the madcap world of classical piano, where competitions can make or break reputations overnight, Freddy Kempf stands as a testament to the alchemy of talent, controversy, and quiet resilience. Born on 14 October 1977 in Croydon, England, to a
- [Alma Moodie: Why Has This Great Violinist Been Totally Forgotten?](https://interlude.hk/alma-moodie-why-has-this-great-violinist-been-totally-forgotten/): Australian violinist Alma Moodie was one of the most important figures in early twentieth-century classical music. Her international career burned bright in between the world wars, and she inspired multiple major works by German composers in the 1920s. But she
- [Bullfighters in the Orchestra: Bizet’s <em>Carmen Suite</em>](https://interlude.hk/bullfighters-in-the-orchestra-bizets-carmen-suite/): In they come, swaggering and posing, the heroes of the bull ring: the toreadors! In Bizet’s Carmen, the latest love of her life, Escamillo, appears in a procession to the bull ring in Act IV. Escamillo’s arrival and dallying with
- [The Temple of Music](https://interlude.hk/the-temple-of-music/): Between 1617 and 1621, the English writer Robert Fludd (1574–1637) produced his Utriusque Cosmi, Maioris scilicet et Minoris, metaphysica, physica, atque technica Historia (The metaphysical, physical, and technical history of the two worlds, namely the greater and the lesser). Fludd
- [Eight of the Saddest Piano Concerto Slow Movements](https://interlude.hk/eight-of-the-saddest-piano-concerto-slow-movements/): If you’re a classical music fan drawn to sad, slow movements in piano concertos, this is the list you’ve been looking for. Whether it’s Chopin’s gentle melancholy, Ravel’s elegant wistfulness, or Rachmaninoff’s romantic despair, each of these slow movements paints a picture of a particular kind of sadness. Although every...
- [From Silver Screen to Symphony <br/>Vaughan Williams’ Film Scores (Born October 12, 1872)](https://interlude.hk/from-silver-screen-to-symphony-vaughan-williams-film-scores-born-october-12-1872/): When you think of film music, names like John Williams, Hans Zimmer, or Ennio Morricone might spring to mind. After all, their sweeping scores are practically synonymous with the silver screen. But long before lightsabres hummed or spaghetti Westerns galloped
- [Making Fun of the Wild Pianists <br/>Saint-Saëns’ Carnival of the Animals: Pianists](https://interlude.hk/making-fun-of-the-wild-pianists-saint-saens-carnival-of-the-animals-pianists/): One of the unusual movements in Saint-Saëns’ Carnival of the Animals is his 11th movement: “Pianists. ” We opened with the march of the lions, we had an elephant, and upcoming is the most famous movement, The Swan, but in the
- [Behind the Scenes of Yunchan Lim's Legendary Cliburn Competition Win](https://interlude.hk/behind-the-scenes-of-yunchan-lims-legendary-cliburn-competition-win/): When Yunchan Lim swept to victory at the 2022 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, his performance of Rachmaninoff’s Third Concerto immediately became the stuff of legend. Three years later, the original video has seventeen million views on YouTube. Since then,
- [Rae Pung: Shaping the Next Generation of Pianists Through Virtù d’Arte](https://interlude.hk/rae-pung-shaping-the-next-generation-of-pianists-through-virtu-darte/): Singaporean pianist Rae Pung has already established an international profile as a performer and teacher and is now the Artistic Director and Co-Founder of the upcoming 2026 Virtù d’Arte International Piano Competition & Festival. Her musical journey, which began at
- [Johann Strauss II](https://interlude.hk/johann-strauss-ii-austrian-composer/): Bicentennial Celebration: Waltzing Through Time On 25 October 1825, in the bustling heart of Vienna, a child was born who would etch his name into the annals of musical history as the undisputed “Waltz King. ” Johann Strauss II, son of
- [Growing Together: The Hermes Experiment: <em>Tree</em>](https://interlude.hk/growing-together-the-hermes-experiment-tree/): The Hermes Experiment, a British contemporary music ensemble, has a wonderful way of using the strengths of their ensemble, which is made up of a unique combination of soprano, harp, clarinet, and double bass. Héloïse Werner (soprano), Anne Denholm-Blair (harp),
- [Seven Tumultuous Divorces From Classical Music History](https://interlude.hk/seven-tumultuous-divorces-from-classical-music-history/): Composers tend to have famously tumultuous personal lives. Some struggled mightily in their marriages, and more than a few got divorced... sometimes more than once! Today, we’re looking at seven divorces experienced by five famous composers, as well as the stories
- [If You Like Beethoven, You Might Like Daniel Barenboim](https://interlude.hk/if-you-like-beethoven-you-might-like-daniel-barenboim/): Ludwig van Beethoven, the titan of classical music, has inspired generations with his profound emotional depth, structural genius, and unrelenting passion. His symphonies, sonatas, and quartets are more than just musical compositions. They are monumental expressions of human experience, ranging
- [Evgeny Kissin (Born October 10, 1971) <br/> Defiance in a Post-Truth World](https://interlude.hk/evgeny-kissin-born-october-10-1971-defiance-in-a-post-truth-world/): In 2025, political activism within the classical music community has intensified, largely driven by ongoing global conflicts, particularly Israel’s actions in Gaza and Russia’s war in Ukraine. Musicians, conductors, and institutions are increasingly using their platforms to advocate for ceasefires,
- [Musicians and Artists: Gregson and Matisse](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-gregson-and-matisse/): Inspirations Behind Edward Gregson’s 3 Matisse Impressions In his 1997 updating of his 1993 work for recorder and piano, British composer Edward Gregson (b. 1945) expanded performing forces to recorder and chamber orchestra. In his Three Matisse Impressions, Gregson gives
- [Ranking Chopin's Ballades: Which One Is the Best?](https://interlude.hk/ranking-chopins-ballades-which-one-is-the-best/): Pianist and composer Frédéric Chopin wrote four Ballades for solo piano: Ballade No. 1 in G-minor, Op. 23 (written in 1835, when he was twenty-five) Ballade No. 2 in F-major, Op. 38 (written between 1836-39, when he was in his
- [From Paris to the Nile <br/> The Sparkling Journey of Saint-Saëns’ Five Piano Concertos (Born October 9, 1835)](https://interlude.hk/from-paris-to-the-nile-the-sparkling-journey-of-saint-saens-five-piano-concertos-born-october-9-1835/): A critic once likened the 5 Piano Concertos by Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921) to a perfectly tailored French suit, “impeccably stylish, never trying too hard. ” What a wonderful way of describing the virtuosic flair, structural innovation, and the distinctly French sensibility
- [The Garden of Unearthly Flowers: Samaras’ <em>Flora mirabilis</em> at the GNO](https://interlude.hk/the-garden-of-unearthly-flowers-samaras-flora-mirabilis-at-the-gno/): Féerie opera had its start in life with the operas of the late 18th century, where experiments with staging and stage effects led to operas that were set on the moon or had trips through the fairy kingdom. The plots
- [Pianist Etelka Freund: The Last Surviving Brahms Protege?](https://interlude.hk/pianist-etelka-freund-the-last-surviving-brahms-protege/): Etelka Freund is a singular figure in classical music history. As a talented teenager, she befriended and bewitched Brahms. She became Busoni’s best student. Her brother studied with Liszt, then taught her. Then, as a young woman, she befriended up-and-coming
- [A Living Dialogue <br/>Tabea Zimmermann’s Vision for the Future of Classical Music](https://interlude.hk/a-living-dialogue-tabea-zimmermanns-vision-for-the-future-of-classical-music/): The marvellous German violist Tabea Zimmermann has spent over four decades redefining the role of the viola, transforming the instrument from an orchestral workhorse into a solo instrument of profound expressive power. Her name is synonymous with virtuosity and innovation
- [Glamorous Pianist Eunice Norton: "Dare Everything. Safety Last."](https://interlude.hk/glamorous-pianist-eunice-norton-dare-everything-safety-last/): She may be obscure today, but Eunice Norton was one of the most fascinating pianists of the 1920s and 1930s: a woman who came from the American Midwest, who made an innovative and international career for herself. Today, we’re looking
- [Symphony of Shadows <br/> Alain Altinoglu conducts Shostakovich 8](https://interlude.hk/symphony-of-shadows-alain-altinoglu-conducts-shostakovich-8/): In the grand tradition of symphonic music, few works capture the raw anguish of human suffering quite like Dmitri Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 8 in C minor. Composed amid the rubble of World War II, this five-movement epic stands as a
- [Hands On With Handel <br/>The RSCM Challenge](https://interlude.hk/hands-on-with-handel-the-rscm-challenge/): The Royal School of Church Music (RSCM), the UK-based charity for church music, invites organists around the world, professional and amateur, to get ‘Hands on with Handel’ in a mass organ ‘play along’ of the Largo (Ombra mai fu) from
- [Yo-Yo Ma’s Strings of Unity <br/>Partnership Across Cultures (Born October 7, 1955)](https://interlude.hk/yo-yo-mas-strings-of-unity-partnership-across-cultures-born-october-7-1955/): Yo-Yo Ma, the world-renowned cellist, is not only a virtuoso of his instrument but also a trailblazer in the realm of musical and cultural collaboration. His career, spanning over six decades, is a testament to his ability to transcend traditional
- [Who Was the Great Love of Brahms's Life? Part 2](https://interlude.hk/who-was-the-great-love-of-brahmss-life-part-2/): Johannes Brahms had famously difficult romantic relationships with women. He had a penchant for idealising women, as well as sabotaging his romantic relationships with them once he got close to proposing. In the first part of this article, we met
- [Playing with Bach: Hayk Melikyan and <em>Bach and Forth</em>](https://interlude.hk/playing-with-bach-hayk-melikyan-and-bach-and-forth/): The life of Bach’s music through the ages always comes back to the master. In this new recording by Armenian pianist Hayk Melikyan, he takes the Bach we know and uses transcriptions by Wilhelm Kempff, Alexander Siloti, Ferruccio Busoni, Johannes
- [Tropical Plants: Some Music by Ye Xiaogang](https://interlude.hk/tropical-plants-some-music-by-ye-xiaogang/): Chinese composer Ye Xiaogang (b. 1955) has been writing an extended series of musical pieces based on plants. His Tropic Plants series includes works such as Scent of Green Mango, December Chrysanthemum, Hibiscus, Gardenia, Enchanted Bamboo, Datura, The Silence of
- [Ten Greatest Women Violinists of All Time](https://interlude.hk/ten-greatest-women-violinists-of-all-time/): For generations after the invention of the instruments, the violin was widely considered to be a masculine instrument. Despite this, from the eighteenth century on, women have flocked to this instrument and succeeded at the highest levels. Today, we’re looking at the life and work of ten women from the...
- [Climate in Crisis through Multimedia: A Conversation with Robert Moody](https://interlude.hk/climate-in-crisis-through-multimedia-a-conversation-with-robert-moody/): An innovative program upcoming at the Hong Kong Philharmonic caught our interest. Conductor Robert Moody will be leading the Hong Kong Philharmonic in a program featuring the voice of Renée Fleming. The evening is centred on Fleming’s 2023 Grammy Award–winning
- [Twelve of the Best Violin Concertos by Women](https://interlude.hk/twelve-of-the-best-violin-concertos-by-women/): When you ask music lovers to name their favourite violin concertos, they’ll likely mention works by Brahms, Tchaikovsky, or Sibelius. But venture just a little bit further outside the established canon and you will find fascinating and deeply moving works by women composers, dating from the eighteenth century to the...
- [Verdi Goes to South America](https://interlude.hk/verdi-goes-to-south-america/): Ukrainian composer Alexey Shor (b. 1970) takes Giuseppe Verdi to South America! In his 2015 work, Verdiana, Shor took advantage of a tour of South America to recast familiar melodies from three operas by Giuseppe Verdi using three different South
- [The Piano Legacy of Dmitri Shostakovich](https://interlude.hk/the-piano-legacy-of-dmitri-shostakovich/): I’ve been diving into the piano music of Dmitri Shostakovich lately, and it’s like stumbling into a secret room full of contradictions. The music seems gritty, tender, sarcastic, and soulful all at once. Everything seems full of restless energy with angular melodies interrupted by moments of aching lyricism. Much of...
- [The Language of Ineffability:  An Exploration of Charles Tournemire’s “L’Orgue Mystique”](https://interlude.hk/the-language-of-ineffability-an-exploration-of-charles-tournemires-lorgue-mystique/): Charles Tournemire à Sainte-Clotilde Collection Odile Weber (Jean-Marc Leblanc, “Mémoires de Charles Tournemire: Édition critique,”L’Orgue. 2018 I–IV, nº 321–324, page 276) To Speak One’s Own Language The French organist Charles Tournemire (1870–1939) is one of the great enigmas in the
- [Louise Farrenc: The Composer Who Fought for Equal Pay for Equal Work](https://interlude.hk/louise-farrenc-the-composer-who-fought-for-equal-pay-for-equal-work/): Louise Farrenc is one of the most unjustly neglected composers of her generation. But despite the challenges of working as a woman musician in the nineteenth century, she carved out an extraordinary multi-pronged career for herself as a professor, performer,
- [Musicians and Artists: Silverman and 5 Artists](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-silverman-and-5-artists/): Inspirations Behind Tracy Silverman’s Between the Kiss and the Chaos Created initially as music for five scenes from a puppet opera, composer and electric violinist Tracy Silverman combined the idea of creation in the arts with his ideas of how
- [The Composer as a Youth: Daniil Trifonov’s <em>Tchaikovsky</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-composer-as-a-youth-daniil-trifonovs-tchaikovsky/): In his notes to his new recording of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky‘s (1840–1893) music, pianist Daniil Trifonov invites us to reconsider this seminal Russian composer. Instead of considering only his mature works (the symphonies, concertos, ballets, and operas) as the expression
- [Why Did the Great Composers Rewrite Beethoven?](https://interlude.hk/why-did-the-great-composers-rewrite-beethoven/): Romantic Era composers had a unique relationship with Ludwig van Beethoven. The man and his music cast a massive shadow over the nineteenth century, especially when it came to orchestral music. The Beethoven works that loomed the largest were his
- [Ruggero Raimondi (Born October 3, 1941) <br/> The Voice of Resilience](https://interlude.hk/ruggero-raimondi-born-october-3-1941-the-voice-of-resilience/): Born amid the chaos of World War II, Ruggero Raimondi rose from the rubble of Bologna to command the world’s greatest stages. His voice was a resonant force that could summon the thunder of Verdi’s kings or the seductive charm
- [Celebrating World Smile Day 2025 <br/>The Universal Language of Smiles](https://interlude.hk/celebrating-world-smile-day-2025-the-universal-language-of-smiles/): On the first Friday in October, the world comes together to celebrate World Smile Day. It is a global occasion dedicated to spreading happiness, kindness, and the simple yet profound act of smiling. In 2025, as we mark this heartwarming
- [John Rutter <br/>Celebrating 80 Years of Choral Legacy](https://interlude.hk/john-rutter-celebrating-80-years-of-choral-legacy/): On the occasion of John Rutter’s 80th birthday on 24 September 2025, choral communities across the globe join in a formal celebration of his extraordinary contributions to the world of music. His compositions have enriched the repertoire of choirs worldwide,
- [Composer Marianna Martines: Haydn's Genius Composer Neighbour](https://interlude.hk/composer-marianna-martines-haydns-genius-composer-neighbour/): Marianna Martines was an extraordinary figure in the history of eighteenth-century Vienna. She grew up with a great librettist as a father figure, studied with her neighbour Joseph Haydn, and played four-hand piano duets with Mozart. And yet, despite her
- [Perfectionism – Friend or Foe of the Musician](https://interlude.hk/perfectionism-friend-or-foe-of-the-musician/): In the world of music, where striving for excellence is an inherent part of growth, perfectionism can be both an inspiration and a trap. Whether you are an amateur or a seasoned musician, the pursuit of excellence often drives one
- [Palimpsest <br/>Rob Hao, piano](https://interlude.hk/palimpsest-rob-hao-piano/): Palimpsest – a manuscript or piece of writing material on which later writing has been superimposed on effaced earlier writing. – something reused or altered but still bearing visible traces of its earlier form ‘Classical music lends itself naturally to
- [Max Bruch’s English Interlude <br/> Melodies of Merseyside (Died on October 2, 1920)](https://interlude.hk/max-bruchs-english-interlude-melodies-of-merseyside-died-on-october-2-1920/): The superb German Romantic composer, violinist, teacher, and conductor Max Bruch (1838 – 1920) established his reputation with his Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor. The concerto, now one of the most beloved works in the violin repertoire, did
- [Robert Schumann's "League of David" Secret Society](https://interlude.hk/robert-schumanns-league-of-david-secret-society/): Composer Robert Schumann, quintessential Romantic composer, is famous for embracing the era’s love of cross-pollinating music and literature. For years, he had trouble fully committing to either music or writing, and he drew inspiration from storytelling and literature throughout his
- [Why Can’t Classical Music Look Ahead](https://interlude.hk/why-cant-classical-music-look-ahead/): There is no genre of music which puts so much emphasis on the past as much as Western classical music. In fact, there are very few artistic mediums which focus so much on the past than music. Perhaps painting. In
- [George Li](https://interlude.hk/george-li-pianist/): ‘A Never-Ending Adventure’ Listen to a performance of American pianist George Li’s and you will be left in no doubt as to his ‘staggering technical prowess, a sense of command and depth of expression’ (Washington Post). After winning the silver
- [Thunder and Trembling <br/>Vladimir Horowitz’s Battle with Performance Anxiety (Born October 1, 1903)](https://interlude.hk/thunder-and-trembling-vladimir-horowitzs-battle-with-performance-anxiety/): Vladimir Horowitz, the titan of 20th-century pianists, could silence a hall with a single chord, his fingers conjuring tempests from the keys. Yet, for all his mastery, he was a prisoner of performance anxiety, this crippling dread that drove him
- [The Global Celebration of Music <br/> Melodies without Borders](https://interlude.hk/the-global-celebration-of-music-melodies-without-borders/): Every year on 1 October, the world comes alive with rhythm, melody, and harmony as we celebrate International Music Day. Established in 1975 by the International Music Council (IMC) under the auspices of UNESCO, this global observance is a testament
- [Who Was the Great Love of Brahms's Life? Part 1](https://interlude.hk/who-was-the-great-love-of-brahmss-life-part-1/): Composer Johannes Brahms is famous for the difficult romantic relationships he had with women. He was attracted to many women (especially singers), but ultimately found it impossible to envision any of them as his wife. He was also perpetually worried
- [Love Without Exceptions <br/>National Love People Day Goofy Guide to Kindness (September 30)](https://interlude.hk/love-without-exceptions-national-love-people-day-goofy-guide-to-kindness-september-30/): Every year on 30 September, National Love People Day sneaks onto the calendar like a warm, fuzzy prank, daring us to ditch our grumpy cat impressions and spread some genuine human connection. It’s not about grand romantic gestures or tossing
- [David Oistrakh (Born September 30, 1908) <br/> Bridging Worlds with Music](https://interlude.hk/david-oistrakh-born-september-30-1908-bridging-worlds-with-music/): David Oistrakh (1908–1974) was more than a violinist. He was a musical poet whose bow sang with a depth of emotion that completely transcended technique. Renowned as one of the 20th century’s greatest violinists, Oistrakh’s artistry was defined by a
- [Two Moors Festival 2025 <br/>Timeless Resonance](https://interlude.hk/two-moors-festival-2025-timeless-resonance/): During the last two years of his life, in a compressed timeframe between 1824 and 1826, Ludwig van Beethoven completed his final set of five string quartets. Fractured, deeply personal, and introspective, these works mirror the very essence of contemporaneity,
- [A Question of Virtuosity: Michel Dalberto’s <em>Virtus</em>](https://interlude.hk/a-question-of-virtuosity-michel-dalberto-virtus/): Pianist Michel Dalberto’s latest album, Virtus, poses the question of the meaning of the word ‘virtuosity’. The word seems to have changed its meaning between the end of classicism and the height of romanticism. In the 1860s and 1870s, the
- [Seven Must-See Valentina Lisitsa Performances: Her Most Popular YouTube Videos](https://interlude.hk/seven-must-see-valentina-lisitsa-performances-her-most-popular-youtube-videos/): Chances are, if you’ve ever watched classical pianists on YouTube, you’ve probably seen a performance by Valentina Lisitsa. She has become one of the most frequently watched pianists on YouTube, building her audience over nearly twenty years, one view at
- [World Heart Day (September 29) <br/>Don’t Miss a Beat](https://interlude.hk/world-heart-day-september-29-dont-miss-a-beat/): Every September 29, we celebrate World Heart Day to raise awareness of cardiovascular disease, which claims more lives than cancer and chronic respiratory diseases combined. And that’s the reason this special day isn’t just another calendar filler. World Heart Day
- [Thomas Enhco (Born September 29, 1988) <br/> Journey Across Musical Borders](https://interlude.hk/thomas-enhco-born-september-29-1988-journey-across-musical-borders/): In the vibrant tapestry of contemporary music, where genres bleed into one another like watercolours on a wet canvas, Thomas Enhco emerges as a luminous artist. Born on 29 September 1988, in Paris, this French pianist, violinist, and composer embodies
- [Thirteen of the Best Piano Concertos by Women](https://interlude.hk/thirteen-of-the-best-piano-concertos-by-women/): Over centuries of musical history, women composers have continually defied expectations to write all kinds of music... including piano concertos. In fact, women have been writing piano concertos for the entire history of the genre. Today, we’re looking at thirteen works written over 250 years, tracing the stories behind these...
- [Alina Ibragimova’s Art of Intimate Virtuosity (Born September 28, 1985)](https://interlude.hk/alina-ibragimovas-art-of-intimate-virtuosity/): Alina Ibragimova’s life reads like a quiet rebellion against the spotlight, her music a testament to depth over dazzle. Born on 28 September 1985, in Polevskoy, Russia, she grew up steeped in music. Her father, Rinat Ibragimov, played double bass
- [A Forgotten Romantic Reborn: <br/>Lucas Wong and the Piano Sonatas of Wilhelm Taubert](https://interlude.hk/a-forgotten-romantic-reborn-lucas-wong-and-the-piano-sonatas-of-wilhelm-taubert/): The release of Wilhelm Taubert: Piano Sonatas Nos. 1, 2, 4, 6 (Naxos, Romantic Piano, Vol. 2) brings long-neglected music back into the spotlight. Pianist and scholar Lucas Wong presents the first complete recording of these works, giving audiences the chance to
- [The Most Incredible Memoirs of the Great Composers, Part 2](https://interlude.hk/the-most-incredible-memoirs-of-the-great-composers-part-2/): As we noted in part 1 of our overview of the best memoirs of the great composers, music isn’t the only kind of creative work that composers can make. Many have written autobiographies or memoirs, or sat for interviews that
- [Musicians and Artists: Montalbetti and 3 Artistic Styles](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-montalbetti-and-3-artistic-styles/): Eric Montalbetti’s Trio Inspired by Suprematism, Orphism, and Futurism French composer Eric Montalbetti (b. 1968) designed his Trio for violin, cello, and piano around three modernist artistic styles: Suprematism, Orphism, and Futurism. Suprematism was developed by the Soviet artist Kazimir
- [Celebrating Rachel Cheung (Born 27 September 1991) <br/>From Prodigy to Poet](https://interlude.hk/celebrating-rachel-cheung-born-27-september-1991-from-prodigy-to-poet/): Rachel Cheung, born on 27 September 1991, in Hong Kong, is a classical pianist whose artistry blends poetic finesse with dramatic intensity. From a young age, her talent shone brightly, securing first prize at nine in the Hong Kong regional
- [Life of Chopin: Takeaways From Liszt's Controversial Chopin Biography](https://interlude.hk/life-of-chopin-takeaways-from-liszts-controversial-chopin-biography/): When Frédéric Chopin died in 1849 at the age of thirty-nine, it was a major blow to the musical world. His colleague and contemporary, Franz Liszt, was especially shaken. To process the loss, Liszt began writing a tribute to his
- [Scribbles of the Heart <br/> Celebrating Love Note Day (September 26)](https://interlude.hk/scribbles-of-the-heart-celebrating-love-note-day-september-26/): When it comes to quirky holidays on the calendar, Love Note Day on September 26 deserves a standing ovation. It’s a charming little holiday dedicated to the art of expressing affection through the written word. In a world dominated by
- [Béla Bartók’s Magic <br/>Turning 20th-Century Scary into Pure Musical Joy](https://interlude.hk/bela-bartoks-magic-turning-20th-century-scary-into-pure-musical-joy/): Béla Bartók, the Hungarian genius of 20th-century music, often gets a bad rap. His compositions, with their bold harmonies and wild rhythms, can feel like a leap into the unknown for listeners used to the cosy melodies of Mozart or
- [Tianxu An at the Two Moors Festival <br/> From Nightmare to Triumph](https://interlude.hk/tianxu-an-at-the-two-moors-festival-from-nightmare-to-triumph/): As the autumn mist rolls across the ancient tors of Dartmoor and the wild, windswept cliffs of Exmoor, the Two Moors Festival becomes the musical heartbeat of this rugged corner of southwest England. For 25 years, the festival has transformed
- [Rising Star Pianist Filippo Gorini <br/>Presented by Premiere Performances of Hong Kong](https://interlude.hk/rising-star-pianist-filippo-gorini-presented-by-premiere-performances-of-hong-kong/): Sonata for Seven Cities: Unique Month-Long Residency Combining Performances & Outreach Launches with City Hall Recital on Nov 2nd With his rare intellect, bold interpretations, and visionary artistry, Filippo Gorini has rapidly ascended to international stardom. Since winning the prestigious
- [Why Was Clara Schumann's Father So Against Her Marrying Robert Schumann?](https://interlude.hk/why-was-clara-schumanns-father-so-against-her-marrying-robert-schumann/): The love story between Robert Schumann and Clara Wieck is surely the best-known love story in classical music history. According to legend, the young composer and the young pianist fell in love, but her cruel father kept the lovers apart,
- [Jean-Philippe Rameau’s <em>Pièces de Clavecin</em> <br/> Keys to Genius](https://interlude.hk/jean-philippe-rameaus-pieces-de-clavecin-keys-to-genius/): In the heart of Dijon, France, on 25 September 1683, a boy named Jean-Philippe Rameau was born into a world that was not yet ready for the revolutionary sounds he would one day unleash. The son of a local organist,
- [National Cooking Day (September 25) <br/> When Kitchens Become Comedy Central](https://interlude.hk/national-cooking-day-september-25-when-kitchens-become-comedy-central/): As the calendar turns to September 25, kitchens across the land hum with the chaotic symphony of National Cooking Day. It’s a day when amateur chefs, wannabe gourmets, and people who can barely boil water unite in a culinary free-for-all.
- [Andrzej Panufnik’s Piano Works <br/>Notes from a Fractured Homeland](https://interlude.hk/andrzej-panufniks-piano-works-notes-from-a-fractured-homeland/): In the rare stillness of spaces where the world’s noise falls away, the piano music of Andrzej Panufnik emerges like a voice from the past, fragile yet unyielding, tender yet fierce. It is not merely music but a living testament
- [Bollywood Day (September 24) <br/> The Glittering World of Hindi Cinema](https://interlude.hk/bollywood-day-september-24-the-glittering-world-of-hindi-cinema/): It’s time to grab your sparkliest sari or sharpest kurta because we’re diving into the dazzling world of Bollywood Day! It is not a universally recognised or officially mandated holiday, but it is listed on some calendars on 24 September.
- [A Duet of Fire and Grace <br/>Martha Argerich & Maria João Pires Play Mozart](https://interlude.hk/a-duet-of-fire-and-grace-martha-argerich-maria-joao-pires-play-mozart/): In the realm of classical music, collaboration can ignite a spark that surpasses the brilliance of individual talents, creating something transcendent and wholly unique. When artists of profound skill and distinct voices unite, their interplay becomes a conversation that breathes new life into timeless works. Stylistically speaking, Martha Argerich and...
- [Celebrating 25 Years of the Two Moors Festival <br/>Storytelling and Cultural Heritage](https://interlude.hk/celebrating-25-years-of-the-two-moors-festival-storytelling-and-cultural-heritage/): In the autumn of 2001, a quiet initiative took root in the remote expanses of Devon and Somerset. The rural economy, battered by quarantines and travel bans, teetered on the edge of stagnation, and those vast, undulating blankets of heather
- [Does the 1939 Classical Music Movie Intermezzo Hold Up Today?](https://interlude.hk/does-the-1939-classical-music-movie-intermezzo-hold-up-today/): In September 1939, a quiet, understated film called Intermezzo: A Love Story premiered in the United States. Intermezzo premiered the same year as Gone With the Wind, The Wizard of Oz, Wuthering Heights, Of Mice and Men, and other classics.
- [Do You Know These Alluring Piano Trios by Women?](https://interlude.hk/do-you-know-these-alluring-piano-trios-by-women/): The piano trio literature – music for violin, cello, and piano – is splendid to listen to and wonderful to play. Virtually every composer of note has written in this genre, including the greats such as Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Schubert, Ravel, Dvořák, and Tchaikovsky, and we have featured several of...
- [Why Musicians Should Talk to Audiences](https://interlude.hk/why-musicians-should-talk-to-audiences/): For musicians, the focus of a performance is naturally the music itself – and that is how it should be. After all, all those hours of practice and technical refinement culminate in the act of playing. However, speaking to the
- [Arnold Bax and the Cello](https://interlude.hk/arnold-bax-and-the-cello/): British composer Arnold Bax (1883–1953) started his musical life as a student at the Royal Academy of Music, graduating in 1905. Although an accomplished pianist, he did not pursue a performing career, helped by his personal income. He was captured
- [10 Easy But Beautiful Piano Pieces](https://interlude.hk/10-easy-but-beautiful-piano-pieces/): No Moonlight Sonata or Heart and Soul, here. The most frustrating part of learning any new skill is that period of time in which your taste and your abilities just don’t quite match up. You’d love to be playing Rachmaninoff
- [National Family Day (September 22) <br/>A Toast to the People You Can’t Return](https://interlude.hk/national-family-day-september-22-a-toast-to-the-people-you-cant-return/): Family Day is a public holiday in a variety of countries, and on 22 September, it puts the spotlight on the people who make our lives meaningful. It’s all about that one uncle who shows up uninvited to every gathering,
- [Nuns’ Celebrations: Musica Secreta’s <em>Ricordanze</em>](https://interlude.hk/nuns-celebrations-musica-secretas-ricordanze/): The life of a choir nun in 16th-century Italy centred around musical prayer. There may have been other duties to attend to, such as the vineyard or spinning, but the focus of the day was the Divine Office. The day
- [Fifteen of the Best String Quartets By Women Composers](https://interlude.hk/fifteen-of-the-best-string-quartets-by-women-composers/): In recent years, there has been increased interest in the works of women composers, many of whom are in the process of being rediscovered. So if you have an interest in this burgeoning area of programming and are a musician or listener who wants to be introduced to string quartets...
- [The International Day of Peace (September 21)<br/>A Noble Idea in a Not-So-Peaceful World](https://interlude.hk/the-international-day-of-peace-september-21a-noble-idea-in-a-not-so-peaceful-world/): Every year on 21 September, the world pauses, or at least pretends to pause, for the International Day of Peace. It’s a day where we’re supposed to hold hands, sing Kumbaya, and imagine a world where everyone gets along. Sounds
- [Francisco González Gamarra: Peru’s Painter of History and Composer of the Andes](https://interlude.hk/francisco-gonzalez-gamarra-perus-painter-of-history-and-composer-of-the-andes/): When you enter a gallery adorned with Francisco González Gamarra’s monumental canvases, time seems to stand still. Paintings such as “The Foundation of Lima” or “The Spanish Foundation of Cusco” do not merely depict history; they revive it by evoking
- [Andrei Gavrilov (Born September 21, 1955) <br/> Passion, Struggle, and Genius](https://interlude.hk/andrei-gavrilov-born-september-21-1955-passion-struggle-and-genius/): Andrei Gavrilov, born on 21 September 1955 in Moscow, emerged from the Soviet Union’s rigorous musical crucible as a prodigy whose fingers danced with both ferocity and finesse. His victory at the 1974 International Tchaikovsky Competition, at the tender age
- [The Most Incredible Memoirs of the Great Composers, Part 1](https://interlude.hk/the-most-incredible-memoirs-of-the-great-composers-part-1/): Sometimes musical compositions aren’t the only creative works that composers leave behind. Some wrote memoirs (or works such as letters or diaries that can be collected and read as memoirs). These pieces of writing often provide fascinating insights into composers’
- [Meet the Man Who Blogged Every Single 2025 Prom Concert](https://interlude.hk/meet-the-man-who-blogged-every-single-2025-prom-concert/): The 2025 season of BBC Proms, “the world’s greatest classical music festival”, has finished for another year, but the memories live on, in reviews, social media posts, on the BBC’s Listen Again service – and in Andy Lewis’ Marathon Proms
- [Dancing with Pablo de Sarasate <br/> Gypsy Airs and Stolen Kisses](https://interlude.hk/dancing-with-pablo-de-sarasate-gypsy-airs-and-stolen-kisses/): Imagine a dapper Spaniard with a meticulously trimmed moustache, a Stradivarius violin tucked under his chin, and a flair for making audiences swoon with every flick of his bow. That’s Pablo de Sarasate, the 19th-century violinist and composer whose music
- [Seasonal Thoughts: The End of Summer](https://interlude.hk/seasonal-thoughts-the-end-of-summer/): As summer winds down and the weather gets reasonable, what kind of music would you use to signal the end of the long days of play (or work) and the new days with that crisp of a light chill? At
- [Franz Mozart's Mistress and Three Generations of Incredible Women Musicians](https://interlude.hk/franz-mozarts-mistress-and-three-generations-of-incredible-women-musicians/): Franz Xaver Mozart, the son of the great composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, had a long-term love affair with a wealthy married woman named Josephine von Baroni-Cavalcabò. Josephine was a talented musician, and Franz taught her daughter Julie. Julie went on to become a talented composer respected by Robert Schumann. Later,...
- [Seasonal Selection: Autumn Rain](https://interlude.hk/seasonal-selection-autumn-rain/): Autumn is the time of change – leaves change colour and change position from high on a tree to down on the ground, we change from sun-loving (or hating) to bundled up and wind-blown, and our blue skies turn dark. Autumn Rain. Nothing is quite so cold after summer’s light...
- [Nikola Meeuwsen Dazzled with Artistic Maturity in Hong Kong Debut](https://interlude.hk/nikola-meeuwsen-dazzled-with-artistic-maturity-in-hong-kong-debut/): Nikola Meeuwsen, winner of the 2025 Queen Elisabeth Competition at the tender age of 23, performed as part of HKU MUSE’s Piano Laureates in Concert series, alongside laureates of the Van Cliburn, Chopin and Leipzig Bach competitions. For his Hong
- [Hidden Lovers: Reflections on Rehearsing a Chamber Opera](https://interlude.hk/hidden-lovers-reflections-on-rehearsing-a-chamber-opera/): Over the past few weeks, rehearsals have been well underway for the chamber opera Hidden Lovers, composed by Janet Oates. Opening the Tête-à-Tête opera festival at the Cockpit Theatre in London, the opera’s musical forces consist of a string trio,
- [Henrietta Treffz: The Superstar Singer Wife of the Waltz King](https://interlude.hk/henrietta-treffz-the-superstar-singer-wife-of-the-waltz-king/): Johann Strauss II, known as the Waltz King, is one of the most famous composers of all time. His wife, Henrietta (Jetty) Treffz, was an integral inspiration behind her husband’s music, including the famous Blue Danube waltz. There isn’t much
- [Unspoken Poetry: Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s Platero y Yo](https://interlude.hk/unspoken-poetry-mario-castelnuovo-tedescos-platero-y-yo/): The Italian composer Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (1895–1968) made his career as an active pianist, critic, and composer starting in the 1920s. In 1922, at the first International Festival of Contemporary Music, he joined fellow Italian composers Gian Francesco Malipiero (1882-1973), Ferruccio
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- [Elfrida Andrée: The Rebellious First Female Conductor in Sweden](https://interlude.hk/elfrida-andree-the-rebellious-first-female-conductor-in-sweden/): Elfrida Andrée is one of the most remarkable women composers of the nineteenth century. She campaigned to become the first professional woman organist in Sweden, paving the way for countless women after her. But she didn’t stop there: she also
- [From Ear to Ear: A Pianist’s Love Affair with Song <br/>Steven Blier](https://interlude.hk/from-ear-to-ear-a-pianists-love-affair-with-song-steven-blier/): People wonder what classical musicians do all day. Do they spend every waking hour, when not performing, closeted in a practice room, isolated from the world, their only companions dead composers? The reality is, of course, rather different. And memoirs
- [International Country Music Day (September 17)<br/> Heartstrings and High Strings](https://interlude.hk/international-country-music-day-heartstrings-and-high-strings/): Saddle up, folks, because every September 17, the world tips its cowboy hat to International Country Music Day! It’s a day to crank up the twang, strum a guitar, and celebrate the heart and soul of country music. Now, some
- [Secrets About Brahms As Revealed by Eugenie Schumann](https://interlude.hk/secrets-about-brahms-as-revealed-by-eugenie-schumann/): Born in December 1851, Eugenie Schumann was the seventh of Robert and Clara Schumann’s eight children. In 1920, she wrote a memoir about her life and family. It offers priceless insight into the genius of her mother and their entire
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- [Elīna Garanča (Born September 16, 1976) <br/> Fire and Elegance](https://interlude.hk/elina-garanca-born-september-16-1976-fire-and-elegance/): The Latvian mezzo-soprano Elīna Garanča possesses a voice that weaves together strength and sensitivity, captivating audiences with its rich, velvety timbre and impeccable control. Born in Riga on 16 September 1976 into a musical family, her journey from a young
- [Reading Too Much Into the Story: Lim’s <em>The Seasons</em>](https://interlude.hk/reading-too-much-into-the-story-lims-the-seasons/): In his new recording of the 12-part piano cycle, by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840–1893), The Seasons, pianist Yunchan Lim sees it as a look back on a life. The Seasons was commissioned by Nikolay Bernard, the editor of the St
- [Seven Must-See Evgeny Kissin Performances: His Most Popular YouTube Videos](https://interlude.hk/seven-must-see-evgeny-kissin-performances-his-most-popular-youtube-videos/): Evgeny Kissin has been a piano superstar ever since he burst onto the scene as a curly-haired child prodigy in the early 1980s. Starting in the early days of YouTube in the mid-2000s, fans began uploading videos of his performances
- [Jessye Norman (Born September 15, 1945) <br/> Golden Tones and Timeless Grace](https://interlude.hk/jessye-norman-born-september-15-1945-golden-tones-and-timeless-grace/): Jessye Norman, a name synonymous with vocal grandeur and artistic transcendence, emerged from Augusta, Georgia, to become one of the most celebrated sopranos of the 20th century. Born on 15 September 1945, her journey from a church choir to the
- [Eleven of the Best Symphonies by Women](https://interlude.hk/eleven-of-the-best-symphonies-by-women/): For centuries, the world of orchestral music was created and inhabited primarily by male composers. But for centuries, despite onerous societal and cultural barriers to their doing so, women have been writing bold and beautiful symphonic works, too. In fact, many of these symphonies rival their male counterparts in emotional...
- [Seasonal Selection <br/>Autumn: Falling Leaves](https://interlude.hk/seasonal-selection-autumn-falling-leaves/): There’s nothing that signals the coming of Autumn as the falling leaves that crunch underfoot. Above, the colours have been changing, and the various greens have become yellows and reds, intense and then just a memory. There’s always one leaf that clings on long after its companions have flown away....
- [Melodies of the Heart <br/> Jigs of Joy](https://interlude.hk/melodies-of-the-heart-jigs-of-joy/): Emotions are our quiet companions, weaving through the chapters of life like a soundtrack that shifts with every scene. Emotions are dynamic, ever-shifting currents that flow through our human experience, shaping how we perceive and interact with the world. They are more than just fleeting feelings. In fact, they are...
- [Wine Tasting: Red Wines](https://interlude.hk/wine-tasting-red-wines/): As the weather cools, our desire for a lovely glass of red wine heats up. Red wines are judged on 4 criteria: colour, body, tannin, and flavour. With those 4 criteria come a host of descriptive words. All wine comes from grapes, but when you leave the grape skins in...
- [Wilhelmine Clauss-Szarvady: The Great Forgotten Pianist Who Everyone Loved](https://interlude.hk/wilhelmine-clauss-szarvady-the-great-forgotten-pianist-who-everyone-loved/): Wilhelmine Clauss, later Wilhelmine Clauss-Szarvady, is one of the most successful pianists you’ve never heard of. Although almost entirely forgotten today, she would become one of the greatest pianists of the Romantic Era, beloved by Berlioz, Liszt, the Schumanns, and
- [Clara Schumann (Born September 13, 1819) <br/>  The Powerhouse Behind Robert’s Legacy](https://interlude.hk/clara-schumann-born-september-13-1819-the-powerhouse-behind-roberts-legacy/): Clara Schumann (1819–1896) wasn’t just a dazzling pianist and talented composer. She was the ultimate champion of her husband Robert Schumann’s (1810-1856) musical legacy. She was a superstar performer, a sharp-eyed editor, and a passionate cheerleader, all rolled into one.
- [Behind the Scenes: Musicians' Inspirations](https://interlude.hk/behind-the-scenes-musicians-inspirations/): What do you do off stage that provides inspiration on stage? This is one of the questions in my Meet the Artist interview, and it often elicits some interesting, and occasionally surprising responses. It also offers insights into “what musicians
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- [A Global Musical Dialogue With Ravel’s Miroirs <br/><em>Mirrors and Echoes</em> – Aïda Lahlou, piano](https://interlude.hk/a-global-musical-dialogue-with-ravels-miroirs-mirrors-and-echoes-aida-lahlou-piano/): In the year of the 150th anniversary of the birth of Maurice Ravel, Moroccan pianist Aïda Lahlou releases her début album, Mirrors and Echoes, a vivid and thoughtful reimagining of Ravel’s five-movement piano cycle, Miroirs, which places Ravel’s work in
- [Arvo Pärt](https://interlude.hk/arvo-part-at-90-weaving-silence-and-spirituality/): Weaving Silence and Spirituality Arvo Pärt, born on 11 September 1935 in Paide, Estonia, is one of the most influential composers of contemporary classical music. Renowned for his distinctive tintinnabuli style, his music resonates with a profound simplicity that transcends
- [Why It's Never Too Late to Return to Music: The Story of Composer Minna Keal](https://interlude.hk/why-its-never-too-late-to-return-to-music-the-story-of-composer-minna-keal/): It’s one of the most common questions newcomers pose to classical musicians: am I too old to return to music? Just for the record, the answer is a resounding no! Today, we’re looking at the life story of one composer
- [Henry Purcell’s Sacred Legacy <br/> The Art of the Anthem](https://interlude.hk/henry-purcells-sacred-legacy-the-art-of-the-anthem/): Henry Purcell (1659-1695) stands as one of the most significant English composers of the Baroque, renowned for his ability to blend the grandeur of continental European styles with the distinct traditions of English music. Born on 10 September 1659 into
- [Ravel in a Thousand Sparkles <br/>The Life of Maurice Ravel](https://interlude.hk/ravel-in-a-thousand-sparkles-the-life-of-maurice-ravel/): The ARTE Concert production “Ravel in a Thousand Sparkles” is a musical and visual tribute to Maurice Ravel, created to mark the 150th anniversary of his birth in 2025. The production offers an innovative blend of music, visuals, and storytelling.
- [The Invisible Soloist: An Interview with Lani Spahr](https://interlude.hk/the-invisible-soloist-an-interview-with-lani-spahr/): The past is a different country, and sometimes this becomes clearest in the most unexpected places. We spoke recently with Lani Spahr, who did the audio restoration on the recent SOMM Recording Siegfried Wagner Conducts Richard Wagner, taking recordings made
- [Gold and Fizdale: The Gay Pianists Who Redefined the Piano Duo](https://interlude.hk/gold-and-fizdale-the-gay-pianists-who-redefined-the-piano-duo/): No other partnership in the history of the piano is quite like the one between Arthur Gold and Robert Fizdale. Celebrated for their artistic chemistry, as well as their championing of new music, they became one of the leading piano
- [Teddy Bear Day (September 9)<br/>Cuddles take Centre Stage](https://interlude.hk/teddy-bear-day-cuddles-take-centre-stage/): Every September 9th, we celebrate Teddy Bear Day! It’s a cozy little holiday dedicated to those soft, huggable companions that have been bringing comfort and joy for generations. Whether it’s a cherished childhood friend or a cuddly keepsake from someone
- [Barry Douglas + CCOHK](https://interlude.hk/barry-douglas-ccohk/): Barry Douglas pianoVahan Mardirossian chief conductor PROGRAMME Sir Arthur Sullivan Symphony in E major, IrishBeethoven Concerto for Piano No. 5, Op. 73 On 23 September 2025 at Hong Kong City Hall Concert Hall, 8:00pm, two Irish music gems come together to kick-start
- [Ping Pong Gintonería + Hong Kong Sinfonietta Present: Out of the Blue](https://interlude.hk/ping-pong-gintoneria-hong-kong-sinfonietta-present-out-of-the-blue/): Ping Pong Gintonería is pleased to present a jazz concert byDaniel Chu (piano) and Michael Schiefel (vocal)at Second St 129, L/G Nam Cheong House,Sai Ying Pun, Hong Kong. @PINGPONG129 18th Sept 2025Concert: 1st session at 20. 00 + 2nd session at
- [A Pinch of Musical Snuff: Liadov’s <em>Une Tabatière à musique</em>](https://interlude.hk/a-pinch-of-musical-snuff-liadovs-une-tabatiere-a-musique/): As the well-dressed man about town in the 19th century, you’d have your snuff box to hand. Something elaborate in gold or silver, with fine chasing or inlay work or made of tortoiseshell, perhaps. Some of these were elaborate enough
- [The Seven Most Popular Piano Concertos on YouTube](https://interlude.hk/the-seven-most-popular-piano-concerto-videos-on-youtube/): YouTube is full of brilliant piano concerto performances, but a handful have attracted truly massive global audiences. From Rachmaninoff (lots and lots of Rachmaninoff... ) to Mozart to Chopin, here are the seven most viewed piano concerto performances on YouTube, along
- [15 Beautiful Gems from Dvořák’s String Quartets](https://interlude.hk/15-beautiful-gems-from-dvoraks-string-quartets/): Did you know that Antonín Dvořák composed 14 string quartets, plus a quartet movement (B. 120) and the “Cypresses” cycle (B. 152), which includes arrangements for string quartet? Trust me, these gorgeous string quartets are like the ultimate playlist for
- [4th Hong Kong Early Music Festival - <em>“The Story of Two Cities”</em>](https://interlude.hk/4th-hong-kong-early-music-festival-the-story-of-two-cities/): 9,10,13,14 October 2025Presented by Concerto da Camera Both Venice and Hamburg were once major commercial ports in European history. International trade brought them immense wealth, while the convergence of peoples and cultures fostered a fertile ground for artistic flourishing. Since
- [The Greatest Child Prodigies of All Time, Part 2](https://interlude.hk/the-greatest-child-prodigies-of-all-time-part-2/): Throughout music history, there have been many incredible children who have demonstrated an astonishing, unnervingly early mastery of their art. Some went on to become the greatest musicians of their age. Others have vanished from our collective memories. One thing
- [Celebrating the City: A Four Seasons for New York by Alexey Shor](https://interlude.hk/celebrating-the-city-a-four-seasons-for-new-york-by-alexey-shor/): Ukrainian composer Alexey Shor (b. 1970) came to the US to study mathematics and, in addition to his Ph. D. in the field, is an accomplished composer. The ‘four seasons’, at least to those in the temperate climes, are well known,
- [Jean-Yves Thibaudet (Born 7 September, 1961) <br/> Keys to Brilliance](https://interlude.hk/jean-yves-thibaudet-born-7-september-1961-keys-to-brilliance/): Born on 7 September 1961 in Lyon, France, Jean-Yves Thibaudet stands as one of the most compelling pianists of his generation. His journey with the piano began at the tender age of five, nurtured by a musically rich environment and
- [A Triumphant Homecoming: Aristo Sham in Recital](https://interlude.hk/a-triumphant-homecoming-aristo-sham-in-recital/): Aristo Sham’s victory at the 2025 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition signifies a landmark achievement in Hong Kong’s classical music history. Unsurprisingly, tickets to his homecoming concerts at the University of Hong Kong were snapped up within minutes. Once lauded
- [25 Pieces of Classical Music about Flowers](https://interlude.hk/25-pieces-of-classical-music-about-flowers/): From the very beginning of the history of classical music, composers have found flowers to be an irresistible inspiration. Today we’re celebrating the musical portrayal of all kinds of flowers, from roses to lilies to jasmine and more. Here are twenty-five pieces of classical music about flowers: Guillaume de Machaut:...
- [Musicians and Artists: Stravinsky and Matisse](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-igor-stravinsky-and-henri-matisse-the-nightingale-ballet/): The Nightingale Collaboration Even though they were contemporaries, Igor Stravinsky (1882–1971) and Henri Matisse (1869–1954) are rarely regarded together. In 1925, however, the two collaborated on a project for the Ballets Russes on a ballet version of Stravinsky’s first opera,
- [Paul Huang (Born on 6 September, 1990) <br/> Narrator of Sound](https://interlude.hk/paul-huang-born-on-6-september-1990-narrator-of-sound/): On 6 September 2025, Paul Huang, the Taiwanese-American violinist, will mark his 35th birthday as a celebrated figure in the classical music world, known for his captivating artistry and effortless virtuosity. Born in Taipei in 1990, Huang’s journey from a
- [Sound Meditation <br/>Piano Phase Project](https://interlude.hk/sound-meditation-piano-phase-project/): Formed in 2019, Piano Phase Project is composed of pianists Monika Lozinskienė and Anna Szałucka (Poland/UK) an international collaborative duo who aim to present piano music in an innovative way, conceptually combining classical works with other art forms. Piano Phase
- [Józef Elsner: How Chopin's Teacher Made Chopin](https://interlude.hk/jozef-elsner-how-chopins-teacher-made-chopin/): Frédéric Chopin’s music – famously melancholy, strikingly improvisatory, deeply Polish – is unique among the output of the great canonised composers. How did he develop such a special, creative voice? The answer is composer, conductor, and teacher Józef Elsner, who
- [Spread the Love <br/>  International Day of Charity (September 5)](https://interlude.hk/spread-the-love-international-day-of-charity/): Every year on September 5th, the world comes together to celebrate the International Day of Charity, a day dedicated to spreading kindness and making a difference in the lives of others. Established by the United Nations in 2012, this special
- [Karita Mattila (Born on 5 September, 1960) <br/> A Legacy Woven in Song](https://interlude.hk/karita-mattila-born-on-5-september-1960-a-legacy-woven-in-song/): Born on 5 September 1960 in Somero, Finland, Karita Mattila’s journey from a small-town upbringing to the grand stages of the world’s most prestigious opera houses is a testament to her extraordinary talent and unwavering dedication. Her luminous voice and
- [Five of Tchaikovsky's Doomed Love Interests](https://interlude.hk/five-of-tchaikovskys-doomed-love-interests/): Tchaikovsky is often thought of as one of the most romantic of the Romantic Era composers, famous for his dramatic overtures and symphonies. However, he didn’t have a conventional romantic life. He was a gay man. His brother and confidant
- [Darius Milhaud’s Piano Kaleidoscope <br/>  “Music is a Reflection of Life’s Joy and Complexity”](https://interlude.hk/darius-milhauds-piano-kaleidoscope-music-is-a-reflection-of-lifes-joy-and-complexity/): The French composer Darius Milhaud, born on 4 September 1892 in Marseilles, was associated with the avant-garde Les Six of the 1920s. He was a pioneer in the use of percussion, polytonality, jazz, and aleatory techniques, with his music reflecting
- [New International Clarinet Concertos Performed by Peter Cigleris](https://interlude.hk/new-international-clarinet-concertos-performed-by-peter-cigleris/): In a new recording by SOMM Records, British clarinettist Peter Cigleris takes on four clarinet concertos, from Hungary, Britain, the US, and Japan, to bring us a world of new works for the clarinet. One should probably beware of any
- [Maria Curcio Was One of the Best Piano Teachers Ever. Here’s Why](https://interlude.hk/maria-curcio-was-one-of-the-best-piano-teachers-ever-heres-why/): Maria Curcio could easily have been one of the most famous pianists of the twentieth century. So why do only a handful of classical music lovers know her name today? What kept her from the solo career she seems to
- [Gautier Capuçon (Born 3 September, 1981) <br/> A Cellist of Passion and Precision](https://interlude.hk/gautier-capucon-born-3-september-1981-a-cellist-of-passion-and-precision/): The virtuoso French cellist Gautier Capuçon, born on 3 September 1981 in Chambéry, France, has captivated audiences worldwide with his electrifying performances and profound musicality. From his early days studying at the Paris Conservatoire, Capuçon’s prodigious talent was evident, earning
- [Sky High Celebration <br/>Skyscraper Day September 3, 2025](https://interlude.hk/sky-high-celebration-skyscraper-day-2025/): It’s time for a thrilling celebration that’ll have you gazing skyward with awe! September 3 is Skyscraper Day, a special day to celebrate those towering giants of architecture that pierce the clouds and transform the cityscape into breathtaking works of
- [Leopoldine Blahetka: The Woman Chopin Called "The First Pianist of Vienna"](https://interlude.hk/leopoldine-blahetka-the-woman-chopin-called-the-first-pianist-of-vienna/): We don’t hear much about them, but there were many women pianists and composers active during the time of Beethoven and Chopin. One of these forgotten pianists was an extraordinary child prodigy named Leopoldine Blahetka, who performed Beethoven’s second piano
- [Matched Sounds: An Interview with Matilda Lloyd](https://interlude.hk/matched-sounds-an-interview-with-matilda-lloyd/): In her fourth album, English trumpeter Matilda Lloyd finally matched with an instrument that could keep up with the powerful sound of her horn. With organist Richard Gowers, she has been working on Fantasia: Works for trumpet and organ (Chandos),
- [If You Like Mozart, You Might Like Mitsuko Uchida](https://interlude.hk/if-you-like-mozart-you-might-like-mitsuko-uchida/): Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is universally celebrated for his melodic genius, structural brilliance, and emotional appeal. His music has captivated audiences for centuries with its clarity, balance, and profound expressiveness. For those who cherish Mozart’s music, the artistry of pianist Mitsuko
- [Pachelbel’s Musical Delights <br/>Dancing through the Baroque](https://interlude.hk/pachelbels-musical-delights-dancing-through-the-baroque/): For many centuries, the name Johann Pachelbel was shrouded in obscurity, but then a little piece of music changed all that. The “Canon in D” exploded in popularity in the 20th century and appeared in movies, pop songs, and countless
- [Telling Tales Old and New: Beatrice Berrut’s <em>Abracadabra</em>](https://interlude.hk/telling-tales-old-and-new-beatrice-berruts-abracadabra/): In her new album Abracadabra, pianist Beatrice Berrut explores the worlds of sorcerers and dances of death, traditional fairy tales and fairy tales for the modern world. In her survey of the worlds of Dukas and Stravinsky, film music composers
- [Vyacheslav Gryaznov](https://interlude.hk/interview-with-pianist-vyacheslav-gryaznov/): The Importance of Being Respectful... To a Point Pianist Vyacheslav Gryaznov was born on the island of Sakhalin, off Russia’s east coast, the southernmost point of which is a mere 25 miles from Japan’s northern tip. At the encouragement of
- [Itzhak Perlman (Born 31 August, 1945) <br/>  Celebrating Virtuosity and Humanity](https://interlude.hk/itzhak-perlman-born-31-august-1945-celebrating-virtuosity-and-humanity/): The musical journey of Itzhak Perlman, born in Tel Aviv on 31 August 1945, from young prodigy to one of the world’s most celebrated violinists is a testament to his unyielding spirit and extraordinary talent. Stricken with polio at the
- [The Greatest Child Prodigies of All Time, Part 1](https://interlude.hk/the-greatest-child-prodigies-of-all-time-part-1/): Throughout music history, there have been many incredible children who have demonstrated an astonishing, unnervingly early mastery of their art. Some went on to become the greatest musicians of their age. Others have vanished from our collective memories. One thing
- [Music for Reading: Cozy Mysteries](https://interlude.hk/music-for-reading-cozy-mysteries/): The breadth and variety of mystery stories encompass all kinds of tastes in literature. If you’re a fan of quiet stories set in the countryside with a minimum of gore and a maximum of atmosphere, then cosy mysteries might be just for you. The ultimate in cosy mysteries usually starts...
- [15 Pieces of Classical Music About Weather](https://interlude.hk/15-pieces-of-classical-music-about-weather/): No matter what weather you’re experiencing right now, we can practically guarantee that a composer has written some classical music about it. Today we’re looking at fifteen weather conditions... and fifteen pieces of classical music about that weather! Windy Weather Jean-Baptiste Lully: Les vents from Alceste (1674) In 1674, Versailles-based...
- [Double Vision <br/>The Fusion of Milhaud’s Quartets into an Octet](https://interlude.hk/double-vision-the-fusion-of-milhauds-quartets-into-an-octet/): Darius Milhaud (1892–1974), a key figure among the influential group of French composers known as “Les Six,” carved out a unique place in 20th-century music through his remarkably eclectic style. His compositions are marked by a vibrant synthesis of neoclassical
- [Gems for the Piano <br/>Peter Scott Lewis’ <em>Seven Nuggets</em>](https://interlude.hk/gems-for-the-piano-peter-scott-lewis-seven-nuggets/): American composer Peter Scott Lewis (b. 1953) wrote a cycle of piano works around a set of beautiful gemstones. From clear to all the colours of the rainbow, his Seven Nuggets takes us to a new world of piano miniatures
- [Soprano Desiree Artôt: Tchaikovsky's Genius Lost Love?](https://interlude.hk/soprano-desiree-artot-tchaikovskys-genius-lost-love/): Today, Désirée Artôt is best remembered for her brief engagement to composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. However, Artôt was more than just a great composer’s love interest. She studied with opera icon Pauline Viardot and traveled the world, impressing critics in
- [Musicians and Artists: Bjarnason and Rothko and Pollock](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-daniel-bjarnason-and-rothko-and-pollock-over-light-earth/): Inspirations Behind Daníel Bjarnason’s Over Light Earth Two mid-20th-century abstract impressionist paintings were the source of inspiration for Icelandic composer Daníel Bjarnason. Mark Rothko’s 1954 painting No. 9 (Dark over Light Earth/Violet and Yellow in Rose) and Jackson Pollock’s groundbreaking
- [Beyond the Baton: Bridging Cultures Through Music <br/>An Interview With Conductor Asieh Mahyar](https://interlude.hk/beyond-the-baton-bridging-cultures-through-music-an-interview-with-conductor-asieh-mahyar/): When the lights dim and the orchestra draws its first breath, the conductor’s baton becomes both compass and storyteller. For Asieh Mahyar, the new Director of Orchestras at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA), each gesture is infused
- [Capturing Old and New: An Interview with Penelope Appleyard](https://interlude.hk/capturing-old-and-new-an-interview-with-penelope-appleyard/): English soprano Penelope Appleyard is bringing out the music of Jane Austen’s time, but in a new way. Discovering that her neighbour, pianist Jonathan Delbridge, had a 1814 Broadwood square piano, she began to investigate the music that had been
- [Celebrating the Master: An Interview with Benjamin Appl](https://interlude.hk/celebrating-the-master-an-interview-with-benjamin-appl/): In 2009, the young Benjamin Appl was going to a masterclass with Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. Nerves everywhere, but not when he got up to perform the Schubert songs that Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau had requested. By the end of the masterclass, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
- [Karl Böhm (Born 28 August, 1894) <br/>Clarity and Passion](https://interlude.hk/karl-bohm-born-28-august-1894-clarity-and-passion/): Karl Böhm, born on 28 August 1894 in Graz, Austria, stands as one of the 20th century’s most distinguished conductors. His profound interpretations of the Austro-German repertoire earned him a towering legacy in the world of classical music. Groomed by
- [Composer Emilie Mayer: Was She the Female Beethoven?](https://interlude.hk/composer-emilie-mayer-was-she-the-female-beethoven/): Emilie Mayer, sometimes referred to as the “female Beethoven,” was one of the most prolific composers of her generation. Mayer’s symphonies, chamber music, and piano works stand as testaments to both her talent and her determination to succeed in a
- [Chopin: Desire for Love - The Bewildering 2002 Film About Chopin and George Sand](https://interlude.hk/chopin-desire-for-love-the-bewildering-2002-film-about-chopin-and-george-sand/): The love story between novelist George Sand and composer Frédéric Chopin has fascinated music lovers for generations. Their relationship has been the inspiration for multiple films and television shows. One of the more recent attempts is the 2002 Polish film
- [ARTE Concert’s Piano Day <br/> Büşra Kayıkçı’s Sonic Tapestry](https://interlude.hk/arte-concerts-piano-day-busra-kayikcis-sonic-tapestry/): On Piano Day 2025, Büşra Kayıkçı takes centre stage at the ARTE Concert, weaving a mesmerising tapestry of neoclassical melodies that blend introspective depth with cinematic elegance. Her performance, a captivating interplay of minimalist precision and emotive resonance, invites listeners
- [Shannon Wettstein: With Grace into the Unknown](https://interlude.hk/shannon-wettstein-with-grace-into-the-unknown/): Pianist Shannon Wettstein invites audiences to discover a century of Italian piano music, connecting historic classics with cutting-edge contemporary works. “For me, it’s about taking risks. I love guiding audiences into uncharted territory,” Wettstein explains. Having premiered over 450 pieces,
- [Soaring Melodies and Countryside Dreams <br/> Celebrating the Ralph Vaughan Williams Concertos](https://interlude.hk/soaring-melodies-and-countryside-dreams-celebrating-the-ralph-vaughan-williams-concertos/): When you hear the name Ralph Vaughan Williams, you might picture rolling English hills, folk songs drifting through the air, or grand orchestral works that feel like they capture the soul of a nation. Vaughan Williams, one of Britain’s most
- [Paws and Applause <br/> International Dog Day August 26](https://interlude.hk/paws-and-applause-international-dog-day-august-26/): Arf arf, humans! Strap on your leash and get ready to prance because International Dog Day is fetching its way to us on 26 August. This is the day to go absolutely mutts over our floppy-eared, tail-chasing, face-licking sidekicks who
- [Time for Love: Messiaen’s <em>Turangalîla Symphony</em>](https://interlude.hk/time-for-love-messiaens-turangalila-symphony/): In his exuberant post-WWII work, the Turangalîla Symphony, French composer Olivier Messiaen took the commission proposed by Serge Koussevitsky to heart: ‘compose the work as you like, in any style and length, with the instrumentation you would like, and I
- [If You Like Bach, You Might Like Glenn Gould](https://interlude.hk/if-you-like-bach-you-might-like-glenn-gould/): Johann Sebastian Bach, the towering figure of Baroque music, is renowned for his intricate counterpoint, emotional depth, and technical brilliance. His compositions have inspired countless musicians and listeners for centuries. Among the interpreters of Bach’s keyboard music, few have left
- [Harmony in Diversity <br/>The Symphonies of Leonard Bernstein](https://interlude.hk/harmony-in-diversity-the-symphonies-of-leonard-bernstein/): Leonard Bernstein, born on 25 August 1918, stands as one of the most multifaceted figures in 20th-century American music. He was a conductor, composer, educator, and cultural icon whose contributions bridged classical, jazz, and popular idioms. Among his compositional output,
- [George Li (Born 24 August, 1995) <br/> A Fresh Voice for Classical Music](https://interlude.hk/george-li-born-24-august-1995-a-fresh-voice-for-classical-music/): George Li, born on 24 August 1995 in Hong Kong, emerged as a musical prodigy whose extraordinary talent on the piano redefined expectations for a new generation of classical musicians. Raised in a family where music was a cornerstone of
- [Who Were the First Women Composers Ever?](https://interlude.hk/who-were-the-first-women-composers-ever/): You wouldn’t know it from looking at a music history textbook, but women have composed music for just as long as men have. Even when societal norms made it difficult for women to express themselves musically at a high level,
- [Music for Reading: Modern Science Fiction](https://interlude.hk/music-for-reading-modern-science-fiction/): Science fiction seems to have more interesting outlets these days than ever before. Want your local neighbourhood but with beings from a parallel world? Perhaps you want The Laundry Files series by Charles Stross or The Rivers of London series by Ben Aaronovitch. A completely separate world, but with our-world-characteristics?...
- [Antônio Meneses (Born 23 August, 1957) <br/> From Recife to the World](https://interlude.hk/antonio-meneses-born-23-august-1957-from-recife-to-the-world/): Antônio Meneses, born in Recife, Brazil, on 23 August 1957, was a masterful cellist who captivated audiences worldwide with his profound musicality and technical brilliance. With a career sparked by early talent in a musical family, he honed his craft
- [Paris in Chamber Music: <em>French Impressions</em>](https://interlude.hk/paris-in-chamber-music-french-impressions/): In the late 19th century, Paris was truly the place to be for music. It had no fewer than ‘four of the best symphony orchestras in the world’, many private salons, and many public concert series. The Ballets Russes were
- [The Greatest Self-Taught Composers, Part 2](https://interlude.hk/the-greatest-self-taught-composers-part-2/): Classical music is difficult to write, and most people assume that you need a rigorous formal education to be able to write great works. However, some of history’s most extraordinary composers forged their creative paths without extensive formal education, relying
- [Elsa Respighi: Why This Composer's Wife Gave Up Her Musical Career](https://interlude.hk/elsa-respighi-why-this-composers-wife-gave-up-her-musical-career/): Elsa Olivieri Respighi was more than just the wife of the famous Italian composer Ottorino Respighi. She was also an accomplished musician, composer, and author in her own right. Elsa’s marriage to Respighi resulted in a productive creative partnership, with
- [Claude Debussy: <em>Images</em> <br/> Shimmering Visions of the Inexpressible](https://interlude.hk/claude-debussy-images-shimmering-visions-of-the-inexpressible/): As an amateur pianist, sitting down to play Debussy feels like stepping into a shimmering dreamscape, where colours and textures swirl in a delicate dance. Each note dissolves into the next, like ripples on a moonlit lake, inviting me to
- [What Happened to Clara Schumann's Siblings?](https://interlude.hk/what-happened-to-clara-schumanns-siblings/): In June 1816, thirty-one-year-old Leipzig-based piano teacher Friedrich Wieck married his talented student, nineteen-year-old Mariane Tromlitz. Although their marriage would only last a few years, it ended up producing one of the most talented and influential musicians of the nineteenth
- [Janet Baker (Born 21 August, 1933) <br/> Celebrating a Vocal Legend](https://interlude.hk/janet-baker-born-21-august-1933-celebrating-a-vocal-legend/): Born on 21 August 1933, in Hatfield, Pennsylvania, Janet Baker is widely regarded as one of the most distinguished British mezzo-sopranos of the 20th century. Renowned for her rich, expressive voice and profound interpretive depth, she has captivated audiences in
- [Carrying Stories Forward: Rasa Vitkauskaite and the Album <em>Contrasts</em>](https://interlude.hk/carrying-stories-forward-rasa-vitkauskaite-and-the-album-contrasts/): Last year, I had the pleasure of speaking with Lithuanian pianist Rasa Vitkauskaite, when she shared the personal story behind her album A Concert Piano Christmas at Boston Symphony Hall, a recording that blended artistry with memories of family and homeland.
- [Horowitz's Teacher Felix Blumenfeld: "Vibrant, Handsome, Many Vices"](https://interlude.hk/horowitzs-teacher-felix-blumenfeld-vibrant-handsome-many-vices/): In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Felix Blumenfeld was one of the best-known composers, pianists, conductors, and music teachers in Russia. He worked with colleagues now considered to be masters: figures like Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Anton Rubinstein, and Alexander
- [The Flow Technique – How to Enter a State of Complete Focus While Playing?](https://interlude.hk/the-flow-technique-how-to-enter-a-state-of-complete-focus-while-playing/): Every musician dreams of that perfect moment when everything just clicks—their fingers move effortlessly, the music flows naturally, and time seems to vanish. This state is known as flow, a psychological concept describing complete immersion in an activity. When musicians
- [Rossini Opera Festival 2025: Great Voices. Questionable Choices](https://interlude.hk/rossini-opera-festival-2025-great-voices-questionable-choices/): If the directors of the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro intended to set the fox among the chickens and shake up their audience this year, they certainly succeeded. Just the mention of controversial director Calixto Bieito set tongues wagging and
- [The Tyrannical Dictator Who Forced Chopin to Play For Him](https://interlude.hk/the-tyrannical-dictator-who-forced-chopin-to-play-for-him/): In October 1818, Mikołaj Chopin brought his eight-year-old son Frédéric Chopin to work, hoping he’d get the chance to meet a member of the royal family. Mikołaj was a teacher, and Tsarina Maria Feodorovna, the mother of the Russian Tsar,
- [Exploring the Beauty of Chopin's Nocturnes](https://interlude.hk/exploring-the-beauty-of-chopins-nocturnes/): Complete Chopin Nocturnes – Tom Hicks, piano It’s rare to come across a recording, or indeed a live concert, where one thinks “yes, that is how it should be played! ”, but this was my reaction on listening to Tom Hicks’
- [50 Years Schubertiade <br/>Reviving Schubert’s Heartbeat for a Golden Anniversary in Hohenems](https://interlude.hk/50-years-schubertiade-reviving-schuberts-heartbeat-for-a-golden-anniversary-in-hohenems/): Nestled in the tranquil Vorarlberg region of Austria, where rolling hills and Alpine meadows create a stunning backdrop, the Schubertiade festival shines as a pinnacle of musical artistry, honouring the enduring genius of Franz Schubert’s compositions. For half a century,
- [15 Pieces of Classical Music About Mountains](https://interlude.hk/15-pieces-of-classical-music-about-mountains/): Mountains have intimidated and inspired humanity for centuries... and that goes for composers, too! Some fabulous classical music has been written over the centuries about mountains, travels up and across mountains, the unique natural phenomena found in mountains, and more. Get ready: we’re about to climb the mountain of classical...
- [The Heartbeat of Bach: Jian Wang’s Solo Cello Suites](https://interlude.hk/the-heartbeat-of-bach-jian-wangs-solo-cello-suites/): Bach’s Six Suites for Solo Cello, BWV 1007–1012, have become the touchstone for the modern cellist. When first approached, they are the Mount Everest of cello works: difficult to conquer and stay on top of. Once conquered, however, they aren’t
- [Chopin's Polish Friends and Their Tragic Stories](https://interlude.hk/chopins-polish-friends-and-their-tragic-stories/): Frédéric Chopin is, without question, Poland’s most famous composer. His Polish identity, as well as his exile from Poland after the November Uprising of 1830, was deeply important to his work, contributing to his music’s character of melancholy longing. However,
- [The Martin Grubinger Commissions <br/>Vision in Motion](https://interlude.hk/the-martin-grubinger-commissions-vision-in-motion/): The Austrian multi-percussionist Martin Grubinger has redefined the possibilities of percussion through his virtuosic performances and ambitious commissioning project. His prodigious talent emerged early, and he won several awards and competitions at an early age. By blending technical precision with
- [Review: Björk’s <em>Homogenic</em> by Wooden Elephant](https://interlude.hk/review-bjorks-homogenic-by-wooden-elephant/): One of my favourite memories of all time is of snorkelling in Fiji on a school trip in my late teens. The beaches were light and sandy, the water somehow both bright turquoise and perfectly translucent. Equipped with flippers and
- [The Greatest Self-Taught Composers, Part 1](https://interlude.hk/the-greatest-self-taught-composers-part-1/): Classical music is difficult to write, and most people assume that you need a rigorous formal education to be able to write great works. However, some of history’s most extraordinary composers forged their creative paths without extensive formal education, relying
- [How Much Music There Is! <br/>Tomlinson’s <em>Fantasia on Auld Lang Syne</em>](https://interlude.hk/how-much-music-there-is-tomlinsons-fantasia-on-auld-lang-syne/): English composer Ernest Tomlinson (1924-2015) was noted as a composer of light music, and with the rise of pop music, found that organisations all over Britain, from the BBC to theatre, were discarding their Light Music collections. Appalled, he started
- [Mahler Heaven: Ten Mahler Symphonies and Songs in 10 days](https://interlude.hk/mahler-heaven-ten-mahler-symphonies-and-songs-in-10-days/): A spectacular musical event took place from May 9 through May 18 this year. The Royal Concertgebouw, founded in 1888, hosted their 3rd Mahler festival ever in their history, featuring all of Mahler’s symphonic works and songs. The performances took
- [Glamorous Pianist Eileen Joyce: Four Concertos, One Night!](https://interlude.hk/glamorous-pianist-eileen-joyce-four-concertos-one-night/): Pianist Eileen Joyce was one of the twentieth century’s most glamorous pianists, famous for her designer wardrobe, appearances on film soundtracks, and marathon four-concerto concert performances. However, she came from modest beginnings, born to impoverished parents in Western Australia. Raw
- [Oscar Peterson (1925-2007) <br/> “Maharaja of the Keyboard”](https://interlude.hk/oscar-peterson-1925-2007-maharaja-of-the-keyboard/): Dubbed the “Maharaja of the Keyboard” by Duke Ellington, Oscar Emmanel Peterson is one of the most influential jazz pianists of the 20th century. Born to Caribbean immigrant parents in Montreal, Canada, Peterson’s virtuosic technique and improvisational brilliance elevated him
- [Aldo Ciccolini (Born 15 August, 1925) <br/> A Legacy of Poetic Precision and Timeless Artistry](https://interlude.hk/aldo-ciccolini-born-15-august-1925-a-legacy-of-poetic-precision-and-timeless-artistry/): The extraordinary career of Italian-born French pianist Aldo Ciccolini (1925-2015) spanned over six decades. A prodigious talent from a young age, he studied at the Naples Conservatory but made Paris his home in the late 1940s. Ciccolini’s artistry was defined
- [Maude Valérie White: The Most-Performed Woman Composer at the Proms](https://interlude.hk/maude-valerie-white-the-most-performed-woman-composer-at-the-proms/): Which woman composer has been played the most at the Proms? Would you believe it’s an obscure Englishwoman born in 1855 named Maude Valérie White? She was a prolific composer, writing over two hundred songs, a ballet, and an unfinished
- [Musicians and Artists: Popp and 4 Painters](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-popp-and-4-painters/): Paintings that Inspired William Popp’s ‘The Galleries’ Suite Composer William Popp (b. 1950) puts together his own gallery of art in The Galleries. Looking at one 16th-century and three 19th-century paintings held in museums in London, Madrid, Washington, DC, and
- [Kathleen Battle (Born 13 August, 1948) <br/>A Voice of Crystal and Courage](https://interlude.hk/kathleen-battle-born-13-august-1948-a-voice-of-crystal-and-courage/): The name Kathleen Battle is synonymous with vocal brilliance, and it identifies one of the most celebrated sopranos of her time. Born on 13 August 1948 in Portsmouth, Ohio, she emerged from humble beginnings as the youngest of seven children
- [Alfred Hitchcock (Born 13 August, 1899) <br/>Master of Suspense](https://interlude.hk/alfred-hitchcock-born-13-august-1899-master-of-suspense/): It’s time to celebrate the birthday of Alfred Hitchcock, the genius behind some of the most gripping and unforgettable films ever made. Born on 13 August 1899 in London, Hitchcock became known around the world as the “Master of Suspense. ”
- [Yann Tiersen Piano Day 2025 <br/>A Journey Through <em>Rathlin from a Distance</em>](https://interlude.hk/yann-tiersen-piano-day-2025-a-journey-through-rathlin-from-a-distance/): On 4 February 2025, Yann Tiersen delivered a captivating solo piano performance at The LAB in Nantes, France, as part of ARTE Concert’s Piano Day 2025 celebration. This 52-minute set streamed Tiersen’s remarkable ability to weave introspective and atmospheric soundscapes.
- [What do Two Cellists and an Accordionist Have in Common? (Part 2)](https://interlude.hk/what-do-two-cellists-and-an-accordionist-have-in-common-part-2/): Worth Many Thousands, The Virginia Parker Award for Outstanding Talent, Musicianship, and Artistic Excellence Our previous article left you with a quiz to solve. Who was the recipient of the annual and prestigious Virginia Parker Prize in 2024, and what
- [Whispers of the Past <br/>Leoš Janáček’s <em>On an Overgrown Path</em>](https://interlude.hk/whispers-of-the-past-leos-janaceks-on-an-overgrown-path/): Discovering Leoš Janáček’s On an Overgrown Path feels like finding a hidden diary in a forgotten attic. Each piece in this collection of fifteen miniatures evokes a vivid memory whispered through the keys of the instrument. Leoš Janáček: Po zarostlém
- [Pure Imagination and Happiness: Debussy’s <em>L’isle joyeuse</em>](https://interlude.hk/pure-imagination-and-happiness-debussys-lisle-joyeuse/): Where is your happy place? Debussy’s 1904 work L’isle Joyeuse seems to kidnap us, fly us through the air, and deposit us in a world of warm breezes, blue skies, perhaps a fluffy cloud or two, and, of course, surrounded
- [TSIAJ: Ives Remembers His Past](https://interlude.hk/tsiaj-ives-remembers-his-past/): Charles Ives (1874–1954) used his chamber music as experimental studies, trying out his ideas with a small ensemble. In his Piano Trio, written between 1904 and 1911 and revised in 1914, he brought out musical ideas that dated from his
- [10 Greatest Piano Concerto Openings of All Time](https://interlude.hk/10-greatest-piano-concerto-openings-of-all-time/): There’s something thrilling about the opening of a great piano concerto. The big instrument gets rolled onstage; the soloist and conductor stride out to applause; the pianist sits and raises their arms and nods to the conductor to begin. Today,
- [The Love Children of the Great Composers, Part 2](https://interlude.hk/the-love-children-of-the-great-composers-part-2/): The history of classical music is full of the stories of composers who have had energetic love lives. Many ended up having children out of wedlock, and many others have been suspected of having children outside of wedlock. Today we’re
- [15 Career Cellists Who Became Conductors](https://interlude.hk/15-career-cellists-who-became-conductors/): To be a good conductor, you must first play a musical instrument. We professionals who’ve played in professional orchestras appreciate the conductors who have emerged from the ranks. They learn from the inside what we need from them, to name
- [Alexander Glazunov’s Piano Legacy <br/>A Russian Romantic Odyssey](https://interlude.hk/alexander-glazunovs-piano-legacy-a-russian-romantic-odyssey/): After Tchaikovsky, Alexander Glazunov, born on 10 August 1865, was Russia’s greatest symphonist, who handed down this legacy to Dmitry Shostakovich. Being such a wonderful orchestral composer, it’s easy to overlook his achievements as a skilled and expert composer of
- [Henry David Thoreau: Walden](https://interlude.hk/henry-david-thoreau-walden-in-classical-music/): Originally published on 9 August 1854, Walden; or, Life in the Woods is widely considered Henry David Thoreau’s masterwork. In a series of 18 essays, Thoreau provides a vivid account of his two years living in isolation in a cabin
- [15 Pieces of Classical Music About Rain](https://interlude.hk/15-pieces-of-classical-music-about-rain/): Rain has long been a muse for composers of classical music. Its delicate patter on eaves, the way it drips drops off leaves, and the rousing ruckus that happens when a thunderstorm gets intense have inspired some of the most evocative pieces in the repertoire. Put on your slicker and...
- [Shostakovich 50th Death Anniversary (Died on 9 August, 1975)<br/>Echoes of Resilience in a Divided World](https://interlude.hk/shostakovich-50th-death-anniversary-died-on-9-august-1975echoes-of-resilience-in-a-divided-world/): On 9 August 1975, the world lost one of the 20th century’s most enigmatic and profound musical voices, Dmitry Dmitriyevich Shostakovich. Fifty years later, as we commemorate the anniversary of his death, his legacy endures as a testament to the
- [Debbie Wiseman's 'Ten': Celebrating a Decade of Creativity](https://interlude.hk/debbie-wisemans-ten-celebrating-a-decade-of-creativity/): British composer Debbie Wiseman is perhaps best known worldwide for her music for the hit BBC tv series Wolf Hall and its sequel The Mirror and the Light. Wiseman has enjoyed a decade of prolific composition and collaboration that has produced
- [On the Edge of Images: Henninger’s <em>Five Scenes for Orchestra</em>](https://interlude.hk/on-the-edge-of-images-henningers-five-scenes-for-orchestra/): Canadian composer Nathan Henninger made the move, pre-COVID, from busy New York City to the very different atmosphere of the Azores Islands. Located 1,400 km (870 mi) west of Lisbon, the Azores are a far cry from the bustle of the big
- [Feline Fiesta <br/> International Cat Day Craziness](https://interlude.hk/feline-fiesta-international-cat-day-craziness/): It’s August 8, and your living room is a furry warzone of pure feline energy. Your tabby is perched on the couch like a smug emperor, the internet is on fire with cat content, and your X is flooded with
- [Salzburg Festival 2025: Maria Stuarda - Platforms Passing in the Night](https://interlude.hk/salzburg-festival-2025-maria-stuarda-platforms-passing-in-the-night/): With much fanfare, the Salzburg Festival announced Ulrich Rasche as director of Gaetano Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda. A proponent of “perpetual stage movement and intense lighting to create visceral experiences,” the German director’s vision was of two queens, each stuck in
- [Joane Hétu’s <em>Elle a son mot à dire</em>: A Conversation in Sound and Freedom](https://interlude.hk/joane-hetus-elle-a-son-mot-a-dire-a-conversation-in-sound-and-freedom/): Composer, improviser, and saxophonist Joane Hétu has been a vital figure in Quebec’s experimental music scene since the 1980s. Her latest album, Elle a son mot à dire (She Has Her Say), released with Ensemble SuperMusique, brings together compositions written between 2001 and 2023
- [Juicy Tidbits About the Legendary Wagner-Liszt Friendship](https://interlude.hk/juicy-tidbits-about-the-legendary-wagner-liszt-friendship/): In 1841 in Paris, Richard Wagner awkwardly introduced himself to Franz Liszt. The two men were close in age: Wagner was twenty-eight and Liszt was thirty. However, their career trajectories could not have been more different. Liszt had been a
- [An Unfiltered Glimpse Behind the Scenes of Classical Music](https://interlude.hk/an-unfiltered-glimpse-behind-the-scenes-of-classical-music/): “The Collection (2015-25)” by Fly On The Wall, a British film studio dedicated to the power of classical music, is a landmark 10-year documentary project offering an unprecedented, unfiltered glimpse into the lives of elite classical musicians. Conceived by musician
- [Andy Warhol <br/>Exploding Plastic Inevitable](https://interlude.hk/andy-warhol-exploding-plastic-inevitable/): Diving into the world of Andy Warhol is like stepping into a dazzling electric dream, where soup cans become icons and every face is a superstar. His art, with its bold colours and cheeky repetitions, turned the mundane into magic.
- [Musicians and Artists: Stylianou and 12 Artists](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-stylianou-and-12-artists/): The medium of the Prelude has been used by composers for a number of different vehicles. At first, they were literally the music that came before, i. e. , preceded another piece. The first one dates from 1448. Then, they were used
- ['The Spirit of Love' - Rediscovered Chamber Music by Ailsa Dixon](https://interlude.hk/the-spirit-of-love-rediscovered-chamber-music-by-ailsa-dixon-album-review/): An important new recording, ‘The Spirit of Love’, featuring chamber music and songs by British composer Ailsa Dixon (1932-2017), will be released on the Resonus Classics label on 22nd August. This landmark recording highlights Dixon’s chamber works, many of which
- [What do Two Cellists and an Accordionist Have in Common? (Part 1)](https://interlude.hk/what-do-two-cellists-and-an-accordionist-have-in-common-part-1/): Worth Many Thousands, The Virginia Parker Award for Outstanding Talent, Musicianship, and Artistic Excellence Competitions! They are often a regrettable and necessary evil—sometimes the bane of a performer’s existence. As two of our recent articles featuring competitions point out (read
- [Ten Personal Tidbits About Chopin, As Revealed In His Letters](https://interlude.hk/ten-personal-tidbits-about-chopin-as-revealed-in-his-letters/): Frédéric Chopin is one of the most beloved composers in classical music, and for good reason. But he wasn’t just a great composer: he was also a lively and witty letter-writer. Today, we’re looking at ten fun facts about Chopin
- [The Inheritor of Haydn: Beethoven and his String Quartets](https://interlude.hk/the-inheritor-of-haydn-beethoven-and-his-string-quartets/): A wonderful phrase about the Ysaÿe Quartet is that they have a unity that never becomes uniformity. Unity of expression is sought, but never at the price of homogeneity of sound. In this recording of all of Beethoven’s string quartets,
- [A Feast for the Ears: Classical Music Inspired by Food](https://interlude.hk/a-feast-for-the-ears-classical-music-inspired-by-food/): Classical music explores themes like love, loss, transcendence, and life’s pleasures. Composers often drew inspiration from food and drink, turning flavours into soundscapes and meals into metaphors. J. S. Bach’s Coffee Cantata humorously depicts a father trying to break his daughter’s caffeine
- [What Was Brahms Like As a Piano Teacher?](https://interlude.hk/what-was-brahms-like-as-a-piano-teacher/): Born in 1851, Eugenie Schumann was the seventh of composer Robert Schumann and pianist Clara Schumann’s eight children. She was also the only child to write a memoir about her life. That memoir offers invaluable insight not only into her
- [The Love Children of the Great Composers, Part 1](https://interlude.hk/the-love-children-of-the-great-composers-part-1/): Musicians aren’t exactly famous for their marital fidelity. Many well-known composers have had children out of wedlock, and many others have been suspected of having children outside of wedlock. Today, we’re looking at the secret love lives of four composers
- [Joseph Haydn <br/>10 Most Magnificent Symphonies](https://interlude.hk/joseph-haydn-10-most-magnificent-symphonies/): Joseph Haydn, the father of the symphony, crafted over a hundred works that blend wit, structure, emotional depth, and flair. His best symphonies stand as timeless monuments to Haydn’s genius for surprise, elegance, and innovation. The symphonies of Joseph Haydn are a testament to his revolutionary spirit, and they showcase...
- [Harmony Homies <br/> National Friendship Day](https://interlude.hk/harmony-homies-national-friendship-day/): National Friendship Day is the one day when we’re all supposed to hug our friends and send snappy texts. Yet, nobody can really pin down when it is actually celebrated. Some swear it’s the first Sunday in August, others cling
- [Itamar Golan (Born 3 August, 1970) <br/> The Soul of Collaboration](https://interlude.hk/itamar-golan-born-3-august-1970-the-soul-of-collaboration/): In the world of chamber music, where intimacy and precision intertwine, Itamar Golan, born on 3 August 1970 in Vilnius, Lithuania, stands as a luminary whose artistry transforms collaboration into alchemy. A masterful Israeli pianist, Golan has spent decades weaving
- [The Eight Greatest Teachers in Classical Music History?](https://interlude.hk/the-eight-greatest-teachers-in-classical-music-history/): Have you ever wondered who the best teachers in classical music history were? Us, too. But of course, there’s no way to objectively measure who “the best” teachers are. (Surely the best teachers in your life are the incredible men
- [Musicians and Artists: Adams and Dewing](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-byron-adams-and-thomas-wilmer-dewing-midsummer-music/): Inspirations Behind Byron Adams’ Midsummer Music American artist Thomas Wilmer Dewing (1851–1938), working at the turn of the 20th century, was known for his figure paintings of American women. Focusing on the aristocratic women, he evoked a dream-like world for
- [Composers and Their Nicknames](https://interlude.hk/composers-and-their-nicknames/): Being a composer is not a very – how could one put it delicately – commonsense profession. Many of history’s well-known composers were larger-than-life characters who earned idiosyncratic nicknames from their erratic and memorable behaviour. In this article, we take a look at how some of these gargantuan musical figures...
- [A Bump but No Hump: Greek National Opera’s <em>Rigoletto</em>](https://interlude.hk/a-bump-but-no-hump-greek-national-operas-rigoletto/): It’s not often you see a production of Rigoletto that focuses more on the louche women rather than the louche men. The revival production by Greek National Opera, originally staged in 2022, tried to set the scene in the ‘corrupt
- [Friedrich Wieck: Clara Schumann's Father and Classical Music's Villain](https://interlude.hk/friedrich-wieck-clara-schumanns-father-and-classical-musics-villain/): Friedrich Wieck – Clara Schumann’s much-maligned father – is one of the great villains of classical music history, infamous for how he tried to keep Clara and her future husband Robert Schumann apart. However, Wieck had a fascinating biography apart
- [Alice Sara Ott (Born 1 August 1988)<br/>Transforming Tradition](https://interlude.hk/alice-sara-ott-transforming-tradition/): The German-Japanese pianist Alice Sara Ott, born on 1 August 1988 in Munich, is celebrated for her profound musicianship and innovative approach to classical music. The daughter of a Japanese pianist mother and a German civil engineer father, Ott discovered
- [Ailish Tynan](https://interlude.hk/ailish-tynan-irish-operatic-soprano-interview/): Artistry and Heart and Soul One might think that an opera singer with an international career spanning three decades and several continents was immersed in the world of classical music from the very beginning. Not so with Irish soprano Ailish
- [Sir Roger Norrington (1934-2025) <br/>Legacy in Every Measure](https://interlude.hk/sir-roger-norrington-1934-2025-legacy-in-every-measure/): In the annals of classical music, few figures have left footprints as profound and enduring in the art of orchestral performance as Sir Roger Norrington. A conductor, scholar, and visionary, Norrington’s legacy is one of daring innovation, meticulous scholarship, and
- [Secrets About Chopin from George Sand's Novel Lucrezia Floriani](https://interlude.hk/secrets-about-chopin-from-george-sands-novel-lucrezia-floriani/): In the spring of 1846, dashing French author George Sand began writing a novel inspired by the breakdown of her romantic partnership with pianist and composer Frédéric Chopin. She titled it Lucrezia Floriani. Lucrezia Floriani tells the story of three
- [The Perfect Working Holiday: The Skallsjö Sommarorkester](https://interlude.hk/the-perfect-working-holiday-the-skallsjo-sommarorkester/): It all started with the double problem of what to do in the summer and how to get together with your friends. And, to compound it, you have to practice. Violinist Carl Vallin, now Artistic Director, and conductor and bassist
- [Christophe Rousset/Les Talens Lyriques<br/>Love Conquers All](https://interlude.hk/christophe-rousset-les-talens-lyriqueslove-conquers-all/): Renowned for their passion, precision, and unmistakable flair for reviving little-known or forgotten musical jewels and celebrated masterpieces from the 17th and 18th centuries, Christophe Rousset and his ensemble “Les Talens Lyriques” have captivated audiences around the world for over
- [A Boulez Celebration <br/> Ensemble Intercontemporain <br/>Jean-Guihen Queyras and Pierre-Laurent Aimard](https://interlude.hk/a-boulez-celebration-ensemble-intercontemporain-jean-guihen-queyras-and-pierre-laurent-aimard/): In the hallowed halls of the Philharmonie de Paris, the Boulez Celebration of 6 January 2025 unfolded as a vibrant tribute to the centenary of Pierre Boulez’s birth. Under the masterful direction of Pierre Bleuse, the Ensemble Intercontemporain, an ensemble
- [Whispers of Love and Loss<br/> Schumann’s Liederkreis, Op. 24 (Part 2)](https://interlude.hk/whispers-of-love-and-loss-schumanns-liederkreis-op-24-part-2/): A Chilling Embrace Lay your hand, my loveJust lay your hand on my heart, my love;Ah, can you not hear it throbbing in there? A carpenter, wicked and evil, lives there,Fashioning me my coffin. He bangs and hammers day and night,And has
- [Musicians and Artists: Weir and Klee](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-judith-weir-and-paul-klee-heroic-strokes-of-the-bow/): Inspirations Behind Judith Weir’s Heroic Strokes of the Bow Many of Paul Klee’s paintings have made it into music, especially his Twittering Machine. Composers have written their own twittering machine music for symphony orchestra, flute and computer, String quartet, guitar
- [Emily Brontë (1818-1848)  <br/>John Joubert: <em>Six Poems by Emily Brontë</em>](https://interlude.hk/emily-bronte-1818-1848-john-joubert-six-poems-by-emily-bronte/): Emily, possibly the most famous of the three Brontë sisters, was born on 30 July 1818 in Haworth, Yorkshire. She is best known for her only novel Wuthering Heights, a highly imaginative work of passion and hate set on the
- [A Journey to the Heart <br/> Schubertiade Hohenems 2025](https://interlude.hk/a-journey-to-the-heart-schubertiade-hohenems-2025/): The Schubertiade Hohenems, specifically the one held in July 2025, was more than simply visiting a music festival; it felt like coming home. Tucked between the rolling hills of Vorarlberg and the shadow of the Alps, Hohenems hosted a celebration
- [Robert Schumann's Illness, In His Own Words](https://interlude.hk/robert-schumanns-illness-in-his-own-words/): Every person with mental illness experiences it in different ways, with different symptoms of different severities. This deeply personal and subjective experience means that mental illness is famously difficult to diagnose, even with our comparatively advanced medical knowledge. If it’s
- [Whispers of Love and Loss<br/> Schumann’s Liederkreis, Op. 24 (Part 1)](https://interlude.hk/whispers-of-love-and-loss-schumanns-liederkreis-op-24-part-1/): In June 1839, Robert Schumann famously wrote, “All my life I have regarded vocal music as inferior to instrumental music, and have never considered it great art. ” Famous indeed, but not his last words on the subject. Only a couple
- [Melodies from East Asia: Hyeji Seo’s Journey Through Memory, Culture, and Sound](https://interlude.hk/melodies-from-east-asia-hyeji-seos-journey-through-memory-culture-and-sound/): Korean pianist and educator Hyeji Seo makes a compelling debut with The Melodies from East Asia, an album blending six modern compositions from Japanese, Taiwanese, and Korean composers. The album includes five solo piano pieces and one oboe-piano duet, showcasing a diverse
- [Iberomania: Lalo’s <em>Symphonie espagnole</em>](https://interlude.hk/iberomania-lalos-symphonie-espagnole/): We’ve noted many times the fascination the northern Europeans had with southern Europe: musical trips to Greece, Italy, and Spain seemed to be de rigeur in the 19th century if you were Scandinavian, German, or French. French composer Édouard Lalo
- [Your Favorite Composers' Favorite Composers](https://interlude.hk/your-favorite-composers-favorite-composers/): Pop star Chappell Roan has adopted a slogan for herself that has become famous: “I’m your favourite artist’s favourite artist! ” Who’s the equivalent in the classical music world? Have you ever wondered who your favourite composer’s favourite composer was? Sometimes
- [Antonio Vivaldi (Died on 28 July 1741) <br/>Seasons of Genius](https://interlude.hk/antonio-vivaldi-1678-1741-seasons-of-genius/): Antonio Vivaldi (1678–1741), known as the “Red Priest” due to his fiery hair and brief priestly career, stands as one of the most influential composers of the Baroque era. The most original and influential Italian composer of his generation, Vivaldi laid the foundations for the mature Baroque concerto. Vivaldi’s life...
- [The Divine Artistry of Johann Sebastian Bach <br/> 10 of His Greatest Choruses](https://interlude.hk/the-divine-artistry-of-johann-sebastian-bach-10-of-his-greatest-choruses/): Johann Sebastian Bach’s music stands as a towering monument in Western music. While countless composers have written exceptional choral music, Bach’s greatest choruses intertwine technical perfection and profound emotional resonance to create moments of transcendent beauty. Christmas Oratorio Johann Sebastian Bach: Christmas Oratorio, BWV 248 “Jauchzet, flohlocket... ” Bach’s choruses...
- [Enrique Granados: <em>12 Danzas Españolas</em><br/> Visions of Spain](https://interlude.hk/enrique-granados-12-danzas-espanolas-visions-of-spain/): In the rich tapestry of Spanish music, few names evoke the same sense of lyrical beauty, national pride, and tragic romanticism as Enrique Granados. Born on 27 July 1867 in Lleida, Catalonia, Granados emerged as one of Spain’s most evocative composers, a musical voice whose works captured the soul of...
- [The Crazy Deadly Inventions of Maurice Ravel's Father](https://interlude.hk/the-crazy-deadly-inventions-of-maurice-ravels-father/): Thanks to the precision of his compositional technique, the work of Maurice Ravel has been compared to that of “a Swiss watchmaker. ” The descriptor is even more accurate than it seems at first glance. Maurice’s father, Pierre-Joseph, was indeed Swiss,
- [Musicians and Artists: Grime and Cornell](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-helen-grime-and-joseph-cornell-night-songs/): Helen Grime’s Night Songs Inspired by Joseph Cornell The American artist and filmmaker Joseph Cornell (1903–1972) was best known for his assemblages. Using found objects, he created shadow boxes, deep boxes with glass fronts, in which he made arrangements of
- [From Vision to Victory<br/>Sir Henry Wood and the Heart of the BBC Proms](https://interlude.hk/from-vision-to-victorysir-henry-wood-and-the-heart-of-the-bbc-proms/): It has all started again, hurrah! I am, of course, referring to the BBC Proms, officially the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts. It’s one of the world’s most beloved classical music festivals, held every summer for eight weeks, mostly at London’s
- [National Dog Photography Day (July 26)<br/> Paws, Poses, and Pure Pandemonium](https://interlude.hk/national-dog-photography-day-july-26-paws-poses-and-pure-pandemonium/): Did you know that National Dog Photography Day is celebrated on July 26 every year? It basically aims to encourage dog owners, pet enthusiasts, photograph enthusiasts, and all dog lovers to post as many photos of their dogs as possible.
- [30 Pieces of Classical Music About Water](https://interlude.hk/30-pieces-of-classical-music-about-water/): Artists of all kinds, and classical music composers in particular, have always been inspired by the natural world... . and especially water. From rivers to brooks to the sea itself, bodies of water have proven to be some of the most inspirational subject matter in the entire history of music....
- [How the Clara Theme Unlocks Early Schumann](https://interlude.hk/how-the-clara-theme-unlocks-early-schumann/): Robert Schumann’s Fantasy in C Major, Op. 17, opens with a passionate declaration of what scholars and performers often call the “Clara theme,” a five-note descending scale. But what is this melody, and why does it matter? To understand it, its
- [La Scala finally dares to bring back <em>Norma</em>](https://interlude.hk/la-scala-finally-dares-to-bring-back-norma/): After 48 years – mirabile dictu – Milan’s Teatro alla Scala has mustered the courage to bring back Vincenzo Bellini’s Norma. The reasons for the long absence are somewhat unclear. Were memories of Montserrat Caballé’s sensational 1977 performance still too fresh?
- [Brahms's Composer Colleagues and Their Unjustly Neglected Masterpieces, Part 2](https://interlude.hk/brahmss-composer-colleagues-and-their-unjustly-neglected-masterpieces-part-2/): Great composers are often placed on pedestals, and it can be easy to forget that they spent their careers working alongside talented composer colleagues. Johannes Brahms was no exception. Today, we’re looking at the lives and music of five of
- [Antonio Vivaldi <br/>10 Hidden Concertos That Rival <em>The Four Seasons</em>](https://interlude.hk/antonio-vivaldi-10-hidden-concertos-that-rival-the-four-seasons/): Antonio Vivaldi, the fiery Venetian composer and master of the Italian Baroque, is best known for his Four Seasons, a masterpiece that has captivated audiences for centuries with its vivid musical storytelling. It’s a breathtaking celebration of the changes of the seasons woven into four vibrant violin concertos that pulse...
- [Bringing the Past into the Future: Christopher Greco’s <em>Baroque</em>](https://interlude.hk/bringing-the-past-into-the-future-christopher-grecos-baroque/): Californian saxophonist Christopher Greco went back in time to create a new set of works for the soprano saxophone by updating works from the Baroque period. It’s an ideal combination, with flute, oboe, and cello concertos rewritten for the singing
- [Christian Gerhaher (Born 24 July 1969) <br/> A Legacy of Lyrical Insight](https://interlude.hk/christian-gerhaher-born-24-july-1969-a-legacy-of-lyrical-insight/): The German baritone Christian Gerhaher is widely regarded as one of the foremost vocalists of his generation, distinguished for his profound interpretations of lieder. Born in Straubing, Bavaria, on 24 July 1969, Gerhaher brings a rare intellectual and emotional depth
- [Four of the Most Devastating Composer Injuries Ever](https://interlude.hk/four-of-the-most-devastating-composer-injuries-ever/): It’s easy to forget that many famous composers, despite their creative and professional productivity, lived with debilitating chronic illnesses. Sometimes these health issues sprang up after accidents, or were exacerbated by accidents. Today, we’re looking at four great composers whose
- [Making Sure it All Happens: A Conversation with Thomas Guthrie](https://interlude.hk/making-sure-it-all-happens-a-conversation-with-thomas-guthrie/): In the leadership of a program, there’s conducting and there’s directing. We tend to use the two terms interchangeably in reference to the person standing up at the front of an ensemble, but in this case, they are two different
- [The Artistry of Anja Harteros (Born July 23, 1972) <br/> Voice of Truth](https://interlude.hk/the-artistry-of-anja-harteros-born-july-23-1972-voice-of-truth/): Born on 23 July 1972, the German soprano Anja Harteros stands as one of the most luminous figures in contemporary opera, her artistry defined by a rare blend of technical mastery and emotional depth. With a voice that glides seamlessly
- [Max Steiner, the Movie Composer Injected With Amphetamines](https://interlude.hk/max-steiner-the-movie-composer-injected-with-amphetamines/): Max Steiner, hailed as the “father of film music,” is one of the most influential composers in the history of Hollywood. Over the course of a career that spanned half a century, Steiner crafted some of the most iconic scores
- [Sitkovetsky Trio: Conviviality and Mastery<br/>The Beethoven Piano Trio Project](https://interlude.hk/sitkovetsky-trio-conviviality-and-masterythe-beethoven-piano-trio-project/): To mark the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth, the Sitkovetsky Trio embarked on an ambitious project to record the complete set of the composer’s piano trios for BIS Records. This project, with the exception of a couple of small fragments,
- [Musicians and Artists: Greenbaum and Mondrian](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-stuart-greenbaum-and-mondrian-interiors/): Inspirations Behind Stuart Greenbaum’s Mondrian Interiors The Dutch painter Piet Mondrian (1872–1944) was one of the most influential artists of the 20th century. As a pioneer in abstract art, he made the important move from figurative painting through an increasingly
- [Bedřich Smetana’s Polkas <br/> Dancing the Czech Soul from Salon to Stage](https://interlude.hk/bedrich-smetanas-polkas-dancing-the-czech-soul-from-salon-to-stage/): We often regard Bedřich Smetana (1824–1884) as the father of Czech music, a pivotal figure in establishing a national identity through his compositions. While he is probably best known for his operas like The Bartered Bride and his orchestral works like Má Vlast, his solo piano played a significant role...
- [The Brahms Trios: The Trio Sōra](https://interlude.hk/the-brahms-trios-the-trio-sora/): After their first recording of Beethoven‘s piano trios, described as the biggest project a piano trio could undertake, the Trio Sōra then decided to tackle the next biggest challenge: Brahms’ complete piano trios. Trio Sōra takes its name from a
- [Isaac Stern (Born 21 July 1920) <br/> Shaping a Century of Music](https://interlude.hk/isaac-stern-born-21-july-1920-shaping-a-century-of-music/): Isaac Stern, born on 21 July 1920 in Kremenets, Ukraine, was a legendary American violinist whose extraordinary talent and charismatic presence made him one of the most celebrated musicians of the 20th century. His family immigrated to San Francisco in
- [Which Composer Wrote the Most Symphonies Ever?](https://interlude.hk/which-composer-wrote-the-most-symphonies-ever/): Today we’re going to talk about symphonies. What exactly is a symphony? Is it different from a sinfonia? And, depending on your answer to that question, which composer has written the most symphonies of all time? And how many symphonies
- [Karl Tausig: The Great Forgotten Liszt Student Who Died At 29](https://interlude.hk/karl-tausig-the-great-forgotten-liszt-student-who-died-at-29/): Franz Liszt, arguably the greatest pianist who ever lived, wasn’t keen on giving formal music lessons. He preferred to work with pianists one-on-one in mentor relationships instead. One of the rare exceptions was Polish pianist Karl Tausig, an outrageously talented
- [Richard Strauss’ <em>Rosenkavalier</em> <br/>Top 8 Tunes of Wit and Romance](https://interlude.hk/richard-strauss-rosenkavalier-top-8-tunes-of-wit-and-romance/): How would you like to be part of a fabulous ride through the glittering world of Der Rosenkavalier? It’s Richard Strauss’ opulent opera that’s basically a Viennese pasty of romance, wit, and plenty of wigs! This 1911 masterpiece, with a
- [Sundae Funday <br/>National Ice Cream Day](https://interlude.hk/sundae-funday-national-ice-cream-day/): On the 3rd Sunday in July, something truly delicious is coming your way. You guessed it, it’s National Ice Cream Day. It’s the one day of the year when everybody screams for ice cream to sweeten a swelteringly unbearable summer
- [Secrets About Clara Schumann Revealed By Her Daughter](https://interlude.hk/secrets-about-clara-schumann-revealed-by-her-daughter/): Toward the end of her life, Eugenie Schumann published a book called The Schumanns and Johannes Brahms: The Memoirs of Eugenie Schumann. Eugenie Schumann was a music teacher, pianist, and writer, but she was always best known for being the
- [Musicians and Artists: Antheil and Leutze](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-george-antheil-and-leutze-mckonkeys-ferry/): Inspirations Behind George Antheil’s McKonkey’s Ferry The American Revolution (1765–1783) started as an ideological and political movement until it became a full-blown war against the British. The war started on 19 April 1775 in the Province of Massachusetts Bay, with
- [New to “New Music”? Here Are Some Tracks to Get You Started](https://interlude.hk/new-to-new-music-here-are-some-tracks-to-get-you-started/): These compositions show that new music is not a monolith, containing as many varied approaches as there are composers, even if common threads tend to emerge. The term “new music” is itself hard to define, broadly referring to compositions in
- [Brahms's Composer Colleagues and Their Unjustly Neglected Masterpieces, Part 1](https://interlude.hk/brahmss-composer-colleagues-and-their-unjustly-neglected-masterpieces-part-1/): We tend to think of the great composers as gods who created their masterpieces in some kind of temple of art. But in reality, there was no temple, and none of the great composers lived in a vacuum. All were
- [Listen Up! <br/>World Listening Day Awaits (July 18)](https://interlude.hk/listen-up-world-listening-day-awaits-july-18/): Shhhhh... . Can you hear that? It’s the sound of World Listening Day, celebrated on 18 July. This special day is hosted by the World Listening Project, a nonprofit organisation that is “devoted to understanding the world and its natural environment,
- [Ten Longest Composer Marriages in Classical Music History](https://interlude.hk/ten-longest-composer-marriages-in-classical-music-history/): The big love stories in classical music history almost always capture audiences’ imaginations, whether they’re filled with romance or tragedy (or both). Today, we’re exploring ten of the longest marriages in classical music history, assessing how these decades-long relationships helped
- [Musicians and Artists: Kernis and the Ravenna mosaics](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-aaron-jay-kernis-and-the-ravenna-mosaics/): Inspirations Behind Aaron Jay Kernis’s Invisible Mosaic Series A mosaic uses small pieces of glass, coloured stone, or ceramic to create a larger pattern or image. First found in Mesopotamia in 3000BC, they spread through the world and can be
- [Martha Argerich and Ion Marin <br/>Beethoven Masterpieces with the Orchestre Philharmonique](https://interlude.hk/martha-argerich-and-ion-marin-beethoven-masterpieces-with-the-orchestre-philharmonique/): ARTE Concerts presents a world of musical brilliance with a captivating performance featuring the legendary pianist Martha Argerich and the masterful conductor Ion Marin. Together they breathe new life into Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 2 and Symphony No. 7, joined
- [Albumblätter <br/>Pages from Schumann’s Heart](https://interlude.hk/albumblatter-pages-from-schumanns-heart/): In the vast regions of musical forms, there lurks a quiet yet evocative gem, often overlooked in favour of grander symphonies or intricate sonatas. The “Albumblatt,” literally translated as “album leaf”, tends to be a short and intimate composition, typically for piano, that captures a fleeting mood, memory, or impression....
- [How to Handle Failure? A Psychological Approach to Unsuccessful Performances](https://interlude.hk/how-to-handle-failure-a-psychological-approach-to-unsuccessful-performances/): Every musician, from beginners to seasoned professionals, has faced failure at some point. A missed note, a forgotten passage, or a complete mental block during a performance—these moments can be disheartening. However, failure is not the end of the road;
- [Seven Works Dedicated to Brahms](https://interlude.hk/seven-works-dedicated-to-brahms/): Johannes Brahms may have had a prickly personality, but he was also deeply admired by quite a few colleagues. Many of them expressed that admiration by dedicating works to Brahms. Today, we’re looking at seven of the most interesting examples
- [Moonlit Moods <br/> The Lyrical Charm of Carl Czerny’s Nocturnes](https://interlude.hk/moonlit-moods-the-lyrical-charm-of-carl-czernys-nocturnes/): The Austrian composer, pianist and teacher Carl Czerny (1791–1857) is best known for his extensive pedagogical works, such as his études and exercises. Yet, Czerny was more than just a teacher of technique. He was a visionary who understood the evolving demands of the piano and the pianist, helping to...
- [Schubertiade Hohenems July 2025: Day 4](https://interlude.hk/schubertiade-hohenems-july-2025-day-4/): The Sitkovetsky Trio started Day 4 with a concert of Schubert and Beethoven’s piano trios. Opening with Schubert’s Trio (Sonata in 1 movt) in B♭ major, D 28, a work written when Schubert was only 15, we heard a work
- [The Supernatural Bullet: Weber’s <em>Der Freischütz</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-supernatural-bullet-webers-der-freischutz/): Created as the first opera for Berlin’s new Konzerhaus, Weber’s Der Freischütz immediately captured the audience’s attention. The applause was hysterical and soon all of Berlin had its catchiest melodies conquered, singing or whistling the Huntmen’s Chorus or the Bridesmaid’s
- [L’Après-Midi d’Une Nymphe <br/><em>Noemi Győri, Zoltán Fejérvári, Kate Fleetwood</em>](https://interlude.hk/lapres-midi-dune-nymphe-noemi-gyori-zoltan-fejervari-kate-fleetwood/): A meditation on mythology, transformation, and sound, L’après-midi d’une nymphe weaves music, poetry, and spoken word into a program that feels at once timeless and vividly contemporary. At its core are flute-centered works by Debussy, Mouquet, and Jolivet, framed by
- [Best Quotes from Chopin's Letters: Emotional, Witty, and Heartbreaking](https://interlude.hk/best-quotes-from-chopins-letters-emotional-witty-and-heartbreaking/): In addition to being one of the greatest composers and pianists of the Romantic Era, Frédéric Chopin was a famously witty and sensitive writer. Here are some quotes from his letters that paint a picture of what Chopin really felt
- [Buzz, Flutter, and Crawl <br/> Celebrate National Be Nice to Bugs Day (July 14)](https://interlude.hk/buzz-flutter-and-crawl-celebrate-national-be-nice-to-bugs-day-july-14/): Ever since 2021, we have celebrated “National Be Nice to Bugs Day” on July 14. This might sound like an unusual celebration, but it was set up to raise awareness about the importance of bugs in our ecosystem. So, let’s
- [Schubertiade Hohenems July 2025: Day 2](https://interlude.hk/schubertiade-hohenems-july-2025-day-2/): Day 2 of the Schubertiade was a day of piano and lieder. Pianist William Youn had planned a concert of Schubert piano sonatas, in keeping with earlier Schubertiade programmes. Instead, one piano sonata was omitted, and he played the Three
- [Schubertiade Hohenems July 2025: Day 3<br/>Sibling Synergy and Lyrical Brilliance<br/>Jussen Brothers and Gerhaher-Huber](https://interlude.hk/schubertiade-hohenems-july-2025-day-3sibling-synergy-and-lyrical-brilliancejussen-brothers-and-gerhaher-huber/): Glorious summer weather set the perfect tone for Day 3 of the July Schubertiade in Hohenems, promising a day rich in excitement and artistry; and the audience was not disappointed. The afternoon session featured the Dutch piano duo of Lucas
- [Three Violinists Who Survived the Nazi Concentration Camps](https://interlude.hk/three-violinists-who-survived-the-nazi-concentration-camps/): One of the major difficulties of studying the Holocaust is understanding its sheer scale. The human brain isn’t built to process what the murder of millions of people really means. However, by zeroing in and looking at individual stories, we
- [Joseph Haydn: 10 Most Ingenious String Quartets](https://interlude.hk/joseph-haydn-10-most-ingenious-string-quartets/): The 68 string quartets by Joseph Haydn revolutionised chamber music and earned him the title “Father of the String Quartet. ” Haydn transformed the genre from polite parlour tunes into a dynamic conversation among four instruments. Written primarily between the 1750s and 1790s, these works showcase his ingenuity, featuring sparkling...
- [In Memory of the Past: Goethe’s ‘Erster Verlust’](https://interlude.hk/in-memory-of-the-past-goethes-erster-verlust/): Erster Verlust First Loss Ach wer bringt die schönen Tage, Ah, who can bring back the beautiful days, Jene Tage der ersten Liebe, Those days of first love, Ach wer bringt nur eine Stunde Ah, who can bring back even
- [Schubertiade Hohenems July 2025 <br/> From Heatwave to Harmony <br/>Konradi, Krimmel and Heide weave Brahms' Magic](https://interlude.hk/schubertiade-hohenems-july-2025-from-heatwave-to-harmony-konradi-krimmel-and-heide-weave-brahms-magic/): As the sweltering heat that had gripped much of central and southern Europe finally softened its grip, a gentle breeze ushered in the Schubertiade Hohenems on 10 July 2025. Roughly 300 visitors gathered at the Markus-Sittikus Hall, a meticulously restored
- [What Was It Like Being Liszt's Student?](https://interlude.hk/what-was-it-like-being-liszts-student/): Pianist Amy Fay was born in Louisiana in 1844. She began studying piano as a child and quickly proved to be very talented. She studied at the New England Conservatory of Music in the 1860s and, in 1869, took the
- [Musicians and Artists: Holt and Goya](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-simon-holt-and-goya-tauromaquia/): Inspirations Behind Simon Holt’s Tauromaquia The Spanish artist Francisco Goya created a series of 33 prints on the theme of bullfighting, La Tauromaquia, and published them in 1816. He was in the middle of working on his series The Disasters
- [Thomas Pitfield Piano Music <br/>Duncan Honeybourne, piano](https://interlude.hk/thomas-pitfield-piano-music-duncan-honeybourne-piano/): Pianist Duncan Honeybourne, indefatigable champion of lesser-known and rarely-performed British piano music, brings another gem to wider attention with his recent recording of music by Thomas Pitfield (Heritage Records, March 2025). Born in Bolton, Lancashire, in 1901, Thomas Pitfield was
- [George Frideric Handel: Eight Great Keyboard Suites (Part 2)](https://interlude.hk/george-frideric-handel-eight-great-keyboard-suites-part-2/): The Eight Great Keyboard Suites by George Frideric Handel are not merely a significant contribution to the keyboard repertoire; they also showcase his versatility and mastery of the keyboard. Handel’s first biographer, John Mainwaring, who published his “Memoirs of the Life of the Late George Frederic Handel” in 1760, often...
- [Timeless Melodies <br/>The 15 Most Beloved Songs by George Gershwin](https://interlude.hk/timeless-melodies-the-15-most-beloved-songs-by-george-gershwin/): A titan of American music, George Gershwin (1898-1937) crafted a catalogue of songs that remain timeless for their melodic brilliance. Blending jazz, classical, and popular influences, and often in collaboration with his brother Ira Gershwin, he produced some of the most cherished songs of the 20th century. From Broadway stages...
- [What Happened to Stravinsky's Children?](https://interlude.hk/what-happened-to-stravinskys-children/): The relationships between composers and their family members are always fascinating. Those family dynamics tell music lovers valuable information about the so-called Great Composers’ characters, priorities, and inner lives: what things meant the most to them, what moved them, and
- [Henryk Wieniawski’s Dazzling Decade <br/>10 Most Electrifying Showstoppers](https://interlude.hk/henryk-wieniawskis-dazzling-decade-10-most-electrifying-showstoppers/): In the glittering world of the 19th-century violin virtuosi, few shine as bright as Henryk Wieniawski (1835-1880). A prodigy of astonishing technical command and emotional depth, Wieniawski was more than a dazzling performer; he was a composer whose works bridged the fiery brilliance of Paganini with the melodic warmth of...
- [Schubert Piano Sonata in A, D959 & Moments Musicaux <br/>Steven Osborne, Piano](https://interlude.hk/schubert-piano-sonata-in-a-d959-moments-musicaux-steven-osborne-piano/): In his latest release, pianist Steven Osborne pairs Schubert’s penultimate piano sonata with the Moments Musicaux in a fine recording which makes a most satisfying “recital album”. ‘Who can do anything after Beethoven? ’ the 31-year-old Franz Schubert wrote to a
- [Ten Shortest Composer Marriages in Classical Music](https://interlude.hk/ten-shortest-composer-marriages-in-classical-music/): Audiences are always fascinated by composer love stories, especially when there’s an element of tragedy to them. Today, we’re looking at ten of the shortest marriages in classical music history, and all of them have that element of tragedy. Despite
- [Ottorino Respighi’s Musical Masterpieces <br/>10 Most Popular Works](https://interlude.hk/ottorino-respighis-musical-masterpieces-10-most-popular-works/): Ottorino Respighi, born on 9 July 1879, was an Italian composer whose music captured the soul of Italy with vibrant colours and evocative imagery. Born in Bologna, he studied violin and composition, later drawing inspiration from both his native land and the broader European musical tradition. What makes Respighi’s music...
- [How Accurate About Mozart and Salieri’s Rivalry Is the Film <em>Amadeus</em>?](https://interlude.hk/how-accurate-about-mozart-and-salieris-rivalry-is-the-film-amadeus/): Perhaps the most famous film about a composer, Miloš Forman’s 1984 Amadeus, brings to life the rivalry between Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Antonio Salieri. The only film about a composer to win an Academy Award for Best Motion Picture, Amadeus
- [Musicians and Artists: Adams and Rothko](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-john-luther-adams-and-rothko-the-immeasurable-space-of-tones/): Inspirations Behind John Luther Adams’ The Immeasurable Space of Tones Latvian-American artist Mark Rothko (1903–1970) is best known for his colour field paintings. Colour field was a purely abstract form of expressionism where, unlike abstract expressionism, all references (emotional, mythic,
- [Light & Shadow <br/>Orchestra of the Swan](https://interlude.hk/light-shadow-orchestra-of-the-swan/): This is the sixth instalment in Orchestra of the Swan’s (OOTS) “mixtape” collection – a series of albums which present imaginative and intriguing new arrangements of classical, jazz and pop music. In their latest release, Light & Shadow, OOTS turn
- [The Vocal Brass: The Leleu Brothers’ Trumpet and Tuba Duo](https://interlude.hk/the-leleu-brothers-trumpet-and-tuba-duo-album-virtuosi/): As we all know, the 2020–2022 COVID-19 lockdown produced many new musical works, inspired by both the time to make some unusual arrangements and by utter boredom, and a sense of playfulness. The Leleu brothers, Romain (trumpet) and Thomas (tuba),
- [Five Must-See Klaus Mäkelä Performances: His Most Popular YouTube Videos](https://interlude.hk/five-must-see-klaus-makela-performances-his-most-popular-youtube-videos/): Klaus Mäkelä is a sudden superstar in the classical music world. Born in 1996, he is the most successful twentysomething conductor in the world today... and accordingly, one of the most controversial. Everyone in the field is asking: is he at
- [Harmony in High Gear <br/>Dancing through International Peace & Love Day (July 7)](https://interlude.hk/harmony-in-high-gear-dancing-through-international-peace-love-day-july-7/): Hold onto your flower crowns, folks, because International Peace & Love Day is bursting onto the scene on July 7 like a confetti cannon of pure joy. It’s the kind of day when the world hopes to hit the pause
- [Gustav Mahler (Born 7 July 1860) <br/>The Visionary of Music’s Modern Soul](https://interlude.hk/gustav-mahler-born-7-july-1860-the-visionary-of-musics-modern-soul/): Gustav Mahler(1860 – 1911) once boldly proclaimed, “My time is yet to come,” a statement that foreshadowed the extraordinary legacy he would leave behind. His work serves as a bridge between the rich Austro-Germanic musical tradition and the daring experimentation
- [Creating a New Chopin](https://interlude.hk/creating-new-chopin-rock-guitar-covers/): Rock Guitar Covers of Chopin Piano Classics Chopin scholar Jakub Kasperski looked at the use of Frédéric Chopin in popular music and found some interesting links. After his survey, he found that the works that were most popular and most
- [How Clara Schumann's Father Taught Her Piano](https://interlude.hk/how-clara-schumanns-father-taught-her-piano/): Friedrich Wieck (1785-1873) is best-known as Clara Wieck Schumann’s litigious father, the man who did everything he could to keep his daughter from marrying Robert Schumann. However, he was also a well-respected piano teacher. Despite the fact that he only
- [Vladimir Ashkenazy (Born 6 July 1937)<br/>A Dance of Fire and Finesse](https://interlude.hk/vladimir-ashkenazya-born-6-july-1937-dance-of-fire-and-finesse/): Vladimir Ashkenazy, born in Gorky, Soviet Union, on 6 July 1937, stands as one of the most revered pianists and conductors of his era. A child prodigy, he rose to international fame through standout performances at the Chopin Competition in
- [Unveiling Erik Satie: A Century of Discoveries](https://interlude.hk/unveiling-erik-satie-a-century-of-discoveries/): To coincide with the centenary of Erik Satie’s death on 1 July 1925, Erato has released 27 never-before-heard works by the eccentric French composer. This landmark digital album, Satie: Discoveries, performed by acclaimed pianist Alexandre Tharaud, offers an unprecedented glimpse
- [The Schubertiade July Performers](https://interlude.hk/the-schubertiade-july-performers/): The 50th anniversary year of the Schubertiade kicks off on 10 July with what has become one of the festival’s signature concerts: a lieder recital. Soprano Katharina Konradi and baritone Konstantin Krimmel, with Daniel Heide on the piano, sing a
- [Johannes Brahms and Johann Strauss II: Behind Their Unlikely Friendship](https://interlude.hk/johannes-brahms-and-johann-strauss-ii-behind-their-unlikely-friendship/): Classical musicians often put music into boxes. Sonatas and symphonies are considered Serious with a capital S, whereas waltzes and dance music are often dismissed as mere light trifles. So it may come as a surprise to find out that
- [Wanda Landowska (Born July 5, 1879) <br/> Revival of Baroque Brilliance](https://interlude.hk/wanda-landowska-born-july-5-1879-revival-of-baroque-brilliance/): Wanda Landowska, born in Warsaw on 5 July 1879, stands as a pivotal figure in the twentieth-century revival of early music. Her mastery of the harpsichord transformed the instrument from a historical artefact into a vibrant instrument for modern concert
- [A Life in Music <br/><em>Myra Hess: National Treasure by Jessica Duchen</em>](https://interlude.hk/a-life-in-music-myra-hess-national-treasure-by-jessica-duchen/): Dame Myra Hess (1890–1965) is known to most people today as the face of the famed WWII concerts held in the National Gallery in London. Jessica Duchen’s new biography reveals the personality behind the picture, and it is a key
- [Schubertiade Hohenems 2025 <br/> Programme Highlights <br/> Universal Embrace](https://interlude.hk/schubertiade-hohenems-2025-programme-highlights-universal-embrace/): Nestled in the picturesque region of Vorarlberg, Austria, the charming town of Hohenems once again hosts the renowned Schubertiade from July 10 to 14, 2025. This celebrated festival, a pinnacle of musical excellence for nearly 50 years, invites audiences to
- [Baltic Tides <br/>Eva Maria Doroszkowska, piano](https://interlude.hk/baltic-tides-eva-maria-doroszkowska-piano/): This new release from pianist Eva Maria Doroszkowska showcases the piano music of two of the most important women composers of their generation. Hailing from the Baltic region of Europe, Latvian Lūcija Garūta (1902–1977) and Estonian Ester Mägi (1922–2021) wrote
- [George Frideric Handel: Eight Great Keyboard Suites (Part 1)](https://interlude.hk/george-frideric-handel-eight-great-keyboard-suites-part-1/): We all recognise George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) as a towering figure in English music. He is best known for his oratorios and concerti grossi, like Messiah and the Water Music. Handel is perhaps less well known for his keyboard music, but his Eight Great Keyboard Suites are a significant contribution...
- [Reflections of the Past: George Rochberg’s <em>Carnival Music</em>](https://interlude.hk/reflections-of-the-past-george-rochbergs-carnival-music/): American composer George Rochberg (1918–2005) occupied a difficult ground in 20th-century modern classical music. Caught between the serial composers of the mid-century and the gradual return to tonal music that followed, he abandoned his long-held serial style after the death
- [Franz Kafka (Born 3 July 1883) <br/> The Prophet of Bureaucratic Dread](https://interlude.hk/franz-kafka-born-3-july-1883-the-prophet-of-bureaucratic-dread/): In the pantheon of modern literature, few figures loom as enigmatically as Franz Kafka. A Czech-Jewish writer born in Prague on 3 July 1883, Kafka crafted stories that resonate with a haunting, almost prophetic clarity that captured the anxieties of
- [Musicians and Artists: Gould and Burchfield](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-morton-gould-and-charles-burchfield/): Inspirations Behind Morton Gould’s Burchfield Gallery The American artist, Charles E. Burchfield (1893–1967), was a watercolour painter with a unique vision, described as both romantic and fantastic. After graduating from the Cleveland Institute of Art in 1916, he found his
- [Dmitri Shostakovich's Three Fascinating Wives](https://interlude.hk/dmitri-shostakovichs-three-fascinating-wives/): Composer Dmitri Shostakovich had a tumultuous professional life, surviving discouragement and denunciation by the Soviet government over a period of decades. He also had a tumultuous personal life. He was married three times to three very different women: Nina Varzar,
- [Ilya Gringolts (Born 2 July 1982) <br/> Echoes of Bach, Visions of Tomorrow](https://interlude.hk/ilya-gringolts-born-2-july-1982-echoes-of-bach-visions-of-tomorrow/): Ilya Gringolts, born in Leningrad on 2 July 1982, is a violinist whose remarkable blend of technical brilliance, emotional depth, and intellectual curiosity has established him as one of the foremost musicians of his generation. He displayed prodigious talent early
- [Father and Son in Concert <br/>Jean-Jacques and Alexandre Kantorow interpret Brahms](https://interlude.hk/father-and-son-in-concert-jean-jacques-and-alexandre-kantorow-interpret-brahms/): First aired on 24 May 2024, the Arte Concert “Jean-Jacques and Alexandre Kantorow interpret Brahms,” performed with the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, showcases a remarkable father-son collaboration. The father sets the tone conducting Camille Saint-Saëns’ Symphony No. 2, and
- [SAPIENS <br/>A Brief History of Humankind for the piano <br/>Sean Hickey](https://interlude.hk/sapiens-a-brief-history-of-humankind-for-the-piano-sean-hickey/): ‘Sapiens’ is the title of the international best-selling book by Yuval Noah Harari – a monumental, ground-breaking narrative of humanity’s creation and evolution, that explores the ways in which biology and history have defined us and enhanced our understanding of
- [Erik Satie](https://interlude.hk/the-100th-anniversary-of-erik-satie-celebrating-a-musical-maverick/): Celebrating a Musical Maverick On 1 July 1925, at the age of 59, Erik Alfred Leslie Satie died in a small apartment in Arcueil, Paris. One hundred years later, at the centenary of his death, his singular creative spirit resonates
- [Vanessa Wagner](https://interlude.hk/vanessa-wagner-french-pianist/): ‘Poetry and Imagination’ French pianist Vanessa Wagner has made a name for herself as ‘the most delightfully singular pianist of her generation’ (Le Monde), combining a mastery of familiar repertoire with a curiosity spanning a huge range of genres and
- [A Higher Form of Composition: Schumann’s String Quartets Op. 41](https://interlude.hk/a-higher-form-of-composition-schumanns-string-quartets-op-41/): It was easy for the numerous piano virtuosos of the 19th century to continue to write perfect and exquisite miniatures for their own instrument. Robert Schumann, on the other hand, writing from his platform in the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik,
- [Social Media Day <br/>Hashtags, Hype, and Zero Chill](https://interlude.hk/social-media-day-hashtags-hype-and-zero-chill/): It’s Social Media Day on June 30, so everybody gets ready to pop the digital champagne! In its short life, social media has redefined how people interact, communicate, and share with family, friends, and the world. This is the day
- [Rafał Blechacz (Born June 30, 1985) <br/> A Pianist of Poise and Profound Artistry](https://interlude.hk/rafal-blechacz-born-june-30-1985-a-pianist-of-poise-and-profound-artistry/): Rafał Blechacz, the distinguished Polish pianist, has garnered international acclaim since his remarkable triumph at the 2005 Chopin International Piano Competition. At the age of 20, his victory showcased not only impeccable technical mastery but also a profound sensitivity to
- [Twelve of the Best Violin Sonatas by Women](https://interlude.hk/twelve-of-the-best-violin-sonatas-by-women/): When you ask music lovers to name their favourite violin sonatas, they’ll likely mention works by Beethoven, Brahms, Franck, or Ravel. But venture just a little bit further outside the established canon, and you will find fascinating and deeply moving works by women composers, dating from the mid-seventeenth century to...
- [Six Composers With Paralysing Stage Fright - And How They Dealt With It](https://interlude.hk/six-composers-with-paralysing-stage-fright-and-how-they-dealt-with-it/): Stage fright: it’s the bane of most every performing musicians’ existence. And when we say most every, we really do mean most every. In fact, many of the greatest figures in classical music history struggled with stage fright in one
- [Celebrating Anne-Sophie Mutter (Born June 29, 1963)<br/> Timeless Performances](https://interlude.hk/celebrating-anne-sophie-mutter-born-june-29-1963-timeless-performances/): The German violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter, born on 29 June 1963, is widely regarded as one of the greatest virtuosos of our time. Discovered as a child prodigy, she made her debut at age 13 with the Berlin Philharmonic under Herbert
- [The Piano Sonatas by Robert Schumann <br/> Passionate Complexity in Romantic Form](https://interlude.hk/the-piano-sonatas-by-robert-schumann-passionate-complexity-in-romantic-form/): Robert Schumann’s solo piano music is primarily remembered and celebrated for its shorter character pieces. Carnaval and Kreisleriana beautifully encapsulate his gift for miniature forms and programmatic imagery. While revered by musicologists and pianists for their emotional depth and innovative
- [A Song to Remember: The 1945 Chopin Film That Made George Sand a Villain](https://interlude.hk/a-song-to-remember-the-1945-chopin-film-that-made-george-sand-a-villain/): The 1945 film A Song to Remember offers a romanticised (some would say bastardised) portrayal of the life of Polish composer and pianist Frédéric Chopin, and, as of early 2025, it’s available for free on YouTube. A Song To Remember
- [Places Heard: Lesser-Known Classical Works Inspired by Geography and Memory](https://interlude.hk/places-heard-lesser-known-classical-works-inspired-by-geography-and-memory/): Throughout music history, composers have drawn inspiration not only from cities but also from regions, memories, and imagined landscapes—evoking cultural identities and emotional terrains through sound. While iconic works like Respighi’s Roman Trilogy or Bernstein’s West Side Story are widely celebrated for their geographic associations, many lesser-known compositions also deserve...
- [Musicians and Artists: Greenbaum and Escher](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-greenbaum-and-escher/): Stuart Greenbaum’s Piano Music Inspired by M. C. Escher’s Art Maurits Cornelis Escher (1898–1972), better known by his initials as M. C. Escher, was a Dutch graphic artist who used mathematics and logic to create unforgettable images that puzzle the viewer. His
- [Daniel Hsu’s Meteoric Rise (Born June 27, 1997)<br/>Captivating Performances](https://interlude.hk/daniel-hsus-meteoric-rise-born-june-27-1997captivating-performances/): Daniel Hsu is a pianist of uncommon depth and sensitivity, whose performances marry technical brilliance with poetic insight. Crowned with numerous accolades, including a bronze medal at the 2017 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, Hsu has rapidly emerged as one
- [The Greatest Musician Portraits by John Singer Sargent](https://interlude.hk/the-greatest-musician-portraits-by-john-singer-sargent/): John Singer Sargent is famous for his psychologically probing portraits of wealthy and socially prominent people from the turn of the century. However, Sargent was also fascinated with music, and he painted many portraits of some of the most talented
- [The Predictability of the 2025 Van Cliburn Competition](https://interlude.hk/the-predictability-of-the-2025-van-cliburn-competition/): After 2 weeks into the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels, Belgium, one of the oldest and most prestigious competitions in classical music, another exciting competition – the Van Cliburn Piano Competition – began in full swing across the pond in
- [Smetana’s Musical Postcards <br/>The Albumblätter of a Young Romantic](https://interlude.hk/smetanas-musical-postcards-the-albumblatter-of-a-young-romantic/): Bedřich Smetana is often hailed as the father of Czech music. In his orchestral masterpieces like Má Vlast, he offers a delightful window into his melodic genius and his emotional connection to his homeland. His compositions for piano are less
- [Gérard Caussé (Born June 26, 1948) <br/> The Poet of the Viola](https://interlude.hk/gerard-causse-born-june-26-1948-the-poet-of-the-viola/): Gérard Caussé, born 26 June 1948 in Toulouse, France, is a renowned violist known for his warm tone, technical mastery, and musical sensitivity. Trained at the Paris Conservatoire, he gained international acclaim as a soloist and chamber musician, performing with
- [The Sounds of Summer](https://interlude.hk/the-sounds-of-summer/): Summer is here! School’s out, weekends never seem long enough if you’ve been at work all week, and the outdoors becomes the place to be. We’ll look at summer through sound, and a few pieces of music, and see how
- [What Happened to Sibelius's Six Daughters?](https://interlude.hk/what-happened-to-sibeliuss-six-daughters/): Celebrated Finnish composer Jean Sibelius and his wife Aino were married for sixty-five years, from 1892 to 1957. It was one of the longest marriages in classical music history. Between 1903 and 1904, the couple famously built a rustic house
- [João Carlos Martins (Born June 25, 1940) <br/> Defying Silence with Passion and Persistence](https://interlude.hk/joao-carlos-martins-born-june-25-1940-defying-silence-with-passion-and-persistence/): The Brazilian classical pianist and conductor João Carlos Martins, born on 25 June 1940 in São Paulo, was hailed as one of the world’s leading interpreters of the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. His performances, marked by technical brilliance and
- [Pixie Party Time <br/> International Fairy Day Delight](https://interlude.hk/pixie-party-time-international-fairy-day-delight/): You need to get ready to sprinkle some pixie dust and celebrate International Fairy Day, a magical moment on June 24 when we honour the whimsical world of fairies. Just think of tiny, glowing creatures flitting through enchanted forests, their
- [Musicians and Artists: Schurmann and Bacon](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-gerard-schurmann-and-francis-bacon/): Inspirations Behind Gerard Schurmann’s 6 Studies of Francis Bacon The Irish-born British artist Francis Bacon (1909–1992) painted the human figure, but often in disquieting images. Many of his subjects, including crucifixions, portraits of popes, self-portraits, and portraits of friends, were
- [On Darragh Morgan’s For Violin and Electronics – Volume II](https://interlude.hk/on-darragh-morgans-for-violin-and-electronics-volume-ii/): It is a rare, stupendous, and overwhelmingly promising feat when the first track of an album brings you to tears. It is nonetheless a feat that Darragh Morgan’s new release For Violin and Electronics II has achieved for me on
- [The Art of the Concert Hall: Angelika Kauffmann Hall in Schwarzenberg](https://interlude.hk/the-art-of-the-concert-hall-angelika-kauffmann-hall-in-schwarzenberg/): The Swiss Neoclassical painter Angelika Kauffmann (1741–1807) made her career in London and Rome in the field of history painting, portraiture, landscape painting, and decorative painting. Her father, Joseph Johann Kauffmann, was an Austrian muralist and painter and he trained
- [Inspired by the Night: Fauré and Szymanowski](https://interlude.hk/inspired-by-the-night-faure-and-szymanowski/): In a tribute to the places she considers home, violinist Eva Zavaro, joined by pianist Clément Lefebvre, presents works by Karol Szymanowski (1882–1937) and Gabriel Fauré (1845–1924). The recording includes both composers’ violin sonatas (Szymanowski No. 1 and Fauré No. 2)
- [Seven Dedicatees of Chopin's Music and the Masterpieces They Inspired](https://interlude.hk/seven-dedicatees-of-chopins-music-and-the-masterpieces-they-inspired/): Frédéric Chopin is possibly the most beloved composer of the Romantic era. He also, despite his shy and somewhat aloof nature, had many friends in the musical world, and he often dedicated his compositions to them. These dedications offer a
- [Henning Kraggerud (Born June 23, 1973) <br/>Blazing New Trails in Classical Sound](https://interlude.hk/henning-kraggerud-born-june-23-1973-blazing-new-trails-in-classical-sound/): Henning Kraggerud, born on 23 June 1973 in Oslo, Norway, is a multifaceted musician whose career as a violinist, violist, composer, conductor, and educator has earned him international recognition. His holistic approach to music, rooted in his Norwegian heritage, makes
- [A Tribute to Alfred Brendel <br/>The Philosopher-Pianist](https://interlude.hk/a-tribute-to-alfred-brendel-the-philosopher-pianist/): Alfred Brendel, who passed away at the age of 94 in June 2025, was not merely a pianist but a towering figure in classical music whose intellectual depth, technical mastery, and poetic sensibility left an indelible mark on the world.
- [Musicians and Artists: Frances-Hoad and Munch](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-cheryl-frances-hoad-and-munch-melancholia/): Inspirations Behind Cheryl Frances-Hoad’s Melancholia After the death of his father, Edvard Munch (1863–1944) made a vow in his diary: “There should be no more pictures of interiors, of people reading and women knitting. / There would be pictures of
- [The Unpredictability of the 2025 Queen Elizabeth Competition](https://interlude.hk/the-unpredictability-of-the-2025-queen-elizabeth-competition/): The Queen Elisabeth Competition was founded in the year 1937 in Brussels, initially a competition for violinists. In 1938, pianists were included, followed by singers in 1988, and cellists in 2017. Since then, these instrumentalists would take turns competing in
- [Vibrant Masterpieces <br/>The 10 Most Colourful Scores by Darius Milhaud](https://interlude.hk/vibrant-masterpieces-the-10-most-colourful-scores-by-darius-milhaud/): Darius Milhaud, one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century, died on 22 June 1974 in Geneva, Switzerland. A highly original, imaginative, and influential composer, Milhaud became famous for his innovative use of polytonality and his incorporation of jazz and Brazilian musical elements into his works. A key...
- [30 Pieces of Classical Music About Birds](https://interlude.hk/30-pieces-of-classical-music-about-birds/): Classical music composers have always been inspired by birds, for obvious reasons! Today, we’re looking at thirty of the best pieces of classical music about birds ever written, dating from the 1500s to the present day. Let’s stretch our wings and listen to some great music. Clément Janequin: Le Chant...
- [Khatia Buniatishvili (Born June 21, 1987) <br/>Passion, Piano, and Polarising Artistry](https://interlude.hk/khatia-buniatishvili-born-june-21-1987-passion-piano-and-polarising-artistry/): Hate her or love her, Khatia Buniatishvili is one of the most captivating and polarising figures in classical music today. Known for her virtuosic technique and deeply expressive performances, she has garnered both fervent admiration and critical scrutiny. Embracing artistic
- [Duck Face Dynasty <br/>Unleashing Your Inner Selfie Star](https://interlude.hk/duck-face-dynasty-unleashing-your-inner-selfie-star/): Get ready to unleash your inner selfie superstar because National Selfie Day is strutting into the spotlight on June 21. This delightfully fun holiday is your official excuse to channel your best angles, perfect that pout, and flood your socials
- [Itinéraire Baroque 2025 <br/> A Journey Through Time and Place](https://interlude.hk/itineraire-baroque-2025-a-journey-through-time-and-place/): The enchanting Itinéraire Baroque festival, held across picturesque venues in the Dordogne region, presents a vibrant celebration of Baroque music and arts. It showcases a diverse array of performances ranging from chamber music and cantatas to theatrical comédie-ballets. The 2025
- [Maurice Ravel at the Turn of the Century](https://interlude.hk/maurice-ravel-at-the-turn-of-the-century/): In a previous article, Maurice Ravel as a Young Man, we followed the story of Ravel’s early life and first forays into the world of professional composition. We left off at the turn of the century, with twenty-five-year-old Ravel poised
- [The Summer Soundtrack: How Classical Music Shapes Childhood Memory and Emotional Growth](https://interlude.hk/the-summer-soundtrack-how-classical-music-shapes-childhood-memory-and-emotional-growth/): Days are growing longer and bright sunshine paves the way for the summer season. Summer is a time for children to take a break from school and enjoy days filled with laughter and fun. Some of the summer memories for
- [Talon Smith: A New Voice in Classical Composition and Performance](https://interlude.hk/talon-smith-a-new-voice-in-classical-composition-and-performance/): With the release of his debut album DEBUT, pianist and composer Talon Smith establishes himself as a powerful new voice in the world of classical music. Brimming with virtuosic flair and emotional depth, the album’s original works evoke echoes of
- [All Kinds of Elfen Kings: Schubert’s <em>Erlkönig</em> Transformed](https://interlude.hk/all-kinds-of-elfen-kings-schuberts-erlkonig-transformed/): The story is brief and mysterious. A father on an urgent mission, riding through the night with his ailing child in his arms to get help. We open in medias res; the piano tells us before the words enter that
- [Beethoven's Eight Most Violent Works](https://interlude.hk/beethovens-eight-most-violent-works/): Composer Ludwig van Beethoven loved to push music to its limits, both technically and emotionally. How exactly did he do it? He employed a variety of methods, but he especially enjoyed using driving rhythms and intense dynamic contrasts (i. e. , quickly
- [Romantic Leaves <br/>Albumblätter’s Warm Embrace](https://interlude.hk/romantic-leaves-albumblatters-warm-embrace/): At one point or another, every intermediate pianist comes across an “Albumblatt. ” Mostly, these are short and lyrical pieces of music, typically for the piano, that became highly popular during the 19th century. Albumblatt is simply the German word for “album leaf,” and it’s like a musical snapshot. These...
- [Tuneful Takedowns <br/>Dissonance Aimed at Brahms](https://interlude.hk/tuneful-takedowns-dissonance-aimed-at-brahms/): Today, Johannes Brahms is considered a towering figure in 19th-century music, and his symphonies are a cornerstone of the classical repertoire. However, his music enjoyed a rather complex and evolving reception, especially in the Anglo-American world. In Britain and the
- [Musicians and Artists: Saariaho and Unicorns](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-saariaho-and-unicorns/): Inspirations Behind Kaija Saariaho: D’OM LE VRAI SENS The six Unicorn tapestries held at the Cluny Museum in Paris are an allegory of the five senses, through a meditation on earthly pleasures and courtly culture. Framed around the idea of
- [Writing in a Rush: Mozart’s Turkish Violin Concerto No. 5](https://interlude.hk/writing-in-a-rush-mozarts-turkish-violin-concerto-no-5/): Written for his time at the Salzburg court, Mozart’s five violin concertos were all produced between 1773 and 1775, probably with himself as the intended conductor. The final three (k. 216, 218, and 219) were all completed in just a
- [Becoming Music: Nielsen’s <em>Pan og Syrinx</em>](https://interlude.hk/becoming-music-nielsens-pan-og-syrinx/): In 1918, between his Flute Concerto and his third symphony, Carl Nielsen wrote one of his few tone poems: Pan og Syrinx (Pan and Syrinx). The nymph Syrinx, known for her chastity, and vowing, as a follower of the huntress
- [Ten Greatest Women Pianists of All Time](https://interlude.hk/ten-greatest-women-pianists-of-all-time/): From the time the piano became a popular instrument in the mid-eighteenth century, thousands of accomplished women pianists have taken to the stage. So many women have done so that it’s impossible to make an objective list of the ten
- [Were the Great Composers' Parents Musical?](https://interlude.hk/were-the-great-composers-parents-musical/): Countless musicians have composed music, but only a tiny handful have become canonized greats. What might these individuals with vastly different backgrounds share in common? Today, we’re looking at the backgrounds of fifteen beloved composers, from Johann Sebastian Bach (born
- [Edvard Grieg’s Greatest Hits <br/>10 Most Beloved Compositions](https://interlude.hk/edvard-griegs-greatest-hits-10-most-beloved-compositions/): Edvard Grieg was born on 15 June 1843. So let’s have a little party for Norway’s musical maestro, who sprinkled fjord-flavoured magic into everything he wrote. Grieg had a giant imagination, and he gave us melodies that dance to the
- [Dad’s Big Day <br/>A Symphony of Snores and Socks](https://interlude.hk/dads-big-day-a-symphony-of-snores-and-socks/): On 15 June, in some parts of the world, we honour a true superhero. He doesn’t wear a cape, and he’s bravely fought off monsters, mostly spiders. Father’s Day honours a hero who never misses a chance to say, “Money
- [How Did Pachelbel's Canon Become So Popular?](https://interlude.hk/how-did-pachelbels-canon-become-so-popular/): Pachelbel’s Canon in D is one of the most recognisable pieces of classical music ever written, heard in countless films, on streaming playlists, and at weddings. But the Canon wasn’t always so famous. For generations, it languished in obscurity, just
- [Musicians and Artists: Guy and Ernst](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-barry-guy-and-max-ernst-after-the-rain/): Inspirations Behind Barry Guy: After the Rain German artist Max Ernst (1891–1976) created two major pieces entitled Europe After the Rain. The first, in 1933, is a collage of oil and wood, refiguring the map of Europe. Although many believe
- [Lang Lang (Born June 14, 1982) <br/>A Journey Beyond the Classical Stage](https://interlude.hk/lang-lang-born-june-14-1982-a-journey-beyond-the-classical-stage/): Born on 14 June 1982 in Shenyang, China, Lang Lang is a globally celebrated pianist whose extraordinary talent and magnetic stage presence have made him one of the most influential classical musicians of our time. Displaying prodigious ability from an
- [Echoes of the Unusual Instruments You May Not Have Heard Of](https://interlude.hk/echoes-of-the-unusual-instruments-you-may-not-have-heard-of/): Human beings are endlessly creative: for at least 60,000 years, we’ve been finding weird and wonderful ways to make sound. Learn about some of these lesser-known sonic devices, delving into realms of history, culture, and myth. The Aulos The aulos
- [Ophélie Gaillard (Born June 13, 1974) <br/> Weaving Tales Across Time and Tango](https://interlude.hk/ophelie-gaillard-born-june-13-1974-weaving-tales-across-time-and-tango/): The French-Swiss cellist
- [Four Violinists Who Died Onstage](https://interlude.hk/four-violinists-who-died-onstage/): Today, we’re looking at the lives and last performances of four violinists who died onstage, sharing their incredible talents up until the very last moments of their lives. Ede Reményi (1828/30-1898) Ede Reményi was born sometime between 1828 and 1830
- [A Beautiful Thread: Celebrating Thomas Hardy’s Legacy in Words and Music](https://interlude.hk/a-beautiful-thread-celebrating-thomas-hardys-legacy-in-words-and-music/): Stinsford church, near Dorchester in Dorset in the south-west of England, just a short distance from Thomas Hardy’s birthplace at Upper Bockhampton, and the place where his heart is buried, provided the perfect setting for A Beautiful Thread, a new
- [Swoon Without Rules <br/>National Loving Day (June 12) Romance Rumble](https://interlude.hk/swoon-without-rules-national-loving-day-june-12-romance-rumble/): Love is love, but it took the Supreme Court until 1967 to strike down laws banning interracial marriage in the U. S. And since this momentous decision was reached on 12 June, that day was declared “National Loving Day. ” Whether you’re
- [Richard Strauss’ Chamber Music: Youthful Brilliance](https://interlude.hk/richard-strauss-chamber-music-youthful-brilliance/): Richard Strauss, born on 11 June 1864, is one of the most influential composers of the late Romantic and early modernist eras. Although he is rightfully celebrated for his orchestral tone poems and operas, he also engaged with chamber music during the early stages of his career. Though relatively small...
- [Theatre of Blood: Greek National Opera’s <em>Turandot</em>](https://interlude.hk/theatre-of-blood-greek-national-operas-turandot/): Where most productions of Turandot focus on the glory of the Imperial Court, NGO’s new Turandot doesn’t even get in the front door. Part of this is due to the setting, in the Greek amphitheatre of The Odeon of Herodes
- [Hi-Five Frenzy <br/>Unleashing “Say Hi Day” (June 11)](https://interlude.hk/hi-five-frenzy-unleashing-say-hi-day-june-11/): Did you know that June 11 is “Say Hi Day? ” It’s the one day of the year when your inner extrovert gets to shine. It’s a holiday about spreading cheer with a simple greeting, turning everyday encounters into miniature festivals
- [Hidden Musical Forms](https://interlude.hk/hidden-musical-forms/): Western classical music evolved through time with predefined structures; from the prelude and fugue of Baroque, to the concerto, sonata and symphony of the Classical, including the opera and the mass, as well as etudes, partitas, theme & variations and
- [Music as Medicine: How Sound Affects Our Mental Health](https://interlude.hk/music-as-medicine-how-sound-affects-our-mental-health/): Music has long been recognized as a powerful tool for emotional expression and human connection. However, beyond its artistic value, music also has profound effects on mental health, reducing stress, alleviating anxiety, and even aiding in physical healing. From ancient
- [Ray Chen's Player 1: A New Paradigm in Classical Performance Practice or Commercial Experiment?](https://interlude.hk/ray-chens-player-1-a-new-paradigm-in-classical-performance-practice-or-commercial-experiment/): Introduction: The Contemporary Context of Blurred Boundaries Last year, Ray Chen’s street violin performance in London garnered over 3 million views on TikTok. The image of him playing Korngold’s Serenade in a hoodie instead of formal attire, at a subway
- [From Orchestra to Piano: Debussy’s <em>La Mer</em>](https://interlude.hk/from-orchestra-to-piano-debussys-la-mer/): With its full title, La mer, trois esquisses symphoniques pour orchestre (The sea, three symphonic sketches for orchestra), we can understand what Claude Debussy (1862–1918) was trying to show in his 1905 orchestral work. I. De l’aube à midi sur
- [Five Must-See Augustin Hadelich Performances: His Most Popular YouTube Videos](https://interlude.hk/five-must-see-augustin-hadelich-performances-his-most-popular-youtube-videos/): Augustin Hadelich is one of the greatest violinists of his generation. Today, we’re looking at five of his most popular performances on YouTube. We’re also looking at each video’s heatmap, a graphic that appears when you hover over a video’s
- [Stéphane Degout (Born June 9, 1975) <br/> Voicing the Soul](https://interlude.hk/stephane-degout-born-june-9-1975-voicing-the-soul/): The renowned French baritone Stéphane Degout is celebrated for his rich, versatile voice and compelling stage presence that established him as one of the leading opera singers of his generation. Born on 9 June 1975 in Bourg-en-Bresse, France, Degout’s career
- [Robert Schumann’s Tiny Tunes <br/> 11 Playful Piano Miniatures to Tickle Your Fancy](https://interlude.hk/robert-schumanns-tiny-tunes-11-playful-piano-miniatures-to-tickle-your-fancy/): Robert Schumann was a master of packaging big emotions into bite-sized pieces. His piano miniatures are short, vivid, and bursting with personality. Think of them as TikToks of the Romantic era, but with more heart and fewer dance trends. From dreamy reveries to quirky outbursts, these little gems showcase Schumann’s...
- [National Best Friends Day (June 8) <br/>Pals in Paradise](https://interlude.hk/national-best-friends-day-june-8-pals-in-paradise/): It’s time to pop the confetti and let out the good vibes because National Best Friends Day is here to celebrate those incredible humans who make every moment special. This super special day, celebrated every year on June 8, is
- [The Dual Artistry of Dinu Lipatti <br/> Unveiling the Composer](https://interlude.hk/the-dual-artistry-of-dinu-lipatti-unveiling-the-composer/): We primarily remember Dinu Lipatti as a celebrated and exceptional pianist. For Yehudi Menuhin, he was “a manifestation of a spirit realm, resistant to all pain and suffering,” while Alfred Cortot considered his playing “quite simply perfection. ” And Francis Poulenc
- [Ten Pieces of Musical Advice from the Great Composers](https://interlude.hk/ten-pieces-of-musical-advice-from-the-great-composers/): The great composers left behind more than just great music: they also left behind advice for their fellow artists. Much of that advice is still surprisingly relevant, even in our fast-paced digital age. Today, we’re looking at ten pieces of
- [Roberto Alagna (Born June 7, 1963)<br/>The Voice of Passion](https://interlude.hk/roberto-alagna-born-june-7-1963the-voice-of-passion/): Born to Sicilian parents in Clichy-sous-Bois on June 7, 1963, Roberto Alagna began his career as a cabaret singer in Paris, accompanying himself on the guitar. Once he discovered his true calling in opera, he quickly rose to fame as
- [Georges Bizet’s Hidden Gems <br/> The Playful and Poetic World of His Piano Music](https://interlude.hk/georges-bizets-hidden-gems-the-playful-and-poetic-world-of-his-piano-music/): It’s not really common knowledge, but Georges Bizet was an absolutely brilliant pianist. He entered the class of Antoine-François Marmontel at the Paris Conservatoire at the age of nine, eventually winning Premiers Prix for piano, organ, fugue, and composition. In 1861 Bizet met Franz Liszt and sight-read a fearsomely difficult...
- [The Dramatic Soprano: The Powerhouse of Opera](https://interlude.hk/the-dramatic-soprano-the-powerhouse-of-opera/): The dramatic soprano stands out in opera as one of the most powerful and emotionally resonant voice types, capable of soaring above a full orchestra and capturing the essence of the operatic experience with breathtaking intensity. Characterized by a large,
- [Musicians and Artists: Holt and Kiefer](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-holt-and-kiefer/): Inspirations Behind Simon Holt: Nigredo The German painter and sculptor Anselm Kiefer (b. 1945) creates his art around the themes of German history and the Holocaust. Many of his works incorporate multiple material types. The catalogue for his work Nigredo
- [Sviatoslav Richter: The Lost Tapes](https://interlude.hk/sviatoslav-richter-the-lost-tapes/): To the large pile of recordings made by Sviatoslav Richter (1915–1997), a new jewel must be added. This new release of material recorded 60 years ago gives us 4 Beethoven sonatas recorded in 1965. Three of the live recordings were
- [Federico García Lorca (Born June 5, 1898)<br/> The Passion and Tragedy of Spain’s Poetic Soul](https://interlude.hk/federico-garcia-lorca-born-june-5-1898-the-passion-and-tragedy-of-spains-poetic-soul/): On 5 June, we celebrate the birthday of Federico García Lorca (1898-1936), the fiery Spanish poet, playwright, and theatre director whose vibrant works pulse with passion, folklore, and the soul of Andalusia. Lorca’s writing blended surrealism, symbolism, and social commentary,
- [A Birthday Salute to Martha Argerich (Born June 5, 1941)<br/> Celebrating Passion and Artistry](https://interlude.hk/a-birthday-salute-to-martha-argerich-born-june-5-1941-celebrating-passion-and-artistry/): The Argentine pianist Martha Argerich, born on June 5, 1941, in Buenos Aires, has always combined fiery virtuosity with an acutely poetic lyricism. She made her debut performance at the age of eight and gained her first international recognition at
- [Science-Backed Ways to Feel More Confident in Performance](https://interlude.hk/science-backed-ways-to-feel-more-confident-in-performance/): While it’s normal to be nervous before an important concert, there are techniques you can use to ensure that butterflies don’t interfere with giving the expressive performance of which you are truly capable. Read on for strategies to stay calm
- [Cecilia Bartoli (Born June 4, 1966)<br/>The Voice that Redefined Opera](https://interlude.hk/cecilia-bartoli-born-june-4-1966the-voice-that-redefined-opera/): Cecilia Bartoli, born 4 June 1966 in Rome, Italy, is one of the most celebrated mezzo-sopranos of our time. Renowned for her electrifying performances and unparalleled vocal agility, her voice combines rich warmth, technical precision, and an extraordinary expressive range.
- [Was Chopin's Friend Tytus Woyciechowski Actually His Boyfriend?](https://interlude.hk/was-chopins-friend-tytus-woyciechowski-actually-his-boyfriend/): The friendship of Frédéric Chopin and Tytus Woyciechowski has been a source of fascination for generations. Despite rarely meeting, these two men shared a deep and unique emotional intimacy. Chopin’s letters to Woyciechowski are so passionate, and his devotion to
- [Georges Bizet](https://interlude.hk/georges-bizet-french-romantic-composer/): Georges Bizet at 150 Honouring the Legacy of a Musical Genius On 3 June 2025, we mark the 150th anniversary of the death of Georges Bizet (1838–1875), a composer whose brief but brilliant career left an indelible mark on the
- [Lost and Recreated: Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante, K. 287b](https://interlude.hk/lost-and-recreated-mozarts-sinfonia-concertante-k-287b/): In February 1778, Leopold Mozart told his son to go to Paris with his mother, and the pair arrived in the capital city in March 1778. He immediately started to set up his musical networks and wrote to his father
- [Denis Bédard’s Variations](https://interlude.hk/denis-bedards-variations/): Denis Bédard (b. 1950) is a Canadian organist, pedagogue, and composer celebrated for his prolific output of organ and choral music. Born in Québec, Bédard was educated at the Conservatoire de musique de Québec, where he graduated with premier prix
- [Test Your Music Knowledge: How Many of 10 Masterworks by Composers in Their 80s Have You Heard?](https://interlude.hk/test-your-music-knowledge-how-many-of-10-masterworks-by-composers-in-their-80s-have-you-heard/): Be forewarned: Three is an excellent score Recently, I heard a superb premiere of music by an 87-year-old composer. I wondered how many composers in their 80s have maintained similar creativity. To my surprise—and delight, as I’m in my 70s—I
- [Bringing Music to Life: An Interview with Bjarte Eike](https://interlude.hk/bringing-music-to-life-an-interview-with-bjarte-eike/): Although their name, Barokksolistene, seems to ring of sombre concert settings with players in suits and seated on chairs, the reality couldn’t be more different. Violinist Bjarte Eike set up the ensemble in 2005 and launched a free-flowing ensemble that
- [Musicians and Artists: Grime and Whistler](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-grime-and-whistler/): Helen Grime: 3 Whistler Miniatures Called a ‘millionaire Bohemienne’ by a Boston reporter, the wealthy Isabella Stewart Gardner (1840– 1924) founded a museum that can be seen as the ultimate goal of any 19th-century traveller. After the death of her
- [Hugh Cutting](https://interlude.hk/hugh-cutting-countertenor/): Searching for the ‘Multiplicity of Meaning in Music’ Joni Mitchell, the Smiths, Bach, Handel and Hammerstein: just a few of the influences that shaped rising star countertenor Hugh Cutting’s early musical experiences. Hugh was the first countertenor to win the
- [How Pianist Youra Guller Escaped the Nazis and Made Her Carnegie Hall Debut at 80](https://interlude.hk/how-pianist-youra-guller-escaped-the-nazis-and-made-her-carnegie-hall-debut-at-80/): Imagine being a piano prodigy who became the toast of Paris during the Roaring Twenties. Imagine surviving the Nazi occupation of France. Imagine making your Carnegie Hall debut in your eighties. This is the life that forgotten pianist Youra Guller
- [Giving Life to Classical Music: The Skallsjö Sommarorkester](https://interlude.hk/giving-life-to-classical-music-the-skallsjo-sommarorkester/): When the Skallsjö Sommarorkester was founded in 2013, all the members were between 15 and 18 years old. They loved classical music and believed that classical music had been given an undeservedly bad reputation for being boring and was dying.
- [Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) <br/>A Legacy of Innovation and Vision](https://interlude.hk/joseph-haydn-1732-1809-a-legacy-of-innovation-and-vision/): At the time of his death on 31 May 1809, Joseph Haydn was a cultural hero, venerated as the first of the three “Viennese Classics. ” He started his career in the traditional patronage system of the late Austrian Baroque and ended up as a free artist by the early...
- [National Smile Day <br/>Grin and Win](https://interlude.hk/national-smile-day-grin-and-win/): World Smile Day is the one day of the year when your face gets to flex its happiest muscles and flash those pearly whites like you’re auditioning for a toothpaste commercial. A smile, after all, is contagious and a good
- [Benny Goodman (Born May 30, 1909)<br/> Redefining Music with a Clarinet](https://interlude.hk/benny-goodman-born-may-30-1909-redefining-music-with-a-clarinet/): Benny Goodman, born on 30 May 1909 in Chicago, is often hailed as the “King of Swing. ” A clarinettist and bandleader whose innovative music and charismatic performances helped to define the Swing Era of the 1930s and 1940s. His virtuosic
- [Echoes of Eternity <br/>Ton Koopman’s Itinéraire Baroque](https://interlude.hk/echoes-of-eternity-ton-koopmans-itineraire-baroque/): Every summer, the tranquil villages of France’s Périgord Vert awaken to the vibrant strains of Baroque music, transforming the serene countryside into a hub of cultural and musical activities. Decades ago, the world-renowned musician Ton Koopman and his wife, harpsichordist
- [Musicians and Artists: Adams and Stella](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-adams-and-stella/): Inspirations Behind John Luther Adams: Among Red Mountains At the Seattle Tacoma Airport (Sea-Tac), there’s an art collection that cannot help but catch your eye. The Port of Seattle is in charge of the art collection, which began in 1968;
- [Great Improvisers](https://interlude.hk/great-improvisers/): We often forget how great composers were also great improvisers. In fact, when the rules of Western classical music started being defined better, there was not much difference in the creative approach the musicians would have. They were both composers
- [Martin Grubinger (Born May 29, 1983)<br/> Drumming Up Musical Magic](https://interlude.hk/martin-grubinger-born-may-29-1983-drumming-up-musical-magic/): The Austrian multi-percussionist Martin Grubinger is widely considered one of the world’s foremost percussion artists. Celebrated for his breathtaking versatility and electrifying performances, Grubinger has redefined the role of percussion in classical music. His performances captivate audiences with a rare
- [The Recordings of Nimrod Borenstein <br/>‘It’s the Magic of the Music that Counts’](https://interlude.hk/the-recordings-of-nimrod-borenstein-its-the-magic-of-the-music-that-counts/): Lauded by Gramophone as ‘among the most recorded of contemporary composers in the UK’, the music of British/French/Israeli composer Nimrod Borenstein is being increasingly performed on the international stage, with performances of his music from London’s Royal Opera House to
- [What Causes Performance Nerves?](https://interlude.hk/what-causes-performance-nerves/): Imagine for a moment that you are experiencing every instrumentalist’s worst nightmare. You have poured hundreds of hours of meticulous practice and study into knowing the score for a piece of music inside out, and into questions of interpretation, technique,
- [Beethoven's Students: Countesses, an Archduke, and More](https://interlude.hk/beethovens-students-countesses-an-archduke-and-more/): Ludwig van Beethoven was, famously, a freelance musician. He didn’t work as a Kapellmeister in a court or an organist in a church. Then, as now, it wasn’t easy to cobble together a living as a working freelance musician. Over
- [Krystian Zimerman’s Chopin Sonatas – Interpretive Freedom Reconsidered](https://interlude.hk/krystian-zimermans-chopin-sonatas-interpretive-freedom-reconsidered/): Last November, I had the privilege of listening to Krystian Zimerman play Chopin’s Piano Sonatas No. 2 and 3 in two consecutive evenings. You might wonder: why am I writing about it more than half a year later? That, precisely,
- [Niccolò Paganini’s Devilish Genius <br/>10 Tracks that Conjure his Violin Sorcery](https://interlude.hk/niccolo-paganinis-devilish-genius-10-tracks-that-conjure-his-violin-sorcery/): In the 19th-century concert hall, Niccolò Paganini emerged like a figure plucked from a dark fairy tale. His tall, gaunt frame was cloaked in black, with his long jet-black hair trailing like a shadow. He moved with quiet intensity, and when he raised his violin, it was not just an...
- [27 May  - Player Piano Day](https://interlude.hk/27-may-player-piano-day/): The 19th century and the increasing wealth in the middle class brought refinements to the front parlour of the home, most notably, the large black monster known as the piano. Children were pressed into years of piano study so that
- [Gershwin in New York <br/>Sinfonia Varsovia and Paul Lay](https://interlude.hk/gershwin-in-new-york-sinfonia-varsovia-and-paul-lay/): Performed as part of the “La Folle Journée de Nantes Festival” in 2025, “Gershwin in New York” brought together the renowned Polish orchestra “Sinfonia Varsovia” and the multifaceted French jazz pianist and composer Paul Lay. Arte TV recorded and broadcast
- [An Introspective Journey: Vanessa Wagner’s Miniatures](https://interlude.hk/an-introspective-journey-vanessa-wagners-miniatures/): The idea of the piano miniature has largely faded from the scene, but in the 19th century, particularly fuelled by the rise in home ownership of pianos, composers by the score wrote little consequential pieces for their audience. French pianist
- [Seven Must-See Lang Lang Performances: His Most Popular Youtube Videos](https://interlude.hk/seven-must-see-lang-lang-performances-his-most-popular-youtube-videos/): Lang Lang is one of the most famous pianists in classical music. Today we’re looking at his seven most popular performances of classical music on Youtube (for today, we’re leaving aside his crossover performances with non-classical artists). We’re also looking
- [Five Opera Singers Who Died Onstage](https://interlude.hk/five-opera-singers-who-died-onstage/): Opera performances are chock-full of deaths: all fictional, of course. But have you ever wondered what might happen if a singer actually died onstage? Today, we’re looking at the lives, careers, and untimely deaths of five opera singers who died
- [Ten of the Best Nocturnes by Women Composers](https://interlude.hk/ten-of-the-best-nocturnes-by-women-composers/): Nocturnes in classical music are known for their dreamy moods and quiet introspection. The most famous were written by canonical composers like John Field, Chopin, and Debussy. However, many women composers outside the traditional canon have also crafted stunning nocturnes, and they deserve to be listened to, too. Today, we’re...
- [Tapocalypse Now <br/>Rhythm Rebels Unite](https://interlude.hk/tapocalypse-now-rhythm-rebels-unite/): Tap dancing, with its infectious rhythms and flashy footwork, has a history packed with quirky characters, unexpected origins, and moments that will make you laugh out loud. It’s only fitting that on 25 May, the world is celebrating “National Tap
- [Gustav Holst (Died May 25, 1934) <br/> Spiritual and Earthy Explorations](https://interlude.hk/gustav-holst-died-may-25-1934-spiritual-and-earthy-explorations/): A significant aspect of Gustav Holst’s (1874–1934) compositional oeuvre was informed by his engagement with non-Western musical traditions, philosophies, and cultural motifs. This interest in the exotic was not merely a superficial appropriation but a deeply intellectual and spiritual exploration,
- [Clara Schumann and Franz Liszt: Their Rocky Relationship](https://interlude.hk/clara-schumann-and-franz-liszt-their-rocky-relationship/): Franz Liszt and Clara Wieck (known as Clara Schumann after her marriage) were widely acknowledged to be two of the greatest pianists of their generation. Franz Liszt was born in 1811, and Clara Wieck was born in 1819. Both made
- [Musicians and Artists: D’Amario and 4 Impressionists](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-damario-and-4-impressionists/): Bruno Battisti D’Amario: 4 Impressioni Italian composer Bruno Battisti D’Amario (b. 1937) did his musical training at the Conservatorio Musicale di Santa Cecilia in Rome, before working with Ennio Morricone on his film soundtracks. He was lead guitarist on both
- [Not Sure How to Delve into Classical Music? <br/>Some Treasured Favorites](https://interlude.hk/not-sure-how-to-delve-into-classical-music-some-treasured-favorites/): It’s easy to be overwhelmed by popular culture today, which bombards us from multiple sources. Statistics show that people have shifted drastically in how they spend their time. Over 60% of our time is spent online. When it comes to
- [Beethoven's Mother: The Tragic Story of Maria Magdalena Beethoven](https://interlude.hk/beethovens-mother-the-tragic-story-of-maria-magdalena-beethoven/): Maria Magdalena Keverich Beethoven, the mother of Ludwig van Beethoven, tends not to play a major role in retellings of the great composer’s life. This is a shame, because her life and death reverberated through her son’s life. Speaking more
- [Kate Liu (Born May 23, 1994) <br/> Crafting Poetry at the Piano](https://interlude.hk/kate-liu-born-may-23-1994-crafting-poetry-at-the-piano/): The distinguished Singaporean-American pianist Kate Liu has earned widespread recognition by earning a bronze medal at the 17th International Chopin Piano Competition in 2015. Displaying prodigious talent from an early age, Liu began piano studies at four and was admitted
- [Narration is the Key to Connecting with Audiences](https://interlude.hk/narration-is-the-key-to-connecting-with-audiences/): For the last 9 months, I have been on an eye-opening tour of the Scottish Isles, getting to know not only concert halls, but many out-of-the-way churches and arts centres across my adopted country. I have taken in part of
- [Claude Debussy’s Saint Sebastian <br/>A Musical Journey from Stage to Symphony](https://interlude.hk/claude-debussys-saint-sebastian-a-musical-journey-from-stage-to-symphony/): With his masterworks La Mer and Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune, Claude Debussy reshaped the landscape of orchestral music by emphasising atmosphere, colour, and subtle harmonic explorations. Yet surprisingly, his orchestral catalogue contains a lesser-known work that has eluded widespread
- [Richard Wagner’s Secret Keys <br/>  The Story of His Piano Music](https://interlude.hk/richard-wagners-secret-keys-the-story-of-his-piano-music/): When we think of Richard Wagner, born on 22 May 1813, we envision grand operas, mythic tales, and orchestral splendour. Works like The Ring Cycle, Tristan and Isolde, or Lohengrin thrived in the theatre, where he could blend music, drama, poetry, and visuals into a “total work of art. ”...
- [Oboe and Harp Mastery <br/>Dedicated to Heinz and Ursula Holliger](https://interlude.hk/oboe-and-harp-mastery-dedicated-to-heinz-and-ursula-holliger/): Heinz Holliger, born on 21 May 1939, achieved worldwide fame as an oboist, performing and recording some of the earworm pieces from the Baroque and Classical periods. Yet, as he explained on the occasion of his 80th birthday, “composing has always been much more important to me than playing. ”...
- [World Meditation Day <br/> Inhale Peace and Exhale Chaos](https://interlude.hk/world-meditation-day-inhale-peace-and-exhale-chaos/): In a world where your inbox is a horror movie and your notifications are basically a marching band, we all need a moment to unclench. Luckily, we celebrate “World Meditation Day” on 21 May, or if you follow the United
- [Olga Peretyatko (Born May 21, 1980) <br/>A Voice of Virtuosity and Grace](https://interlude.hk/olga-peretyatko-born-may-21-1980-a-voice-of-virtuosity-and-grace/): The globally celebrated lyric and coloratura soprano Olga Peretyatko has become one of the most sought-after opera singers of her generation. Celebrated for her luminous voice and captivating stage presence, Peretyatko won the 2007 Plácido Domingo Operalia competition, catapulting her
- [Purcell on Piano: Cristian Sandrin and Purcell’s Keyboard Suites](https://interlude.hk/purcell-on-piano-cristian-sandrin-and-purcells-keyboard-suites/): There’s always an argument when what is traditional harpsichord music gets recorded on a piano. For harpsichord lovers, the brittle crisp sound of the harpsichord, with its quick-fade sound, gets soupy on a piano. The ringing sound covers up the
- [Seven Pieces of Classical Music About Bees](https://interlude.hk/seven-pieces-of-classical-music-about-bees/): Over the generations, composers have written a surprising number of pieces of classical music about bees. Today, to celebrate World Bee Day, we’re looking at seven examples of classical music inspired by bees – and ending with an amusing bit
- [Paul Lewis (Born May 20, 1972) <br/>Crafting Timeless Narratives](https://interlude.hk/paul-lewis-born-may-20-1972-crafting-timeless-narratives/): The distinguished British pianist Paul Lewis has carved a singular place in the world of classical music with his profound interpretations of Beethoven, Schubert, and Brahms. His playing, marked by an exquisite balance of technical precision and emotional resonance, transforms
- [Fast and Furious: Gounod’s Faust Ballets](https://interlude.hk/fast-and-furious-gounods-faust-ballets/): The story of Faust has captured composers’ imaginations for centuries. There was a historical figure, Johann Georg Faust (c.  1480–1540), who made the original deal with the devil at the crossroads when he exchanged his soul for unlimited knowledge and worldly
- [The Quietest Symphony Endings and Why They're So Special](https://interlude.hk/the-quietest-symphony-endings-and-why-theyre-so-special/): Historically, symphony finales have been fast, loud, and showy. It’s easy to understand why: big, brash finales leave listeners with exciting last impressions. However, such finales are not, strictly speaking, necessary. Sometimes composers subvert expectations in favour of quieter, more
- [Musicians and Artists: Gilardino and Two Portraits](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-gilardino-and-two-portraits/): Inspirations Behind Angelo Gilardino’s 2 Ritratti italiani Two Italian paintings, created less than a decade apart, were the inspiration for guitarist Angelo Gilardino’s Due ritratti italiani. Written in 2013, the work takes a painting by Giorgione and one by Titian
- [Isaac Albéniz (Died on May 18, 1909) <br/> The Heartbeat of Spain](https://interlude.hk/isaac-albeniz-died-on-may-18-1909-the-heartbeat-of-spain/): Isaac Albéniz (1860–1909) stands as one of Spain’s most influential composers, with his works encapsulating the vibrant spirit of Spanish culture. As a conductor, impresario, performer, and composer he contributed to the rebirth of Spanish nationalism. In addition, he gained
- [What Music Did Composers Choose For Their Funerals?](https://interlude.hk/what-music-did-composers-choose-for-their-funerals/): Music is always an important part of any funeral service or memorial service. The right choice of music can pay tribute to the deceased’s tastes and provide comfort to the mourners left behind. Have you ever wondered what music the
- [Musicians and Artists: Heggie and 5 Women in Sculpture](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-heggie-and-5-women-in-sculpture/): Inspirations Behind Jake Heggie’s Statuesque American composer Jake Heggie (b. 1961) looked at the statues of five women and wrote his song cycle Statuesque in their honour. He worked with Gene Scheer, an American songwriter, librettist, and lyricist who had
- [Celebrating a Century of Song: Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau](https://interlude.hk/celebrating-a-century-of-song-dietrich-fischer-dieskau/): No, we don’t mean that Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau is a century old, it’s that this new recording is celebrating the centenary of his birth. Born on 28 May 1925 in Berlin, the lyric baritone and conductor who seemingly covered the entire
- [Twang-Tacular Tunes <br/>World Fiddle Fest](https://interlude.hk/twang-tacular-tunes-world-fiddle-fest/): Every third Saturday in May, and that’s 17 May in 2025, we celebrate World Fiddle Day. It’s a day for a global hoedown where fiddles screech, twang, and produce off-key notes like a squirrel caught in a banjo. World Fiddle
- [Kristóf Baráti (Born May 17, 1979) <br/>Virtuosity and Vision](https://interlude.hk/kristof-barati-born-may-17-1979-virtuosity-and-vision/): Kristóf Baráti, born on 17 May 1979 in Budapest, Hungary, is an internationally acclaimed Hungarian violinist whose virtuosic command and interpretive depth have positioned him among the foremost musicians of his generation. Born into a musical family, Baráti spent his
- [Classical Music From Brazil](https://interlude.hk/classical-music-from-brazil/): Brazil is an immensely rich country with a strong musical culture and identity. It is the fifth largest country in the world, and this is reflected in the diversity of its arts. Alone, its music has influenced a plethora of
- [Paired in E minor: Elgar’s and Fauré’s String Quartets](https://interlude.hk/paired-in-e-minor-elgars-and-faures-string-quartets/): Both Edward Elgar (1857–1934) and Gabriel Fauré (1845–1924) had only one successful string quartet. They were written some 8 years apart and both were in the key of E minor. Elgar had tried writing string quartets since 1888 (destroyed), in
- [Maurice Steger <br/>Paganini of the Recorder](https://interlude.hk/maurice-steger-paganini-of-the-recorder/): Frequently hailed as the “Paganini of the recorder,” Maurice Steger is known for his extraordinary virtuosity and dynamic stage presence. Combining technical precision with expressive flair, Steger breathed new life into the recorder repertoire. Beyond his performing career, which has
- [The Wizard of Welsh Music: Alun Hoddinott](https://interlude.hk/the-wizard-of-welsh-music-alun-hoddinott/): The Welsh composer, Alun Hoddinott (1929–2008), made Cardiff, Wales, the basis for his work, first as an undergraduate at the University, then as Lecturer, and finally Professor and Head of Music (1949–1987). One of the important legacies he left was
- [The Phenomenon of Musical Repeatism, Part Two](https://interlude.hk/the-phenomenon-of-musical-repeatism-part-two/): In part one, we identified what musical repeatism is, why the contemporary technological landscape makes it uniquely possible, and the potential benefits of repeatism in regulating mood and enabling deep focus. We also touched on the idiosyncratic and highly personal
- [The Seven Students of Vladimir Horowitz](https://interlude.hk/the-seven-students-of-vladimir-horowitz/): Vladimir Horowitz was one of the most famous pianists of his generation. He preferred performing to teaching, and only took on a handful of students over the course of his career. The count of how many varies, because Horowitz was
- [Conquering Stage Fright – Scientific Methods to Overcome Performance Anxiety](https://interlude.hk/conquering-stage-fright-scientific-methods-to-overcome-performance-anxiety/): Stage fright – that unsettling mix of nervous energy, self-doubt, and racing heartbeats – is a common experience among musicians, who are still finding their confidence. Whether it’s an open mic night, a local recital, or just playing for friends,
- [Hannes Minnaar’s Hong Kong Debut – Shostakovich Preludes & Fugues](https://interlude.hk/hannes-minnaars-hong-kong-debut-shostakovich-preludes-fugues/): What are the odds of hearing the entire cycle of Shostakovich’s Preludes and Fugues performed live in one evening? That is precisely what pianist Hannes Minnaar presented for his Hong Kong debut. Inspired by Bach’s The Well-Tempered Clavier, Shostakovich employed
- [Rachmaninoff’s Fiery Concerto Brilliance (Part 2) <br/>Mikhaïl Pletnev with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France](https://interlude.hk/rachmaninoffs-fiery-concerto-brilliance-part-2-mikhail-pletnev-with-the-orchestre-philharmonique-de-radio-france/): To commemorate the 150th anniversary of Sergei Rachmaninoff’s birth in 2023, Mikhaïl Pletnev and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France under Dima Slobodeniouk embarked on an ambitious musical adventure of performing the composer’s four piano concertos over two consecutive evenings.
- [What Was Brahms Really Like? Pianist Ilona Eibenschütz Tells All](https://interlude.hk/what-was-brahms-really-like-pianist-ilona-eibenschutz-tells-all/): Johannes Brahms’s carefully crafted music can be difficult for some listeners to immediately connect with. Sometimes it takes the memories of the colleagues who knew him best to paint a more human portrait of the man. One incredible source of
- [Die Walküre: Earth, Wood and Fire at the Royal Opera House](https://interlude.hk/die-walkure-earth-wood-and-fire-at-the-royal-opera-house/): The second opera of Richard Wagner’s Ring des Nibelungen, Die Walküre, is the most frequently performed of the cycle and contains some of the best-known music. Nevertheless, it demands directorial genius, musical finesse, as well as top-tier singers to bring
- [Creating a Dream World: Fauré’s <em>Nocturnes</em>](https://interlude.hk/creating-a-dream-world-faures-nocturnes/): After the invention and development of the Nocturne in the hands of John Field and Frédéric Chopin, it wasn’t until Gabriel Fauré (1845–1924) took up the genre that it grew out of its romantic past and became part of the
- [Five of the Greatest Martha Argerich Performances](https://interlude.hk/five-of-the-greatest-martha-argerich-performances/): Martha Argerich is one of the greatest pianists of all time, period. Her career has spanned over seven decades and multiple continents. We listeners are lucky to enjoy many incredible performances on disc and on film. To get a sense
- [Ten Sublime Mélodies by Gabriel Fauré](https://interlude.hk/ten-sublime-melodies-by-gabriel-faure/): Gabriel Fauré’s mélodies represent a pinnacle of French art song, distinguished by their lyrical refinement, harmonic subtlety, and profound sensitivity to poetic texts. Fauré’s vocal compositions number over 100, and they demonstrate a melodic inventiveness that balances emotional expressivity with structural economy. According to scholars, “this equilibrium reflects his ability...
- [Will Trump's Tariffs Destroy Music Education in America?](https://interlude.hk/will-trumps-tariffs-destroy-music-education-in-america/): Since Inauguration Day 2025, the world has been scrambling to keep up with rapidly changing developments surrounding American tariffs. President Trump made the imposition of tariffs a central promise of his 2024 campaign, routinely calling the word “the most beautiful
- [Musicians and Artists: Debussy and Whistler](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-debussy-and-whistler-nocturnes/): Inspirations Behind Claude Debussy’s Nocturnes Called by one critic ‘America’s first great master of the night’, James McNeill Whistler (1834–1903) started his series of night views with paintings of the River Thames around 1870. He used the word ‘nocturne’ to
- [Bach to the Boss <br/> Mom’s Classical Victory Tracks](https://interlude.hk/bach-to-the-boss-moms-classical-victory-tracks/): On Sunday, 11 May 2025, is Mother’s Day! Time to roll out the red carpet for the woman who can find your lost phone, whip up a gourmet meal from a can of beans, and still have the energy to
- [Nina Stemme (Born May 11, 1963)<br/> The Voice of Valhalla](https://interlude.hk/nina-stemme-born-may-11-1963-the-voice-of-valhalla/): Nina Stemme, born Nina Maria Thöldte on 11 May 1963 in Stockholm, Sweden, is widely regarded as one of the greatest dramatic sopranos of her generation. Renowned for her commanding performances in the most challenging operatic roles, particularly in the
- [Which Composers Were Influenced by Jazz?](https://interlude.hk/which-composers-were-influenced-by-jazz/): Jazz, a catch-all term for a musical style that began to emerge from Black communities in the American South during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, revolutionized the international musical landscape around the turn of the century and beyond.
- [Gabriela Montero (Born May 10, 1970) <br/> Keys to Courage](https://interlude.hk/gabriela-montero-born-may-10-1970-keys-to-courage/): Pianist Gabriela Montero, born on 10 May 1970 in Caracas, Venezuela, is celebrated for her electrifying performances and unparalleled improvisational talent. Blending technical brilliance with emotional intensity, Montero has a rare gift for improvisation, weaving intricate and spontaneous compositions that
- [Monuments of Sound <br/> Classical Music’s Longest Piano Journeys](https://interlude.hk/monuments-of-sound-classical-musics-longest-piano-journeys/): Buckle up for a musical marathon, as this blog will feature some of the longest piano pieces in the classical repertoire. There are probably many reasons why composers craft such monumental work. It might be for a mix of artistic,
- [Musicians and Artists: Delage and Picasso and Chalupt](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-delage-and-picasso-and-chalupt-les-demoiselles-davignon/): Inspirations Behind Maurice Delage’s Les demoiselles d’Avignon Pablo Picasso (1881–1973) shocked the art world with his 1907 painting, Les Demoiselles d’Avignon. Some of its shock value may be realized by its original title: The Brothel of Avignon. Another part of
- [Stories in Music <br/>Smetana “From My Life”](https://interlude.hk/stories-in-music-smetana-from-my-life/): I’ve always loved music that tells a story, because it captures the human experience in all its raw beauty and complexity. Music can paint vivid pictures with melody and rhythm, with each note a thread in the tapestry of a
- [The Phenomenon of Musical Repeatism, Part One](https://interlude.hk/the-phenomenon-of-musical-repeatism-part-one/): In an article for KQED, Jonathan Curiel coins the term “musical repeatism” to describe the phenomenon of wanting to listen to a piece of music over and over and over. In Spotify’s 2022 edition of Wrapped – the data-driven and
- [Barbara Hannigan (Born May 8, 1971) <br/>Soprano, Conductor, Fearless Trailblazer](https://interlude.hk/barbara-hannigan-born-may-8-1971-soprano-conductor-fearless-trailblazer/): Canadian soprano and conductor Barbara Hannigan is known for her profound commitment to contemporary music. Born in Waverly, Nova Scotia, on 8 May 1971, Hannigan has carved a unique path in the classical music world, seamlessly blending her extraordinary vocal
- [Do Not Mistake Activity for Progress: A Lesson for Musicians](https://interlude.hk/do-not-mistake-activity-for-progress-a-lesson-for-musicians/): The phrase “Do not mistake activity for progress” serves as a powerful reminder that being busy is not the same as being effective. Nowhere is this more relevant than in the life of a musician, where countless hours are spent
- [The Art of Interpretation](https://interlude.hk/the-art-of-interpretation/): The art of interpretation is unique to Western classical music. An entire tradition has developed from this, and has prolonged the music of past composers for centuries, with novelty being brought performer after performer and interpretation after interpretation. Interpretation is
- [Antonio Salieri](https://interlude.hk/antonio-salieri-italian-classical-composer/): Salieri at 200 Celebrating Five Operatic Gems On 7 May 2025 we commemorate the 200th anniversary of the death of Antonio Salieri (1750-1825), an Italian composer whose contributions to the classical music landscape were profound yet often overshadowed by myths
- [Ode to Joy <br/>Why Beethoven’s 9th Symphony Had Everyone Singing and Crying](https://interlude.hk/ode-to-joy-why-beethovens-9th-symphony-had-everyone-singing-and-crying/): It was May 7, 1824, and Vienna’s Kärntnertor Theater was about to witness history—or possibly a musical trainwreck. Beethoven, profoundly deaf, took the stage for the premiere of his Symphony No. 9 in D minor. The night would turn out
- [A Conversation with Alberto Nones: The Piano as a Mirror of the Human Spirit](https://interlude.hk/a-conversation-with-alberto-nones-the-piano-as-a-mirror-of-the-human-spirit/): With a background that bridges philosophy, international studies, and concert piano performance, Italian pianist Alberto Nones brings a unique voice to classical music. As his much-anticipated Complete Chopin Waltzes album prepares for release in May 2025, Nones speaks with us
- [Six of the Best Classical Music Streams: Which One Is Best For You?](https://interlude.hk/six-of-the-best-classical-music-streams-which-one-is-best-for-you/): If you love classical music, there is a classical music stream out there for you! Today, we’re looking at six options: five that originated as radio stations (although some have evolved far beyond basic over-the-air broadcasting) and one that began
- [Finding a New Creative Path: Beethoven’s Third Piano Concerto](https://interlude.hk/finding-a-new-creative-path-beethovens-third-piano-concerto/): When he finally arrived in Vienna as a permanent resident in 1795, Beethoven fit into an interesting hiatus in the city’s music life. Mozart‘s recent death left a place open for a daring piano virtuoso and composer. In his first
- [Forbidden Harmonies: Composers Whose Music Was Once Banned](https://interlude.hk/forbidden-harmonies-composers-whose-music-was-once-banned/): Throughout history, music has been both a reflection of and a response to societal and political climates. Under authoritarian regimes, art—particularly music—has often been a target for censorship. Whether deemed politically subversive, ideologically incorrect, or culturally inappropriate, certain works were
- [Cédric Tiberghien (Born May 5, 1975) <br/>Keys to a Global Stage](https://interlude.hk/cedric-tiberghien-born-may-5-1975-keys-to-a-global-stage/): French classical pianist Cédric Tiberghien is renowned for his versatility, technical brilliance, and innovative approach to programming. Taking his early inspirations from legends like Arthur Rubinstein, Artur Schnabel, Sviatoslav Richter, and Emil Gilels, Tiberghien developed an expressive and nuanced style
- [Bach Babies in Music <br/> Regina Susanna Bach (1742-1809)](https://interlude.hk/bach-babies-in-music-regina-susanna-bach-1742-1809/): The last of Johann Sebastian Bach’s surviving children, Regina Susanna Bach, was born in 1742. At that time, Bach was 57 years of age, and he started to experience a number of health issues. Most serious was an affliction to
- [The Musician’s Essential Toolbox and Survival Kit](https://interlude.hk/the-musicians-essential-toolbox-and-survival-kit/): You might think showing up to a concert on time with your instrument, the music, and wearing black garb seems like it would be enough. But it isn’t. Unexpected issues can occur, and you’d be wise to be prepared for
- [Global Giggle Fest <br/>World Laughter Day Unleashes Hilarity](https://interlude.hk/global-giggle-fest-world-laughter-day-unleashes-hilarity/): On the first Sunday in May, we celebrate World Laughter Day. It all started in a park in Mumbai in 1998 when Dr. Madan Kataria gathered hundreds of people in a laughter yoga movement. It started with some fake-laughing until
- [Shostakovich on Piano: Yuja Wang](https://interlude.hk/shostakovich-on-piano-yuja-wang/): In a new Deutsche Grammophon recording, pianist Yuja Wang presents the two piano concertos of Dmitri Shostakovich (1906–1975) along with selections from his Preludes for piano. The concerts are with the Boston Symphony Orchestra under Andris Nelsons. When you consider
- [Josephine von Brunsvik: Was This Tragic Figure Beethoven's Immortal Beloved?](https://interlude.hk/josephine-von-brunsvik-was-this-tragic-figure-beethovens-immortal-beloved/): Who was Beethoven’s Immortal Beloved, the woman who inspired a passionate, unsent love letter written in the summer of 1812? Her identity is a question that has preoccupied historians and music lovers for generations. One of the most likely candidates
- [Fluttering Through Music: Classical Pieces Inspired by Butterflies](https://interlude.hk/fluttering-through-music-classical-pieces-inspired-by-butterflies/): Butterflies have long symbolised transformation, grace, and fleeting beauty. Their delicate flight and vibrant colours have inspired poets, painters, and composers alike. In classical music, several works echo the elegance and unpredictability of these creatures—sometimes in title, sometimes in spirit.
- [Angel Blue (Born May 3, 1984)<br/>Breaking Barriers](https://interlude.hk/angel-blue-born-may-3-1984breaking-barriers/): Angel Blue, an American operatic soprano born Angel Joy Blue on 3 May 1984, in Los Angeles, is a luminous force in the world of classical music. Renowned for her radiant vocal clarity, emotive depth, and commanding stage presence, she
- [The Schubertiade Story <br/> From Private Salons to Festival Legacy](https://interlude.hk/the-schubertiade-story-from-private-salons-to-festival-legacy/): Franz Schubert is often described as possessing a deeply inward and introspective personality, a trait that profoundly shaped his music and personal life. Despite his prodigious talent and the emotional richness of his compositions, Schubert was known for his shyness
- [Can Classical Music Help You Study?](https://interlude.hk/can-classical-music-help-you-study/): We often hear the popular opinion that music, especially classical music, helps calm thoughts and improve focus. You may have seen many people in cafès or libraries with headphones listening to music while working or studying—whether it’s Mozart, Bach, or
- [Tuba or Not Tuba <br/>Free the Brass](https://interlude.hk/tuba-or-not-tuba-free-the-brass/): The tuba is the heavyweight champion of the brass family. With a bell big enough to double as a satellite dish and a sound that could wake a hibernating bear, this glorious instrument is the musical equivalent of a foghorn
- [Tiny Strings and Big Vibes <br/> Ukulele Bonanza](https://interlude.hk/tiny-strings-and-big-vibes-ukulele-bonanza/): Strum it, pluck it, or just hug it like a tiny guitar with big dreams. I am talking about the ukulele, a pint-sized hero among the instruments that is ready to steal your heart with its plinky charm. It all
- [Mental Training for Musicians - Unlocking Peak Performance](https://interlude.hk/mental-training-for-musicians-unlocking-peak-performance/): Music is not just about technical skill; it’s about focus, confidence, emotional resilience, and the ability to perform under pressure. While hours of physical practice are essential, elite musicians worldwide are turning to mental training to enhance their abilities, just
- [Antonín Dvořák's Poetic Sketches <br/>A Tapestry of Mood and Melody](https://interlude.hk/antonin-dvoraks-poetic-sketches-a-tapestry-of-mood-and-melody/): The great Czech composer Antonín Dvořák is not really known for his piano music. Standing in the shadows of such masters as Schumann and Brahms, Dvořák’s piano music is nevertheless a significant part of his oeuvre. His solo piano compositions
- [Michael Spyres](https://interlude.hk/michael-spyres-american-tenor/): ‘A Musical Hope That Endures Through Everything’ American tenor Michael Spyres’ formidable career has taken him all over the globe, performing over 83 roles in 73 operas. His star-studded list of collaborators and jam-packed concert schedule keep him busy with
- [Experiencing Morton Feldman’s For Samuel Beckett](https://interlude.hk/experiencing-morton-feldmans-for-samuel-beckett/): “I have to warn you, this is not classical music the way you know it”. These were the words of the person sitting behind me before the performance of Feldman’s For Samuel Beckett at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London,
- [Ravel Fragments <br/>Bertrand Chamayou, piano](https://interlude.hk/ravel-fragments-bertrand-chamayou-piano/): It’s almost ten years since French pianist Bertrand Chamayou recorded Ravel’s complete piano works, and now, in this the 150th anniversary year of Ravel’s birth, he has released an album which he calls “a modest contribution” to the “anniversary celebrations
- [Too Good to Be Forgotten: Serge Jaroff’s Don Cossack Choir](https://interlude.hk/too-good-to-be-forgotten-serge-jaroffs-don-cossack-choir/): Since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, connoisseurs of classical choral music in Russia have been able to access Russian choral music the Soviets had long suppressed, such as that of the Don Cossack Choir of Serge Jaroff
- [Vadim Chaimovich (Born April 29, 1978) <br/>From Concert Hall to YouTube Stardom](https://interlude.hk/vadim-chaimovich-born-april-29-1978-from-concert-hall-to-youtube-stardom/): Born on 29 April 1978 in Vilnius, Lithuania, pianist Vadim Chaimovich is renowned for his emotive and technically brilliant performances. He started his musical journey at the age of five and made his debut performance with an orchestra just two
- [Rachmaninoff’s Fiery Concerto Brilliance (Part 1) <br/>Mikhaïl Pletnev with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France](https://interlude.hk/rachmaninoffs-fiery-concerto-brilliance-part-1-mikhail-pletnev-with-the-orchestre-philharmonique-de-radio-france/): The celebrate the 150th anniversary of Sergei Rachmaninoff’s birth in 2023, Mikhaïl Pletnev and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France under Dima Slobodeniouk embarked on an ambitious musical adventure of performing the composer’s four piano concertos over two consecutive evenings.
- [The Schubertiade Broadcasts on Austrian Radio](https://interlude.hk/the-schubertiade-broadcasts-on-austrian-radio/): When the 2025 Schubertiade starts, you can be part of the audience from home. The Austrian Broadcasting Corporation (ORF) will be recording some concerts at the opening Schubertiade, which will then be broadcast on the Ö1 programme. The Full schedule
- [Elevating his Fame: Beethoven’s Piano Trios](https://interlude.hk/elevating-his-fame-beethovens-piano-trios/): When Ludwig van Beethoven went to Vienna in 1792, he was coming expecting to become Mozart’s successor. Mozart had died in early December 1791, and Beethoven came with the praise of the German composer and organist Christian Gottlob Neefe (1748-98)
- [Beats of the World <br/>Drumming Traditions across Cultures](https://interlude.hk/beats-of-the-world-drumming-traditions-across-cultures/): Drums are among the oldest and most universal instruments. They resonate across cultures, weaving rhythm into the fabric of human society. They serve as tools for communication, celebration, and establishing spiritual connections. Drums mark life’s milestones, from births to funerals,
- [Violinist Joshua Bell in Premiere of John Corigliano’s Final Composition <br/><em>Tennessee Songs</em> Reunites Creators of <em>The Red Violin</em>](https://interlude.hk/violinist-joshua-bell-in-premiere-of-john-coriglianos-final-composition-tennessee-songs-reunites-creators-of-the-red-violin/): When John Corigliano was awarded the 1999 Oscar for Best Original Score for The Red Violin, he said, “You can write all the notes you want, but if someone doesn’t play them like a god they’ll never sound that way.
- [Musicians and Artists: Vollrath and Pollock](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-vollrath-and-pollock/): Carl Vollrath: Pollock’s Pictures As a painter, Jackson Pollock (1912–1956) broke all the rules. He pushed abstract expressionism to dizzying heights. Enjoying both fame and notoriety during his lifetime, his works continue to challenge us to see how he did,
- [Bach Babies in Music <br/> Johanna Carolina Bach (1737-81)](https://interlude.hk/bach-babies-in-music-johanna-carolina-bach-1737-81/): Johanna Carolina Bach was baptised on 30 October 1737 in the midst of a severe professional crisis for her father. It all started on 14 May 1737 when the German-Danish composer, theorist and critic of music Johann Adolf Scheibe published
- [A Tale of Two Petrenkos <br/>My Takeaways Across the Concert Stages from China in 2024](https://interlude.hk/a-tale-of-two-petrenkos-my-takeaways-across-the-concert-stages-from-china-in-2024/): Few events in 2024 stood out more than the visit of the illustrious Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Kirill Petrenko. Marking his first-ever trip to China since assuming the helm in Berlin, the orchestra—the unequivocal crown jewel of
- [Alexander Scriabin (Died on 27 April 1915)<br/> 10 Poèmes for Piano](https://interlude.hk/alexander-scriabin-died-on-27-april-1915-10-poemes-for-piano/): The series of short and evocative solo piano works by Alexander Scriabin titled “Poèmes” span much of his compositional career. Composed between 1903 and 1915, these pieces became vehicles for expressing discrete poetic moods. Varying in mood and complexity, the
- [How Maria Anna Strauss Became the Mother of the Viennese Waltz](https://interlude.hk/how-maria-anna-strauss-became-the-mother-of-the-viennese-waltz/): What would you say if I told you that the entire musical history of Vienna would be extremely different, if not for the little-known, strong-willed daughter of an Austrian pub owner? Today we’re looking at the life and times of
- [Playlist: A Beginner’s Guide to Messiaen](https://interlude.hk/playlist-a-beginners-guide-to-messiaen/): I’ve always felt Olivier Messiaen (1908–1992) was something of a “Marmite composer”: you either love his music or you don’t. It’s not the easiest music to listen to. I remember playing one of the movements from Messiaen’s extraordinary Vingt Regards sur l’enfant Jesus to one of my piano students, who...
- [Maurice Ravel as a Young Man](https://interlude.hk/maurice-ravel-as-a-young-man/): Maurice Ravel was born on the 7th of March 1875, at Ciboure, a little fishing village at the base of the Pyrénées near the French-Spanish border. Members of Ravel’s family on the paternal side had emigrated to Switzerland, and Stravinsky’s
- [Truls Mørk (Born April 25, 1961) <br/>A Cello Revolution](https://interlude.hk/truls-mork-born-april-25-1961-a-cello-revolution/): Fascinated by the resonant timbre of the cello, Truls Mørk studied with Heinrich Schiff, William Pleeth, and Natalia Shakhovskaya, a disciple of Mstislav Rostropovich. His international breakthrough came in 1982 when he became the first Scandinavian finalist at the Tchaikovsky
- [A Life in Sound: Remembering Luiz de Moura Castro](https://interlude.hk/a-life-in-sound-remembering-luiz-de-moura-castro/): On April 5, 2025, the world lost a towering figure in the realm of classical music. Luiz de Moura Castro, the celebrated Brazilian pianist, educator, and recording artist, passed away at the age of 84 after a prolonged struggle with
- [Two Cello Thoughts: Shostakovich’s Two Cello Concertos](https://interlude.hk/two-cello-thoughts-shostakovichs-two-cello-concertos/): The 30-year friendship of Dmitri Shostakovich and cellist Mstislav Rostropovich started in 1943 when Rostropovich was at the Moscow Conservatory. Shostakovich had recently joined the Conservatory, and Rostropovich was part of his orchestration class. The Shostakovich family had left their
- [Sister Princess Composers: Wilhelmine and Anna Amalia of Prussia](https://interlude.hk/sister-princess-composers-wilhelmine-and-anna-amalia-of-prussia/): Women composers in the eighteenth century faced a number of obstacles to becoming composers. At the time, music-making was widely viewed as an ornamental accomplishment for women: an ability to make them more attractive on the marriage market... not a calling
- [Celebrating a Century: SONICO and Eduardo Rovira](https://interlude.hk/celebrating-a-century-sonico-and-eduardo-rovira/): April kicks off the year-long centennial celebrations for the Argentine tango composer and player Eduardo Rovira. Interlude first looked at his work in a 2024 review of a unique multi-media production called Five-Six-Seven-Eight. Now, SONICO is taking Rovira back to
- [Overview of the 50th Schubertiade](https://interlude.hk/overview-of-the-50th-schubertiade/): First there was the Mozart idea and then there was the Schubert idea. Building on a foundation begun by Gerd Nachbauer, who had founded the Mozartgemeinde Voralberg in 1972 with the intention of performing the works of Mozart in the
- [Creativity Has No Limits](https://interlude.hk/creativity-has-no-limits/): A musical life is both short and long. During a lifetime, a composer must make musical and creative progress. Repeating the same material over and over does not lead to a fulfilled artist. It is the new which excites the
- [Gothic Ghosts: Lucia di Lammermoor at Greek National Opera](https://interlude.hk/gothic-ghosts-lucia-di-lammermoor-at-greek-national-opera/): Greek National Opera’s revival of Katie Mitchell’s production for the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, is based around the idea of a split stage. This idea sometimes worked and other times was just a distraction. Singing would take place on
- [Sergei Prokofiev (Born April 23, 1891) <br/> 5 Magnificent Orchestral Suites](https://interlude.hk/sergei-prokofiev-born-april-23-1891-5-magnificent-orchestral-suites/): Sergei Prokofiev, born on 23 April 1891 in Sontsovka, Ukraine (then part of the Russian Empire), emerged as a towering figure in 20th-century music. His compositional voice, trained under Rimsky-Korsakov, emerged as a distinctive synthesis of modernist innovation and classical
- [Édouard Lalo’s Violin Concertos <br/> Flamenco Flair meets French Finesse](https://interlude.hk/edouard-lalos-violin-concertos-flamenco-flair-meets-french-finesse/): Édouard Lalo (1823- 1892), a Frenchman with Spanish ancestry, is primarily celebrated for his Symphonie Espagnole, Op. 21. It is a radiant masterpiece that fuses French finesse with the intoxicating rhythms of the habanera and the seguidilla. It was brought
- [Tuneful Takedowns <br/> Dissonance Aimed at Debussy](https://interlude.hk/tuneful-takedowns-dissonance-aimed-at-debussy/): Warning: Opinions Ahead, Proceed with Care! Music is often hailed as a universal language, capable of transcending borders and expressing emotions that words alone often fail to capture. However, within its vast repertoire lies a sharper edge: the tradition of
- [Defeating the Monster: Holmès’ <em>Andromède</em>](https://interlude.hk/defeating-the-monster-holmes-andromede/): In the field of program music, stories from Greek myths are especially popular. French composer Augusta Holmès (1847–1903), was born in Paris, but was not permitted to attend the Paris Conservatoire because she was not a citizen of France (she
- [10 Pieces of Classical Music About Childhood](https://interlude.hk/10-pieces-of-classical-music-about-childhood/): Classical music sometimes has a reputation of being solely for elderly people. If that’s true (spoiler alert: it’s not), it’s certainly strange how many pieces of classical music are about childhood and youth. Today we’re looking at classical music inspired by childhood. Robert Schumann: Kinderszenen (1838) Robert Schumann’s Kinderszenen (“Songs...
- [Schubertiade at 50 <br/> Performances that defined a Festival](https://interlude.hk/schubertiade-at-50-performances-that-defined-a-festival/): For 50 years, the Schubertiade has been a haven for lovers of Franz Schubert’s music, transforming the quaint Austrian towns of Schwarzenberg and Hohenems into cultural hubs for chamber music and lieder. Founded in 1976, the Schubertiade has evolved from
- [Bach Babies in Music <br/>  Johann Christian Bach (1735-1782)](https://interlude.hk/bach-babies-in-music-johann-christian-bach-1735-1782/): Johann Christian Bach was born on 5 September 1735, the eighteenth child of Johann Sebastian Bach, and the youngest of his eleven sons. Johann Sebastian was nearly 50 at the time of his birth, and he supervised his son’s early
- [A Spotlight on the Music of Linda Buckley](https://interlude.hk/a-spotlight-on-the-music-of-linda-buckley/): In London, April is the month of cherry blossoms: clouds of pastel blooms flourish on seemingly every street corner. As the fullness of spring creeps into these gradually brighter days, I find myself craving new music and new sound worlds.
- [Paul Frey (Born April 20, 1941) <br/> From Mennonite Roots to Bayreuth Glory](https://interlude.hk/paul-frey-born-april-20-1941-from-mennonite-roots-to-bayreuth-glory/): Canadian heldentenor Paul Frey is renowned for his exceptional performances in the operas of Richard Wagner. Emerging from a Mennonite background, Frey’s journey to international acclaim is a remarkable tale of talent and determination. Initially a professional hockey player and
- [Ukraine Through Music: A Reflection by Margaret Fingerhut](https://interlude.hk/ukraine-through-music-a-reflection-by-margaret-fingerhut/): The Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 prompted English pianist Margaret Fingerhut to explore her Ukrainian roots through music. Her grandfather emigrated from Odessa to the UK to avoid the Jewish pogroms at the turn of the 20th century.
- [The Bach Family: Eight Fascinating Relatives of Johann Sebastian](https://interlude.hk/the-bach-family-eight-fascinating-relatives-of-johann-sebastian/): Many music history lovers know that Johann Sebastian Bach had many children: twenty kids by two wives. What fewer people know is that the wider Bach family was famously fertile... as well as famously musical. In fact, the Wikipedia article on
- [Murray Perahia (Born April 19, 1947) <br/> A Legacy of Grace and Genius](https://interlude.hk/murray-perahia-born-april-19-1947-a-legacy-of-grace-and-genius/): Murray Perahia, born on 19 April 1947 in New York City, is one of the most revered pianists of our time. A musician whose mastery transcends technical brilliance to touch the profound depths of musical expression, Perahia’s artistry is defined
- [Beatrice Rana Brings Sheer Joy to Bach’s Keyboard Concertos](https://interlude.hk/beatrice-rana-brings-sheer-joy-to-bachs-keyboard-concertos/): One of the most promising pianists of her generation, Beatrice Rana has produced yet another fascinating survey of four of Bach’s Keyboard Concertos with the Amsterdam Sinfonietta. As Rana explained in the liner notes, Bach has been an important figure
- [Grigory Sokolov (Born April 18, 1950) <br/>Crafting Timeless Art](https://interlude.hk/grigory-sokolov-born-april-18-1950-crafting-timeless-art/): Grigory Sokolov burst onto the scene in 1966 by winning the International Tchaikovsky Competition at the age of 16. Emerging from the intense musical training grounds of the Soviet Union, Sokolov subsequently built a reputation based on steely precision and
- [The Life of the English Pastoral](https://interlude.hk/the-life-of-the-english-pastoral/): English music in the early– to mid–20th century was characterised by what became known as the “English Pastoral”, with music by composers including Gustav Holst and Ralph Vaughan Williams, and many others. The Pastoral School had several strong interests, such
- [Gábor Takács-Nagy (Born April 17, 1956) <br/> Strings and Baton](https://interlude.hk/gabor-takacs-nagy-born-april-17-1956-strings-and-baton/): The remarkable career of the distinguished Hungarian musician Gábor Takács-Nagy spans both virtuoso performance and masterful conducting. His prodigious abilities as a violinist propelled him to international recognition, most notably as a founding member and leader of the acclaimed Takács
- [Teaching Music](https://interlude.hk/thoughts-on-teaching-music/): There comes a moment in a musician and composer’s life, where the question of teaching music is asked. Particularly when it comes to teaching their own children, and transmitting both the passion and the knowledge gained over the years to
- [Which Composer Wrote the Greatest Opus One?](https://interlude.hk/which-composer-wrote-the-greatest-opus-one/): It’s a loaded question, and more than a little silly. When it comes to music and art, of course, greatness is extremely subjective. However, it’s just plain fun to look at such a list, seeing which pieces went into print
- [Echoes of Eternity <br/> Hengelbrock and Orchestre de chambre de Paris at the Paris Panthéon](https://interlude.hk/echoes-of-eternity-hengelbrock-and-orchestre-de-chambre-de-paris-at-the-paris-pantheon/): The inaugural performance of Thomas Hengelbrock as the newly appointed musical director of the Orchestre de chambre de Paris took place on 7 September 2024 under the iconic dome of the Paris Panthéon. The programme paired the third movement of
- [What Makes a Good Concert?](https://interlude.hk/what-makes-a-good-concert/): To me, a good concert experience = a good performance + organiser + audience + community. A good concert experience is the product of several key components: performance, organiser, audience, and community. Each element plays a pivotal role in shaping
- [BEETHOVEN Selected Sonatas Opus 2, No. 3 <br/>Waldstein <br/>Les Adieux <br/>Julian Jaeyoung Kim, piano](https://interlude.hk/beethoven-selected-sonatas-opus-2-no-3-waldstein-les-adieux-julian-jaeyoung-kim-piano/): Korean-American pianist Julian Jaeyoung Kim made a bold statement with his debut CD, ‘Brahms Resonances’, featuring Brahms’ Piano Sonata No. 3, Op. 5, and the Variations on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 35 (Read our review here). Now, in his
- [Giving Praise in Latin and Welsh: Williams’ <em>Missa Cambrensis</em>](https://interlude.hk/giving-praise-in-latin-and-welsh-williams-missa-cambrensis/): Welsh composer Grace Williams (1906–1977) grew up in a Welsh-speaking household that had music at its core. Williams’ father, William, was a schoolteacher and also conductor of the Romily Boys’ Choir, for which Grace was accompanist. The choir appeared not
- [10 Pieces of Classical Music About the Sun](https://interlude.hk/10-pieces-of-classical-music-about-the-sun/): From ancient times, humankind has not just relied on the sun; we have worshiped it. It’s no surprise then that the sun has been a potent inspiration for artists and musicians across the centuries. So put on your sunglasses and grab your sunscreen! Today we’re looking at ten of the...
- [Alisa Weilerstein (Born April 14, 1982)<br/>Bow and Soul](https://interlude.hk/alisa-weilerstein-born-april-14-1982bow-and-soul/): Cellist Alisa Weilerstein, born on 14 April 1982 in Rochester, New York, was immersed in the world of classical music from an early age. She started cello lessons at four and played her professional debut at the age of 13.
- [A Tour of Boston, 1924 <br/>Vernon Duke’s <em>Homage to Boston</em>](https://interlude.hk/a-tour-of-boston-1924-vernon-dukes-homage-to-boston/): Vernon Duke (Vladimir Dukelsky) (1903-1969) arrived in New York in 1921. He, his mother, and his brother had been living in Kiev and fled Russia and the Russian Revolution, which began in 1917, first going to Constantinople before continuing to
- [Bach Babies in Music <br/>Johann August Abraham Bach (1733-33)](https://interlude.hk/bach-babies-in-music-johann-august-abraham-bach-1733-33/): Once Bach had arrived in Leipzig, he cultivated and maintained connections with the city’s political, commercial, and clerical establishment as well as its intellectual elite. He received support from high-ranking state dignitaries and conducted regular business with town, church, and
- [George Frideric Handel](https://interlude.hk/george-frideric-handel-german-born-baroque-composer/): From Germany to Messiah The German-born English composer George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) is widely regarded as one of the greatest musical masters of his era. Indeed, his extraordinary talent and relentless dedication significantly shaped the landscape of classical music during
- [Ten of the Happiest Marriages in Classical Music History II](https://interlude.hk/ten-of-the-happiest-marriages-in-classical-music-history-ii/): For lots of reasons, being married to a composer can be difficult. However, sometimes composers get lucky and find perfectly suited spouses who support them, encourage them, and even inspire their work. In the second part of this two-part series,
- [<em>Études I–VI</em> by Toshio Hosokawa <br/>Sound Calligraphy](https://interlude.hk/etudes-i-vi-by-toshio-hosokawa-sound-calligraphy/): Toshio Hosokawa is widely regarded as one of the most prominent living composers of contemporary classical music. Born in Hiroshima, Japan, his compositions are distinguished by a unique synthesis of Western avant-garde techniques and traditional Japanese aesthetics. Hosokawa’s compositions reflect
- [The 50th Schubertiade Anniversary Celebration <br/>Celebrating Gerd Nachbauer’s Founding Dream](https://interlude.hk/the-50th-schubertiade-anniversary-celebration-celebrating-gerd-nachbauers-founding-dream/): In 2025, the Schubertiade festival celebrates its 50th anniversary, marking half a century of devotion to the music of Franz Schubert and the rich tradition of chamber music and lieder. What began as a modest series of concerts in the
- [Musicians and Artists: Koechlin and Rivière](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-koechlin-and-riviere-paysages-et-marines/): Charles Koechlin: Paysages et marines, Op. 63 When French artist Henri Rivière (1864–1951) designed his first set of lithographs, it was for a very specific audience. The 16 pictures that formed Les aspects de la nature (Aspects of Nature) were
- [Danielle de Niese (Born April 11, 1979) <br/> From Melbourne to Mozart](https://interlude.hk/danielle-de-niese-born-april-11-1979-from-melbourne-to-mozart/): Danielle de Niese has captivated audiences with her luminous voice, dynamic stage presence, and versatile artistry. Born in Melbourne, Australia, to Sri Lankan and Dutch parents, her prodigious talent emerged at a young age as she won a national television
- [Kate Liu’s Beethoven & Brahms – From Vulnerability to Euphoria](https://interlude.hk/kate-lius-beethoven-brahms-from-vulnerability-to-euphoria/): Kate Liu first made her name by garnering the third prize at the Chopin Competition 2015, where she was awarded the most 10’s in the finals. With her concert activity previously halted by a hand injury, it is heartening to
- [Schubert – The Wanderer](https://interlude.hk/schubert-the-wanderer/): Schubert’s music articulates the ineffable, conveys the unspoken, and encapsulates a world of its own. Most of the time, it is imbued with desolation, poignancy, and nostalgia, whereas the occasional tinges of optimism, more often than not, are merely a
- [Yefim Bronfman (Born April 10, 1958) <br/> The Titan of the Keys](https://interlude.hk/yefim-bronfman-born-april-10-1958-the-titan-of-the-keys/): Widely regarded as one of the most accomplished and versatile pianists of his generation, Yefim Bronfman is celebrated for his extraordinary technique, musical depth, and commanding stage presence. Born on 10 April 1958 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Bronfman displayed prodigious talent
- [Important Musical Cities](https://interlude.hk/important-musical-cities/): Throughout the history of classical music, there have been some cities that have attracted musicians and audiences and, through this, have become centres of attention and key locations in music-making progress. If there is often more than one reason for
- [Vladimir Horowitz's Legendary 1965 Carnegie Hall Comeback Concert](https://interlude.hk/vladimir-horowitzs-legendary-1965-carnegie-hall-comeback-concert/): On 9 May 1965, famed pianist Vladimir Horowitz gave a recital at Carnegie Hall. But this was no ordinary Vladimir Horowitz recital. Due to depression and anxiety, he had not appeared in public since 1953. The entire musical world wanted
- [Musicians and Artists: Daugherty and Roebling](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-daugherty-and-roebling/): Michael Daugherty: Brooklyn Bridge American composer Michael Daugherty was inspired by one of the great constructions of New York City to create his work for clarinet and orchestra. Brooklyn Bridge (2005) is a musical view of the bridge from the
- [Gaetano Donizetti (Died on April 8, 1848) <br/>The Tudor Queens](https://interlude.hk/gaetano-donizetti-died-on-april-8-1848-the-tudor-queens/): Gaetano Donizetti (1797–1848) composed three operas often grouped as his “Tudor Queens” series: Anna Bolena (1830), Maria Stuarda (1835), and Roberto Devereux (1837). They represent some of the finest examples of bel canto writing, blending historical intrigue with dramatic storytelling
- [Finding the Other Piano Quartets: Brahms’ Nos. 2 and 3](https://interlude.hk/finding-the-other-piano-quartets-brahms-nos-2-and-3/): Pianist Krystian Zimerman (b. 1956) expanded his repertoire from solo piano (after winning the IX International Chopin Piano Competition in 1975) to duo works, working with violinist Kaha Danczowska in 1977 and recording Franck’s Sonata and Szymanowski’s Mythes together. More
- [The Doomed City: Lalo’s Overture to <em>Le Roi d’Ys</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-doomed-city-lalos-overture-to-le-roi-dys/): Édouard-Victoire-Antoine Lalo (1823 –1892) started his musical career as a viola and violinist, studying at the Paris Conservatoire with François Antoine Habeneck, who had founded and led the Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire from 1828. After graduation,
- [Next-Gen Pianists Defining the Sounds of Tomorrow <br/>10 Fresh Takes on Chopin](https://interlude.hk/next-gen-pianists-defining-the-sounds-of-tomorrow-10-fresh-takes-on-chopin/): A new wave of pianists is taking the stage, fusing classical mastery with bold, contemporary vibes. They’re breaking tradition wide open, crafting fresh and dynamic soundscapes that redefine what the piano can do. With fearless creativity, they’re breathing new life
- [Leif Ove Andsnes (Born April 7, 1970) <br/>Keys to Genius](https://interlude.hk/leif-ove-andsnes-born-april-7-1970-keys-to-genius/): The Norwegian pianist and chamber musician Leif Ove Andsnes is widely regarded as one of the most accomplished and insightful artists of his generation. He began playing piano at an early age, and his extraordinary talent would soon propel him
- [Bach Babies in Music <br/>  Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach (1732-95)](https://interlude.hk/bach-babies-in-music-johann-christoph-friedrich-bach-1732-95/): Johann Christoph Friedrich, known as the ”Bückeburg Bach”, was born in Leipzig on 21 June 1732 and baptised two days later. He was the 16th of Johann Sebastian Bach’s twenty children and the 9th child from his marriage to Anna
- [Musicians and Artists: Hartke and Miró](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-hartke-and-miro/): Stephen Hartke: The King of the Sun American composer Stephen Hartke (b. 1952) was commissioned by Chamber Music America for a work for the Los Angeles Piano Quartet. Written in 1988, his piece The King of the Sun is based
- [Igor Stravinsky <br/>5 Greatest Ballet Scores](https://interlude.hk/igor-stravinsky-5-greatest-ballet-scores/): Igor Stravinsky’s ballet scores are not mere compositions. They are living and breathing testaments to the depths of human emotion all poured into sound and movement. Through his groundbreaking collaborations, particularly with the Ballets Russes, Stravinsky produced some of the
- [Ten of the Happiest Marriages in Classical Music History I](https://interlude.hk/ten-of-the-happiest-marriages-in-classical-music-history-i/): For a variety of reasons, it can be difficult being married to a composer. However, sometimes composers find spouses who support them, encourage them, and, if they’re very lucky, inspire them to write incredible music. In this two-part series, we’re
- [Celebrate The English Chamber Orchestra. They’re 65!](https://interlude.hk/celebrate-the-english-chamber-orchestra-theyre-65/): Did you know that the English Chamber Orchestra, one of the world’s leading chamber orchestras and most recorded orchestras, is celebrating their 65th anniversary this year? Meet the English Chamber Orchestra. English Chamber Orchestra – Trailer The size of Mozart’s
- [Herbert von Karajan (Born April 5, 1908) <br/> The Last of the Old-School Supermen of Music](https://interlude.hk/herbert-von-karajan-born-april-5-1908-the-last-of-the-old-school-supermen-of-music/): Herbert von Karajan, hailed as one of the greatest conductors of orchestral music, exerted total authority and power. Known for his meticulous attention to detail, commanding presence, and a distinctive interpretive style, Karajan left an indelible mark on the world
- [Playing with the Viola: Julius Röntgen’s Viola Sonatas](https://interlude.hk/playing-with-the-viola-julius-rontgens-viola-sonatas/): Julius Röntgen (1855–1932) made his career at the end of the 19th century and spanned the Romantic and Modern eras – his piano teacher was Carl Reinecke (director of the Gewandhaus Orchestra), and he played for Liszt in Weimar at
- [Augustin Hadelich (Born April 4, 1984) <br/> Strings of Resilience](https://interlude.hk/augustin-hadelich-born-april-4-1984-strings-of-resilience/): German-American violinist Augustin Hadelich is known for his warm, lyrical tone and impeccable precision. Born on 4 April and demonstrating prodigious talent, his career trajectory, however, was nearly derailed by a life-altering accident in 1999 when a fire on his
- [Mozart Makes Another Quodlibet](https://interlude.hk/mozart-makes-another-quodlibet/): When Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791) wrote his first quodlibet (a work that combines popular melodies of the day) at age 10, it was designed to show off both his keyboard skills and knowledge of music, a later quodlibet had a
- [Brahms and the Violin <br/>The Three Violin Sonatas](https://interlude.hk/brahms-and-the-violin-the-three-violin-sonatas/): Growing up in Hong Kong, it’s fairly typical that I’ve been a pianist my whole life. I’ve hammered out everything from Bach to Rachmaninoff with a kind of stubborn focus. The piano is my territory; it is familiar, reliable, and
- [20 Facts About Classical Music](https://interlude.hk/20-facts-about-classical-music/): Interested in dipping your toe in the massive ocean that is classical music? Then keep reading! Today we’re looking at twenty facts about classical music that will give you an overview of what classical music is, its extensive history, its
- [The Origins of Music](https://interlude.hk/the-origins-of-music/): Music is part of our lives in such a way that we tend to forget that it did not exist forever. At least in the human mind. As much as there is music in nature, its structure and organisation are
- [Dinu Lipatti (Born April 1, 1917) <br/> Genius in the Shadow of Eternity](https://interlude.hk/dinu-lipatti-born-april-1-1917-genius-in-the-shadow-of-eternity/): Romanian pianist Dinu Lipatti remains one of the most revered and enigmatic figures in the history of classical music. A prodigious pianist and composer, his career was tragically cut short at the age of 33. Lipatti’s life unfolded against a
- [Shadows, Songs, and Triumph <br/>Mikko Franck, Marie-Nicole Lemieux, and the Radio France Ensembles](https://interlude.hk/shadows-songs-and-triumph-mikko-franck-marie-nicole-lemieux-and-the-radio-france-ensembles/): Filmed on 22 November 2024 at the Auditorium de Radio France in Paris, the collaboration between conductor Mikko Franck, contralto Marie-Nicole Lemieux, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France and the Maîtrise de Radio France marked some very special and important
- [Sterling Elliott](https://interlude.hk/sterling-elliott-cellist/): Music is a ‘never-ending pursuit, and I love it’ I caught young cellist Sterling Elliott towards the end of a mammoth tour of the USA with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, having visited New York, Kansas, Illinois, Arizona,
- [Making the Piano the Orchestra: Florian Noack’s Transcriptions](https://interlude.hk/making-the-piano-the-orchestra-florian-noacks-transcriptions/): Doing transcriptions, particularly for the piano, is more than just writing the same notes for a different instrument. Each instrument has its idiosyncratic elements, be it only being able to play one or two notes at the same time or
- [From Keys to Concert Hall <br/>A Reimagining of Bach’s Keyboard Legacy](https://interlude.hk/from-keys-to-concert-hall-a-reimagining-of-bachs-keyboard-legacy/): The music of Johann Sebastian Bach has long served as a wellspring of inspiration for composers across centuries. From the Classical era to the Romantic period and beyond, Bach’s music has been adapted for new instruments, ensembles, and audiences. Even
- [Matthias Goerne (Born March 31, 1967) <br/>Velvet Thunder](https://interlude.hk/matthias-goerne-born-march-31-1967-velvet-thunder/): Matthias Goerne has been captivating audiences worldwide for decades with his rich, velvety tones and profound musicality. Born in Weimar on 31 March 1967, he studied with legendary figures like Hans-Joachim Beyer and Elisabeth Schwarzkopf and graduated as one of
- [Bach Babies in Music <br/>  Christiana Dorothea Bach (1731-32)](https://interlude.hk/bach-babies-in-music-christiana-dorothea-bach-1731-32/): Over the years, Anna Magdalena Bach fulfilled many different roles. Above all, she mothered a large and steadily increasing family. When she married the widower Bach, she took on four small children, and subsequently gave birth to thirteen children over
- [Ida Rubinstein: Dancer, Patroness, and Inspiration for Boléro](https://interlude.hk/ida-rubinstein-dancer-patroness-and-inspiration-for-bolero/): Dancer, actress, and arts patron Ida Rubinstein was a trailblazing figure in the arts, and her impact on early twentieth century music was profound. A gifted performer, she knew how to captivate audiences with her beauty, stage presence, and creative
- [Once More, With Feeling: Music, Dopamine, and the Brain](https://interlude.hk/once-more-with-feeling-music-dopamine-and-the-brain/): My first word was actually a command. Picture rather an insubstantial baby – consisting mostly of a tuft of white-blonde hair – strapped into the back seat of a car. My dad was driving our family somewhere and had chosen
- [Musicians and Artists: Sawyers and Kandinsky](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-sawyers-and-kandinsky/): Inspirations Behind Philip Sawyers’ Hommage to Kandinsky The Russian painter Wassily Kandinsky (1866–1944) was one of the founders of abstraction in western art and is also considered one of the most musical of the modern painters. He equated painting with
- [Chopin Nocturnes <br/>A Journey Through Nighttime Elegance](https://interlude.hk/chopin-nocturnes-a-journey-through-nighttime-elegance/): The famous pianist Stephen Hough writes, “the nocturnes are Chopin’s most intimate and personal utterances. Some are wistful, some reflective, some melancholy, some faintly troubled and some serenely joyful. All are sensuously beautiful, suffused with elegance and deeply poetic impulses. ” A short time ago I wrote a blog on...
- [Is Juraj Beneš’ <em>Old Boys Anthology</em> the Hardest Piano Piece of All? <br/>Ivan Šiller Excels in its First Studio Recording](https://interlude.hk/is-juraj-benes-old-boys-anthology-the-hardest-piano-piece-of-all-ivan-siller-excels-in-its-first-studio-recording/): For years, Mily Balakirev’s Islamey (1869) was considered the most difficult piece for piano. But contenders abound: Charles-Valentin Alkan’s Concerto for Solo Piano (published 1857)? Kaikhosru Sorabji’s Opus Clavicembalisticum (1930), Leopold Godowsky’s Studies on Chopin’s Études or György Ligeti’s Études
- [10 Practice Habits That Will Transform Your Playing](https://interlude.hk/10-practice-habits-that-will-transform-your-playing/): Learning how to practice in a more focused, effective, and rewarding fashion is a lifelong quest for musicians. Often, we will be frustrated. But these 10 practice habits will lead you to increased confidence, freedom, and ease while playing, in
- [Sergei Rachmaninoff <br/> 15 Most Beloved Piano Pieces](https://interlude.hk/sergei-rachmaninoff-15-most-beloved-piano-pieces/): The short piano pieces by Sergei Rachmaninoff are a treasure trove of Romantic brilliance. They stand as some of the most electrifying and soul-stirring works in the repertoire. Rachmaninoff blends jaw-dropping virtuosity with heart-wrenching emotion, ranging from thunderous chords to delicate whispers. He always infused his music with Russian melancholy,...
- [Did Clara Schumann Make Frederic Chopin Famous?](https://interlude.hk/did-clara-schumann-make-frederic-chopin-famous/): This is a tale of two piano virtuosos. Frédéric Chopin was born in Poland in March 1810, while Clara Wieck (later Clara Schumann) was born in September 1819. These two great pianists grew up to become giants in their field.
- [Daishin Kashimoto (Born March 27, 1979) <br/>From Prodigy to Concertmaster](https://interlude.hk/daishin-kashimoto-born-march-27-1979-from-prodigy-to-concertmaster/): The renowned Japanese classical violinist Daishin Kashimoto has solidified his reputation as one of the most accomplished musicians of his generation. Starting violin lessons at the age of three, he became the youngest student ever accepted into the pre-college division
- [Ping Pong 129 Presents Classical Salon x HKBU Academy Of Music](https://interlude.hk/ping-pong-129-presents-classical-salon-x-hkbu-academy-of-music/): Date: Thu. 3. 04. 25 Time: 20:30 to 22:30 Venue: Ping Pong 129 Second Street L/G Nam Cheong House, Sai Ying Pun Instrument Cheung Ka Tong, Tony (guitar)Chiu Lok Ching, Jasmine (accomp) Chôros No. 1 by Heitor Villa-Lobos Classical Guitar Asturias by Isaac
- [The Modern Piano Concerto: Seong-Jin Cho’s Ravel](https://interlude.hk/the-modern-piano-concerto-seong-jin-chos-ravel/): Maurice Ravel only wrote two piano concertos, and they are so individual in sound that they stand for a whole lot more. The first was the Piano Concerto for the Left Hand, M. 82, written on commission for one-handed pianist
- [Pierre Boulez Centenary <br/> A Modernist Vision](https://interlude.hk/pierre-boulez-centenary-a-modernist-vision/): Born 100 years ago, on 26 March 1925, Pierre Boulez became the most important French avant-garde composer of the 20th century. He tirelessly worked on behalf of contemporary music. His compositions evolved from rigorous intellectualism and a commitment to serialism
- [Claude Debussy <br/>15 Most Beloved Piano Pieces](https://interlude.hk/claude-debussy-15-most-beloved-piano-pieces/): Here comes a real treat for all piano lovers! Let’s dive into the magical world of Claude Debussy, the genius composer who turned notes into pure poetry. His piano music weaves a spell of shimmering colours and fluid textures, turning simple notes into vivid and dreamlike landscapes. To commemorate his...
- [Jingci Liu: A Passionate Chinese Pianist Shaping Her Artistic Journey](https://interlude.hk/jingci-liu-a-passionate-chinese-pianist-shaping-her-artistic-journey/): Jingci Liu, a pianist, educator, and collaborative musician, has carved an impressive path in the world of classical music. Originally from Tianjin, China, Liu began her rigorous musical training at the Pre-College of Tianjin Conservatory of Music, where she studied
- [Momo Kodama (Born March 24, 1972) <br/> Precision and Passion](https://interlude.hk/momo-kodama-born-march-24-1972-precision-and-passion/): Momo Kodama, a Japanese pianist of extraordinary sensitivity and versatility, stands as a bridge between musical worlds, blending the refined elegance of European classical traditions with the evocative subtleties of Japanese contemporary music. Renowned for her crystalline technique and profound
- [Paris of 1913 in Song: <em>L’Offrande lyrique</em>](https://interlude.hk/paris-of-1913-in-song-loffrande-lyrique/): In this brilliant, luscious recording by soprano Claire Booth and pianist Andrew Matthews-Owen, we’re given songs circulating in Paris in 1913. Debussy and Ravel are both looking at the poetry of Stéphane Mallarmé (1842–1898). The symbolist poet set the two
- [Air(s) on the G String](https://interlude.hk/airs-on-the-g-string/): Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) wrote 4 Overtures (as he called them), known as his four Orchestra Suites between 1724 and 1731. Each of these suites consists of several movements that are dance-pieces. The form was extremely popular in Bach’s time,
- [Bach Babies in Music <br/> Christiana Benedicta (1729-30)](https://interlude.hk/bach-babies-in-music-christiana-benedicta-1729-30/): Carl Philipp Emanuel remembered the Bach household in Leipzig as a “pigeon coop,” with people swarming in and out all the time. Conversing with the Bach biographer Forkel, Carl Philipp recounts, “With his many activities Bach hardly had time for
- [Variations on the Goldberg V](https://interlude.hk/variations-on-the-goldberg-v/): The Goldberg Variations, published by Bach in 1741, is beloved by musicians. Those who don’t play a keyboard instrument have been quick to arrange it for their own specialties. We’ll now look at very large ensembles and a few surprises.
- [Jan Lisiecki (Born March 23, 1995) <br/> The Piano Prodigy Who Transcends Time](https://interlude.hk/jan-lisiecki-born-march-23-1995-the-piano-prodigy-who-transcends-time/): Canadian pianist Jan Lisiecki, born on March 23rd 1995, has captivated audiences worldwide since his professional debut at the age of 15. His performances blend elegance with passion, and his interpretations of both the classical canon and contemporary works have
- [Frédéric Chopin <br/>10 Most Magnificent Nocturnes](https://interlude.hk/frederic-chopin-10-most-magnificent-nocturnes/): The Nocturnes by Frédéric Chopin are some of the most beautiful and beloved pieces in the entire piano repertoire. Written between 1827 and 1846, Chopin took the form popularised by the Irish composer John Field, and elevated the genre with his signature style. In this wonderful musical genre, deeply lyrical...
- [Seven of the Saddest Works by Debussy](https://interlude.hk/seven-of-the-saddest-works-by-debussy/): The word “sad” covers a lot of emotional ground. It can mean anything from melancholy to outright misery. Composer Claude Debussy was a master at portraying different gradations of emotions, including feelings of contradiction or ambiguity. Today we’re looking at
- [The Power of Music in Literature <br/>An Exploration of Eight Novels](https://interlude.hk/the-power-of-music-in-literature-an-exploration-of-eight-novels/): Music has a remarkable ability to evoke deep emotions, reflect societal issues, and transform characters. It’s no surprise that many novels explore the lives of musicians, the world of classical music, and the role of art in shaping personal identity.
- [Opera Rara <br/>Donizetti Song Project <br/>  Volumes 3 & 4: Spyres and Lemieux unveil the Lost Songs](https://interlude.hk/opera-rara-donizetti-song-project-volumes-3-4-spyres-and-lemieux-unveil-the-lost-songs/): In September 2023 Opera Rara launched one of its most ambitious projects in its 50-year history. Spearheaded by Carlo Rizzi and Roger Parker, the “Donizetti Song Project” aimed to record the nearly 200 Donizetti songs, many of them unheard and
- [Happy Birthday Johann Sebastian <br/> Bach’s Timeless Orchestral Suite Movements](https://interlude.hk/happy-birthday-johann-sebastian-bachs-timeless-orchestral-suite-movements/): Johann Sebastian Bach—one name says it all! On 21 March, we celebrate one of the most revered and influential composers who ever lived. His compositions fill the air with harmony and joy, and his genius continues to inspire the world. Bach’s music has left an indelible mark. From the intricate...
- [Beniamino Gigli (Born March 20, 1890) <br/>A Voice Beyond Time](https://interlude.hk/beniamino-gigli-born-march-20-1890-a-voice-beyond-time/): Beniamino Gigli, born on 20 March 1890, in Recanati, Italy, emerged from humble beginnings to become one of the most celebrated operatic tenors of the early 20th century. The son of a shoemaker with a passion for opera, Gigli’s extraordinary
- [The Fun of a Humour-esque](https://interlude.hk/the-fun-of-a-humour-esque/): In the spring of 1892, about 6 months before he departed to lead the National Conservatory in America, Czech composer, Antonín Dvořák’s music publisher asked him to write a little ‘humoresque’. He complied with a lovely little piano piece in
- [Pablo Ferrández (Born March 19, 1991)<br/>A Cello Revolution](https://interlude.hk/pablo-ferrandez-born-march-19-1991a-cello-revolution/): Pablo Ferrández emerged from a musical family in Madrid to become one of Spain’s most recognised cellists, blending a rigorous performance schedule with a knack for collaborations. Since winning the Sony Music Prize at age 19, he has tackled works
- [The Most Epic Symphony Endings](https://interlude.hk/the-most-epic-symphony-endings/): Composers can spend months or years crafting the perfect ending to a symphony. It’s easy to understand why the ending is so important. Those last few minutes of a piece are the ones that audiences will walk away thinking about.
- [Maintaining a Level: The Four Bodily Humours <br/>Nielsen: <em>Symphony No. 2, "The 4 Temperaments"</em>](https://interlude.hk/maintaining-a-level-the-four-bodily-humours-nielsen-symphony-no-2-the-4-temperaments/): Carl Nielsen’s second symphony bears a curious title: The Four Temperaments. The temperaments, or the four bodily humours, were the four liquid elements that make up the human body: ‘yellow bile, phlegm, black bile and blood, a preponderance of any
- [Bach in the Ruins <br/> Tharaud and Lam at Fonderie Saint-Lubin](https://interlude.hk/bach-in-the-ruins-tharaud-and-lam-at-fonderie-saint-lubin/): Part of the “Sure Mesure” series available on ARTE Concert, this stunning 33 minute performance features pianist Alexandre Tharaud and dancer Chun-Wing Lam. “Bach in the Ruins” was recorded at the Fonderie Saint-Lubin, located about 30 kilometres from Paris, a
- [Inspired by Folk Music: Balakirev’s <em>Islamey</em>](https://interlude.hk/inspired-by-folk-music-balakirevs-islamey/): The Russian composers of the late 19th century seemed to vie with each other for difficult piano music. Mily Balakirev (1837–1910) was active as both a nationalist composer and encourager of other composers, most importantly Pyotr Tchaikovsky. Balakirev was important
- [Baiba Skride <br/> A Baltic Star’s Sonic Journey](https://interlude.hk/baiba-skride-a-baltic-stars-sonic-journey/): The Latvian violin virtuoso Baiba Skride is known for her exceptional artistry, technical brilliance, and captivating performances. Music was always in her blood, as her grandmother taught her to sing, her mother was a pianist, and her father a choral
- [10 Pieces of Classical Music About Dreams](https://interlude.hk/10-pieces-of-classical-music-about-dreams/): Today we’re looking at some of the most famous dreams in classical music! Take your melatonin, put on your comfiest pajamas and silkiest sleep mask, and let’s get started. Giuseppe Tartini: Devil’s Trill Sonata (ca. 1740s) According to legend, violinist
- [Variations on the Goldberg IV](https://interlude.hk/variations-on-the-goldberg-iv/): The Goldberg Variations, published by Bach in 1741, is beloved by musicians. Those who don’t play a keyboard instrument have been quick to arrange it for their own specialties. We’ll continue our examination with more ensemble versions and some other
- [Teresa Berganza (Born March 16, 1933)<br/> A Mezzo Unleashed](https://interlude.hk/teresa-berganza-a-mezzo-unleashed/): The Spanish mezzo-soprano Teresa Berganza has captivated opera houses and concert halls around the world. One of the towering figures in the realm of classical music, Berganza’s career spans over half a century, earning her acclaim for her exquisite vocal
- [Bach Babies in Music <br/> Regina Johanna Bach (1728-33)](https://interlude.hk/bach-babies-in-music-regina-johanna-bach-1728-33/): The position of Kantor at the Thomasschule in Leipzig was one of the most esteemed musical positions in Germany. Bach’s duties were demanding and varied, and he was certainly the most important musician in town. In charge of music at
- [Which Composer Had the Worst Childhood?](https://interlude.hk/which-composer-had-the-worst-childhood/): It’s not easy to be a composer, and many have had dramatic lives full of pain and struggle. But some composers have had worse times than others, especially in their vulnerable childhood years. Today we’re looking at five composers who
- [Fabio Biondi (Born March 15, 1961)<br/>Timeless Strings](https://interlude.hk/fabio-biondi-timeless-strings/): The renowned Italian violinist and conductor Fabio Biondo is celebrated for his profound contributions to Baroque and early music. He has captivated listeners around the world, and his passion for historical performance practices and period instruments soon established him as
- [Mozart Makes a Quodlibet <br/><em>Gallimathias Musicum</em>](https://interlude.hk/mozart-makes-a-quodlibet-gallimathias-musicum/): The great thing about being a practicing musician is all the music you have at your hands. As a 10-year-old travelling musician, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791) found himself bored on a trip from London back to Salzburg. When they arrived
- [How Conductors Explain Conducting](https://interlude.hk/how-conductors-explain-conducting/): When audiences are transported by a concert, they imagine that a kind of magic happens onstage attributed to the conductor. Sometimes that is true. But many other attendees wonder: what does a conductor actually do? We’re in luck. Several conductors
- [Paganini’s 24th Caprice in Other Voices](https://interlude.hk/paganinis-24th-caprice-in-other-voices/): The demon violinist, Niccoló Paganini (1782–1840), the most celebrated violin virtuoso of his day and who is still known today, wrote a set of 24 caprices for solo violin between 1802 and 1817. The caprices (meaning ‘a sudden and unaccountable
- [The Violin of Death <br/>Grete von Zieritz: <em>Le violon de la mort</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-violin-of-death-grete-von-zieritz-le-violon-de-la-mort/): With the dramatic title of Le violon de la mort (The Violin of Death), Austrian composer Grete von Zieritz (1899–2001) shows us in the subtitle, Dances macabres, that it’s part of the long line of music written for the dead.
- [Susanna Mälkki (Born March 13, 1969)<br/> Orchestrating Change](https://interlude.hk/susanna-malkki-orchestrating-change/): One of the most dynamic and influential conductors of her generation, Susanna Mälkki has decisively reshaped the landscape of classical music. Initially trained as a cellist, Mälkki has since earned a reputation as a formidable interpreter of the classical repertory
- [Steven Osborne (Born March 12, 1971)<br/>The Pulse of Perfection](https://interlude.hk/steven-osborne-the-pulse-of-perfection/): Scottish pianist Steven Osborne is celebrated for his exceptional artistry, versatility, and profound interpretations. His career gained significant momentum after winning the Clara Haskil International Piano Competition in 1991 and the Naumburg International Piano Competition in 1997. Osborne is known
- [Three Pianists Who Survived the Nazi Concentration Camps](https://interlude.hk/three-pianists-who-survived-the-nazi-concentration-camps/): One of the major difficulties of studying the Holocaust is understanding its sheer scale. The human brain isn’t built to process what the murder of millions of people really means. However, by zeroing in and looking at individual stories, we
- [Musicians and Artists: Baley and 4 Birds](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-virko-baley-sculptured-birds-clarinet-piano/): Virko Baley: Sculptured Birds For his work for clarinet and piano, Sculptured Birds, Ukrainian-American composer Virko Baley (b 1938) chose four modern artists for his four movements, beginning in 1978 and continuing in 1982 through 1984. The Sculptured Birds suite
- [The Extraordinary Story of Henryk Górecki’s <em>Symphony of Sorrowful Songs</em> – Part II](https://interlude.hk/the-extraordinary-story-of-henryk-goreckis-symphony-of-sorrowful-songs-part-ii/): In the first part of this article, we surveyed the rather sensational veneer of the story of Henryk Górecki’s Symphony of Sorrowful Songs – the surreal happenings, the seemingly chance developments, and the absurdity of a reticent Polish composer outselling
- [Celebrating Nostalgia in Stephen Hough's New Piano Concerto](https://interlude.hk/celebrating-nostalgia-in-stephen-houghs-new-piano-concerto/): British pianist Sir Stephen Hough hadn’t intended to write a piano concerto. But during the dark days of the COVID pandemic, he was approached to write a score for a film about a concert pianist writing a piano concerto... With
- [Next-Gen Pianists defining the Sounds of Tomorrow <br/>10 Fresh Takes on Schumann](https://interlude.hk/next-gen-pianists-defining-the-sounds-of-tomorrow-11-fresh-takes-on-schumann/): The piano music of Robert Schumann isn’t just challenging for the hands, it is a real workout for the mind and heart as well. Technical challenges aside, Schumann’s music is full of nuanced emotional expressions, often requiring the pianist to
- [William Busch Chamber Music](https://interlude.hk/william-busch-chamber-music/): The British composer William Busch (1901–1945) studied music internationally. His first music lessons were in the US, followed by piano and music lessons in Berlin. In May 1924, he returned to London, where he had piano lessons with Benno Moiseiwitsch
- [Variations on the Goldberg III](https://interlude.hk/variations-on-the-goldberg-iii/): After looking at the background of J. S. Bach’s Goldberg Variations and the Goldberg in the hands and sounds of other instruments. Let’s continue with the ensemble versions. The Goldberg Variations, published by Bach in 1741, is beloved by musicians. Those
- [Bach Babies in Music <br/> Ernestus Andreas Bach (1727)](https://interlude.hk/bach-babies-in-music-ernestus-andreas-bach-1727/): Joy and sorrow were everyday occurrences in the household of the Bach family. That was certainly true when it came to the son Ernestus Andreas Bach. The little boy was born premature and hardly lived long enough to be baptised
- [The Final Recordings of the Great Pianists](https://interlude.hk/the-final-recordings-of-the-great-pianists/): For the past hundred years, classical music lovers have gotten to know the work of the great pianists through their recordings. Today we’re looking at the final recordings that six great pianists made. In some cases, these recordings were made
- [Two Surprising Modern Piano Concertos: A Talk with Samantha Ege](https://interlude.hk/two-surprising-modern-piano-concertos-a-talk-with-samantha-ege/): Two modern composers who never met but who have interesting compositional ideas were the American composer Julia Perry (1924–1979) and the British composer Doreen Carwithen (1922–2003). The two had very different careers, Perry studied in Paris with Nadia Boulanger and
- [10 Famous Quotes From and About Hector Berlioz](https://interlude.hk/10-famous-quotes-from-and-about-hector-berlioz/): Hector Berlioz was a man of unbridled passion and relentless innovation. He possessed a rebellious spirit that defied convention, and his character was as dramatic and vivid as the music he created. His personality was dominated by an almost volcanic
- [Memorable Concerts and Musical Growth – An Interview with Jeneba Kanneh-Mason](https://interlude.hk/memorable-concerts-and-musical-growth-an-interview-with-jeneba-kanneh-mason/): The third youngest of the prodigiously musical Kanneh-Mason family, 22-year-old Jeneba releases her debut album ‘Fantasie’ on the Sony Classical label on 7th March. From Claude Debussy, Frédéric Chopin and Alexander Scriabin to Florence Price, Margaret Bonds and William Grant
- [Maurice Ravel](https://interlude.hk/maurice-ravel-french-composer/): Ravel at 150: A Legacy of Innovation 150 years ago, on 7 March 1875, the small village of Ciboure in the Basque region of France saw the birth of Maurice Ravel (1875-1937). Son of a Swiss engineer and a Basque
- [Eleonor Bindman Releases Bach's Lute Suites for Piano: A Fresh Take](https://interlude.hk/eleonor-bindman-releases-bachs-lute-suites-for-piano-a-fresh-take/): “All my transcriptions are motivated by the desire to play my favourite music on the piano. ” – Eleonor Bindman A lifelong love of J. S. Bach has led pianist Eleonor Bindman to produce a number of important transcriptions for solo piano
- [A Conversation with Sophie Sze-Ki Mok: Assistant Conductor of the North Carolina Symphony](https://interlude.hk/a-conversation-with-sophie-sze-ki-mok-assistant-conductor-of-the-north-carolina-symphony/): Sophie Sze-Ki Mok is a rising star in the world of orchestral conducting. As the Assistant Conductor of the North Carolina Symphony, she has built an impressive resume that includes assisting the Asian Youth Orchestra and working with internationally acclaimed
- [Kiri Te Kanawa (Born March 6, 1944)<br/> The Voice that Enchanted the World](https://interlude.hk/kiri-te-kanawa-the-voice-that-enchanted-the-world/): The celebrated New Zealand soprano Dame Kiri Te Kanawa stands as one of the most luminous figures in the world of opera and classical music. Her extraordinary vocal talent and captivating stage presence propelled her from humble beginnings to international
- [What Happened to These Five Lost Works of Classical Music?](https://interlude.hk/what-happened-to-these-five-lost-works-of-classical-music/): Every piece of classical music has a unique composition story. Inevitably, some of those stories ended early after, say, a composer left a score unfinished, or destroyed it, or never wrote anything down in the first place. These lost works
- [Star Quality: Christian Li’s Tchaikovsky](https://interlude.hk/star-quality-christian-lis-tchaikovsky/): Australian violinist Christian Li arrived on the scene with a spectacular joint first in the 2018 Menuhin Junior Competition in Geneva. As he was only 10 when he won, it was truly the launch of a violin phenomenon. His new
- [Moritz Moszkowski (1854-1925) <br/> “After Chopin, Moszkowski best understands how to write for the piano”](https://interlude.hk/moritz-moszkowski-1854-1925-after-chopin-moszkowski-best-understands-how-to-write-for-the-piano/): In his day, Moritz Moszkowski was a famous and well-respected musician. He was an accomplished pianist who performed extensively across Europe, and as a highly sought-after teacher, he influenced generations of future piano virtuosos. 100 years after his passing on
- [Musicians and Artists: Krash and 14 Women](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-krash-and-14-women/): Jessica Krash: Be Seeing You American composer Jessica Krash was commissioned by two Washington DC arts institutions, the National Gallery of Art and The National Museum of Women in the Arts to create a work based on 14 works of
- [Summoning the American Spirit – Dvořák String Quartet No. 12](https://interlude.hk/summoning-the-american-spirit-dvorak-string-quartet-no-12/): Antonín Dvořák’s time in America (1892–1895) was brief but important, not only helping him break into a more modern style but also helping American composers look inward for inspiration and not towards Europe. His String Quartet No. 12, nicknamed the
- [Chow Ching Lie <br/> Journey in Music](https://interlude.hk/chow-ching-lie-journey-in-music/): “I was born into a China of misery and tears. The China of my birth was a vast, undeveloped country, where poverty, banditry, and civil war were rife, and where it was particularly unwise to be born female. ” With these
- [Variations on the Goldberg II](https://interlude.hk/variations-on-the-goldberg-ii/): The Goldberg Variations, published by Bach in 1741, is beloved by musicians. Those who don’t play a keyboard instrument have been quick to arrange it for their own specialities. We’ll start with stringed instruments and how they treat the first
- [Bach Babies in Music <br/>Elisabeth Juliane Friederica Bach (1726-1781)](https://interlude.hk/bach-babies-in-music-elisabeth-juliane-friederica-bach-1726-1781/): Early in 1726, for reasons essentially unknown, Johann Sebastian Bach interrupted his continuous production of cantatas. Between February and September 1726, he performed 18 cantatas by his cousin Johann Ludwig Bach, and he performed none of his own music at
- [Simone Young (Born March 2, 1961)<br/> Breaking Boundaries](https://interlude.hk/simone-young-breaking-boundaries/): Renowned for her commanding presence and profound musical insight, Simone Young has broken barriers in the traditionally male-dominated world of orchestral conducting. Young’s career is marked by a distinguished trajectory that has earned her a reputation for passionate interpretations crafted
- [An Interview with Composer Michael Zev Gordon](https://interlude.hk/an-interview-with-composer-michael-zev-gordon/): There is a very exciting world premiere about to occur at the Barbican Center in London. A new work by British composer Michael Zev Gordon will be featured on March 25, 2025. Entitled A Kind of Haunting, it will feature
- [Chopin's Most Popular Works in Ten Genres](https://interlude.hk/chopins-most-popular-works-in-ten-genres/): Frédéric Chopin, born on March 1st 1810, is one of the most popular composers in the history of classical music. Although he specialised in writing for piano, he composed in a variety of forms: ballades, impromptus, nocturnes, scherzos, and more. Of course, art is subjective, so everyone will have different...
- [Hannes Minnaar](https://interlude.hk/hannes-minnaar-pianist/): ‘Express the Music Instead of Ourselves’ The playing of Dutch pianist Hannes Minnaar has been described as ‘buoyant and convincingly thought-through’ (The Guardian) and ‘free of bluff and swagger and in deference of the music at all times’ (NRC). He
- [The Athletic Musician – Integrating Sport Strategies for Better Practice and Performance](https://interlude.hk/the-athletic-musician-integrating-sport-strategies-for-better-practice-and-performance/): Most people think of music and sports as two very different worlds. One is about artistry and emotion, the other about strength and endurance. But in reality, they share a lot—dedication, discipline, and the need for smart, structured training. In
- [Gioachino Rossini <br/>10 Famous Quotes](https://interlude.hk/gioachino-rossini-10-famous-quotes/): Gioachino Rossini was known for his playful, irreverent wit and larger-than-life personality. His music certainly radiated lively exuberance, and it was full of energy and infectious charm that mirrored his zest for life. Rossini was a man of indulgence, known
- [Flautist Egor Egorkin at Ping Pong Gintonería](https://interlude.hk/flautist-egor-egorkin-at-ping-pong-gintoneria/): 13th March 2025 Concert: Tues 8. 30 pm to 10. 30 pmFree entry Address: Second St 129, L/G Nam Cheong House, Sai Ying Pun, Hong Kong Berliner Philharmoiniker virtuoso flautist and 2025 Institute of Creativity distinguished visitor at HKBU, Egor Egorkin brings
- [Notes Inégales: The Expressive Soul of French Baroque Music](https://interlude.hk/notes-inegales-the-expressive-soul-of-french-baroque-music/): Listen to the music of Jean-Baptiste Lully, Marc-Antoine Charpentier, Michel-Richard Delalande, François Couperin and Jean-Philippe Rameau, and you enter a world of elegance, ornamentation and artful rhythm. Most of all, as scholar James Anthony noted, French Baroque music “speaks of
- [JoAnn Falletta (Born February 27, 1954)<br/>Leading the Way for Women in Classical Music](https://interlude.hk/joann-falletta-leading-the-way-for-women-in-classical-music/): The renowned American conductor JoAnn Falletta has gained international acclaim for her dynamic and expressive conducting style and for her commitment to promoting both the classical repertoire and works by contemporary composers. Known for her ability to connect deeply with
- [Truly Hellish: Clara Schumann's Best Insults](https://interlude.hk/truly-hellish-clara-schumanns-best-insults/): Clara Wieck Schumann was one of the nineteenth century’s greatest pianists and composers. Over the course of her remarkable career, she provided indispensable feedback to her husband Robert Schumann, as well as her lifelong friend Johannes Brahms. Her strong opinions
- [The Perfect Piano](https://interlude.hk/is-there-the-perfect-piano/): I will soon be performing two concerts at London’s new Bechstein Hall, centred around the music of Chopin and Ravel on their respective birthdays. The first, on 1st March, will celebrate Chopin, while the second, on 7th March, will mark
- [Pavel Kolesnikov (Born February 25, 1989)<br/> Breathing New Life into Timeless Classics](https://interlude.hk/pavel-kolesnikov-breathing-new-life-into-timeless-classics/): Russian-born pianist Pavel Kolesnikov is lauded for his captivating performances and unique approach to classical music. With a distinctive style that blends technical prowess with deep musicality, Kolesnikov has become a prominent figure on the international concert scene. Kolesnikov brings
- [From Piano to Opera: Granados’ <em>Goyescas</em>](https://interlude.hk/from-piano-to-opera-granados-goyescas/): Inspired by the works of the Spanish Romantic painter and printmaker Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (1746–1828), Goyescas by Enrique Granados (1867–1916) was a 6-part suite for piano, written in 1911. In 1915, he transformed the piano works into
- [Edward Elgar <br/>10 Famous Quotes and Thoughts](https://interlude.hk/edward-elgar-10-famous-quotes-and-thoughts/): As a musician and composer, Edward Elgar was largely self-taught, learning through experimentation and playing in local ensembles. His music is characterised by its emotional depth, rich orchestration, and a sense of nostalgia that captures a time when the British
- [Arcadi Volodos (Born February 24, 1972)<br/>The Art of Transcendence](https://interlude.hk/arcadi-volodos-the-art-of-transcendence/): Pianist Arcadi Volodos has ascended to the pinnacle of the classical music world with a mastery that captivates both critics and audiences alike. Renowned for his extraordinary technique, rich palette of tones, and profound musical insight, Volodos has carved a
- [Bach Babies in Music <br/> Christian Gottlieb Bach (1725-1728)](https://interlude.hk/bach-babies-in-music-christian-gottlieb-bach-1725-1728/): We may reasonably call Johann Sebastian Bach a middle-of-the-road eighteenth-century father. He was not directly involved at all in the upbringing of his children but provided guidance by example. The Bach family arrived in Leipzig on 22 May 1723 and
- [George Frideric Handel <br/>10 Most Magnificent Choruses](https://interlude.hk/george-frideric-handel-10-most-magnificent-choruses/): When it comes to writing choruses that are bold, brilliant, and bursting with emotion, nobody does it quite like George Frideric Handel. Handel’s choruses have an unparalleled ability to make you feel like you are part of something bigger than yourself. His powerful, uplifting harmonies and thrilling counterpoint fill concert...
- [Musicians and Artists: Iannarelli and Kahlo](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-iannarelli-and-kahlo/): Simone Iannarelli: Siete pinturas de Frida Kahlo The Mexican artist Frieda Kahlo (1907–1954) was one of the first women artists who brought ideas rarely explored by male artists to the foreground in her work, including chronic pain, postcolonialism, gender, and
- [10 Pieces of Classical Music About Unrequited Love](https://interlude.hk/10-pieces-of-classical-music-about-unrequited-love/): We’ve all been there: liking somebody more than they like us. Experiencing unrequited love is horribly painful. It might be cold comfort, but the good news is that classical composers have been deeply inspired by unrequited love of all kinds... so there’s no need to feel alone! Today, we’re looking...
- [Five Lesser Known Facts About Dimitri Shostakovich](https://interlude.hk/five-lesser-known-facts-about-dimitri-shostakovich/): During his life, Dimitri Shostakovich was, despite being a very public figure, a very private person. After his death in 1975, the publishing of many memoirs, letters, and diaries relating to his life by those who knew him have offered
- [Johannes Geffert <br/> Bridging Tradition and Innovation](https://interlude.hk/johannes-geffert-bridging-tradition-and-innovation/): Organist Johannes Geffert has made profound and far-reaching contributions to the world of organ music. Renowned for his virtuosic technique and scholarly approach to the instrument, Geffert’s performances are celebrated for their clarity, expressive depth, and interpretive rigour. Geffert’s influence
- [Nixon in China](https://interlude.hk/nixon-in-china/): On 21 February 1972, President Richard M. Nixon arrived in China for an official State Visit. He was the first U. S. president to visit the People’s Republic of China since it was established in 1949. The principal aim was to
- [An Imaginary Voyage: Nielsen Takes Us to the Faroes](https://interlude.hk/an-imaginary-voyage-nielsen-takes-us-to-the-faroes/): Located nearly 1,400 km northwest of Denmark, the Faroe Islands were first under Norwegian rule in the 11th century and under Danish rule in the 16th century. During the 20th century, the language of the islands gradually grew away from
- [Gil Shaham (Born February 19, 1971)<br/>Violin Virtuoso and Trendsetter](https://interlude.hk/gil-shaham-violin-virtuoso-and-trendsetter/): Internationally acclaimed violinist Gil Shaham is recognised for his exceptional technical skill, expressive artistry, and vibrant performances. He is particularly renowned for his interpretations of the classical violin repertoire. However, his versatility is also evident in his commitment to performing
- [Anna Maria Mozart: The Untold Story of Mozart's Mother](https://interlude.hk/anna-maria-mozart-the-untold-story-of-mozarts-mother/): Anna Maria Pertl, later Anna Maria Mozart, was born on Christmas Day 1720 in the picturesque village of St. Gilgen, thirty kilometres from Salzburg. From unassuming origins, she grew up to become the mother of one of the most famous
- [Resonating Realms <br/> Dobrawa Czocher’s Europavox Session](https://interlude.hk/resonating-realms-dobrawa-czochers-europavox-session/): Polish cellist Dobrawa Czocher weaves dreamy and repetitive soundscapes that echo the textured and emotional style of Philip Glass. Join us for a mesmerising and soul-stirring highlight from the Europavox Festival. Dobrawa Czocher: Europavox Sessions 2023 Available until 12/07/2026 Europavox
- [Musicians and Artists: Daugherty and Borglum](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-daugherty-and-borglum/): Michael Daugherty: Mount Rushmore It looms over the Black Hills of South Dakota: a massive sculpture carved into the face of Mount Rushmore, which stands a massive 60 feet (18m) high. The heads of four presidents, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson,
- [Fairies and Flourishes: The Magic of Gavin Higgins](https://interlude.hk/fairies-and-flourishes-the-magic-of-gavin-higgins/): British composer Gavin Higgins (b. 1983) credits his youth in the Forest of Dean for his unique sound of music, combining nature and music. The Forest of Dean occupies the borderland between Wales and England, so as much as the
- [Variations on the Goldberg I](https://interlude.hk/variations-on-the-goldberg-i/): Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) published his well-known Goldberg Variations, BWV 988, in 1741, in the 4th part of his Clavier-Übung (collection of keyboard music). Its creation story, as told by Bach’s biographer Johann Nikolaus Forkel (1749–1818), wrote that Count Hermann
- [Celebrating the First-Ever Critical Edition of Agathe Backer Grøndahl’s Piano Music](https://interlude.hk/celebrating-the-first-ever-critical-edition-of-agathe-backer-grondahls-piano-music/): I recently attended a reception and recital hosted by H. E. Tore Hattrem, Ambassador of Norway in the UK, and Mrs Marit Gjelten, together with Faber Music and Kode Art Museums & Composers Homes to celebrate the first ever Urtext edition
- [Bach Babies in Music <br/>  Gottfried Heinrich Bach (1724-1763)](https://interlude.hk/bach-babies-in-music-gottfried-heinrich-bach-1724-1763/): After the death of his wife, Maria Barbara, Johann Sebastian continued his work at the Court at Cöthen. He wrote and performed cantatas for the birthday of the Prince and also for the New Year. In order to perform these
- [Three Video Games With Beautiful Soundtracks](https://interlude.hk/three-video-games-with-beautiful-soundtracks/): In recent decades the medium of video games has become a place for astonishing visual art, innovations in storytelling, and a conveyer of every kind of gameplay experience imaginable. For lovers of classical music, particular games stand out for their
- [The Making of a Celebrity Pianist – Yundi Li](https://interlude.hk/the-making-of-a-celebrity-pianist-yundi-li/): From “Rise in Fame” to “Artistic Decline” – 2000 to 2021 In 2000, an exceptionally gifted but relatively unknown Chinese pianist, Yundi Li, exploded onto the world’s music scene after winning the 14th Chopin International Piano Competition at the age
- [Musicians and Artists: Henze and Géricault](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-henze-and-gericault/): Hans Werner Henze: Das Floß der Medusa French artist Théodore Géricault (1791–1824) created his larger-than-life-size painting Le Radeau de la Méduse (The Raft of the Medusa) in 1818 and 1819 to commemorate the wreck of the French naval frigate Méduse.
- [Liszt for Beginners <br/>Thirteen Pieces to Make You Love Liszt](https://interlude.hk/liszt-for-beginners-thirteen-pieces-to-make-you-love-liszt/): Pianist and composer Franz Liszt was born on 22 October 1811 in the Hungarian village of Doborján. Here are a few points about his life that you should know: – Liszt was part of a wave of virtuoso performers from the Romantic Era who redefined instrumental technique and artistic philosophy....
- [Composers in the Spotlight at Shanghai Contemporary Music Festival](https://interlude.hk/composers-in-the-spotlight-at-shanghai-contemporary-music-festival/): Believe it or not, I find contemporary music utterly irresistible. Day in and day out, I hunt for it wherever press trips take me across China and beyond. In 2024, I attended more new music festivals than any other type
- [Renée Fleming (Born February 14, 1959)<br/>From Lyric Soprano to Global Icon](https://interlude.hk/renee-fleming-from-lyric-soprano-to-global-icon/): One of the most acclaimed sopranos of her generation, Renée Fleming has enchanted audiences around the world with the sheer beauty, richness, and versatility of her voice. In a career spanning over three decades, Fleming has been a prominent figure
- [Transcendental Temptations <br/> Three Phases of Liszt’s Passion (Part 3)](https://interlude.hk/transcendental-temptations-three-phases-of-liszts-passion-part-3/): The Wiener Allgemeine Musikalische Zeitung reports on 7 December 1822, “on 1st December a very talented boy by the name of Liszt, coming here from Pressburg, gave a concert in the town grand concert-hall, and through his playing and his
- [10th Anniversary Recording of Philip Glass’s Etudes – A New Interpretation](https://interlude.hk/10th-anniversary-recording-of-philip-glasss-etudes-a-new-interpretation/): To mark the 10th anniversary of the publication of Philip Glass’s 20 Etudes for piano in November 2024, SOMM Recordings has released a Special Edition of Selected Etudes, performed by Italian pianist and composer, Giusto Di Lallo. Following in the
- [Richard Wagner <br/>10 (In)famous Quotes](https://interlude.hk/richard-wagner-10-infamous-quotes/): Richard Wagner was an extremely complex and highly unpleasant human being, yet his artistic creations represent the fullest musical and theatrical expression of German romanticism. Whether we can actually separate the man from his art has been hotly debated, and
- [Ten Great Composers Like Mozart](https://interlude.hk/ten-great-composers-like-mozart/): Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart may have been a one of a kind genius, but he didn’t compose in a vacuum. Today, we’re looking at ten fabulously talented composers whose sound worlds are very similar to Mozart’s. We’ll also look at these composers’ connections to Mozart, and how they inspired him. So,...
- [From India to the World: Naresh Sohal](https://interlude.hk/from-india-to-the-world-naresh-sohal/): Indian composer Naresh Sohal (1939–2018) had an unusual introduction to the music trade. He listened to All India Radio and Radio Ceylon for popular music and taught himself the harmonica, at which he became very accomplished. He didn’t study music
- [Musicians and Artists: Fuchs and Motherwell](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-fuchs-and-motherwell/): Kenneth Fuchs: Where Have You Been, “String Quartet No. 2” American artist Robert Motherwell (1915–1991) grew up on the Pacific Coast, spending his time between California and Washington state. At Stanford University, where he received a BA in philosophy, he
- [Widowhood and a Murder: Dvořák’s <em>Holoubek</em>](https://interlude.hk/widowhood-and-a-murder-dvoraks-holoubek/): Antonín Dvořák (1841–1904) loved the poetry of Karl Jaromir Erben, particularly his collection of Czech folk ballads, The Garland, published in 1853. Starting in 1896, once he’d finished his nine symphonies and his other major orchestral works, Dvořák used the
- [Yuja Wang (Born February 10, 1987)<br/>Electrifying Artistry](https://interlude.hk/yuja-wang-electrifying-artistry/): Yuja Wang transcends the world of classical music, she is simply a force of nature. With a whirlwind of technical brilliance and an undeniable stage presence, this pianist has redefined what it means to be a classical artist in the
- [Serenades of the Heart <br/> Top 10 Tracks for a Romantic Valentine](https://interlude.hk/serenades-of-the-heart-top-10-tracks-for-a-romantic-valentine/): Valentine’s Day is once again around the corner, celebrated around the World on 14 February. Valentine’s Day is not just about grand gestures and lavish gifts. It is about cherishing the love in your life, whether it’s for a partner, family, friends, or even yourself. Valentine’s Day is a reminder...
- [Bach Babies in Music <br/> Christiana Sophia Henrietta Bach](https://interlude.hk/bach-babies-in-music-christiana-sophia-henrietta-bach/): Bach had moved his family to Cöthen on 4 December 1718, where Prince Leopold had put together an orchestra of eighteen players, all chosen for their high musical standards from all over the country. The reformed Calvinist court at Cöthen
- [Musicians and Artists: Veress and 3 Painters](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-veress-and-3-painters/): Sándor Veress: Piano Trio, “3 Quadri” The three 17th-century painters, Claude Lorrain, Nicolas Poussin, and Pieter Bruegel the Elder, were all inspiration to Hungarian-Swiss composer Sándor Veress (1907 – 1992) for his 1963 piano trio. From Claude Lorrain (ca 1600-1682),
- [Who Bach Knew: Bach-Centricity](https://interlude.hk/who-bach-knew-bach-centricity/): When we think of J. S. Bach’s tremendous output, we never seem to consider the music that ended up in his manuscripts but which was not by him. This isn’t Bach stealing, but evidence of Bach learning. The new recording by
- [The Distinguished Musical Career of Uncle Ernest](https://interlude.hk/the-distinguished-musical-career-of-uncle-ernest/): The American conductor who founded New York’s Young People’s Concerts preceded Leonard Bernstein by two generations His funeral was attended by all the greatest musical names of his time, including Toscanini, Barbirolli, Heifetz, Menuhin and Mengelberg. High society was represented
- [Franz Ignaz Danzi (1763-1826) <br/>  8 Fabulous Compositions](https://interlude.hk/franz-ignaz-danzi-1763-1826-8-fabulous-compositions/): Some years ago, my colleague Georg wrote an article on the composer Franz Ignaz Danzi (1763-1826) . It is full of fascinating biographical details, including Danzi’s interactions with Wolfgang Amadeus and Leopold Mozart and his advocacy of Carl Maria von Weber. Danzi adored the music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and...
- [Portrait of a Complex Artist – Meng-Chieh Liu](https://interlude.hk/portrait-of-a-complex-artist-meng-chieh-liu/): Even though I met Meng-Chieh Liu not too long ago, I already felt a great admiration for his virtuosic accomplishments, his sense of humanity, and his resilience in the face of adversity. Recognised as a prodigy growing up, he had
- [Transcendental Temptations <br/> Three Phases of Liszt’s Passion (Part 2)](https://interlude.hk/transcendental-temptations-three-phases-of-liszts-passion-part-2/): By the time he was fifteen, Franz Liszt had already begun work on what would become one of his most important early compositions; the Etude en douze exercices. This collection, first published in 1826 in both Marseille and Paris, was
- [10 Practice Hacks That Will Transform Your Playing in 2025](https://interlude.hk/10-practice-hacks-that-will-transform-your-playing-in-2025/): #PracticeMakesPerfect Like any art form, I think we can agree that music practice is never done. Why would I say that? Mastery of a piece is so much more than technical facility and accuracy. As we develop, learn, and grow,
- [Claudio Arrau (Born February 6, 1903)<br/>The Magic Behind the Keys](https://interlude.hk/claudio-arrau-the-magic-behind-the-keys/): One of the 20th century’s most distinguished and revered pianists, Claudio Arrau, was known for his deeply introspective and technically flawless performances. Marked by its deep emotional resonance and intellectual rigour, his performances marked him as a true giant in
- [What Happened to Felix Mendelssohn's Children?](https://interlude.hk/what-happened-to-felix-mendelssohns-children/): In the spring of 1836, Felix Mendelssohn met a singer named Cécile Charlotte Sophie Jeanrenaud, who was a member of the Cäcilienverein choir in Frankfurt. He was immediately attracted to her. That summer, he returned to Frankfurt, wanting to get
- [Jussi Björling (Born February 5, 1911)<br/>The Golden Voice of Opera](https://interlude.hk/jussi-bjorling-the-golden-voice-of-opera/): One of the most celebrated tenors of the 20th century, Jussi Björling, was known for his extraordinary vocal technique, purity of tone, and expressive power. Noted for its silvery and luminous quality, his voice was nothing short of legendary. With
- [Howard Shore Weekend “Eastern Promises” <br/> Cinematic Concertos](https://interlude.hk/howard-shore-weekend-eastern-promises-cinematic-concertos/): Bastien Stil and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France The master composer Howard Shore is known for his sweeping and cinematic scores that define epic storytelling. From The Lord of the Rings to The Silence of the Lambs, his rich
- [The Extraordinary Story of Henryk Górecki’s <em>Symphony of Sorrowful Songs</em> – Part I](https://interlude.hk/the-extraordinary-story-of-henryk-goreckis-symphony-of-sorrowful-songs-part-i/): One of the strangest stories in the recent history of classical music is that of the reception of Henryk Górecki’s Symphony of Sorrowful Songs. It is a truly astonishing story of the kind that had not occurred before – and
- [New Violin Music from Iceland: Sif Margret Tulinius](https://interlude.hk/new-violin-music-from-iceland-sif-margret-tulinius/): Icelandic violinist Sif Margrét Tulinius commissioned three works in 2020 and presents them on this new recording from Ulysses Arts. The three composers, Hjálmar H. Ragnarsson, Hugi Guðmundsson, and Viktor Orri Árnason, had their works presented in the concert series
- [Next-Gen Pianists Defining the Sounds of Tomorrow <br/>10 Fresh Takes on Bach](https://interlude.hk/next-gen-pianists-defining-the-sounds-of-tomorrow-10-fresh-takes-on-bach/): An exciting next generation of pianists is stepping into the spotlight. Blending classical precision with daring, contemporary flair, they are pushing away the boundaries of tradition and creating new dynamic soundscapes. Their fearless and creative approach is rewriting the rules,
- [The Genius of Felix Mendelssohn <br/>  10 Most Popular Works](https://interlude.hk/the-genius-of-felix-mendelssohn-10-most-popular-works/): Felix Mendelssohn was one of the 19th century’s most gifted composers. Blending classical elegance with a touch of romantic flair, his music is truly timeless. From the sweeping grandeur of his symphonies to the ethereal charm of his concertos, or the atmospheric depths of his incidental music, Mendelssohn’s compositions continue...
- [Bach Babies in Music <br/>Leopold Augustus Bach (1718-1719)](https://interlude.hk/bach-babies-in-music-leopold-augustus-bach-1718-1719/): A raging family feud soured Bach’s working environment in Weimar in 1717. The Duke of Weimar, William Ernest, who resided at the “Wilhelmsburg” household, became a sworn enemy to his nephew, Ernst August, who lived at the “Rote Schloß. ” As
- [Seven of Leonard Bernstein's Lovers](https://interlude.hk/seven-of-leonard-bernsteins-lovers/): Composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein was famous not only for his compositions and performances but for his love of people and his wide-ranging love life. In late 2023, Bradley Cooper released a biopic called Maestro, which charts Bernstein’s life, with
- [Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina](https://interlude.hk/giovanni-pierluigi-da-palestrina-italian-renaissance-composer/): Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina’s (1525-1594) fame in music history is unmatched. While most of his predecessors and contemporaries faded from view, Palestrina maintained his prestige at an ever higher level for 200 years after his death. As Lawrence B. Porter
- [From John Field to Alexander Scriabin <br/> The Russian Nocturne](https://interlude.hk/from-john-field-to-alexander-scriabin-the-russian-nocturne/): In our last blog we listened to some of the most beautiful Nocturnes by John Field. He is considered the father of the Nocturne, and his smaller-scale character pieces emerged from a growing salon culture throughout Europe. Field made fantastic use of the technical improvements of the piano, now allowing...
- [A Requiem Worth Hearing <br/>Józef Kozłowski’s <em>Requiem</em>](https://interlude.hk/a-requiem-worth-hearing-jozef-kozlowskis-requiem/): In 2023, Music Director Hans Graf restored Osip (Józef) Kozłowski’s 1798 Requiem in its original version and recorded it with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra. While that story holds interest, it’s the music itself that will captivate you. Polish-born Kozłowski (1757/9-1831)
- [SeokJong Baek](https://interlude.hk/seokjong-baek-opera-tenor/): “Consistency is the Key to Confidence” A tenor of ‘thrilling vocalism’ (The Stage) and ‘technical perfection’ (The Arts Desk), SeokJong Baek has quickly made a name for himself as one of the most accomplished young singers of his generation. Turandot:
- [Transcendental Temptations <br/> Three Phases of Liszt’s Passion (Part 1)](https://interlude.hk/transcendental-temptations-three-phases-of-liszts-passion-part-1/): Franz Liszt (1811-1886) was the greatest piano virtuoso of his time, possibly the greatest of all time. His sensational technique and captivating concert personality made him the ultimate rock star of the 19th century. With his set of twelve Transcendental
- [The Creator’s Sound: Alice Sara Ott and Field’s <em>Nocturnes</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-creators-sound-alice-sara-ott-and-fields-nocturnes/): The Irish pianist John Field (1782–1837) started his life in Dublin, where he studied with Tommaso Giordani, and when he was 11, the family moved to London. He worked with Muzio Clementi in London, where Field worked in Clementi’s shop,
- [Musicians and Artists: Byström and Kusama](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-bystrom-and-kusama/): Britta Byström: Infinite Rooms Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama (b. 1929) has taken the idea of dots and pumpkins to an infinite extreme. She says that creating art is how she maintains her sanity, ‘I followed the thread of art and
- [10 Lifelong Practice Habits to Prevent Injury in 2025 and Beyond](https://interlude.hk/10-lifelong-practice-habits-to-prevent-injury-in-2025-and-beyond/): #PracticeMakesPerfect One would think that the more you practice, the better. How often has someone told us to go practice? But, know that time spent should not be the only consideration. It’s essential that we take note of how and
- [Maria Anna Haydn: The Real Story of Haydn's Hated Wife](https://interlude.hk/maria-anna-haydn-the-real-story-of-haydns-hated-wife/): Johann Peter Keller was a well-to-do wigmaker from Vienna. He married a woman named Marie Elisabeth Sailler in 1722. Between 1723 and 1744, the couple had fifteen children. One of them grew up to become Joseph Haydn’s much-maligned wife. Today,
- [How to Choose a Piano Teacher](https://interlude.hk/how-to-choose-a-piano-teacher/): Whether you’re looking to learn how to play the piano yourself or are seeking a teacher for your child or a loved one, who you trust to guide you in your journey is of utmost importance. Here’s how to make
- [Too Old for this Game: GNO’s La Bohème](https://interlude.hk/too-old-for-this-game-gnos-la-boheme/): In a scene from the TV show 30 Rock, a 55-year-old Steve Buscemi dresses up like a high school student and asks, ‘How do you do, fellow kids? ’. That’s what this GNO production of La Bohème felt like. Four non-artistic
- [A Legacy in Every Note <br/>Arthur Rubinstein](https://interlude.hk/a-legacy-in-every-note-arthur-rubinstein/): Artur Rubinstein, born on 28 January, was one of the 20th century’s most celebrated pianists, renowned for his extraordinary technique, rich tonal palette, and deeply expressive performances. He earned his spot among the 20th-century piano greats as a Chopin interpreter.
- [Slithering into Fortune <br/> Happy Chinese Year of the Snake](https://interlude.hk/slithering-into-fortune-happy-chinese-year-of-the-snake/): Get ready to slither into the most exciting, vibrant, and mystical year ahead! The Chinese New Year is almost here, and we’re embracing the wisdom, charm, and elegance of the snake. This year is all about shedding old skin, stepping
- [On This Day <br/>27 January: Mussorgsky’s <em>Boris Godunov</em> Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-27-january-mussorgskys-boris-godunov-premiered/): Premiered on 27 January 1874 at the Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg, according to the Julian calendar, Boris Godunov by Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky is the pre-eminent representative of the historical genre in Russian opera. It was composed at a time
- [The Salzburg Haydn: Michael Haydn and the String Quintet](https://interlude.hk/the-salzburg-haydn-michael-haydn-and-the-string-quintet/): Michael Haydn (1737–1806), the younger brother of Joseph Haydn (1732–1809), also had a career in music, smoothed by his older brother’s success in Vienna. Like Joseph, he started his career in the choir of St Stephen’s Cathedral, Vienna, at age
- [Emmanuel Pahud (Born January 27, 1970) <br/>A Breath of Genius](https://interlude.hk/a-breath-of-genius-emmanuel-pahud/): Swiss flautist Emmanuel Pahud has been hailed as the finest flautist of his generation, “admired for the purity and subtlety of his tonal colours, his imaginative phrasing and his command of a broad range of styles. ” His mastery of the
- [Bach Babies in Music <br/> Johann Gottfried Bernhard Bach (1715-1739)](https://interlude.hk/bach-babies-in-music-johann-gottfried-bernhard-bach-1715-1739/): Johann Gottfried Bernhard Bach was born on 11 May 1715, the sixth of seven children born to Johann Sebastian and Maria Barbara Bach and the fourth to survive childhood. The Baptismal records at the State Church in Weimar noted his
- [Jacqueline du Pré (Born January 26, 1945) <br/>Passion, Power, Perfection](https://interlude.hk/passion-power-perfection-jacqueline-du-pre/): Jaqueline du Pré is widely regarded as one of the greatest cellists of the 20th century, and her recordings remain highly influential. While she had a relatively short career due to her early diagnosis of multiple sclerosis, her artistry and
- [Classical Music Inspired by Natural Disasters](https://interlude.hk/classical-music-inspired-by-natural-disasters/): As the Los Angeles wildfires rage on, their devastation reminded us of nature’s raw power and unpredictability. These fires, consuming vast landscapes and altering countless lives, echo the themes of chaos, resilience, and awe that have inspired classical composers throughout history. Classical music often serves as a lens to interpret...
- [Decoding My Playlist: What Does My Music Player Think I Like?](https://interlude.hk/decoding-my-playlist-what-does-my-music-player-think-i-like/): With technological advancements, our music players can now generate a list of music tailored to our preferences, matching our usual choices at different times of the day. It is both bizarre and fascinating to discover what our music player thinks
- [A Composer Beyond Borders <br/> Fazıl Say](https://interlude.hk/a-composer-beyond-borders-fazil-say/): Fazıl Say is one of the most important contemporary artists. As a pianist, he has performed in major concert halls around the world, showcasing a repertoire of classical masterpieces. However, he is also known for his performances of contemporary works
- [The Atypical Artist Spotlight Series: Tamar Brüggemann (Wonderfeel Festival, Netherlands)](https://interlude.hk/the-atypical-artist-spotlight-series-tamar-bruggemann-wonderfeel-festival-netherlands/): When one thinks of a ‘music festival’, we might be transported anywhere from an Ancient Roman Bacchanale, to a coliseum-style rock music arena, a city made in a Nevada desert, anarchist-hippie techno raves throughout Continental Europe, or the elite preserves
- [Untangling Hearts <br/> Klaus Mäkelä and Yuja Wang](https://interlude.hk/untangling-hearts-klaus-makela-and-yuja-wang/): In the world of classical music, where precision, passion, and elegance reign supreme, the drama offstage can often rival the intensity of the performances themselves. Enter the unexpected and electrifying love story of two of the genre’s brightest stars: Chinese
- [A Solid Piano Survey <br/> Ravel’s Complete Piano Music by Seong-Jin Cho](https://interlude.hk/a-solid-piano-survey-ravels-complete-piano-music-by-seong-jin-cho/): We celebrate the 150th birthday of Maurice Ravel (1875–1937) in 2025, and Korean pianist Seong-Jin Cho has just recorded the complete piano music of the French master. 2025 also marks a decade since the pianist was awarded first prize in
- [Two Vocal Traditions: Krek and Pade](https://interlude.hk/two-vocal-traditions-krek-and-pade/): OUR Recordings release of O Listen! To The Music of Uroš Krek & Else Marie Pade, performed by the Danish National Vocal Ensemble, Martina Batič, conductor, brings us the music of two composers who were contemporaries and were nurtured by
- [Our Mind on Music: How Shenzhen, China is a Mecca for Music Learning <br/>In Touch With Jeremy Van Sluytman](https://interlude.hk/our-mind-on-music-how-shenzhen-china-is-a-mecca-for-music-learning-in-touch-with-jeremy-van-sluytman/): Known as China’s Silicon Valley, Shenzhen is a growing city nestled between Hong Kong and mainland China. Millions of tech graduates, global corporate executives, and expert educators have been drawn to this economic, financial, and research hub. International schools have
- [15 Pieces of Classical Music About Animals](https://interlude.hk/15-pieces-of-classical-music-about-animals/): Classical music composers have been inspired by every animal under the sun and in the sky! From elephants to bees, here are fifteen animals that have inspired classical music: Cat Domenico Scarlatti: Keyboard Sonata in G Minor K30 “Cat Fugue” (1739) Legend has it that keyboardist and composer Domenico Scarlatti...
- [Beatrice Rana (Born January 22, 1993) <br/>Where Virtuosity Meets Heart](https://interlude.hk/where-virtuosity-meets-heart-beatrice-rana/): The acclaimed Italian pianist Beatrice Rana was born on 22 January 1993 in Copertino, Italy. She gained international recognition after winning first prize at the Montreal International Piano Competition in 2011 and securing the Silver Medal and Audience Award at
- [Musicians and Artists: Wagner and da Vinci](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-wagner-and-da-vinci/): Richard Wagner: Das Liebesmahl der Apostel Of the many masterpieces by Leonardo da Vinci, his mural painting, The Last Supper, created between 1494 and 1498 in the refectory (dining room) of the Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan,
- [From Romance to Ecstasy <br/>Cristian Măcelaru, Orchestre National de France with Sol Gabetta](https://interlude.hk/from-romance-to-ecstasy-cristian-macelaru-orchestre-national-de-france-with-sol-gabetta/): Cristian Măcelaru conducts Saint-Saëns, Fauré and Scriabin Available until 25/11/2025 Soundscape by ARTE Renowned for their high-quality cinematography and intimate perspective on performances, ARTE broadcasts are not simply recording music; they showcase the interaction between the conductor, the orchestra, and
- [Intimate and Irresistible <br/>Schubert Piano Favourites](https://interlude.hk/intimate-and-irresistible-schubert-piano-favourites/): The piano music of Franz Schubert remains deeply beloved for its emotional depth, melodic beauty, and innovative use of harmony. Schubert blended lyricism with harmonic exploration, and his gorgeous and highly expressive melodies are enriched by a harmonic language overflowing
- [Presenting Light and Water: Joseph Phibbs' String Quartets Nos. 2-4](https://interlude.hk/presenting-light-and-water-joseph-phibbs-string-quartets-nos-2-4/): Following the commissioning of his first string quartet in 2014, English composer Joseph Phibbs (b. 1974) continued to explore the genre, resulting in his String Quartet No. 2 in 2015, No. 3 in 2018, and now No. 4 in 2024,
- [Bach Babies in Music <br/> Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714-1788)](https://interlude.hk/bach-babies-in-music-carl-philipp-emanuel-bach-1714-1788/): Towards the end of 1713, Johann Sebastian Bach made a trip to the town of Halle to advise on the enlargement of the organ at the Liebfrauenkirche. The organist Friedrich Wilhelm Zachow—the revered and well-respected teacher of Handel—died in 1712,
- [Mozart’s Piano Masterpieces <br/>10 Most Popular Piano Sonatas](https://interlude.hk/mozarts-piano-masterpieces-10-most-popular-piano-sonatas/): Everybody loves Mozart’s piano sonatas, works that delightfully blend charm, wit, and elegance. Composed between 1774 and 1789, these 18 pieces showcase his mastery of melody, harmony, and form. To be sure, each sonata balances formal classical structures with surprising harmonic twists and ingenious thematic development, blending a sense of...
- [Hans Hotter (Born January 19, 1909) <br/>The Voice that Defined an Era](https://interlude.hk/the-voice-that-defined-an-era-hans-hotter/): Hans Hotter was a celebrated German bass-baritone known for his commanding presence and powerful voice in opera, particularly in Wagnerian roles like Wotan. Born on 19 January 1909, he debuted in 1930 and gained international fame post-WWII. He was also
- [From Opera to Eternity <br/>The 10 Most Popular Melodies by Giuseppe Verdi](https://interlude.hk/from-opera-to-eternity-the-10-most-popular-melodies-by-giuseppe-verdi/): Giuseppe Verdi was a master of melody, crafting some of the most unforgettable tunes in opera history. His genius lay not only in his ability to write soaring and emotionally charged arias but also in his profound understanding of how music could reflect the inner turmoil and triumphs of his...
- [Musicians and Artists: Schultz and Tintoretto](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-schultz-and-tintoretto/): Wolfgang-Andreas Schultz: Maria Aegyptica In this 16th-century statue of St. Mary of Egypt, we see her with her usual characteristics: Long flowing hair, in this case, worn to cover her body and three loaves of bread that she took with
- [Life of Chopin: The Controversial Chopin Biography by Liszt](https://interlude.hk/life-of-chopin-the-controversial-chopin-biography-by-liszt/): A Mysterious Envelope Arrives. On 14 November 1849, Ludwika Jędrzejewicz opened an envelope. Ludwika Jędrzejewicz was having a bad month. Her marriage was in shambles because she had left Poland to be at her brother Frédéric Chopin’s deathbed. She had
- [Klaus Mäkelä (Born January 17, 1996) <br/>The Pulse of a New Generation](https://interlude.hk/the-pulse-of-a-new-generation-klaus-makela/): Finnish conductor Klaus Mäkelä, born on 17 January 1996 in Helsinki, transcends the podium and captures the essence of every musical phrase with remarkable precision and depth. Known for his dynamic presence and innate musicality, Mäkelä brings an intensity to
- [Conquering Self-Doubt in Music: A Journey Within](https://interlude.hk/conquering-self-doubt-in-music-a-journey-within/): “It’s not the mountain we conquer but ourselves” This quote by the renowned mountaineer Sir Edmund Hillary speaks to the internal journey one embarks on when pursuing a challenging goal. Arthur Benjamin: Conquest of Everest Suite – III. The Great
- [The Ethereal Beauty of Domenico Scarlatti’s Sonata in A major (K. 208)](https://interlude.hk/the-ethereal-beauty-of-domenico-scarlattis-sonata-in-a-major-k-208/): Every now and then, the people who enjoy, love, or seek out music undergo a very special kind of occurrence. It could happen at an exciting concert or festival or merely in the fabric of day-to-day life: listening to algorithm-recommended
- [What Happened to Antonín Dvořák's Children?: Their Tragic Stories](https://interlude.hk/what-happened-to-antonin-dvoraks-children-their-tragic-stories/): When Antonín Dvořák was a young man, he gave piano lessons to make ends meet. One of his students was a young woman named Josefína Čermáková. She was very beautiful and talented and would become one of the best-known theatre
- [Vyacheslav Gryaznov (Born January 15, 1982) <br/>Mastering the Keys with Virtuosity and Passion](https://interlude.hk/mastering-the-keys-with-virtuosity-and-passion-vyacheslav-gryaznov/): The Russian pianist and composer Vyacheslav Gryaznov, born on 15 January 1982 in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk in the former Soviet Union, is renowned for his extraordinary ability for virtuosic technique and expressive performances. Appearing at such venues as Carnegie Hall and the
- [Opera in Hong Kong, 2024: A Year of Reflection and Fantasy](https://interlude.hk/opera-in-hong-kong-2024-a-year-of-reflection-and-fantasy/): The actor Ben Elton once remarked that “artists don’t create society, they reflect it. ” In Hong Kong’s swiftly burgeoning opera scene, 2024 bore this out, tracing a journey from the restraint of Mozartian precision to something looser, stranger, and more
- [Fazıl Say Unplugged <br/>A Sonic Journey of Revelation](https://interlude.hk/fazil-say-unplugged-a-sonic-journey-of-revelation/): Turkish pianist Fazıl Say, born on 14 January 1970 in Ankara, has compiled a discography notable not only for its impressive range of classical repertoire but also for his own compositions. His ability to blend traditional Turkish sounds with classical
- [Impressing London: Haydn’s Symphony No. 100](https://interlude.hk/impressing-london-haydns-symphony-no-100/): Joseph Haydn (1732–1809), largely released from duties with the Esterhazy family after the death of Prince Nikolaus in 1790, was free to make his second visit to London in 1794. He had been commissioned by Johann Peter Salomon to write
- [Heavenly Soundscapes <br/> The Church Sonatas of Mozart](https://interlude.hk/heavenly-soundscapes-the-church-sonatas-of-mozart/): Mozart‘s birth was nothing short of miraculous, a moment that would go on to change the world of music forever. Born on 27 January 1756 in the heart of Salzburg, Austria, he arrived into a family already steeped in musical tradition. His father, Leopold, a composer and violinist, immediately recognised...
- [Unsettled Scores: Redefining Contemporary Canadian Music](https://interlude.hk/unsettled-scores-redefining-contemporary-canadian-music/): Unsettled Scores, the Canadian contemporary music collective, has been captivating audiences with its innovative approach to operatic and instrumental works. Best known for their boundary-pushing operatic output, the collective’s 2023 collaboration with Toronto’s Native Earth Performing Arts, The Toronto Consort,
- [Bach Babies in Music <br/> Johann Christoph Bach and Maria Sophia Bach (1713-1713)](https://interlude.hk/bach-babies-in-music-johann-christoph-bach-and-maria-sophia-bach-1713-1713/): The Bach family was enjoying happy times in Weimar, and Maria Barbara was expecting again in 1713. On 21 February 1713, Bach was lodged in the castle at Weissenfels to celebrate the birthday of Duke Christian, and we know that
- [Six Women In Brahms's Life](https://interlude.hk/six-women-in-brahmss-life/): Johannes Brahms had trouble with women. He objectified most of them, thought of them as either Madonnas or whores, and heartily agreed with prevailing social attitudes that they should concentrate on Kinder, Küche, Kirche (Children, Kitchen, Church), to quote a
- [Low-Down Music in the Hands of a Serious Composer: Bennett’s <em>Hexapoda</em>](https://interlude.hk/low-down-music-in-the-hands-of-a-serious-composer-bennetts-hexapoda/): Robert Russell Bennett, a serious composer but better known for his orchestration of over 300 Broadway and West End musicals, including Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma and South Pacific, rose to a challenge issued by violinist Louis Kaufman. Kaufman thought that
- [Musicians and Artists: Byström and Wåhlstrand](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-bystrom-and-wahlstrand/): Britta Byström: Ink-Wash on Paper Swedish artist Gunnel Wåhlstrand (b. 1974) creates images of the real world but using only ink. Her technique of ink wash, which uses ink on watercolour paper, an absorbent medium, is created by layering the
- [Sergei Prokofiev: <em>Sarcasms</em> Op. 17](https://interlude.hk/sergei-prokofiev-sarcasms-op-17/): I have listened to a lot of music by Sergei Prokofiev, and to my ears, four distinct elements are nearly always present. There seems to be a lyrical, classical, innovative, and a strong motoric or toccata element that shapes his
- [Etudes of Ecstasy <br/>The 5 Hottest Etudes by Scriabin](https://interlude.hk/etudes-of-ecstasy-the-5-hottest-etudes-by-scriabin/): The Russian composer and pianist Alexander Scriabin, born on 6 January 1872 in Moscow, had a distinct flair for the dramatic and the mystical. Initially inspired by Chopin, he soon broke away from tradition, creating music that was intensely emotional,
- [Music and Graphics II](https://interlude.hk/music-and-graphics-ii/): In last week’s article, ‘Music and Graphics,’ we dove into the exciting realms of possibility opened up by “graphic scores” – musical compositions that are notated in nontraditional, visually expressive ways. After a whistlestop tour through the nascence of graphic
- [Forgotten Pianists: Walid Akl](https://interlude.hk/forgotten-pianists-walid-akl/): Lebanese pianist Walid Akl (1945-1997) made his career in France, moving there at age 17 and studying at the Marguerite Long Academy. He did further study at the Conservatoire Nationale Supérieure de Musique de Paris, working with Germaine Mounier, Yvonne
- [An Interview with Alicia Rytlewski <br/>A Composer’s Journey from Teaching to Album Creation](https://interlude.hk/an-interview-with-alicia-rytlewski-a-composers-journey-from-teaching-to-album-creation/): Alicia Rytlewski, a Milwaukee-based composer and piano teacher, has found her voice in the music world through her dedication to both her students and her compositions. With a bachelor’s degree in music from Ripon College, a liberal arts school in
- [Around New York – Elie Siegmeister’s View of the City](https://interlude.hk/around-new-york-elie-siegmeisters-view-of-the-city/): American composer Elie Siegmeister (1909–1991) accepted an invitation to contribute to a concert series being developed for the 1939 World’s Fair in New York. Concerts of music by American composers were set up, and Siegmeister’s contribution was a work he’d
- [Seven Works Dedicated to Robert Schumann](https://interlude.hk/seven-works-dedicated-to-robert-schumann/): Robert Schumann was one of the leading figures of classical music’s Romantic Era. His music – by turns tempestuous and ecstatic and always heartfelt – made a huge impression not only on audiences but on his fellow composers, too. Today, we’re looking at seven works that Robert Schumann’s friends and...
- [Learning from a New Orchestra: An Interview with Pietari Inkinen](https://interlude.hk/learning-from-a-new-orchestra-an-interview-with-pietari-inkinen/): Finnish conductor Pietari Inkinen was appointed music director of the KBSSO (Korean Broadcasting System Symphony Orchestra) in 2022 and, in the past 2 years, has been looking at their repertoire and building on their knowledge. One of their previous chief
- [The Failed Opera: Fauré’s <em>Pénélope</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-failed-opera-faures-penelope/): Penelope was the queen of Ithaca and the wife of Odysseus. She and her son, Telemachus, who was just born at Odysseus’ departure for the battlefield of Troy, wait patiently for Ulysses’ return. While he’s away for 10 years at
- [Conducting the Future of Classical Music](https://interlude.hk/conducting-the-future-of-classical-music/): Mirga Gražinyte-Tyla L’Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France Available until 26/10/2025 The Visionary Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla is not just a conductor; she is a visionary, shaping the future of classical music with each movement of her hands. At the helm of major
- [Music For Yale: Robert Blocker’s <em>Contemporary Character Pieces for Piano</em>](https://interlude.hk/music-for-yale-robert-blockers-contemporary-character-pieces-for-piano/): Robert Blocker, Dean of the Yale School of Music from 1995 to 2023, is an internationally acclaimed concert pianist. He asked his faculty friends and colleagues for contemporary character pieces and was rewarded with an outstanding collection of works by
- [Beethoven, Bach, and… Coffee?](https://interlude.hk/beethoven-bach-and-coffee/): When we truly respect someone’s intellect, our first instinct is to treat them with the utmost reverence: to place them on a pedestal and see them as somehow more than human. With composers we admire, especially those well cemented in
- [Giovanni Battista Sammartini](https://interlude.hk/giovanni-battista-sammartini-italian-composer/): “The Father of Haydn’s Style” In 2025, we commemorate the 250th anniversary of the passing of the highly influential Italian composer Giovanni Battista Sammartini (1700-1775). Sammartini was one of the foremost composers of the 18th century and a key figure
- [Snow Maidens and Snow Queens](https://interlude.hk/snow-maidens-and-snow-queens/): Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840–1893) took the fairy-tale play by Alexander Ostrovsky as the basis for his incidental music production of The Snow Maiden. The Snow Maiden emerges from the forest at exactly the wrong time: winter is fading, and spring
- [Bach Babies in Music <br/> Wilhelm Friedemann Bach (1710-1784)](https://interlude.hk/bach-babies-in-music-wilhelm-friedemann-bach-1710-1784/): The Bach family was happily settled in Weimar. Maria Barbara Bach was taking care of the household and was certainly busy raising their precocious daughter Catharina Dorothea. Johann Sebastian, in the meantime, continued his duties in the service of Duke
- [Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli (Born January 5, 1920) <br/>The Sculptor of Sound](https://interlude.hk/the-sculptor-of-sound-arturo-benedetti-michelangeli/): Italian pianist Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, born on 5 January 1920 near the town of Brescia, Italy, was renowned for his impeccable technique, precision, and expressive restraint. A recluse and perfectionist, Michelangeli was a master of both technical virtuosity and emotional
- [The Simple Winter Sports](https://interlude.hk/the-simple-winter-sports/): Winter sports are so different from summer sports – you can fly through the air on your skies, slide down the icy hill on your sledge, or just silently glide through the snowy forest on your cross-country skies. Let’s see
- [Olga Scheps (Born January 4, 1986)<br/>Unleashed Passion](https://interlude.hk/unleashed-passion-olga-scheps/): The highly acclaimed pianist Olga Scheps was born on 4 January 1986 in Moscow, but she moved to Germany at a young age. She won several local competitions and played her debut performance with orchestra at the age of 14.
- [Karol Szymanowski <br/><em>Myths</em>](https://interlude.hk/karol-szymanowski-myths/): Isolated from the surrounding carnage of WWI, Karol Szymanowski (1882-1937) began to synthesise elements of German Romanticism and Eastern Exoticism through an exploration of Greek mythical subject matters and concepts from the French fin de siècle of Debussy and Ravel.
- [Music and Graphics](https://interlude.hk/music-and-graphics/): It was December 1950: composer Morton Feldman was doodling on a napkin, waiting for John Cage to finish cooking some wild rice. What Feldman had been drawing on this scrap of paper stuck with him and eventually became his landmark
- [Lord of the Rings <br/> J.R.R. Tolkien Day](https://interlude.hk/lord-of-the-rings-j-r-r-tolkien-day/): As you can easily tell from my first name Hermione, my parents are huge fans of fantasy adventures. I also much liked the Harry Potter series, but for me personally, the Lord of the Rings is one of the greatest
- [Songs from a Life: Kesselman’s <em>Were that Loving were Enough</em>](https://interlude.hk/songs-from-a-life-kesselmans-were-that-loving-were-enough/): In the first collection of the music of the American composer Lee Kesselman, Were that Loving Were Enough, Haven (voice, clarinet, piano trio) showcases his music from 1920s pop to Japanese-influenced haiku settings. Kesselman’s musical and literary influences extend from
- [Victor Borge (Born January 3, 1909) <br/>Tickling the Ivories and Your Funny Bone](https://interlude.hk/tickling-the-ivories-and-your-funny-bone-victor-borge/): Victor Borge, born on 3 January 1909 in Copenhagen, Denmark, was a formidable pianist. His playing was described as “warm, rich, and highly nuanced, achieved through pedal mixtures and the formation of his large, spatula hands with cushions on each
- [Horses and Sleighs: The Troika](https://interlude.hk/horses-and-sleighs-the-troika/): Considered a cultural icon of Russia, a sleigh drawn by three horses abreast, the troika. The unusual aspect is that the three horses are next to each other, abreast, with the middle horse trotting and the outside horses cantering. At
- [Michael Tippett: <em>New Year Suite</em>](https://interlude.hk/michael-tippett-new-year-suite/): Michael Tippett composed his final opera New Year in the mid-80s, during a time of social unrest in a Britain fearful of multiculturalism and increased ghettoisation of its inner cities. The opera, however, is explicitly about dreams and about the
- [Yoav Levanon](https://interlude.hk/yoav-levanon-israeli-pianist/): Barely into his twenties, pianist Yoav Levanon already boasts a career that any performer twice his age would be proud of. Performances at Carnegie Hall and the Verbier Festival, solo recitals at Martha Argerich’s summer festival and Paris’s Fondation Louis
- [La Philharmonica <br/>A Fresh Take on the New Year’s Concert](https://interlude.hk/la-philharmonica-a-fresh-take-on-the-new-years-concert/): While the televisions of the world are squarely aimed at the New Year’s Concert of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, a fresh take on this celebration will take place at the Ehrbar Saal in Vienna. A newly founded chamber ensemble made up of the women in the Vienna Philharmonic will present...
- [Andrei Ionuț Ioniță (Born January 1, 1994) <br/>The Seductive Genius](https://interlude.hk/the-seductive-genius-andrei-ionut-ionita/): The Gold Medal winner at the 2015 XV International Tchaikovsky Competition, Andrei Ioniță is one of the most admired cellists of his generation. A versatile musician focused on deeply felt performances, Andrei is internationally recognised for his passionate musicianship and
- [An Outcome of Peace: Serenity](https://interlude.hk/an-outcome-of-peace-serenity/): Peace must exist in a state of calm; peace does not come to the impatient or the restless; it is achieved through serenity. Serenity, which has been defined poetically as the ability ‘to accept the things that cannot be changed’,
- [Will You Be Mine This New Year? <br/>7 Sexy Takes on “What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?”](https://interlude.hk/will-you-be-mine-this-new-year-7-sexy-takes-on-what-are-you-doing-new-years-eve/): Have you ever wondered what it’s like to spend New Year’s Eve with someone special? Well, there is an enchanting song that is all about that spark of curiosity and anticipation. “What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve? ” is the
- [Writing for His Love: Beethoven’s Variations WoO 70](https://interlude.hk/writing-for-his-love-beethovens-variations-woo-70/): The Italian composer Giovanni Paisiello (1740–1816) was the most popular opera composer at the end of the 18th century. Based in Naples, his operas caught the attention of all of Italy and, in addition to Naples, he wrote operas for
- [Waltzes and Wonders <br/>A Viennese New Year’s Dream](https://interlude.hk/waltzes-and-wonders-a-viennese-new-years-dream/): It’s almost 2025, and I think everybody should welcome the new year with some sparkling champagne; musical champagne that is! Personally, I think there is nothing better for musical bubbly than the New Year’s Concert with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra.
- [On This Day <br/>  30 December: Paavo Järvi was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-30-december-paavo-jarvi-was-born/): For over three decades, conductor Paavo Järvi has captivated audiences with his powerful yet nuanced interpretations. His passion for detail and his meticulous approach have created collaborative relationships that are characterised by boundless energy and youthful vitality. Paavo Järvi is
- [Leading to the Peace of a Moment: Harvey’s <em>Tranquil Abiding</em>](https://interlude.hk/leading-to-the-peace-of-a-moment-harveys-tranquil-abiding/): The foundation of meditation is achieving a peaceful state and then remaining in that state. Your attention is focused on rest. Your ever-active thoughts still come to a pause. This state of tranquil stillness, known as Shamata, is that point
- [Bach Babies in Music <br/> Catharina Dorothea Bach (1708-1774)](https://interlude.hk/bach-babies-in-music-catharina-dorothea-bach-1708-1774/): Johann Sebastian Bach was a hugely productive man. And I am not merely talking about his musical compositions. With his wives Maria Barbara and Anna Magdalena, Bach fathered 20 children over his lifetime. So we decided on a little series
- [On This Day <br/>29 December: Tiffany Poon Was born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-29-december-tiffany-poon-was-born/): Born in Hong Kong on 29 December 1996, pianist Tiffany Poon started lessons at the age of four and auditioned for Juilliard’s Pre-College when she was seven. After eight years on a full scholarship, she continued her education at Columbia
- [It’s All in the Stars <br/>12 Greatest Composers of the Zodiac](https://interlude.hk/its-all-in-the-stars-12-greatest-composers-of-the-zodiac/): I must admit that I occasionally check my horoscope. Many times, I look upon my daily predictions with a playful suspension of disbelief, but occasionally, it seems to fit really well. I know as a fact that many of my
- [Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) <br/> Ravel in Motion: The Virtuoso Concertante Works](https://interlude.hk/maurice-ravel-1875-1937-ravel-in-motion-the-virtuoso-concertante-works/): In the early morning hours of 28 December 1937, Maurice Ravel lapsed into a coma and died at the age of 62. He had been troubled by persistent health problems for some time, suffering from insomnia, extensive bouts of depression
- [Ice Music: Ice Castles and Ice Instruments and Igloos and Oh My!](https://interlude.hk/ice-music-ice-castles-and-ice-instruments-and-igloos-and-oh-my/): Music featuring icy climates has always fascinated composers. Many composers are compelled by frozen tundra, the extremes of the poles, and frigid temperatures, and they have used polar backdrops as inspiration. Sergei Prokofiev’s Battle of the Ice from his work
- [Artist Profile: Owana Salazar](https://interlude.hk/artist-profile-owana-salazar/): Now in her 70s, musician Owana Salazar fights hard to keep alive the traditions of her native country. As musicians go, she certainly has an unusual profile – a steel guitarist who is not only an eminent instrumentalist with numerous
- [Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936) <br/> Percy Grainger’s <em>Kipling Jungle Book Cycle</em>](https://interlude.hk/rudyard-kipling-1865-1936-percy-graingers-kipling-jungle-book-cycle/): Born on 30 December 1865 in Bombay, what today is Mumbai, India, Rudyard Kipling is remembered for his poems and stories of British soldiers in India, and tales for children. Incredibly popular in the late 19th and early 20th century,
- [On This Day <br/>26 December: Jian Wang was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-26-december-jian-wang-was-born/): The 1980 documentary From Mao to Mozart: Isaac Stern in China provides a fascinating look at China’s cultural and political landscape in the wake of the Cultural Revolution. Isaac Stern’s journey to China not only offered a glimpse into the
- [Escaping the Holiday Bells <br/>Gerald Finzi’s <em>New Year Music</em>](https://interlude.hk/escaping-the-holiday-bells-gerald-finzis-new-year-music/): English composer Gerald Finzi (1904–1956) wrote to a friend about his love / hate relationship with the year’s end: ‘I love New-Year’s Eve, though I think it’s the saddest thing of the year’ and in his 1926 piece, Nocturne (New
- [Malcolm Williamson’s <em>Pieces of Peace</em>](https://interlude.hk/malcolm-williamsons-pieces-of-peace/): These days, with the horrors that are unfolding on every continent, we look for peace. But what, exactly, might we be looking for? Australian composer Malcolm Williamson (1931–2003) moved to London when he was in his 20s and started on
- [Miscellany Compositions Dedicated to Johannes Brahms](https://interlude.hk/miscellany-compositions-dedicated-to-johannes-brahms/): Max Bruch: Symphony No. 1 in E-flat Major, Op. 28 It has been said that Johannes Brahms and Max Bruch (1838-1920) enjoyed a long but superficially cordial relationship. Actually, Bruch considers Brahms “an arrogant and disagreeable man, liable to react
- [From Reviled to Beloved: O Holy Night](https://interlude.hk/from-reviled-to-beloved-o-holy-night/): Poet Placide Cappeau (1808–1877) was so inspired by the new stained glass windows in his church in Roquemaure, France, that he wrote a poem, ‘Minuit, chrétiens’ in its honour. It’s a powerful poem urging Christians to use midnight as the
- [Visions of Innocence <br/>Chabrier, Stravinsky and Debussy](https://interlude.hk/visions-of-innocence-chabrier-stravinsky-and-debussy/): John Eliot Gardiner Conducts Chabrier, Stravinsky and Debussy With Isabelle Faust Visions of innocence evoke an ethereal glimpse into a world untouched by the burdens of experience, where purity lingers untainted by complexities and disillusionments. These fleeting moments capture the
- [On This Day <br/>23 December: Borodin’s <em>Symphony No. 1</em> Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-23-december-borodins-symphony-no-1-premiered/): We still have conflicting reports as to the actual premiere date of Borodin’s Symphony No. 1. Some commentators place that event on 23 December 1868, while others located it on 4 January 1869. The proximity of these dates suggests that
- [10 Most Beautiful Piano Sextets in Classical Music](https://interlude.hk/10-most-beautiful-piano-sextets-in-classical-music/): After listening to a number of beautiful Piano Trios, Quartets, and Quintets, it’s time to take a closer look at Piano Sextets. As the name implies, piano sextets are scored for piano and five other instruments. However, there really is no standard grouping of instruments with that name. We do...
- [Bringing It All Together: Graham Hair’s <em>Piano Music</em>](https://interlude.hk/bringing-it-all-together-graham-hairs-piano-music/): Australian composer Graham Hair (b 1943) tried to summarise his piano works with a sentence that carries us from the 14th century to modern world music ideas. A compositional period that started in 2008 has resulted in a wealth of
- [Versions of The Lovely Cradle Song: Fauré’s <em>Berceuse</em>](https://interlude.hk/versions-of-the-lovely-cradle-song-faures-berceuse/): Gabriel Fauré (1845–1924) created his Berceuse in early 1880, first for violin and piano. It was heard by the publisher Julienne Hamelle who immediately snatched it up for publication. The work, for muted violin and piano, has a rocking accompaniment,
- [Giacomo Puccini](https://interlude.hk/giacomo-puccini-italian-composer/): “Inspiration is an awakening” One of the most important and influential composers in the history of opera, Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924) produced works of emotional depth, melodic beauty, and rich orchestration. Bringing a new level of realism and expressiveness to the
- [The Only Girl in the Orchestra <br/>Bass Player Orin O’Brien and the New York Philharmonic](https://interlude.hk/the-only-girl-in-the-orchestra-bass-player-orin-obrien-and-the-new-york-philharmonic/): It’s difficult today to imagine how one would feel as the first woman member of the New York Philharmonic or any orchestra for that matter. At age thirty-one, in 1966, Orin O’Brien won the position and joined this illustrious group,
- [Ten Most-Asked Questions About Leonard Bernstein](https://interlude.hk/ten-most-asked-questions-about-leonard-bernstein/): The movie Maestro, based on the life of conductor Leonard Bernstein and his wife Felicia Montealegre, was released on Netflix on 20 December 2023. Today, we’re looking at data from search engines to find out what questions people are asking
- [The Words That Go With the Music <br/>The Wacky World of Erik Satie’s Performance Directions](https://interlude.hk/the-words-that-go-with-the-music-the-wacky-world-of-erik-saties-performance-directions/): Erik Satie: Gymnopédies & Gnossiennes Anyone who has ever had the good fortune to look through a score of Parisian composer Erik Satie’s piano works will likely have come away amused, baffled, or even irritated. Satie’s performance directions take us into the realm of impossibility and absurdity and leave us...
- [At the Piano With Manuel María Ponce](https://interlude.hk/at-the-piano-with-manuel-maria-ponce/): Manuel María Ponce (1882-1948), the leading Mexican musician of his time, was a wonderful pianist who composed a substantial number of piano works. These works combine a profound knowledge of the instrument with his Romantic heritage and nationalist tendencies. Manuel Ponce: Intermezzo No. 1 in E minor As Ricardo Miranda...
- [The Familiar Melodies: Paul Reale’s <em>Holiday Suite</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-familiar-melodies-paul-reales-holiday-suite/): The last two months of the year seem crowded with festivities. In the US, Thanksgiving, the harvest festival, is simultaneously the start of the giving holiday season. American composer Paul Reale took indicative melodies for each holiday and used them
- [Harpsichord vs. Piano](https://interlude.hk/harpsichord-vs-piano-behind-the-keyboard/): Behind the Keyboard with Mandy Chan Discover Hong Kong harpsichordist Mandy Chan’s insider view about historical technique, interpretation and the performer you should seek out. Friends often seek personal advice about how to build the perfect classical music playlist, particularly
- [Diamond to Dust <br/>“La Belle Otero”](https://interlude.hk/diamond-to-dust-la-belle-otero/): She was one of the most beautiful and desirable women of the Belle Epoque. She was romantically linked to Kaiser Wilhelm II, Prince Albert I of Monaco, King Edward VII, King of Serbia, and King Alfonso XIII of Spain, as
- [On This Day <br/>19 December: Bronisław Huberman Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-19-december-bronislaw-huberman-was-born/): Violinist Bronisław Huberman was able to fuse glowing intensity and visionary sensitivity into a grand classical design. His tone had a haunting quality, particularly in infinite shades of pianissimo, and he was a towering personality described as “the most remarkable
- [Rediscovering a Lost Composer: Elisabetta de Gambarini](https://interlude.hk/rediscovering-a-lost-composer-elisabetta-de-gambarini/): Not all composers are lost with their manuscripts. Some composers are simply lost to the accretions of time: if they were active when many other composers were active, they might just be buried under the weight of the ages. For
- [Dreaming of a White Christmas](https://interlude.hk/dreaming-of-a-white-christmas/): 1942’s Academy Award for Best Original Song went to Irving Berlin for his song ‘White Christmas’, created for the song and dance film, Holiday Inn. Singer Jim (Bing Crosby) loses his girl Lila (Virginia Dale) to his dancing partner (Ted),
- [The Bechstein Hall - A New Concert Hall for London](https://interlude.hk/the-bechstein-hall-a-new-concert-hall-for-london/): In November 2024, Bechstein Hall opened its doors and welcomed music lovers to a brand new recital space, piano showroom and fine dining restaurant. Bechstein Hall, a name steeped in the rich history of classical music in London, has returned
- [Ludwig van Beethoven <br/>A “Bagatelle” Tribute](https://interlude.hk/ludwig-van-beethoven-a-bagatelle-tribute/): Arguably, the first composer to write true piano music was Ludwig van Beethoven. To be sure, he had tremendous technical ability, and critics wrote, “He was attacking pianos with such force that during the performance, keys, hammers and strings would be flying. ” However, virtuosity is all but one aspect...
- [Interlude Wishes You Happy Holidays!](https://interlude.hk/interlude-wishes-you-happy-holidays/)
- [Interlude Wishes You a Happy 2025!](https://interlude.hk/interlude-wishes-you-a-happy-2025/)
- [On This Day <br/>16 December: Menahem Pressler Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-16-december-menahem-pressler-was-born/): Menahem Pressler is probably best known for his long tenure as the founder of the Beaux Arts Trio, an ensemble he established in 1955. Seeking and finding beauty and enjoyment in music was central to his philosophy. As both ensemble
- [A New Year: Bruce Liu and Tchaikovsky’s <em>The Seasons</em>](https://interlude.hk/a-new-year-bruce-liu-and-tchaikovskys-the-seasons/): Antonio Vivaldi isn’t the only composer who looked at the whole year to put it into music. He used the vehicle of a violin concerto. Pyotr Tchaikovsky, on the other hand, put it all in the hands of a pianist
- [“The Little Drummer Boy” <br/>10 Beautiful versions for Christmas](https://interlude.hk/the-little-drummer-boy-10-beautiful-versions-for-christmas/): Traditionally sung at Christmas or the surrounding Christmas holiday season, Christmas carols are some of the most popular and festive holiday songs. They are still sung today in homes, churches, and at public events, and carolling is still a popular tradition. One of the most beloved and enduring Christmas carols...
- [Home Music with Your Friends](https://interlude.hk/home-music-with-your-friends/): Along with the production of orchestral and opera music in the 19th century, there was a parallel industry that made the same music for smaller forces: piano, piano two-hands, string quartet, small wind ensembles, etc. In the centuries before, music all around us poured from our radios or audio systems;...
- [These Instruments in the Opera House May Surprise You!](https://interlude.hk/these-instruments-in-the-opera-house-may-surprise-you/): This year, 2024, is the one-hundredth anniversary of the death of Italian composer Giacomo Puccini in November of 1924. Known for his brilliant and spectacularly admired operas, he was virtually the Taylor Swift of his era. My husband and I
- [On This Day <br/>15 December: Reger’s <em>Piano Concerto</em> Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-15-december-regers-piano-concerto-premiered/): The premiere of Max Reger’s Piano Concerto in F minor, Op. 114 took place at the Leipzig Gewandhaus on 15 December 1910. The soloist was Frieda Kwast-Hodapp, and Arthur Nikisch led the Gewandhaus Orchestra. The reviews were devastating, as was
- [On This Day <br/>14 December: Andrés Orozco-Estrada Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-14-december-andres-orozco-estrada-was-born/): The Colombian violinist and conductor Andrés Orozco-Estrada is known for his dynamic and expressive leadership across a highly versatile musical repertoire. His background as a violinist has greatly informed his conducting style, as he frequently draws attention to deep musical
- [Classical Music Unfinished and Restored V](https://interlude.hk/classical-music-unfinished-and-restored-v/): Let us continue with our exploration of unfinished classical masterpieces. Robert Schumann: Symphony in G minor “Zwickau” Robert Schumann: Symphony in G minor “Zwickau” (Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique; John Eliot Gardiner, cond. ) Robert Schumann had a number of talents. Growing
- [Exploring Cultures Through Sound and Vision <br/> An Interview With Tangram](https://interlude.hk/exploring-cultures-through-sound-and-vision-an-interview-with-tangram/): Tangram is a boundary-pushing ensemble that blends Chinese and Western musical traditions, creating unique interdisciplinary performances. Founded in 2018, Tangram has evolved from a classical music ensemble into a collective that explores Chinese cultures and histories through innovative productions. In
- [On This Day <br/>13 December: Mahler’s <em>Symphony No. 2</em> Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-13-december-mahlers-symphony-no-2-premiered/): Gustav Mahler premiered his Symphony No. 2 in C minor, also known as the “Resurrection Symphony,” on 13 December 1895 in Berlin. Reviews were mixed as critics were confused by the work’s complexity and vast scope, and Mahler’s use of
- [Album Volume III: James W. Iman plays Huber, Berg, Feldman and Jolas](https://interlude.hk/album-volume-iii-james-w-iman-plays-huber-berg-feldman-and-jolas/): American pianist James Iman continues to release ground-breaking albums which challenge convention (his previous recording with music by Debussy is a case in point) and which present lesser-known or rarely-performed repertoire written since 1900 and specifically post-1945. He’s one of
- [The Music That Surrounds Us](https://interlude.hk/the-music-that-surrounds-us/): There is a musical term called field recordings, which focuses on recording the surrounding sounds, whether they are natural or man-made, as the basis of musical material. Rather than music being the starting point, it is sound or noise. Today,
- [The (E)motion of Water: Işıl Bengi’s <em>Hydropath</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-emotion-of-water-isil-bengis-hydropath/): When you think of an album organised around the idea of water, the usual suspects come to mind: Debussy and the sea, Ravel and the play of water, but when you start to look beyond that, water has some other
- [Four Hands on Saint-Saëns <br/>Artur Pizarro and Ludovico Troncanetti](https://interlude.hk/four-hands-on-saint-saens-artur-pizarro-and-ludovico-troncanetti/): Camille Saint-Saëns’ (1835–1921) long life permitted him to be, as one writer said, ‘both a friend to Berlioz and an enemy of Les Six’. The same writer, Edward Sackville-West also said that Saint-Saëns was ‘an exceedingly clever and cultivated man.
- [Augusta Holmès: A Composer Who Wrote Music Bigger Than Life](https://interlude.hk/augusta-holmes-a-composer-who-wrote-music-bigger-than-life/): Composer Augusta Holmès is a fascinating figure in classical music history. She was a musically gifted child who was initially denied a traditional music education solely because of her gender. However, despite the obstacles, she persevered, ultimately becoming one of
- [On This Day <br/>11 December: Polina Osetinskaya Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-11-december-polina-osetinskaya-was-born/): Polina Osetinskaya gave her first solo recital in Vilnius at the age of 6, and by the age of 9, she was playing Beethoven’s Fifth Piano Concerto with orchestra. Since then, she has performed at the most prestigious venues across
- [Beethoven the European <br/>The Ninth, Celebrated in Leipzig, Paris, Milan and Vienna](https://interlude.hk/beethoven-the-european-the-ninth-celebrated-in-leipzig-paris-milan-and-vienna/): Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125 Available until 07/05/2025 Ludwig van Beethoven was a revolutionary man who lived and worked in tumultuous times as the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars greatly destabilised the European
- [César Franck (1822-1890) <br/>A Birthday Tribute](https://interlude.hk/cesar-franck-1822-1890-a-birthday-tribute/): César Franck was born in the city of Liège on 10 December 1822, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. His father, Nicholas-Joseph was a minor clerk, unemployed at the time, but he had great plans for his prodigious musical child. César was a child genius who loved...
- [When Simple is Necessary: Fauré’s <em>Berceuse</em>](https://interlude.hk/when-simple-is-necessary-faures-berceuse/): A berceuse is a piece to put you to sleep – particularly if you’re a small child in a cradle. It’s usually in triple meter with a very simple tonality – wild and chromatic is just out of the question
- [Opera in the Living Room <br/>Piano 4-hands Arrangements](https://interlude.hk/opera-in-the-living-room-piano-4-hands-arrangements/): Keyboard instruments in the middle of the 18th century, including harpsichord, spinet, virginal and organ, had a rather small range of about five octaves. In addition, the keys were usually very narrow, much tighter than those for modern pianos. As
- [On This Day <br/>9 December: Joshua Bell Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-9-december-joshua-bell-was-born/): American violinist Joshua Bell has performed with virtually every major orchestra in the world, and he maintains engagements as a soloist, recitalist, chamber musician, conductor and the Music Director of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields. A recipient
- [On This Day <br/>8 December: Gérard Souzay Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-8-december-gerard-souzay-was-born/): Frequently described as a “golden baritone,” Gérard Souzay is remembered as one of the great interpreters of the French mélodie. His voice had a distinctive and smooth quality that allowed him to navigate the emotional and dynamic range of the
- [By Popular Request <br/>Bonus Repertoire for Piano Quintet](https://interlude.hk/by-popular-request-bonus-repertoire-for-piano-quintet/): Chamber music featuring the piano has always been popular. The reason is comparatively simple; similarly to a string quartet as a whole ensemble, the piano is a perfect unit in itself. It is also one of the reasons the musical genre of the piano quintet has its own special charm....
- [The Musician’s ‘Non-Negotiables’](https://interlude.hk/the-musicians-non-negotiables/): This article is inspired by Episode 2 of Season 3 of ‘The Bear’, a drama series from Disney+ about a young chef, Carmy Berzatto, trained in the fine dining world, who comes home to Chicago to run his family sandwich
- [Musicians in Sync - What Yuja Wang’s Heartbeats Tell Us](https://interlude.hk/musicians-in-sync-what-yuja-wangs-heartbeats-tell-us/): During the 150th anniversary of Rachmaninoff’s birth, pianist Yuja Wang undertook an extraordinary feat. She performed all the Rachmaninoff Piano Concertos and the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini in one marathon concert at Carnegie Hall on January 28, 2023.
- [Classical Music Unfinished and Restored IV](https://interlude.hk/classical-music-unfinished-and-restored-iv/): Let us continue with our exploration of unfinished classical masterpieces. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 7 Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 7 (Russian State Cinematographic Orchestra; Sergei Skripka, cond. ) Roughly one year after completing his Fifth Symphony, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
- [On This Day <br/>7 December: David Kadouch Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-7-december-david-kadouch-was-born/): French pianist David Kadouch is celebrated for his profound and technical prowess and his expressive musicality. An internationally acclaimed soloist and chamber musician, Kadouch distinguishes himself by the meticulous construction of his recital programmes, the eclecticism of his concerto repertoire,
- [On This Day <br/>6 December: Schumann’s <em>Overture, Scherzo and Finale</em> Op. 52 Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-6-december-schumanns-overture-scherzo-and-finale-op-52-was-premiered/): Unexpectedly, Schumann’s “Spring Symphony” had been a great success at its first performance under Felix Mendelssohn in 1841. In the wake of this triumph and his marriage to Clara, Schumann decided that an orchestra would “best portray his celebratory feelings. ”
- [The Lure of the South: Copland Goes to Mexico](https://interlude.hk/the-lure-of-the-south-copland-goes-to-mexico/): In 1932, Aaron Copland (1900–1990) was in Mexico, hanging out with the Mexican composer and conductor Carlos Chávez, when they visited a nightclub, El Salón México, that was later immortalised in Copland’s 1936 orchestral work of the same name. His
- [CAFÉ DANUBE – Z.R.I](https://interlude.hk/cafe-danube-z-r-i/): The ensemble Z. R. I. take their name from Zum Roten Igel, or ‘To the Red Hedgehog’, the tavern in 19th century Vienna where Schubert and Brahms went to hear Gypsy and folk music. From their radical re-scoring of the Brahms Clarinet
- [The Trinity of Music](https://interlude.hk/the-trinity-of-music/): Rhythm, melody and harmony. This is the trinity behind all music, and the foundation of it. Rhythm, melody and harmony are the most basic elements, and the ones from which all musical progress has derived. A musician will spend a
- [The Magic of Mozart <br/>The Viennese Piano Concertos](https://interlude.hk/the-magic-of-mozart-the-viennese-piano-concertos/): The series of piano concertos Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart composed during his years in Vienna is undoubtedly his greatest achievement in instrumental music. The dozen piano concertos composed between February 1784 and December 1786 are works of the highest quality and originality. According to Maynard Solomon, “their artistry goes far beyond...
- [Singer Maria Malibran: Her Tortured Life and Death](https://interlude.hk/singer-maria-malibran-her-tortured-life-and-death/): Maria Malibran is one of the most intriguing and tragic figures in nineteenth-century operatic history, whose biography reads like an opera synopsis. She came from a renowned, influential, and extremely dysfunctional musical family. Her career was staggeringly successful. She sang
- [On This Day <br/>4 December: María Dueñas Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-4-december-maria-duenas-was-born/): Violinist María Dueñas burst into the international spotlight by winning a whole series of international violin competitions, among them the 2021 Menuhin Violin Competition. For her performance of Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 4, Dueñas actually wrote her own cadenza. She
- [<em>In Search of Beethoven</em> by John Suchet](https://interlude.hk/in-search-of-beethoven-by-john-suchet/): “Learning about Beethoven is a joyful journey without end” British journalist and newscaster John Suchet has had a lifelong fascination with Ludwig van Beethoven, from the moment he discovered the great German composer’s music in his twenties. Beethoven’s music, in
- [Diversifying Piano Pedagogy with Brazilian Works from the <em>Instituto Piano Brasileiro</em>’s Database](https://interlude.hk/diversifying-piano-pedagogy-with-brazilian-works-from-the-instituto-piano-brasileiros-database/): Introduction: The Importance of Brazilian Repertoire In piano teaching, Western classical music often dominates repertoire choices, often neglecting the diversity and richness of other musical traditions. This research advocates for including Brazilian piano works as pedagogical resources to foster diversity,
- [Maria by Callas <br/> “When My Enemies Stop Hissing, I Shall Know I’m Slipping”](https://interlude.hk/maria-by-callas-when-my-enemies-stop-hissing-i-shall-know-im-slipping/): In her prime, Maria Callas was a symbol of jet-set elegance and a media phenomenon. Many credited Calles with one of the most dynamic bel canto voices in operatic history, yet her story of personal life often seemed to eclipse
- [Simplicity in Choral <br/> Caritas Chamber Choir: <em>A New Spirit</em>](https://interlude.hk/simplicity-in-choral-caritas-chamber-choir-a-new-spirit/): In their most recent recording of choral music by Sir James MacMillan, Phillip Cooke, Henrik Dahlgren, and Andrew Smith, the Caritas Chamber Choir gathers new works. All the works on the album are world premiere recordings. The major composer on
- [Discover the <em>Piano Sounds from South America</em> this Christmas Eve](https://interlude.hk/discover-the-piano-sounds-from-south-america-this-christmas-eve/): This Christmas Eve, Hong Kong audiences are invited to explore the captivating soundscape of Piano Sounds from South America, a concert that celebrates the rich diversity of Latin American piano music. Funded by the Hong Kong Arts Development Council’s Emerging
- [Karol Szymanowski <br/><em>Métopes</em> and <em>Masques</em>](https://interlude.hk/karol-szymanowski-metopes-and-masques/): The turbulent years of World War I saw Karol Szymanowski (1882-1937), who had extensively travelled throughout Europe and Africa, confined to his family’s estate in the Ukraine. Physically isolated from the rest of Europe, Szymanowski began a process of drawing
- [The Blame Game – Musicians’ Excuses When Things Go Wrong](https://interlude.hk/the-blame-game-musicians-excuses-when-things-go-wrong/): Several years ago, I wrote an article entitled The Dog Ate My Music- Excuses for Not Practicing. Those of us who are musicians have tried these excuses with varying success; teachers have heard them all. Just like in other professions,
- [Veronika Eberle](https://interlude.hk/veronika-eberle-german-violinist/): The ‘Mount Everest’ of Violin Concerti German violinist Veronika Eberle is a musician whose unique blend of virtuosity and sensitivity makes her one of the most in-demand performers of her generation. Aged just 16, she gave her Salzburg Festival debut
- [Classical Music Unfinished and Restored III](https://interlude.hk/classical-music-unfinished-and-restored-iii/): Let us continue with our exploration of unfinished classical masterpieces. Anton Bruckner: Symphony No. 9 “Finale” When Anton Bruckner died in 1896, he left a major symphony in D minor incomplete. Dedicated to “the beloved God,” this symphony No. 9,
- [On This Day <br/>30 November: Iveta Apkalna Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-30-november-iveta-apkalna-was-born/): Latvian organist Iveta Apkalna has served as the titular organist of the Klais organ at the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, Germany, since 2017. In fact, at the January 2017 opening of the hall, she took part in two world premieres, works
- [12th Hamamatsu International Piano Competition <br/>Afterglow](https://interlude.hk/12th-hamamatsu-international-piano-competition-afterglow/): Nuanced and colourful final chords of Gabriel Fauré’s Valse-Caprice in D-flat Major, Op. 38, performed by the 1st Prize Winner Manami Suzuki, provided the fitting conclusion for the 12th Hamamatsu International Piano Competition. It was a significant event as Manami
- [Nature versus Love <br/>Béla Bartók’s <em>The Wooden Prince</em>](https://interlude.hk/nature-versus-love-bela-bartoks-the-wooden-prince/): Hungarian composer Béla Bartók (1881–1945) wrote two ballets, one that has achieved some fame (The Miraculous Mandarin of 1926), but the other has faded from today’s stages. In its time, however, the first ballet, The Wooden Prince, was staged everywhere.
- [On This Day <br/>29 November: Erich Wolfgang Korngold Died](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-29-november-erich-wolfgang-korngold-died/): Erich Wolfgang Korngold, possibly the most phenomenal musical prodigy of all time, fled Europe in the 1930s to become one of the most important and influential composers in Hollywood history. As the film historian Tony Thomas writes, “Korngold not only
- [On This Day <br/>28 November: Jean-Baptiste Lully Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-28-november-jean-baptiste-lully-was-born/): Jean-Baptiste Lully was an Italian-born French court and operatic composer who is credited with the invention of the “French Overture” in the 1650s. In addition, his music produced a radical revolution in the style of dances at the court, replacing
- [Why Are We More and More Attracted to Slow Music?](https://interlude.hk/why-are-we-more-and-more-attracted-to-slow-music/): There is a strange phenomenon happening in our modern world. The prominence of slow music in the classical genre. The slowing down of pace, the reduction of notes — and instruments — and the shortening of the music (or the
- [Leonard Bernstein's Children: What Happened to Them?](https://interlude.hk/leonard-bernsteins-children-what-happened-to-them/): Leonard Bernstein – composer, conductor, pianist, educator, and more – is remembered as one of the greatest American musicians of all time. His voracious appetite for art extended to his love life. He had many relationships with men, but he
- [On This Day <br/> 27 November: Viktoria Mullova Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-27-november-viktoria-mullova-was-born/): Violinist Viktoria Mullova won first prize at the prestigious Sibelius Competition in Helsinki in 1980 and two years later captured the Gold Medal at the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow in 1982. Winning at the Tchaikovsky brought her international fame, but
- [The 12th Hamamatsu International Piano Competition <br/>Finale](https://interlude.hk/the-12th-hamamatsu-international-piano-competition-finale/): After the rigorous opening stages and the announcement of semi-final results, the 12th Hamamatsu International Piano Competition took a well-deserved rest. Well, not everybody had that kind of luxury, of course. When I ran into one of the finalists during
- [The Colours of Love: Couperin’s Dominos](https://interlude.hk/the-colours-of-love-couperins-dominos/): François Couperin (188–1733) ranks with J. S. Bach and Dominico Scarlatti as one of the most prolific harpsichordists of his time. He was known as Couperin the Great, to differentiate him from the multiple other members of the Couperin family. His
- [Pierre Rode](https://interlude.hk/pierre-rode-french-composer/): “He moved those without understanding to mindless admiration” The three great representatives of the classical French violin school, Rodolphe Kreutzer (1766-1831), Pierre Baillot (1771-1842), and Pierre Rode (1774-1830) essentially established the history of modern violin technique. Rode was probably the
- [Bringing Folk Music to Life: Grieg’s <em>Lyric Pieces</em>](https://interlude.hk/bringing-folk-music-to-life-griegs-lyric-pieces/): Edvard Grieg (1843 – 1907) invented the idea of Lyric Pieces, but it’s really part of a long list of character pieces for the piano. With the rise of the home piano, there was an immediate market for music for
- [John Field <br/>10 Most Beautiful Nocturnes](https://interlude.hk/john-field-10-most-beautiful-nocturnes/): Franz Joseph Haydn is considered the father of the symphony, and John Field (1782-1837), the father of the Nocturne. Although Field was born somewhere between Beethoven and Schubert, his music seems much closer to Chopin, who appeared thirty years later.
- [On This Day <br/>24 November: Alfred Schnittke Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-24-november-alfred-schnittke-was-born/): The music of Alfred Schnittke is marked by an intense expressiveness, an unpredictable flow of ideas, an innate sense of drama, and a natural lyricism. While traditional genres retained their relevance, Schnittke gave new life to old forms by squeezing
- [Michael Kearns Canadian Boy Turned Violin Maker, Author, and Painter](https://interlude.hk/michael-kearns-canadian-boy-turned-violin-maker-author-and-painter/): How does a small-town Canadian boy settle in the UK and become a luthier, author, and painter? Michael Kearns, a violin maker and restorer, is one of three partners at Oxford Violins. With his colleagues, Mark Yakoushkin and Bruno Guastalla,
- [The Magnificent Nocturnes of Gabriel Fauré II](https://interlude.hk/the-magnificent-nocturnes-of-gabriel-faure-ii/): Marcel Proust wrote to Gabriel Fauré in 1897, “Monsieur, I not only love, admire and venerate your music, I have been, still am, in love with it. ” In our first episode on the magnificent nocturnes of Gabriel Fauré we found passionate expressions rooted in Romanticism, a sounding poetry imbued...
- [Classical Music Unfinished and Restored II](https://interlude.hk/classical-music-unfinished-and-restored-ii/): In our last blog, we looked at the stories of some unfinished masterpieces being restored. Let us continue our exploration, starting with Mahler’s Symphony No. 10. Mahler: Symphony 10 In 1910, Gustav Mahler was not a happy man. He had
- [The Largest Cello Festival in the World <br/>Cello Biënnale AMSTERDAM](https://interlude.hk/the-largest-cello-festival-in-the-world-cello-biennale-amsterdam/): This year marks the tenth Cello Biënnale AMSTERDAM festival. From October 31- November 10, 2024, cellists gathered from around the world to celebrate our wonderful instrument in the largest festival of its kind. Featuring “Students Around the World”, Bach and
- [Thus Spoke Friedrich Nietzsche <br/>Piano Music](https://interlude.hk/thus-spoke-friedrich-nietzsche-piano-music/): Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (1844-1900) is primarily known as a philosopher who published some groundbreaking books. “Thus Spoke Zarathustra: A Book for All and None,” was published in four volumes between 1883 and 1885, and it spawned a number of philosophical
- [Superb Musicianship at the 12th Hamamatsu Piano Competition](https://interlude.hk/superb-musicianship-at-the-12th-hamamatsu-piano-competition/): At long last, I encountered an international piano competition where I wholeheartedly agreed with ( and applauded ) the jury’s choice of all the finalists. At this 2024 Hamamatsu Piano Competition, it seemed that exquisite musicianship was the vital requisite
- [The Label that Shaped Classical Music](https://interlude.hk/the-label-that-shaped-classical-music/): Deutsche Grammophon. Or DG. Even those who are not familiar with classical music recognise it as a gauge of quality. It is recognisable instantly, thanks to its yellow stamp, but mostly thanks to the impressive catalog of works that it
- [On This Day <br/>22 November: Kent Nagano Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-22-november-kent-nagano-was-born/): American conductor and opera administrator Kent Nagano is renowned for interpretations of clarity, elegance, and intelligence. He excels at complex late nineteenth- and twentieth-century scores, and he is considered a Messiaen and Mahler specialist. Nagano is passionate about introducing concert
- [The 12th Hamamatsu International Piano Competition <br/>Chamber Round](https://interlude.hk/the-12th-hamamatsu-international-piano-competition-chamber-round/): I had no idea that chamber music could still draw such a huge crowd. Well, when it is part of the biggest and most prestigious piano competition in Asia, the 12th Hamamatsu International Piano Competitions, I probably shouldn’t be surprised.
- [Frank Martin (1890-1974) <br/>A Spiritual Tribute](https://interlude.hk/frank-martin-1890-1974-a-spiritual-tribute/): On 21 November 2024, we commemorate the 50th anniversary of the death of Frank Martin, one of the foremost composers of the 20th century. Born in Switzerland, Martin had access to both French and German musical traditions, and he eventually
- [Rasa Vitkauskaite <br/>A Pianist’s Journey and <em>A Concert Piano Christmas at Boston Symphony Hall</em>](https://interlude.hk/rasa-vitkauskaite-a-pianists-journey-and-a-concert-piano-christmas-at-boston-symphony-hall/): Lithuanian pianist Rasa Vitkauskaite, a prize-winning Steinway Artist, is celebrated for her “poetic and observant sensitivity” (Gramophone) and hailed as a “Beethoven interpreter of penetrating insight” (Fanfare). Performing across 30 countries, her career highlights include a recital at the Dame
- [On This Day <br/>20 November: Anton Rubinstein Died](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-20-november-anton-rubinstein-died/): Anton Rubinstein, Russian pianist, composer, conductor and teacher, was one of the greatest pianists of the 19th century. His playing was compared with Liszt’s, and he combined a prodigious technique with musicianship, scholarship, and a richly poetic temperament. Anton Rubinstein
- [Five Women in Tchaikovsky's Life](https://interlude.hk/five-women-in-tchaikovskys-life/): Composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky had complicated relationships with women. On one hand, for many years, his career was financed by a single wealthy woman, who he poured his heart out to in letters. On the other hand, his gayness meant
- [Franz Schubert (1797-1828) <br/>A Piano Duet Tribute](https://interlude.hk/franz-schubert-1797-1828-a-piano-duet-tribute/): It might come as a surprise, but Franz Schubert wrote almost as much piano music for four hands as for two. His thirty-four compositions in this medium range from his earliest surviving music, the Fantasie D. 48, to his Rondo in A Major finished in the summer of 1828. A...
- [Landscapes of Memory <br/>Emilie Cecilia LeBel on Crafting Sonic Atmospheres](https://interlude.hk/landscapes-of-memory-emilie-cecilia-lebel-on-crafting-sonic-atmospheres/): Canadian composer Emilie Cecilia LeBel has emerged as one of the country’s most acclaimed musical voices, known for her atmospheric and introspective compositions that captivate listeners. Following the success of her JUNO-nominated debut album, field studies, LeBel’s latest release, Landscapes
- [Night Sounds: Tamayo Ikeda: <em>Fauré and Chopin: Le Nocturne</em>](https://interlude.hk/night-sounds-tamayo-ikeda-faure-and-chopin-le-nocturne/): Inspired by night, the Nocturne first came into our musical language in the 18th century, but the idea of a night-time work comes from the ancient church, where ‘nocturn’ was the last of the seven prayers of the day. Held
- [The 10 Most Beautiful Piano Quintets <br/>Imaginative Scoring](https://interlude.hk/the-10-most-beautiful-piano-quintets-imaginative-scoring/): In previous blogs we listened to a number of beautiful piano quintets scored for piano and a string quartet. Robert Schumann came up with this arrangement in 1842, and it became the standardised scoring for much of the 19th century and beyond. For composers writing before and after 1842, however,...
- [On This Day <br/>18 November: Elim Chan Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-18-november-elim-chan-was-born/): In 2014, Elim Chan won the Donatella Flick LSO Conducting Competition as the first female conductor to win the competition in its history. “When I won that competition,” she explained, “history wasn’t something that came into my mind straight away...
- [The Magnificent Nocturnes of Gabriel Fauré I](https://interlude.hk/the-magnificent-nocturnes-of-gabriel-faure-i/): A good number of instrumental works, specifically pieces written for piano solo in the 19th and 20th-century, carry the title “Nocturne. ” The word comes from the French, meaning “nocturnal” or “night”, and it suggests the magical atmosphere of peace and serenity evoked and inspired by the night. This musical...
- [Ten of the Rockiest Marriages in Classical Music History, Part 2](https://interlude.hk/ten-of-the-rockiest-marriages-in-classical-music-history-part-2/): Today, we’re continuing our exploration of ten unhappy marriages from classical music history. Last time, we looked at the marriage stories of Leonard Bernstein, Gabriel Fauré, Richard Wagner, Gustav Mahler, and Joseph Haydn. Today, we’re ready to resume our countdown.
- [Musicians and Artists: Daugherty and Rivera](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-daugherty-and-rivera/): Michael Daugherty: Fire and Blood In 1933, a set of 27 fresco panels by the Mexican artist Diego Rivera was unveiled at the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA). Rivera (1886–1957) brought the idea of murals to life. His enormous works,
- [Classical Music Unfinished and Restored](https://interlude.hk/classical-music-unfinished-and-restored/): Let’s imagine that an archaeological dig unearths a precious statue from antiquity. Sadly, however, the sculpture is incomplete and missing arms and limbs. Such was the case in the early 16th century, and soon, a competition got underway to reconstruct
- [Do You Know the Brilliant Cellist Radutui Just Hired by Shepherd School of Music, Rice University?](https://interlude.hk/do-you-know-the-brilliant-cellist-radutui-just-hired-by-shepherd-school-of-music-rice-university/): The Shepherd School of Music at Rice University in Houston, Texas, has a reputation for excellence in no small part due to their illustrious faculty. To name a few, they include Norman Fischer, the Herbert S. Autrey Professor of Cello
- [On This Day <br/>16 November: Paul Hindemith Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-16-november-paul-hindemith-was-born/): Following the horrendous destruction caused by World War I, Germany was looking for a composer who spoke with a contemporary voice. Max Reger died in 1916, and neither Richard Strauss nor Hans Pfitzner had any real interest in New Music.
- [Collaborating With Samuel Dushkin <br/> “Dear Sam”](https://interlude.hk/collaborating-with-samuel-dushkin-dear-sam/): The Polish-born American violinist Samuel Dushkin (1891-1976) is widely known for his extensive collaborations with Igor Stravinsky. The two men were compatible friends from the very beginning and eventually embarked on a concert tour through Europe and the United States, which lasted for the better part of five years. Dushkin...
- [On This Day <br/>15 November: Christoph Willibald Gluck Died](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-15-november-christoph-willibald-gluck-died/): “I endeavoured to reduce music to its proper function,” wrote Christoph Willibald Gluck, “that of seconding poetry by enforcing the expression of the sentiment, and the interest of the situations, without interrupting the action or weakening it by superfluous ornament. ”
- [The 12th Hamamatsu International Piano Competition <br/> Judgement](https://interlude.hk/the-12th-hamamatsu-international-piano-competition-judgement/): Between 1912 and 1948, art competitions were part of the Olympic Games. Initially, these competitions were grouped into five broad categories, including architecture, literature, music, painting, and sculpture. In terms of music, subcategories encompassed mixed music, compositions for orchestra, solo
- [On This Day <br/>14 November: Johann Nepomuk Hummel Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-14-november-johann-nepomuk-hummel-was-born/): During his time, Johann Nepomuk Hummel was considered to be one of Europe’s greatest composers and greatest pianists. He was Mozart’s most famous student, a protégé of Joseph Haydn, and Beethoven’s friend and chief competitor. With his forward-looking compositions, he
- [What Separates Classical, Jazz and Popular Music](https://interlude.hk/what-separates-classical-jazz-and-popular-music/): Classical, jazz and popular music are some of the most well spread music genres around the world. They are very different, but they often meet. Their places of origin and history differ, too, and each has evolved into a very
- [Italian Opera in the United States <br/> Lorenzo da Ponte: <em>L’Ape Musicale</em> (The Musical Bee)](https://interlude.hk/italian-opera-in-the-united-states-lorenzo-da-ponte-lape-musicale-the-musical-bee/): We all know the great Venetian opera librettist and poet Lorenzo da Ponte (1749-1838) from his collaboration on three of Mozart’s most celebrated operas, The Marriage of Figaro (1786), Don Giovanni (1787), and Così fan tutte (1790). It is much
- [Six Composers Like Debussy](https://interlude.hk/six-composers-like-debussy/): Claude Debussy is one of the most beloved composers in the classical music canon. Several qualities make his work especially unique: Use of colour and texture. Debussy was a master at using unusual combinations of instruments to create unique sounds. Harmonic innovation. Debussy loved using unusual and unexpected chords, as...
- [Reviving a Legacy <br/>Dr. John Michael Cooper on the Life and Music of Margaret Bonds](https://interlude.hk/reviving-a-legacy-dr-john-michael-cooper-on-the-life-and-music-of-margaret-bonds/): Dr. John Michael Cooper is a distinguished musicologist, scholar, and professor at Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas. With a prolific career, he has made substantial contributions to music scholarship, including the publication of influential research and critical editions of works
- [The Devil is a Woman <br/>Eugene Aynsley Goossens and Rosaleen Norton](https://interlude.hk/the-devil-is-a-woman-eugene-aynsley-goossens-and-rosaleen-norton/): In 1935, the filmmaker Josef von Sternberg directed a romance film starring actress Marlene Dietrich. Titled “The Devil is a Woman,” it was the last of the six Sternberg-Dietrich collaborations for Paramount Pictures. The plot is based on a novel
- [Four Nights Out of a Thousand: Rimsky-Korsakov’s <em>Sheherazade</em>](https://interlude.hk/four-nights-out-of-a-thousand-rimsky-korsakovs-sheherazade/): When we imagine the stories from A Thousand and One Nights, we think of Aladdin, Ali Baba, and the 40 Thieves, which were added by the French translator Antoine Galland in the 18th century, or even Sheherazade herself, the story
- [György Cziffra <br/> Transcriptions and Paraphrases](https://interlude.hk/gyorgy-cziffra-transcriptions-and-paraphrases/): György Cziffra (1921-1994) is universally hailed as one of the greatest pianists of the twentieth century. A musicologist wrote, “In the realm of classical music, his name has been immortalised as synonym of piano playing... He had a remarkable virtuoso
- [On This Day <br/>11 November: Leslie Parnas Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-11-november-leslie-parnas-was-born/): One of the foremost cellists of his generation, Leslie Parnas, enjoyed a distinguished career as a performer and a pedagogue. Known for his technical prowess and gorgeous depth of tone, Parnas exhibited profound musicality and “an aggressive approach to phrasing. ”
- [10 more Dazzling and Awe-Inspiring Piano Quintets](https://interlude.hk/10-more-dazzling-and-awe-inspiring-piano-quintets/): In my initial blog on the 10 most beautiful piano quintets in classical music, I featured incredible masterworks for the combination of the string quartet with the piano. This type of scoring essentially started with Robert Schumann, and from around the middle of the 19th century, it became the standard....
- [Past & Present: Overtures for the Concert Hall](https://interlude.hk/past-present-overtures-for-the-concert-hall/): William Shakespeare, the immortal “Bard of Avon”, is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world’s pre-eminent dramatist. He has given us 38 plays, 154 sonnets, and two narrative poems alongside other verses of uncertain authorship. His poetic language is bursting with colourful rhythms and...
- [Musicians and Artists: Daugherty and Featherstone](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-daugherty-and-featherstone/): The image itself is familiar enough: a green lawn with pink flamingos on it. This sculpture was created in 1957 by the American artist Don Featherstone as part of his work for Union Products, an injection mould plastics company. All
- [Sigurd Raschèr: King of Sax](https://interlude.hk/sigurd-rascher-king-of-sax/): In the 1840s, the Parisian instrument builder Adolphe Sax provided a welcome addition to the family of woodwind instruments. Named after its inventor, the saxophone features a single reed mouthpiece like the clarinet, a conical brass body like the ophicleide, and the acoustic properties of both the French horn and...
- [Day and Night with Rachmaninoff <br/>A Close Look at His Symphonic Dances](https://interlude.hk/day-and-night-with-rachmaninoff-a-close-look-at-his-symphonic-dances/): Written in1940, late in his career, the Symphonic Dances by Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873–1943) started out to be a ballet with choreography by Leonid Fokin, but Fokin died in 1942, and the idea died with him. Almost a symphony, albeit in
- [On This Day <br/>9 November: Bryn Terfel Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-9-november-bryn-terfel-was-born/): Widely considered “a force of nature,” Welsh bass-baritone Bryn Terfel has a rich, warm, vibrant voice that is capable of expressive pianissimos as well as roaring fortissimos. Highly analytical in his interpretations as well as in his vocal technique, “Terfel
- [Michiaki Ueno: Debuting With the Hong Kong Sinfonietta](https://interlude.hk/michiaki-ueno-debuting-with-the-hong-kong-sinfonietta/): Japanese cellist Michiaki Ueno is one of today’s brightest rising stars. His impeccable technique and exceptional musicality have garnered international acclaim, highlighted by the 1st Prize and three special awards at the Geneva International Music Competition in 2021. Michiaki has
- [On This Day <br/>8 November: Orion Weiss Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-8-november-orion-weiss-was-born/): Commentators and critics suggest that pianist Orion Weiss has a “powerful technique and exceptional insight” and that he commands a “head-spinning range of colours that have dazzled audiences around the world. ” To be sure, he has performed with major orchestras
- [Bagatelles and Other Short Piano Pieces](https://interlude.hk/bagatelles-and-other-short-piano-pieces/): Bagatelle noun: bagatelle; plural noun: bagatelles a thing regarded as too unimportant or easy to be worth much consideration. (Oxford Languages definition) A bagatelle is a short piece of music, typically for the piano, and usually of a light, mellow
- [How American Music and Painting Met](https://interlude.hk/how-american-music-and-painting-met/): The period of the 1960s in New York was a key moment in the history of American art. It was a unique space of time in the country’s history and one which had a lasting influence in Europe too. One
- [On This Day <br/>7 November: Joan Sutherland Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-7-november-joan-sutherland-was-born/): Luciano Pavarotti once called her “The Voice of the Century,” and during a career spanning more than four decades, she was universally known as “La Stupenda,” The Stupendous One. ” Joan Sutherland’s radiant soprano effortlessly stretched over more than three octaves,
- [14 Pieces of Classical Music About the Sky](https://interlude.hk/14-pieces-of-classical-music-about-the-sky/): Whenever people are looking for inspiration, they often look up into the sky. Classical composers are no exception. We’ve gathered fourteen pieces of classical music that encourage us to take a breath, go outside, and look up. Franz Liszt: Nuages gris (1881) “Nuages gris” translated means “grey clouds. ” It’s...
- [Frederica von Stade vs. Peter Elkus <br/>The Value of Fame](https://interlude.hk/frederica-von-stade-vs-peter-elkus-the-value-of-fame/): Some marriages do end up in divorce court, but very few divorces become prescribed case studies during the first year of law studies. But that is exactly what happened when Frederica von Stade—described as one of America’s finest artists and
- [Musicians and Artists <br/>James MacMillan and Seven British Portraits](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-james-macmillan-and-seven-british-portraits/): In his 1990 work ... as others see us... , Scottish composer James MacMillan chose paintings in the National Portrait Gallery to depict in music. He started with a line from the Scottish poet Robert Burns, who wished for the gift ‘to
- [Helber Fernandes Ribeiro <br/>Bringing Brazilian Piano Heritage to New Audiences](https://interlude.hk/helber-fernandes-ribeiro-bringing-brazilian-piano-heritage-to-new-audiences/): Helber Fernandes Ribeiro, a Brazilian pianist based in the United States, is passionate about expanding the reach of Brazilian piano repertoire, making it accessible to broader audiences and inspiring educators and students alike. His collaboration with Instituto Piano Brasileiro (IPB)
- [In Love With the Bard: Vaughan Williams’ Stratford Works](https://interlude.hk/in-love-with-the-bard-vaughan-williams-stratford-works/): For the summer season in 1912 and for three weeks in the Spring of 1913, Ralph Vaughan Williams was invited to Stratford-upon-Avon to compose incidental music and conduct for the Shakespeare productions. Vaughan Williams was invited by Sir Frank Benson,
- [Ten of the Rockiest Marriages in Classical Music History, Part 1](https://interlude.hk/ten-of-the-rockiest-marriages-in-classical-music-history-part-1/): Composers can be difficult people to get along with. They can be demanding, perfectionistic, needy, dramatic, and stressed. Their attention can often be split between their creative lives and their personal lives. They are not always the best spouses. Today
- [Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924) <br/>An Anniversary Cello Tribute](https://interlude.hk/gabriel-faure-1845-1924-an-anniversary-cello-tribute/): On 4 November 2024, we commemorate the 100th anniversary of the death of Gabriel Fauré. He might well have been the greatest master of French songs, with his settings achieving a beautiful balance of prosody, melody, harmony, and polyphony. In his music, Fauré aimed to convey a prevailing atmosphere, and...
- [Bruno Walter the Composer](https://interlude.hk/bruno-walter-the-composer/): We easily remember Bruno Walter (1876-1962) as one of the greatest conductors of the 20th century. His legacy is secured in hundreds of recordings made between 1900 and 1961. However, around the turn of the century, he primarily considered himself
- [Musicians and Artists: John Harbison and 6 American Painters](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-john-harbison-and-6-american-painters/): American composer John Harbison (b. 1938) was commissioned to write a piece for radio station WGUC (Cincinnati) for their general manager, Ann Santos, for the Cincinnati Symphony’s principal flautist, Randall Bowman. The premiere of the work with Bowman was in
- [György Ligeti <br/><em>Études for Piano</em> (Book 1)](https://interlude.hk/gyorgy-ligeti-etudes-for-piano-book-1/): The Hungarian composer György Ligeti (1923-2006) made his name by developing a process of interweaving different strands of sound into a complex polyphonic fabric, “deriving the shape and momentum of the music from barely perceptible changes in timbre, dynamics, density,
- [Jérémy Garbarg and Anna-Li Hardel at Ping Pong Gintonería](https://interlude.hk/jeremy-garbarg-and-anna-li-hardel-at-ping-pong-gintoneria/): 2024 marks Ping Pong’s 10th anniversary and, in celebration, Hong Kong’s famous gintoneria has put together a programme of events throughout the year. Says director, Juan Gregorio Martinez, ‘We, at Ping Pong are delighted to welcome Jérémy and Anna -Li
- [My Favorite Canons and Other Musical Puzzles V](https://interlude.hk/my-favorite-canons-and-other-musical-puzzles-v/): The word “Canon” actually means rule, or law, and it is one of the most important elements in counterpoint. Clearly, it is musically very powerful when a previously heard melody reappears in another voice as a canon. Both voices maintain
- [Women in Mozart’s Life: His Mother, Wife, Sister, and Others](https://interlude.hk/women-in-mozarts-life-his-mother-wife-sister-and-others/): When we think about the great composers, it’s easy to picture them in a kind of vacuum of genius. However, the great composers were human, just like the rest of us, and they lived and worked surrounded by other people.
- [Ode to Napoleon: Byron and Schoenberg](https://interlude.hk/ode-to-napoleon-byron-and-schoenberg/): Arnold Schoenberg’s Ode to Napoleon, Op. 41, for string quartet, piano, and reciter, was completed on 12 June 1942. The reciter takes his text from Lord Byron and his Ode to Napoleon Buonaparte, written in 1814. The occasion was the
- [Chamber Music Dedicated to Johannes Brahms](https://interlude.hk/chamber-music-dedicated-to-johannes-brahms/): We’ve looked at compositions dedicated to Johannes Brahms before, let’s put our focus on various chamber music pieces dedicated to Brahms this time. Heinrich von Herzogenberg: Piano Quartet in B-flat Major, Op. 95 Heinrich von Herzogenberg: Piano Quartet in B-flat
- [Nikolay Khozyainov](https://interlude.hk/nikolay-khozyainov-russian-pianist/): ‘Music Can Connect Us All, In Unimaginable Ways’ Described by the New York Times as a musician of ‘stunning virtuosity and prodigious technique’, Russian pianist Nikolay Khozyainov has built up a reputation as a musician of unique musical sensitivity and
- [The 12th Hamamatsu International Piano Competition <br/>Preamble](https://interlude.hk/the-12th-hamamatsu-international-piano-competition-preamble/): Béla Bartók famously exclaimed, “competitions are for horses, not artists! ” Well, times have certainly changed, but the intrinsic value of artistic competitions is still hotly debated. After all, there are plenty of competition winners that nobody knows about, and plenty
- [Philip Glass the Romantic](https://interlude.hk/philip-glass-the-romantic/): One of the most discussed composers of our times; Philip Glass. When he first started performing and recording his music in the 1960s in New York, much of the conservative classical world initially rejected him. Luckily, sixty years later, it
- [Bringing Music to Life <br/>An Interview With Claudia Chan](https://interlude.hk/bringing-music-to-life-an-interview-with-claudia-chan/): Canadian pianist and conductor Claudia Chan decided early on that contemporary music was what interested her. Through traditional music training, she’s learned the usual – Beethoven, Liszt, and Chopin – but in her adventures in contemporary music, she’s learned how
- [On This Day <br/>30 October: René Jacobs Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-30-october-rene-jacobs-was-born/): The Belgian countertenor and conductor René Jacobs made his début in 1974, singing the role of “Clerio” in Cavalli’s Erismena in Amsterdam. Performing with many leading early and Baroque ensembles, Jacobs eventually founded his own group, “Concerto Vocale,” in the
- [15 Pieces of Classical Music About Trees](https://interlude.hk/15-pieces-of-classical-music-about-trees/): No matter how many of us end up moving into towns and cities, human beings are still irresistibly drawn to forests, woodlands, and trees. Classical composers are no exception. In fact, a huge percentage of them were great nature lovers (Beethoven, for one, often composed in his head during his...
- [On This Day <br/>29 October: Bernstein’s <em>Candide</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-29-october-bernsteins-candide-was-premiered/): Leonard Bernstein’s comic operetta Candide boasts the dubious distinction of representing the most frequently revised and rewritten composition in the 20th Century. Initially, in 1956, Bernstein produced a musical version of Voltaire’s 1759 novelette Candide, adapted by the American playwright
- [Under the Mountain <br/>Hugo Alfvén’s <em>Bergakungen</em> (The Mountain King)](https://interlude.hk/under-the-mountain-hugo-alfvens-bergakungen-the-mountain-king/): In 1916, Swedish composer Hugo Alfvén was commissioned by the Royal Swedish Opera for a ballet that he completed in 1922. He considered it one of his finest works, but after its first season in production, opening on 7 February
- [Tension and Anger: The Quartet Music of Paul Henley](https://interlude.hk/tension-and-anger-the-quartet-music-of-paul-henley/): A new recording on Ulysses Arts of the string quartets of British composer Paul Henley’s String Quartets Nos. 1 and 2 is a far cry from Goethe’s imaginary discussion between 4 intelligent people. This isn’t a rational discussion but rather
- [The 10 Most Beautiful Piano Quintets in Classical Music](https://interlude.hk/the-10-most-beautiful-piano-quintets-in-classical-music/): A piano quintet is generally a composition for piano and four other instruments. Composers throughout the ages have combined a variety of instruments to play along with the piano, but the standardised form of instrumentation features the string quartet. Interestingly, piano quintets are less common than keyboard chamber music for...
- [Goldfish <br/>“Moving Flowers”](https://interlude.hk/goldfish-moving-flowers/): Two visually stunning icons habitually greet visitors to Japan. One, of course, is the iconic Mount Fuji towering over the Kanto plains. The other icon is rather more subtle and it was first brought to Japan in 1502 by Chinese
- [<em>Endgames</em> For End Instruments by Leonard Slatkin](https://interlude.hk/endgames-for-end-instruments-by-leonard-slatkin/): In 2014, American conductor, pianist, and composer Leonard Slatkin wrote Endgames, a work that would focus on the End Instruments, the instruments that sit at the ends of their respective sections in the orchestra, the highs and lows of the
- [More Overtures for the Concert Hall](https://interlude.hk/more-overtures-for-the-concert-hall/): Concert Overtures proved highly popular with 19th-century audiences. They frequently served, and still do, as musical appetisers for an evening of symphonic splendour. Concert Overtures are self-contained and communicate and carry meanings explained in the titles. As with all program music, that preface or title directs the listener’s attention to...
- [Marie Antoinette: The Last Queen of France <br/> “There Is Nothing New Except What Has Been Forgotten”](https://interlude.hk/marie-antoinette-the-last-queen-of-france-there-is-nothing-new-except-what-has-been-forgotten/): Initially, an entire population loved her, yet in the end, that love turned to hatred, and she lost her head in the French Revolution. Marie Antoinette (1755-1793) embodied everything that was rotten with royalty, and she certainly got some very
- [Should Composers Be Replaced by AI? Will They Be?](https://interlude.hk/should-composers-be-replaced-by-ai-will-they-be/): Imagine that you’re a composer. You grew up loving music. Maybe in your childhood you listened to works by giants like Mozart, and Beethoven, and Brahms. You spent decades learning an instrument. You attended elite educational institutions for many years,
- [My Favorite Canons and Other Musical Puzzles IV](https://interlude.hk/my-favorite-canons-and-other-musical-puzzles-iv/): The invention of the Gutenberg press set in motion a musical and societal revolution. For one, the demand for music as entertainment and as a social activity for educated amateurs increased with the emergence of a bourgeois class. From this
- [In Touch With Professor Callum Smart <br/>Creator of Caidence, an AI tool in Music Education](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-professor-callum-smart-creator-of-caidence-an-ai-tool-in-music-education/): Callum Smart is a renowned British violinist and professor at the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) and Orford Musique. As a forward-thinking educator, he recently launched Caidence, a free AI tool designed to help violinists and teachers improve their
- [On This Day <br/>25 October: Midori Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-25-october-midori-was-born/): Japanese-American violinist Midori has been described as a “visionary artist, activist and educator whose unique career has transcended traditional boundaries through her relentless drive to explore and build connections between music and the human experience. ” An astounding child prodigy who
- [Musicians and Artists: Carlos Simon and Romare Bearden](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-carlos-simon-and-romare-bearden/): Carlos Simon: The Block In 1971, American artist Romare Bearden looked out the window of his friend Albert Murray’s Lenox Avenue apartment and was inspired to create an epic narrative out of something that was very familiar and ordinary: a
- [Fighting Fate – Greek National Opera’s Iphigenias](https://interlude.hk/fighting-fate-greek-national-operas-iphigenias/): In a very interesting double bill, Greek National Opera (GNO) put together Gluck’s Iphigénie en Aulide and its followup, Iphigénie en Tauride, which is set 20 years after the first opera. The first opera, which received its premiere on 19
- [On Polymaths](https://interlude.hk/on-polymaths/): Polymaths are individuals who have mastered more than one discipline. Some of the most extraordinary polymaths have excelled in a wide range of disciplines, such as science, mathematics, philosophy, literature, arts and music. Whether artistic or not, their lives have
- [On This Day <br/>24 October: Tito Gobbi Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-24-october-tito-gobbi-was-born/): The Italian baritone Tito Gobbi (1913-1984) was one of the great operatic figures of his time. Throughout his celebrated career, there were few who could match him as a singing actor, and he distinguished himself in a variety of roles.
- [15 Pieces of Classical Music About Trains](https://interlude.hk/15-pieces-of-classical-music-about-trains/): Composers have always been inspired by trains, and it’s easy to understand why: the rhythmic chugging of steam engines, the sweeping landscapes viewed from a train window, and the sense of adventure and nostalgia associated with rail travel... All of these sounds, sights, and feelings have inspired composers to create...
- [<em>Morgenwind</em>: The Secrets of Lovers and a Musical Spring](https://interlude.hk/morgenwind-the-secrets-of-lovers-and-a-musical-spring/): The expressive, yearning sound of the kamancheh, a traditional Iranian bowed string instrument, kaleidoscopes in and out of rippling piano textures and deep, sonorous drums: this is the sound of the German-Persian Joolaee Trio, who have just released their first
- [Cry Cry Cry, Why Why Why: Pablo Ortiz’s <em>Cassandra</em> at the Greek National Opera](https://interlude.hk/cry-cry-cry-why-why-why-pablo-ortizs-cassandra-at-the-greek-national-opera/): Cassandra, the daughter of King Priam and Queen Hecuba of Troy, was a most unfortunate character in stories of the Trojan War. Granted the power of prophecy by the god Apollo if she would sleep with him, he tainted the
- [Franz Liszt, Born 22 October 1811 <br/>The “Other” Works for Piano and Orchestra](https://interlude.hk/franz-liszt-born-22-october-1811-the-other-works-for-piano-and-orchestra/): The two concertos for piano and orchestra by Franz Liszt belong to the standard concerto repertoire. A serious challenge for every pianist, they have been audience favourites for well over one hundred years. As a critic wrote, “these concertos are written in the best idiomatic keyboard style, a style that...
- [Spring in the Air: Schumann’s Symphony No. 1](https://interlude.hk/spring-in-the-air-schumanns-symphony-no-1/): Robert Schumann (1810–1856), like Brahms after him, had to confront the symphonic legacy left to the world by Beethoven. Schumann was very much the composer of the Romantic where ‘music should be, above all else, a means of expressing intense
- [On This Day <br/>  21 October: Georg Solti Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-21-october-georg-solti-was-born/): Sir Georg Solti was probably best known for his appearances with opera companies in Munich, Frankfurt, and London, and as a long-serving music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He was also famous for his exuberant and forceful podium personality,
- [Compositions Dedicated by Johannes Brahms](https://interlude.hk/compositions-dedicated-by-johannes-brahms/): There are countless reasons why composers attached dedications to their scores. In a wonderful study, Emily H. Green has attempted to unravel the complex relationship between composers, publishers, and consumers of music. For one, works might be dedicated to patrons,
- [A Cello Elegy For a Lost Innocence <br/>Anna Clyne’s <em>Shorthand</em>](https://interlude.hk/a-cello-elegy-for-a-lost-innocence-anna-clynes-shorthand/): English composer Anna Clyne (b. 1980) took Leo Tolstoy’s comment that ‘Music is the shorthand of emotion. Emotions, which let themselves be described in words with such difficulty, are directly conveyed to man in music, and in that is its
- [Charles Ives (1874-1954) <br/> The Violin Sonatas](https://interlude.hk/charles-ives-1874-1954-the-violin-sonatas/): 150 years ago, on 20 October 1874, the leading American composer of art music of the early 20th century, Charles Edward Ives, was born in Danbury, Connecticut. Ives was a unique figure as he remained an amateur throughout his mature,
- [Goossens, Copland and the Common Man](https://interlude.hk/goossens-copland-and-the-common-man/): Although his compositions are all but forgotten today, Sir Eugene Goossens (1893-1962) was considered a fresh and highly promising musical voice. At the height of his popularity as a composer in the 1920s and 30s, his music placed on par
- [A Hand in Music Theory <br/>Guido d’Arezzo](https://interlude.hk/a-hand-in-music-theory-guido-darezzo/): The medieval music theorist Guido d’Arezzo (ca. 991–992—after 1033) was a Benedictine monk who made a critical development in the history of music. His music treatise, Micrologus, was one of the most widely available medieval treatises on music. Guido first
- [My favorite Canons and Other Musical Puzzles III](https://interlude.hk/my-favorite-canons-and-other-musical-puzzles-iii/): This episode of my favorite canons starts with an accidental discovery. In 1975, the Bibliothèque Nationale de France acquired the first edition of the Bach’s Goldberg Variations. It turned out that this particular printed score had originally belonged to Bach
- [Five of the Most Famous Women Composers of the Classical Era](https://interlude.hk/five-of-the-most-famous-women-composers-of-the-classical-era/): Think about Classical Era composers and you might think of men in splendid attire wearing white wigs: men like Mozart or Haydn. But you might be surprised by how many classical era composers were actually women! Most historians agree that
- [On This Day <br/>18 October: Nelson Freire Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-18-october-nelson-freire-was-born/): He was called “the child with golden hands,” and Nelson José Pinto Freire grew up to become one of the greatest pianists of his generation. His brilliance of technique was matched by interpretive depth and “the cleanness of his musical
- [Who's Guan Xia, the Master of Music of the President of China?](https://interlude.hk/whos-guan-xia-the-master-of-music-of-the-president-of-china/): No celebration is fulfilled without the presence of music. On October 1st, 2024, the People’s Republic of China, which was founded on this date in 1949, commemorated its 75th anniversary. On September 29th, just two days before the National Day,
- [Can We Get Used to Modern Music?](https://interlude.hk/can-we-get-used-to-modern-music/): Modern music. Can we ever get used to it? Oftentimes, we think of modern music as being for the elites; over-intellectual, and ultimately, unlistenable. It is very rich though, and many schools came out of the modern movement. From the
- [Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849) <br/>“I Tell My Piano the Things I Used to Tell You”](https://interlude.hk/frederic-chopin-1810-1849-i-tell-my-piano-the-things-i-used-to-tell-you/): As we commemorate the passing of Frédéric Chopin on 17 October 1849, we are once again reminded that he was one of the greatest pianists the world has ever known. But what is more, Chopin also left the finest body
- [A Roaring Rigoletto Returns to the Met](https://interlude.hk/a-roaring-rigoletto-returns-to-the-met/): Verdi’s Rigoletto has had countless outings at New York’s Metropolitan Opera since 1883. But to make it worthwhile, the house needs access to a baritone who can handle the tricky part vocally, fill the cavernous theatre, but also can imbue
- [What Does Your Favorite Beethoven Symphony Say About You?](https://interlude.hk/what-does-your-favorite-beethoven-symphony-say-about-you/): Have you ever taken a Buzzfeed personality quiz? You know the kind I’m talking about. Which trending TV character are you? What cookie do you embody? What season are you, based on your bedroom design preferences? Obviously, those personality quizzes
- [On This Day <br/>16 October: Dmitri Hvorostovsky Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-16-october-dmitri-hvorostovsky-was-born/): He was affectionately known as “Dima” to his family and closest friends, and he commanded the operatic stage with his smouldering good looks and one of the most distinctive voices of his time. Dmitri Hvorostovsky’s voice is intoxicated with luxury,
- [Nature and Man-made Sounds Merge <br/>Vivian Fung’s <em>String Quartet No. 4, "Insects and Machines" </em>](https://interlude.hk/nature-and-man-made-sounds-merge-vivian-fungs-string-quartet-no-4-insects-and-machines/): The world of nature has long fascinated composers, first, with imitating the songs around them in the birds, bringing in the sound of running water or splashing brooks, and the sound of insects. Canadian composer Vivian Fung picked up the
- [Jaan Rääts (1932-2020) <br/>“I Don’t Like Rigid Musical Systems”](https://interlude.hk/jaan-raats-1932-2020-i-dont-like-rigid-musical-systems/): Born on 15 October 1932 in Tartu, Jaan Rääts was one of the reformers of Estonian music. Rääts was part of a new generation of composers that brought Estonian music into the modern mainstream. Embracing the styles, philosophies and techniques
- [Interview with Yulianna Avdeeva](https://interlude.hk/interview-with-yulianna-avdeeva/): “I’m so grateful to be able to speak this universal language with people all over the world” Last month, celebrated Russian pianist Yulianna Avdeeva released her latest album ‘Chopin: Voyage’ (Pentatone), which documents her journey with this composer since winning
- [Searching for a Button, Searching for Life: George Benjamin’s <em>Picture a Day Like This</em>](https://interlude.hk/searching-for-a-button-searching-for-life-george-benjamins-picture-a-day-like-this/): English composer George Benjamin (b. 1960) started working with British playwright Martin Crimp (b. 1956) in 2006, resulting in four operas: Into the Little Hill (2006), Written on Skin (2012), Lessons in Love and Violence (2018), and Picture a Day Like
- [On This Day <br/>14 October: Anne Gastinel Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-14-october-anne-gastinel-was-born/): French cellist Anne Gastinel early on established a reputation as one of the finest cellists of her generation. Winning several major international competitions, including Scheveningen, Prague, and Rostropovich, she represented France in the Eurovision Competition in Vienna. Her recordings have
- [Overtures for the Concert Hall](https://interlude.hk/overtures-for-the-concert-hall/): In a previous blog entitled “Beethoven (Concert) Overtures,” we examined the eleven overtures that Beethoven wrote for a variety of occasions and under different circumstances. We noted that the four overtures for various performances and versions of his opera Leonore/Fidelio and the overture to Coriolan, originally attached to a play,...
- [Rise of the Musico-Mechanist <br/>George Antheil’s <em>Airplane Sonata</em>](https://interlude.hk/rise-of-the-musico-mechanist-george-antheils-airplane-sonata/): For American composer George Antheil, the mechanisms of the modern age were the future of the world. He thought that ‘The environment of the machine has already become a spiritual thing... ’ and wrote music that tried to capture both the
- [By Popular Request <br/>Bonus Repertoire for Piano Quartet](https://interlude.hk/by-popular-request-bonus-repertoire-for-piano-quartet/): The Piano Quartet genre has enticed and inspired many of history’s greatest composers. In my two previous blogs, we have truly listened to some incredible music, ranging from Mozart to Mahler and from Beethoven to Bartók. We are always so grateful to receive your expert comments and also look forward...
- [Milestones of Piano Music](https://interlude.hk/milestones-of-piano-music/): Throughout the history of music and particularly Western classical music, the piano has taken its position as the mother of all instruments. For many decades, it was common for households to have a piano in their living rooms, and many
- [My favorite Canons and other Musical Puzzles II <br/>Bach: Goldberg Variations](https://interlude.hk/my-favorite-canons-and-other-musical-puzzles-ii-bach-goldberg-variations/): In his Goldberg Variations, Musical Offering, and the canonic variations on “Vom Himmel hoch,” Bach pursued canonic procedure to its absolute limits. The use of canon no longer merely serves to lend emphasis or cogency to the composer’s part-writing, but
- [Daniil Trifonov <br/>My American Story-North](https://interlude.hk/daniil-trifonov-my-american-story-north/): The Yellow Label just released a disk featuring Daniil Trifonov, surely one of the most astounding pianists of our age. Titled “My American Story-North”, Trifonov, a pianist of jaw-dropping technique and outer-wordly interpretive skills, takes us on a highly personal
- [Letting the Poetry Sing: Shostakovich’s <em>Spanish Songs</em>](https://interlude.hk/letting-the-poetry-sing-shostakovichs-spanish-songs/): Following the victory of Spain’s Nationalist party in the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939) and the rule of fascist Franciso Franco, the orphans of the dead Republican fighters were sent out of the country. The USSR, a support of the Republican
- [The Teacher Behind the Talent <br/> Vivian Li’s Journey to Mentoring Chopin Finalist Hao Rao](https://interlude.hk/the-teacher-behind-the-talent-vivian-lis-journey-to-mentoring-chopin-finalist-hao-rao/): Vivian Li is a piano pedagogue who teaches at the Xinghai Conservatory of Music in China. I became curious about her after watching a documentary, Pianoforte. Part of the documentary features Vivian’s student, Hao Rao, a Finalist in the 18th
- [The Other Danubes II](https://interlude.hk/the-other-danubes-ii/): Continuing on with our story of the Danube River in Music, as mentioned before, it wasn’t only Johann Strauss II who chose to immortalise the river in music. In his two collections of love songs, the Liebeslieder Waltzes, Opp. 52 and 62, Johannes Brahms took lyrics from Georg Friedrich Daumer’s...
- [On This Day <br/>10 October: Strauss’ <em>Die Frau ohne Schatten</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-10-october-strauss-die-frau-ohne-schatten-was-premiered/): Die Frau ohne Schatten (The Woman without a Shadow) became the third full operatic collaboration between Richard Strauss and Hugo von Hofmannsthal. Premiered on 10 October 1919 at the Vienna State Opera, the work is a complex mixture of operatic
- [The Top Ten Loves of Franz Liszt's Life](https://interlude.hk/the-top-ten-loves-of-franz-liszts-life/): Women loved Franz Liszt, and Franz Liszt loved women. The pianist and composer is almost as famous for his love life and his effect on women as his music-making. Today we’re looking at ten of the most intense love affairs
- [Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921) <br/> The Instrumental Sonatas](https://interlude.hk/camille-saint-saens-1835-1921-the-instrumental-sonatas/): As we celebrate Camille Saint-Saëns’ birthday on 9 October 1835, we remember a musical genius and the leader of the French musical renaissance during the later part of the 19th century. He composed in virtually every musical genre available to him, and he tellingly wrote, “I am an eclectic spirit....
- [Resonating Earth: A Musician’s Response to the Climate Crisis <br/>Carolyn Enger, piano](https://interlude.hk/resonating-earth-a-musicians-response-to-the-climate-crisis-carolyn-enger-piano/): Resonating Earth, the new album from American pianist Carolyn Enger, was created in response to the climate crisis and emerged from her deep connection to nature and her dedication to environmental activism. Enger lives in a wooden house outside Manhattan,
- [On This Day <br/> 8 October: Tabea Zimmermann Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-8-october-tabea-zimmermann-was-born/): Among today’s finest viola virtuosos, Tabea Zimmermann is lauded for her superb technique and an ample and supple tone. An artist of rare profundity, she was a prize winner at several international competitions, and she made her US début in
- [The Other Mozart <br/> Story of Wolfgang’s Sister Maria Anna](https://interlude.hk/the-other-mozart-story-of-wolfgangs-sister-maria-anna/): When I read the announcement that Sylvia Milo’s solo play “The Other Mozart” would be presented in Little Rock at the CALS Ron Robinson Theater, I immediately wanted to see it. Especially since on that very day we were supposed
- [On This Day <br/>7 October: Charles Dutoit Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-7-october-charles-dutoit-was-born/): Swiss conductor Charles Dutoit is renowned for polished and idiomatic interpretations of an eclectic array of musical styles. He has energetically travelled the globe in search of excellence and demonstrated a great affinity to French and Russian music, specifically in
- [15 Pieces of Classical Music About the Sea](https://interlude.hk/15-pieces-of-classical-music-about-the-sea/): Today we’re looking at pieces of classical music inspired by the sea. We’ll be listening to the work of composers who made musical waves, capturing the sea’s tranquility and its tumult. Anchors aweigh! Ludwig van Beethoven: Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage (1815) Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage is a cantata...
- [The Poetry of the Harpsichord: Couperin’s <em>Pièces de Clavecin</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-poetry-of-the-harpsichord-couperins-pieces-de-clavecin/): François Couperin (1668–1733) was a French composer, organist, and harpsichordist from a distinguished musical family. His father, Charles, was an organist, as was his uncle Louis; both had served at the Church of Saint-Gervais in Paris. In addition to being
- [The Samuel Dushkin-Igor Stravinsky Collaborations <br/>“Lyricism with rules”](https://interlude.hk/the-samuel-dushkin-igor-stravinsky-collaborations-lyricism-with-rules/): During his long performing career, the Polish-American violinist and composer Samuel Dushkin (1891-1976) was never considered a flashy virtuoso violinist but rather a highly respected musician. In his recordings, Dushkin reveals a powerful vibrato on the lower strings. Possibly attributed
- [Lost Euridice and Found Again](https://interlude.hk/lost-euridice-and-found-again/): The story of Orpheus and Euridice is one of the early stories told in opera. From the first operas in 1600 by Caccini and Peri to the 21st century, the story of the musician and his lost love was central to musical writing. In Greek mythology, Orpheus was a legendary...
- [Taking Flight: Music about Balloons](https://interlude.hk/taking-flight-music-about-balloons/): The summer is a time for balloons – children’s balloons in the park, adult balloon flights in the sky, or as a part of a day’s adventure at the theme park. Historically, their beginnings are associated with the great experiments of the Montgolfier brothers in the late 18th century. Ballooning...
- [On This Day <br/>5 October: Gluck’s <em>Orpheus and Eurydice</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-5-october-glucks-orpheus-and-eurydice-was-premiered/): The Greek legend of Orpheus—his descent to Hades and his fruitless attempt to bring his dead bride, Eurydice, back to the world of the living—is central to the emergence of opera. Orpheus was not only the legendary hero of Greek
- [Seven Best Works by Clara Schumann, According to YouTube](https://interlude.hk/seven-best-works-by-clara-schumann-according-to-youtube/): Have you ever wanted a primer on Clara Wieck Schumann‘s works but didn’t know where to begin? Have you ever been curious about which of her works has resonated the most with listeners? Today, we’re going to YouTube for answers:
- [My Favorite Canons and Other Musical Puzzles](https://interlude.hk/my-favorite-canons-and-other-musical-puzzles/): When musicians and composers get together to have a little brainy fun, they generally turn towards counterpoint. But not just any counterpoint, as composers throughout the ages have looked towards imitative counterpoint as practiced in canons and rounds. So, what
- [In Touch With Sophia Stoyanovich <br/>Rue Paradis: Chamber Works by Patrick Stoyanovich](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-sophia-stoyanovich-rue-paradis-chamber-works-by-patrick-stoyanovich/): Meet Sophia Stoyanovich, an American violinist who recently released her debut album with pianist Derek Wang and cellist Aaron Wolff featuring compositions written by her father, Patrick Stoyanovich. A deeply personal project, this recording took just over four years to
- [Composers in the Court Room <br/> Elvira Puccini vs. Emilia Manfredi](https://interlude.hk/composers-in-the-court-room-elvira-puccini-vs-emilia-manfredi/): On 1 February 1908 Emilia Manfredi filed a formal lawsuit charging Elvira Puccini with causing the suicide of her daughter Doria. Subjected to continual and blatant defamation, the lawsuit read, Doria Manfredi had swallowed a lethal amount of sublimate, a
- [On This Day <br/>3 October: Ruggero Raimondi Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-3-october-ruggero-raimondi-was-born/): The bass-baritone Ruggero Raimondi catapulted to world fame both as an actor and a singer not long after making his debut in Spoleto in 1964. Immediately in the highest demand for his vocal mastery and stage presence, Raimondi worked with
- [Electronics and <em>La Marseillaise</em>](https://interlude.hk/electronics-and-la-marseillaise/): Danish composer Else Marie Pade (1924-2016) was a pioneer in electronic music. Her initial music studies were in piano and composition, moving into 12-tone technique. In 1954, inspired by the first electronic composers such as Pierre Schaeffer, she became Denmark’s
- [A Conversation With Trio Bohémo Pianist Jan Vojtek](https://interlude.hk/a-conversation-with-trio-bohemo-pianist-jan-vojtek/): Trio Bohémo was founded in 2019 by three talented Czech musicians: Jan Vojtek (piano), Matouš Pěruška (violin), and Kristina Vocetková (cello). In only five years, they have performed extensively all over the world and received numerous prestigious awards, including the
- [Classical Music About Betrayal](https://interlude.hk/classical-music-about-betrayal/): Betrayal is one of the most painful – and sadly, most universal – of human experiences. No matter who you are or where you come from, we’ve all been let down by friends, family, or lovers. Luckily for the betrayed, composers of classical music have drawn on themes of treachery...
- [The Other Danubes I](https://interlude.hk/the-other-danubes-i/): Johann Strauss II’s evergreen An der schönen, blauen Donau (The Beautiful Blue Danube), Op. 314, wasn’t, of course, the only piece of music about the Danube. Franz Schubert, in his 1817 setting of Johann Meyrhofer’s pessimistic poem Auf der Danau, created a musical work that perfectly illustrates not only the...
- [Irène Duval](https://interlude.hk/irene-duval-french-violinist/): ‘It’s Always The Music First’ Award-winning violinist Irène Duval has earned a reputation for ‘her mastery of phrasing and dramatic dimension’ (Diapason), and ‘astonishing virtuosity’ (Revelations Classiques). Her career has already taken her around the world, with collaborations and appearances
- [Playing with the Prelude and Fugue: Bach’s Prelude and Fugue in C major](https://interlude.hk/playing-with-the-prelude-and-fugue-bachs-prelude-and-fugue-in-c-major/): The combination of the Prelude and Fugue seems to be a particularly 18th-century construction. The two works should be in the same key and have different compositional rules: the Prelude as an introductory piece, sometimes of an improvisatory nature, and
- [30 Best Classical Music Movies As Rated by Rotten Tomatoes](https://interlude.hk/30-best-classical-music-movies-as-rated-by-rotten-tomatoes/): Looking for a movie about classical music to watch? You’re in luck! Today we’ve not only assembled a list of thirty movies about classical music, but we’ve also checked in with movie review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes to see which
- [On This Day <br/>30 September: George Gershwin’s <em>Porgy and Bess</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-30-september-george-gershwins-porgy-and-bess-was-premiered/): On 30 September 1935, the Colonial Theatre in Boston, Massachusetts, hosted the world premiere performance of Porgy and Bess by George Gershwin. It was the try-out run for the first Broadway showing at Alvin Theatre in New York City on
- [On This Day <br/>29 September: Lisette Oropesa Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-29-september-lisette-oropesa-was-born/): The lyric coloratura soprano Lisette Oropesa has achieved worldwide acclaim for her seamless vocal technique, expressive musicality, linguistic affinity, and stylistic integrity. According to critics, “she has a technique without weakness, and everything she touches turns into gold. ” She sang
- [The Mountain Maid <br/>Edvard Grieg and Arne Garborg](https://interlude.hk/the-mountain-maid-edvard-grieg-and-arne-garborg/): In 1895, Edvard Grieg came across the book Haugtussa (The Mountain Maid) by Arne Gaborg. He immediately was fire and flame writing to his friend Julius Röntgen, “In the last few days I have been occupied with a very peculiar
- [The Perils of Playing and Instrument Drops- it’s a Thing](https://interlude.hk/the-perils-of-playing-and-instrument-drops-its-a-thing/): As if we musicians don’t have more than our share of challenges to contend with, we heard the recent story of the energetic and exultant conductor who kicked a soloist’s violin right out of his hands. The Czech violinist, classical,
- [Violence Against Men <br/>The Age of the Castrato III](https://interlude.hk/violence-against-men-the-age-of-the-castrato-iii/): Current research has suggested that the castrati “were considered to be a gender of their own, partly because they were not classified as male or female in society. They drifted, so to speak, in a gender limbo, often carrying a
- [Who Was Mozart’s Real Musical Father?](https://interlude.hk/who-was-mozarts-real-musical-father/): Fans of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart will likely be aware that he was taught, shaped, and influenced by his father Leopold Mozart, a violinist and composer. When Leopold began to teach his seven-year-old daughter Nannerl, in 1759, he discovered that Wolfgang could imitate anything his sister played on the keyboard. Leopold...
- [Making a Difference: Speaking with Odaline de la Martínez](https://interlude.hk/making-a-difference-speaking-with-odaline-de-la-martinez/): Cuban-born composer Odaline de la Martínez (b. 1949) has some wonderful milestones coming up. First is the world premiere of her new work, Three Afro Cuban Poems, on 28 September; on 2 October, the University of Illinois will put on
- [On This Day <br/>27 September: Georg Philipp Telemann’s <em>Pimpinone</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-27-september-georg-philipp-telemanns-pimpinone-was-premiered/): On the occasion of the recent wedding of Louis XV and Maria Leszczyńska, daughter of the deposed king of Poland, the Hamburg Opera am Gänsemarkt saw the premiere of Georg Philipp Telemann’s intermezzos Pimpinone on 27 September 1725. The Telemann
- [Free Polyphony in a Modern Style: Martinů’s <em>Madrigals</em>](https://interlude.hk/free-polyphony-in-a-modern-style-martinus-madrigals/): Bohuslav Martinů (1890-1959), the younger compatriot of Czech composer Leoš Janáček (1854–1928), was much more widely traveled than Janáček, largely due to the wars of the 20th century. Martinů, living in Paris in 1940, emigrated temporarily to Portugal and then
- [Has The Leeds Piano Competition Gone Woke?](https://interlude.hk/has-the-leeds-piano-competition-gone-woke/): In my previous article about the Leeds Piano Competition in 2021, I insinuated some evidence of an “old boys club”, as there were 5 men selected to advance to the finals out of 10 semi-finalists comprising 4 women and 6
- [“a shared soul” <br/>Pavel Kolesnikov and Samson Tsoy (piano 4-hands): Franz Schubert & Leonid Desyatnikov](https://interlude.hk/a-shared-soul-pavel-kolesnikov-and-samson-tsoy-piano-4-hands-franz-schubert-leonid-desyatnikov/): Partners at the piano and in life, Samson Tsoy and Pavel Kolesnikov met in 2007 as students at the Moscow State Conservatory, where they chose piano duo as part of their chamber music assessments. They moved to London in 2011,
- [On This Day <br/>26 September: Béla Bartók Died](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-26-september-bela-bartok-died/): Béla Bartók was diagnosed with Leukaemia in April 1944, and as his body gradually failed, he found creative energy and produced a final set of masterpieces inspired by Yehudi Menuhin, Fritz Reiner, and Serge Koussevitzky. Bartók died at age 64,
- [Classical Music About Hell](https://interlude.hk/classical-music-about-hell/): Many composers and listeners have a twisted fascination with dark themes like sin, death, punishment, and hell. Today, we’re looking at ten pieces of classical music about hell and seeing how classical composers have crafted vivid musical depictions of the underworld. Let’s begin our musical journey to hell and back....
- [Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683-1764) <br/>Seven of His Most Beautiful Instrumental Suites](https://interlude.hk/jean-philippe-rameau-1683-1764-seven-of-his-most-beautiful-instrumental-suites/): Jean-Philippe Rameau, born in Dijon and baptised on 25 September 1683, was France’s leading 18th-century composer. In his lifetime, however, he was primarily known as a music theorist. His 1722 Treatise on Harmony, establishing the development of a fundamental bass, became the definitive authority on music theory as it formed...
- [Pianist Eric Lu Makes His HK Muse Debut](https://interlude.hk/pianist-eric-lu-makes-his-hk-muse-debut/): Since winning the prestigious Leeds International Piano Competition in 2018 at the age of 20, Eric Lu has enjoyed a busy international performing career as both a soloist and in concertos with leading orchestras and has released three albums. Praised
- [Thomas Britton: Charcoal and Handel](https://interlude.hk/thomas-britton-charcoal-and-handel/): You’ve probably never heard of the charcoal merchant Thomas Britton (1644-1714). He came from a small village in Northamptonshire and moved to London to become a highly successful merchant. In his spare time, he started to take singing lessons and
- [Making the River Accessible <br/>The Blue Danube for Other Voices](https://interlude.hk/making-the-river-accessible-the-blue-danube-for-other-voices/): If you love The Blue Danube, but didn’t happen to have an orchestra hanging about, there were many options for being able to play the piece at home, either by yourself or with friends. For solo piano, the work is
- [Saved by the Sacred: Wagner’s <em>Tannhäuser</em>](https://interlude.hk/saved-by-the-sacred-wagners-tannhauser/): In his opera Tannhäuser, Richard Wagner (1813–1883) combined two German legends, that of the German Minnesänger and poet Tannhäuser, and the story of the Wartburg Song Contest. Although the contest is the surface, the story is really about the battle
- [10 More Dazzling and Awe-Inspiring Piano Quartets](https://interlude.hk/10-more-dazzling-and-awe-inspiring-piano-quartets/): A couple of years ago, Interlude published a blog on the 10 most beautiful piano quartets. Once again, featuring just 10 works in that particular genre is simply not enough. So, we decided to present a follow-up, highlighting 10 more dazzling and awe-inspiring piano quartets. As a quick recap, you...
- [On This Day <br/>23 September: Christoph Willibald Gluck’s <em>Armide</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-23-september-christoph-willibald-glucks-armide-was-premiered/): In 1575, Torquato Tasso wrote his epic poem Gerusalemme liberate (Jerusalem Delivered). Set during the first crusade, the sorceress Armida ensnares the Christian knight Rinaldo and holds him captive on an island. When she raises her dagger to kill him,
- [On This Day <br/>22 September: Henryk Szeryng Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-22-september-henryk-szeryng-was-born/): For some listeners and critics, Henryk Szeryng’s “steely tenacity and intellectual firepower lurked just behind the gracious surfaces. ” However, as pianist Arthur Rubinstein famously stated, “Szeryng’s playing reduce me to tears... Real music lovers want emotion, great moments, which Szeryng’s
- [A Chance Encounter With the Marvelous Quatuor Van Kuijk](https://interlude.hk/a-chance-encounter-with-the-marvelous-quatuor-van-kuijk/): Sometimes, when we don’t expect it, we are treated to an exceptional, uplifting, and memorable performance. While I was on a recent vacation in Europe, I was fortunate to attend a private performance given by the marvelous string quartet Quatuor
- [Seven Works Dedicated to Tchaikovsky](https://interlude.hk/seven-works-dedicated-to-tchaikovsky/): Pyotr Ilich Tchaikovsky was a giant of late nineteenth century Russian music. To show their appreciation for his artistry, many of his colleagues dedicated works to him, especially after his early and unexpected death in November of 1893. Today, we’re looking at seven of the most interesting pieces of music...
- [Violence Against Men <br/>The Age of the Castrato II](https://interlude.hk/violence-against-men-the-age-of-the-castrato-ii/): Castration for musical reasons was never really officially legal. In fact, it was banned under Canon Law and punishable with excommunication. The music historian Charles Burney traveled through Italy in search of places where the operation was carried out. He
- [Happy 150th Birthday Gustav Holst (1874-1934)](https://interlude.hk/happy-150th-birthday-gustav-holst-1874-1934/): 2024 marks the 150th anniversary of Gustav Holst, born in Cheltenham on 21 September 1874. He devoted his life to teaching and composition, crafting nearly 300 works in a variety of genres including orchestral music, chamber music, brass and military
- [Inspired by an Encyclical <br/>Linda J. Chase’s <em>For the Common Home</em>](https://interlude.hk/inspired-by-an-encyclical-linda-j-chases-for-the-common-home/): On 24 May 2015, Pope Francis issued an encyclical, a letter from him addressed to a whole group, in this case, the world. Laudato si’, a shortening of a line from a canticle by Saint Francis of Assisi, ‘Laudato si’,
- [Haydn’s “Ox Minuet”](https://interlude.hk/haydns-ox-minuet/): Ever since the establishment of music printing, publishers have attached various nicknames to compositions in order to increase sales. More often than not, composers really did not have a say. But on occasion, they are at least based on specific
- [Naresh Sohal: Complete Piano Music](https://interlude.hk/naresh-sohal-complete-piano-music/): British-based composer Naresh Sohal was born on 18 September 1939 in Punjab in pre-Partition India and was the first person of Indian origin to make his mark as a composer of western classical music. His family had no musical pedigree,
- [A War Cemetery  in Sound <br/>Johanna Doderer’s Second Symphony "Bohinj"](https://interlude.hk/a-war-cemetery-in-sound-johanna-doderers-second-symphony-bohinj/): Austrian composer Johanna Doderer (b. 1969) looked at the Slovenian Lake Bohinj for her second symphony, Bohinj (2015). Lake Bohinj in Slovenia is a remote lake on the edge of Triglav National Park. Ms. Doderer first focused on the magnificent
- [Hugh Dixon’s <em>Songs of Mystic Jade</em>](https://interlude.hk/hugh-dixons-songs-of-mystic-jade/): Launcelot A. Cranmer-Byng (1872-1945) was a prolific author, translator and editor who published hundreds of articles and compiled numerous books in a variety of languages. His possibly most famous collection is titled “A Lute of Jade. ” It was first issued
- [On This Day <br/>18 September: Jonathan Biss Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-18-september-jonathan-biss-was-born/): American pianist, writer, and teacher Jonathan Biss experienced an extreme panic attack in the middle of playing a recital. He had wrestled with anxiety around performing music for many years, and he felt ashamed of it. As he explained in
- [Classical Music About Fire](https://interlude.hk/classical-music-about-fire/): Fire has endless contradictory connotations, from the agony of flesh burns to the heat of romantic passion to the comforting domestic warmth of hearth and home. Fire is also a universal symbol of both destruction and renewal. Maybe that’s why fire has served as such rich inspiration for many classical...
- [Bringing Music Home: Thomas Kemp of Music at Malling](https://interlude.hk/bringing-music-home-thomas-kemp-of-music-at-malling/): We spoke the other day with English conductor Thomas Kemp, Artistic Director and Founder of Music@Malling. West Malling, a market town in Kent, England, with a history that extends back to the 11th century with the founding of St. Mary’s
- [On This Day <br/>17 September: Isang Yun’s <em>Symphony V</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-17-september-isang-yuns-symphony-v-was-premiered/): Isang Yun’s Symphony V premiered on the composer’s 70th birthday, on 17 September 1987, with Hans Zender conducting the Berlin Philharmonic and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau as the soloist. Using poems by Nelly Sachs, Yun makes an unambiguous statement of his intentions.
- [Julian Jaeyoung Kim Takes the First Steps on His Beethoven Sonatas Journey](https://interlude.hk/julian-jaeyoung-kim-takes-the-first-steps-on-his-beethoven-sonatas-journey/): Following his debut recording of music by Brahms, which we reviewed last December, South Korean pianist Julian Jaeyoung Kim is now turning his attention to Beethoven, whose music would have been familiar to Brahms, and inspired by Beethoven since childhood,
- [Fixing the Trumpet](https://interlude.hk/fixing-the-trumpet/): The natural trumpet, i. e. , one that’s just a length of tubing, get its pitches from the overtone series. However, this is a limited range of pitches and to get ones that are in a particular key requires that the trumpet
- [The Hero in Women’s Clothes: Saint Saëns’ <em>Le Rouet d'Omphale</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-hero-in-womens-clothes-saint-saens-le-rouet-domphale/): In the 1870s, Camille Saint-Saëns (1835–1921) wrote a set of symphonic poems on classical subjects, including Phaéton, Danse macabre, La jeunesse d’Hercule, and Le Rouet d’Omphale (The Spinning Wheel of Omphale), which tell of an episode in Hercules’s life. Omphale
- [On This Day <br/>16 September: Joseph Haydn’s <em>Le Pescatrici</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-16-september-joseph-haydns-le-pescatrici-was-premiered/): Joseph Haydn’s first full-length opera Le Pescatrici (The Fisherwomen) to a libretto of Carlo Goldoni premiered at Eszterháza on 16 September 1770 on the occasion of an elaborate marriage celebration in honour of Countess Lamberg, Prince Nikolaus Esterházy’s niece, and
- [Mexican Independence Day 16 September <br/>10 Most Famous Mexican Composers](https://interlude.hk/mexican-independence-day-16-september-10-most-famous-mexican-composers/): At one point, Mexico was known as New Spain. In fact, it was a colony of the Kingdom of Spain for over 300 years, and the colonial masters rather brutally ruled their subjects. In the end, a Catholic priest in the town of Dolores named Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla had...
- [Lampooning Richard Wagner](https://interlude.hk/lampooning-richard-wagner/): In the aftermath of a performance of Richard Wagner’s Tannhäuser in 1861, everybody tried to figure out what the so-called “Music of the Future” was all about. Many critics mock Wagner for trying to depict absurd narrative details and even
- [On This Day <br/>15 September: Bruno Walter Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-15-september-bruno-walter-was-born/): Bruno Walter , born on 15 September 1876 in Berlin, is celebrated as an outstanding conductor in an era of great conducting. He worked closely with Gustav Mahler and held major positions in Europe and the United States. His work
- [Augusta Holmès’ Symphonic Poems](https://interlude.hk/augusta-holmes-symphonic-poems/): The Anglo-Irish-French composer Augusta Holmès (1847–1903) was born in Paris, daughter of a wealthy Irish officer and an English mother. Although her parents would have preferred her to have an interest in the plastic arts of drawing and painting, it
- [Violence Against Men <br/>The Age of the Castrato](https://interlude.hk/violence-against-men-the-age-of-the-castrato/): Fairy tales normally start with “Once upon a Time,” and generally end with “and they lived happily ever after. ” But some of the supposed musical fairy tales I’ve been reading about are not nice stories at all. I am talking
- [On This Day <br/>14 September: Samuel Barber's <em>Essay for Orchestra No. 3</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-14-september-samuel-barbers-essay-for-orchestra-no-3-was-premiered/): Samuel Barber had always been looking for success in the opera house, an achievement that sadly eluded him. The story was markedly different in the field of instrumental music, as his Overture The School for Scandal was performed by the
- [Claude-Emma Debussy: The Story of Debussy's Doomed Daughter](https://interlude.hk/claude-emma-debussy-the-story-of-debussys-doomed-daughter/): Arguably, the person who composer Claude Debussy loved most in the world was his daughter, Claude-Emma. Father and daughter were extremely close and extremely like each other. Claude was inspired by fatherhood to write several of his most famous works,
- [Musicians and Artists: B.R. Pearson’s <em>Paintings in the Hall</em>](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-b-r-pearsons-paintings-in-the-hall/): In his 2009 recording, American composer B. R. Pearson presents us with a journey around in his Paintings in the Hall. In his view, both art and music work together to divide space and time. Paintings are space and music is
- [“You Should Always Realize Why You Make Music” <br/>An Interview With Pianist Sharon Niessen](https://interlude.hk/you-should-always-realize-why-you-make-music-an-interview-with-pianist-sharon-niessen/): Born and raised in the Netherlands, Sharon Niessen started her musical journey at the age of 9. The winner of a number of prestigious national and international piano competitions, she has been performing from a young age and has received
- [The River in a Box: The Blue Danube for Mechanical Players](https://interlude.hk/the-river-in-a-box-the-blue-danube-for-mechanical-players/): Enclosed in a wooden box lies a magical mechanism: things whirl, a pinned cylinder turns, a little tuned comb is plucked, and music comes out. We looked earlier at all the different ways composers played with Johann Strauss II’s Blue
- [The Power of Music Later in Life <br/>In Touch With Yuri Sabatini](https://interlude.hk/the-power-of-music-later-in-life-in-touch-with-yuri-sabatini/): The uplifting and transformative power of live music is a universal experience. Many of us can remember a particularly inspiring concert or event that left a lasting impression on us. Away from the concert hall, music events and workshops in
- [What Violins Do the Best Violinists Play?](https://interlude.hk/what-violins-do-the-best-violinists-play/): The violins of the great violinists are fascinating works of art. They’ve been coveted for centuries, heard by audiences around the world, and inspired countless musical masterpieces. Some have been stolen; others have been copied; all have been loved. Today,
- [On This Day <br/>11 September: Stravinsky’s <em>The Rake’s Progress</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-11-september-stravinskys-the-rakes-progress-was-premiered/): Igor Stravinsky visited the Chicago Art Institute on 2 May 1947. He was struck by a series of eighteenth-century paintings by William Hogarth titled “The Rake’s Progress. ” This series of scenes from a drama suggested the subject for an English-language
- [Playing Chopin: In Conversation With James Lisney](https://interlude.hk/playing-chopin-in-conversation-with-james-lisney/): The music of Frédéric Chopin has been central to British pianist James Lisney’s repertoire since his Wigmore Hall debut in 1986. Lisney is a ‘great great grand pupil’ of Chopin, through his teacher, Phyllis Sellick (1911-2007), who herself was taught
- [Henry Purcell (1659-1695): His Best and Most Famous Semi-operas](https://interlude.hk/henry-purcell-1659-1695-his-best-and-most-famous-semi-operas/): We still don’t know for certain, but Henry Purcell, the most original English composer of his time, was probably born on 10 September 1659. We do know, however, that during his life, he composed music for a wide variety of
- [Grigory Sokolov’s <em>Purcell and Mozart</em>](https://interlude.hk/finding-an-audience-grigory-sokolovs-purcell-and-mozart/): In his new 2-CD recording for Deutsche Grammophon, pianist Grigory Sokolov (b. 1950) gives a very thoughtful recording of two musical giants who rarely appear on the same program together: Henry Purcell and Mozart. Better known in Europe than in
- [On This Day <br/>9 September: Pierre-Laurent Aimard Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-9-september-pierre-laurent-aimard-was-born/): Pierre-Laurent Aimard is described as “a brilliant musician and an extraordinary visionary. ” A celebrated interpreter of the standard repertoire, he is also a key figure in contemporary music. Throughout his remarkable career, he has been the pianist of choice of
- [Compositions Dedicated to Johannes Brahms](https://interlude.hk/compositions-dedicated-to-johannes-brahms/): Johannes Brahms was seemingly nonchalant when it came to critical assessments of his work or the opinions of his fellow composers. Nevertheless, he proudly and secretly kept a handwritten list of works dedicated to him by other composers. In a
- [Inspired by the Beautiful Blue Danube](https://interlude.hk/inspired-by-the-beautiful-blue-danube/): Johann Strauss II’s waltz, An der schönen, blauen Danube (By the Beautiful Blue Danube or The Blue Danube), was only a mild success at its premiere at the concert of the Wiener Männergesang-Verein (Vienna Men’s Choral Association) on 15 February
- [On This Day <br/>8 September: Lars Vogt Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-8-september-lars-vogt-was-born/): On 5 September 2022, the German pianist and conductor Lars Vogt succumbed to oesophageal cancer at the age of 52. He came to prominence after taking second prize at the 1990 Leeds International Piano Competition, bringing exceptional sensitivity and lyricism
- [Melodies of the Heart <br/>Edvard Grieg and Hans Christian Andersen](https://interlude.hk/melodies-of-the-heart-edvard-grieg-and-hans-christian-andersen/): Edvard Grieg met Hans Christian Andersen in Copenhagen in 1864, when the writer and poet already enjoyed considerable fame in many parts of Europe for his stories, novels, and poetry. The two artists enjoyed a close kinship as both were
- [Sergei Rachmaninoff <br/>The Russian Romanzas](https://interlude.hk/sergei-rachmaninoff-the-russian-romanzas/): The 83 Romances by Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943) include some of his finest and most memorable music. They are part of the Russian contribution to the great 19th-century stream of Romantic songs, and the composer cultivated the musical garden he inherited from Glinka and Tchaikovsky. Like Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff sought, above all,...
- [In Touch With Amadeus Templeton <br/>Co-founder of TONALi, Hamburg](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-amadeus-templeton-co-founder-of-tonali-hamburg/): TONALi in Hamburg is a great example of how German institutions are not only active in conserving and maintaining the traditional aspect of classical music, but they are also keenly innovative. The lines between the ‘underground stream’ and ‘the institutional’
- [On This Day <br/>7 September: Jean-Yves Thibaudet Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-7-september-jean-yves-thibaudet-was-born/): Considered one of the best pianists in the world, Jean-Yves Thibaudet has the rare ability to combine poetic musical sensibilities with dazzling technical prowess. As the New York Times writes, “... every note he fashions is a pearl... the joy, brilliance
- [How I Discovered the Impassioned Mozart](https://interlude.hk/how-i-discovered-the-impassioned-mozart/): Recently, I embarked on a river cruise with an exclusive focus on Mozart. It was one of the most gratifying and stimulating yet serene journeys I have ever encountered. Credit goes to the tour company, which was meticulous in curating
- [Interview with Meaghan Williams <br/> Double Bass Soloist of Mark Haney’s <em>Placentia Bay: Summer of 1941</em>](https://interlude.hk/interview-with-meaghan-williams-double-bass-soloist-of-mark-haneys-placentia-bay-summer-of-1941/): Meaghan Williams, an accomplished double bass musician based in Vancouver, is the soloist on the recent LP release Placentia Bay: Summer of 1941. The LP is named after the double-bass concerto written by Canadian composer and bassist Mark Haney. This
- [On This Day <br/>5 September: Karita Mattila Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-5-september-karita-mattila-was-born/): Born in Somero, Finland, on 5 September 1960, Karita Mattila can turn any performance into an event. She is one of opera’s most compelling actors, combining conscious artistry with a “truly physical and vocal performance. ” In fact, she has been
- [10 Pieces of Classical Music About Gardens](https://interlude.hk/10-pieces-of-classical-music-about-gardens/): Classical music composers have always been drawn to the inspiration present in the natural world, and many have gotten close to it by gardening themselves or even writing music about gardens. Today, we’re looking at ten pieces of classical music about gardens and the stories behind them. No need for...
- [Bruckner’s Crypt – A Return to St Florian Monastery](https://interlude.hk/bruckners-crypt-a-return-to-st-florian-monastery/): This year, in 2024, we are celebrating the 200th birthday of an inventive and revered composer of the late 19th century, Anton Bruckner. Having performed his symphonies many times, what better way to honor the composer than to make a
- [Anton Bruckner (1824-1896) <br/>Happy 200th Birthday Anton Bruckner](https://interlude.hk/anton-bruckner-1824-1896-happy-200th-birthday-anton-bruckner/): The music of Anton Bruckner, born as the son of a schoolmaster and church organist in Ansfelden near Linz on 4 September 1824, still strongly resonates today. Yet he was more than just an artist, he was a visionary. One
- [A Classical Sound Bath Experience with Transposed Pianist Elena Toponogova and Soprano Eleanor Penfold (Ellie)](https://interlude.hk/a-classical-sound-bath-experience-with-transposed-pianist-elena-toponogova-and-soprano-eleanor-penfold-ellie/): Have you ever attended a concert featuring classical music and sound therapy? An ensemble group called Transposed, founded by pianist Elena Toponogova and soprano Eleanor Penfold (Ellie), is offering a classical and meditative sound bath experience. During the conversation, they
- [The Heroic River <br/>Matej Meštrović’s <em>Danube Rhapsody</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-heroic-river-matej-mestrovics-danube-rhapsody/): Croatian composer Matej Meštrović (b. 1969) brought interesting instruments to his 2018 work Danube Rhapsody, adding in the hammer-struck cimbalom and the Croatian long-necked lute, the tambura or tamburitza. Meštrović uses the folklore of the countries that border the Danube, and
- [30 Pieces of Classical Music About Autumn](https://interlude.hk/30-pieces-of-classical-music-about-autumn/): Need some classical music about autumn and the fall season to add to your playlist? We’ve got you covered! Today, we’re looking at almost four centuries of music. So grab a pumpkin spice latte, settle in, and enjoy these thirty pieces of classical music about autumn. The 4 Seasons by...
- [On This Day <br/>2 September: Weill’s <em>Happy End</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-2-september-weills-happy-end-was-premiered/): The Threepenny Opera, the most famous collaboration between Bertold Brecht and Kurt Weill premiered on 31 August 1928. It was a resounding success with critics and audiences alike. A contemporary critic writes that the work is “the weightiest possible lowbrow
- [Darkness and Light: Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5](https://interlude.hk/darkness-and-light-tchaikovskys-symphony-no-5/): The music of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840–1893) has come in and out of favour over the decades – listeners love his ability to tell stories in music. Then they tire of what seems to be the superficial aspects of his
- [An Unlikely Hero <br/> Don Quixote in Music II](https://interlude.hk/an-unlikely-hero-don-quixote-in-music-ii/): Léon Minkus (1826-1917) was actually born Alois Ludwig Minkus in 1826 in Vienna. A violin virtuoso, conductor and composer, he made his first excursion into the world of ballet in collaboration with Marius Petipa in Paris in 1846. Minkus had connections to Russia, and he permanently moved there in the...
- [Kian Soltani](https://interlude.hk/kian-soltani-austrian-cellist/): The Importance of Being a ‘Well-Balanced, Healthy Individual’ Whether it’s Dvořák’s Cello Concerto or Pirates of the Caribbean, cellist Kian Soltani’s curiosity and commitment to music of all styles has captivated audiences around the world with playing described as ‘sheer
- [“Do Music for Love and Pleasure First” <br/>An Interview With Composer and Musician Michael Howell](https://interlude.hk/do-music-for-love-and-pleasure-first-an-interview-with-composer-and-musician-michael-howell/): Described by superstar pianist Lang Lang as ‘A genius... The new Bach’ during his performance on Channel 4’s popular and inspiring programme The Piano (UK tv), Michael Howell is a young self-taught composer, singer and pianist from a working-class Caribbean-Jamaican background
- [On This Day <br/>31 August: Daniel Harding Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-31-august-daniel-harding-was-born/): Considered Britain’s most gifted and respected export among conductors after Simon Rattle, Daniel Harding’s devotion to music is “matched by his love of football, fast cars, and planes. ” His early conducting career was truly remarkable as he was given the
- [Edvard Grieg: <em>6 Poems by Henrik Ibsen</em>](https://interlude.hk/edvard-grieg-6-poems-by-henrik-ibsen/): Throughout his life, Edvard Grieg (1843-1907) composed a total of 181 songs. That means that excluding folk-song arrangements, Grieg composed more vocal music than piano and chamber works together. From his 4 Songs Op. 2 of 1861 to the 5
- [By Popular Request <br/>Bonus Repertoire for Piano Trio](https://interlude.hk/by-popular-request-bonus-repertoire-for-piano-trio/): The piano trio, most commonly featuring the piano, a violin, and a cello, is one of the most popular pairings in classical chamber music. The amount of music written for this particular instrumental combination is absolutely staggering. Composers from A to Z, from Aarne to Zykan, have taken on this...
- [Composers in the Courtroom <br/>Lully versus Guichard](https://interlude.hk/composers-in-the-courtroom-lully-versus-guichard/): Jean-Baptiste Lully (1632-1687) originally hailed from Florence, and he was essentially known as a cheeky street musician in his youth. His talents, musical and otherwise, were recognized, and he ended up as an Italian language tutor to Louis XIV’s cousin
- [Depicting One’s Friends Music: C.P.E. Bach’s Character Pieces](https://interlude.hk/depicting-ones-friends-music-c-p-e-bachs-character-pieces/): C. P. E. Bach composed a number of character pieces for solo keyboard between 1754 and 1758. He used a French model, the pièce de caractère, and called his works Petites Pièces. The works were named after Bach’s friends and acquaintances. Although
- [The Passion of Women and a River <br/>Janáček’s <em>Danube, JW IX/7</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-passion-of-women-and-a-river-janaceks-danube-jw-ix-7/): Leoš Janáček (1854–1928) first encountered the Danube in March 1923. On a visit to Bratislava, Slovakia, he saw the river and decided to write a Slavic symphonic poem about it. He regarded the river as Slavic since it passed through
- [Chief Royal Mistress Madame Pompadour <br/>Leo Fall’s <em>Madame Pompadour</em>](https://interlude.hk/chief-royal-mistress-madame-pompadour-leo-falls-madame-pompadour/): The scandals and doings of centuries-old family dynasties have long been a source of fascination for the general public. Royals like Prince Harry and Meghan Markle manage to stay in the headlines day after day, keeping countless people entertained without
- [On This Day <br/>28 August: Imogen Cooper Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-28-august-imogen-cooper-was-born/): Sir Simon Rattle famously wrote, “Imogen Cooper is one of the greatest musicians England has produced. She’s utterly without show. Mozart, Schumann and Schubert could have been written for her. There’s a poetic, reflective side to her which is always
- [Violin vs. Cello: What's the Difference? And Which One Should I Play?](https://interlude.hk/violin-vs-cello-whats-the-difference-and-which-one-should-i-play/): The violin and the cello are two of the most beloved members of the string family. Composers, performers, and audiences have adored them both for centuries. They share a common shape and ancestry, but each is very different, too, in
- [Meet Kara Huber <br/> Grammy-Nominated Canadian-American Pianist Sharing Her New Release: Joan Tower Piano Works](https://interlude.hk/meet-kara-huber-grammy-nominated-canadian-american-pianist-sharing-her-new-release-joan-tower-piano-works/): Dr. Kara Huber is a Grammy-nominated Canadian-American pianist and conductor with an impressive background in piano and conducting. She has performed with various orchestras and worked with renowned conductors. Ms. Huber has also received several awards for her performances and
- [Gradus ad Parnassum <br/>“On the steps to Mount Parnassus”](https://interlude.hk/gradus-ad-parnassum-on-the-steps-to-mount-parnassus/): Towering high above the sunbaked rolling plains and olive groves of central Greece, Mount Parnassus looks down sternly on its surroundings. It is a forbidding world of craggy limestone structures and steep cliffs, and on its slope, we find the
- [Report from Pesaro 2024](https://interlude.hk/report-from-pesaro-2024/): There’s a good reason why Gioachino Rossini’s Bianca e Falliero is rarely performed. It is long, dramatically weak, and the music can be repetitive – some of the most interesting parts are actually borrowed from the composer’s La Donna del
- [The <em>Stylus Phantasticus</em>: Bach’s <em>Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-stylus-phantasticus-bachs-chromatic-fantasy-and-fugue/): J. S. Bach (1685–1750) came to Cöthen in 1717 as Kapellmeister and Chamber Music Director to Prince Leopold of Anhalt-Cöthen and remained there until he left for Leipzig in 1723. In those seven years, he could explore instrumental music because the
- [On This Day <br/>26 August: Dina Ugorskaja Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-26-august-dina-ugorskaja-was-born/): Dina Ugorskaja is frequently hailed as a “philosopher at the piano,” internationally known for her thoughtful and sensitive interpretations. During her struggles with cancer in her final years, Ugorskaja projected a sense of darkness that made her interpretations “fearsomely beautiful,
- [Classical Music for Cats: A Guide to Soothing Your Feline Friends](https://interlude.hk/classical-music-for-cats-a-guide-to-soothing-your-feline-friends/): If you’re a cat owner, you’ve probably noticed how your furry friend can get easily irritated by loud noises or sudden movements. Fortunately, there might be a solution that calms your cat’s nerves: classical music. Studies have shown that classical music has a calming effect on both humans and animals....
- [Niccolò Jommelli](https://interlude.hk/niccolo-jommelli-italian-composer/): “The music is beautiful, but too clever and old fashioned for the theatre” The above quote originates in a letter from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to his father Leopold. Mozart was in Naples in 1770 and had just seen a performance
- [Playing in the Past <br/>Fauré: Masques et Bergamasques Suite](https://interlude.hk/playing-in-the-past-faure-masques-et-bergamasques-suite/): In April 1919, Gabriel Fauré’s Masques et Bergamasques, a comédie musicale, with a libretto by René Fauchois, had its debut at the Opéra de Monte-Carlo. From its very title, the influence of Italian commedia dell’arte, French music, and pastoral art
- [An Unlikely Hero <br/> Don Quixote in Music](https://interlude.hk/an-unlikely-hero-don-quixote-in-music/): In times of crisis, we are always looking for heroes; while losing his left hand in the battle of Lepanto and being held for ransom in prison in Algiers, the author Miguel de Cervantes found his hero in the 16th-century Spanish noble who left home to right the ills of...
- [On This Day <br/>24 August: George Li Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-24-august-george-li-was-born/): The 2015 International Tchaikovsky Competition announced 19-year-old pianist American George Li as the recipient of the Second prize in the piano division. The judges praised his incredible technical skill and his passionate and sincere attitude towards music. “Li showed himself
- [Ravel for Beginners <br/>Ten Pieces to Make You Love Ravel](https://interlude.hk/ravel-for-beginners-ten-pieces-to-make-you-love-ravel/): Maurice Ravel was born in Ciboure, France, near the Spanish border on the Bay of Biscay in 1875. He grew up to become one of the most influential composers in French history. Here are a few facts about his life and work: Ravel is associated with the Impressionist movement in...
- [Turn and Turn](https://interlude.hk/turn-and-turn/): All music pages present a problem for the performer: how do you get to the other side? If you’re a pianist in a performance, you have a page-turner. A page-turner is a musically literate person who sits just behind you
- [On This Day <br/>23 August:  Karina Canellakis Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-23-august-karina-canellakis-was-born/): Born in New York City on 23 August 1981, conductor Karina Canellakis has a number of firsts to her name. She was the first woman to conduct the First Night of the BBC Proms in London in 2019, and was
- [Food for Thought <br/>Mealtime with Leopold Mozart](https://interlude.hk/food-for-thought-mealtime-with-leopold-mozart/): A foodie connoisseur once wrote, “Food shares with music an enduring repertoire subject to interpretation. ” And when we talk about Leopold Mozart, the emphasis is clearly on interpretation. He was a man prone to complain about most things, including the
- [Claude Debussy <br/>The Théodore de Banville Mélodies](https://interlude.hk/claude-debussy-the-theodore-de-banville-melodies/): Claude Debussy set altogether thirteen poems by the Parnassian poet Théodore de Banville (1823-1891). The Banville mélodies, like almost half of his entire output for voice and piano, date from a period between roughly 1880 to 1884. This period was
- [A New Setting of Familiar Lyrics: Corigliano and Dylan <br/>Corigliano Jr.: <em>Mr. Tambourine Man</em>](https://interlude.hk/a-new-setting-of-familiar-lyrics-corigliano-and-dylan-corigliano-jr-mr-tambourine-man/): We think of Bob Dylan as a unified poet and songwriter. It’s hard to think of his poems without his melodies. American composer John Corigliano (b. 1938), however, looked more deeply into Dylan’s poetry. Having always heard about the high
- [Composers Like Chopin: Ten Composers to Check Out](https://interlude.hk/composers-like-chopin-ten-composers-to-check-out/): Delicacy. Poignancy. Romance. These are just a few of the words often associated with Frédéric Chopin‘s timeless compositions for piano. That said, Chopin’s music doesn’t have a monopoly on those adjectives. Today, we’re looking at ten works by ten composers who, just like Chopin, understood the piano’s expressive power... while...
- [Architect of Quintets <br/>Victor Vladimirovich Ewald’s Brass Quintets](https://interlude.hk/architect-of-quintets-victor-vladimirovich-ewalds-brass-quintets/): Like many of the Russian composers in the later 19th century, Victor Vladimirovich Ewald (1860–1935) had a day job. He completed his studies in St Petersburg in civil engineering and, in 1900, was a professor at the Faculty of Construction
- [At the Piano With Edvard Grieg <br/><em>Lyric Pieces</em> Books 8-10](https://interlude.hk/at-the-piano-with-edvard-grieg-lyric-pieces-books-8-10/): In 1900, Grieg spent some time in Copenhagen, and he wrote to a friend, “although I am currently out of the country, my thoughts are only about Norway and Norwegians, about all our youthful pugnacity up there. Yes, it is
- [Who was Jessy Reason? <br/>Piano and Chamber Music by Jessy Reason <br/>Duncan Honeybourne - piano with Leora Cohen – violin](https://interlude.hk/who-was-jessy-reason-piano-and-chamber-music-by-jessy-reason-duncan-honeybourne-piano-with-leora-cohen-violin/): This interesting new release from British pianist Duncan Honeybourne, with British-American violinist Leora Cohen, introduces the hitherto little-known music of Jessy Reason, known somewhat cryptically during her lifetime as “J. L. Reason”. A long-forgotten, enigmatic figure, Jessy Lilian Reason, née
- [Spanish Gold: Cabézon’s <em>Diferencias</em>](https://interlude.hk/spanish-gold-cabezons-diferencias/): Gold from the New World flooded Spain in the 16th century, and musical culture followed it. Charles V travelled with his capilla flamenca, his Flemish chapel that accompanied him around Spain and into his northern empire. Singers and composers of
- [Conversation With Svetlana Andreeva <br/> The Air Concerto’s Pianist](https://interlude.hk/conversation-with-svetlana-andreeva-the-air-concertos-pianist/): Svetlana Andreeva is a Ukrainian pianist and a winner of numerous international piano competitions, including the Paderewski International Piano Competition in Bydgoszcz and the Scriabin International Piano Competition in Moscow. In January 2023, she collaborated with The Royal Scottish National
- [Chamber Music <br/> More Dazzling and Awe-Inspiring Piano Trios](https://interlude.hk/chamber-music-more-dazzling-and-awe-inspiring-piano-trios/): A little while ago, I wrote a blog on the 10 most beautiful piano trios and your response was overwhelming. Thank you so much for your encouraging comments, and also for suggesting additional works that should have been included. To
- [Music for the Three-Choirs Festival <br/>Premier Performances](https://interlude.hk/music-for-the-three-choirs-festival-premier-performances/): Over 300 years ago, the three Choirs of the cathedrals of Hereford, Gloucester, and Worcester decided to hold an annual music festival at the end of July. The origins of the annual music meetings of the “Three Choirs” were outlined in a 1729 sermon preached by Thomas Bisse at Hereford...
- [William Vincent Wallace: Nearly Eaten by Cannibals](https://interlude.hk/william-vincent-wallace-nearly-eaten-by-cannibals/): William Vincent Wallace (1812-1865) might not be a household name nowadays, but he was one of the major composers of Romantic English opera. And while his opera Maritana, which had a triumphant première at London’s Drury Lane Theatre on 15
- [Conversation With Christian Schittenhelm <br/>Composer of the Albums “Back Home with the Moon” and “Air”](https://interlude.hk/conversation-with-christian-schittenhelm-composer-of-the-albums-back-home-with-the-moon-and-air/): Meet Christian Schittenhelm, an acclaimed French composer of the Hymne de la ville de Paris and was once awarded the Prix académique Sacem. Many of his works are widely performed, and two of his symphonic poems were chosen by Marcel
- [On This Day <br/>17 August: Wagner’s <em>Götterdämmerung</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-17-august-wagners-gotterdammerung-was-premiered/): It took Richard Wagner the better part of 26 years to complete Götterdämmerung (Twilights of the Gods). This final opera in the Ring cycle was originally called “Siegfried’s Tod,” and the resources and stamina demanded by the work from both
- [Playlist: Travels With Composers](https://interlude.hk/playlist-travels-with-composers/): Places and landscapes, both real and imagined, are a rich source of inspiration for composers, resulting in atmospheric and evocative music, some of which was actually written while the composers were travelling or on holiday... Take a short tour with these piano pieces... Edward Elgar: In Smyrna Smyrna (now Izmir...
- [Reorchestration for Greatness <br/>Béla Bartók: String Quartet No. 3, BB 93](https://interlude.hk/reorchestration-for-greatness-bela-bartok-string-quartet-no-3-bb-93/): In a recent recording of Béla Bartók’s third string quartet, violist Stanley Konopka created a new transcription of the work for a double-string orchestra. He was inspired by a string orchestra arrangement of Beethoven’s ultimate statement for string quartet, the
- [Thoughts on the Beach](https://interlude.hk/thoughts-on-the-beach/): During the winter, the beach is a lonely wind-swept place. The sea shore piles up with the detritus of the waves: old shells and ragged seaweed. A beach along England’s Jurassic Coast, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was used as the star for Ian McEwant’s novel On Chesil Beach. The...
- [Movers and Shakers <br/>Giulio Gatti-Casazza (1869-1940)](https://interlude.hk/movers-and-shakers-giulio-gatti-casazza-1869-1940/): He single-handedly revolutionized the world of opera by applying an unprecedented entrepreneurial philosophy to arts management. Giulio Gatti-Casazza managed La Scala in Milan for a decade, and he also served as the general manager of the Metropolitan Opera of New
- [Rachmaninoff for Beginners <br/>Ten Pieces to Make You Love Rachmaninoff](https://interlude.hk/rachmaninoff-for-beginners-ten-pieces-to-make-you-love-rachmaninoff/): Sergei Rachmaninoff was born in 1873 in Russia. He became one of the greatest pianists of his generation, as well as one of the most famous composers. Here are a few facts about Rachmaninoff’s life and music: Rachmaninoff’s music is characterized by its lush and melancholy melodies. They often have...
- [Food for Thought <br/> Mealtime with Roxanna Panufnik](https://interlude.hk/food-for-thought-mealtime-with-roxanna-panufnik/): For 30 years, the British recording label “NMC Recordings” has specialized in recording works by living composers from the British Isles. A veritable national archive for new and contemporary music, it marked its 20th Anniversary in 2009 with a special
- [On This Day <br/>14 August: Rossini’s <em>Il Turco in Italia</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-14-august-rossinis-il-turco-in-italia-was-premiered/): Recognised as one of Gioachino Rossini’s most brilliant and innovative comedies, Il Turco in Italia (The Turk in Italy) is a laugh-out-loud opera buffa, full of energetic and buoyant music. With a libretto by Felice Romani, the work first sounded
- [Barque On the Ocean](https://interlude.hk/barque-on-the-ocean/): A barque is a three-masted sailing ship in its original definition, but by the end of the 19th century, it had become downgraded to refer to a small boat or even a rowing boat for inland waters. The idea of a ship on the ocean, subject to the ocean’s calms...
- [The Atypical Artist Spotlight Series <br/>Evan Shinners - WTF Bach](https://interlude.hk/the-atypical-artist-spotlight-series-evan-shinners-wtf-bach/): Evan Shinners is the founder of ‘The Bach Store’, and perhaps the most adequate heir apparent to Glenn Gould and Wendy Carlos when it comes to reinventors, re-imaginers, and first-amongst-worshipers of J. S. Bach. With quotes like ‘Thank Bach for God’,
- [Finding China: An Interview With Nicholas Smith](https://interlude.hk/finding-china-an-interview-with-nicholas-smith/): Nicholas Smith went to China over 30 years ago, his Cambridge music degree fresh in his hand, initially as a VSO (Voluntary Service Overseas) volunteer with a two-year contract in China to teach English. Teaching English led to learning Chinese
- [The Magpie as Thief: Rossini’s <em>La gazza ladra</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-magpie-as-thief-rossinis-la-gazza-ladra/): Three of Rossini’s operas mark turning points in his development as an opera composer. Semiramide, Guillaume Tell, and La gazza ladra (The Thieving Magpie) each gather up a summary of his operatic development to that point and are made into
- [On This Day <br/>12 August: Gérard Poulet Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-12-august-gerard-poulet-was-born/): Violinist Gérard (Georges) Poulet was born on 12 August 1938 in Bayonne in the south of France, and he won the Paganini Competition in Genoa at the age of eighteen. Poulet was never the most showy violinist, but from the
- [Seven Movies and TV Shows Filmed at Carnegie Hall](https://interlude.hk/seven-movies-and-tv-shows-filmed-at-carnegie-hall/): “How do you get to Carnegie Hall? ” the old joke goes. “Practice, practice, practice,” is the customary response. However, if you’re feeling lazy, there is another easier way you can visit: by watching films or TV shows that use Carnegie
- [Gabriel Fauré and His Circle of Friends II](https://interlude.hk/gabriel-faure-and-his-circle-of-friends-ii/): During his studies with Nadia Boulanger in Paris, American composer Aaron Copland (1900-1990) met France’s most important composers, including Saint-Saëns and Fauré. Once he had returned to America, Copland became an outspoken champion and advocate of Fauré’s music. He writes,
- [Bubbles – Many Different Kinds](https://interlude.hk/bubbles-many-different-kinds/): When we think of bubbles, we think of floating air or just the utter joy of watching them catch the sunlight and turn to rainbow colours. In the driest definition, it’s ‘a thin sphere of liquid enclosing a gas’. Mostly. If we’re thinking in a scientific definition, that is. Otherwise,...
- [At the Piano With Edvard Grieg <br/><em>Lyric Pieces</em> Books 5-7](https://interlude.hk/at-the-piano-with-edvard-grieg-lyric-pieces-books-5-7/): One of my favourite quotes by Edvard Grieg reads, “Bach and Beethoven erected temples and churches on the heights. I only wanted to build dwellings for men where they might feel happy and at home. ” It sounds a touch understated
- [Movers and Shakers of the Music World <br/>Domenico Corri (1746-1825)](https://interlude.hk/movers-and-shakers-of-the-music-world-domenico-corri-1746-1825/): The Italian composer, impresario, music publisher and voice teacher Domenico Corri (1746-1825) was a towering and eventually insane figure in the music industry of the British Isles of the late 18th century. Born in Rome, he became a student of
- [Musicians and Artist <br/>Robert Saxton and Stanley Spencer](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artist-robert-saxton-and-stanley-spencer/): Inspiration Behind Robert Saxton’s The Resurrection of the Soldiers For England, WWI was a devastation—it’s agreed that the country lost its best and brightest, and life after the war has never regained the power and glory the country held. English
- [Five Conductors Who Died on the Podium](https://interlude.hk/five-conductors-who-died-on-the-podium/): The best conductors are often workaholics intensely devoted to their craft and career. So it’s no surprise that over the course of music history, quite a few conductors have died or suffered fatal injuries while on the podium. Today, we’re
- [On This Day <br/>9 August: Berlioz’s <em>Béatrice et Bénédict</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-9-august-berliozs-beatrice-et-benedict-was-premiered/): Hector Berlioz (1803-1869) completed only three operas during his lifetime. By all accounts, Benvenuto Cellini was an outright failure, with the audience hissing at most of the music after the first few numbers. And the epic Les Troyens (The Trojans)
- [Roald Dahl: <em>Revolting Rhymes</em> <br/> Eleanor Alberga: <em>Snow-White and the Seven Dwarfs</em>](https://interlude.hk/roald-dahl-revolting-rhymes-eleanor-alberga-snow-white-and-the-seven-dwarfs/): Published in 1982, Revolting Rhymes by Roald Dahl re-interpreted six well-known fairy tales, deliciously deviating from traditional versions. Just one year later, Dahl married Felicity d’Abreu Crosland, who was instrumental in setting up “The Roald Dahl Foundation” shortly after his
- [The Mistress of Versailles <br/> Millöcker/Mackeben: <em>Die Dubarry</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-mistress-of-versailles-millocker-mackeben-die-dubarry/): From modest and humble beginnings, Jeanne Bécu Du Barry (1743-1793) rose to become one of the most powerful women in France. As headmistress to Louis XV, she was highly influential at court, in financial and political matters, but eventually, she
- [Shostakovich for Beginners <br/>10 Pieces to Make You Love Shostakovich](https://interlude.hk/shostakovich-for-beginners-10-pieces-to-make-you-love-shostakovich/): Dmitri Shostakovich was born in 1906 in St. Petersburg, Russia. He was an extraordinary talent who spent his entire creative life interacting with the Soviet regime, and his dark soulful works are favorites in the classical music world. Here are a few facts about Shostakovich’s life and career: Shostakovich lived...
- [At the Water’s Edge](https://interlude.hk/at-the-waters-edge/): Water, in its warm form, is the summer symbol (water in its cold form, i. e. , ice and snow, is another matter). We start on the water’s edge as it laps around our feet, cooling us and inviting us deeper. In his piano suite, On the Water’s Edge, Japanese...
- [Food for Thought <br/>Mealtime with Igor Stravinsky](https://interlude.hk/food-for-thought-mealtime-with-igor-stravinsky/): In the 1940s, Hollywood became the magnet for expatriate actors, writers, intellectuals and musicians. And it brought together two Russian composers who really didn’t like each other at all. Rachmaninoff and Stravinsky had no interest in each other’s compositions, but
- [An Interview With Pianist Annie Yim](https://interlude.hk/an-interview-with-pianist-annie-yim/): “I love working in a multifaceted way because everything is connected” Annie Yim is a Hong Kong-born Canadian concert pianist, creative collaborator, and founder of MusicArt based in London. We caught up with her to talk about her latest project
- [At the Piano With Edvard Grieg <br/><em>Lyric Pieces</em> Books 1-4](https://interlude.hk/at-the-piano-with-edvard-grieg-lyric-pieces-books-1-4/): From his earliest years to the concert tours in the year he died, Edvard Grieg performed as a pianist playing his own composition. He was a great pianist but not a virtuoso, and according to a biographer, “his intimate familiarity
- [Pavel Haas: “From the Monkey Mountains”](https://interlude.hk/pavel-haas-from-the-monkey-mountains/): The second string quartet by Pavel Haas (1899-1944) carries the unusual nickname “From the Monkey Mountains. ” It references a popular holiday area in the rustic Vysočina highlands, popularly known as the Monkey Mountains, nestled between Bohemia and Moravia. A student
- [When Your Dream Becomes a Nightmare: Von Suppé’s <em>Die schöne Galathée</em>](https://interlude.hk/when-your-dream-becomes-a-nightmare-von-suppes-die-schone-galathee/): The 1850s and 1860s were the start of operetta on the stages of Vienna. Following Jacques Offenbach’s lead, Austrian composer Franz von Suppé (1819–1895), who came to Vienna from present-day Croatia in 1840, found his career first in conducting and
- [What Were the Last Words of the Great Composers?](https://interlude.hk/what-were-the-last-words-of-the-great-composers/): There’s something morbidly fascinating about last words: the idea that a life can somehow be summed up in a few words. The importance of those last words only grows when the men saying them are some of the most influential
- [Felix Mendelssohn: “Overture for the Theater Pension Fund”](https://interlude.hk/felix-mendelssohn-overture-for-the-theater-pension-fund/): As the director of the Leipzig Gewandhaus concerts, Felix Mendelssohn was approached by the local Theatrical Pension Fund to provide them, free of charge, with some incidental music for a performance of Victor Hugo’s 1838 drama Ruy Blas. Specifically, they
- [Messing about in Boats](https://interlude.hk/messing-about-in-boats/): Summer and boats – for countries built around water systems, ‘messing about in boats’ is an idyllic summer treat. The line, of course, comes from Kenneth Grahame’s 1908 children’s book, The Wind and the Willows, where Ratty remarks to Mole:
- [Musical Portraits of His Colleagues <br/> Gregor Piatigorsky's <em>Variations on a Theme of Paganini</em>](https://interlude.hk/musical-portraits-of-his-colleagues-gregor-piatigorskys-variations-on-a-theme-of-paganini/): Gregor Piatigorsky (1903-1976) is rightfully considered one of the most important cellists of the 20th century. Essentially a performer with modern sensibilities, his playing “is characterized by an appealing, immaculate quality, with an especially vibrant tone, easy delivery and a
- [Gabriel Fauré and His Circle of Friends](https://interlude.hk/gabriel-faure-and-his-circle-of-friends/): For the vast majority of his life, Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924) was “a man easily satisfied, happy with his friends and colleagues, lacking the taint of ruthless ambition and egotistical self-promotion characteristic of so many, and without the pretension and hollow
- [Olga Janina: The Pianist Who Almost Murdered Liszt](https://interlude.hk/olga-janina-the-pianist-who-almost-murdered-liszt/): It is the fall of 1871. A twenty-six-year-old Ukrainian woman sends a cable to Europe to pianist and composer Franz Liszt. She warns him that she is about to cross the ocean to kill him. Ten days later, she shows
- [On This Day <br/>3 August: Simon Keenlyside Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-3-august-simon-keenlyside-was-born/): Baritone Simon Keenlyside has been described as “one of Britain’s most sought-after and charismatic singers, noted for his versatility and highly charged performances on stage. ” He made his first appearance in a major operatic role in 1987 as “Lescaut” in
- [John Marsh: <em>Conversation Symphony for 2 Orchestras</em>](https://interlude.hk/john-marsh-conversation-symphony-for-2-orchestras/): In the world of classical music, John Marsh (1752-1828) is not really a household name, but he probably should be. He was one of the most prolific composers in 18th-century England, producing roughly 350 mostly instrumental works. Although very little
- [<em>Mahler der Maler</em>: Painting New Sounds of Nature in Mahler’s First Symphony](https://interlude.hk/mahler-der-maler-painting-new-sounds-of-nature-in-mahlers-first-symphony/): “Mahler’s total symphonic work, as the final, highest product of the Romantic worldview, is at once guarantor and foundation of a new idealism. ” ~ Paul Bekker Vienna, at the turn of the 19th century, was in its cultural prime, with
- [Why the Bartók String Quartets are Cutting Edge](https://interlude.hk/why-the-bartok-string-quartets-are-cutting-edge/): Since we recently featured the fifteen Shostakovich String Quartets and the seventeen Weinberg String Quartets, I thought it only fitting to reveal some remarkable cutting-edge tendencies in the brilliant Six String Quartets of Béla Bartók, one of the most important
- [Roald Dahl <br/><em>Revolting Rhymes</em>: “Little Red Riding Hood”](https://interlude.hk/roald-dahl-revolting-rhymes-little-red-riding-hood/): In 1982, master storyteller Roald Dahl published a collection of poems under the title Revolting Rhymes. This parody of six favourite fairy tales features his darkly comic twists complete with rollicking rhymes and hilarious surprise endings. Humorously deviating from the
- [Renewing His Inspiration: An Interview with Thierry Escaich](https://interlude.hk/renewing-his-inspiration-an-interview-with-thierry-escaich/): French composer, organist, and improviser Thierry Escaich believes that his skill in improvisation is the most important part of his art. The art of the improviser is one that is a particular skill of the classical organist. Improvisation is used
- [Prokofiev for Beginners <br/>10 Pieces to Make You Love Prokofiev](https://interlude.hk/prokofiev-for-beginners-10-pieces-to-make-you-love-prokofiev/): Sergei Prokofiev was born on 23 April 1891 in Sontsivka, present-day Ukraine. He became one of the famous rebellious enfant terribles of twentieth-century Russian music. Here are a few facts about his life and career: Prokofiev’s music blended steely modernism and traditional Russian character. He often combined dissonance and complex...
- [A Conversation With Composer and Pianist Teodor Doré Celebrating His New Album <br/>“Portraits of Cities”](https://interlude.hk/a-conversation-with-composer-and-pianist-teodor-dore-celebrating-his-new-album-portraits-of-cities/): Teodor Doré is a composer and a pianist who recently released an album, Portraits of Cities. In the album, Doré takes us to different cities around the world. It captured the urban soundscapes during his visits to Istanbul, Helsinki, Beirut,
- [Vadim Chaimovich](https://interlude.hk/vadim-chaimovich-lithuanian-pianist/): ‘My Never-Ending Quest for Art’ If asked to name a YouTube music video with over 200 million views, who would spring to mind? Beyoncé, perhaps? Maybe Ed Sheeran? But... Chopin? A certain recording of his ever-popular Nocturne in E-flat (Op. 9/2) has
- [Food for Thought <br/> Mealtime with George Frideric Handel](https://interlude.hk/food-for-thought-mealtime-with-george-frideric-handel/): According to early biographers, George Frideric Handel was “in his person a large and portly man. His gait which was ever sauntering, was rather ungraceful as it had in it somewhat of that rocking motion which distinguishes those whose legs
- [For the Local Taste: <em>Yankee Doodle</em>](https://interlude.hk/for-the-local-taste-yankee-doodle/): The song Yankee Doodle started out as a way of making fun of one’s unsophisticated enemy. British military officers in the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783) had started to make fun of their colonial opponents as being ‘Yankee Doodle Dandies’, meaning
- [A Symphony of Holidays <br/>Charles Ives’ <em>A Symphony: New England Holidays</em>](https://interlude.hk/a-symphony-of-holidays-charles-ives-a-symphony-new-england-holidays/): American composer Charles Ives (1874–1954) was one of the most original of America’s composers. For one thing, he had a very successful day job in the insurance business, and his early work in the business led to the basics behind
- [‘Regards from Rochester’ – A Musical Celebration of the Medway Towns’ History](https://interlude.hk/regards-from-rochester-a-musical-celebration-of-the-medway-towns-history/): Regards from Rochester by award-winning British composer Thomas Hewitt Jones (who has achieved a certain online notoriety with his viral TikTok hit ‘Funny Song’) was commissioned by Rochester Choral Society to celebrate its 150th anniversary in 2023. The work received
- [The Oldest Epic: Robert Saxton’s <em>Scenes from the Epic of Gilgamesh</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-oldest-epic-robert-saxtons-scenes-from-the-epic-of-gilgamesh/): The Epic of Gilgamesh comes from the civilization of ancient Mesopotamia. The story has come down to us in a set of tablets written in cuneiform from ca 2100–1200 BC. There are two major versions: the Old Babylonian, of which
- [Seven of the Most Unruly Audiences in Classical Music History](https://interlude.hk/seven-of-the-most-unruly-audiences-in-classical-music-history/): Nowadays, classical music audiences are usually pretty tame. The worst that happens at an average concert is that people glare at someone else for applauding at the wrong time. It wasn’t always this way, though. Today we’re looking at seven
- [Robert Schumann: <em>Liederkreis</em>, Op. 39 <br/>  “My most romantic music ever”](https://interlude.hk/robert-schumann-liederkreis-op-39-my-most-romantic-music-ever/): In 1840, Robert Schumann wrote to his beloved Clara, “This ceaseless inner music is almost killing me; I am almost obsessed by it. Oh Clara, what bliss it is to compose for the voice! I have done without it for
- [Johann Sebastian Bach: <em>Organ Sonatas</em> (Trio Sonatas) BWV 525-530](https://interlude.hk/johann-sebastian-bach-organ-sonatas-trio-sonatas-bwv-525-530/): “They will outlive all changes of fashion in music” The collection of six sonatas in trio sonata form for organ BWV 525-530 by Johann Sebastian Bach are generally regarded as masterpieces for the instrument. We find them in a manuscript
- [Ernestine von Fricken: Schumann's Jilted Fiancee](https://interlude.hk/ernestine-von-fricken-schumanns-jilted-fiancee/): Many classical music lovers know the story of composer Robert Schumann and his pianist wife Clara Wieck: how they fell in love as young people, how Clara’s tyrannical father discouraged the match, and how they finally got married in 1840,
- [Grand and Grander <br/>Fazioli’s Art Case Pianos](https://interlude.hk/grand-and-grander-faziolis-art-case-pianos/): In automotive circles an entire sub-culture has enthusiastically emerged around modified cars. It is called car tuning and most commonly involves attempts to improve the performing and handling characteristics of the vehicle. In fact, high-end tuning companies around the world
- [Off to the Hunt!](https://interlude.hk/off-to-the-hunt/): In English, ‘the hunt’ means fox hunting, otherwise, it’s shooting (birds) or stalking (deer). In Europe in the 18th century, hunting, usually for deer, was a sport enjoyed by the upper classes, and there was specific music for different parts of the hunt. In Austria in the 1780s, French hunting...
- [Ferruccio Busoni: <em>Suite for Clarinet and Piano</em>, Op. 10 <br/>“No precocious sentimentality or studied bizarrerie”](https://interlude.hk/ferruccio-busoni-suite-for-clarinet-and-piano-op-10-no-precocious-sentimentality-or-studied-bizarrerie/): On 27 July 2024, we celebrate the 100th anniversary of Ferruccio Busoni’s (1866-1924) death. At the time of his passing, he was widely remembered as a pianist with legendary technique, “but his activities as composer and author usually received only
- [Soviet Functionary Tikhon Khrennikov (1913-2007) <br/> “Stalin knew music better than any of us”](https://interlude.hk/soviet-functionary-tikhon-khrennikov-1913-2007-stalin-knew-music-better-than-any-of-us/): Tikhon Khrennikov (1913-2007) was a very powerful man indeed. During the 1930s, he was hailed as the leading Soviet composer, and by 1948, Khrennikov was nominated as General Secretary of the Union of Soviet Composers. That powerful state-created organization for
- [On This Day <br/>26 July: John de Lancie Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-26-july-john-de-lancie-was-born/): Sergeant John de Lancie, born on 26 July 1921 in Berkely, California, eventually became the principal oboist of the Philadelphia Orchestra. However, his greatest claim to fame dates from the time he was stationed in the village of Garmisch Partenkirchen
- [10 Unforgettable Tchaikovsky Melodies <br/>(In Exotic Dresses)](https://interlude.hk/10-unforgettable-tchaikovsky-melodies-in-exotic-dresses/): Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky composed well over 100 romanzas written for voice with piano accompaniment. These songs enjoyed considerable popularity, however they also attracted some criticism. The Russian composer and music critic César Cui, for example, denounced them for failing to respect the literary values of the words they set. I...
- [Mahler for Beginners <br/>Seven Pieces to Make You Love Mahler](https://interlude.hk/mahler-for-beginners-seven-pieces-to-make-you-love-mahler/): Gustav Mahler was born in 1860 in Jihlava, present-day Czech Republic. He became one of his generation’s most famous symphonists. Here are a few facts about Mahler’s life and career: Mahler is best known for his symphonic works, which are typically longer and more expansive than those of his contemporaries....
- [Samuel Barber: <em>Souvenirs</em>, Op. 28](https://interlude.hk/samuel-barber-souvenirs-op-28/): Samuel Barber (1910-1981) strongly resisted experimental music trends during the 1920s. Actually, he has frequently been compared to Brahms, who was also unaffected by the fashions and dictates of his time. Both, in fact, continued to compose expressive, lyrical music
- [Alexandre Dumas (1802-1870) <br/> “Music is the only noise for which one is obliged to pay”](https://interlude.hk/alexandre-dumas-1802-1870-music-is-the-only-noise-for-which-one-is-obliged-to-pay/): Alexandre Dumas, born on 24 July 1802 in Villers-Cotterêts in the department of Aisne, in Picardy, France, is one of the most famous and widely read French authors. We all know him from his historical novels “The Count of Monte
- [Eduard Tubin: <em>Kratt</em> <br/>The Goblin from Estonian folklore](https://interlude.hk/eduard-tubin-kratt-the-goblin-from-estonian-folklore/): When I was writing my blog on the Estonian composer Eduard Tubin, I came across a quote that reads, “Eduard Tubin is to Estonia what Jean Sibelius is to Finland. ” This struck me as a very insightful statement. Both composers
- [On This Day <br/>23 July: Leon Fleisher Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-23-july-leon-fleisher-was-born/): Leon Fleisher is “one of the most refined and transcendent musicians the United States has ever produced. ” A child prodigy of the highest calibre, Fleisher couldn’t remember a time when he wasn’t playing the piano, and Pierre Monteux called him
- [Music in the Very Air <br/>Edward Elgar’s <em>In the South</em> and <em>In Moonlight</em>](https://interlude.hk/music-in-the-very-air-edward-elgars-in-the-south-and-in-moonlight/): After the death of his mother in September 1902 and frustration at the lack of progress on his Second Symphony, Edward Elgar and his wife decamped from their small, rented cottage near Malvern and retreated to the Italian Riviera in
- [Fit to Commemorate a Queen: Stanford’s Te Deum](https://interlude.hk/fit-to-commemorate-a-queen-stanfords-te-deum/): Written for the Leeds Festival and given its premiere on 6 October 1898, the Te Deum by Charles Villiers Stanford (1852–1924) brought opera to the English choral tradition. Written to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the accession to the throne
- [Unique Concertos V <br/>Works by Chen, Prokofiev, Davies, Kats-Chernin, and Beck](https://interlude.hk/unique-concertos-v-works-by-chen-prokofiev-davies-kats-chernin-and-beck/): Let’s continue to explore more concertos for unique instruments. Chen Gang: Butterfly Lovers Erhu Concerto The legendary story of Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai, better known as the “Butterfly Lovers,” has long reverberated in traditional Chinese opera. Localized differences aside, this grievous love story doomed by rigid social conventions is...
- [Isolated, Cold, and Lonely <br/>Schubert’s <em>Winterreise</em>](https://interlude.hk/isolated-cold-and-lonely-schuberts-winterreise/): For all that the world assumes a frantic Christmas cheer, there remain those corners of the world where loneliness and cold seem to rule. If Schubert’s Die schöne Müllerin is a song cycle of spring and summer, albeit with a
- [Isabella Colbran: The Tragic Story of Rossini's Composer Wife](https://interlude.hk/isabella-colbran-the-tragic-story-of-rossinis-composer-wife/): Although she and her talents were central to the work of her husband and creative partner Giacomo Rossini, there is no English language biography of Isabella Colbran. We want to change that. So consider this a basic overview of her
- [Mathilde Schoenberg and Richard Gerstl <br/>Muse and Femme Fatale](https://interlude.hk/mathilde-schoenberg-and-richard-gerstl-muse-and-femme-fatale/): There has been some speculation that the doomed love affair between the young and brilliant painter Richard Gerstl and Mathilde Schoenberg—mother of two and wife to Arnold Schoenberg—served as a catalyst for the composer’s historic leap towards atonality. While such
- [“In the Hall of the Mountain King” <br/>Henrik Ibsen in Music](https://interlude.hk/in-the-hall-of-the-mountain-king-henrik-ibsen-in-music/): For many literary critics, the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906) is considered “the father of realism and the second most influential playwright of all times. ” Ibsen was one of the founders of modernism in theatre and completely rewrote the rules
- [Artur Schnabel the Composer](https://interlude.hk/artur-schnabel-the-composer/): Artur Schnabel (1882-1951) is best known for the first recording of the complete cycle of Beethoven piano sonatas, which he issued between 1932 and 1935. He was never a virtuoso pianist but engaged with every nuance of meaning in the
- [Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky <br/>The Russian Romanza](https://interlude.hk/pyotr-ilyich-tchaikovsky-the-russian-romanza/): The romanzas of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893), perhaps surprisingly, have not been accorded the high rank bestowed on his ballets and symphonies. The Russian composer César Cui wrote, “Tchaikovsky viewed poetry as a necessary evil that only hindered the process of composition,” and he was criticized for altering texts and...
- [India and the West <br/>Maurice Delage: <em>Quatre Poèmes Hindous</em>](https://interlude.hk/india-and-the-west-maurice-delage-quatre-poemes-hindous/): Maurice Delage (1879-1961) studied with Maurice Ravel for about ten years in the 1920s, and his teacher proclaimed him “the supreme French composer of his day. ” Roughly ten years earlier, however, Delage accompanied his father on a business trip to
- [Edgar Degas (1834-1917) <br/> “No art could be less spontaneous than mine”](https://interlude.hk/edgar-degas-1834-1917-no-art-could-be-less-spontaneous-than-mine/): Famous for his pastel drawings and oil paintings, Edgar Degas, born on 19 July 1834 in Paris, held a lifelong fascination and passion for music. And while he was not a musician, he did come from a family with a
- [Basque Composer Gabriel Erkoreka: Bold, Brash, and Brave](https://interlude.hk/basque-composer-gabriel-erkoreka-bold-brash-and-brave/): Ondine Records, a member of the Naxos Group based in Helsinki, Finland, was founded in 1985 as an independent label. Since 2009, Ondine has featured renowned Finnish and international artists. Their award-winning recordings of contemporary music include works of composers
- [Death in the Forest <br/>Lorenzo Fernández: Symphony No. 2, "O Caçador de Esmeraldas" (The Emerald Hunter)](https://interlude.hk/death-in-the-forest-lorenzo-fernandez-symphony-no-2-o-cacador-de-esmeraldas-the-emerald-hunter/): Brazilian composer Oscar Lorenzo Fernández (1897–1948) based the idea of his second symphony, written in 1947, on the life of Fernão Dias Paes Leme (1608–1681), known as ‘The Emerald Hunter’. This 17th-century explorer was granted a patent to become ‘governor
- [On This Day <br/>18 July: Cherubini’s <em>Lodoïska</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-18-july-cherubinis-lodoiska-was-premiered/): Premiered on 18 July 1791 at the Théâtre Feydeau in Paris, Luigi Cherubini’s Lodoïska was immediately celebrated as a masterpiece. It ran for roughly 200 performances in Paris and was highly popular in the Germanic countries in the early 19th
- [Mendelssohn for Beginners <br/>10 Pieces to Make You Love Mendelssohn](https://interlude.hk/mendelssohn-for-beginners-10-pieces-to-make-you-love-mendelssohn/): Felix Mendelssohn was born in 1809 in Hamburg, Germany. He became one of the most dazzling talents in classical music history and helped to lay the ground for classical music’s Romantic Era. Here are a few facts about his life and music: Mendelssohn was one of the most impressive musical...
- [Refining Perfection <br/>Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 "Eroica"](https://interlude.hk/refining-perfection-beethoven-symphony-no-3-eroica/): Beethoven’s orchestra in 1804, when he conducted the first performance of his Symphony No. 3, and Mahler’s orchestra a century later were very different. Developments in string technology, in brass and woodwind instrument construction, and in the very sound and
- [Archduke Rudolph of Austria: The Sickly Muse](https://interlude.hk/archduke-rudolph-of-austria-the-sickly-muse/): What does the muse of music look like? In the imagination of countless painters, that essentially abstract concept was depicted by a graceful yet stern and beautiful female figure holding or playing a musical instrument. Reality, however, can be a
- [Quatuor Danel: A Quartet of Archaeologists Interpret Weinberg’s Ingenious Style](https://interlude.hk/quatuor-danel-a-quartet-of-archaeologists-interpret-weinbergs-ingenious-style/): The Belgian string quartet, Quatuor Danel has released many recordings of standard string quartets, but they are celebrated for their performances and recordings of the Fifteen Shostakovich String Quartets—their second set recently released on the Accentus Music label. They are
- [Scenes from Nature: MacDowell’s <em>To a Wild Rose</em>](https://interlude.hk/scenes-from-nature-macdowells-to-a-wild-rose/): American composer Edward MacDowell (1860–1908) was a talented child, pursuing his interests in art, writing, and music. He started his piano lessons at age 8 with a family friend, who also encouraged his compositional skills. At age 15, he went
- [Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669) <br/>Born on 15 July](https://interlude.hk/rembrandt-van-rijn-1606-1669-born-on-15-july/): The life of Rembrandt van Rijn, born on 15 July 1606 in Leyden, is still shrouded in historical uncertainty. He did not write his memoirs, he kept no daily diaries, and the few surviving letters are pleas for patronage. Contemporary
- [Mozart's Seven Saddest Pieces of Music](https://interlude.hk/mozarts-seven-saddest-pieces-of-music/): Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is known for his light, elegant, joyful music. His preternaturally cheerful mood makes the times when he did write dark music stand out all the more. Today, we’re looking at seven of Mozart’s saddest pieces of music, ranking them in a totally subjective list, from least sad...
- [On This Day <br/>15 July: Hindemith’s <em>Hin und Zurück</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-15-july-hindemiths-hin-und-zuruck-was-premiered/): The operatic sketch Hin und Zurück (There and Back) was first presented at the Baden-Baden Music Festival on 15 July 1927. The Wikipedia entry, placing the premiere on 17 July will have to be amended, but that Music Festival was
- [It Could be Magic or Music](https://interlude.hk/it-could-be-magic-or-music/): When we say ‘Magic’ in reference to music, we think of Mozart’s The Magic Flute, or perhaps Dukas’ The Sorcerer’s Apprentice. There are other magics out in the world of music, all of which take us to a different place than our current reality. Follow us on a tour through...
- [The “Harmonic Inspiration” of Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741) <br/>“L’estro armonico”](https://interlude.hk/the-harmonic-inspiration-of-antonio-vivaldi-1678-1741-lestro-armonico/): Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741) had an interesting personality, to say the least. His vanity was notorious as he boasted of his fame and illustrious patrons. Apparently, he also told everybody who wanted to know or not, that he “could compose a
- [Gustav Klimt (1862-1918) <br/>Born on 14 July](https://interlude.hk/gustav-klimt-1862-1918-born-on-14-july/): Controversy frequently surrounded Gustav Klimt‘s paintings, but he was not a rebellious individual. He did cultivate a certain coarseness of manner primarily as a defense against unwanted curiosity, and he went to considerable lengths to protect his inner world from
- [Seven Works Dedicated to Chopin](https://interlude.hk/seven-works-dedicated-to-chopin/): Frédéric Chopin was one of the most influential classical musicians of the nineteenth century. Many composers clamored to dedicate their own work to Chopin as a sign of their admiration and respect. Even after his death, composers still dedicated works to him! Today we’re looking at the stories behind seven...
- [Viola d'amore: The Violin with Extras](https://interlude.hk/viola-damore-the-violin-with-extras/): The viola d’amore (or viol of love) is a violin with a difference. Instead of the usual 4 strings as on the violin, it can have up to 14 strings – seven bowed and seven that are ‘sympathetic’ strings, i. e. ,
- [Arnold Schoenberg](https://interlude.hk/arnold-schoenberg-austrian-composer/): “Great art presupposes the alert mind of the educated listener” I am sure that at one point or another you’ve heard the slant that Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951) is the only classical composer who uniquely can empty any concert hall by
- [Love for the City: Elgar’s <em>Cockaigne</em>](https://interlude.hk/love-for-the-city-elgars-cockaigne/): Edward Elgar (1857–1934) was commissioned by the Royal Philharmonic Society for a work and in 1901 he created Cockaigne, subtitled, ‘In London Town’. The concept of Cockaigne comes from medieval myth, where it is the land of good food, comfort,
- [On This Day <br/>12 July: Richard Stoltzman Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-12-july-richard-stoltzman-was-born/): The American clarinettist Richard Stoltzman is known for his freely expressive style and individuality of phrasing and interpretation. A two-time Grammy Award Winner, Stoltzman is a captivating recitalist, chamber musician, and jazz performer, as well as a prolific recording artist.
- [Films adapted from Dostoevsky Novels <br/>“The Brothers Karamazov”](https://interlude.hk/films-adapted-from-dostoevsky-novels-the-brothers-karamazov/): Acclaimed as one of the supreme achievements in world literature The Brothers Karamazov was Fyodor Dostoevsky’s largest and final work. Published as a serial in The Russian Messenger from January 1879 to November 1880, Dostoevsky died less than four months
- [On This Day <br/>11 July: Antoine Tamestit Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-11-july-antoine-tamestit-was-born/): Considered one of the most gifted French musicians of the era, violist Antoine Tamestit “possesses a flawless technique and combined effortless musicality with an easy communicative power. ” A prize winner at the William Primrose Competition in 2001 and the ARD
- [15 Pieces of Classical Music About Death](https://interlude.hk/15-pieces-of-classical-music-about-death/): For centuries, composers have been writing classical music about death. In fact, death and dying have inspired some of the saddest works of classical music ever written. Today we’re looking at the stories behind fifteen pieces of classical music about death. Dido’s Lament by Henry Purcell (ca. 1688) Dido’s Lament...
- [Food for Thought <br/>Mealtime With Giacomo Puccini](https://interlude.hk/food-for-thought-mealtime-with-giacomo-puccini/): When Giacomo Puccini asked his librettist Luigi Illica around to his home, he issued the following invitation. “... In my house there are soft beds, chickens, geese, ducks, lambs, fleas, tables, chairs, guns, paintings, statues, shoes, velocipedes, pianos, sewing machines, clocks,
- [Opening the Doors in the Wunderkammer <br/>Danny Elfman’s <em>Wunderkammer</em>](https://interlude.hk/opening-the-doors-in-the-wunderkammer-danny-elfmans-wunderkammer/): In Renaissance Europe, the well-dressed man about town did his best to be the ultimate in culture and style. Style was taken care of by the clothes he wore but culture was a different matter. Because of what seems to
- [Ernst Krenek: <em>Travelogue from the Austrian Alps</em>](https://interlude.hk/ernst-krenek-travelogue-from-the-austrian-alps/): In 1929, Ernst Krenek spent his summer holiday in the Austrian Alps. He called that trip, “a pilgrimage to the sacred shrines of Austria’s landscape and history” and he immediately set to work on a travelogue celebrating the landscape. He
- [Death Goes Modern: Bruce Leto, Jr.’s <em>Mood Poems</em>](https://interlude.hk/death-goes-modern-bruce-leto-jr-s-mood-poems/): American pianist Bruce Leto, Jr. , took inspiration from his teacher at Haverford College, Curtis Cacioppo in creating his first album, Mood Poems. In working with Cacioppo, Leto says he was able to not only improve his musicality but also how
- [At the Piano With Sir Edward Elgar](https://interlude.hk/at-the-piano-with-sir-edward-elgar/): Sir Edward William Elgar (1857-1934) made his reputation with several large-scale orchestral works such as the ever-popular Enigma Variations, the Pomp and Circumstances Marches, delightful Concertos for violin and cello, and two Symphonies. On the other hand, Elgar made his
- [<em>La femme 100 têtes</em> <br/>Max Ernst and George Antheil](https://interlude.hk/la-femme-100-tetes-max-ernst-and-george-antheil/): The dashing American bad boy of music George Antheil (1900-1959) was a child prodigy. He dropped out of school and left for Europe. In no time he rubbed shoulders with Ezra Pound and James Joyce, made friends with Gertrude Stein
- [The Tchaikovsky’s <em>Seasons</em> (Months)](https://interlude.hk/the-tchaikovskys-seasons-months/): The First Piano Concerto by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) is one of the most popular concertos ever written. But it is not a piece for the faint-hearted. It makes huge technical demands on the performer, and because of its dramatic
- [Takashi Yoshimatsu <br/>“Tapiola Visions” for Piano Left Hand](https://interlude.hk/takashi-yoshimatsu-tapiola-visions-for-piano-left-hand/): The Japanese classical composer Takashi Yoshimatsu, internationally known for composing the 2003 remake of “Astro Boy,” was devastated when his close friend, the pianist Izumi Tateno collapsed on stage after playing the last note of a performance in Finland. Tateno
- [Gustav Mahler <br/><em>Das klagende Lied</em> (Song of Lamentation)](https://interlude.hk/gustav-mahler-das-klagende-lied-song-of-lamentation/): Gustav Mahler (1860-1911) obtained his diploma from the Vienna Conservatory at the age of 18, and he certainly had to make an important decision on his further path in music. One year before, he had completely given up the idea
- [Composers With Synesthesia: How They See the World](https://interlude.hk/composers-with-synesthesia-how-they-see-the-world/): Synesthesia is a fascinating neurological phenomenon in which the stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to involuntary experiences in another, unrelated pathway. People with synesthesia are known as synesthetes. Synesthetes might perceive sensory information, such as colors, tastes,
- [The Travels of M. Charles Sannois <br/>Saint-Saëns’ <em>Africa, Op. 89</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-travels-of-m-charles-sannois-saint-saens-africa-op-89/): Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921) was left bereft at the death of his mother in December 1888, and the cold winter winds in Paris persuaded him that perhaps a warmer climate might better suit him. Accordingly, he left Paris for Algiers where
- [Tan Dun’s <em>Martial Arts Trilogy Concertos</em>](https://interlude.hk/tan-duns-martial-arts-trilogy-concertos/): Combining the ancient tradition of Chinese martial arts philosophy and visual arts, world-renowned artist and UNESCO Global Goodwill Ambassador Tan Dun composed award-winning orchestral scores for three films by critically acclaimed directors. The Martial Arts Trilogy celebrates three heroes and
- [Friends in Music <br/>Christos Samaras’ <em>24 Preludes for Piano</em>](https://interlude.hk/friends-in-music-christos-samaras-24-preludes-for-piano/): The idea of the prelude is old, dating back to the first ones, called ‘praeambula’ in the mid-15th century. They were originally works to introduce other works, i. e. , something that comes ahead of the main work. We are familiar with
- [On This Day <br/>5 July: Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-5-july-nikolaj-szeps-znaider-was-born/): As a virtuoso violinist, Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider maintains his reputation as one of the world’s leading exponents of the instrument with a busy calendar of concerto and recital engagements. Hailed for decades as one of the most gifted and perceptive violinists,
- [A Concerto With Cobla <br/>Marc Timón’s <em>Concerto for Piano and Cobla No. 1</em>](https://interlude.hk/a-concerto-with-cobla-marc-timons-concerto-for-piano-and-cobla-no-1/): When we think of concertos, except in very special cases, we think of an individual instrument (violin, flute, piano) and orchestra. In the case of Catalan composer Marc Timón, he’s replaced the orchestra with a cobla. The cobla is a
- [Movers and Shakers of the Music World<br/> Sergey Diaghilev (1872-1929)](https://interlude.hk/movers-and-shakers-sergey-diaghilev-1872-1929/): Sergey Diaghilev (1872-1929) was a perceptive amateur of the arts with a flair for organization and publicity. His family had amassed a fortune from a vodka distillery business, but his musical ambitions came to an unceremonious halt. Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, his
- [Sibelius’s Biography for Beginners <br/>Ten Pieces to Make You Love Sibelius](https://interlude.hk/sibeliuss-biography-for-beginners-ten-pieces-to-make-you-love-sibelius/): Composer Jean Sibelius was born in 1865 in the city of Hämeenlinna, Finland. He went on to become the greatest composer that Finland ever produced. Here are a few facts about his life and music: Sibelius was famous for how he wove his Finnish identity into his music. During his...
- [Music of Royalty <br/>Russian Princesses](https://interlude.hk/music-of-royalty-russian-princesses/): In imitation of the French model, salon culture developed in Russia in the second half of the 19th century in St Petersburg. French became the language of choice, as a substantial number of French noblemen and noblewomen had fled from
- [Music for Unseen Movies <br/>José Antonio Bottiroli’s <em>5 Microfilms</em>](https://interlude.hk/music-for-unseen-movies-jose-antonio-bottirolis-5-microfilms/): Argentinian composer José Antonio Bottiroli (1920–1990) started his career with works influenced by folk music of his country before going more international and following a more Romantic style. His piano music frequently has an improvisational character while his orchestral works
- [On This Day <br/>2 July: Denis Kozhukhin Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-2-july-denis-kozhukhin-was-born/): Winner of the First Prize in the 2010 Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels, pianist Denis Kozhukhin has established himself as one of the great pianists of his generation. His performances are praised by critics as “spellbinding,” “imperious,” and “mesmerizing. ” Technically
- [Orchestral Minimalism: Joe Hisaishi as Symphonist](https://interlude.hk/orchestral-minimalism-joe-hisaishi-as-symphonist/): Mamoru Fujisawa (b. 1950), known professionally as Joe Hisaishi, is best known for his film work, having composed the scores for most of the animations created by Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli, including Laputa: Castle in the Sky (1986), My
- [Unique Concertos IV <br/>Works by Rautavaara, Hindemith, Higdon, Turbin, and Lord](https://interlude.hk/unique-concertos-iv-works-by-rautavaara-hindemith-higdon-turbin-and-lord/): Let’s continue to explore more concertos for unique instruments. Einojuhani Rautavaara: Cantus Arcticus “Concerto for Birds and Orchestra,” Op. 61 Einojuhani Rautavaara (1928-2016) has been called “one of the most colourful and diverse figures in Finnish music. He is an
- [Carolyn Sampson](https://interlude.hk/carolyn-sampson-british-soprano/): ‘We Have To Embrace Our Own Route And Do What Seems Right’ Described as ‘radiant’ and with a ‘freshness of tone, superb control and subtle sensuality’ , British soprano Carolyn Sampson has achieved international acclaim from the
- [Alicia de Larrocha the Composer](https://interlude.hk/alicia-de-larrocha-the-composer/): Alicia de Larrocha is universally recognized as one of the finest pianists of the 20th Century. Her extraordinary musical abilities emerged at a seriously young age, and she demanded piano lessons at the age of 3. Progressing rapidly, she was
- [Shostakovich Behind the Mask – The String Quartets Performed by Quatuor Danel](https://interlude.hk/shostakovich-behind-the-mask-the-string-quartets-performed-by-quatuor-danel/): The prolific and iconic composer Dmitri Shostakovich was profoundly influenced by the politics of his native country. Despite the Cold War, Soviet ideology, and the restrictions in Russia, he wrote fifteen amazing string quartets full of innovation and exceptional artistry.
- [The Sound of Rain](https://interlude.hk/the-sound-of-rain/): Rain, rain, everywhere... but not always where you need it. Rain can be a gentle shower or just a patter on the sidewalk, or a torrential downburst, saturating everything with WET. Let’s look at how composers depict rain. Cloudburst by American composer Eric Whitacre was only the second piece he’d...
- [The Flute as Magician <br/>Walter Piston’s <em>The Incredible Flutist Suite</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-flute-as-magician-walter-pistons-the-incredible-flutist-suite/): In 1938, American composer Walter Piston (1894–1976) wrote his only ballet, The Incredible Flutist. The Boston Pops under Arthur Fieldler commissioned it and premiered it on 30 May 1938. At the premiere, Hans Wiener and His Dancers, with Orchestra, performed
- [Six of the Wildest Piano Duels in Music History](https://interlude.hk/six-of-the-wildest-piano-duels-in-music-history/): Audiences can never resist a duel. For hundreds of years, audiences have enjoyed watching confrontations between virtuoso pianists that showcase both their technical prowess and competitive spirits. Today we’re looking at six of the most famous piano duels in the
- [On This Day <br/>29 June: Rafael Kubelík Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-29-june-rafael-kubelik-was-born/): Renowned for his eloquent, deeply personalised interpretations, conductor Rafael Kubelík was most at ease in the symphonic repertory, particularly the symphonies of Beethoven and Brahms, and the works of his fellow-countrymen Martinů, Janáček, and Mahler. Loved by critics and his
- [Matt Dibble: 24 Preludes & Fugues <br/>Freddy Kempf, piano](https://interlude.hk/matt-dibble-24-preludes-fugues-freddy-kempf-piano/): British composer and multi-faceted musician Matt Dibble died tragically in 2021 at the age of 40 from complications following the AstraZeneca Covid vaccination. His untimely death left a void in the classical, jazz, and pop worlds: he was a musician
- [Earl Wild: <em>Grand Fantasy on Porgy and Bess</em>](https://interlude.hk/earl-wild-grand-fantasy-on-porgy-and-bess/): The Fantasy on popular opera themes was one of the most admired genres of piano music in the first half of the nineteenth century. They were written and performed by virtuoso pianist-composers, and the genre enjoyed much popularity among concert-goers.
- [Six Players and 200 Instruments <br/>Mauricio Kagel’s <em>Exotica</em>](https://interlude.hk/six-players-and-200-instruments-mauricio-kagels-exotica/): Mauricio Kagel (1931–2008) wrote Exotica on commission for the 20th Olympic Games, held in 1972 in Munich. In the work, he explored the idea of confronting musicians with instruments they’d never played before and challenging them to come up with
- [Films Adapted from Dostoevsky Novels <br/>“Crime and Punishment”](https://interlude.hk/films-adapted-from-dostoevsky-novels-crime-and-punishment/): Considered “one of the finest studies of the psychopathology of guilt written in any language, Fydor Dostoevsky’s novel Crime and Punishment was first published in twelve monthly installments in 1866. The author had just returned from a 10-year exile in
- [Emergence- an Album Remembering Joel Chadabe](https://interlude.hk/emergence-an-album-remembering-joel-chadabe/): Joel Chadabe, a pioneering composer who sadly passed away in 2021, was known for his groundbreaking work in developing interactive music systems. He was a founder of the Electronic Music Foundation in 1994 and contributed as a producer to numerous
- [Seven Important Women in Robert Schumann's Life](https://interlude.hk/seven-important-women-in-robert-schumanns-life/): No great composer achieved their greatness in a vacuum. Although the narratives of music history often ignore them, all of the great composers had female relatives, friends, and colleagues who were major influences on their artistry. Today, we’re looking at
- [Musicians and Artists: Nigel Clarke and Sara Cunnington](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-nigel-clarke-and-sara-cunnington/): In West Malling, Kent, there’s a statue of a woman, Hope by Sara Cunnington. The woman strides forward, a dove in her hand about to launch out into the world. Hope’s cloak, streaming behind her, is patterned with panels that
- [On This Day <br/>25 June: João Carlos Martins Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-25-june-joao-carlos-martins-was-born/): Brazilian pianist João Carlos Martins’ life is a tale of success and personal tragedy, of traumatic injuries and triumphant comebacks. It is a story of greatness, of 24 surgeries and resignation, but also a story with a Hollywood ending. In
- [The Winter of Impending Death: Schubert’s Winterreise with Andrè Schuen](https://interlude.hk/the-winter-of-impending-death-schuberts-winterreise-with-andre-schuen/): The song cycle Winterreise starts in the worst possible way, with our disappointed lover hanging around town heartbroken after he’s been given his congé. Dismissed, he wanders around the village, saying farewell to the beloved places that had been so
- [Reimagining Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons for Voices](https://interlude.hk/reimagining-vivaldis-the-four-seasons-for-voices/): To coincide with the tercentenary of the publication of Vivaldi’s evergreen, ever-popular ‘The Four Seasons’, the Royal School of Church Music (RSCM), a UK independent charity which enables the flourishing of church music, has commissioned a brand new, large-scale choral
- [Sixteen of the Best Violin and Viola Duets](https://interlude.hk/sixteen-of-the-best-violin-and-viola-duets/): Composers have been writing duets for violin and viola for generations. Today, we’re sharing some of our favorite examples from the genre. From the classical elegance of Haydn and Mozart, to the rich Romanticism of composers like Spohr and Kalliwoda, to the folk-infused modernism of Ponce and Martinů, our selection...
- [Street Pianos](https://interlude.hk/street-pianos-play-me-im-yours-art-project/): The piano is heavy, weighing between 480 to 600 lbs (180–270 kg) for an upright one, up to 1,100 (500 kg) for a baby grand, and over 1,200 (540 kg) for a concert grand. How do you put these out
- [Carl Maria von Weber in Breslau <br/> “Romanza Siciliana for Flute and Orchestra”](https://interlude.hk/carl-maria-von-weber-in-breslau-romanza-siciliana-for-flute-and-orchestra/): Just how musically talented was Carl Maria von Weber? Well, at the age of 17, he was offered and accepted the post of Director at the Breslau Opera in 1804. Weber had spent some time in Vienna, studying hard with
- [Carl Reinecke (1824-1910) <br/> “Time Mows Down Artworks That Are Not Created by a Brilliant Artist, Which I Am Not”](https://interlude.hk/carl-reinecke-1824-1910-time-mows-down-artworks-that-are-not-created-by-a-brilliant-artist-which-i-am-not/): When Carl Reinecke published the first of his well over three hundred works in the 1830s, Mendelssohn, Schumann, and Liszt were at the height of their fame. Such was Reinecke’s longevity that when his final scores were printed, Schoenberg, Webern,
- [At the Piano With Carl Maria von Weber](https://interlude.hk/at-the-piano-with-carl-maria-von-weber/): Carl Maria von Weber (1786-1826) was a crucial figure in the development of German Romantic opera. In fact, Der Freischütz was hugely popular and regarded as the first German opera ever. However, Weber was also busy in other fields, as he was a famous conductor and critic. And let’s not...
- [A Conversation With Shanghai Opera House Composer- Yiguo Yan](https://interlude.hk/a-conversation-with-shanghai-opera-house-composer-yiguo-yan/): Yiguo Yan is an accomplished composer, poet, and playwright based in Shanghai, where she serves as a composer for the Shanghai Opera House. Her compositions have gained international recognition and have been honored with prestigious awards. In particular, her original
- [15 Pieces of Classical Music About Outer Space](https://interlude.hk/15-pieces-of-classical-music-about-outer-space/): Many pieces of classical music are famous for their massive scale. Maybe that’s why so many composers have written classical music about the vast expanse of outer space. Today, we’re looking at fifteen pieces of classical music inspired by other planets and galaxies. Get ready for takeoff! Die Himmel erzählen...
- [In Touch With Unsuk Chin](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-unsuk-chin/): As the 75th Aldeburgh Festival – founded by Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears – gets underway, we spoke to Korean-born composer Unsuk Chin, one of the festival’s Featured Artists. Who or what are the most significant influences on your musical
- [Tchaikovsky and Mozart <br/>Tchaikovsky’s <em>Suite No. 4 in G Major, Op. 61, "Mozartiana" </em>](https://interlude.hk/tchaikovsky-and-mozart-tchaikovskys-suite-no-4-in-g-major-op-61-mozartiana/): Two composers we rarely think of together are the very Russian Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840–1893) and the very Viennese Mozart (1756–1791). Born fifty years apart, they couldn’t be more different in their style and sensibilities. Mozart had been trained in
- [On This Day <br/>21 June: Boris Giltburg Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-21-june-boris-giltburg-was-born/): In 2013, pianist Boris Giltburg won the First and the Audience Prize at the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels. Lauded as a deeply sensitive, insightful, and compelling musician, it instantly propelled him to international recognition and fame. Revealing a huge
- [The Tale of the Heike’s Women <br/>Daron Aric Hagen’s <em>Heike Quinto</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-tale-of-the-heikes-women-daron-aric-hagens-heike-quinto/): One of the most famous books of Japanese literature is The Tale of Genji, written by Murasaki Shikibu in the 11th century. It is the story of Hiragu Genji, son of Emperor Kirisubo, and his life after his demotion from
- [On This Day <br/>20 June: André Watts Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-20-june-andre-watts-was-born/): Pianist André Watts is known as one of the first Black superstars of classical music. He gained national fame by performing with Leonard Bernstein at the New York Philharmonic on a televised program called “The Young People’s Concert” at age
- [Walking the Dog <br/>A Conversation with Saxophonist Andreas Mader and Pianist Joseph Moog](https://interlude.hk/walking-the-dog-a-conversation-with-saxophonist-andreas-mader-and-pianist-joseph-moog/): Austrian saxophonist Andreas Mader and German pianist Joseph Moog recently released an album titled “Walking the Dog. ” The title is taken from a piece written by George Gershwin for the film “Shall We Dance. ” The album features a diverse range
- [Debussy for Beginners <br/>10 Pieces to Make You Love Debussy](https://interlude.hk/debussy-for-beginners-10-pieces-to-make-you-love-debussy/): Debussy was born in 1862 in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, a suburb of Paris. Over the course of his career, he became one of the twentieth century’s great musical revolutionaries. Debussy’s music is known for its impressionistic style and French identity. Debussy is often associated with the Impressionist movement in art, which sought...
- [Puccini in the Amphitheatre: Greek National Opera’s Tosca](https://interlude.hk/puccini-in-the-amphitheatre-greek-national-operas-tosca/): Greek National Opera ended its season with Tosca, given outdoors at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus amphitheatre, located under the Acropolis wall. The stage is unusual in that it’s wide but not very deep, there are no wings, and the
- [Eduard Tubin (1905-1982) <br/> “Occasionally I had a shot of vodka”](https://interlude.hk/estonian-composer-eduard-tubin-1905-1982/): I have recently been fascinated by the art music of Estonia, partially fuelled by the success of Arvo Pärt. But as I have explored in earlier blogs, this triumph of Estonian culture would not have been possible without the groundwork
- [Overtures as an Art <br/>Mozart’s <em>Overture to Le Nozze di Figaro</em>](https://interlude.hk/overtures-as-an-art-mozarts-overture-to-le-nozze-di-figaro/): Opera overtures, as a separate genre of classical music apart from their operas, are tied with the history of the symphony and the overture. In the 17th century, a musical form called the ‘overture’ started in France, associated with the
- [Unique Concertos III <br/>Works by Milhaud, Fleck, Van de Vate, O’Boyle, and Adams](https://interlude.hk/unique-concertos-iii-works-by-milhaud-fleck-van-de-vate-oboyle-and-adams/): Let’s continue to explore more concertos for unique instruments. Darius Milhaud: Concerto for Percussion and Small Orchestra Darius Milhaud writes, “I have always been very interested in percussion problems. In the Choéphores and in L’homme et son désir I used massive percussion. After the audition of Choéphores in Brussels, an...
- [The Modern Requiem <br/>Elisabetta Brusa’s <em>Requiem Op. 25</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-modern-requiem-elisabetta-brusas-requiem-op-25/): In building up to writing her Requiem, Elisabetta Brusa (b. 1954) wrote a Marche Funèbre for piano (1984), Adagio for string orchestra (1996), Requiescat for voices and large orchestra (1994–1995), Simply Largo for string orchestra (2008), and a Stabat Mater
- [The Paderewski Prize for American Composers](https://interlude.hk/the-paderewski-prize-for-american-composers/): On exceedingly rare occasions, people with real talent and poise are drafted into political service. Such was the case with the pianist and composer Ignacy Jan Paderewski, who became the prime minister and foreign minister of Poland in 1919. He represented his native country at the Paris Peace Conference but...
- [Mozart and Death and Klezmer and Healing](https://interlude.hk/mozart-and-death-and-klezmer-and-healing/): Filip Runesson’s Hur länge ska hon vara död? (after W. A. Mozart’s Requiem in D Minor, K. 626) Mozart and Death, but not the way you think about it. Swedish musician Filip Runesson took Mozart’s Requiem and rearranged it in klezmer
- [Partita for Piano No. 2 BWV 826 by J.S. Bach. A Review](https://interlude.hk/partita-for-piano-no-2-bwv-826-by-j-s-bach-a-review/): In 1986, young pianist Nelson Goerner, aged 16 and freshly graduated from Vincenzo Scaramuzza’s school in Buenos Aires, asked Martha Argerich who would suit him the best to further study with in Europe. Without any hesitation, she mentioned Maria Tipo,
- [Listening to the Clouds](https://interlude.hk/listening-to-the-clouds/): When outside wandering, how often do you just sit and look up? You can hear birds, and the wind, and perhaps the passing traffic, but have you tried to hear the clouds? Many composers also look up for inspiration and here’s a brief listening list of clouds. Alexander Kostas: The...
- [Seven Works Dedicated to Beethoven](https://interlude.hk/seven-works-dedicated-to-beethoven/): Beethoven was famous for his curmudgeonly, antisocial personality. Of course, nowadays, we understand that his prickliness was, at least in part, due to his tinnitus and deafness, as well as the mental health struggles caused by his ever-deteriorating physical health. Despite his abrasiveness, many composers still respected him. (Some even...
- [On This Day <br/>15 June: Stjepan Hauser Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-15-june-stjepan-hauser-was-born/): Professionally known as HAUSER, the Croatian cellist Stjepan Hauser is passionate about showing the world the versatility of the cello. Alone or with 2CELLOS, he has explored repertoire from Lady Gaga to Tchaikovsky, and from Shakira to Shostakovich. HAUSER decided
- [Precise Engineering and an Imperfect Mechanism <br/>Carlos Sanchez-Guttierrez’s <em>…Ex Machina</em>](https://interlude.hk/precise-engineering-and-an-imperfect-mechanism-carlos-sanchez-guttierrezs-ex-machina/): Mexican composer Carlos Sanchez-Guttierrez (b. 1964), who now teaches at the Eastman School of Music, created his work ... Ex Machina in 2008 as a work for marimba, piano, and symphony orchestra. He was inspired by different artworks, mostly by the
- [On This Day <br/>14 June: Johannes Moser Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-14-june-johannes-moser-was-born/): Hailed by Gramophone Magazine as “one of the finest among the astonishing gallery of young virtuoso cellists,” Johannes Moser won the Tchaikovsky Competition in 2002. He performs both on acoustic and electric cellos in his effort to expand the reach
- [A Whale Strangled by a Giant Squid <br/> Ralph Vaughan Williams’s <em>Tuba Concerto</em>](https://interlude.hk/a-whale-strangled-by-a-giant-squid-ralph-vaughan-williamss-tuba-concerto/): To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the London Symphony Orchestra, a very special premiere took place on 13 June 1954. Philip Catelinet, the orchestra’s principal tuba player, featured as the soloist in Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Tuba Concerto,
- [When Seasons are Interrupted - Cellist Trey Lee Shows a Path Forward](https://interlude.hk/when-seasons-are-interrupted-cellist-trey-lee-shows-a-path-forward/): Telling the story of the seasons through music is not new—Vivaldi’s Four Seasons springs to mind—but focusing on the climate crisis that is inexorably unfolding has captivated cellist Trey Lee. He highlights the effects of climate change on the environment
- [On This Day <br/>13 June: Ophélie Gaillard Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-13-june-ophelie-gaillard-was-born/): Cellist Ophélie Gaillard is known for her “impeccable intonation, technical fluency, and absolutely luscious tone. ” Driven by insatiable curiosity, Gailliard completely disregards all artificial boundaries and champions a solo cello repertoire ranging from Bach to contemporary music. Her knowledge and
- [The Extraordinary Voice of Bruna de Sá](https://interlude.hk/the-extraordinary-voice-of-bruna-de-sa/): In the revivals of the operas of the 17th and 18th centuries, one of the modern puzzles has been the use of men in women’s roles. We did have male singers, starting in the 1950s with Alfred Deller. At first,
- [Wagner for Beginners <br/>10 Pieces to Make You Love Wagner](https://interlude.hk/wagner-for-beginners-10-pieces-to-make-you-love-wagner/): Composer Richard Wagner was born in Leipzig in 1813. He became arguably the greatest opera composer of all time. Here are some tidbits about his life and career: Wagner’s reputation rests almost entirely on his operas. Wagner advocated for a genre known as the “Gesamtkunstwerk”, or “total work of art....
- [Bridging Beethoven and Debussy <br/> Grieg’s String Quartet No. 1](https://interlude.hk/bridging-beethoven-and-debussy-griegs-string-quartet-no-1/): A first work in a genre is often a hard slog in finding out how something works. Praised as ‘distinctive and admirable’ by Liszt, this string quartet by Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg (1843–1907) was the product of much hard work
- [A Conversation with <em>Mood Poem</em>’s Pianist Bruce Leto, Jr.](https://interlude.hk/a-conversation-with-mood-poems-pianist-bruce-leto-jr/): Meet Bruce Leto, Jr. , a pianist and entrepreneur who runs a full-time web design and marketing agency. Graduated from Haverford College and New York University with a music degree and a master’s in Performing Arts Administration, respectively; Bruce is also
- [Richard Strauss](https://interlude.hk/richard-strauss-german-composer/): “I may not be a first-rate composer, but I AM a first-class second-rate composer! ” Born on 11 June 1864 in Munich, Germany, Richard Strauss (1864-1949) almost exclusively expressed his life and thoughts through music and the arts. From his glorious
- [The Chamber Music of Kenneth Jones](https://interlude.hk/the-chamber-music-of-kenneth-jones/): British composer Kenneth Jones (1924–2020) is celebrated in a new release from Lyrita Records. Jones’ Chamber Music, as performed by soloists from the London Mozart Players, brings together his first award-winning works from 1950 to his 1980 work, Quinquifid, for
- [Earl Wild’s <em>7 Virtuoso Etudes after Gershwin</em>](https://interlude.hk/earl-wilds-7-virtuoso-etudes-after-gershwin/): At some point in your life, if you are interested in music at all, you will have heard a tune or two by George Gershwin (1898-1937). What an absolutely unique composer freely mixing and combining classical and popular music styles.
- [On This Day <br/>10 June: Wagner’s <em>Tristan and Isolde</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-10-june-wagners-tristan-and-isolde-was-premiered/): One of the milestones in the history of music, the three-act drama Tristan and Isolde with libretto and music by Richard Wagner premiered on 10 June 1865 at the Königliches Hof- und Nationaltheater in Munich with Hans von Bülow conducting.
- [The Contradictions of Bach – An Interview with Alexander Polzin](https://interlude.hk/the-contradictions-of-bach-an-interview-with-alexander-polzin/): German artist Alexander Polzin (b. 1973) first encountered Bach in his final work: The Art of the Fugue. The introduction to the ultimate Bach composition set Polzin up for a life confronting Bach and an evolution in his approach to
- [On This Day <br/>9 June: Benjamin Bernheim Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-9-june-benjamin-bernheim-was-born/): Considered by many “the most beautiful tenor voice since Luciano Pavarotti,” Benjamin Bernheim is certainly one of the most exciting tenors to emerge onto the operatic stage in recent years. His exquisitely beautiful, richly coloured lyric voice simultaneously projects power,
- [Ghosting in Rag Time <br/>William Bolcom’s <em>3 Ghost Rags</em>](https://interlude.hk/ghosting-in-rag-time-william-bolcoms-3-ghost-rags/): American composer William Bolcom (b. 1938) brought popular music of the 19th century back into the spotlight, first with his many recordings with Joan Morris, mezzo-soprano, of music from the Golden Era at the turn of the 20th century. Show
- [Classical Composers on STAMPS](https://interlude.hk/classical-composers-on-stamps/): Are you a stamp collector? I used to be, but not anymore. However, I still enjoy looking at stamps and being fascinated by the different designs. One afternoon, I was looking at my stamp collection, which made me wonder if
- [Grigory Sokolov Dispensed Magic in Frankfurt](https://interlude.hk/grigory-sokolov-dispensed-magic-in-frankfurt/): To say one witness magic at Sokolov’s concerts is no exaggeration. Only one day after Krystian Zimerman gives a recital in Wuppertal, Grigory Sokolov is to perform in Frankfurt – this opportunity simply cannot be missed, not to mention coincidentally
- [Conversation With Pianist Ammiel Bushakevitz <br/> On His New Joint Album 'ECHOES'](https://interlude.hk/conversation-with-pianist-ammiel-bushakevitz-on-his-new-joint-album-echoes/): ECHOES Duets for Soprano, Mezzo-Soprano & Piano (Katharina Konradi, Catriona Morison, Ammiel Bushakevitz) Pianist Ammiel Bushakevitz, of Israeli, American, and South African descent, is an awarded pianist and passionate in vocal collaborations. He has a busy performing schedule and projects
- [The Women in Chopin's Life: His Mother, Sister, Colleagues, and More](https://interlude.hk/the-women-in-chopins-life-his-mother-sister-colleagues-and-more/): When we think about the great composers, it’s easy to imagine them as super-geniuses isolated in their own little rarefied world. But of course, the great composers were only human, living and working alongside other humans. Almost all of the
- [On This Day <br/>8 June: Emanuel Ax Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-8-june-emanuel-ax-was-born/): A fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Emanuel Ax has been described as “a quiet, self-effacing character and a genuinely poetic musician, the antithesis of the glitz that characterises some of his more populist colleagues. ” A multiple
- [Orli Shaham and Mozart <br/>Orli Shaham Completes Her Odyssey Through Mozart’s Complete Piano Sonatas](https://interlude.hk/orli-shaham-and-mozart-orli-shaham-completes-her-odyssey-through-mozarts-complete-piano-sonatas/): Mozart wrote 18 piano sonatas and American pianist Orli Shaham has recorded all of them for the Canary Classics label, the final two volumes of the series being released in February this year. These sonatas have an enduring appeal, for
- [Playing Opera at Home](https://interlude.hk/playing-opera-at-home/): With the rise of the home piano in the 19th century, there was an enormous demand for piano music both for the home and for the concert hall. Just as today, when we love to hear the Boston Pops play, for example, music from the movies, amateur pianists (and experts)...
- [On This Day <br/>7 June: George Szell Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-7-june-george-szell-was-born/): One of the greatest concert and opera conductors of the 20th century, George Szell was a child prodigy. Educated in Vienna, Szell made his conducting debut at the age of 16 with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, and he was appointed
- [Violins vs. Fiddles: What's the Difference?](https://interlude.hk/violins-vs-fiddles-whats-the-difference/): The words “violin” and “fiddle” are often used interchangeably to refer to the same thing: i. e. , a musical instrument with four strings and played under the chin with a bow. However, even though the instruments are almost identical, that doesn’t
- [Homage to Hamlet](https://interlude.hk/homage-to-hamlet/): In 1888, the Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky encapsulated the tragic history of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, familiar through Shakespeare’s play of the same name, into a fantasy overture. Tchaikovsky had written these kinds of works before, his most famous
- [Unveiling New Terrain – Cellist Marie Ythier](https://interlude.hk/unveiling-new-terrain-cellist-marie-ythier/): French cellist Marie Ythier, a passionate advocate of contemporary repertoire, pays tribute to a young generation of composers with three works written for her on a new album Le Violoncelle En Partage. Released in May 2024 on B-Records, it is
- [On This Day <br/>5 June: Sandrine Piau Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-5-june-sandrine-piau-was-born/): Sandrine Piau initially made her name by working with William Christie in the field of Baroque music. Today, she commands a formidably wide-ranging repertoire, embracing operatic roles from Mozart to Poulenc and from Debussy to Britten. She also takes pleasure
- [Krystian Zimerman in Wuppertal](https://interlude.hk/krystian-zimerman-in-wuppertal/): Anyone who tried to follow Krystian Zimerman’s concerts would agree that it’s a formidable challenge – a limited number of engagements every year, no general manager, and no official website listing his appearances. However, it’s always something to listen to
- [Conversation With Dr. Maria Alexandra Iñigo Chua, Founder of the Julio Nakpil Project](https://interlude.hk/conversation-with-dr-maria-alexandra-inigo-chua-founder-of-the-julio-nakpil-project/): Meet Dr. Maria Alexandra Iñigo Chua, a musicologist and Professor at the University of Santo Thomas. She founded the Julio Nakpil Project, cataloging the vast manuscript of works written by pioneering 19th century Filipino composer Julio Nakpil (1867-1960). The two
- [On This Day <br/>4 June: Cecilia Bartoli Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-4-june-cecilia-bartoli-was-born/): One of the most popular artists of our time, Cecilia Bartoli has sold more than ten million audio and video recordings worldwide. She created the Cecilia Bartoli Music Foundation in 2018, aiming to bring classical music to a wider audience
- [Verdi's Requiem at the Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville](https://interlude.hk/verdis-requiem-at-the-walton-arts-center-in-fayetteville/): In one of their recent issues, the BBC Music Magazine published an article on the most famous Requiems. Jeremy Pound asked composer Michael John Trotta, who had recently completed his own Requiem, to name his favorite. At first Trotta replied
- [The Large and the Small <br/> Danish Concertos for Recorder and Organ](https://interlude.hk/the-large-and-the-small-danish-concertos-for-recorder-and-organ/): The combination of one of the largest musical instruments and one of the smallest musical instruments shouldn’t work. The former, the organ, which is large enough in most institutions to require its own building, and the latter, the recorder, which
- [10 Pieces of Classical Music About Friendship](https://interlude.hk/10-pieces-of-classical-music-about-friendship/): Making and having friends is one of the great joys of the human experience. Not surprisingly, many classical composers have been deeply inspired by their friendships with other people, and especially with other creative people. Today, we’re looking at ten pieces of classical music that reflect on composers’ friendships in...
- [On This Day <br/>3 June: Kian Soltani Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-3-june-kian-soltani-was-born/): His playing has been characterised by a depth of expression, sense of individuality, and technical mastery. But what is more, cellist Kian Soltani convinces with a charismatic stage presence and his ability to create an immediate emotional connection with his
- [The Orchestra in a Box: The Accordion](https://interlude.hk/the-orchestra-in-a-box-the-accordion/): The accordion works on a bellows system. As the instrument is pulled apart and pushed together, air is forced passed reeds held in a frame. Other instruments like this include the concertina, the harmonica, and the bandoneon. The keyboards on both sides of the instrument each have a different function....
- [Music Can Bring Back a Thousand Memories](https://interlude.hk/music-can-bring-back-a-thousand-memories/): Have you ever experienced nostalgia hearing a piece of music? Perhaps you have “your” song with a sweetheart or recall songs from your graduation, prom, or first dance? Instantly the melody catapults us back to the time and place of
- [On This Day <br/>2 June: Michel Dalberto Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-2-june-michel-dalberto-was-born/): French pianist Michel Dalberto stormed onto the international stage by winning the 1st Mozart Competition in Salzburg and the Clara Haskil Prize in Vevey, Switzerland. A leading interpreter of the music of Schubert, Liszt, Schumann, and all the great French
- [Merging Traditional and Classical Music <br/> A Conversation With James Ross about His Latest Album, "Landscape to Light”](https://interlude.hk/merging-traditional-and-classical-music-a-conversation-with-james-ross-about-his-latest-album-landscape-to-light/): James Ross is a pianist and composer who blends the rich tapestry of Scottish traditions with innovative compositions that combine Scottish folk and classical music. His latest album, “Landscape to Light,” will be released on June 21, 2024. In this
- [Violins vs. Violas: What's the Difference?](https://interlude.hk/violins-vs-violas-whats-the-difference/): The violin and viola are two instruments that look and sound very similar. Each instrument, however, has its own unique timbre, role, character... and partisans. In this article, we’re looking at the differences between the violin and the viola. We’ll be
- [Aleksey Semenenko](https://interlude.hk/aleksey-semenenko-ukrainian-violinist/): ‘You have to experiment, like with cooking’ A musician of fearless technical virtuosity and passionate lyricism, Ukrainian violinist Aleksey Semenenko is sought out internationally as a soloist and collaborator known for his thoughtful yet thrilling performances. Aleksey won places on
- [On This Day <br/>31 May: Diana Damrau Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-31-may-diana-damrau-was-born/): Dazzling audiences with technical prowess and emotional depth, German soprano Diana Damrau has achieved international fame in opera and also in concert and lieder performances. Sporting impeccable diction, extended lyricism, and vivid theatricality, Damrau effortlessly commands the coloratura repertoire, and
- [Manchester Camerata to Host the UK’s First Centre of Excellence for Music and Dementia](https://interlude.hk/manchester-camerata-to-host-the-uks-first-centre-of-excellence-for-music-and-dementia/): The therapeutic benefits of music are well-known and widely documented. For people with dementia, music can help reduce anxiety and depression, help maintain speech and language, enhance quality of life, and have a positive impact on families and carers too.
- [On This Day <br/> 30 May: Britten’s <em>War Requiem</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-30-may-brittens-war-requiem-was-premiered/): The premiere performance of Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem took place on 30 May 1962 at the consecration ceremony for the New Coventry Cathedral. The original fourteenth-century structure had been destroyed in a World War II bombing raid, and the work
- [Fairy Tales and Metaphors <br/>Elisabetta Brusa’s <em>Favole</em>](https://interlude.hk/fairy-tales-and-metaphors-elisabetta-brusas-favole/): The Italian composer Elisabetta Brusa (b. 1954) started composition as a child before attending the Milan Conservatory, where she studied composition. She graduated in 1980 and returned to Milan in 1985 to teach at the Conservatory. Fellowships (Fromm and Fulbright)
- [Rudolf Tobias (1873-1918) <br/>The Estonian Trailblazer](https://interlude.hk/rudolf-tobias-1873-1918-the-estonian-trailblazer/): When we hear music originating from the ancient shores of the Baltic Sea, we immediately think of the Estonian composers Veljo Tormis and Arvo Pärt. Of course, they are very famous right now, but their successes built on the ground-breaking
- [Which Composers Wrote Nine Symphonies? <br/>The Curse of the Ninth](https://interlude.hk/which-composers-wrote-nine-symphonies-the-curse-of-the-ninth/): “The curse of the ninth” is an eerie quirk of classical music history. The phrase refers to a superstition that a composer will die after writing his ninth symphony. The superstition sounds silly, but the fact remains that a good chunk of the most famous symphonists did indeed pass away...
- [On This Day <br/>28 May: Seong-Jin Cho Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-28-may-seong-jin-cho-was-born/): By winning First Prize at the Chopin International Competition in Warsaw in 2015, Seong-Jin Cho immediately rose to international prominence. Signing an exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon in 2016, Cho has established himself as one of the leading pianists of
- [Step into the Garden <br/>REset by PLANT VOX / Helen Anahita Wilson](https://interlude.hk/step-into-the-garden-reset-by-plant-vox-helen-anahita-wilson/): Last winter, we featured linea naturalis a 45-minute soundscape created from natural bioelectricity readings from plants found in the oncology section of Chelsea Physic Garden in London by award-winning British composer and sound artist Helen Anahita Wilson. The music was
- [Giorgi Gigashvili Wigmore Debut – Original but More Control Needed](https://interlude.hk/giorgi-gigashvili-wigmore-debut-original-but-more-control-needed/): Giorgi Gigashvili – 17th Arthur Rubinstein Competition Giorgi Gigashvili made his name by capturing the second prize at the Rubinstein Competition in 2023, where he also garnered his audience with his daring interpretations and commanding stage presence. I’ve been observing
- [The New and the Old <br/> Steve Elcock’s Violin Concerto and Symphony No. 8](https://interlude.hk/the-new-and-the-old-steve-elcocks-violin-concerto-and-symphony-no-8/): In a new recording coming from Nimbus, South African violinist Zoë Beyers, with the English Symphony Orchestra, takes on English composer Steve Elcock (b. 1957) and his 2006 Violin Concerto. Elcock is quite a discovery. Self-trained as a composer, he
- [Sergei Rachmaninoff “Vocalise” <br/> Universe of Emotions](https://interlude.hk/sergei-rachmaninoff-vocalise-universe-of-emotions/): Sergei Rachmaninoff wrote countless gorgeous and unforgettable melodies, none more famous than his “Vocalise. ” That particular earworm comes from a collection of 14 songs, but the Vocalise has no text. As Rachmaninoff explained to a singer, “What need is there of words when you are able to convey everything...
- [Starting Over Again](https://interlude.hk/starting-over-again/): I haven’t touched the piano for six months. I have a beautiful early 20th-century Bechstein model A grand piano which has been sitting, untouched, in my piano room/office. There is music open on the stand – Schubert’s Piano Sonata in
- [On This Day <br/>26 May: Stravinsky’s <em>Le Rossignol (The Nightingale)</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-26-may-stravinskys-le-rossignol-the-nightingale-was-premiered/): Igor Stravinsky’s first opera The Nightingale, to his own libretto in collaboration with Stepan Mitusov and based on a Hans Christian Andersen fairy-tale, premiered at the Opéra in Paris on 26 May 1914. The marvellously colourful production was commissioned by
- [Rising Star Cellist Sterling Elliott](https://interlude.hk/rising-star-cellist-sterling-elliott/): In April, 24-year-old cellist Sterling Elliott appeared with the Minnesota Orchestra performing Tchaikovsky’s Variations on a Rococo Theme Op. 33 for Cello and Orchestra. A top award winner of the Senior Division of the 2019 National Sphinx Competition and having
- [Hard and Fast: Percussion](https://interlude.hk/hard-and-fast-percussion/): The percussion section has to be the biggest section of the orchestra, not in terms of the number of players but of the number of instruments played. To start with the basic definition, a percussion instrument is one that is sounded by being struck (like a drum) or scraped (like...
- [Folk Instruments on the Pop Stage: Eurovision 2024](https://interlude.hk/folk-instruments-on-the-pop-stage-eurovision-2024/): If you saw the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest Grand Final in May, then you saw two different groups with instruments far out of the norm. The Norwegian group Gåte played Ulveham (Wolf Pelt), which is based on a medieval Norwegian
- [Schumann for Beginners: 10 Pieces to Make You Love Schumann](https://interlude.hk/schumann-for-beginners-10-pieces-to-make-you-love-schumann/): Robert Schumann was born in the town of Zwickau in present-day Germany in 1810. Along with his wife, the great pianist and composer Clara Schumann, he went on to become one of the leading figures of Romantic Era music. Here are some facts you should know about his life: When...
- [Conversation With Composer Charles Mauleverer About His New Album “Overture”](https://interlude.hk/conversation-with-composer-charles-mauleverer-about-his-new-album-overture/): Charles Mauleverer is a British composer from the picturesque island of Jersey. He recently launched his debut album titled “Overture”. The album includes solo and orchestral compositions created by the composer between 2003 and 2022. In this interview, Charles shared
- [On This Day <br/> 24 May 1974: Duke Ellington’s 50th Anniversary of Death](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-24-may-1974-duke-ellingtons-50th-anniversary-of-death/): 50 years ago to the day, on 24 May 1974, America mourned the passing of its arguably greatest composers. Without doubt, Duke (Edward Kennedy) Ellington was the greatest jazz composer and bandleader of his time. One of the originators of
- [Grey Clouds Descending <br/>Franz Liszt’s Failing Eyesight](https://interlude.hk/grey-clouds-descending-franz-liszts-failing-eyesight/): Franz Liszt first sought medical care in 1881, suffering from the early cardio-respiratory disease that would eventually take his life. Concurrently, Liszt also noted a gradual decline in the vision of his left eye. He had used corrective lenses for
- [Lise de la Salle, Rakitina, BBCSO <br/>Death & Fate Met with Uneven Playing](https://interlude.hk/lise-de-la-salle-rakitina-bbcso-death-fate-met-with-uneven-playing/): The Barbican Centre witnessed contemplations on death and fate this evening (May 17, 2024). Under the baton of Anna Rakitina, the BBC Symphony Orchestra was set to perform the London premiere of Sofia Gubaidulina’s The Wrath of God and Rachmaninoff’s
- [Focus on the Female: An Interview With the Lilith Ensemble](https://interlude.hk/focus-on-the-female-an-interview-with-the-lilith-ensemble/): Lilith, the reputed first wife of Adam who made her quick departure when equality wasn’t what Adam had in mind, is the inspiration and almost the driving force behind this new ensemble that started at the Koninklijk Conservatorium Antwerpen (Belgium)
- [Pen & Paper: Different Approaches of Composing Music](https://interlude.hk/pen-paper-different-approaches-of-composing-music/): There is an exclusivity to the approaches to composing music, as opposed to all other artistic forms. It is that music can be created through at least two different mediums. The one of the instrument or the one of the
- [Food for Thought <br/>Mealtime with Gustav Mahler](https://interlude.hk/food-for-thought-mealtime-with-gustav-mahler/): Stepping into the footsteps of his idol Richard Wagner, Gustav Mahler wrote to a friend in 1880. “For the last month, I have been a total vegetarian. The moral effect of this way of life, with its voluntary castigation of the
- [Composers Like Beethoven: Eight Composers to Check Out](https://interlude.hk/composers-like-beethoven-eight-composers-to-check-out/): The music of Ludwig van Beethoven has captivated generations of musicians and listeners. However, some classical music lovers are so enamored by Beethoven that they fail to appreciate Beethoven’s gifted colleagues. If we look at music history, we can find great music in a Beethovenian style written by composers not...
- [Lost in Time and Now Found <br/>Maria Herz’s <em>Orchestra Suite</em>, Op. 13](https://interlude.hk/lost-in-time-and-now-found-maria-herzs-orchestra-suite-op-13/): Maria Herz (née Bing) (1878–1950) came from Cologne where her family ran a successful textile business. The youngest daughter, Maria, played cello in the family string quartet but actually loved the piano more. It was said that her performance of
- [On This Day <br/>21 May: Heinz Holliger Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-21-may-heinz-holliger-was-born/): He may well be one of the most versatile and extraordinary musical personalities of our time. The conductor, composer, oboist, and pianist Heinz Holliger has never stopped searching for the limits of human experiences. Celebrated for his versatility and technique,
- [From Venice to Naples <br/>Franco Alfano’s <em>Suite romantica</em>](https://interlude.hk/from-venice-to-naples-franco-alfanos-suite-romantica/): The Italian composer Franco Alfano (1875–1954) was one of the Italian ‘Generazione dell’Ottanta’ of composers born in the 1880s, the best known of which included Alfredo Casella, Ildebrando Pizzetti, Gian Francsco Malipiero, and Ottorino Respighi, who sought to bring back
- [Indiana Jones and the Missing Donizetti Songs](https://interlude.hk/indiana-jones-and-the-missing-donizetti-songs/): Indiana Jones Jr. is probably one of cinema’s most famous characters. Portrayed by actor Harrison Ford, Indiana Jones Jr. is a professor of archaeology who finds numerous famous mythological relics, such as the Sankara Stones, the Ark of the Covenant,
- [Death and Victory: Beethoven’s Egmont Overture](https://interlude.hk/death-and-victory-beethovens-egmont-overture/): Beethoven’s incidental music for Goethe’s play Egmont included not only the overture but also songs and entr’acte music. It is only the overture that we are familiar with today. Beethoven was considering a number of projects, including an opera based
- [On This Day <br/>20 May: Alexandre Kantorow Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-20-may-alexandre-kantorow-was-born/): In 2019, Alexandre Kantorow won the first prize, gold medal, and Grand Prix at the 16th International Tchaikovsky Competition, becoming the first French winner in the history of the competition. Kantorow struck the piano world with the impact of a
- [10 Pieces of Classical Music About Freedom](https://interlude.hk/10-pieces-of-classical-music-about-freedom/): Classical music has been used for political purposes countless times, both in oppressive regimes (like in Stalin’s Soviet Union and Nazi Germany) and in battles for self-determination and freedom (like in the Finnish independence movement). European revolutions have had classical music as their soundtrack for a very long time. Today,...
- [On This Day <br/>19 May: Ravel’s <em>L’heure Espagnol</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-19-may-ravels-lheure-espagnol-was-premiered/): Maurice Ravel presented his one-act opera L’heure Espagnol, probably most idiomatically translated as “How They Keep Time in Spain,” at the Opéra-Comique on 19 May 1911. Based on the play by Franc-Nohain, which enjoyed great success at the Odéon in
- [The Melodic Support: The Double Bass](https://interlude.hk/the-melodic-support-the-double-bass/): The lowest member of the string family is the double bass – its genetics place it closer to the viol than the violin in that it has sloping shoulders (see cello for a viola da gamba image), its body is proportionally deeper than the violin’s, and it’s tuned in fourths...
- [Why Learning to Play the Piano or Any Musical Instrument Saves Lives Part II](https://interlude.hk/why-learning-to-play-the-piano-or-any-musical-instrument-saves-lives-part-ii/): “Once you’ve sung in a choir, or played in a band or orchestra, or played in any music ensemble, you’re never the same again. Your ears, your eyes, and your heart are opened up in ways not possible by any
- [What Happened to Mozart's Children?](https://interlude.hk/what-happened-to-mozarts-children/): Composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and singer Constanze Weber were married on 4 August 1782. Their courtship had been dramatic. They had started dating the summer of the previous year (after Wolfgang had initially fallen in love with Constanze’s sister). They discussed marriage, but Wolfgang’s father, Leopold, was firmly against it....
- [Masterworks Dedicated to Yehudi Menuhin](https://interlude.hk/masterworks-dedicated-to-yehudi-menuhin/): Ever since I was a little child, I listened to recordings by Yehudi Menuhin. In every single note that phenomenal violinist produced fantastic intensity and emotion. I remember listening to Bach’s Air on a G string, and I had never
- [On This Day <br/>18 May: Samson François Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-18-may-samson-francois-was-born/): He supposedly felt physically ill when playing Brahms, and he considered the Beethoven sonatas boring because of their plastic imperfection. But what delighted him beyond all measure was to play Mozart on an old, out-of-tune Erard grand piano. Samson Pascal
- [Enescu’s <em>First Rhapsody</em>](https://interlude.hk/george-enescu-first-rhapsody/): A product of a 19-year-old composer, George Enescu’s Romanian Rhapsody No. 1, completed in 1901, is thought to be a loosely connected set of episodes sources on folk dances and folk songs. But although these are seemingly ‘as found’, Enescu
- [Gustav Mahler’s Final Journey](https://interlude.hk/gustav-mahler-final-journey-grinzing/): If you find yourself in Vienna with a bit of free time on your hands, you might well consider taking a short excursion to Grinzing. This charming old wine village still preserves architectural objects from Roman times, but it is
- [On This Day <br/>16 May: Smetana’s <em>Dalibor</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-16-may-smetanas-dalibor-was-premiered/): On 16 May 1868, the New Town Theatre in Prague saw the premiere of Bedřich Smetana’s opera Dalibor. The premiere sounded on the day of the ceremonial laying of the foundation stone of the National Theatre with the composer conducting.
- [Where Did the Inspiration Go?](https://interlude.hk/where-did-the-inspiration-go/): Is it true that success removes inspiration and the drive to create and explore? If it does not happen to all, it is certainly observable with many. Particularly with recent composers and artists. Throughout the first quarter of the 21st
- [Which Composers Were Gay? (And How Do We Know?)](https://interlude.hk/which-composers-were-gay-and-how-do-we-know/): The history of classical music spans centuries. Over that time, society has had very different ideas about sexual identities (when they verbalized them at all). It goes without saying that it’s unfair to look back in time and breezily apply our modern definition of words like gay, lesbian, bisexual, and...
- [On This Day <br/>15 May: Anne Akiko Meyers Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-15-may-anne-akiko-meyers-was-born/): Born in San Diego on 15 May 1970, Anne Akiko Meyers is undoubtedly one of the world’s most esteemed violinists. Possessing flawless technique and artistry, critics and audiences marvel at her “wonderous palette of tones that range from edgy and
- [What is Olden?](https://interlude.hk/what-is-olden/): Several pieces have the word ‘olden’ in their titles. We’ll look at 4 works and see that each composer carries a different meaning for the word. Henryk Górecki: 3 Olden Style Pieces Górecki combined elements of folk origins with modern
- [Conversation with Sergei Babayan: Exploring “Rachmaninoff for Two”](https://interlude.hk/conversation-with-sergei-babayan-exploring-rachmaninoff-for-two/): Sergei Babayan, one of the most influential pianists, has recently collaborated with Daniil Trifonov to release an album titled “Rachmaninoff for Two. ” This album is a tribute to Rachmaninoff, who would have celebrated his 150th birthday this year. “Rachmaninoff for
- [Vagn Holmboe: “Moya”—7 Japanese Songs](https://interlude.hk/vagn-holmboe-moya-7-japanese-songs/): In Japanese architecture “moya” designates the core or central part of a residential building. When Buddhism was introduced to the country in the 6th century, “moya” became the designation of the sacred central area of a temple building. In the
- [A Recital with A Difference: Yuja Wang’s <em>The Vienna Recital</em>](https://interlude.hk/a-recital-with-a-difference-yuja-wangs-the-vienna-recital/): The idea of a recital – a single performer on their own stage, showing the best of themselves – is an old idea. Some Romantic performers, such as Liszt and Paganini, were best known through their recitals. The opportunity to
- [Brahms for Beginners: Twelve Pieces to Make You Love Brahms](https://interlude.hk/brahms-for-beginners-twelve-pieces-to-make-you-love-brahms/): Johannes Brahms was born in 1833 in Hamburg, Germany. He ended his life one of the undisputed giants of nineteenth century music. Here are a few facts about his life and music: Brahms spent his career caught up in an important aesthetic battle known as the War of the Romantics....
- [Food for Thought <br/> Mealtime with Erik Satie](https://interlude.hk/food-for-thought-mealtime-with-erik-satie/): Without doubt, in the world of madcap artists and composers, Erik Satie was the most eccentric. Just how eccentric was he? In 1893, he conceived a piece entitled Vexations. The piece consists of a single bass phrase to be accompanied
- [Big and Small All At Once: The Violoncello](https://interlude.hk/big-and-small-all-at-once-the-violoncello/): The bigger brother of the violin and viola, the violoncello actually has two different names hidden in its name: it starts with viol (like violin and viola) and then has the Italian ending -one, meaning big, and ends with the Italian diminutive of -ello, making it the little big viol....
- [Giovanni Battista Viotti](https://interlude.hk/giovanni-battista-viotti-italian-composer/): “The time we pass on earth is not worth the effort” The Italian violinist and composer Giovanni Battista Viotti (1755-1824), born on 12 May 1755 at Fontanetto da Po in Piedmont, Italy, was probably the most influential violinist between Tartini
- [Why Learning to Play the Piano or Any Musical Instrument Saves Lives](https://interlude.hk/why-learning-to-play-the-piano-or-any-musical-instrument-saves-lives/): Once a status symbol for middle-class families, pianos are now nearly impossible to even give away. It’s true that an old piano is costly to move and pricey to refurbish, but I was viscerally distressed to read how many pianos
- [John Cage: A Beginner's Guide to the Fascinating Composer](https://interlude.hk/john-cage-a-beginners-guide-to-the-fascinating-composer/): It seems like everyone in the music world has opinions about the music of John Cage. Some people love his work, while others loathe it. Regardless of how you feel, it’s always a great idea to learn more about any
- [Ignaz Friedman (1882-1948) <br/> The Pianist and Composer](https://interlude.hk/ignaz-friedman-1882-1948-the-pianist-and-composer/): Ignaz Friedman is considered one of the greatest pianists of the twentieth century. Performing around the globe, Friedman lived in Berlin, Copenhagen, Italy, and from 1940 onwards, in Sydney, Australia. Friedman performed well over 3,000 concerts during his career, and his reputation as a performer was legendary. Rachmaninoff was greatly...
- [Erik Satie <br/> The Rosicrucian Adventure](https://interlude.hk/erik-satie-the-rosicrucian-adventure/): In a ranking of madcap artists and composers, Erik Satie would almost certainly take first prize. His whacky eccentricities, tied to the subconscious world of chimera and dream, are surely the essence of French decadence. As we approach his birthday
- [The Double Lie: Beethoven’s <em>Octet in E Flat Major</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-double-lie-beethovens-octet-in-e-flat-major/): In November 1792, Beethoven was sent by his patron, the Archbishop-Elector of Bonn, to Vienna, where he would study with Haydn. To show his pupil’s progress, Haydn reported back to the Archbishop-Elector, sending examples of his work. Unfortunately, one of
- [On This Day <br/>10 May: Strauss’ <em>Guntram</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-10-may-strauss-guntram-was-premiered/): All beginnings are difficult, but you have to start somewhere. This might well have been the motto for Guntram, the first opera by Richard Strauss. Or, as the composer himself declared, “all of Guntram is a prelude. ” Working on the
- [Alexander Gavrylyuk at Wigmore Hall](https://interlude.hk/alexander-gavrylyuk-at-wigmore-hall/): Appointed artist-in-residence at the Wigmore Hall for the 2023/24 season, Ukrainian-born Australian pianist Alexander Gavrylyuk stands out as one of the most promising pianists of his generation – I mean, you have to be pretty good to receive standing ovations
- [Church Music](https://interlude.hk/church-music/): As this article is being written around the Christmas period, and the Christian churches are filled with festive religious music, let’s have a better look at the different types of sacred music, their composers, and how they have evolved over
- [On This Day <br/>9 May: Anne Sofie von Otter Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-9-may-anne-sofie-von-otter-was-born/): Born in Stockholm, Sweden, on 9 May 1955, Anne Sofie von Otter is one of the finest singers of her generation. Internationally recognised as a concert and recital singer of exceptional gifts, von Otter has built an incomparable catalogue of
- [<em>Known and Unknown </em><br/>Interview with Composer Rodney Sharman and Pianist Rachel Kiyo Iwaasa](https://interlude.hk/known-and-unknown-interview-with-composer-rodney-sharman-and-pianist-rachel-kiyo-iwaasa/): It is truly incredible to witness the profound bond between composers and performers and the level of dedication and passion that goes into producing new and impactful music. Rodney Sharman and Rachel Kiyo Iwaasa collaborated on their album Known and
- [Best Quotes About Flutes and Flutists](https://interlude.hk/best-quotes-about-flutes-and-flutists/): The flute is one of the best-loved instruments in band and orchestra, and it’s easy to understand why. It is incredibly versatile, can play an exceptionally wide range of notes, and plays a starring role in classical music, jazz, and
- [Eugene Goossens: <em>Old Chinese Folksong</em>](https://interlude.hk/eugene-goossens-old-chinese-folksong/): Sir Eugene Goossens (1893-1962) was a member of one of the most important English musical dynasties of the 19th and 20th centuries. He started his career as a professional violinist, performing his own compositions influenced by the musical styles of
- [Niu Niu: The Pianist's Journey <br/> An Interview on His New Album and Upcoming Performances](https://interlude.hk/niu-niu-the-pianists-journey-an-interview-on-his-new-album-and-upcoming-performances/): Niu Niu is a talented young pianist who has been performing on stage since the age of 6. This month, a new album featuring a live collaboration between Niu Niu and the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by maestro Jaap
- [Living, Breathing Music: A Chat with Ben Levy of Classics Explained](https://interlude.hk/living-breathing-music-a-chat-with-ben-levy-of-classics-explained/): ‘Classical music isn’t ossified,’ declared Ben Levy, ‘it’s living and breathing... . ’. And bringing life into understanding classical music is all about his YouTube Channel. His first video, about Rimsky-Korsakov’s Sheherazade, gives the backstory of the 1001 Nights story collection but
- [Breath and Breathing: Hera Hyesang Park’s <em>Breathe</em>](https://interlude.hk/breath-and-breathing-hera-hyesang-parks-breathe/): Korean soprano Hera Hyesang Park’s new album on Deutsche Grammophon, Breathe, had its roots in the COVID crisis. Ms. Park was confronted with the sudden death of her loved ones and a realization that there were a lot of unexplored
- [Classical Music About Mothers](https://interlude.hk/classical-music-about-mothers/): For generations, mothers have been a source of inspiration for classical composers. Today we’re looking at twenty pieces of classical music that pay tribute to motherhood, from song cycles written from a mother’s point of view to references to the Virgin Mary and Mother Goose, to the laments of mothers...
- [The Music of Poetry <br/>Aaron Copland: <em>12 Poems of Emily Dickinson</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-music-of-poetry-aaron-copland-12-poems-of-emily-dickinson/): I had long believed that the poems most frequently set to music came from the pen of Goethe, Schiller, Heine, Whitman, or Verlaine. In reality, however, that particular honour probably belongs to the American poet Emily Dickinson. In 1992 a
- [The Middle Voice: The Viola](https://interlude.hk/the-middle-voice-the-viola/): Of all the instruments of the string family, the viola is the butt of most jokes (the Viola player stops for a coffee after a long concert, and is sitting in the restaurant when he realizes that he’s left his viola on the back seat in full view. He rushes...
- [More Forgotten Piano Sonatas](https://interlude.hk/more-forgotten-piano-sonatas/): For “World Pianist Day” 2023, I wrote a little blog featuring some rarely performed or forgotten piano sonatas. As you know, the piano repertoire is absolutely vast, and at the end of my blog, I always invite readers to let me know what other works they would like to see...
- [On This Day <br/>5 May: Milhaud <em>Christophe Colomb</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-5-may-milhaud-christophe-colomb-was-premiered/): The Staatsoper in Berlin saw one of the most elaborate and spectacular productions of 20th-century opera on 5 May 1930. Christophe Colomb to a libretto by Paul Claudel and with music by Darius Milhaud features more than 30 characters in
- [Haydn for Beginners: Eleven Pieces to Make You Love Haydn](https://interlude.hk/haydn-for-beginners-eleven-pieces-to-make-you-love-haydn/): Joseph Haydn was born in the village of Rohrau, Austria, in 1732. Haydn overcame a difficult childhood to become one of the most influential composers in the history of classical music. Here are a few biographical tidbits about him: Haydn spent most of his career serving as a court musician...
- [Fanciful Stories in Music <br/>Dittersdorf: “Ovid Symphonies” III](https://interlude.hk/fanciful-stories-in-music-dittersdorf-ovid-symphonies-iii/): In an earlier episode, I told the story that Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf (1739-1799) planned on writing a total of 15 symphonies based on Ovid’s Metamorphoses. He presented the Viennese publisher Artaria with a detailed outline of his grand design.
- [Franz Schubert: <em>String Quintet in C Major</em> (D. 956) <br/>“At the Gates of Heaven”](https://interlude.hk/franz-schubert-string-quintet-in-c-major-d-956-at-the-gates-of-heaven/): Franz Schubert’s final chamber work, the String Quintet in C Major (D. 956) is regarded as one of the greatest compositions in all of chamber music. The “sublime” second movement has long been viewed as the essence of coming to
- [Unique Concertos II <br/>Works by Piazzolla, Aho, Huber, Tower, and Tan Dun](https://interlude.hk/unique-concertos-ii-works-by-piazzolla-aho-huber-tower-and-tan-dun/): Let’s continue to explore more concertos for unique instruments. The Argentinian composer and virtuoso performer Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992) revolutionized the tango by turning disreputable and downright earthy folk music into a sophisticated form of art. Considered the father of the “tango nuevo,” Piazzolla incorporated elements from jazz and classical music...
- [The New Flame: Bruno Monsaingeon’s Documentary on Klaus Mäkelä](https://interlude.hk/the-new-flame-bruno-monsaingeons-documentary-on-klaus-makela/): Music documentarist Bruno Monsaingeon’s new film, Klaus Mäkelä: Towards the Flame, about the young Finnish conductor Klaus Mäkelä takes us through the history of one of the hottest conductors of the 21st century and, at the same time, shows us
- [Review: CCOHK’s Shark Symphony <br/>A Smorgasbord of Spectacle](https://interlude.hk/review-ccohks-shark-symphony-a-smorgasbord-of-spectacle/): Shark Symphony (City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong) Tsuen Wan Town Hall Auditorium 20,21 April, 2024 At the sight of City Chamber Orchestra’s poster — a giant shark chowing down on a hapless violin — you’d be forgiven in dismissing
- [Music for Robots](https://interlude.hk/music-for-robots/): Nowadays, we are so used to hearing music being played in our ears from so many different sources, that we tend to forget how we got there in the first place. Our current devices are the result of a long
- [200th Anniversary of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony](https://interlude.hk/200th-anniversary-of-beethovens-ninth-symphony/): 200 years ago, on 7 May 1824, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony first sounded at the Theater am Kärntnertor in Vienna. It was a rather gargantuan event, not at all unusual for a Beethoven academy, as the programme also featured three movements
- [On This Day <br/>2 May: Yeol Eum Son Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-2-may-yeol-eum-son-was-born/): Pianist Yeol Eum Son, born on 2 May 1986 in Wonju, South Korea, has been lauded for her breathtaking technical control and her profound empathy for the emotional temper of the works within her strikingly wide repertoire. A prize-winner at
- [Best Quotes About Trumpets and Trumpeters](https://interlude.hk/best-quotes-about-trumpets-and-trumpeters/): There’s no other musical instrument like the trumpet. Its bold, fearless sound has made it a favorite in bands and orchestras around the world, in classical music, jazz music, and beyond. Today, we’re celebrating legendary players, teachers, composers, and writers,
- [We Must Have Whiskey: Greek National Opera’s <em>Mahagonny</em>](https://interlude.hk/we-must-have-whiskey-greek-national-operas-mahagonny/): The history of Kurt Weill’s 1930 masterpiece, Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny (Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny) at the Greek National Opera is an uneasy tale of power and achievement. The first production in 1977 was
- [Andrè Schuen](https://interlude.hk/italian-baritone-andre-schuen/): “Subtle Colours and Responsibility to the Audience” Baritone Andrè Schuen found his way to singing, in his own words, ‘quite late on’. Growing up playing the cello in his small hometown of La Val, nestled in Northern Italy at the
- [Music at the Hotel II <br/>The Marlborough-Blenheim in the 1910s and ‘20s](https://interlude.hk/music-at-the-hotel-ii-the-marlborough-blenheim-in-the-1910s-and-20s/): After the programme on Friday, Saturday was for dancing in the Ballroom. The dancing started at 9 pm, and the first two dances were for children. After that, the adults could take the floor. The music would have been provided by a live ensemble, but we don’t have any indication...
- [The Russian Art Song (Romance) <br/> Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908)](https://interlude.hk/the-russian-art-song-romance-nikolai-rimsky-korsakov-1844-1908/): While Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s (1844-1908) symphonic works remain extremely popular, his art songs, commonly termed “Romances,” are largely unknown and unfairly neglected. An integral part of Russian culture, the “Romance” indicated an intimate lyrical genre that was supposed to “touch the
- [Review: La Gioconda at Teatro San Carlo, Naples](https://interlude.hk/review-la-gioconda-at-teatro-san-carlo-naples/): The Frenchman Stéphane Lissner, current Sovrintendente and Artistic Director of the storied Teatro San Carlo in Naples, can be credited with upgrading the program and quality of what was once the leading opera house in Italy. Most importantly, he has
- [From Sadness to Love: Crusell’s <em>Little Slave Girl</em>](https://interlude.hk/from-sadness-to-love-crusells-little-slave-girl/): Finnish composer Bernhard Crusell (1775–1838) was considered the greatest composer of Finnish descent, before Sibelius. Finland, at the time, did not exist as a country, it was part of the Swedish kingdom, so it was in the capital city of
- [Sofia Lourenço: <em>Caminos Andaluces </em> <br/>Piano Biography and Remembrance of Helena Sá e Costa](https://interlude.hk/sofia-lourenco-caminos-andaluces-piano-biography-and-remembrance-of-helena-sa-e-costa/): Meet Sofia Lourenço, a Portuguese pianist, musicologist, and researcher who recently released a new album featuring Spanish piano music of the 20th century. The album, Caminos Andaluces, represents Sofia Lourenço’s piano journey. Hi Sofia, congratulations on the release of your
- [Fun Facts About Classical Music for Kids](https://interlude.hk/fun-facts-about-classical-music-for-kids/): Some people think classical music can only be truly enjoyed by adults and older people. But they’re so wrong! Today we’re looking at some fun facts about classical music for kids. Are you ready to learn about piano battles, classical
- [On This Day <br/>28 April: Meyerbeer’s <em>L’Africaine</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-28-april-meyerbeers-lafricaine-was-premiered/): Giacomo Meyerbeer (1791-1864) had scored resounding triumphs with his two grand operas Robert le Diable and Les Huguenots. As a follow-up, he once again teamed up with the librettist Eugène Scribe for another project titled L’Africaine (The African Woman). The
- [The Elegant Strings: The Violin](https://interlude.hk/the-elegant-strings-the-violin/): The violin, the best known of the instruments of classical music, is known by its shape – an hour-glass waist and an arched bridge. These are our first clues that this is a bowed instrument – the waist on the instrument permits a bow to sound the strings and the...
- [Opéra-Comique at Salle Favart](https://interlude.hk/opera-comique-at-salle-favart/): The biggest hazards for venues of performing arts are not bad management, horrid programming, or really bad performances; it is fire! Take the Salle Favart, the official Théâtre de l’Opéra-Comique, as an example. The first Salle Favart was built to
- [Verdi for Beginners: Nine Pieces to Make You Love Verdi](https://interlude.hk/verdi-for-beginners-nine-pieces-to-make-you-love-verdi/): Giuseppe Verdi was born 10 October 1813 in Le Roncole, Italy. Here are a few facts about his life to get you started: Verdi is most famous for his operas. Over the course of his six-decade-long career, he wrote twenty-eight operas, and astonishingly, about half of those can still be...
- [On This Day <br/>27 April : Louis Lortie Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-27-april-louis-lortie-was-born/): Québécois pianist Louis Lortie, born in Montreal on 27 April 1959, has a reputation as one of the world’s most versatile pianists. In his thirty-year relationship with Chandos Records, Lortie has produced a catalogue of well over 45 recordings, with
- [Fanciful Stories in Music <br/>Dittersdorf: “Ovid Symphonies” II](https://interlude.hk/fanciful-stories-in-music-dittersdorf-ovid-symphonies-ii/): Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf (1739-1799) was a highly respected violin virtuoso and prolific composer. It might be difficult to imagine today, but his popularity was said to have rivalled Haydn, Gluck, and Mozart. I think that might be a little
- [Unique Concertos <br/>Works by Glière, Daetwyler, Horovitz, Villa-Lobos, Diemer, and Akiho](https://interlude.hk/unique-concertos-works-by-gliere-daetwyler-horovitz-villa-lobos-diemer-and-akiho/): In its simplest form, a concerto is defined as a musical composition in which one or more solo instruments interact with an orchestra or ensemble. The term concerto is ambiguous because it originated from splicing together two Latin words. “Consere” means to join, or to weave, and “certamen” means competition...
- [<em>Lifting the Lid</em> on the World of the Concert Pianist <br/> Interviews With Concert Pianists by Michael Johnson & Frances Wilson](https://interlude.hk/lifting-the-lid-on-the-world-of-the-concert-pianist-interviews-with-concert-pianists-by-michael-johnson-frances-wilson/): Pianists have an aura of mystique. More often than not, alone on the stage with just that box of wood and wires for company, stretched before the performer like a sleek black limousine, pianists seem more removed, almost other-worldly than
- [World-class Pianist Llŷr Williams <br/>To Perform Beethoven’s 32 Piano Sonatas At Guadalajara’s <em>Festival de Mayo</em>](https://interlude.hk/world-class-pianist-llyr-williams-to-perform-beethovens-32-piano-sonatas-at-guadalajaras-festival-de-mayo/): Rich contributions have been made to classical music by creators from Spanish and Portuguese-speaking countries. Composers like Ponce and Albéniz, conductors in the mode of Dudamel and Payar, instrumentalists such as de Larrocha and Ricardo Morales, all testify through their
- [Composing by Numbers](https://interlude.hk/composing-by-numbers/): We all have painted by numbers at some stage of our childhood – or adult life! Painting by numbers is a wonderful invention which guides the aspiring young artist in completing a modest and amateur work of art. Without worrying
- [BLACK & WHITE <br/>Ashley Wass, piano <br/>Orchid Classics](https://interlude.hk/black-white-ashley-wass-piano-orchid-classics/): This new release from British pianist Ashley Wass celebrates a significant milestone in his musical life – some 40 years since he first touched the keys of a piano. Black and White, the album and corresponding live concerts, is a
- [Ten of the Shortest Symphonies Ever Written](https://interlude.hk/ten-of-the-shortest-symphonies-ever-written/): Lots of people say that less is more, and that rule of thumb can certainly apply to symphonies. Today, we’re looking at ten of the shortest symphonies ever written, dating from the mid-eighteenth century to the present day. All are intriguing in their own way. So whether you only have...
- [On This Day <br/>23 April: Jolivet’s <em>Concerto for Ondes Martenot</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-23-april-jolivets-concerto-for-ondes-martenot-was-premiered/): On 23 April 1948, the city of Vienna was treated to a most unusual premiere. On that day, André Jolivet stepped onto the podium and, together with his sister Ginette as the soloist, first presented his Concerto for Ondes Martenot
- [Music at the Hotel I <br/>The Marlborough-Blenheim in the 1910s and ‘20s](https://interlude.hk/music-at-the-hotel-i-the-marlborough-blenheim-in-the-1910s-and-20s/): One day in an antique shop, I found a small programme booklet for the Marlborough-Blenheim Quartet, Mr. Leo Sachs, director, which performed at the Marlborough-Blenheim hotel in Atlantic City. In looking further through the internet, I found three other programs from 1916, 1921, and 1931. The piano quartet played Fridays,...
- [The Joy of 4 Hands: Onyx Piano Duo’s <em>Souvenirs</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-joy-of-4-hands-onyx-piano-duos-souvenirs/): One of the most wonderful ensembles in the world is the piano duo. More than just adding two more layers to any piano work, it adds up to 10 more layers. The German Onyx Piano Duo’s (Marie-Thérèse Zahnlecker and Jonas
- [On This Day <br/>  22 April: Yehudi Menuhin Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-22-april-yehudi-menuhin-was-born/): One of the finest violinists and most significant artists of the 20th century, Yehudi Menuhin was a gentle spirit who gave music a profound emotional resonance. The most musically gifted violin prodigy of his generation, he devoted his life to
- [Fifteen of the Best Duets for Violin and Cello](https://interlude.hk/fifteen-of-the-best-duets-for-violin-and-cello/): The violin and cello: like vanilla and chocolate, they’re two great tastes that taste great together! However, not everyone is familiar with the wide fantastic repertoire available to violinists and cellists who want to partner up and perform together. So today we’re looking at fifteen great works for violin and...
- [Interview with Megan Swan <br/>Director of Programming of “From the Top”](https://interlude.hk/interview-with-megan-swan-director-of-programming-of-from-the-top/): From the Top (FTT) is America’s largest platform celebrating young, classically trained musicians. It is a National Public Radio program in the United States, and it has been on for over 24 years. In this interview, Megan Swan, the Director
- [Supporting Everything Above: The Tuba](https://interlude.hk/supporting-everything-above-the-tuba/): At the bottom of the brass section sits the tuba, the largest of the brasswind instruments. Oddly enough, for an instrument that is so fundamentally important, it, like the saxophone, was one of the last additions to the orchestra. It replaced the ophicleide (see saxophone for information). The first bass...
- [Opera Rara and Ermonela Jaho <br/> Donizetti Song Project](https://interlude.hk/opera-rara-and-ermonela-jaho-donizetti-song-project/): Named Artist of the Year at the 2023 International Classical Music Awards and Best Female Singer of the Year at the 2024 Oper! Awards, Ermonela Jaho is internationally recognised as one of the greatest operatic artists of our day. By
- [Leonard Bernstein <br/><em>Four Anniversaries</em> (1948) and <em>Five Anniversaries</em> (1949-51)](https://interlude.hk/leonard-bernstein-four-anniversaries-1948-and-five-anniversaries-1949-51/): Leonard Bernstein contributed a modest but significant group of compositions for solo piano. As a noted pianist suggested, “the Bernstein works for solo pianos are a viable addition to present-day keyboard literature, and should not be underestimated. ” Among his works
- [Handel for Beginners: Eleven Pieces to Make You Love Handel](https://interlude.hk/handel-for-beginners-eleven-pieces-to-make-you-love-handel/): Composer George Frederic Handel was born in 1685 in Halle, Germany. Over the course of his career, he became one of the most famous and influential composers of the Baroque Era. Here are a few points about Handel’s life and music: Handel had an international career. We don’t know a...
- [Fanciful Stories in Music <br/>Dittersdorf: “Ovid Symphonies” I](https://interlude.hk/fanciful-stories-in-music-dittersdorf-ovid-symphonies-i/): I love a good story, and I love it even more if that story is being told in music. And that’s particularly true of instrumental art music with an explicitly narrative content. I suppose that music always conveys or evokes
- [Chou Wen-chung (1923-2019) <br/> “Riding the Wind”](https://interlude.hk/chou-wen-chung-1923-2019-riding-the-wind/): In many ways, the career of composer Chou Wen-chung (1923-2019) established a now familiar pattern of intellectuals, artists, and musicians escaping political turmoil in their native China to find opportunities in the United States. A native of Shandong Province, Chou
- [Celebrating Earth Day <br/>Interview with “From the Top” Fellows Winston Schnieder and Viviana Alfaro](https://interlude.hk/celebrating-earth-day-interview-with-from-the-top-fellows-winston-schnieder-and-viviana-alfaro/): The radio program “From the Top” is dedicated to supporting and celebrating the talents of young musicians. Currently, the show is presenting a festival called Where Music Lives, including an episode devoted to Earth Day, based on the suggestions of
- [On This Day <br/>19 April: Natalie Dessay Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-19-april-natalie-dessay-was-born/): French soprano Natalie Dessay is known for her unusual commitment to exploring the theatrical possibilities offered by opera. An admired interpreter of bel canto and lyric heroines, Dessay initially made her name with coloratura showpieces. For many years, she has
- [Musical Postcards: Albeniz’s <em>Recuerdos de viaje</em>](https://interlude.hk/musical-postcards-albenizs-recuerdos-de-viaje/): The seven images memorialized in Recuerdos de viaje (Memories of Travel) by Isaac Albéniz (1860–1909) take us around Spain from the sea to the Alhambra. His use of his melodies that sound like Spanish folksong was a large part of
- [Grigory Sokolov – The Enigmatic Maestro](https://interlude.hk/grigory-sokolov-the-enigmatic-maestro/): A man in an oversized tuxedo emerges from backstage. He walks slowly but steadily, bows briefly with a stern, expressionless face, takes his seat and produces some of the most profound music on the piano in a dimly lit hall
- [Shaking for Queen Victoria](https://interlude.hk/shaking-for-queen-victoria/): In her 64 years as the reigning monarch of the British Empire, Queen Victoria oversaw a prolific era of cultural, industrial, and political change. Even more remarkable was the fact that music occupied a central place in the lives of
- [Eleven Classical Music Composers Who Lived in Vienna](https://interlude.hk/eleven-classical-music-composers-who-lived-in-vienna/): Which Composers Lived in Vienna? If there’s a world capital of classical music, Vienna is it. From the mid-eighteenth century up until the present day, Vienna has flourished as a musical center. The city attracted a veritable constellation of composers who forever altered the course of music, from Mozart and...
- [On This Day <br/>17 April: Anton Rubinstein's <em>The Maccabees</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-17-april-anton-rubinsteins-the-maccabees-was-premiered/): The Maccabees, composed in Vienna between 1872-4, was Anton Rubinstein’s (1829-1894) most successful opera. Premiered on 17 April 1875 at the Hofoper in Berlin, reviewers considered opening night the greatest triumph the city had witnessed since L’Africaine ten years before.
- [Henry Mancini](https://interlude.hk/henry-mancini-american-composer/): Henry Mancini, one of the greatest composers in the history of film, celebrates his 100th birthday on 16 April 2024. A highly successful recording and concert artist, Mancini was widely successful as a Hollywood composer, making imaginative use of jazz
- [Composers Who Write](https://interlude.hk/composers-who-write/): Over the centuries, it has often been quite common for composers to endorse the role of music critics. Many composers, particularly in the past two centuries, have adopted this activity as one of their primaries. In fact, it is probably
- [Experimenting with the Cadenza: Saint-Saëns’ Piano Concerto No. 2](https://interlude.hk/experimenting-with-the-cadenza-saint-saens-piano-concerto-no-2/): Camille Saint-Saëns (1835–1921), in his youth, supported the modern music of his day, including that of Schumann, Liszt, and Wagner, but later took a dislike to the impressionist and expressionist composers’ works, which led many to label him as anti-progressive.
- [15 Pieces of Classical Music About Time](https://interlude.hk/15-pieces-of-classical-music-about-time/): Time, time-keeping, ticking watches, ticking clocks: all of these concepts have proven inspirational to composers of classical music. Today we’re taking a look at centuries of classical music about time. There’s no time to waste, so keep reading! John Dowland: Time Stands Still from The Third and Last Booke of...
- [Schumann and Chamber Music <br/>Interview with Théo Fouchenneret](https://interlude.hk/schumann-and-chamber-music-interview-with-theo-fouchenneret/): When we think of Robert Schumann, we first consider his piano and vocal music as these are what he’s best known for. Pianist Théo Fouchenneret, however, would like us to consider his chamber music. Much of this was composed in
- [On This Day <br/>14 April: George Frideric Handel Died](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-14-april-george-frideric-handel-died/): George Frideric Handel started work in his oratorio Jephtha on 21 January 1751. He was already well advanced in the score, setting the final chorus of Act 2, “How dark, O Lord, are thy decree,” when he was suddenly forced
- [Harmonizing Self-Esteem: The Symphony of Music as a Confidence Booster](https://interlude.hk/harmonizing-self-esteem-the-symphony-of-music-as-a-confidence-booster/): There’s a situation that’s familiar to most humans on the planet – you’re feeling annoyed, angry, or anxious, and you can feel pressure on mental, emotional, and even physical levels until you hear a tune, the tune. Your favorite song
- [The Radical Upstart: The Saxophone](https://interlude.hk/the-radical-upstart-the-saxophone/): One of the few instruments of the orchestra that’s named for a person, the saxophone, was named after its inventor, Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax (1814–1894). His father, Charles-Joseph Sax (1790–1865) was also an instrument maker and had established a workshop in 1815 in Brussels for making brass and woodwind...
- [Sixteen Great Books About Classical Music](https://interlude.hk/sixteen-great-books-about-classical-music/): Love classical music? Need some reading material? Want to read some great books about classical music? We’ve got you covered! Here are sixteen books about classical music that you should read: The Rest Is Noise, by Alex Ross This 2007
- [Poetry and Music: Johann Paul Friedrich Richter “Jean Paul” (1763-1825)](https://interlude.hk/poetry-and-music-johann-paul-friedrich-richter-jean-paul-1763-1825/): Johann Paul Friedrich Richter (1763-1825), much better known under his penname “Jean Paul,” was one of the most prolific and prominent writers of his generation. Owing to the structural and linguistic idiosyncrasies of his writings, he was heavily criticized in
- [A Tour of the Galaxy <br/>Leopold van der Pals’ <em>Mönch Wanderer: Sphären-Musik</em>](https://interlude.hk/a-tour-of-the-galaxy-leopold-van-der-pals-monch-wanderer-spharen-musik/): Leopold van der Pals (1884–1966) took a different approach to the music of the planets in his 1931/1956 work Sphere-Music to the Dramatic Poem Mönch Wanderer, Op. 84. His Monk Wanderer was originally intended as a stage piece for actors,
- [A Tour Around Vienna <br/>Suppé: <em>Ein Morgen, ein Mittag, ein Abend in Wien</em>](https://interlude.hk/a-tour-around-vienna-suppe-ein-morgen-ein-mittag-ein-abend-in-wien/): The Austrian dramatist Franz Xaver Told (1793–1849) had a home on the stage of the Theater in der Josefstadt in Vienna, producing a large number of plays for the theatre. He was talented, but worked so quickly that most of
- [Playlist: Water Games](https://interlude.hk/playlist-water-games/): ‘Water games’ is one translation of Jeux d’eau by Maurice Ravel, others being Fountains and Playing Water. Each is equally apt: in this piece Ravel brilliantly evokes “the splashing of water and by the musical sounds of fountains, cascades and rivulets” (Ravel) through shimmering figurations, cascading arpeggios and other fluid...
- [Satie & Monk](https://interlude.hk/satie-monk/): Erik Satie and Thelonious Monk are two of my favourite artists, and this is no surprise as if one pays close attention, they are both very similar in their approach to music — and perhaps in their own lives too.
- [On This Day <br/>11 April: Sondra Radvanovsky Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-11-april-sondra-radvanovsky-was-born/): Specialising in 19th-century Italian opera, Sondra Radvanovsky is a widely-celebrated interpreter of the bel canto, verismo, and the works by Giuseppe Verdi. A winner of several voice competitions, Radvanovsky’s luscious voice, sounding depth, and exquisite colour, are matched by her
- [<em>Serenade, I Miss You</em><br/>Interview with Texan guitarist, pedagogue, and filmmaker Nicolas Hurt](https://interlude.hk/serenade-i-miss-you-interview-with-texan-guitarist-pedagogue-and-filmmaker-nicolas-hurt/): Meet Nick, a teacher, classical guitarist, and filmmaker who recently released an EP titled Serenade, I Miss You. It comes from the music of his short film with the same title. The album features his interpretations of works by himself
- [Johann Strauss II for Beginners: Eleven Pieces to Make You Love Strauss](https://interlude.hk/johann-strauss-ii-for-beginners-eleven-pieces-to-make-you-love-strauss/): Johann Strauss II was born into a famous and famously dysfunctional musical family just outside of Vienna in October 1825. As a boy, Johann pursued music against his father’s wishes. His father had begun a string quartet that grew into a string orchestra in 1824, and he was constantly on...
- [La Muse Oubliée II <br/>Antonio Oyazarbal, piano](https://interlude.hk/la-muse-oubliee-ii-antonio-oyazarbal-piano/): Music by women composers is now almost ubiquitous in concert programmes and recordings, and the contribution of female composers to classical music’s oeuvre is finally being properly recognised, though not without significant effort on the part of advocates, such as
- [Buzz Chamber Music Festival <br/>25 to 28 April 2024](https://interlude.hk/buzz-chamber-music-festival-25-to-28-april-2024/): When was the last time you saw the words buzz and chamber music used in the same sentence? It’s not a conventional way of talking about chamber music, but that’s exactly what the inaugural Buzz Chamber Music Festival is looking
- [Back into the Light: Cyril Scott](https://interlude.hk/back-into-the-light-cyril-scott/): British composer Cyril Scott (1879–1970) was one of the early 20th-century composers in England who looked beyond the classical tradition to forge his own path. Unfortunately, this singular vision has led to his being virtually dropped from the performance repertoire.
- [The Seven Best Chopin Works, According to YouTube](https://interlude.hk/the-seven-best-chopin-works-according-to-youtube/): Frédéric Chopin is one of the most popular composers in classical music history. We all know that his romantic piano works have captured the imaginations of listeners around the world. But have you ever wondered which of his pieces are the most popular? We went to YouTube to sort Chopin...
- [On This Day <br/>8 April: Tianwa Yang Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-8-april-tianwa-yang-was-born/): Hailed as one the most important violinists to come onto the scene in recent memory, Tianwa Yang won the prestigious ECHO Klassik Instrumentalist of the Year Award in 2015. A Beijing native, Ms. Yang has performed in concert halls across
- [On This Day <br/>7 April: Leif Ove Andsnes Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-7-april-leif-ove-andsnes-was-born/): A renowned and celebrated champion of the works of Edvard Grieg, Leif Ove Andsnes has been described as a “pianist of magisterial elegance, power, and insight,” and “one of the most gifted musicians of his generation. ” He performs in the
- [From Marching to Melodies: Timpani](https://interlude.hk/from-marching-to-melodies-timpani/): The concept of percussion is rather easy: find something, hit it. Eventually, the development of hitting things to make definite sounds led to the development of the timpani – a tunable drum used to supplement the bass section of an orchestra. The timpani, also known as kettledrum, is one of...
- [“Heinrich the Great” <br/>The Heinrich Neuhaus Legacy](https://interlude.hk/heinrich-the-great-the-heinrich-neuhaus-legacy/): The legendary pianist and pedagogue Heinrich Neuhaus (1888-1964) stood at the centre of a dynasty of Russian pianism that still continues to reverberate today. Known as “Heinrich the Great,” his name alone transcended musical circles as he became a national
- [How the French Influenced the Russians, and Vice Versa](https://interlude.hk/how-the-french-influenced-the-russians-and-vice-versa/): Historically, the French and the Russians have had many moments of close intimacy, and the relationship that they have shared can be witnessed today. In their language, their arts, and of course their music. Interestingly enough, this influence has gone
- [World Piano Day 2024 <br/>The Persian Connection](https://interlude.hk/world-piano-day-2024-the-persian-connection/): Did you know that “World Piano Day” is always celebrated on the 88th day of the year? The reasoning is relatively simple, 88 keys on the piano, celebration on the 88th day of the year, get it? Basically, that means
- [On This Day <br/>6 April: Glazunov’s <em>Chopiniana</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-6-april-glazunovs-chopiniana-was-premiered/): In 1892 Alexander Glazunov (1865-1936) set to work on an orchestral suite of arrangements of piano music by Frédéric Chopin. Entitled Chopiniana it was introduced to the public in December 1893 by Rimsky-Korsakov, and published by Belyayev one year later.
- [Desdemona in Real Danger](https://interlude.hk/desdemona-in-real-danger/): The Spanish opera singer, composer, impresario, and singing teacher Manuel Garcia (1775-1832) was father to Pauline Viardot and Maria Malibran, two of the most brilliant dramatic operatic voices of all time. Garcia, it was said, had an extravagant and violent
- [On This Day <br/>5 April: Beethoven’s <em>Piano Concerto No. 3</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-5-april-beethovens-piano-concerto-no-3-was-premiered/): Ludwig van Beethoven premiered his Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor on 5 April 1803 in Vienna. The origins of the work, however, date back to the summer of 1800. Escaping the stifling heat of the city, Beethoven habitually
- [Confronting “The Beast” – Musicians’ Performance Anxiety](https://interlude.hk/confronting-the-beast-musicians-performance-anxiety/): Thoughts from a Psychologist and former professional pianist, Heather O’Donnell In my work as a psychologist specialized in working with performing artists, few topics loom as prominently as performance anxiety. It’s an ubiquitous issue and one that manifests uniquely in
- [Keeping Track of the Days in Music <br/>Michael Zev Gordon’s <em>Diary Pieces</em>](https://interlude.hk/keeping-track-of-the-days-in-music-michael-zev-gordons-diary-pieces/): Starting in 2015, British composer Michael Zev Gordon started to create a musical diary of 6 or 7 pieces per year that capture a ‘one idea or emotional state or a kind of sound’. Sometimes the fragments in the pieces
- [On This Day <br/>4 April: Andreas Ottensamer Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-4-april-andreas-ottensamer-was-born/): Clarinet sensation Andreas Ottensamer is internationally known for his “beauty of tone and distinct musicality over a wide range of styles. ” One of the most exciting and respected artists on the classical stage, Ottensamer is passionate about bringing classical music
- [<em>Sounds As They Are</em> by Richard Beaudoin](https://interlude.hk/sounds-as-they-are-by-richard-beaudoin/): A new book by Richard Beaudoin published in 2024 by Oxford University Press, Oxford Studies in Music Theory division, came to our attention recently. Sounds As They Are is a beautiful-looking hardback of 240 dense pages with musical examples, an
- [One-Of-A-Kind International Piano Competition](https://interlude.hk/one-of-a-kind-international-piano-competition/): Just when we think the world is saturated with a profuse presence of piano competitions, a new one has sprung up in a unique format, promoting classical music in a most unexpected location. Judging from its immense operational scope, vast
- [On This Day <br/>3 April: Garrick Ohlsson was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-3-april-garrick-ohlsson-was-born/): Pianist Garrick Ohlsson, born on 3 April 1948 in Bronxville, New York, is still the only competitor born in the United States to win the gold medal award at the International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw in 1970. He had
- [Interview With Alberto Ferro: An Award-Winning Italian Pianist Sharing His Musical Journey](https://interlude.hk/interview-with-alberto-ferro-an-award-winning-italian-pianist-sharing-his-musical-journey/): Meet Alberto Ferro, an Italian pianist who has been a prize winner in many prestigious competitions. To name a few, he was awarded the first prize and Audience Prize at the International Telekom Beethoven Competition in Bonn (2017) and the
- [The 19th century Diva of Divas: Adelina Patti](https://interlude.hk/the-19th-century-diva-of-divas-adelina-patti/): Spanish-born Adelina Patti (1843–1919) had a singing career that started when she was a child prodigy and ended in 1903. Over those sixty years, she made her name internationally for her purity of tone and the flexibility of her voice.
- [“Hornpipe” <br/>The Egg-Dance of Easter](https://interlude.hk/hornpipe-the-egg-dance-of-easter/): The colourful Christian celebration of Easter is again around the corner. And for many people, the Easter egg best symbolises this festival of the resurrection of Jesus. During pre-Christianity, the egg was seen as a symbol of rebirth and life, and it was the Protestant Reformer Martin Luther who started...
- [On This Day <br/>1 April: Christian Thielemann Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-1-april-christian-thielemann-was-born/): Like no other conductor, Christian Thielemann’s artistic vision seems to divide the musical world. While his flamboyant interpretations are frequently the target of a hostile musical press, musicians and concertgoers appear to love him. Conservative in his musical and political
- [Expanding on Earlier Works: Bach’s <em>Easter Oratorio</em>](https://interlude.hk/expanding-on-earlier-works-bachs-easter-oratorio/): Bach used the material in his Easter Oratorio several times. Its original appearance was as an oratorio for Easter 1725. It was composed in Leipzig and first performed on 1 April 1725 under the title Kommt, eilet und laufet (Come,
- [Olga Scheps](https://interlude.hk/olga-scheps-german-pianist/): ‘I Will Always Play Music That I Love’ Pianist Olga Schep’s innovative approach to programming has earned her a loyal and devoted audience. She has performed with orchestras including the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, Mozarteum Orchester Salzburg,
- [On This Day <br/>31 March: Heinrich Neuhaus Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-31-march-heinrich-neuhaus-was-born/): The pianist and pedagogue Heinrich Gustav Neuhaus was one of the most celebrated artists of his generation. His playing was described as “tempestuous,” and at the height of his powers, his technique was considered faultless. As a teacher he shaped
- [Charles Villiers Stanford](https://interlude.hk/charles-villiers-stanford/): “Heaven must be in me before I can be in heaven” As a composer, Charles Villiers Stanford (1852-1924) might not be a household name, but he is remembered as a teacher of several generations of British composers at the RCM
- [Should You Watch This Documentary About Schumann's Mental Illness?](https://interlude.hk/should-you-watch-this-documentary-about-schumanns-mental-illness/): In April 2023, PBS’s long-running television series Great Performances released a new documentary called “Schumann: Genius and Madness. ” This documentary is part of the miniseries Now Hear This, hosted by violinist and conductor Scott Yoo. Each episode features performances by
- [David Loeb: Studies on East Asian Pipes](https://interlude.hk/david-loeb-studies-on-east-asian-pipes/): Over more than 35 years, the American composer David Loeb (born in 1939) has composed music for early-music instruments. And that includes traditional Japanese instruments, which he has explored in collaboration with Kohei Nishikawa for nearly 20 years. He studied
- [The Turkish Five](https://interlude.hk/the-turkish-five/): In all the numbered composer groups, such as Les Six or The Five, one you rarely hear about were the Turkish Five. The five, Ahmet Adnan Saygun (1907-1991), Ulvi Cemal Erkin (1906-1972), Cemal Reşit Rey (1904-1985), Hasan Ferit Alnar (1906-1978),
- [It’s Such a Load to Learn the Modes!](https://interlude.hk/its-such-a-load-to-learn-the-modes/): Learning scales is an essential step on the road to develop our playing. Once we learn the fingerings, we should be able to spontaneously play the scales that appear in the music even on sight. Learning all the modes can
- [Interview With Luís Costa About the Album Musíadas 1.0 <br/>An Album Dedicated to Music by Portuguese Composers](https://interlude.hk/interview-with-luis-costa-about-the-album-musiadas-1-0-an-album-dedicated-to-music-by-portuguese-composers/): Luís Costa/Rui Pinheiro/Orquestra Filarmonia das Beiras – Musíadas 1. 0 Can you name a few works written by Portuguese composers? Portuguese pianist Luís Costa recently collaborated with Orquestra Filarmonia das Beiras under the baton of Rui Pinheiro and released an album
- [Dancing Bach’s <em>St Matthew Passion</em>](https://interlude.hk/dancing-bachs-st-matthew-passion/): Of all the famous compositions from the pen of Johann Sebastian Bach, the St John Passion and St Matthew Passion are truly some of the most remarkable masterpieces of religious music. Bach’s powerful settings detailing the last days of Christ’s
- [Nurturing the Musical Brain](https://interlude.hk/nurturing-the-musical-brain/): The musical — and to the extent, the artistic — brain needs to be continuously nurtured. Indeed, no other art form can have such an impact on the brain and how it perceives sounds. This nourishment and development should be
- [Adelina Patti and Her Teacup Puppy](https://interlude.hk/adelina-patti-and-her-teacup-puppy/): Together with Jenny Lind and Thérèse Tietjens, Adelina Patti (1843-1919) was one of the most famous sopranos in history. According to Verdi and others, her voice possessed an unmatched bird-like purity, beauty, and remarkable flexibility. In addition, Patti had the
- [All My Plans Are in Ruins: Greek National Opera and <em>Die Walküre</em>](https://interlude.hk/all-my-plans-are-in-ruins-greek-national-opera-and-die-walkure/): The second part of Richard Wagner’s great opera tetralogy, Die Walküre, had its debut at the Green National Opera (GNO) in March 2024. It was a joint production with the Royal Danish Theatre and was the first Ring Cycle production
- [The Concerto Wrapped in Butter <br/>Ignaz Moscheles: <em>Piano Concerto No. 3</em> in G minor](https://interlude.hk/the-concerto-wrapped-in-butter-ignaz-moscheles-piano-concerto-no-3-in-g-minor/): Ignaz Moscheles (1794-1870) was one of the most renowned virtuoso pianists of his time. A critic in 1821 wrote, “He is one of the best players that we have ever heard. He has Clementi’s science, Cramer’s expression, and Kalkbrenner’s brilliance.
- [Siegfried Wagner: The Tragic Fate of Richard Wagner's Composer Son](https://interlude.hk/siegfried-wagner-the-tragic-fate-of-richard-wagners-composer-son/): The life of Siegfried Wagner – son of Richard Wagner and grandson of Franz Liszt – touches on a wide range of questions that classical musicians are still wrestling with today. Questions like: How does it affect an artist’s life
- [Movers and Shakers of Musical World <br/> Alessandro Stradella (1643-1682)](https://interlude.hk/movers-and-shakers-of-musical-world-alessandro-stradella-1643-1682/): Alessandro Stradella’s life ended tragically at the age of 42 when a shadowy assassin stabbed him to death for reasons unknown. Allegedly, a certain Giovanni Battista Lomellino organized the murder. Lomellino, it has been said, became jealous when he realized
- [Interview with Dr. Judith Lynn Stillman <br/>Musician, Filmmaker, and Artistic Visionary](https://interlude.hk/interview-with-dr-judith-lynn-stillman-musician-filmmaker-and-artistic-visionary/): “Music is ubiquitous – it crosses borders and cultures:” Dr. Judith Lynn Stillman is a highly accomplished pianist who received her training at the prestigious Juilliard School. Her career has spanned beyond classical music performances, including playing in refugee camps.
- [Twenty Trivia Questions About Classical Music](https://interlude.hk/twenty-trivia-questions-about-classical-music/): Need some trivia questions about classical music? We’ve got you covered! Today we’re looking at the history of classical music for trivia inspiration. Learn about everything from a composer who murdered his wife, to a Venetian orchestra of talented orphans,
- [Back to the Future <br/>“Opera Rara” <em>Simon Boccanegra</em> 1857 version](https://interlude.hk/back-to-the-future-opera-rara-simon-boccanegra-1857-version/): While the 1881 revised version of Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra has become part of the standard operatic repertory, the original 1857 version has languished in relative obscurity. Following its less-than successful première at the Teatro La Fenice, Verdi was eventually convinced
- [New Discoveries for a New Time: Dring, Howell, and Harrison’s Music for Two Pianos](https://interlude.hk/new-discoveries-for-a-new-time-dring-howell-and-harrisons-music-for-two-pianos/): The three composers on this recording, Dorothy Howell (1898–1982), Pamela Harrison (1915–1990), and Madeleine Dring (1923–1977) are probably not on your regular piano repertoire lists. But, as this recording of their music for two pianos by Simon Callaghan and Hiroaki
- [The Hairpin Instrument: The Bassoon](https://interlude.hk/the-hairpin-instrument-the-bassoon/): The bassoon, the bass of the woodwind instruments, is also the tenor and sometimes the alto and soprano of the woodwind instruments. Its range when extended by its larger neighbor, the contrabassoon, permits it to double and reinforce all parts of the orchestra. Its predecessor, the dulcian (or the fagot/fagott,...
- [Korean Soap Opera “Hwang Jini” <br/> Viktoria Kaunzner’s <em>Der koreanische Tropfenfänger</em>](https://interlude.hk/korean-soap-opera-hwang-jini-viktoria-kaunzners-der-koreanische-tropfenfanger/): Korean television dramas tend to be rather popular throughout Southeast and East Asia. And the 2006 TV series “Hwang Jini” was one of the most popular and successful of all times. The title references the most famous poetess of the
- [Heino Eller (1887-1970) <br/>Father of Modern Estonian Music](https://interlude.hk/heino-eller-1887-1970-father-of-modern-estonian-music/): There is nothing I like better than getting to know and explore lesser-known classical music and composers. Of course, notoriety and fame are completely relative, but I haven’t been exposed to the vast musical universes outside the conventional mainstream. Have
- [Paganini Makeovers](https://interlude.hk/paganini-makeovers/): Lately, I’ve been listening to a lot of music by Niccolò Paganini (1782-1840). The music might be over 200 years old, but it is still jaw-dropping. The level of virtuosity is truly astounding, and it’s not surprising that Paganini was
- [From the Cold to the Warmth: Geirr Tveitt’s <em>From a Travel Diary</em>](https://interlude.hk/from-the-cold-to-the-warmth-geirr-tveitts-from-a-travel-diary/): Norwegian composer Geirr Tveitt (born Nils Tveit) (1908–1981) lost the majority of his compositions in a disastrous fire in his barn studio in 1970. It’s estimated that 80% of his manuscripts, kept in neat wooden chests, went up in the
- [On This Day <br/>23 March: Delius’ <em>Requiem</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-23-march-delius-requiem-was-premiered/): On 23 March 1922, Albert Coates conducted the premiere performance of Frederick Delius’ Requiem in Queen’s Hall, London. The origin of the work, subsequently dedicated “to the memory of all young artists fallen in the war,” emerged during a holiday
- [Indian Music](https://interlude.hk/indian-music/): The presence of Indian classical music in Western classical music is more than evident, although one might not notice it at first, it is undeniably here. Often disguised, and peppered in works and identities, Indian classical music’s way of functioning
- [Interview With Kenneth Kam <br/>Lutenist and Classical Guitarist from Hong Kong](https://interlude.hk/interview-with-kenneth-kam-lutenist-and-classical-guitarist-from-hong-kong/): Meet Kenneth Kam, a Hong Kong-born classical guitarist, lutenist, researcher, and educator who lives in Rochester, New York. Kenneth and I met when we studied at Hong Kong Baptist University. In this interview, we will learn about Kenneth as a
- [24 Things <br/>Sigismond Thalberg’s <em>Les Soirées de Pausilippe – Hommage à Rossini</em> (Evenings at Posillipo – Homage to Rossini)](https://interlude.hk/24-things-sigismond-thalbergs-les-soirees-de-pausilippe-hommage-a-rossini-evenings-at-posillipo-homage-to-rossini/): In 2024, let’s look at a 24 in music. The Austrian composer and virtuosic pianist Sigismond Thalberg (1812–1871) excelled at a particular 19th-century piano genre that’s largely disappeared, i. e. , the operatic paraphrase or fantasy. Thalberg came to Vienna at age
- [On This Day <br/>21 March: Modest Mussorgsky Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-21-march-modest-mussorgsky-was-born/): The Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky, whose family name survives in an astonishingly diverse number of spellings, was largely self-taught. Yet he discovered a way of writing for the voice that was both lyrical and true to the inflections of speech.
- [Are Piano Keys Made of Ivory?](https://interlude.hk/are-piano-keys-made-of-ivory/): Have you ever wondered where the phrase “tickling the ivories” comes from? Is it just a colloquialism, or is it meant literally? Is making piano keys out of ivory legal? And is ivory the preferred material for piano-builders today? If
- [On This Day <br/>20 March: Yunchan Lim Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-20-march-yunchan-lim-was-born/): As the youngest pianist ever, South Korean pianist Yunchan Lim won the prestigious Van Cliburn International Piano Competition at the age of eighteen. His gold medal performance showcased a “magical ability” and “a natural, instinctive quality. ” Jury Chair Marin Alsop
- [On This Day <br/>19 March: Gounod’s <em>Faust</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-19-march-gounods-faust-was-premiered/): Charles Gounod (1818-1893) wrote 12 operas, with Faust as his most popular. Premiered at the Théâtre Lyrique on the Boulevard du Temple in Paris, on 19 March 1859, the work was an immediate success. While the original version employed spoken
- [Songs of Travel <br/>Gustav Mahler’s <em>Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen</em> (Songs of a Wayfarer)](https://interlude.hk/songs-of-travel-gustav-mahlers-lieder-eines-fahrenden-gesellen-songs-of-a-wayfarer/): In November 1918, Arnold Schoenberg founded the Verein für musikalische Privataufführungen (the Society for Private Musical Performances) as a way for his pupils and others to get to know modern music. Although this was Schoenberg’s idea, it was really organized
- [John Philip Sousa <br/>“Dance as though no one is watching”](https://interlude.hk/john-philip-sousa-dance-as-though-no-one-is-watching/): John Philip Sousa, the so-called “March King” was a phenomenon of the entertainment world. Around the turn of the 20th century, he was quite possibly the best-known name in music. Audiences on both sides of the Atlantic were dancing his two-steps, bands everywhere were playing his marches, and he got...
- [On This Day <br/>18 March: Rimsky-Korsakov Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-18-march-rimsky-korsakov-was-born/): In popular perception, the Russian composer Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908) is primarily associated with the ideas of the “Mighty Handful. ” This group of five prominent Russian composers attempted to create a distinct musical style that sought to capture elements of
- [Looking to the Future: Dani Howard’s Orchestral Works](https://interlude.hk/looking-to-the-future-dani-howards-orchestral-works/): Although in the liner notes to her new album, British composer Dani Howard protests that she avoided orchestral music during her years at the Royal College of Music, this collection of her music from 2016 to 2021 shows her utter
- [On This Day <br/>17 March: Rachmaninoff’s <em>Piano Concerto No. 1</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-17-march-rachmaninoffs-piano-concerto-no-1-was-premiered/): The Buddying Composer Sergei Rachmaninoff made his first tentative attempts at composition during the summer of 1886. The resulting piano piece is unfortunately now lost, but his piano-duet transcription of Tchaikovsky’s Manfred Symphony was later played to Rachmaninoff’s “musical hero. ”
- [Plamena Mangova](https://interlude.hk/plamena-mangova-recommended-recordings/): If you’re looking for musicians who engage in real music-making, here’s a pianist you should keep an eye on. Currently residing in Brussels, Bulgarian pianist Plamena Mangova began her training at the Sofia State Music Academy. She later worked with
- [Composer Galina Ustvolskaya: The Shostakovich-Trained Iconoclast](https://interlude.hk/composer-galina-ustvolskaya-the-shostakovich-trained-iconoclast/): Composer Galina Ustvolskaya (1919-2006) has been called “the lady with the hammer” and is known for her connection to Dmitri Shostakovich. But she was so much more than this. She was also fiercely independent, staggeringly talented, and completely unafraid. She
- [Sliding Around: The Trombone](https://interlude.hk/sliding-around-the-trombone/): We’ll explore more of the brass by looking at the trombone. The name is a combination of two ideas: tromba from the Italian for trumpet and -one, which is the Italian suffix for something large, so a trombone is a large trumpet. But it has taken the idea of the...
- [On My Music Desk<br/> Haydn Variations in F Minor, Hob. XVII:6](https://interlude.hk/on-my-music-desk-haydn-variations-in-f-minor-hob-xvii6/): I first discovered this wonderful set of variations through a concert pianist friend, who performed them in a salon concert some years ago. As a lifetime lover of Schubert’s music, I was struck by how “Schubertian” this music is, especially
- [On This Day <br/>16 March: Giovanni Pergolesi Died](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-16-march-giovanni-pergolesi-died/): Giovanni Battista Pergolesi died from tuberculosis at age twenty-six, on 16 March 1736. He was first buried in a common pit next to the cathedral at Pozzuoli in Naples. His first biographer and friend installed a memorial tablet in the
- [The Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra <br/> China Tour 2024](https://interlude.hk/the-verbier-festival-chamber-orchestra-china-tour-2024/): The Verbier Festival, founded by Swedish expatriate Martin Engstroem in 1994, takes place annually for two weeks in late July and early August in the mountain resort of Verbier, Switzerland. It is one of the most distinguished and celebrated international
- [Puppets Watching Puppets <br/>Manuel de Falla’s <em>El retablo de Maese Pedro</em> (Master Peter's Puppet Show)](https://interlude.hk/puppets-watching-puppets-manuel-de-fallas-el-retablo-de-maese-pedro-master-peters-puppet-show/): In 1918, the American sewing-machine heiress and patroness Winnaretta Singer, the Princess de Polignac, commissioned Manuel de Falla (1876–1946) to create pieces for small orchestra and singers for her marionette theatre. In 1905, Spain had celebrated the 300th anniversary of
- [World Premiere <br/>Raymond Yiu: <em>Violin Concerto</em>](https://interlude.hk/world-premiere-raymond-yiu-violin-concerto/): Interlude last talked to composer and scholar Raymond Yiu in 2021 on the occasion of the world premiere of “Old Bei,” a work commissioned by the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra to celebrate the Beethoven anniversary year. At the end of
- [On This Day <br/>15 March: Montserrat Figueras Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-15-march-montserrat-figueras-was-born/): Catalan soprano Montserrat Figueras, together with partner and husband Jordi Savall, was a leading voice in the early music movement by focusing on the vast vocal repertoire from the Medieval, Renaissance, and early Baroque periods. Her approach to these immense
- [On This Day <br/>14 March: Verdi’s <em>Macbeth</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-14-march-verdis-macbeth-was-premiered/): Throughout his career, Giuseppe Verdi considered numerous novels and plays by French, Italian, Spanish, and German writers as possible sources for operatic projects. He did contemplate setting several Shakespearean plays, including Hamlet, Cymbeline, Antony and Cleopatra, The Tempest, Romeo and
- [Sibelius and the Burning of the Eighth Symphony](https://interlude.hk/sibelius-and-the-burning-of-the-eighth-symphony/): In 1962, pianist Harriet Cohen told a story about composer Jean Sibelius on the radio. Harriet Cohen interview from 1962 “I saw him a lot in Helsinki. I got awfully friendly with him. I used to tease him a lot,
- [Opera Wars <br/>Handel vs Bononcini](https://interlude.hk/opera-wars-handel-vs-bononcini/): George Frideric Handel’s first season at the Royal Academy of Music was a huge success. By staging Rinaldo, Teseo, Amadigi, and Radamisto, he had quickly reached the commanding position he sought. In fact, Handel considered the aria “Ombra cara” from
- [Natural Connections <br/>Leon McCawley, piano](https://interlude.hk/natural-connections-leon-mccawley-piano/): A perfect prelude to Spring, this delightful new release from British pianist Leon McCawley presents solo piano music inspired by the natural world. Nature and the seasons provide eternal inspiration for composers, and here we have ‘the best of the
- [Musicians and Artists: Zwicker and Five Modernists](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-zwicker-and-five-modernists/): Alfons Karl Zwicker: Vom Klang der Bilder In his cycle for large orchestra and solo piano, Of the Sound of Pictures (Von Klang der Bilder), the Swiss composer, pianist, and painter Alfons Karl Zwicker (b. 1952) chose 5 modern artists:
- [On This Day <br/>12 March: Charles-Marie Widor Died](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-12-march-charles-marie-widor-died/): Charles-Marie Widor (1844-1937) left behind a substantial number of meticulously crafted compositions for various instrumental and vocal combinations. However, he is primarily remembered for his ten organ symphonies. Inspired by the magnificent Cavaillé-Coll organ at Saint-Sulpice in Paris, these works
- [Entering the Spiritual Forest: Blackford’s La Sagrada Família Symphony](https://interlude.hk/entering-the-spiritual-forest-blackfords-la-sagrada-familia-symphony/): The Basílica i Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família in Barcelona, more Famíliarly known as La Sagrada Família, is the largest unfinished Catholic Church in the world. It was designed by the Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí (1852–1926) and was consecrated
- [Vivaldi for Beginners: Twelve Pieces to Make You Love Vivaldi](https://interlude.hk/vivaldi-for-beginners-twelve-pieces-to-make-you-love-vivaldi/): Antonio Vivaldi was born in 1678 in Venice. Over the course of his career, he became one of the most popular and influential composers of the Baroque era. Here are a few background facts to get you started: He began studying for the priesthood at fifteen, and he was ordained...
- [Victoria Bond: Ancient Keys](https://interlude.hk/victoria-bond-ancient-keys/): The spa town Baden-Baden is located in the German state of Baden Württemberg, at the border of the Black Forest and within ten kilometers of the Rhine River. The Romans knew the curing springs at Baden-Baden, and in the 19th
- [Piano Concert by Francesco Tristano](https://interlude.hk/piano-concert-by-francesco-tristano/): 2024 marks Ping Pong’s 10th anniversary and, in celebration, Hong Kong’s famous gintoneria has put together a programme of events throughout the year. Says director, Juan Gregorio Martinez, ‘As Ping Pong has had the honour of hosting performances by Francesco
- [The Brilliance of the Trumpet](https://interlude.hk/the-brilliance-of-the-trumpet/): For making noise long distances, there’s nothing like the trumpet. According to the Bible, after marching around the city of Jericho for 6 days, the walls came down on the seventh day, succumbing to trumpet-blowing and shouting. Research has shown, however, that this may all be nationalist propaganda to establish...
- [Erwin Schulhoff (1894-1942) <br/><em>Cinq Études de Jazz</em>](https://interlude.hk/erwin-schulhoff-1894-1942-cinq-etudes-de-jazz/): In 1921 Erwin Schulhoff (1894-1942) wrote to Alban Berg. “I have an overwhelming passion for modern dance, and I sometimes even dance night after night with the ladies at the bar... quite simply from enthusiasm for rhythm and from unconscious
- [On My Music Desk… <br/>Schubert Piano Sonata in A, D664](https://interlude.hk/on-my-music-desk-schubert-piano-sonata-in-a-d664/): This, for me, is Schubert’s most genial piano sonata and one of his most popular. Like much of Schubert’s work, it reflects the Romantic spirit of the early 19th century, characterized by its lyrical beauty, harmonic daring, and emotional qualities,
- [Simon Barere: The Pianist Who Died Mid-Concert at Carnegie Hall](https://interlude.hk/simon-barere-the-pianist-who-died-mid-concert-at-carnegie-hall/): Simon Barere was one of the great pianists of his generation. However, it is possible he is most famous for his sudden death, which occurred in the middle of a concert at Carnegie Hall in 1951. Today, we’re looking at
- [On This Day <br/>9 March: Johann Pachelbel Died](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-9-march-johann-pachelbel-died/): Johann Pachelbel, famed composer of the even more famous canon, died in Nuremberg at the age of fifty-two on 9 March 1706. While his music enjoyed extraordinary popularity in Central Germany immediately after his death, 19th-century historians considered him a
- [Variations on Variations <br/>Elgar’s <em>Enigma Variations</em> and <em>Pictured Within: Birthday Variations for M.C.B.</em>](https://interlude.hk/variations-on-variations-elgars-enigma-variations-and-pictured-within-birthday-variations-for-m-c-b/): The English conductor Martyn Brabbins decided that, after 120 years, Elgar’s Enigma Variations needed an update. As his own 60th birthday was coming in 2019, Brabbins commissioned, with the help of the BBC, ‘a new set of Enigma Variations’. Elgar
- [Bartolomeo Cristofori and Lodovico Giustini <br/>“Sonatas with loud and soft, popularly called with hammers”](https://interlude.hk/bartolomeo-cristofori-and-lodovico-giustini-sonatas-with-loud-and-soft-popularly-called-with-hammers/): 1685 was a particularly stellar year for classical music, as it saw the births of Johann Sebastian Bach, Georg Frideric Handel, and Domenico Scarlatti. However, there is at least one more composer born in 1685 who played a highly significant
- [Beethoven, His Brothers, and Their Tragically Rocky Relationship](https://interlude.hk/beethoven-his-brothers-and-their-tragically-rocky-relationship/): Sometimes, it’s tempting to think of Ludwig van Beethoven as someone who just emerged from a god’s forehead, a la Athena. But in reality, Beethoven came from a very human family, just like everyone else – and a deeply dysfunctional
- [She Played and Sang - Jane Austen and Music <br/>By Gillian Dooley](https://interlude.hk/she-played-and-sang-jane-austen-and-music-by-gillian-dooley/): She Played and Sang by Australian author and musician Gillian Dooley is an exploration of the music most closely associated with English novelist Jane Austen (1775-1817) and her musical connections with family and friends, which reveal the intricate ties between
- [On This Day <br/>6 March: Zoltán Kodály Died](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-6-march-zoltan-kodaly-died/): Zoltán Kodály died on 6 March 1967 at the age of 84 in Budapest. At the time of his death he was universally recognised as a composer, pioneering ethno-musicologist, ground-breaking educator, and music critic. The “Kodály Method,” created by colleagues,
- [WOMEN AND THE PIANO: A History in 50 Lives <br/>Susan Tomes](https://interlude.hk/women-and-the-piano-a-history-in-50-lives-susan-tomes/): Following on from her splendid ‘The Piano: A History in 100 Pieces’, celebrated pianist and writer Susan Tomes now turns her attention to that oft-neglected corner of classical music history – women pianists. Focusing on 50 women pianists – some
- [On This Day <br/>5 March: Daniil Trifonov Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-5-march-daniil-trifonov-was-born/): Possessing jaw-dropping technique and outer-worldly interpretive skills, pianist Daniil Trifonov has been called the “most astounding pianist of our age. ” Martha Argerich famously said, “what he does with his hands is technically incredible. It’s also his touch; he has tenderness
- [The Effect of Sounds](https://interlude.hk/the-effect-of-sounds/): We found some Sound Effects albums the other day and were exploring the sounds that they collected. Under Bells, we found bells from all continents and bells of all sizes, from small meditation bowls to bike bells to doorbells to
- [Interview With Laure Chan](https://interlude.hk/interview-with-laure-chan/): Meet Laure Chan, a young and talented composer and violinist whose album playing with Sinfonia Perdita has recently been released. In this interview, Laure tells us her background and how she became a violinist. She also tells us about the
- [When Virtuoso Meets Virtuoso: Hilary Hahn and Ysaÿe](https://interlude.hk/when-virtuoso-meets-virtuoso-hilary-hahn-and-ysaye/): Eugène Ysaÿe (1858–1931) wrote his Six Sonatas for Solo Violin in 1923 and in the century that has passed since their completion, he created one of the greatest studies for the violin. Ysaÿe was following a trail laid more than
- [Giovanni Sollima: An Artist of the Twenty-First Century](https://interlude.hk/giovanni-sollima-an-artist-of-the-twenty-first-century/): The Internationally renowned cellist Giovanni Sollima flouts categorization. His mesmerizing personality and his genre-defying music sets him apart. A lean figure with salt and pepper hair, he appears on stage alone, dressed in black, and he beguiles us with his
- [On This Day <br/>4 March: Bernard Haitink Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-4-march-bernard-haitink-was-born/): Born in Amsterdam on 4 March 1929, conductor Bernard Haitink imparted an uncommon strength of character and conviction to the players. Undemonstrative in performance, his restrained demeanour was the result of his intensive study of the scores even before rehearsal.
- [The Sweet and Virtuosic Flute](https://interlude.hk/the-sweet-and-virtuosic-flute/): Added to our list of ancient instruments, starting with percussion and the harp, we have to add the flute. Starting from blowing on a hollow reed and then hollowed-out bones, the flute became an extension of the voice. The flute, no matter what material it’s made out of, is part...
- [The Calling Card Sonata: Vivaldi’s Sonata for Solo Violin <br/>Interview with violinist Javier Lupiáñez](https://interlude.hk/the-calling-card-sonata-vivaldis-sonata-for-solo-violin-interview-with-violinist-javier-lupianez/): As violinist Javier Lupiáñez and cellist Inés Salinas sought repertoire for their group Scaramuccia to perform, they were going through a collection of music by composers connected with Bologna. They reviewed manuscript scores from the Austrian National Library by composers
- [Chopin by Liszt <br/> The Polish Song Transcriptions](https://interlude.hk/chopin-by-liszt-the-polish-song-transcriptions/): Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849) had a wonderous gift for combining melody with an adventurous harmonic sense. Paired with an intuitive understanding of formal design and a brilliant piano technique, Chopin composed some of the most beloved compositions in Classical music. And
- [Six of the Greatest Russian Women Composers](https://interlude.hk/six-of-the-greatest-russian-women-composers/): Global classical music audiences love music from Russia. It’s bold, it’s imaginative, it’s romantic. Consequently, composers like Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, Rimsky-Korsakov, Shostakovich, and others are beloved fixtures on concert programs, generations after their deaths. But those household names haven’t been the only great Russian or Soviet composers to excel! Today, we’re...
- [Music for Life Skills](https://interlude.hk/music-for-life-skills/): When I was studying music at school in the UK in the 1980s (I took music at O- and A-Level, in addition to studying the piano privately), I was often the butt of jokes that I had “taken the easy
- [Bedřich Smetana](https://interlude.hk/bedrich-smetana-czech-composer/): “My fatherland means more to me than anything else” Bedřich Smetana (1824-84) is widely considered the father of Czech music, and his music posthumously became synonymous with a Czech national musical style. Establishing a Czech classical music canon, Smetana became
- [Musicians and Artists: Staud and Pissarro](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-staud-and-pissarro/): Johannes Maria Staud: Sydenham Music Camille Pissarro (1830–1903) was a Danish-French Impressionist and Neo-Impressionist painter who was born on the island of Saint Thomas in the then Danish West Indies. He was sent for education in France at age 12,
- [Cheng<sup>2</sup> Duo](https://interlude.hk/cheng2-duo-bryan-and-silvie-cheng/): ‘Music is Called a Universal Language for a Reason’ The ‘brilliant’ (Sunday Times, UK) and ‘truly exhilarating’ (WholeNote, Canada) Cheng2 Duo, comprised of siblings Bryan and Silvie Cheng, have been making a name for themselves as a fearless and uncompromising
- [What Was Left Behind <br/>André Jolivet’s <em>Mana</em>](https://interlude.hk/what-was-left-behind-andre-jolivets-mana/): The French composer André Jolivet (1905–1974) was the sole pupil in France of the composer Edgar Varèse (1883–1965). Jolivet was the son of an artist and pianist and from his parents, soon excelled in both fields. One of his music
- [Mozart and the “Frog Tax” <br/><em>“Ich möchte wohl der Kaiser sein”</em> KV 539](https://interlude.hk/mozart-and-the-frog-tax-ich-mochte-wohl-der-kaiser-sein-kv-539/): When the Austrian Emperor Joseph II declared war on Turkey in 1788, a new tax mechanism was put into place to fund the war machinery. Citizens had to prepare an official tax declaration and hand the paperwork to the relevant
- [Most Heartbreaking Lines of Beethoven's Heiligenstadt Testament](https://interlude.hk/most-heartbreaking-lines-of-beethovens-heiligenstadt-testament/): When he was thirty-one years old, Ludwig van Beethoven cracked. In a touristy town just outside of Vienna, he sat down and wrote arguably the most famous letter in classical music history. It was a cry from the depths of
- [The Callas Imprint: A Centennial Biography <br/>Sophia Lambton](https://interlude.hk/the-callas-imprint-a-centennial-biography-sophia-lambton/): Published in December 2023 to coincide with the centenary of opera singer and diva Maria Callas’ birth, ‘The Callas Imprint’ is a weighty, impressive biography, the result of 12 years of research by British novelist and music critic Sophia Lambton.
- [On This Day <br/>27 February: Alexander Borodin Died](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-27-february-alexander-borodin-died/): Alexander Borodin (1833-1887) was a scientist and medical doctor who considered music his favourite hobby. Regardless, his compositions place him in the front rank of Russian composers, as his music had a strong lyric vein that reflects the character of
- [The Morning After the Night Before <br/>Delius’ <em>Paris: The Song of a Great City</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-morning-after-the-night-before-delius-paris-the-song-of-a-great-city/): In 1901, when critics heard the Eberfeld and Berlin premieres of Paris: The Song of a Great City by Frederick Delius (1862–1934), they agreed that it wasn’t a portrait of the city as much as ‘the morning after a night
- [The Beautiful Idyll: Svendsen’s <em>Romance</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-beautiful-idyll-svendsens-romance/): Norwegian-born Johann Svendsen (1840–1911) spent the majority of his life in Norway, teaching in Denmark. His father, a music teacher and bandmaster, taught him violin and clarinet, and other wind instruments, and by age 9 he was playing in local
- [Tchaikovsky for Beginners: 12 Pieces to Make You Love Tchaikovsky](https://interlude.hk/tchaikovsky-for-beginners-12-pieces-to-make-you-love-tchaikovsky/): Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was born on 7 May 1840 in Votkinsk, a town almost eight hundred miles east of Moscow. Nowadays he is remembered as music’s quintessential Russian Romantic, and a forebear to giants like Rachmaninoff, Stravinsky, and Shostakovich. Today we’re looking at twelve pieces spanning the length of Tchaikovsky’s...
- [Roger Morelló Ros: <em>The Voice of Casals</em><br/>A Tribute to Casals by a fellow Catalonian Cellist](https://interlude.hk/roger-morello-ros-the-voice-of-casalsa-tribute-to-casals-by-a-fellow-catalonian-cellist/): Cellist Roger Morelló Ros pays homage to Pau Casals with his new album The Voice of Casals. Pablo (Pau) Casals (1876-1973), arguably the person who propelled the cello to prominence, was one of the most renowned performers of the 20th
- [On This Day <br/>25 February: Pavel Kolesnikov Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-25-february-pavel-kolesnikov-was-born/): Born in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk on 25 February 1989, Pavel Kolesnikov studied both the piano and violin for ten years, before focusing on the piano. A graduate of the Moscow State Conservatoire he won several major piano competitions
- [Louis Spohr and Marianne Pfeiffer <br/>Magic for Violin and Piano](https://interlude.hk/louis-spohr-and-marianne-pfeiffer-magic-for-violin-and-piano/): Louis Spohr’s marriage to Dorette Scheidler, and their subsequent residence in the town of Kassel marked an important turning point in Spohr’s creative life. Although he was at the height of his powers as a violinist, he devoted an increasing
- [The Earliest Strings and the Most Beautiful: The Harp](https://interlude.hk/the-earliest-strings-and-the-most-beautiful-the-harp/): Once you get beyond banging two rocks together (percussion), one of the oldest instruments next invented was the harp. It’s a very simple concept of a frame with differing lengths of strings stretched across to create the pitches. This may have developed from early weapons, such as the bow, and...
- [Tone Poems of China II](https://interlude.hk/tone-poems-of-china-ii/): Let’s continue to explore more contemporary Chinese music. Xu Zhenmin: “A Tone Picture of Border Village” (Shanghai Orchestra; Peng Cao, cond. ) The contemporary Chinese composer Xu Zhenmin uses a variety of modern compositional techniques while simultaneously imagining the unique color and charm of Chinese traditional music. He inherited a...
- [Estonian Independence Day <br/>24 February](https://interlude.hk/estonian-independence-day-24-february/): The Republic of Estonia formally declared independence on 24 February 1918. That independence lasted the better part of one day, as the country was quickly occupied by the German Empire, and following World War II, Estonia was incorporated into the Soviet Union. Estonia once again regained independence in 1991, and...
- [On This Day <br/>24 February: Marc-Antoine Charpentier Died](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-24-february-marc-antoine-charpentier-died/): Although he was overshadowed during his lifetime by his more flamboyant colleague Jean-Baptiste Lully, Marc-Antoine Charpentier (1643-1704) is today acknowledged as one of the most gifted and versatile French composers. His most famous work, the main theme from the prelude
- [On This Day <br/>23 February: Alan Gilbert Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-23-february-alan-gilbert-was-born/): Known for his ability to communicate with and engage audiences, Alan Gilbert became one of the youngest music directors of the New York Philharmonic and the first native New Yorker to hold the position. Gilbert built his reputation conducting contemporary
- [Adding Overtones <br/>Satie arranged by Thomas Dunford for Theorbo](https://interlude.hk/adding-overtones-satie-arranged-by-thomas-dunford-for-theorbo/): Lutenist and theorbist Thomas Dunford has brought a new life to music that seems to have had its best exposure about 20 years ago. His skill on these two Renaissance instruments brings back many pieces of music we’d heard long
- [On This Day <br/>22 February: Niels Gade Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-22-february-niels-gade-was-born/): The Danish composer, violinist, organist, educationist, and administrator Niels Gade, born in Copenhagen on 22 February 1817, ranks among the most important figures in 19th-century Danish music. A supremely talented and multifaceted musician, roughly half of his compositions remained unpublished
- [In the Kitchenette with the Dinette, it’s The Symphonette <br/>Morton Gould’s <em>Symphonette No. 4, "Latin-American Symphonette"</em>](https://interlude.hk/in-the-kitchenette-with-the-dinette-its-the-symphonette-morton-goulds-symphonette-no-4-latin-american-symphonette/): The new interior designs of the 1930s, particularly in space-conscious New York, reduced the size of many rooms of the apartment and created the three-piece dinette (a table and two chairs) to replace the 8- to 10-seater dining table, with
- [Eight of the Greatest German Women Composers](https://interlude.hk/eight-of-the-greatest-german-women-composers/): When it comes to classical music, the country of Germany boasts an exceptionally rich history. German composers like Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms have been some of the most influential figures in the entire history of art. But Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms aren’t the only three composers worth listening to. In...
- [Sokhiev Explores Shostakovich Symphony No. 4 <br/>In Stunning Concert with Philadelphia Orchestra](https://interlude.hk/sokhiev-explores-shostakovich-symphony-no-4-in-stunning-concert-with-philadelphia-orchestra/): The musicians of the Philadelphia Orchestra rattled the rafters of the Kimmel Center on February 9th as an exciting guest conductor enticed them through the twists and turns of Shostakovich’s Fourth Symphony, one of the symphonic powerhouses of the 20th
- [A Timbre Concerto <br/>Ulysses Kay’s <em>Concerto for Orchestra</em>](https://interlude.hk/a-timbre-concerto-ulysses-kays-concerto-for-orchestra/): American composer Ulysses Kay (1917–1995) studied with Paul Hindemith at Tanglewood and Yale and, following WWII, With Otto Leuning at Columbia. From 1946 to 1952, he was in Rome, having won the Prix de Rome not once but two times
- [Leah Claiborne and Her Two-Volume <em>Piano Music of Black Composer</em>](https://interlude.hk/leah-claiborne-and-her-two-volume-piano-music-of-black-composer/): Dr. Leah Claiborne, a pianist, scholar, and educator, advocates for seeking diversity and introducing and promoting piano music by black composers through her performances, research, and teaching. She is an Assistant Professor of Music at the University of the District
- [Creating a New Music World: Liszt’s Hungarian Fantasia](https://interlude.hk/creating-a-new-music-world-liszts-hungarian-fantasia/): The Fantasia / Fantasy as a genre in the 19th century (versus the 17th-century English fantasias, which were very different) gave the composer enormous range to use his imagination on whatever he had decided to fantasize about. In Liszt’s case,
- [10 Forgotten Violin Sonatas](https://interlude.hk/10-forgotten-violin-sonatas/): I have always loved chamber music because it resembles a civilized conversation between different points of view. Of course, the conservation can get heated and disagreeable, but there is great respect among all members, and it’s not like any of the shouting matches that we are exposed to on a...
- [Fashion Icons in the Classical Music World](https://interlude.hk/fashion-icons-in-the-classical-music-world/): Classical music and fashion don’t seem like a pair that goes together. Opera performers and music conductors are usually associated with their well-pressed suits or tuxedos in most areas of the classical music industry. There are some classical music icons
- [A Story Based on a Life <br/>Ernest Chausson’s <em>Poème, Op. 25</em>](https://interlude.hk/a-story-based-on-a-life-ernest-chaussons-poeme-op-25/): In a short story by Ivan Turgenev (1818–1883), Le chant de l’amour triumphant, the artist Fabius has prevailed against the musician Muzzio in persuading the beautiful Valeria to marry him. The flaxen hair and blue eyes of Fabius prevailed against
- [The Magical Buzz of the Oboe](https://interlude.hk/the-magical-buzz-of-the-oboe/): The oboe is the first of the double-reed instruments. Unlike the clarinet, which holds a single reed against a hard mouthpiece, the double-reed instruments bind two curved reeds together as the mouthpiece. This gives a very different sound than that of clarinet – buzzier and slightly more nasal. It also...
- [Louis Spohr and Dorette Scheidler <br/> Magic for Violin and Harp](https://interlude.hk/louis-spohr-and-dorette-scheidler-magic-for-violin-and-harp/): We all have the image of the suffering and tormented artist in our minds. Constantly in money troubles and frequently neglecting personal hygiene, such artistic geniuses are all alone in a shallow world that does not understand nor appreciate them.
- [How Can I Be a Better Musician? <br/>Ten Top Classical Musicians Share Their Tips](https://interlude.hk/how-can-i-be-a-better-musician-ten-top-classical-musicians-share-their-tips/): Over the years, we’ve had the honor of talking with many of the greatest musicians in classical music today. Today, we’re gathering some of their best advice for musicians in one article. If you ever find yourself stuck in a
- [On This Day <br/>17 February: Arcangelo Corelli Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-17-february-arcangelo-corelli-was-born/): The life of the exceptional Italian composer and violinist Arcangelo Corelli (1653-1713) is surrounded by a wealth of anecdotes and legends. Such tall tales are particularly plentiful when history is attempting to reconstruct the doings of discreetly homosexual composers. Corelli
- [Tone Poems of China I](https://interlude.hk/tone-poems-of-china-i/): Deeply grounded in the entire spectrum of Chinese heritage—including folk, philosophical, and spiritual ideals—contemporary Chinese composers eagerly encode their experiences and convictions in music. Embracing musical diversity alongside a deep reverence for cultural traditions and a youthful exuberance for progress has established a thriving and living tradition of contemporary Chinese...
- [On This Day <br/>16 February: Eldbjørg Hemsing Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-16-february-eldbjorg-hemsing-was-born/): Acclaimed for her radiant and sophisticated performances, Eldbjørg Hemsing is one of the leading young violinists on the international scene today. A subtle and sensitive performer, Hemsing creates a sense of magic through her warm and gentle tones. She is
- [The Harmonious Boar <br/>George Frideric Handel and Joseph Goupy](https://interlude.hk/the-harmonious-boar-george-frideric-handel-and-joseph-goupy/): The German composer George Frideric Handel (1685–1759) worked in Britain and was good friends with the painter Joseph Goupy (1689–1759). In London, Handel lived a good life and was considered one of the great voluptuaries of the age, known for
- [Change for No Good Reason: GNO’s <em>Cav/Pag</em>](https://interlude.hk/change-for-no-good-reason-gnos-cav-pag/): An opera setting where the chorus flies on and off the stage onto metal platforms but otherwise stands without movement. An opera where the stagehands are ‘forced’ to move the scenery around by pistol-holding thugs in graffitied clothes. An Easter
- [A New Water Music by Malcolm Arnold](https://interlude.hk/a-new-water-music-by-malcolm-arnold/): Malcolm Arnold (1921–2006) was a master of the English light classics and wrote a great deal of his music for that ultimate British ensemble, the brass band, and he himself played the trumpet. In 1964, he was commissioned by the
- [Mozart’s Military Propaganda <br/><em>“Beim Auszug in das Feld,”</em> KV 552](https://interlude.hk/mozarts-military-propaganda-beim-auszug-in-das-feld-kv-552/): The Austro-Turkish (1788-91) gave rise to one of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s most obscure works. On 11 August 1788, one day Mozart recorded the completion of his 41st symphony, he entered the song “Beim Auszug in das Felde,” (Going to War)
- [Three of the Best Women Composers Who Wrote Harp Music <br/>Amélie-Julie Candeille, Sophia Dussek and Henriette Renié](https://interlude.hk/three-of-the-best-women-composers-who-wrote-harp-music-amelie-julie-candeille-sophia-dussek-and-henriette-renie/): When it comes to the intersection of gender and musical instruments, the harp is often discussed. For a variety of reasons, many of the greatest harpists in history have been women. We even wrote an article about why male harpists were so rare. At the same time, music history often...
- [Zdeněk Fibich’s Erotic Diary: <em>Moods, Impressions and Reminiscences </em>](https://interlude.hk/zdenek-fibichs-erotic-diary-moods-impressions-and-reminiscences/): A Musical Journey of Passion and Obsession Valentine’s Day is here, and love is once again in the air. While I hope that I will get lots of chocolates and flowers this year, I am also intrigued by how love,
- [On This Day <br/>13 February: Joyce DiDonato Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-13-february-joyce-didonato-was-born/): Composer Jake Heggie writes, “The staggering, joyful artistry of Joyce DiDonato reminds us that in any generation, there are a few giants. Joyce is not only a great, brave, and inspiring artist – one of the finest singers of our
- [The Short Brilliant Life of the Pantheon](https://interlude.hk/the-short-brilliant-life-of-the-pantheon/): Opera in London in the 1790s was a cut-throat competition. Handel had abandoned Italian opera in 1741, and the quality began to fall. The high fees that singers such as the castrati Senesino and Farinelli and the soprano Cuzzoni commanded
- [Accepting an Incomplete Perfection: Schubert’s ‘Unfinished’](https://interlude.hk/accepting-an-incomplete-perfection-schuberts-unfinished/): Written in 1822 to acknowledge a Diploma of Honour from the Styrian Music Society in Graz, Schubert’s Symphony No. 8 in B minor was kept by its dedicatee, Anselm Hüttenbrenner, who, along with his brother, had been behind the Music
- [Anna Pavlova <br/>The Dying Swan](https://interlude.hk/anna-pavlova-the-dying-swan/): The Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova (1881-1931) was without doubt the most celebrated dancer of her time. Famed for her technical skills, expressiveness, and grace, she was the principal artist of the Imperial Russian Ballet and, for a short time, the
- [Classical Music for Spring <br/>Twenty Pieces That Will Help You Celebrate the Season](https://interlude.hk/classical-music-for-spring-twenty-pieces-that-will-help-you-celebrate-the-season/): Winter thaw giving way to the gentle warmth of spring is the perfect time to explore the sunnier side of classical music. Here are twenty classical pieces that capture the essence of the season. They’re guaranteed to add a spring to your step! Vivaldi: The Four Seasons: Spring Of course,...
- [Mendelssohn – Lieder Ohne Worte (Songs Without Words) <br/>Igor Levit, Piano](https://interlude.hk/mendelssohn-lieder-ohne-worte-songs-without-words-igor-levit-piano/): ‘I had no other tools than to react as an artist. ’ – Igor Levit This new release on CD and streaming from German-Russian pianist Igor Levit is his personal response, in music, to the 7th October 2023 atrocities in Israel
- [On This Day <br/>11 February: Donizetti’s <em>La Fille du Regiment</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-11-february-donizettis-la-fille-du-regiment-was-premiered/): Not everything went according to plan when Gaetano Donizetti introduced his opéra comique La Fille du regiment (The Daughter of the Regiment) to the general public on 11 February 1840. The “Salle de la Bourse” was filled to the brim,
- [The Sweet Voice of the Clarinet](https://interlude.hk/the-sweet-voice-of-the-clarinet/): This is one instrument where we will ignore the ancient history. Yes, there were single-reed instruments in the ancient world and there was a Baroque single-reed instrument called the chalumeau that had been based on a recorder model. For the clarinet as we know it today, we will jump right...
- [Cancelling the Cancel Culture: Top Trends of Classical Music in 2023](https://interlude.hk/cancelling-the-cancel-culture-top-trends-of-classical-music-in-2023/): As the world becomes increasingly polarized, China stands in a unique and generous position where listeners are able to enjoy concerts given by musicians coming from conflicting, even rival political camps. This is probably the only place in the world
- [Bach for Beginners: 12 Pieces to Make You Love Bach](https://interlude.hk/bach-for-beginners-12-pieces-to-make-you-love-bach/): Johann Sebastian Bach was born in present-day Germany in 1685. Before we dive into his music, here are a few things you should know about him first: Music was Bach’s family business. Almost every man in his family was a professional musician. He passed that expertise down to his own...
- [On This Day <br/>10 February: Leontyne Price Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-10-february-leontyne-price-was-born/): Leontyne Price, born on 10 February 1927 in Laurel, Mississippi, was the first African American superstar in the world of music. Growing up in the segregated South, Price was a true lirico-spinto soprano, noted for her subtle musical interpretations and
- [Quatuor Arod Unveils Debussy, Ravel, and Benjamin Attahir String Quartets](https://interlude.hk/quatuor-arod-unveils-debussy-ravel-and-benjamin-attahir-string-quartets/): When you hear Debussy or Ravel, what do you imagine—floating, swirling, twirling, and evanescent sonorities? Quatuor Arod takes their audiences to alternate planes through their wonderful playing and through recreating musical experiences with innovation and imagination. This YouTube of the
- [Interview With Pianist and Educator Chi Hoi Jimmy Cheung: His Musical Adventures](https://interlude.hk/interview-with-pianist-and-educator-chi-hoi-jimmy-cheung-his-musical-adventures/): Meet Dr. Jimmy Cheung, a pianist and educator who was born in Hong Kong but currently resides in the United States. He is also a double bass player. He recently graduated from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM).
- [Developing From Stereotype to Reality <br/>Joaquín Turina’s <em>Mujeres españolas I, II</em> and <em>Mujeres de Sevilla</em>](https://interlude.hk/developing-from-stereotype-to-reality-joaquin-turinas-mujeres-espanolas-i-ii-and-mujeres-de-sevilla/): Spanish composer Joaquín Turina (1882–1949) invoked the magic of the women of Spain in three sets of piano music, his Mujeres españolas, Series 1, Op. 17, of 1916; Mujeres españolas, Series 2, Op. 73, in 1932; and finally, Mujeres de
- [On This Day <br/>8 February: Giuseppe Torelli Died](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-8-february-giuseppe-torelli-died/): Giuseppe Torelli, who made major contributions to the instrumental concerto and to the Bolognese repertory for trumpet and strings, forever closed his eyes on 8 February 1709. He was buried by the Confraternity of the Guarding Angel in Bologna, with
- [PLAYLIST The Rustle of Spring](https://interlude.hk/playlist-the-rustle-of-spring/): Piano music for the new season Welcome the arrival of spring with this selection of atmospheric piano pieces inspired by or evocative of springtime. Christian Sinding: Rustle of Spring No playlist of piano music for Spring would be without this charming late-Romantic piece. Composed in 1896, it depicts the intoxicating,...
- [The Widows of Prokofiev and Stravinsky: What Happened to Them?](https://interlude.hk/the-widows-of-prokofiev-and-stravinsky-what-happened-to-them/): Sergei Prokofiev and Igor Stravinsky are two of the most influential figures of the 20th century. Their compositions continue to captivate audiences today, and stories about their life and work have become legendary. However, there’s another lesser-known narrative that deserves
- [On This Day <br/>7 February: Mozart’s <em>Schauspieldirektor</em> (The Impresario) Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-7-february-mozarts-schauspieldirektor-the-impresario-was-premiered/): On 7 February 1786, the Schönbrunn castle on the outskirts of Vienna saw the premiere performance of Mozart’s Schauspieldirektor (The Impresario). On the same playbill was Antonio Salieri’s Prima la Musica, poi le Parole (First the Music and then the
- [Celebrating Spring <br/>Raff’s <em>Symphony No. 8 in A Major, Op. 205, "Frühlingsklänge"</em> (Sounds of Spring)](https://interlude.hk/celebrating-spring-raffs-symphony-no-8-in-a-major-op-205-fruhlingsklange-sounds-of-spring/): Swiss composer Joachim Raff (1822–1882) is barely known today, and if you do remember him, it’s most probably in relation to Liszt. While Liszt was in Weimar, Raff was his assistant for a while and was responsible for the orchestration
- [On This Day <br/>6 February: Claudio Arrau Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-6-february-claudio-arrau-was-born/): Claudio Arrau was probably the least flamboyant of pianists, avoiding virtuosic display as rigorously as some other pianists crave it. To be sure, he had the technical abilities of a virtuoso, but he was an intellectual and deeply reflective interpreter.
- [Interview with Anton Hanson - Founding Member of Quatuor Hanson](https://interlude.hk/interview-with-anton-hanson-founding-member-of-quatuor-hanson/): On March 9th, Quatuor Hanson will be performing in Hong Kong for the first time, delivering a stunning debut performance. The quartet has won several prestigious awards, including the Concours de Genève, Diapason d’Or, and Choc de Classica awards, cementing
- [Welcome to the Year of the Wood Dragon <br/>Gong Hei Fat Choy](https://interlude.hk/welcome-to-the-year-of-the-wood-dragon-gong-hei-fat-choy/): Ever since the hit series Game of Thrones pillaged across television screens, audiences around the world have found a new perspective on the dragon. In Western mythologies, dragons often guard treasures, fly through the skies, and breathe fire. Generally, they
- [On This Day <br/>5 February: Tcherepnin’s <em>Piano Concerto No. 3</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-5-february-tcherepnins-piano-concerto-no-3-was-premiered/): Alexander Tcherepnin (1899-1977) was frequently described as a “musical citizen of the world, a composer who belongs to many countries and cultures. ” As an expatriate artist, he spent his lifetime moving from country to country, but he remained deeply connected
- [The Watching Fish: Mahler’s <em>Des Antonius von Padua Fischpredigt</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-watching-fish-mahlers-des-antonius-von-padua-fischpredigt/): Considered one of the greatest products of ‘Heidelberg Romanticism’, Achim von Arnim and Clemens Brentano’s song anthology Des Knaben Wunderhorn, issued in 3 volumes between 1805 and 1808, was an unfailing resource for German composers. Unlike earlier collections of folk
- [In Praise of the Hobbyist Musician](https://interlude.hk/in-praise-of-the-hobbyist-musician/): Many people play musical instruments as a hobby. For some, this is a serious pursuit (in which case, the word “hobby” is perhaps a misnomer; “passion” may be more appropriate); for others, it’s a pleasurable activity which slots into their
- [Eight of the Greatest American Women Composers](https://interlude.hk/eight-of-the-greatest-american-women-composers/): The history of American classical music is dominated by names like Aaron Copland, George Gershwin, Leonard Bernstein, Samuel Barber, and others. However, not all of the composers who contributed to American classical music have been men! On the contrary, many
- [Leopold Godowsky (1870-1938): <em>Trikontameron</em>](https://interlude.hk/leopold-godowsky-1870-1938-trikontameron/): Working in the 14th century, the Italian author Giovanni Boccaccio (1313–1375) compiled a collection of novellas entitled Decameron, sometimes nicknamed the “Human Comedy. ” The work is set in Italy during the time of the Black Death, when a group of
- [The Changing Sound of the Horn](https://interlude.hk/the-changing-sound-of-the-horn/): In the 19th century, the horn took itself off the battlefield and became part of the orchestra. As a natural horn with no valves, the tuning on a horn had to be controlled by adding extra length to the horn. In this horn, originally by Courtois Neveu around 1820, the...
- [Music of Royalty <br/>Frederick Lewis and His Not-to-Be Wife Wilhelmine of Prussia](https://interlude.hk/music-of-royalty-frederick-lewis-and-his-not-to-be-wife-wilhelmine-of-prussia/): Friedrich Ludwig (1707-51), Electoral Prince of Hanover but better known as Frederick Lewis or Frederick Prince of Wales, grew up at the German court in Hanover. His father, King George II, had already moved to England in 1714, and he
- [For the Love of Music](https://interlude.hk/for-the-love-of-music/): A few weeks ago, I met the parent of one of my former piano students at an event. I was pleased to hear that the student (we’ll call her Jane) was now studying English Literature at one of the UK’s
- [Here Be A Dragon](https://interlude.hk/here-be-a-dragon/): With a joyous call on his horn, Siegfried announces his presence in the great forest of Fafner. Turned into a dragon by the lure of the Ring, Fafner, one of the two giants who built Valhalla for Wotan, is being
- [Georges Auric](https://interlude.hk/georges-auric-french-composer/): “Down with impressionism and all those beautiful sonorities” Georges Auric (1899-1983), born on 15 February 1899 in Lodève, France, was famously included in the group called Les Six by critic Henri Collet in 1920. As a composer, he is probably
- [On This Day <br/>1 February: Mendelssohn’s <em>Symphony No. 1</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-1-february-mendelssohns-symphony-no-1-was-premiered/): By the time Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) reached his 14th birthday, he already had an impressive variety and number of works in his compositional portfolio. In fact, between 1821 and 1823 alone, he composed a total of 12 symphonies for strings.
- [Michael Yeung](https://interlude.hk/michael-yeung-percussionist/): ‘A Little Spark That Can Turn One’s Life Completely Upside Down’ Hong Kong-born percussionist Michael Yeung is finishing up the prestigious Artist Diploma Program at Yale University, studying with renowned percussionist and educator Robert van Sice. Only the second-ever percussionist
- [Schubert for Beginners: Eleven Pieces to Make You Love Schubert](https://interlude.hk/schubert-for-beginners-eleven-pieces-to-make-you-love-schubert/): Composer Franz Schubert was born on 31 January 1797 in a suburb of Vienna. Here are a few brief facts about his life: Schubert wrestled with health problems throughout his life and died young. He was diagnosed with syphilis in his early twenties, and the effects from it (and likely...
- [A Major Minor Opera: Nadia Boulanger’s <em>La ville morte</em>, The Performance](https://interlude.hk/a-major-minor-opera-nadia-boulangers-la-ville-morte-the-performance/): In the first part of this article “A Major Minor Opera: Nadia Boulanger’s La Ville morte, A History”, we explored the background of Nadia Boulanger’s opera. Jumping forward to the modern day, the first staging of the full opera was
- [Interview With Derk Van Der Veen About His Album “Baroque & English Music”](https://interlude.hk/interview-with-derk-van-der-veen-about-his-album-baroque-english-music/): Meet Derk van de Veen, a composer, a guitarist, and a Baroque enthusiast who has recently released an album, “Baroque & English Music. ” The album features five sets of pieces written in the Baroque style. In this interview, Derk will
- [On This Day <br/>30 January: Lynn Harrell Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-30-january-lynn-harrell-was-born/): Cellist Lynn Harrell, winner of the inaugural Avery Fisher Prize and two Grammy Awards had the ability to generate a penetrating richness of sound, and to communicate with tremendous personal warmth. A formidable technician, Harrell was appointed principal cellist of
- [A Surprising Start <br/>Dohnányi’s <em>Variations on a Nursery Song</em>](https://interlude.hk/a-surprising-start-dohnanyis-variations-on-a-nursery-song/): The orchestra is mighty, chords resonating in a large space, the timpani emphasizing the vastness of the concept. It’s a bit Wagnerian – some ideas seem like they might do well in Die Walküre or perhaps there’s a foreshadowing of
- [A Major Minor Opera: Nadia Boulanger’s <em>La Ville Morte</em>, A History](https://interlude.hk/a-major-minor-opera-nadia-boulangers-la-ville-morte-a-history/): This week, Greek National Opera (GNO) in Athens is putting on the third performance of Nadia Boulanger’s only opera, La ville morte. Written in collaboration with her mentor, Raoul Pugno, the opera is only now in the 21st century, seeing
- [Guitar Plus: Paganini’s Guitar Quartets](https://interlude.hk/guitar-plus-paganinis-guitar-quartets/): We associate the name of Niccolò Paganini 1782–1840) with the violin and his seemingly demonic playing. However, the less talented are always quick to impugn the true talent of a virtuoso – the devil had to have a hand! Paganini
- [Happy 150th Birthday Josef Suk](https://interlude.hk/happy-150th-birthday-josef-suk/): “I do not bow to anyone, except to my own conscience and our own noble Lady Music” January is a busy time for lovers of classical music as we celebrate the birthdays of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Franz Schubert on
- [ECHO…..echo](https://interlude.hk/echo-echo/): Poor Echo. In Greek mythology, she was a nymph who came to the attention of Zeus and then of Zeus’ wife, Hera. Finding her husband in a compromising position and delayed in her discovery by Echo’s long conversations, Hera condemned Echo to only being able to repeat the last words...
- [Alone Yet Together: The Shared Experience of Live Performance](https://interlude.hk/alone-yet-together-the-shared-experience-of-live-performance/): I’ve been going to live classical music concerts since I was a little girl – and not just professional concerts, but also amateur performances when my dad (a clarinettist) played in a local amateur orchestra. As keen music-lovers, my parents
- [Mozart and His Divas <br/>Catarina Cavalieri, Adriana Ferrarese del Bene and Luisa Laschi Mombelli](https://interlude.hk/mozart-and-his-divas-catarina-cavalieri-adriana-ferrarese-del-bene-and-luisa-laschi-mombelli/): Did you know that in the Latin language “Diva” is the word for goddess? We constantly hear it in connection with show business, where it is used to describe a highly temperamental and demanding person. In the world of opera,
- [Nadia: The Woman Who Changed Music](https://interlude.hk/nadia-the-woman-who-changed-music/): In a mesmerizing upcoming performance of Nadia in Paris, actress, mezzo-soprano Adriana Zabala will embody the legendary and charismatic teacher, Nadia Boulanger. Nadia, a theater work, combines chamber music and storytelling, during which Nadia’s memories are unlocked by the music
- [On This Day <br/>27 January: Emmanuel Pahud Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-27-january-emmanuel-pahud-was-born/): Swiss flautist Emmanuel Pahud has been hailed as the finest flautist of his generation, “admired for the purity and subtlety of his tonal colours, his imaginative phrasing and his command of a broad range of styles. ” Pahud auditioned for principal
- [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s <em>Zaide</em> Project](https://interlude.hk/wolfgang-amadeus-mozarts-zaide-project/): Something very exciting took place on 27 January 1866, the 110th anniversary of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s birth. The city of Frankfurt witnessed the performance of an unknown Singspiel, which Mozart had abandoned to work on Idomeneo. The unknown work carried
- [Violet Gordon-Woodhouse: The Daring Harpsichordist In a Ménage à Cinq!](https://interlude.hk/violet-gordon-woodhouse-the-daring-harpsichordist-in-a-menage-a-cinq/): Violet Gordon-Woodhouse changed how listeners approached and appreciated Baroque music. She helped spur the revival of the harpsichord and Baroque Era composers, making a big contribution to the beginnings of the historical performance practice movement, which is still going strong
- [On This Day <br/>26 January: Jacqueline du Pré Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-26-january-jacqueline-du-pre-was-born/): Cellist Jacqueline du Pré only began to perform publicly at the age of sixteen, “yet her musical genius was evident at a very early age and its special nature was defined by her rich emotional inner world, rather than her
- [Mrs. Billington the Caricatured Singer](https://interlude.hk/mrs-billington-the-caricatured-singer/): In the caricatures of James Gillray (1756–1815) in the early years of the 19th century, the soprano Mrs. Billington figures large. James Gillray started working as an apprentice to a lettering engraver and in 1778, was admitted to the Royal
- [Erik Satie’s <em>Jack in the Box</em>](https://interlude.hk/erik-saties-jack-in-the-box/): In 1899, Erik Satie (1866–1925) wrote a little pantomime ballet for piano entitled Jack in the Box to a scenario by the illustrator Jules Depaquit, an artist who was his very good friend and known for his love of hoaxes.
- [Let’s Celebrate and Nurture Classical Music’s Core Audience](https://interlude.hk/lets-celebrate-and-nurture-classical-musics-core-audience/): It’s well known and acknowledged that the core audience for classical music is in the age range from c55 to 80+. These are the people with the money and, more importantly, the time to engage with classical music. Fretting about
- [On This Day <br/>24 January: Bellini’s <em>I Puritani</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-24-january-bellinis-i-puritani-was-premiered/): The “Théâtre Italien” in Paris premiered Vincenzo Bellini’s final opera I Puritani (The Puritans) on 24 January 1835. Presented just months before Bellini’s untimely death at the age of 33, the opera presents a love story set during the violent
- [Is Classical Music Boring? We're Sounding Off](https://interlude.hk/is-classical-music-boring-were-sounding-off/): Classical music is often thought of as stuffy, insufferable, and boring. But is it? We’d argue that it’s not. The stereotypes fail to recognize the depth, beauty, and transportive power of classical music. We’re ready to debunk the myth that
- [Elegies for One Lost at Sea <br/>Aaron Copland’s <em>Elegies</em> for Hart Crane](https://interlude.hk/elegies-for-one-lost-at-sea-aaron-coplands-elegies-for-hart-crane/): The American poet Hart Crane committed suicide en route from Mexico to New York by uttering a brief ‘Goodbye, everybody! ’ and jumping overboard from the steamship Orizaba. His body was not recovered. He was only 32 years old. At the
- [With Richard Strauss in Garmisch-Partenkirchen <br/>In Touch With Dr. Dominik Šedivý](https://interlude.hk/with-richard-strauss-in-garmisch-partenkirchen-in-touch-with-dr-dominik-sedivy/): Picturesquely located on the Bavarian side of the Alps with fabulous vistas of Germany’s highest mountain, the united towns of Garmisch and Partenkirchen are primarily known to winter sports aficionados. After all, the region hosted the 1936 Winter Olympic Games,
- [Calming the Virtuoso’s Excesses: Anda’s Liszt](https://interlude.hk/calming-the-virtuosos-excesses-andas-liszt/): Hungarian pianist Géza Anda (1921–1976) did his first studies with Ernst von Dohnányi and Zoltán Kodály at the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest. In 1940, Anda won the Liszt Prize and then made his debut with the Budapest Philharmonic and
- [Winter in Majorca](https://interlude.hk/winter-in-majorca/): A film by Jeff Buchanan “When he plays it is as if the keys of the piano were brushed by the wings of angels. ” George Sand Author of ‘Winter in Majorca’ Composer Frédéric Chopin and authoress George Sand stayed on
- [Beethoven for Beginners: 13 Works to Make You Love Beethoven](https://interlude.hk/beethoven-for-beginners-13-works-to-make-you-love-beethoven/): Ludwig van Beethoven was born in 1770 in Bonn, Germany. He would become one of the most important figures in the history of Western music. Here are some things you should know about him: He always had a troubled home
- [Joan of Arc <br/>The Maid of Orléans](https://interlude.hk/joan-of-arc-the-maid-of-orleans/): Joan of Arc, also known as the “Maid of Orléans,” was declared a national symbol of France by Napoleon in 1830. Her story had a profound effect on French society as the old societal order gave way to new ideas
- [10 Beautiful Viola Concertos From the 18th Century](https://interlude.hk/10-beautiful-viola-concertos-from-the-18th-century/): If you have heard one, you probably have heard them all! I am talking about viola jokes, a musical stereotype with a rich and proud heritage. Jokes directed towards violas and viola players probably originated in the 18th century, and
- [Frank Martin Alive](https://interlude.hk/frank-martin-alive/): In 2024, we commemorate the 50th anniversary of the death of Frank Martin (1890-1974). One of the foremost Swiss composers of the 20th century, Martin was a highly versatile and eclectic composer who spoke with an authentic personal voice that
- [Six of the Earliest Women Composers from the Renaissance Era](https://interlude.hk/six-of-the-earliest-women-composers-from-the-renaissance-era/): One of the most frustrating things when it comes to learning about women composers from the Renaissance is that we know they existed, but all of their biographies are very bare-bones. When it comes to these mysterious, super-talented women, we
- [Music About Nature <br/>5 Pieces Written for Violin and Piano](https://interlude.hk/music-about-nature-5-pieces-written-for-violin-and-piano/): At the start of the new year, I am learning some new pieces with my violin partner for our coming performances this year. The theme of our program is music about nature. In this article, I would like to share with you some works we have encountered! Ralph Vaughan Williams’...
- [Britten Violin Concerto as Explored by Violinist Augustin Hadelich](https://interlude.hk/britten-violin-concerto-as-explored-by-violinist-augustin-hadelich/): What music does an avowed pacifist write during the tumultuous year of 1939? Benjamin Britten was exceedingly discouraged by the rise of fascism and the defeat of Spain’s Republicans. As the Spanish Civil War raged, Britten had witnessed the senseless
- [Can Classical Music Make You Smarter? The Answer: Sort Of!](https://interlude.hk/can-classical-music-make-you-smarter-the-answer-sort-of/): When it comes to music, few genres have stood the test of time like classical music. It has enthralled audiences for centuries and pulled millions into its orbit. But why has it been so consistently popular? What’s so attractive about
- [On This Day <br/>19 January: Massenet’s <em>Manon</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-19-january-massenets-manon-was-premiered/): With his character “Manon,” Jules Massenet created a portrait of the eternal feminine. As has been pointed out, this male view of seductive womankind “the generous, ambitious, pleasure-loving good-time girl who delivers the goods and expires of nothing so much
- [The Harmony of the World <br/>Kepler and Hindemith](https://interlude.hk/the-harmony-of-the-world-kepler-and-hindemith/): The German astronomer and mathematician Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) wrote a book titled Harmonice Mundi (The Harmony of the World) in 1619. He had been working on the book for roughly 20 years, establishing celestial-harmonic relationships. He also abandoned the Pythagorean
- [ENO PIANO Bruce Brubaker, Piano](https://interlude.hk/eno-piano-bruce-brubaker-piano/): “Is it possible to play Music for Airports on the piano? ” American pianist, Bruce Brubaker, asked himself this question when thinking about his new album, Eno Piano, a remarkable reinterpretation of Brian Eno’s ambient masterpiece Music for Airports (the album
- [On This Day <br/>17 January: Anne Queffélec Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-17-january-anne-queffelec-was-born/): Known for her even temperament and light, brilliant style of playing, Anne Queffélec has received international acclaim for her performances of French music and the keyboard works of Bach, Scarlatti, and Mozart. Queffélec is equally comfortable with the music of
- [Astor Piazzolla and Eduardo Rovira <br/>SONICO’s <em>Five, Six, Seven, Eight… The Edge of Tango Vol. 2</em>](https://interlude.hk/astor-piazzolla-and-eduardo-rovira-sonicos-five-six-seven-eight-the-edge-of-tango-vol-2/): The 1950s saw enormous changes in popular music. In the US, rock and roll displaced an enormous number of popular genres, from yodelling to ballads. Outside the US, rock and roll also shifted local music off the stage. In Argentina,
- [Mythical Animals <br/>Robert Sierra’s <em>Carnaval</em>](https://interlude.hk/mythical-animals-robert-sierras-carnaval/): Puerto Rican composer Robert Sierra created a Carnaval of animals, and all come from the land of myths: Gargoyles, Sphinxes, Unicorns, Dragons, and The Phoenix. We start up on the roof, where the gargoyles live – their mysterious and somewhat
- [Benny Goodman Invaded Carnegie Hall <br/>16 January 1938](https://interlude.hk/benny-goodman-invaded-carnegie-hall-16-january-1938/): Something entirely inconceivable took place on 16 January 1938. On that day, Benny Goodman invaded Carnegie Hall, the citadel of American high culture. The “King of Swing” brought his own band, including Harry James on trumpet, Lionel Hampton on vibraphone
- [Watching the World Come Together: Borodin’s In the Steppes of Central Asia](https://interlude.hk/watching-the-world-come-together-borodins-in-the-steppes-of-central-asia/): Program music, music written to a pre-existing storyline, was at the centre of the battle with absolute music, music written for the sake of music. Nonetheless, program music is something that, for many people, gives them a way to negotiate
- [Piano vs. Harpsichord: How Did Pianos Beat Harpsichords in Popularity?](https://interlude.hk/piano-vs-harpsichord-how-did-pianos-beat-harpsichords-in-popularity/): Two of the most iconic keyboard instruments in the history of music are the piano and the harpsichord. Of course, at first glance, they share important similarities. They look alike: both have keyboards, both come in a case and have
- [Mikhail Ėmmanuilovich Goldstein <br/>A Fabulous Musical Jester](https://interlude.hk/mikhail-emmanuilovich-goldstein-a-fabulous-musical-jester/): Mikhail Ėmmanuilovich Goldstein (1917-1989) was a Ukrainian-born composer, violinist, conductor, musicologist, and teacher. Born into a family of mathematicians, he received his first violin lessons at the age of four and, one year later, made his recital debut. Mind you,
- [Legendary Cellists Christina Walevska and Ennio Bolognini](https://interlude.hk/legendary-cellists-christina-walevska-and-ennio-bolognini/): Walevska Cellist Extraordinary film of her life as a young cellist Two cellists you may not know were widely admired in the Twentieth Century. Christine Walevska (B 1945) had a scintillating tone with a gorgeous vibrato and was thought of
- [On This Day <br/>14 January: Mariss Jansons Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-14-january-mariss-jansons-was-born/): Latvian-born conductor Mariss Jansons (1943-2019) is habitually ranked among the world’s greatest and best conductors, bringing perfectionism, versatility, intensity, and passion to the stage. He was known for his rigorously prepared performances, always looking behind the notes to find what
- [Classical Music With Cannons](https://interlude.hk/classical-music-with-cannons/): Over the centuries, classical music composers have come up with many creative ways to up the ante when it comes to spectacle. One of the loudest ways they’ve done so is by incorporating cannons in their music, lending a new
- [Sir Stephen Hough <br/>The Composer](https://interlude.hk/sir-stephen-hough-the-composer/): One of the most distinctive artists of his generation, Sir Stephen Hough combines an international career as a pianist with those of composer, writer, and painter. The first classical performer to be awarded a MacArthur Fellowship (2001), Hough is a
- [Francis Poulenc](https://interlude.hk/francis-poulenc-french-composer/): “I simply follow my own feelings” Among the most original and sincere voices of the 20th century, Francis Poulenc (1899-1963) was no revolutionary as his music and personality simply mirror the often-conflicting nature of humanity. Simultaneously earthy and refined, an
- [Vivaldi’s <em>Four Seasons</em> and the Impact of Climate Change](https://interlude.hk/vivaldis-four-seasons-and-the-impact-of-climate-change/): The Four Seasons, the fabulous collection of four violin concerti by Antonio Vivaldi have topped the Classical Music charts for decades on end. It has become part of modern culture, and the music is reshaped and arranged into different musical
- [Jumping in Time <br/>Edward Elgar’s <em>3 Characteristic Pieces</em>](https://interlude.hk/jumping-in-time-edward-elgars-3-characteristic-pieces/): English composer Edward Elgar (1857–1934) wrote his Three Characteristic Pieces in 1899, revising an earlier Suite in D. The first movement is the very Polish mazurka, a work in triple meter with a quick tempo. The mazurka was a stylized
- [The Musician’s Journey: Crafting Your Career Vision and Plan by Jill Timmons](https://interlude.hk/the-musicians-journey-crafting-your-career-vision-and-plan-by-jill-timmons/): An invaluable and practical resource for musicians First published in 2013, The Musician’s Journey by Dr Jill Timmons is a handbook for musicians who want to make the most of their specialist training to carve a successful professional career. A
- [Breaking Boundaries <br/>Xavier Foley Double Bass Player and Composer](https://interlude.hk/breaking-boundaries-xavier-foley-double-bass-player-and-composer/): Xavier Foley, a dazzling double bass player, is a multi-talented musician who is breaking boundaries. A prizewinner of the 2016 Young Concert Association Susan Wadsworth International Auditions, the 2014 Sphinx Competition, and a 2018 Recipient of the Avery Fisher Career
- [Musicians and Artists: Alpaerts and Ensor](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-alpaerts-and-ensor/): Flor Alpaerts: James Ensor Suite The Belgian artist and printmaker James Baron Ensor (1860–1949) left school at age 15 to start his artistic training and two years later entered the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts in Brussels. His early work was
- [Sweetest Harmony](https://interlude.hk/sweetest-harmony/): Harmony in music is easy; you take two or more notes and play them together. Of course, all this developed into a complex system of chords and rules. In theory, harmony among nations and people should also be a simple
- [Meet Leszek Możdżer: the Jazz Gem and Pianist from Poland](https://interlude.hk/meet-leszek-mozdzer-the-jazz-gem-and-pianist-from-poland/): Leszek Możdżer is considered as the greatest gift of Jazz in Poland. A virtuosic pianist, composer, and producer, Możdżer has recently released an album, “Composites,” and was featured in a documentary, Chopin: I am Not Afraid of Darkness. Both the
- [Beethoven's Only Portrait: Stolen by the Nazis!](https://interlude.hk/beethovens-only-portrait-stolen-by-the-nazis/): Beethoven sat for one portrait in his life. The painting that resulted from that one series of sittings has become an iconic image from cultural history. Here’s why: In it, Beethoven gazes past the viewer. He is seeing things that
- [Rediscovering Conrado del Campo](https://interlude.hk/rediscovering-conrado-del-campo/): The Spanish composer and teacher Conrado del Campo (1878–1953) was considered the most important Spanish music teacher of his time, teaching at the Real Conservatorio Superior de Música in Madrid for over 40 years. He was also a conductor, leading
- [Interview With Two Polish Treasures: Agnieszka Duczmal and Anna Duczmal-Mroz](https://interlude.hk/interview-with-two-polish-treasures-agnieszka-duczmal-and-anna-duczmal-mroz/): Agnieszka Duczmal and Anna Duczmal-Mroz are a mother and daughter who are both successful conductors. Maestra Agnieszka founded the Amadeus Chamber Orchestra in Poznan, Poland, in 1968, which is now the official chamber orchestra of Polish Radio. The orchestra recently
- [From Impossible to Standard: Brahms’ Violin Concerto](https://interlude.hk/from-impossible-to-standard-brahms-violin-concerto/): Johannes Brahms (1833–1897) first started working on a violin concerto in 1878, intending to write a 4-movement work. He sent his first drafts to his friend and the dedicatee, the violinist Joseph Joachim, in August 1878 and asked him to
- [On This Day <br/>8 January: Arcangelo Corelli Died](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-8-january-arcangelo-corelli-died/): The remarkable boom in music publishing around 1700 forever secured and spread the reputation of Arcangelo Corelli. His op. 1 was issued in 39 known editions between 1681 and 1790, and that does not include collective editions of opp. 1-4
- [Musicians and Artists: Poole and Hiroshige](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-poole-and-hiroshige/): Geoffrey Poole: Crossing Ohashi Bridge The travellers on the bridge hunch down under their small straw coverings – the rain is pouring down, catching them on the exposed walkway. Part of Hiroshige’s series One Hundred Famous Views of Edo, which
- [The Fabulous Arnold Bax Piano Miniatures <br/>“In This Life, One Should Try Everything Once, Except Incest and Folk Dancing”](https://interlude.hk/the-fabulous-arnold-bax-piano-miniatures-in-this-life-one-should-try-everything-once-except-incest-and-folk-dancing/): Arnold Bax (1883-1953) was a fantastic pianist, but being shy and reclusive, he rarely appeared in public after he had reached his 20th birthday. The piano had always been his favourite instrument, and he was known for astonishing audiences by
- [Arranging One’s Winter’s Journey II: Going on the Road Schubert’s <em>Winterreise</em>](https://interlude.hk/arranging-ones-winters-journey-ii-going-on-the-road-schuberts-winterreise/): Let’s continue to explore more re-arrangements of Schubert’s Winterreise. With Song 13, the village of disappointment is left behind, and our narrator sets his face on the road. But, inevitably, there are things that call his mind back. Just as
- [David Popper (1843-1913) <br/>“Very Few Luminaries Survive More Than One Generation”](https://interlude.hk/david-popper-1843-1913-very-few-luminaries-survive-more-than-one-generation/): David Popper, born in Prague in 1843, was one of the most influential cellists of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was a celebrated virtuoso of his time, lauded for his flawless technique and expressivity, with George Bernard
- [Humanity <br/>Erwin Schulhoff’s “Menschheit”](https://interlude.hk/humanity-erwin-schulhoffs-menschheit/): The question as to what makes us human has been pondered for many thousands of years. While there are multiple theories, we can probably say that humans are unique. In fact, the very act of contemplating what makes us human
- [Why Does Classical Music Make Us So Emotional?](https://interlude.hk/why-does-classical-music-make-us-so-emotional/): Have you ever found yourself awed by a symphony? Have you ever been moved to tears by a delicate cascade of notes in a piano concerto? Have you ever wondered why this music makes me feel so emotional? Classical music
- [Interlude Wishes You a Harmonious and Peaceful 2024!](https://interlude.hk/interlude-wishes-you-a-harmonious-and-peaceful-2024/)
- [COVID in Music <br/>Simaku’s <em>Catena III, "Corona"</em>](https://interlude.hk/covid-in-music-simakus-catena-iii-corona/): The piece opens with a crash that quickly fades away. This is Albanian-British composer Thomas Simaku’s piano work Catena III–Corona. A product of the first lockdown that started in March 2020, when about half the world’s population had to stay
- [The Avant-Garde of 1760s London <br/>Carl Friedrich Abel’s <em>Symphony in D Major, WKO 41</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-avant-garde-of-1760s-london-carl-friedrich-abels-symphony-in-d-major-wko-41/): English musician and historian Charles Burney, in his History of Music, vol. 2 (1782), credited three people with being the style leaders of the day: Felice Giardini, the director of the Italian opera theatre; J. C. Bach (London Bach), and Carl
- [On This Day <br/>5 January: Maurizio Pollini Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-5-january-maurizio-pollini-was-born/): The literary critic and cultural commentator Edward Said observed that “such complete satisfaction as offered by Maurizio Pollini’s consummately undemonstrative but unpretentious performances is very rarely found. ” Pollini was able to conjure an infinite variety of tonal shades and inflections
- [Interview with Joanna Forbes L'Estrange](https://interlude.hk/interview-with-joanna-forbes-lestrange/): “I like to write music every choir can sing” Ahead of the release of her debut disc of choral music, I spoke to British composer, singer, and choir director Joanna Forbes L’Estrange about her influences and inspirations Your new album
- [On This Day <br/>4 January: Boris Berezovsky Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-4-january-boris-berezovsky-was-born/): Pianist Boris Berezovsky, born on 4 January 1969 in Moscow, has been described as “a player of dazzling virtuosity and formidable power. ” Winner of the 1990 International Tchaikovsky Competition, he has established himself as a virtuoso pianist and a gifted
- [Sound and Feeling - ‘Emotional’ Dynamics](https://interlude.hk/sound-and-feeling-emotional-dynamics/): “Dynamics” in music refers to the variation in loudness or intensity of sound. The use of dynamics adds depth, emotion, and expressiveness to the music, and the term encompasses a wide spectrum of volume levels, from the softest pianissimo to
- [On This Day <br/>3 January: Donizetti’s <em>Don Pasquale</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-3-january-donizettis-don-pasquale-was-premiered/): The opera buffa Don Pasquale, which was first staged on 3 January 1843 by the Théâtre-Italien at the Salle Ventadour, was an instant success. No wonder, as it was introduced by four of the most celebrated singers of the day,
- [Tiffany Poon](https://interlude.hk/tiffany-poon-pianist/): ‘Expand Our Experience Of Music Beyond What We Might Expect’ Arranging an interview over Zoom with a musician based in New York brings with it certain assumptions: mostly that the background of the meeting will be punctuated by car horns,
- [Hélène de Montgeroult: Did This Great Composer Avoid the Guillotine By Playing Piano?](https://interlude.hk/helene-de-montgeroult-did-this-great-composer-avoid-the-guillotine-by-playing-piano/): The French Revolution was the dramatic backdrop to countless extraordinary life stories. Pianist and composer Hélène de Montgeroult had one of the most interesting. Over the course of her life, she faced political turmoil, violence, and unspeakable loss, but persevered
- [A National Mexican Symphonic Poem <br/>Silvestre Revueltas’ <em>Sensemayá</em>](https://interlude.hk/a-national-mexican-symphonic-poem-silvestre-revueltas-sensemaya/): Although we generally associate the symphonic poem with Liszt and mainly German composers, it also popped up in other countries, one of the most interesting being Mexico. Silvestre Revueltas (1899–1940) had a distinguished career as a conductor, principally as assistant
- [On This Day <br/>2 January: Mily Balakirev Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-2-january-mily-balakirev-was-born/): Mily Balakirev, born on 2 January 1837 in Nizhny Novgorod, is primarily remembered as the founder of the “Russian Five” and the Free School in St. Petersburg. He famously instilled a sense of nationalistic pride in the music of Russia,
- [Interview With Yohanan Cinnamon, Composer and Self-Taught Musician](https://interlude.hk/interview-with-yohanan-cinnamon-composer-and-self-taught-musician/): Meet Yohanan Cinnamon, a composer based in Jerusalem. His recent album, Piano & Strings, features two suites that he composed and were arranged by Israel Edelson, a former assistant conductor to Maestro Leonard Bernstein. As the album title implies, Cinnamon
- [Rising Hope <br/>Ralph Vaughan Williams’ <em>The Lark Ascending</em>](https://interlude.hk/rising-hope-ralph-vaughan-williams-the-lark-ascending/): The orchestra paints a calm scene – blue skies, some clouds – and then a rising song. It’s the skylark, a bird of the open farm and of the heath. Its song, sung only by the male, is delivered in
- [A Happy and Peaceful 2024](https://interlude.hk/a-happy-and-peaceful-2024/): As we welcome 2024, societal friendship and harmony are once again nowhere to be found. Hostilities, violence, intimidation, and wars are overrunning the planet on a virulent wave of entitlement and righteousness. In her poem “The Rock Cries out to
- [Mozart for Beginners: Ten Pieces to Make You Love Mozart](https://interlude.hk/mozart-for-beginners-ten-pieces-to-make-you-love-mozart/): Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in Salzburg in current-day Austria on 27 January 1756. He was one of the most talented prodigies in the history of music, and he grew up to become one of the most beloved and influential
- [Boat Songs <br/>Gabriel Fauré’s <em>Barcarolles</em>](https://interlude.hk/boat-songs-gabriel-faures-barcarolles/): We know the ‘barcarolle’ most famously from Offenbach’s Les contes d’Hoffmann, but relatively few other composers picked up on it. In Offenbach’s opera, the barcarolle, ‘Belle nuit, ô nuit d’amour’ (Beautiful night, oh night of love) opens Act III where
- [Arranging One’s Winter’s Journey I: Leaving the Dorfe <br/>Schubert’s <em>Winterreise</em>](https://interlude.hk/arranging-ones-winters-journey-i-leaving-the-dorfe-schuberts-winterreise/): In Schubert’s great 24-song cycle, Winterreise, he sketches the bleakness of the countryside, the coldness of the setting, and the despair of the narrator as he leaves the small village where he was once welcomed and now has to depart
- [On This Day <br/>31 December: Jennifer Higdon Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-31-december-jennifer-higdon-was-born/): When Jennifer Higdon received the 2010 Pulitzer Prize in Music for her Violin Concerto, written for the young Hilary Hahn, the committee cited the work as “a deeply engaging piece that combined flowing lyricism with dazzling virtuosity. ” Those particular qualities
- [The Hymn of Hope <br/>Emily Dickinson’s <em>"Hope" is the thing with feathers</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-hymn-of-hope-emily-dickinsons-hope-is-the-thing-with-feathers/): American poet Emily Dickinson’s three-stanza lyrical poem ‘”Hope” is the thing with feathers” gives us the idea of a mysterious singing being. Invisible to the eye, singing songs without words, the being can be heard through the most difficult times
- [What Is the Best Recording of Vivaldi's Winter?](https://interlude.hk/what-is-the-best-recording-of-vivaldis-winter/): The days are getting shorter, and Christmas and New Year ads are everywhere. We’re clearly coming up in winter. That made me wonder: what’s the best recording of Vivaldi’s Winter from his Four Seasons? Today, I went to find some
- [David Popper (1843-1913) <br/> The Cello Concertos](https://interlude.hk/david-popper-1843-1913-the-cello-concertos/): For every aspiring professional cellist, David Popper (1843-1913) is a household name. His High School of Cello Playing Op. 73, a collection of advanced cello etudes, is considered the cream of the crop of cello instruction for its pedagogic value
- [EARTHCYCLE <br/>Orchestra of the Swan](https://interlude.hk/earthcycle-orchestra-of-the-swan/): A Four Seasons for the 21st Century – a multi-media experience celebrating the 300th anniversary of Vivaldi‘s work An innovative and timely project from the ever-inventive Orchestra of the Swan (OOTS), Earthcycle finds a compelling way to engage with the
- [Classical Music and Nature Sounds: Where Music and Mother Earth Meet](https://interlude.hk/classical-music-and-nature-sounds-where-music-and-mother-earth-meet/): When nature sounds are combined with human-made classical music, the results can be captivating. From the delightful chirping of birds in a cellist’s English garden to the use of percussion and piano and wind machines to imitate the roar of
- [Brahms Resonances - Julian Jaeyoung Kim, piano](https://interlude.hk/brahms-resonances-julian-jaeyoung-kim-piano/): Young South Korean pianist Julian Jaeyoung Kim makes a bold statement with his debut CD, Brahms Resonances, featuring Brahms’ Piano Sonata No. 3, Op. 5, and the Variations on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 35. A C. Bechstein pianist and
- [Letter(s) to Erik Satie <br/>Bertrand Chamayou, piano](https://interlude.hk/letters-to-erik-satie-bertrand-chamayou-piano/): French pianist Bertrand Chamayou’s latest album features works by two musical mavericks, Erik Satie and John Cage. “Erik Satie and John Cage are UFOs in the world of music, because they envisioned music through a completely different prism,” says Chamayou.
- [Bringing Hope <br/>Xia Guan’s <em>Hope</em>](https://interlude.hk/bringing-hope-xia-guans-hope/): Composed in 1999, the second symphony by Chinese composer Xia Guan (b. 1957) carries the title of Hope. Guan sees hope as the ‘driving force in life’ and believes that without hope, he couldn’t even imagine what life would be
- [Maurice Ravel’s <em>Trois Chansons</em>](https://interlude.hk/maurice-ravels-trois-chansons/): At the time of his death on 28 December 1937, Maurice Ravel was the most celebrated composer in France. For a number of scholars, however, the significance of his music and the nature of his artistic legacy remained elusive. And
- [Drought](https://interlude.hk/drought/): The first modern experience many people had with drought was the American Dust Bowl of the 1930s. Decades of poor land management and the destruction of the topsoil meant that the fertile land just blew away in the wind. The
- [Five Pieces of Musical Advice from the Great Pianists](https://interlude.hk/five-pieces-of-musical-advice-from-the-great-pianists/): The world of classical music has been graced by a wide variety of truly legendary pianists. In addition to the example set by their astonishing playing, these giants have often shared insights about their art in interviews or in articles,
- [Playing the Part](https://interlude.hk/playing-the-part/): “... part of an actor’s task is to make the audience forget that they know the plot of a drama and surprise them with each event. The same applies in music: we have to play each piece as if it were
- [Exploring the Playful Act With Flutist Noemi Gyori and Pianist Suzana Bartal](https://interlude.hk/exploring-the-playful-act-with-flutist-noemi-gyori-and-pianist-suzana-bartal/): Flutist Noemi Gyori and pianist Suzana Bartal recently released an album, Exploration. In the album, it features works by four composers, namely Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827), François Borne (1840–1920), Leopoldine Blahetka (1809–1885), and Franz Schubert (1797–1828). While it is Noemi’s
- [Memory of a Massacre: The Coventry Carol](https://interlude.hk/memory-of-a-massacre-the-coventry-carol/): One of the most beautiful of the carols sung at Christmas, the Coventry Carol commemorates a truly tragic event. As told in the Gospel of Matthew (2:16–18), Herod, the king of Judea, ordered the killing of all male children two
- [5 Magnificent Choruses <br/>Bach’s <em>Christmas Oratorio</em>](https://interlude.hk/5-magnificent-choruses-bachs-christmas-oratorio/): Countless scholars, performers, and conductors have asked the almost impossible question of how Bach’s music sounded when it was performed for the first time. This question really caused a great stir some decades ago with Joshua Rifkin suggesting that what
- [A 14th-Century Carol of Approaching Death <br/><em>Coventry Carol</em>](https://interlude.hk/a-14th-century-carol-of-approaching-death-coventry-carol/): Not all carols celebrate the birth of Jesus; some commemorate the other actions that resulted from the news of that birth. Starting in the 14th century, the English city of Coventry held annual mystery plays where stories from the Bible
- [Tired of the Slow? Christmas a Different way!](https://interlude.hk/tired-of-the-slow-christmas-a-different-way/): We just found two songs by classical pianist Chloe Flower that may address those seasonal problems with so many Christmas songs! They’re everywhere, and they’re TOO SLOW. The dance of the Sugar-Plum Fairy but with a bit of a bounce
- [75 Quotes About Classical Music](https://interlude.hk/75-quotes-about-classical-music/): From the cantatas of Bach to the sonatas of Mozart to the passion of Tchaikovsky to the extroversion of Bernstein, the centuries-old classical music tradition has gripped audiences for generations. In this collection of 75 quotes, we’re traveling across the
- [Peace on Earth <br/>In Terra Pax](https://interlude.hk/peace-on-earth-in-terra-pax/): In the gospel of Luke, a group of shepherds are tending their flocks in the countryside near Bethlehem when they are spotted by a group of angels. The shepherds are rather worried and terrified by such extraterrestrial apparitions, but the
- [Seven of the Most Famous Classical Music Concerts of All Time](https://interlude.hk/seven-of-the-most-famous-classical-music-concerts-of-all-time/): The history of classical music stretches back hundreds of years. During that time, millions of concerts have been given and attended in every country of the world. Certain performances out of those millions have stood out as being particularly important,
- [Plants, Vegetables, and Musical Instruments](https://interlude.hk/plants-vegetables-and-musical-instruments/): Musical European instruments have come a long way and are now created using a blend of plastic, metal, and various types of wood. However, there are also many traditional instruments from different cultures worldwide. It’s incredible to discover that some
- [Five of the Greatest Ukrainian Women Composers](https://interlude.hk/five-of-the-greatest-ukrainian-women-composers/): In classical music, the contributions of Ukrainian composers have often been overlooked, overshadowed by their Western European counterparts. However, a rich tapestry of talent exists within Ukraine’s musical heritage, and it’s time to shed light on the work of its
- [A Powerful Documentary <br/>Chopin: I am Not Afraid of Darkness](https://interlude.hk/a-powerful-documentary-chopin-i-am-not-afraid-of-darkness/): A very special documentary entitled Chopin: I am Not Afraid of Darkness illustrates the power of music to transform people of all cultures. The film received an award at the 59th Golden Prague International Festival and is being screened worldwide
- [From Dance Song to Carol: Ding Dong Merrily on High](https://interlude.hk/from-dance-song-to-carol-ding-dong-merrily-on-high/): What started out as a 16th-century dance song was changed in the 19th century into a Christmas carol. In Thoinot Arbeau’s Orchésographie, a study of late Renaissance French dance, published in 1589, he gave instruction on social behaviour in the
- [On This Day <br/>22 December: Ludwig van Beethoven’s <em>Symphony 6</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-22-december-ludwig-van-beethovens-symphony-6-was-premiered/): On 22 December 1808, Ludwig van Beethoven invited audiences to a benefit concert at the Theater an der Wien in Vienna. One of the most remarkable events of Beethoven’s career, the concert saw the public premieres of his Fifth and
- [30 Pieces of Classical Music about Winter](https://interlude.hk/30-pieces-of-classical-music-about-winter/): Need some classical music about winter to add to your playlist? Today’s your lucky day! Grab your scarf and your hot cocoa: we’re about to comb the last three hundred years of music history, looking for the best classical music about winter. Henry Purcell: Now Winter Comes Slowly from The...
- [Interlude Wishes You Peace, Love & Joy This Holiday Season!](https://interlude.hk/interlude-wishes-you-peace-love-joy-this-holiday-season-2023/)
- [What if I Just Settle for “Good Enough”?](https://interlude.hk/what-if-i-just-settle-for-good-enough/): The pursuit of musical excellence is a journey that many musicians embark upon with a fervent desire to achieve perfection. They strive for flawless performances, impeccable technique, and unwavering precision. As an advanced amateur pianist, these are goals to which
- [On This Day <br/>21 December: Michael Tilson Thomas Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-21-december-michael-tilson-thomas-was-born/): Conductor, pianist, and composer Michael Tilson Thomas has won twelve Grammy Awards and amassed a discography of more than 120 recordings. During his tenure with the San Francisco Symphony, he recorded the complete symphonies of Gustav Mahler and pioneering discs
- [Vaughan Williams: <em>Fantasia on Christmas Carols</em>](https://interlude.hk/vaughan-williams-fantasia-on-christmas-carols/): In a longer take on the traditional carol, English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams made a ‘fantasia’ on three carols from southern England to create an atmospheric work for baritone, chorus, and orchestra. Given its premiere at the Three Choirs Festival
- [Five Most Popular Leonard Bernstein Performances](https://interlude.hk/five-most-popular-leonard-bernstein-performances/): Composer, conductor, pianist, teacher, and all-around American musical legend Leonard Bernstein gave thousands of performances over the course of his career, many of which were broadcast and archived for future generations to enjoy. Bernstein – a boyishly handsome, gregarious force
- [How Much Does He/She Love: Too Much! <br/><em>The 12 Days of Christmas</em>](https://interlude.hk/how-much-does-he-she-love-too-much-the-12-days-of-christmas/): In the classic Christmas counting carol, The 12 Days of Christmas, on the 12 days following Christmas, the singer’s ‘true love’ sends him a present each day, plus the present from the day(s) before. The 12 Days of Christmas are the 12 days between the birth of Jesus and the...
- [<em>Two Violins, One Viola, A Cello and Me </em> <br/><em>String Quartet Secrets</em> by Sonia Simmenauer](https://interlude.hk/two-violins-one-viola-a-cello-and-me-string-quartet-secrets-by-sonia-simmenauer/): “A String Quartet is, at its simplest, four instruments, two violins, one viola, and a cello, along with the four people playing them. But for famous ensembles we admire on the concert stage, it is so much more than that. ”
- [On This Day <br/>19 December: Steven Isserlis Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-19-december-steven-isserlis-was-born/): British cellist Steven Isserlis, born 19 December 1958 made his breakthrough in 1988 when he asked John Tavener to write a dedicated work for cello and orchestra. Isserlis premiered The Protecting Veil at the BBC Proms and quickly followed up
- [Flood <br/>Luna Pearl Woolf’s <em>Après moi, le déluge</em>](https://interlude.hk/flood-luna-pearl-woolfs-apres-moi-le-deluge/): Looking at the climate terrors of 2023, we can only anticipate what 2024 might hold. The historical calamity of the Flood seemed to affect everywhere last year. But when you look at the music for flood (and for how we’re
- [Classical Music for Christmas <br/>25 Holiday-Inspired Pieces to Celebrate the Season](https://interlude.hk/classical-music-for-christmas-25-holiday-inspired-pieces-to-celebrate-the-season/): The holiday season will soon be upon us, and what better way to get into the festive spirit than with some classical music? In this blog post, we’re exploring 25 pieces of classical music that are perfect for the Christmas season. They’ll be lovely to listen to whether you’re decorating...
- [Sounds of the Season: The Nutcracker Suite](https://interlude.hk/sounds-of-the-season-the-nutcracker-suite/): It’s the fond memory of many adults raised in America that the Christmas season is the time for Tchaikovsky’s beautiful ballet, The Nutcracker. George Balanchine’s New York production, which had its debut on 2 February 1954, brought E. T. A. Hoffman’s tale
- [10 Inspirational & Thought-Provoking Quotes From Musicians and Composers](https://interlude.hk/10-inspirational-thought-provoking-quotes-from-musicians-and-composers/): “Every time you play a great piece of music, there is a new discovery. Every time. ” – Mitsuko Uchida, pianist MITSUKO UCHIDA ~ Beethoven Piano Concerto # 5 / BSO /Andris Nelsons “I am interested in music as ecstasy, as
- [The Less-Classical Cello Concerto <br/>Miguel del Águila’s <em>Concierto en Tango</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-less-classical-cello-concerto-miguel-del-aguilas-concierto-en-tango/): Uruguayan-American composer Miguel del Águila (b. 1957) was commissioned by Buffalo Philharmonic principal cellist Roman Mekinulov for a cello concerto. Specifically a ‘concerto in tango form that would explore the less classical sound and technique of the cello’. Mr. Águila
- [Beethoven’s <em>Piano Trio Opus 1</em>](https://interlude.hk/beethovens-piano-trio-opus-1/): As we celebrate the birthday of Ludwig van Beethoven on 17 December, we are once again reminded that the composer and thinker elevated musical expression to a new level of consciousness. From his early days, it was clear that Beethoven
- [Antigone in the New World <br/>Carlos Chávez’s <em>Sinfonia de Antígona</em>](https://interlude.hk/antigone-in-the-new-world-carlos-chavezs-sinfonia-de-antigona/): In 1932, Mexican composer Carlos Chávez wrote incidental music for a staged performance of Jean Cocteau’s version of Sophicles’ Antigone. Cocteau had created the play a decade earlier and called it a ‘contraction’ of the original. The original, one of
- [Sheep May Safely Graze <br/>A Personal X-mas Reflection](https://interlude.hk/sheep-may-safely-graze-a-personal-x-mas-reflection/): Truth be told, I am almost apprehensive when watching or reading the morning news these days. Front pages and screens are full of yet more atrocities against humanity, and the death of innocent people from around the world is treated
- [On This Day <br/>16 December: Camille Saint-Saëns Died](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-16-december-camille-saint-saens-died/): When Camille Saint-Saëns died of a heart attack on 16 December 1921 in Algiers, his body was taken back to Paris for a state funeral at the Madeleine. His career had spanned 70 years and five continents. He performed as
- [Opera Review: A Tarnished Crown in Donizetti's <em>Anna Bolena</em>](https://interlude.hk/opera-review-a-tarnished-crown-in-donizettis-anna-bolena/): Anna Bolena (Donizetti) MusicaViva Hong Kong City Hall, Concert Hall 8,9, 10 Dec 2023 Drawing inspiration from the shadowy corridors of power and passion, Donizetti’s wildly popular Anna Bolena shines a spotlight on the queen of England who met a
- [Dance Music of the 1840s <br/>Johann Strauss I, Joseph Lanner and Hans Christian Lumbye](https://interlude.hk/dance-music-of-the-1840s-johann-strauss-i-joseph-lanner-and-hans-christian-lumbye/): The early to mid-19th century was more than just a time of waltzes, it was also the polka and the galop that held the floor. The most important dancemen came from Vienna: Johann Strauss I and Joseph Lanner. A group
- [“Fairy Tales” <br/>Elena Toponogova and Elisabeth Turmo](https://interlude.hk/fairy-tales-elena-toponogova-and-elisabeth-turmo/): Pianist Elena Toponogova and violinist Elisabeth Turmo have recently released their debut album titled “Fairy Tales”. Both of them are graduates of the Royal College of Music. Elena recently won the prize for the best performance of a Prelude and
- [Songs for Our Times <br/>A Unique Collaboration to Support Classical Music and Composers](https://interlude.hk/songs-for-our-times-a-unique-collaboration-to-support-classical-music-and-composers/): “Songs for our Times” is the result of a unique collaboration between two leading British contemporary classical music composers, Stuart MacRae and Bernard Hughes, and Nigerian-American poet/lyricist and medical doctor Chinwe D. John. I first encountered Chinwe’s writing in March
- [On This Day <br/>14 December: Martin Fröst Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-14-december-martin-frost-was-born/): Clarinet superstar Martin Fröst has been described as having “a virtuosity and a musicianship unsurpassed by any clarinettist, perhaps any instrumentalist, in recent memory. ” In 2014 he received the Léonie Sonning Music Prize, one of the world’s highest musical honours,
- [Schubert 200 Blog](https://interlude.hk/schubert-200-blog/): Thomas Guthrie’s new arrangement of Schubert’s Die Schöne Mullerin with the Alehouse Boys released on Rubicon Classics kicks off/marks the 200th anniversary of this song cycle, bringing back the playful, reinvention the composer and his friends could/might recognise. Guthrie BaS
- [On This Day <br/>13 December: Bomsori Kim Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-13-december-bomsori-kim-was-born/): In Korean, the name “Bomsori” basically means “the sound of spring,” but professionally, the violinist Bomsori Kim has earned the nickname “Competition Huntress. ” Indeed, she has won a long list of competitions, including the 62nd ARD International Music Competition, the
- [Georgina Rossi and Silvie Cheng: Searching for South American Sounds](https://interlude.hk/georgina-rossi-and-silvie-cheng-searching-for-south-american-sounds/): Georgina Rossi is a violist and Silvie Cheng is a pianist. They have been working together for almost ten years. Their collaboration began when they were still in school and discovered their mutual love for performing music from South America.
- [Behind the Scenes at the Opera is Another Opera <br/>Stravinsky’s <em>Le Rossignol</em> and Poulenc’s <em>Les Mamelles de Tirésias</em>](https://interlude.hk/behind-the-scenes-at-the-opera-is-another-opera-stravinskys-le-rossignol-and-poulencs-les-mamelles-de-tiresias/): We recently saw the broadcast on MEZZO of the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées’ production of Stravinsky’s Le Rossignol and Poulenc’s Les Mamelles de Tirésias. It’s not a combination one might have imagined, but director Olivier Py has turned the tables on
- [The Great Unknown: Sainte-Colombe’s Concerto No. 18](https://interlude.hk/the-great-unknown-sainte-colombes-concerto-no-18/): It was only in recent years that the violist and composer known as Monsieur de Sainte-Colombe could be given a first name: Jean. His place and date of birth are unknown, how he came to music is unknown, and even
- [5 Magnificent Arias <br/>Bach’s <em>Christmas Oratorio</em>](https://interlude.hk/5-magnificent-arias-bachs-christmas-oratorio/): In 1734, Johann Sebastian Bach was at the top of his game. His compositional powers were simply out of this world, and he composed six musically and textually interrelated cantatas for the twelve days of Christmas. He called the collection
- [Carols Without Words <br/>Leroy Anderson](https://interlude.hk/carols-without-words-leroy-anderson/): That wonderfully inventive composer and arranger Leroy Anderson (1908–1975) may be best known at Christmas time for his Sleigh Ride, with the neighing trumpet horses at the end. However, in 1950, he created a lovely arrangement for the Boston Pops
- [Miracles, Virgins and Resurrection <br/>New Testament in Music II](https://interlude.hk/miracles-virgins-and-resurrection-new-testament-in-music-ii/): Let us continue our exploration of classical music inspired by the New Testament. Roughly one third of the recorded teachings of Jesus are set as parables. These seemingly simple and memorable stories all convey messages that are central to Jesus’
- [Our Favorite Funny and Musical Animals](https://interlude.hk/our-favorite-funny-and-musical-animals/): Who doesn’t love their pets and animals in general? Musicians do too of course. According to musicians, our pets are quite musical. Leave it to us to make musical jokes about them. In case you thought I’d exhausted all our
- [On This Day <br/>10 December: Konstantin Lifschitz Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-10-december-konstantin-lifschitz-was-born/): Konstantin Lifschitz stunned the international music scene with his recording of Bach’s Goldberg Variations in 1994. The recording received a Grammy nomination and was celebrated as the most convincing Bach interpretation since Glenn Gould. Critics praised his “joy and energy
- [December 10th: A Birthday of Two Composers and Organists! <br/>César Franck and Olivier Messiaen](https://interlude.hk/december-10th-a-birthday-of-two-composers-and-organists-cesar-franck-and-olivier-messiaen/): Today was the birthday of César Franck (1822-1890) and Olivier Messiaen (1908- 1992). Born in different places and centuries, Franck and Messiaen did not share the same soundscapes in their compositions. Yet, these two composers shared a few things in
- [Life After Life <br/>Missy Mazzoli’s <em>Millennium Canticles</em>](https://interlude.hk/life-after-life-missy-mazzolis-millennium-canticles/): American composer Missy Mazzoli (b. 1980) has been given the title of ‘Brooklyn’s post-millennial Mozart’ and in 2018, was one of the first two women commissioned by the Metropolitan Opera (the other composer commissioned was Jeanine Tesori). She attended the
- [On This Day <br/>9 December: Elisabeth Schwarzkopf Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-9-december-elisabeth-schwarzkopf-was-born/): Olga Maria Elisabeth Frederike Schwarzkopf was born in Jarocin near Poznán, then Germany, now Poland, on 9 December 1915. She was to become the pre-eminent female lieder singer of the post-war decades and an operatic artist “in whom personal beauty,
- [15 Pieces of Classical Music About Snow](https://interlude.hk/15-pieces-of-classical-music-about-snow/): The delicate dance of snowflakes – the hushed stillness of a winter landscape – the fury of a raucous blizzard... It’s easy to see why composers have been inspired by these snowy scenarios for generations. So bundle up and join
- [On This Day <br/>8 December: Bohuslav Martinů Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-8-december-bohuslav-martinu-was-born/): In the years preceding World War II, Bohuslav Martinů was a much-respected composer experimenting with jazz, folk, and avant-garde creations in Paris. Forced to flee to the United States in 1940, he soon became the living composer whose works were
- [Murakami for Guitar and Mandolin <br/>Allen LeVines’ …<em>after the quake: 5 Impressions from Murakami</em>](https://interlude.hk/murakami-for-guitar-and-mandolin-allen-levines-after-the-quake-5-impressions-from-murakami/): Allen LeVines (b. 1954) was inspired by Japanese writer Haruki Murakami’s set of six short stories set at the time of the 1995 Kobe earthquake, which captures the varieties of reactions to the life-changing event. Of course, none of Murakami’s
- [Opera in Translation](https://interlude.hk/opera-in-translation/): Among the crowning glories of German and Italian opera are The Magic Flute, Tristan and Isolde, La Traviata, Tosca, Norma, and Aida; English opera has Balfe’s “Bohemian Girl” which is barely ever performed, Britten’s “Peter Grimes” whose chief attributes are
- [On This Day <br/>7 December: Johannes Brahms’ <em>Handel Variations</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-7-december-johannes-brahms-handel-variations-was-premiered/): When Johannes Brahms first met Richard Wagner in 1863 he played his Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel, Op. 24 for the prophet of the “Artwork of the Future. ” The work sounds like an impressive catalogue of variation
- [First Concert of the Philharmonic Society of New York <br/>7 December 1842](https://interlude.hk/first-concert-of-the-philharmonic-society-of-new-york-7-december-1842/): A momentous occasion took place on 7 December 1842 in the Apollo Rooms on lower Broadway. On that day, 600 audience members witnessed the first concert of the Philharmonic Society of New York. Formed as a cooperative organization of about
- [Paul Hindemith](https://interlude.hk/paul-hindemith-german-composer/): “People Who Make Music Together Cannot Be Enemies” Paul Hindemith (1895-1963) unexpectedly died on 28 December 1963 in Frankfurt. And while the general public mourned the loss of a highly respected musician, he had lost all influence on the next
- [Émigré<br/>New Oratorio Remembers Jewish Refugees in Shanghai](https://interlude.hk/emigrenew-oratorio-remembers-jewish-refugees-in-shanghai/): To attend a concert in mid November in Shanghai was like flying from Ben Gurion Airport. Tickets were required to be presented to enter the premises of the Shanghai Symphony Hall, which is unnecessary at normal times. Bags were requested
- [15 Pieces of Classical Music About War and Peace](https://interlude.hk/15-pieces-of-classical-music-about-war-and-peace/): It seems to be a sad, tragic fact of human existence that war will always be with us. Classical composers have served in, survived, and written about war and peace for generations. Today we’re looking at fifteen pieces of classical
- [On This Day <br/>5 December: Krystian Zimerman Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-5-december-krystian-zimerman-was-born/): Krystian Zimerman is one of the rare cult figures among pianists today. In fact, there are not enough superlatives to describe his pianism, or what he calls “the art of organising emotions in time. ” Anything he touches reveals infinite expressive
- [Dragonflies in Music](https://interlude.hk/dragonflies-in-music/): Dragonflies are the flying insects no one minds – they don’t bite, and we love to depict them in art, from rock paintings to the greatest representation in Art Nouveau jewelry and in Japanese Ukiyo-e art. They live on every
- [Celebrating Student Life: Brahms’ <em>Academic Festival Overture</em>](https://interlude.hk/celebrating-student-life-brahms-academic-festival-overture/): Brahms’ honorary doctorate in 1879 from the University of Breslau described him as ‘artis music sevioris in Germanic nuns princeps’ or ‘the foremost composer of serious music in Germany’. You can imagine the problem that Wagner had with that commendation!
- [Scott Joplin (1868-1917) <br/> “King of Ragtime and Opera Pioneer”](https://interlude.hk/scott-joplin-1868-1917-king-of-ragtime-and-opera-pioneer/): Scott Joplin was the pre-eminent composer of piano ragtime. In fact, one of his first and most popular pieces, the “Maple Leaf Rag,” became one of the genre’s most influential mega hits. Joplin considered the ragtime a form of classical
- [Cello Lament for The Sycamore Gap Tree](https://interlude.hk/cello-lament-for-the-sycamore-gap-tree/): Preserving our natural world has become vital for many of us but we sometimes are at a loss as to how we as individuals can make an impact. Italian cellist and composer Riccardo Pes had a visceral reaction when the
- [The Dangerous Garden of the Sea <br/>Arnold Bax’s <em>The Garden of Fand</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-dangerous-garden-of-the-sea-arnold-baxs-the-garden-of-fand/): Arnold Bax (1886–1953) was born in south London and raised in north London, but in his early years sought to develop a link with Ireland. In 1902, after discovering the writing of Irish writer W. B. Yeats, Arnold and his brother
- [<em>Vibrant Rhythms</em>: An Interview with Pianist José Navarro-Silberstein](https://interlude.hk/vibrant-rhythms-an-interview-with-pianist-jose-navarro-silberstein/): José Navarro-Silberstein (born in 1995) is a talented Bolivian pianist who has performed in various countries across Europe, the US, and South America. He has graced stages at different venues and festivals. He has won several prestigious awards, including the
- [Miracles, Virgins and Resurrection <br/> New Testament in Music](https://interlude.hk/miracles-virgins-and-resurrection-new-testament-in-music/): We have musically explored the Old Testament, the original Hebrew Bible, and the sacred scriptures of the Jewish faith. The second section of the Bible is the New Testament, written by Christians in the first century AD. It is a
- [Harriet Cohen: The Glamorous Pianist Who Brought New Music to Life](https://interlude.hk/harriet-cohen-the-glamorous-pianist-who-brought-new-music-to-life/): Harriet Pearl Alice Cohen was born in London on 2 December 1895. We may have largely forgotten her today, but this little girl turned out to be one of the most important musicians of the twentieth century. The Musical Childhood
- [Secret and Enchanted Gardens <br/>Fabrice Bollon, Judith Bingham and Uljas Pulkkis](https://interlude.hk/secret-and-enchanted-gardens-fabrice-bollon-judith-bingham-and-uljas-pulkkis/): Frances Hodgson Burnett’s 1911 novel The Secret Garden is a story of redemption. An unloved and sickly child is left orphaned in British India and is adopted by her uncle in England. Out on the Yorkshire moors, Mary learns to
- [On This Day <br/>2 December: Maria Callas Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-2-december-maria-callas-was-born/): Maria Anna Cecilia Sofia Kalogeropoulos, better known as Maria Callas, was born on 2 December 1923 in New York City. She was the daughter of Greek immigrant parents, and her father shortened his surname to “Kakos” and subsequently to “Callas,”
- [Charles Gounod (1818-1893): “Le Soir” <br/>The Adventures of a Good Tune](https://interlude.hk/charles-gounod-1818-1893-le-soir-the-adventures-of-a-good-tune/): After winning the prestigious Prix de Rome, the young Charles Gounod (1818-1893) arrived in the Eternal City of Rome in 1840. After experiencing a spell of melancholy and homesickness, which he described “this kind of shroud in which I was
- [Santiago Cañón-Valencia](https://interlude.hk/santiago-canon-valencia-cellist-and-artist/): ‘Music Was Meant to Be’ Few cellists can lay claim to the breadth and inventiveness of a career such as Santiago Cañón-Valencia. A self-confessed ‘soloist, composer, commissioner, recording artist, painter and photographer’, his prominence on the traditional concert platform, appearing
- [Blurring Society’s Lines <br/>Ernesto Lecuona’s <em>Danzas Afro-Cubanas</em>](https://interlude.hk/blurring-societys-lines-ernesto-lecuonas-danzas-afro-cubanas/): Ernesto Lecuona (1896–1963), the foremost Cuban composer of the first half of the 20th century, straddled the pop and classical worlds. He was a composer of popular and film music and a classical musician, performing internationally as a pianist and
- [On This Day <br/>30 November: Charles-Valentin Alkan Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-30-november-charles-valentin-alkan-was-born/): Charles-Valentin Alkan (1819-1888) was one of the most celebrated pianists of the nineteenth century, mentioned in the same breath as Frédéric Chopin and Franz Liszt. He was also a most unusual composer, “remarkable in both technique and imagination,” and compared
- [Winter Winds and Falling Snow](https://interlude.hk/winter-winds-and-falling-snow/): Composers are particularly adept at portraying the weather in music, the most obvious example being Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, with its summer breezes, autumn gales and icy cold. The piano is a versatile vehicle to create atmospheric, evocative music, from Chopin’s
- [Engelbert Humperdinck](https://interlude.hk/engelbert-humperdinck/): Only one of Engelbert Humperdinck’s compositions may have entered the repertoire, but what a composition it is! Today we’re looking at the life and work of Engelbert Humperdinck, composer of the magical fairy tale opera “Hansel und Gretel. ” Engelbert Humperdinck’s
- [On This Day <br/>28 November: Johannes Brahms’ <em>Horn Trio</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-28-november-johannes-brahms-horn-trio-was-premiered/): Composed in 1865 but drawing on a theme which Brahms had written twelve years earlier, the trio for natural horn with violin and piano first sounded on 28 November 1865 in Zürich with the composer at the piano. Nature, nostalgia
- [The Green Salamander of Love <br/>Benjamin Britten’s <em>The Prince of the Pagodas</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-green-salamander-of-love-benjamin-brittens-the-prince-of-the-pagodas/): Benjamin Britten (1913–1976) first fell under the influence of Balinese music when he met the Canadian composer Colin McPhee (1900–1964) in New York in 1939. McPhee had just returned from 6 years in Bali and in 1940, wrote his highly
- [International Opera Awards Ceremony in Warsaw](https://interlude.hk/international-opera-awards-ceremony-in-warsaw/): Over the last decade, the International Opera Awards ceremony has made huge strides in positioning itself as the leading arbiter of quality and success in the lofty world of opera. Now in its 11th year, the 2023 edition was held
- [A False Report of a Death: Sor’s Variations on <em>Malborough s’en va-t-en guerre</em>](https://interlude.hk/a-false-report-of-a-death-sors-variations-on-malborough-sen-va-t-en-guerre/): After starting his career in the military, as was the tradition in his family, Fernando Sor (1788–1839) worked for the invading French military and then moved to Paris when they departed, fearing retribution for his work with the occupiers. While
- [On This Day <br/>27 November: Korngold’s <em>Symphony in F-sharp Major</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-27-november-korngolds-symphony-in-f-sharp-major-was-premiered/): In 1959 the Greek/American conductor Dimitri Mitropoulos wrote: “All my life I have searched for the perfect modern work. In this symphony I have found it. I shall perform it the next season. ” The work in question was Erich Wolfgang
- [Twenty Quotes by Women Composers Throughout Classical Music History](https://interlude.hk/twenty-quotes-by-women-composers-throughout-classical-music-history/): Throughout classical music history, remarkable women have not only contributed their musical talents, but imparted wisdom through their words. In this article, we’ve gathered twenty thought-provoking quotations by women composers, offering a glimpse into both their struggles and their triumphs,
- [Pharaohs, Patriarchs and Prophets <br/>Old Testament in Music II](https://interlude.hk/pharaohs-patriarchs-and-prophets-old-testament-in-music-ii/): Let us continue our exploration of classical music inspired by the Old Testament. According to the Hebrew Bible, Saul was the first king of the Kingdom of Israel and Judah. And as it frequently happens with royalty, at some point
- [Therapeutic Music Created From Healing Plants <br/>‘Linea Naturalis’ by Helen Anahita Wilson](https://interlude.hk/therapeutic-music-created-from-healing-plants-linea-naturalis-by-helen-anahita-wilson/): The therapeutic qualities of music are well known and this new release from award-winning British composer, sound artist and pianist Helen Anahita Wilson is intended to help people who are undergoing cancer treatment. “Every single sound that you hear comes
- [Finding Music in the New World <br/>Delius’ <em>Florida Suite</em>](https://interlude.hk/finding-music-in-the-new-world-delius-florida-suite/): Frederick Delius (1862–1934) was born in Bradford, West Yorkshire, a center for wool manufacture. Known as the ‘wool capital of the world’, it also took on the names ‘Woolopolis’ and ‘Wool City’. Delius’ parents came from Germany to Bradford and
- [Musicians and Artists : Casablancas and Rothko](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-casablancas-and-rothko/): Benet Casablancas: Four Darks in Red, After Rothko Although normally on display at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, Mark Rothko’s 1958 Four Darks in Red was on loan to the Tate Modern in London when Catalan
- [On This Day <br/>25 November: Sergei Taneyev Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-25-november-sergei-taneyev-was-born/): A highly gifted pianist and composer, Sergei Taneyev (1856-1915) was one of Russia’s most influential music theorists. His treatise on counterpoint was called “one of the best books of its kind” by Stravinsky. The delightful blend of rigorous counterpoint, brilliant
- [Mozart's Eight Happiest Pieces of Music](https://interlude.hk/mozarts-eight-happiest-pieces-of-music/): Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is one of history’s most celebrated composers, and his vast oeuvre spans a wide range of emotions. But when it comes to expressing joy and exuberance, no other composer has Mozart beat. His ability to embody joy
- [Review: Víkingur Ólafsson's <em>Goldberg Variations</em>](https://interlude.hk/review-vikingur-olafssons-goldberg-variations-2/): One of Víkingur Ólafsson‘s performances, as part of his Goldbergs world tour, took place at Saffron Hall (Cambridgeshire, UK) on November 11th. This was his second and last appearance in the UK. I believe one should be mentally and emotionally
- [Leaving it to the Imagination <br/>Anatoly Lyadov: <em>The Enchanted Lake</em>, Op. 62](https://interlude.hk/leaving-it-to-the-imagination-anatoly-lyadov-the-enchanted-lake-op-62/): Anatoly Lyadov (1855–1914) was condemned with faint praise: ‘Most recollections of this kind, likeable man suggest that he could have achieved so much more if he had not been so idle. ’ A case in point was his commission from Diaghilev.
- [The Gürzenich in Cologne](https://interlude.hk/the-gurzenich-in-cologne/): The Gürzenich family tree goes back to the Middle Ages, and a castle and village by that name is already mentioned in 1232. Part of the knightly nobility, the family settled in the district of North-Rhine-Westphalia and acquired property in
- [Marie Antoinette <br/>Queen of Harps](https://interlude.hk/marie-antoinette-queen-of-harps/): The archduchess of Austria, Marie Antonia Josepha Johanna arrived in France at the age of 14. She became dauphine of France, under the name Marie Antoinette, when she married Louis-Auguste in May 1770. Four years later Louis-Auguste ascended the throne
- [Letting It All Go LOUD: Earquake](https://interlude.hk/letting-it-all-go-loud-earquake/): We discovered an interesting recording the other day, consisting solely of LOUD music. This recording by the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, led by Lief Segerstam, is entitled Earquake and where the first issue shows a listener thrown into space clutching his
- [On This Day <br/>22 November: Sumi Jo was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-22-november-sumi-jo-was-born/): The South Korean lyric coloratura soprano Sumi Jo, actually born Jo Su-gyeong on 22 November, 1962 in Changwon, is known for her Grammy award-winning interpretations of the bel canto repertoire. The conductor Herbert von Karajan praised her as “a voice
- [The Angelina Jolie Maria Callas Movie: What Do We Know?](https://interlude.hk/the-angelina-jolie-maria-callas-movie-what-do-we-know/): Classical music is having a moment at the movies. From Tár to Chevalier to Maestro, studios have been gambling lately on movies about classical music and classical musicians. Soon we’re getting a new one about the life of legendary soprano
- [The Wind and the Tower <br/>Ivana Radovanovic’s <em>Burj Khalifa</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-wind-and-the-tower-ivana-radovanovics-burj-khalifa/): The recording Urknall (Big Bang) by the Tyrolean Chamber Orchestra InnStrumenti ensemble is an interesting project which creates an anniversary project and also makes a commentary on the world. The recording celebrates the 20th anniversary of the ensemble. In a
- [The 1924 Time Capsule <br/>For the 50th birthday of David Josef Bach](https://interlude.hk/the-1924-time-capsule-for-the-50th-birthday-of-david-josef-bach/): Time Capsules can be a wonderful thing. Many people and organizations have gone through the trouble of intentionally assembling a cache of goods or information as a method of communication with future people. It gets even more interesting when such
- [Starting with a Flash: Schumann’s <em>ABEGG Variations</em>](https://interlude.hk/starting-with-a-flash-schumanns-abegg-variations/): Robert Schumann (1810–1856) made wide use of imaginary characters, which he imbued with distinctive characteristics, to extend the meaning of his piano works. His most famous, of course, are Florestan and Eusebius, who stood for the two sides of his
- [What Does a Stage Director Do? <br/>Interview With Luisa Cuesta- Stage Director From Ecuador](https://interlude.hk/what-does-a-stage-director-do-interview-with-luisa-cuesta-stage-director-from-ecuador/): Luisa Cuesta is a highly experienced stage director who has directed numerous stage productions, including “Mooch the Magnificent” by Lauren Bernofsky, an opera for young audiences. I was introduced to Luisa by Lauren when I asked for her opinion on
- [More Famous Classical Melodies in New Guises](https://interlude.hk/more-famous-classical-melodies-in-new-guises/): Mozart: Little Night Music Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart must be considered as one of the greatest composers in the history of Western music, and he literally left us hundreds of earworm tunes admired for their melodic beauty and formal elegance. Even
- [Pharaohs, Patriarchs and Prophets <br/>Old Testament in Music](https://interlude.hk/pharaohs-patriarchs-and-prophets-old-testament-in-music/): Where can you find passionate stories about love and hate, horrible stories about rape and dismemberment, accounts of slave trafficking, tales of high honor, and cruel treachery of war? The answer is very simple, as you only need to turn
- [On This Day <br/>19 November: Géza Anda Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-19-november-geza-anda-was-born/): The Swiss-Hungarian pianist Géza Anda was a celebrated interpreter of the classical and romantic repertoire. Capable of resolving the most strenuous difficulties into crystalline poetry and producing a unique tonal sheen and refined cantabile, Wilhelm Furtwängler famously called him “a
- [Sighs and Cries: An Interview With Stanley Grill](https://interlude.hk/sighs-and-cries-an-interview-with-stanley-grill/): The unending surprise of the war in the Ukraine has taken the world over. Supposed to have been a job completed in under a week, the war that Russia brought to its southern neighbor, starting on 24 February 2022, has
- [Martha Argerich: Fifteen Facts About One of the Greatest Pianists Ever](https://interlude.hk/martha-argerich-fifteen-facts-about-one-of-the-greatest-pianists-ever/): Martha Argerich is simultaneously one of the most celebrated and most enigmatic of classical music stars. Many people call her the greatest pianist of her generation – and others, the greatest pianist who ever lived! Today, we are taking a
- [On This Day <br/>18 November: Carl Maria von Weber Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-18-november-carl-maria-von-weber-was-born/): Carl Maria von Weber (1786-1826) stunned the musical world in 1821 with the premier performance of Der Freischütz (The Marksman). Setting his career as a pianist and critic aside, Weber had created a work that fully embodied the energies of
- [Aaron Copland (1900-1990) <br/>A Piano Album](https://interlude.hk/aaron-copland-1900-1990-a-piano-album/): Just in case we need reminding, the “Dean of American Composers,” Aaron Copland was born on 14 November 1900. In his teens, Stravinsky studied theory and composition with Rubin Goldmark, who was considered one of New York’s most eminent composition
- [Richard Strauss <br/> “Morgen!” -  “Tomorrow”](https://interlude.hk/richard-strauss-morgen-tomorrow/): The four songs of Richard Strauss’ Op. 27 are among the most admired and most frequently performed vocal works. They include “Ruhe, meine Seele! ” to a poem by Karl Henckell, “Cäcilie” to a poem by Heinrich Hart, and “Heimliche Aufforderung”
- [Sibling Ventriloquism <br/>Fanny and Felix Mendelssohn](https://interlude.hk/sibling-ventriloquism-fanny-and-felix-mendelssohn/): In 1826/27, Felix Mendelssohn published a collection of songs as his Opus 8, followed by a further collection in 1830, his Op. 9. Yet hidden in these collections are actually 6 Lieder composed by his sister Fanny Mendelssohn, published under
- [An Uncharacteristic Concerto <br/>Ibert’s <em>Cello Concerto</em>](https://interlude.hk/an-uncharacteristic-concerto-iberts-cello-concerto/): French composer Jacques Ibert wrote his Concerto for Cello and Wind Orchestra in 1925 and so much of it reflects the kind of composer Ibert had made himself into. Where we expect concertos to be fairly heavy forms with plenty
- [When You Fall in Love With Music <br/>An Interview With Pianist and Conductor Yuxin Dai](https://interlude.hk/when-you-fall-in-love-with-music-an-interview-with-pianist-and-conductor-yuxin-dai/): Yuxin Dai developed a love and passion for music at 5 when she began taking piano lessons. Currently, she is not only a skilled pianist but also an accomplished conductor, serving as an Assistant Conductor for the Northwestern University Symphony
- [On This Day <br/>15 November: Jorge Bolet Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-15-november-jorge-bolet-was-born/): The Cuban-born virtuoso Jorge Bolet (1914-1990) was one of the leading advocates of Romantic pianism. From his days as a child prodigy there never was a doubt about his phenomenal talent, as his technique ranked with that of any living
- [Frédéric Chopin and George Sand: The Real Story Behind Their Relationship](https://interlude.hk/frederic-chopin-and-george-sand-the-real-story-behind-their-relationship/): It’s one of the most romanticized love affairs in music history: dashing cross-dressing woman novelist George Sand becomes obsessed with, and then seduces, the sickly consumptive pianist-composer Frédéric Chopin. But how much of this story is real, and how much
- [Instruments Required and Not Required <br/> The Harmonica at War](https://interlude.hk/instruments-required-and-not-required-the-harmonica-at-war/): We were looking at knitting books on Archive. org and found an interesting one from the WWI era. After descriptions and patterns for vests and balaclavas and scarves and all sorts of things to keep Our Boys warm and toasty at
- [On This Day <br/>14 November: Leonid Kogan Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-14-november-leonid-kogan-was-born/): Leonid Kogan, born on 14 November 1924 in the Ukrainian city of Dnepropetrovsk, is considered one of the foremost Soviet violinists in the 20th century. Somewhat in the shadow of his compatriot David Oistrakh, Kogan’s playing is characterised by pure
- [Sharing the Musical Ball: Beethoven’s Violin Sonata No. 8](https://interlude.hk/sharing-the-musical-ball-beethovens-violin-sonata-no-8/): Beethoven’s stylistic periods are often dated by his symphonies. However, for his violin sonata, their styles often advance before the symphony styles do. For example, His set of Violin Sonatas, Op. 30, shows many signs of the middle/late Beethoven but
- [The Best of Beethoven: Are These the Best Works He Ever Wrote?](https://interlude.hk/the-best-of-beethoven-are-these-the-best-works-he-ever-wrote/): Ludwig van Beethoven, one of the most celebrated composers in history, left an indelible mark on the world of music. His vast body of work includes symphonies, concertos, chamber music, piano sonatas, and more. Such a massive output can be
- [On This Day <br/>13 November: Nicolai Medtner Died](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-13-november-nicolai-medtner-died/): Nicolai Medtner, who died in London on 13 November 1951, was one of the very last Romantic composer-pianists. Overshadowed by his contemporaries Scriabin and Rachmaninoff, Medtner made the piano the focus of his creative activity and frequently tempered a Russian
- [5 Famous Classical Melodies in New Guises](https://interlude.hk/5-famous-classical-melodies-in-new-guises/): Classical music has given us some famous and unforgettable melodies. We might not know what a particular tune is called or where it comes from, but they flicker across in TV programmes, motion pictures of all kinds, on social media,
- [Flower Songs: Chrysanthemum](https://interlude.hk/flower-songs-chrysanthemum/): For many, the chrysanthemum is the symbol of Asia. The flower originated in East Asia, and China is the place where it developed its earliest characteristics. It was first cultivated in China as early as the 15th century BCE, and
- [On This Day <br/> 12 November: Alexander Borodin Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-12-november-alexander-borodin-was-born/): Alexander Borodin, born on 12 November 1833 in St. Petersburg, came from a noble bloodline. He was the illegitimate son of the 62-year-old Georgian Prince Luka Stepanovich Gedevanishvili, and a 25-year-old Russian woman, Evdokia Konstantinovna Antonova. As was customary at
- [John Tavener](https://interlude.hk/john-tavener/): “In Silence, we can truly hear the voice of God” Ten years ago, on 12 November 2013, the British composer John Tavener (1944-2013) died at his home in Child Okeford, Dorset. Tavener had been battling considerable health problems throughout his
- [What Classical Music Should I Listen To?](https://interlude.hk/what-classical-music-should-i-listen-to/): The phrase “classical music” covers over a thousand years of music. The genre spans everything from massive works for choral ensembles to delicate solo piano works and everything else imaginable in between. If you’re new to classical music, it can
- [Musicians and Artists: Milojević and Degas](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-milojevic-and-degas-kameje-cameos/): Miloje Milojevic: Kameje (Cameos) Serbian composer Miloje Milojević (1884–1946), as one of the most significant Serbian composers of piano music, his contributions have pushed Serbian music to a new high. One of his most successful collections was Cameos: Impressions for
- [The Mermaid in Classical Music](https://interlude.hk/the-mermaid-in-classical-music/): One of my all-time feel-good movies is the animated musical fantasy film “The Little Mermaid. ” Originally released in 1989 by Walt Disney Pictures, the movie takes us to the kingdom of Atlantica. Princess Ariel, a 16-year-old mermaid, is unhappy with
- [Poul Schierbeck: <em>The Chinese Flute</em>](https://interlude.hk/poul-schierbeck-the-chinese-flute/): As a student of Carl Nielsen, Poul Schierbeck (1888-1949) made important contributions to the literature of Danish songs. Initially, like so many of his contemporaries Schierbeck had engaged in law studies, but the lure of music prompted him to study
- [When Rachmaninoff’s 150th Birthday is Celebrated on the Double Bass](https://interlude.hk/when-rachmaninoffs-150th-birthday-is-celebrated-on-the-double-bass/): You might wonder what Rachmaninoff wrote for the Double Bass. He didn’t! But his gorgeous melodies lend themselves to soulful interpretations and certainly the album Elégie: Celebrating 150 Years of Rachmaninoff on the Double Bass is poignant and should appeal
- [Interview With Sherry Grant- a Cellist, a Pianist, and a Poet](https://interlude.hk/interview-with-sherry-grant-a-cellist-a-pianist-and-a-poet/): Sherry Grant is a classical musician originally from Taiwan, now living in New Zealand. She is a cellist, a solo and collaborative pianist, and a poet. In 2019, she organized and performed in 12 concerts, 10 of which were with
- [From Dark Melancholy to Unbridled Merriment <br/>Weber’s <em>Clarinet Concerto No. 1 in F Minor</em>](https://interlude.hk/from-dark-melancholy-to-unbridled-merriment-webers-clarinet-concerto-no-1-in-f-minor/): Carl Maria von Weber (1786–1826) was much more than just the composer of an opera. In Hans Pfitzner’s memorable phrase, ‘Carl Maria von Weber came into this world to compose Der Freischütz’, which may be true, but he was so
- [On This Day <br/>8 November: Arnold Bax Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-8-november-arnold-bax-was-born/): For a number of commentators, Arnold Bax is far and away the most neglected British composer who flourished in the first half of the 20th century. Composing during a time that, say, the likes of Elgar and Britten, Delius and
- [“World Pianist Day” <br/>10 Forgotten Piano Sonatas](https://interlude.hk/world-pianist-day-10-forgotten-piano-sonatas/): It seems like we have a “World Day” for everything these days. From hugging a teddy bear to LGBT Center Awareness Day, the entire spectrum of social causes and cultural cheerleading is filling up our daily calendar. I was very
- [Classical Music for Funerals: Thirty Pieces for Piano, Voice, Orchestra, and More](https://interlude.hk/classical-music-for-funerals-thirty-pieces-for-piano-voice-orchestra-and-more/): Classical music can be the perfect choice of genre for funeral music. Its association with beauty, dignity, and tradition – along with its ability to comfort or evoke feelings of nostalgia – makes it appealing to many. But there’s so
- [On This Day <br/> 7 November: Smetana’s <em>The Kiss</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-7-november-smetanas-the-kiss-was-premiered/): The Provisional Theatre in Prague opened in 1862 as a temporary home for Czech drama and opera until a permanent National Theatre could be built. This venerable institution staged well over 5,000 performances over a 20 year span, and featured
- [Interview With Eva Gevorgyan- an Inspiring Young Pianist](https://interlude.hk/interview-with-eva-gevorgyan-an-inspiring-young-pianist/): Eva Gevorgyan, a young and exceptionally talented pianist, has taken the music world by storm with her remarkable achievements. At the tender age of 19, she won the 2018 Cleveland International Piano Competition for Young Artists and the second prize
- [An Ode to Home: Janáček’s <em>Sinfonietta</em>](https://interlude.hk/an-ode-to-home-janaceks-sinfonietta/): The craze for nationalism that swept 1920s Europe was a time for composers to nail their national colours in music. Leoš Janáček’s 1926 Sinfonietta was an ode to Czechoslovakia. The country was created in 1918 after the collapse of the
- [The Butcher, the Baker, the Candlestick Maker <br/>10 Composers with Real Jobs](https://interlude.hk/the-butcher-the-baker-the-candlestick-maker-10-composers-with-real-jobs/): Very few people are actually born to become composers, and composers frequently struggle financially in society. In fact, the starving artist was a popular trope in the late 18th and 19th centuries. It was suggested that artists lived in poverty
- [On This Day <br/>6 November: François-Xavier Roth was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-6-november-francois-xavier-roth-was-born/): François-Xavier Roth is one of today’s most versatile and imaginative conductors. Comfortably at home in Baroque and Classical music, he is also an expert in the Romantic core repertoire and a champion of contemporary music. A born communicator, Roth is
- [Mythical Creatures: The Minotaur](https://interlude.hk/mythical-creatures-the-minotaur/): The illicit child of Pasiphaë, wife of King Minos of Crete, and a snow-white bull intended for sacrifice to Poseidon, the Minotaur, half-man half-bull, actually had the given name of Asterius (star). He was ungovernable, so Minos created a labyrinth
- [Meiningen Court Theatre and Orchestra](https://interlude.hk/meiningen-court-theatre-and-orchestra/): The small town of Meiningen is located in the southern part of the state of Thuringia. It was founded in the 6th and 7th centuries during the formation of the Frankish Empire, and over time it became the capital of
- [When Three Superstars Join Forces: Thibaudet, Batiashvili, Capuçon](https://interlude.hk/when-three-superstars-join-forces-thibaudet-batiashvili-capucon/): What do you get when three superstars join forces? A spectacular evening of piano trios that brings the house down, of course! This was the case on October 17th. Cellist Capuçon says it best: “When you have the possibility to
- [Saxophone in Classical Music <br/>Twenty Pieces Spotlighting Its Astonishing Range](https://interlude.hk/saxophone-in-classical-music-twenty-pieces-spotlighting-its-astonishing-range/): The saxophone is a relatively young instrument in the world of classical music. (It was originally invented in 1846. ) But its unique sound and versatility have captured the hearts of composers and audiences alike. Today we’re spotlighting twenty essential pieces
- [John Michael Cooper and His New Book: <br/><em>Margaret Bonds: The Montgomery Variations and Du Bois Credo</em>](https://interlude.hk/john-michael-cooper-and-his-new-book-margaret-bonds-the-montgomery-variations-and-du-bois-credo/): Dr. John Michael Cooper is a scholar who specializes in the lives and music of African-American composers. His new book, “Margaret Bonds: The Montgomery Variations and Du Bois Credo”, will be released next month. In this interview, he shares with
- [5 Japanese Techniques to Help Musicians Overcome Laziness and Stay Motivated](https://interlude.hk/5-japanese-techniques-to-help-musicians-overcome-laziness-and-stay-motivated/): The following Japanese terms are all about warding off laziness and boosting motivation plus tips for embracing the concept of doing your best. They are useful as general rules for life; here I have interpreted them for the benefit of
- [QUIET RHYTHMS Live at Spectrum NYC <br/>William Susman, piano/composer](https://interlude.hk/quiet-rhythms-live-at-spectrum-nyc-william-susman-piano-composer/): ‘Quiet Rhythms’ is a monumental solo piano cycle by American composer William Susman, comprising four books of music, each one a set of 22 short pieces with 11 Prologues and 11 Actions. Each prologue acts as a preface for the
- [Which Classical Music Composers Were Deaf?](https://interlude.hk/which-classical-music-composers-were-deaf/): Classical music has been made by countless brilliant composers throughout history. Among those great composers are a few who faced the extraordinary challenge of deafness. Today we’re exploring the lives of four exceptional composers who, despite the challenges presented by
- [Interview With Gina Ismene Chitty <br/>Multicultural Background Australian Composer and Artist](https://interlude.hk/interview-with-gina-ismene-chitty-multicultural-background-australian-composer-and-artist/): Gina Ismene Chitty is an Australian composer, pianist, and painter who draws inspiration from diverse cultures, which is reflected in her compositions. In this interview, Chitty discusses her background and how it has shaped her unique creative style. As an
- [1 November <br/>World Ballet Day](https://interlude.hk/1-november-world-ballet-day/): While the Catholic Church celebrates “All Saints’ Day” on November 1, the arts community has decided to declare that very day the “World Ballet Day. ” As such, we thought it might be fun to explore some of the origins of
- [At Valhalla <br/>NYC's Last Home of Composers and Artists](https://interlude.hk/at-valhalla-nycs-last-home-of-composers-and-artists/): Up the Hudson River from New York City lies the ‘hamlet’ of Valhalla, and there, in Westchester County, lies Valhalla Cemetery, created in 1889 as the cemeteries in New York City were reaching capacity. The design of the cemetery followed
- [Filippo Gorini](https://interlude.hk/italian-pianist-filippo-gorini/): ‘Music is... a Source of Good for the World’ Young Italian pianist Filippo Gorini has already performed in some of the world’s most prestigious venues, including the Berlin Konzerthaus, Hamburg Elbphilharmonie, Amsterdam Concertgebouw, and Wigmore Hall in London. Filippo rose
- [An Interview With the Hevreh Ensemble <br/>Creating World Music through the Power of Friendship](https://interlude.hk/an-interview-with-the-hevreh-ensemble-creating-world-music-through-the-power-of-friendship/): Hevreh Ensemble is a group based in New York City that incorporates a variety of musical instruments in their performances. This includes Cherokee Native American flutes, clarinet, bass clarinet, oboe, English horn, shofar, and world percussion instruments such as djembe,
- [All the World in a Movement: Mendelssohn’s <em>Capriccio brilliant</em>](https://interlude.hk/all-the-world-in-a-movement-mendelssohns-capriccio-brilliant/): A caprice is something that takes you on a whim, an impulsive action, an unpredictable change, and a perfect inspiration for a Romantic piano piece. In Mendelssohn’s Capriccio brilliant, written in May of 1832 and performed in London that same
- [10 Greatest Musical Hoaxes and Pranks](https://interlude.hk/10-greatest-musical-hoaxes-and-pranks/): A musical hoax is sometimes described as a musical forgery or mystification. It basically refers to a work of music composed by an individual and intentionally misattributed to someone else. Most frequently, such music hoaxes are attributed to historical figures
- [The Classical Bruckner: An Interview with Rémy Ballot](https://interlude.hk/the-classical-bruckner-an-interview-with-remy-ballot/): For many listeners, Anton Bruckner (1824–1896) is a puzzle. What version should be listened to, when so many of his symphonies were revised and revised as he responded to critics? In this new recording of 10 of Bruckner’s symphonies, from
- [Imaginary Beings: Mermaids and Sirens](https://interlude.hk/imaginary-beings-mermaids-and-sirens/): Mermaids are women of the sea: half female with a scaled fishy tail. Sirens, in a word, are evil mermaids. Mermaids want good and sirens want evil. Now how have composers dealt with them? Kit Turnbull: 3 Cautionary Tales British
- [Show Me the Money <br/> Gioachino Rossini](https://interlude.hk/show-me-the-money-gioachino-rossini/): By the time Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868) had penned his final opera at the tender age of 37, he had become one of the wealthiest and most influential musicians in Europe. Coming from very humble beginnings indeed, he composed up to
- [The Most Expensive Violin in the World: The Locked-Up Messiah Stradivarius](https://interlude.hk/the-most-expensive-violin-in-the-world-the-locked-up-messiah-stradivarius/): The history of classical music is brimming with storied musical instruments. Chief among them is the Messiah Stradivarius, believed to be the most expensive violin in the world, celebrated for its pristine condition and astronomical value. Today we’re delving into
- [Mauro and Emilia Giuliani <br/>The Important Father and Daughter in the History of Guitar Music](https://interlude.hk/mauro-and-emilia-giuliani-the-important-father-and-daughter-in-the-history-of-guitar-music/): The Giuliani family produced two influential figures in the history of guitar music. Mauro Giuliani and his daughter Emilia Giuliani-Guglielmi were both Italian composers and guitarists. Mauro Giuliani (1781-1829) played a crucial role in transforming the guitar from a mere
- [Hayato Sumino (Cateen) Pushed Creative Boundaries in Hong Kong Debut](https://interlude.hk/hayato-sumino-cateen-pushed-creative-boundaries-in-hong-kong-debut/): A YouTuber, pianist, composer and scientist who graduated from the University of Tokyo, Hayato Sumino, also known as Cateen, has become a real sensation in recent years. His meteoric rise to international acclaim began after his triumph in the 2018
- [Do You Know Daisy Bell?](https://interlude.hk/do-you-know-daisy-bell/): Daisy Bell is a song that lives in popular culture. Don’t recognize the title? You might know it better by the final line of the chorus: ‘... . a bicycle built for two. ’ English composer Frank Dean (1857–1922) immortalized the tandem bicycle,
- [When a New Music Director is a Call for Celebration <br/>Thomas Søndergård and the Minnesota Orchestra](https://interlude.hk/when-a-new-music-director-is-a-call-for-celebration-thomas-sondergard-and-the-minnesota-orchestra/): Music directors of the major orchestras in the world do not typically come and go. A case in point, Eugene Ormandy was principal conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra from 1938-1980 a total of 42 years. Not to be outdone, Zubin
- [Rachmaninoff's Last Student: 98-Year-Old Pianist Ruth Slenczynska](https://interlude.hk/rachmaninoffs-last-student-98-year-old-pianist-ruth-slenczynska/): Ruth Slenczysnka must be one of the most interesting pianists alive today. She certainly has a story unlike any other: she studied piano with Rachmaninoff as a little girl – became an international musical sensation – abandoned her performing career
- [Shimmering, Immersive Soundscapes <br/>ENTRANCED by Orchestra of the Swan](https://interlude.hk/shimmering-immersive-soundscapes-entranced-by-orchestra-of-the-swan/): Musical adventurers, Orchestra of the Swan (OOTS), led by the charismatic violinist David Le Page, complete a remarkable musical journey with their latest release, Entranced. It’s a remarkable odyssey which has seen them topping the US Billboard and iTop charts
- [Musical Instruments on the Title Pages of 16th- and 17th-Century Music](https://interlude.hk/musical-instruments-on-the-title-pages-of-16th-and-17th-century-music/): We were looking at some music title pages from a collection in the Bibliothèque Nationale and found some interesting representations of music as part of the title page designs. In this title page for a book of keyboard music from
- [On This Day <br/>25 October: Tchaikovsky’s <em>Piano Concerto No. 1</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-25-october-tchaikovskys-piano-concerto-no-1-was-premiered/): Pianist Hans von Bülow was called upon on 25 October 1875 to play the first performance of Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 at the Music Hall in Boston. Tchaikovsky wrote to Bülow, “Thank you for the sympathetic attention you have
- [The Challenge of a Piano Trio: Smetana and Pfitzner](https://interlude.hk/the-challenge-of-a-piano-trio-smetana-and-pfitzner/): Although written some 40 years apart, the piano trios of Bedřich Smetana (1855, pub. 1880) and Hans Pfitzner (1896) signalled the start of two significant careers. These were the first works of their mature style. Both works are written around
- [On This Day <br/>24 October: Franz Lehár Died](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-24-october-franz-lehar-died/): With his operetta The Merry Widow, the Austro-Hungarian composer Franz Lehár crafted one of the most popular and enduring works in the genre. In fact, it was the favourite work of Adolf Hitler, who called it “equal to the best
- [Highly Talented but Insufficiently Trained: Mussorgsky’s St John’s Night](https://interlude.hk/highly-talented-but-insufficiently-trained-mussorgskys-st-johns-night/): Led by the nationalism of Mily Balakirev (1837-1910), the Mighty Handful were a group of dilettantes who deliberately kept out of the academic circles of the St Petersburg Conservatory and were starting to write their own music. That included Nikolai
- [On This Day <br/>23 October: Kirill Gerstein Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-23-october-kirill-gerstein-was-born/): Pianist Kirill Gerstein was the youngest student ever to enter the Berklee College of Music in Boston at the age of 14. Several decades later, he is considered one of the most distinguished classical artists of his generation, engaging in
- [10 Fun and Exciting Clarinet Sonatas From the 20th Century](https://interlude.hk/10-fun-and-exciting-clarinet-sonatas-from-the-20th-century/): The 20th century really fell in love with the clarinet. I always get goosebumps listening to the opening of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, with the clarinet sounding the delicious penetrating low trill followed by that long glissando. The technical demands
- [Mythical Creatures: Unicorns](https://interlude.hk/mythical-creatures-unicorns/): The concept of a unicorn has re-entered modern conversation, but instead of referring to an animal with a single horn (uni-corn), it now means ‘a person or thing that is rare or highly valued’ or ‘a privately-owned startup company worth
- [What Happened to Chopin's Beloved Composer Sister Ludwika Jędrzejewicz?](https://interlude.hk/what-happened-to-chopins-beloved-composer-sister-ludwika-jedrzejewicz/): Throughout the history of classical music, it’s common to find examples of talented sibling pairs. (In fact, we wrote about some of the forgotten musical siblings) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart worshiped his older sister Maria Anna Mozart as a child, and
- [On This Day <br/>22 October: Xavier de Maistre Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-22-october-xavier-de-maistre-was-born/): The French harp virtuoso Xavier de Maistre has been called a musician of the highest order, “capable of realizing a remarkable range of nuance. ” A profoundly creative musician, he has decisively broadened the harp repertoire by commissioning new works, and
- [Replacing the Tango: The Furlana (The Forlane)](https://interlude.hk/replacing-the-tango-the-furlana-the-forlane/): In religious Italy in the early 20th century, the newly imported tango was judged to be just too salacious. In 1914, just on the cusp of WWI, Pope Pius X asked for a private demonstration of the new dance craze
- [Isn’t it Time for More Entertaining Musical Puns?](https://interlude.hk/isnt-it-time-for-more-entertaining-musical-puns/): Becoming a musician takes years of serious practice, discipline, motivation, concentration, and dedication. We spend countless hours alone to perfect our playing. When we get together it always helps to laugh a little. Musicians are the first to admit they
- [Lera Auerbach](https://interlude.hk/lera-auerbach/): “A Renaissance artist for modern times” Born on 21 October 1973 in Chelyabinsk, a city in the Ural Mountains near the border with Siberia, Lera Auerbach is considered one of the most exciting new voices among today’s composers. Her music
- [On Technique](https://interlude.hk/on-technique/): Technique, technique, technique. Practice, practice, practice. Much of the performing musician’s life seems to be centred around practice, development, and improvement of the technique. It is true that technique is essential to the communication of the ideas of the composer,
- [The Last Romantic: Top Ten Takeaways from the Vladimir Horowitz Documentary](https://interlude.hk/the-last-romantic-top-ten-takeaways-from-the-vladimir-horowitz-documentary/): The film Vladimir Horowitz: The Last Romantic begins with a shot of a frail elderly man in the back of a taxi. “Mr. Horowitz, you look very, very good,” a voice says offscreen. Thirty seconds later, we cut to the
- [FANTASIA <br/>Works by J.S. Bach, Berg, Busoni, Liszt, Schubert <br/>Igor Levit (piano)](https://interlude.hk/fantasia-works-by-j-s-bach-berg-busoni-liszt-schubert-igor-levit-piano/): Igor Levit, dubbed by The New Yorker as a pianist “like no other”, doesn’t do things by halves. He has forged a reputation and loyal following around the world by performing and recording some of the most challenging and charismatic
- [On This Day <br/>19 October: Emil Gilels Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-19-october-emil-gilels-was-born/): Widely regarded as one of the greatest pianists of his time, the stellar career of Emil Gilels was initially smothered during the opening years of World War II. Universally admired for his superb technical control and polished tone, Gilels returned
- [Marrying the Symphonic Poem to the Symphony <br/>Liszt: <em>A Faust Symphony</em>](https://interlude.hk/marrying-the-symphonic-poem-to-the-symphony-liszt-a-faust-symphony/): Franz Liszt (1811–1886) created the genre of the symphonic poem, but they weren’t without controversy. Eduard Hanslick, the premiere critic of mid–mid-19th-century Vienna thought little of them, noting that the addition of the extra-musical programmes did not justify what he
- [On This Day <br/>18 October: Charles Gounod Died](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-18-october-charles-gounod-died/): Charles Gounod kept working during the final year of his life. He suffered a variety of afflictions and ills but composed sacred music and penned his memoirs and essays. When he returned home from playing the organ for Mass at
- [The Goldberg Variations Are Accessible to Amateur Pianists!](https://interlude.hk/the-goldberg-variations-are-accessible-to-amateur-pianists/): I have written before about how some repertoire is considered “off limits” to amateur pianists, and should remain the preserve of the professional. I think what such an attitude demonstrates is how the “core canon” of piano repertoire is held
- [Lutes and Flutes](https://interlude.hk/lutes-and-flutes/): Combining Dutch precision with Flemish grandeur, the still-life paintings by Jan Davidz de Heem changed the world of painting. Taking the idea of pronkstileven (sumptuous still-life) as his mantra, de Heem produced pictures of enormous size. One that has recently
- [On This Day <br/>17 October: Raphaël Pichon Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-17-october-raphael-pichon-was-born/): Raphaël Pichon, who literally grew up in the shadow of the Palace of Versailles, has had dual careers as a countertenor, and later as the founder and director of the historically oriented choir “Pygmalion. ” With a decided gift for drawing
- [From the Country to the Salon: Chopin’s Mazurka No. 1](https://interlude.hk/from-the-country-to-the-salon-chopins-mazurka-no-1/): Polish identity and dance have had a strong effect internationally. We may no longer dance the Polska or the Mazurka, but the Waltz and the Polka still have their day. From Poland in the 16th century to America in the
- [13 Pieces of Classical Vocal Music for Halloween](https://interlude.hk/13-pieces-of-classical-vocal-music-for-halloween/): To celebrate Halloween, we’re taking a look at spooky classical music written especially for the human voice. From cackling witches to scheming sorceresses to doomed doppelgangers to unscrupulous psychics, we’re about to meet all kinds of sinister, spine-chilling characters, and
- [Rewriting Mozart](https://interlude.hk/rewriting-mozart-grieg-piano-duos/): In 1876, after returning from a trip to Bayreuth to see the first complete Ring cycles, Edvard Grieg and his friend John Paulson (1851–1924) travelled up and down Norway. As a treat for the poet Paulson, Grieg took 4 sonatas
- [Masterworks Inspired and Dedicated to Ignacy Paderewski](https://interlude.hk/masterworks-inspired-and-dedicated-to-ignacy-paderewski/): The pianist Ignacy Paderewski (1860-1941) was a favorite with concert audiences but not universally beloved by music critics. In the event, Paderewski was much more than just a rich, irresistibly handsome, wild-haired composer and musician whose concerts generated a level
- [Maria Anna Mozart: The Bittersweet Story of Mozart's Prodigy Sister](https://interlude.hk/maria-anna-mozart-the-bittersweet-story-of-mozarts-prodigy-sister/): Maria Anna Mozart, known to her family as Nannerl, is one of the great what-ifs of music history. She was the sister of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, an inspiration and constant companion to him, one of her generation’s great piano prodigies,
- [22 Nocturnes for Chopin <br/>By Women Composers](https://interlude.hk/22-nocturnes-for-chopin-by-women-composers/): This new anthology is a result of EVC Music’s #CallToWomenComposers worldwide search for talented but not yet published women composers and includes new piano works by twenty-two women composers inspired by Chopin’s Nocturnes. The project was initiated by Rose McLachlan,
- [Introducing Five Pieces by Four Contemporary Latin American Composers](https://interlude.hk/introducing-five-pieces-by-four-contemporary-latin-american-composers/): In recognition of the valuable contributions made by individuals with Spanish roots, as well as those hailing from Spanish-speaking nations in the Caribbean, Central America, and South America, National Hispanic American Heritage Month is celebrated each year starting on September
- [Secular Organs](https://interlude.hk/secular-organs/): Let’s talk about organs. Pipe, non-pipe, mechanical, and also electric organs. These huge, complicated, and often misunderstood instruments. But nevertheless, instruments which have accompanied the history of art, music, and religion and which endure to this day. The most common
- [The Dark Sound: The Slapin-Solomon Viola Duo](https://interlude.hk/the-dark-sound-the-slapin-solomon-viola-duo/): The Slapin-Solomon Viola Duo has issued a 20-year retrospective album that brings out some of the delights of the viola sound. The duo, made up of composer and violist Scott Slapin and his wife, Tanya Solomon, have recorded a wide
- [NO FEAR <br/>Igor Levit](https://interlude.hk/no-fear-igor-levit/): A film by Regina Schilling The title of this fly-on-the-wall documentary about German-Russian pianist Igor Levit is taken from a comment on the Beethoven piano sonatas, music which has been more than a significant part of Levit’s life (he has
- [On This Day <br/>12 October: Luciano Pavarotti Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-12-october-luciano-pavarotti-was-born/): Born on 12 October 1935 on the outskirts of Modena in Northern Italy, Luciano Pavarotti became one of the most acclaimed tenors of all time. His bright and incisive tenor voice, paired with a directness of manner made him a
- [Maddalena Laura Sirmen: Thirteen Facts About This Inventive Violinist and Composer](https://interlude.hk/maddalena-laura-sirmen-thirteen-facts-about-this-inventive-violinist-and-composer/): Her music was admired by Leopold Mozart. She was one of the first composers to write string quartets. As a young woman, she wrote a set of six violin concertos and performed them to great acclaim. She toured Europe as
- [On This Day <br/> 11 October: Anton Bruckner Died](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-11-october-anton-bruckner-died/): The Bruckner Year 2024, celebrating the 200th birthday of one of the most innovative composers of the second half of the 19th century, will see the release of multiple recordings of the Bruckner cycle. The composer was plagued by crippling
- [Momentum Is Your Friend](https://interlude.hk/momentum-is-your-friend/): My partner often says this to me when we are out on our mountain bikes. Momentum will enable you to cruise over uneven ground, tree roots, and other gnarly features on single-track paths. But reach for the brakes and, at
- [<em>Run It Like a Business</em>: Aubrey Bergauer, Author and Former Executive Director of California Symphony](https://interlude.hk/run-it-like-a-business-aubrey-bergauer-author-and-former-executive-director-of-california-symphony/): Aubrey Bergauer is the Chief Executive Officer of Changing the Narrative. Prior to that, she served as the executive director of California Symphony. During the five years, she helped the symphony increase its audiences by nearly 100% and quadruple the
- [On This Day <br/>10 October: Franz Lehár’s <em>The Land of Smiles</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-10-october-franz-lehars-the-land-of-smiles-was-premiered/): The Austro-Hungarian composer Franz Lehár (1870-1948) scored the greatest international success of his later works with a revised version of Die gelbe Jacke (The Yellow Jacket). Premiered at the Metropoltheater in Berlin on 10 October 1928, the romantic operetta Das
- [Chopin for Beginners: 12 Pieces to Make You Love Chopin](https://interlude.hk/chopin-for-beginners-12-pieces-to-make-you-love-chopin/): Chopin’s Biography for Beginners Frédéric Chopin was born in present-day Poland in 1810. He was famous for a few things: • He wrote a lot of emotional solo piano music at a time when composers proved their seriousness by writing
- [Finding Home: Grieg’s Violin Sonata No. 1](https://interlude.hk/finding-home-griegs-violin-sonata-no-1/): Edvard Grieg (1843–1907) viewed his three violin sonatas as representative of his development as a composer. The first (1865) was the young naïve composer, the second (1867) was his nationalistic phase, and the third (1887) represented a wider outlook. This
- [On This Day <br/>9 October: Lloyd-Webber's <em>The Phantom of the Opera</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-9-october-lloyd-webbers-the-phantom-of-the-opera-was-premiered/): The Phantom of the Opera was the longest-running show in Broadway history, celebrating its 10,000th performance on 11 February 2012. The production grossed over 1 billion dollars on Broadway, and 6 billion worldwide. Premiered on 9 October 1986 at Her
- [Mythical Creatures: Trolls](https://interlude.hk/mythical-creatures-trolls/): In folklore, mythical creatures fulfill the worlds our imaginations create: trolls in the underworld, mermaids in the water, and unicorns in the forests and fields. We’ll start in the underworld. One of the most famous trolls in music comes from
- [One Hundred Years Ago! <br/>Piano Music composed in 1923](https://interlude.hk/one-hundred-years-ago-piano-music-composed-in-1923/): The year 1923 was characterized by economic prosperity and a world population that had topped 2 billion. Time Magazine published its first issue, and Adolf Hitler led the Nazi Party in a failed coup attempt in Germany. In this year,
- [The Self-Sufficient Musician](https://interlude.hk/the-self-sufficient-musician/): Self-sufficiency, in the context of music, refers to a musician’s ability to manage various aspects of their career independently. Today, more than ever, self-sufficiency is crucial for musicians in an increasingly dynamic and competitive music industry. At a most basic
- [These Virtuoso Violinists Are Also Virtuoso Pianists: Hear Them Here!](https://interlude.hk/these-virtuoso-violinists-are-also-virtuoso-pianists-hear-them-here/): Being great at playing one instrument doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be great at another. But over the decades, a handful of fabulous concert violinists have proven to be fabulous pianists, too. Today we’re looking at how these five violinists’ gifts
- [Hilarious and Not So Hilarious Conductorisms!](https://interlude.hk/hilarious-and-not-so-hilarious-conductorisms/): The autocratic conductor is almost a relic of the past. Musicians and music lovers have heard tales of outbursts from Arturo Toscanini, Fritz Reiner, and others. Toscanini can be heard on tape screaming, “You have no ears. You have no
- [Orchestre Ostinato: A New Direction](https://interlude.hk/orchestre-ostinato-a-new-direction/): Describing itself as a ‘springboard for young musicians’, Orchestre Ostinato is a Paris-based orchestral academy for young talent, designed to bridge the awkward gap between studying and the profession. The two-year apprenticeship offers paid opportunities for young musicians to get
- [Barrie Kosky Forges a Brand-New Ring for London’s Royal Opera House](https://interlude.hk/barrie-kosky-forges-a-brand-new-ring-for-londons-royal-opera-house/): The Royal Opera House’s new production of Wagner’s Rheingold, directed by the often provocative and occasionally controversial Australian Barrie Kosky, achieved what most opera houses can only dream about: it became the talk of the town. I heard from one
- [Karol Szymanowski’s <em>9 Preludes</em> Op. 1](https://interlude.hk/karol-szymanowskis-9-preludes-op-1/): One of the most important Polish composers of the 20th century, Karol Szymanowski (1882-1937) is a reflection of the most relevant currents and trends in music during his life. Initially fascinated by the music of Chopin and Wagner, Szymanowski’s music
- [Emphasizing the Melancholy <br/>Transcription of Schubert’s <em>Winterreise</em>](https://interlude.hk/emphasizing-the-melancholy-transcription-of-schuberts-winterreise/): Schubert’s song cycle Winterreise has none of the bright optimism of his earlier Die schöne Müllerin. The spring day of ‘Das Wandern’ is now the cold frozen dusk of ‘Gute Nacht’. Our hero starts off isolated, leaving town in the
- [“micro-glimpses into countless worlds” <br/>CASCADE Cordelia Williams, piano](https://interlude.hk/micro-glimpses-into-countless-worlds-cascade-cordelia-williams-piano/): This new release from pianist Cordelia Williams celebrates the notion that small is not only beautiful – but also witty, imaginative, colourful, varied, virtuosic, and transcendent. The piano miniature, of which this disc is a selection of some of the
- [3rd Hong Kong Early Music Festival 2023 <br/>“Innovation Through Tradition”](https://interlude.hk/3rd-hong-kong-early-music-festival-2023-innovation-through-tradition/): Concerto da Camera The 3rd Hong Kong Early Music Festival 2023 The highly innovative chamber and arts initiative “Concerto da Camera,” founded by Karen Yeung and Lily Ma in 2004, takes Hong Kong audiences once more on an exciting musical
- [On This Day <br/>4 October: Dvořák’s <em>Symphony No. 1</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-4-october-dvoraks-symphony-no-1-was-premiered/): An extraordinary premiere took place in Brno, Moravia, on 4 October 1936. Czech conductor Milan Sachs raised his baton to début the 1st Symphony by Antonín Dvořák. A critic wrote, “although the writing was at times awkward, the orchestration is
- [Mozart's Final Muse: Glass Harmonica Virtuoso Marianne Kirchgessner](https://interlude.hk/mozarts-final-muse-glass-harmonica-virtuoso-marianne-kirchgessner/): A blind woman steps on a Viennese stage and makes her way to a strange new instrument called the glass harmonica. The sounds it makes are whistle-like and otherworldly. (Eventually, rumors would circulate that playing it or even hearing it
- [A Long Artistic Path to Bach <br/>An Interview With Valérie Aimard](https://interlude.hk/a-long-artistic-path-to-bach-an-interview-with-valerie-aimard/): We’ve checked in with cellist Valérie Aimard a few times over the past few years and have noted with interest how much she has done for the world of cello. Her YouTube Channel, Only Cello, a recorded anthology of cello
- [On This Day <br/>3 October: Carl Nielsen Died](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-3-october-carl-nielsen-died/): The great Nordic countries of Europe have produced two significant composers over the last 150 years. Both were born in 1865, but Denmark’s Carl Nielsen always stood in the shadow of Jean Sibelius. Sibelius came from an upper-middle-class upbringing, while
- [Benjamin Grosvenor in Hong Kong – Superlative Artistry & Imposing Pianism](https://interlude.hk/benjamin-grosvenor-in-hong-kong-superlative-artistry-imposing-pianism/): Widely acclaimed for his musicianship and technical brilliance, British pianist Benjamin Grosvenor has been on a steady rise in both his career and artistic growth. Following his recital debut in 2015, Grosvenor graced Hong Kong once more after eight years
- [Review: Víkingur Ólafsson’s Goldberg Variations](https://interlude.hk/review-vikingur-olafssons-goldberg-variations/): Widely acclaimed for his creative genius, Víkingur Ólafsson embarked on a venture of Bach’s Goldberg Variations, a work that has witnessed countless interpretations. The challenge of approaching such a frequently recorded work lies in avoiding redundancy or novelty for its
- [Classical Music for Halloween <br/>Fifty Spooky Pieces of Classical Music for October 31st](https://interlude.hk/classical-music-for-halloween-fifty-spooky-pieces-of-classical-music-for-october-31st/): Get into the spirit of Halloween with these bone-chilling pieces of classical music! From hauntingly beautiful melodies to spine-tingling symphonies, this playlist is sure to transport you to a world of ghosts, goblins, and things that go bump in the
- [A Sincere Sadness: Norman’s Funeral March for Söderman](https://interlude.hk/a-sincere-sadness-normans-funeral-march-for-soderman/): Swedish musician Ludvig Norman (1831–1885) showed exceptional musical talent from his childhood and, with help from local sponsors, including the soprano Jenny Lind, he was sent to the Leipzig Conservatory at age 16, where he studied with Ignaz Moscheles (piano)
- [The Young Romantic: Sibelius’ <em>Florestan</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-young-romantic-sibelius-florestan/): Lying at home recovering from an illness, the young Jean Sibelius (1865-1957) took the opportunity to reassess his life. In early 1889, he’d played solo violin in Beethoven’s Romance in F with the Academic Orchestra. When he fell ill in
- [The Music of Poetry <br/>Chopin’s <em>Polish Songs</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-music-of-poetry-chopins-polish-songs/): Frédéric Chopin was not only one of the greatest pianists the world had ever known, he also left us the finest body of music for his instrument. The so-called “poet of the piano” left us with nearly 250 fabulous works,
- [On This Day <br/>1 October: André Rieu Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-1-october-andre-rieu-was-born/): André Rieu is one of today’s most successful classical performing artists. In fact, he is one of the most successful touring artists in the world, easily outselling most popular music acts. Rieu founded the Johann Strauss Orchestra, the largest private
- [Yamen Saadi](https://interlude.hk/israeli-violinist-yamen-saadi/): ‘Be in the music, and the rest will come by itself’ Last year, at just age 25, violinist Yamen Saadi was appointed Concertmaster of the Vienna State Opera and Vienna Philharmonic. Yamen holds this position alongside a busy schedule of
- [Rescuing Something from the Wreckage <br/>Berlioz’s <em>Benvenuto Cellini</em> and <em>Roman Carnival Overture</em>](https://interlude.hk/rescuing-something-from-the-wreckage-berliozs-benvenuto-cellini-and-roman-carnival-overture/): Hector Berlioz (1803-1869) was a master of orchestration and his 1844 book on the subject was the standard not for years, but for decades after his death. He lived his life with his heart on his sleeve and works such
- [On This Day <br/>30 September: Mozart's <em>Magic Flute</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-30-september-mozarts-magic-flute-was-premiered/): The Theater auf der Wieden, located in the then-suburban Wieden district of Vienna existed only for 14 years, between 1787 and 1801. For most of this period, the director of the theater was the German impresario, dramatist, actor, singer, and
- [The Seven Saddest Chopin Nocturnes](https://interlude.hk/the-seven-saddest-chopin-nocturnes/): We, classical music lovers, can be a moody bunch, and sometimes we just get in the mood to listen to sad piano music. And when it comes to sad piano music, Frédéric Chopin always delivers, especially when it comes to
- [Trips to Far Places <br/>Gerald Cohen: Voyagers](https://interlude.hk/trips-to-far-places-gerald-cohen-voyagers/): American composer Gerald Cohen took two 20th-century musical phenomena and created two thoughtful works about them. The two phenomena represent the best and the worst in the human race: the Voyager space program and Nazi model concentration camps. Voyager 1
- [Are We Really Obsessed With Quality](https://interlude.hk/are-we-really-obsessed-with-quality/): Let’s address one of the elephants in the music room; do we really recognise and pay attention to quality nowadays? Do we even understand what it is? How many of us can recognise high from low levels of quality? How
- [On This Day <br/>28 September: Alina Ibragimova Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-28-september-alina-ibragimova-was-born/): Violinist Alina Ibragimova is known for her gripping performances delivered with grandeur and ease. Above all, her intellectual focus, architectural sweep, and the sheer beauty of her tone are shared in interpretative humility that conveys the emotional depths of the
- [Clara Haskil: The Pianist Who Played Through Brain Surgery](https://interlude.hk/clara-haskil-the-pianist-who-played-through-brain-surgery/): Clara Haskil has been trumpeted as the quintessential pianist’s pianist, and yet many music lovers don’t know who she is. It’s time to fix that. Today we’re looking at the incredible true story of the life and tragic death of
- [Vladimir Feltsman <br/>New Performing Edition of <em>The Well-Tempered Clavier</em>](https://interlude.hk/vladimir-feltsman-new-performing-edition-of-the-well-tempered-clavier/): Vladimir Feltsman is one of the most brilliant and versatile pianists and musicians of our time and a renowned Bach specialist. His recent contribution, a new performing edition of J. S. Bach’s The Well-Tempered Clavier, is going to be released under
- [Lucas & Arthur Jussen in Hong Kong: Virtuosity Yes, Imagination Not So Much](https://interlude.hk/lucas-arthur-jussen-in-hong-kong-virtuosity-yes-imagination-not-so-much/): The piano duo Lucas and Arthur Jussen, widely celebrated in their home country from an early age, have made history as the first Dutch musicians to sign with Deutsche Grammophon. This time, they visited Hong Kong with a multifaceted programme
- [Sending Sounds: Phonopostal, Fonopost, and PathéPost](https://interlude.hk/sending-sounds-phonopostal-fonopost-and-pathepost/): More poking around the Gallica site and we happened on a section that deals with sound that can be sent – but using the post instead of the internet. One of the early inventions for communicating via sound was the
- [On This Day <br/>26 September: Alfred Cortot Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-26-september-alfred-cortot-was-born/): There is always one survey or another around that asks noted pianists to name their favourite pianists of all time. In one such survey, Stephen Hough and Angela Hewitt neglected to mention Vladimir Horowitz and Arthur Rubinstein and instead chose
- [Success After All: Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony](https://interlude.hk/success-after-all-tchaikovsky-fifth-symphony/): On first hearing a performance of his fifth symphony in 1888, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840–1893) decided it was a failure: ‘There is something repellent in it, some over-exaggerated colour, some insincerity of invention, which the public instinctively recognises... ’, as he
- [On This Day <br/>25 September: Johann Strauss (Father) Died](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-25-september-johann-strauss-father-died/): Johann Strauss (Father) was the darling of the Viennese dance craze and simply known as “The Tyrant of Waltz. ” As the leader of a hugely popular dance orchestra, he sent the pleasure-seeking and cheery population of imperial Vienna into throbbing
- [Classical Music for Writing: How These Ten Pieces Can Help Writers Unlock Creativity](https://interlude.hk/classical-music-for-writing-how-these-ten-pieces-can-help-writers-unlock-creativity/): Writing is hard. It’s a lonely pursuit requiring not only focus and discipline, but inspiration, too. While there are many tools and techniques that writers can use to boost their creativity, one often overlooked resource is classical music. Today we’re
- [<em>Chorinho: Music for Viola and Piano from Brazil</em> <br/>Violist Georgina Rossi & pianist Silvie Cheng](https://interlude.hk/chorinho-music-for-viola-and-piano-from-brazil-violist-georgina-rossi-pianist-sylvie-cheng/): The performers on this new recording of music for viola and piano from Brazil open their notes with a very strong accusation: ‘Violists can be guilty of relying too much on a short list of tried-and-true pieces’. Their response is
- [Adventures With Our Instruments](https://interlude.hk/adventures-with-our-instruments/): What the audience doesn’t know behind the scenes typically won’t hurt their enjoyment of a performance. But these recent mishaps chill a performer’s bones even if in retrospect we like recounting these stories! A dear friend of mine, award-winning actress,
- [The International Cello Institute and Brilliant Cellist Santiago Cañon-Valencia](https://interlude.hk/the-international-cello-institute-and-brilliant-cellist-santiago-canon-valencia/): The International Cello Institute has completed another exciting summer intensive. Held at St Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, they had a record number of talented cellists apply to the program this summer. The program, established by founder and executive director
- [Silence Is Golden – At Least at Classical Music Concerts!](https://interlude.hk/silence-is-golden-at-least-at-classical-music-concerts/): The 2023 edition of the Proms, “the world’s greatest classical music festival”, has just ended. As usual, this year’s two-month season of concerts was punctuated by conversations about audience noise and the now rather tedious rants about applause between movements.
- [Frances Gershwin: George Gershwin's Famous Singing Sister](https://interlude.hk/frances-gershwin-george-gershwins-famous-singing-sister/): Say the phrase “the Gershwin siblings” and any music lover immediately thinks of George and Ira Gershwin, two brothers famous for co-writing some of the most famous songs in the Great American Songbook. But George and Ira also had a
- [The Kingdom of Music: A <em>Féerie</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-kingdom-of-music-a-feerie/): A féerie was a French theatrical genre and, as a ‘fairy play’ combined music, dance, mime, and acrobatics, in a fantasy plot set off by spectacular scenery and stage effects. Some critics noted that the visuals, with the transformational scene
- [Speaking Without Saying <br/>Bruce Levingston, piano. <em>Without Words: Felix Mendelssohn, Price Walden</em>](https://interlude.hk/speaking-without-saying-bruce-levingston-piano-without-words-felix-mendelssohn-price-walden/): Felix Mendelssohn’s eight volumes of Songs without Words were written between 1829 and 1845 and in those sixteen years, Mendelssohn not only created a new genre but became its boldest exponent. He was followed by his sister, Fanny Mendelssohn, and
- [How the Weber Sisters Became Mozart's Wife, Family, and Muses](https://interlude.hk/how-the-weber-sisters-became-mozarts-wife-family-and-muses/): Mozart fell in love with one. Another one caused a scandal by moving in with him before they were married. Yet another premiered the role of The Queen of the Night in his opera The Magic Flute. And one helped
- [Living the Modern Life: John Alden Carpenter’s Ballet <em>Skyscrapers</em>](https://interlude.hk/living-the-modern-life-john-alden-carpenters-ballet-skyscrapers/): In 1926, the Metropolitan Opera staged the world premiere of the American composer John Alden Carpenter’s 1924 ballet Skyscrapers. This was in February, at the height of the season and it was a triple-bill evening: Gianni Schicchi with Giuseppe De
- [On This Day <br/>20 September: Jean Sibelius Died](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-20-september-jean-sibelius-died/): During the final decade of his life, Jean Sibelius achieved great popularity in English-speaking countries while central Europe and France remained essentially uninterested. Sibelius’ music polarized along ideological lines, and his supporters considered him the “last true successor to Beethoven
- [What Is Musique Concrète?](https://interlude.hk/what-is-musique-concrete/): What exactly is musique concrète and what has it done to the musical world? For starters, it would have not existed if it were not for two important influences; visual arts and philosophy — the Dadaists’ approach to making art
- [Todd Mason: Violin Concerto and Chamber Suite](https://interlude.hk/todd-mason-violin-concerto-and-chamber-suite/): The worldwide lockdown of COVID gave the world breathing space, in which to sit or to explore, to do the things there was never time for, to create. For American composer Todd Mason, the time was devoted to something he’d
- [Writing for the War Wounded: Labor’s Piano Trio No. 1](https://interlude.hk/writing-for-the-war-wounded-josef-labor-piano-trio-no-1/): The aftermath of WWI left a lot of previously able people damaged and injured, not the least musicians, for whom the loss of hand or an upper limb was no light matter. One of those so wounded was the up-and-coming
- [Grieg Piano Concerto: What are the Best Recordings?](https://interlude.hk/grieg-piano-concerto-what-are-the-best-recordings/): From its unforgettable opening timpani solo to its extravagant ending that showcases the full glory of the symphony orchestra, to all of the dazzling solo piano writing in between, the Grieg piano concerto is an indispensable part of the classical
- [On This Day <br/>18 September: Anna Netrebko Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-18-september-anna-netrebko-was-born/): When Anna Netrebko first appeared on the stage of the world’s most famous opera houses during the 2002 and 2003 season, she was called “the biggest sensation to hit the opera world in years. ” Described as one of opera’s hottest
- [Who Were the Brussels Seven?](https://interlude.hk/who-were-the-brussels-seven/): Seven students of Paul Gilson created their music collective Les Synthétistes (The Synthetists) on the occasion of their teacher’s 60th birthday in September 1925. They wanted to create a distinctive modern Brussels sound that was different from the late-Romantic sound
- [Music Presenters: When They Make Overwhelming Requests of Musicians](https://interlude.hk/music-presenters-when-they-make-overwhelming-requests-of-musicians/): Some presenters will make overwhelming requests of musicians. A fancy top-notch gallery in New York recently held an opening of a new exhibit with live music. A gallery curator in another city had loved it enough to want to replicate
- [George Gershwin](https://interlude.hk/george-gershwins-song-book/): George Gershwin’s Song-Book George Gershwin, born on 26 September 1898, developed a distinctive musical style that combined classical, jazz, and popular music in a ground-breaking fusion unique to American music. Renowned for his remarkable dexterity as a songwriter, he literally
- [The Great Composers' Final Works](https://interlude.hk/the-great-composers-final-works/): A jaw-dropping collection of technically dazzling fugues, stopped mid-measure, annotated by a poignant note from a grieving son. Two delicate mazurkas that the composer was too sick to play and never heard performed. A cantata for the freemasons. A standard
- [An Homage to Ryuichi Sakamoto](https://interlude.hk/an-homage-to-ryuichi-sakamoto/): Ryuichi Sakamoto passed away on March 28, 2023. Just a little while ago. If he had been battling cancer for many years now, we all wished he had more time to create and gift the world with his talent. During
- [On This Day <br/>14 September: Luigi Cherubini Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-14-september-luigi-cherubini-was-born/): One thing is for sure, Maria Luigi Carlo Zenobio Salvatore Cherubini was born in Florence in 1760. There still seems to be a bit of discussion on the exact day of his birth, however. Some of that confusion comes from
- [William Grant Still: Thirteen Facts About the Great American Composer](https://interlude.hk/william-grant-still-thirteen-facts-about-the-great-american-composer/): Composer William Grant Still, Jr. , had one of the most fascinating careers in the history of American classical music. He was born in an era of segregation and racial violence when his creative voice was ignored by white institutions sheerly
- [Interview With Japanese Composer Naoko Ikeda](https://interlude.hk/interview-with-japanese-composer-naoko-ikeda/): When searching for repertoire for my students to perform at local festivals, I discovered the compositions of Naoko Ikeda, a talented Japanese composer and teacher. Her pieces are full of beautiful, flowing melodies that I thoroughly enjoy teaching and playing.
- [On This Day <br/>13 September: Nobuyuki Tsujii Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-13-september-nobuyuki-tsujii-was-born/): The 2009 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition became a huge catalyst for Chinese pride when Haochen Zhang, one of the youngest winners in the history of the competition, was declared a Gold Medallist. For much of the enthusiastic crowd, it
- [The Music of Poetry <br/>Roald Dahl: Macabre Verse](https://interlude.hk/the-music-of-poetry-roald-dahl-macabre-verse/): Roald Dahl, born on 13 September 1916 in Cardiff, has been called “one of the greatest storytellers for children of the 20th century. ” From Sophie’s adventures in the BFG and James’ journey into the Giant Peach, to Matilda’s bravery and
- [Berlioz in Life and Pictures](https://interlude.hk/berlioz-in-life-and-pictures/): The last time we looked at a man with distinctive hair, we were looking at the representations of Beethoven. Now we can look at another B composer, Hector Berlioz (1803-1869). His hair was also a defining part of his imagery
- [A New World and A New Voice: Dvořák’s American Quartet](https://interlude.hk/a-new-world-and-a-new-voice-dvorak-american-quartet/): In his three-year stint (1892-1895) as artistic director of the National Conservatory of Music in America, Czech composer Antonín Dvořák caused a fundamental change in American classical music. As an outsider coming into the New World, he could better appreciate
- [Khatia Buniatishvili: Top 5 Performances of the Controversial Pianist](https://interlude.hk/khatia-buniatishvili-top-5-performances-of-the-controversial-pianist/): Khatia Buniatishvili is a shining star of the online piano world. Her videos have racked up millions upon millions of views; every month, 1. 5 million listeners tune into her performances on Spotify; and our 2021 article about her is one
- [Come to Us to be Surprised: DYNAMIKfest in Salzburg <br/>An Interview with Clarissa Bevilacqua](https://interlude.hk/come-to-us-to-be-surprised-dynamikfest-in-salzburg-an-interview-with-clarissa-bevilacqua/): When we last spoke with violinist Clarissa Bevilacqua, she mentioned the new music festival she was planning for Salzburg, Austria. After a year of work, it has come to reality, and on 9 October 2023, DYNAMIKfest Kammermusik Salzburg will have
- [Violin Masterworks Inspired by Joseph Szigeti](https://interlude.hk/violin-masterworks-inspired-by-joseph-szigeti/): The Hungarian violinist Joseph Szigeti (1892-1973) carried the nickname “The Scholarly Virtuoso. ” That nickname is hardly surprising as Szigeti authored a number of books. Among them, we find a pedagogical treatise addressing technical challenges and innovations in twentieth-century repertoire, and
- [Six of the Best Romantic Era Piano Sonatas by Women Composers](https://interlude.hk/six-of-the-best-romantic-era-piano-sonatas-by-women-composers/): The Romantic Era: it was a time of drama, high emotion, and relentless social upheaval. And over the course of the nineteenth century, more women than ever before were allowed to find their creative voices. Today we’re looking at six
- [The Child Prodigies of Classical Music <br/>From Mendelssohn to Korngold](https://interlude.hk/the-child-prodigies-of-classical-music-from-mendelssohn-to-korngold/): This is the concluding episode in the series featuring music written by child prodigies. Felix Mendelssohn Before Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) reached the tender age of sixteen, he already had more than 150 surviving compositions to his name. Mendelssohn did not
- [Baby’s Day Out <br/>John Alden Carpenter’s <em>Adventures in a Perambulator</em>](https://interlude.hk/babys-day-out-john-alden-carpenter-adventures-in-a-perambulator/): John Alden Carpenter (1876–1951), although forgotten now, was one of the leading American composers of the early 20th century. Both his songs and his orchestral music were performed widely, and, at the height of his fame, he was the only
- [Cristian Monti and his album <em>Cabinet de curiosités</em>](https://interlude.hk/cristian-monti-and-his-album-cabinet-de-curiosites/): Cristian Monti is an Italian pianist and composer who is passionate about rediscovering lesser-known repertoire. In his album, Cabinet de curiosités, released in 2022, Monti featured a lesser-known piece, Pièces de Clavecin by Italian composer Francesco Xaverio Geminiani (1687 –1762),
- [Michelangelo’s “David” <br/>Unveiled in Florence on 8 September](https://interlude.hk/michelangelos-david-unveiled-in-florence-on-8-september/): Created between 1501 and 1504, Michelangelo’s “David” is perhaps the most famous statue in Florence, if not in the world. When it was finished, “no other artwork, modern or ancient, Greek or Latin, is equal to it in any respect,
- [Emma Bardac: The Scandalous Story of Debussy's Second Wife](https://interlude.hk/emma-bardac-the-scandalous-story-of-debussys-second-wife/): Her affair with Debussy resulted in a scandal that split the Parisian music world apart – and almost led to the death of Debussy’s first wife. Today we’re looking at the life of Emma Bardac-Debussy: singer, legendary conversationalist, wife, mother,
- [When Art Meets Art](https://interlude.hk/when-art-meets-art/): It is quite a natural process for different artistic worlds to meet, and over the centuries this has happened so many times that we often ignore it, although it has taken very different shapes and forms. In fact, many artists
- [The New Classical for the 20th Century: British Piano Concertos Vol. 2 <br/>Edmund Rubbra, John Addison and Gordon Jacob](https://interlude.hk/the-new-classical-for-the-20th-century-british-piano-concertos-vol-2-edmund-rubbra-john-addison-and-gordon-jacob/): Three British piano concertos dating from 1932, 1948, and 1957 have just been released on Lyrita Records. They are an interesting view of a particular market at a particular time, with a genre that, if anything, is slightly outdated but
- [Charles Ives’ <em>Calcium Light Night</em>](https://interlude.hk/charles-ives-calcium-light-night/): Charles Ives’ wonderfully named Calcium Light Night started its life as a piece for piccolo, clarinet, cornet, trombone, bass drum, and four pianists on two pianos. It depicts traditional fraternity parades on the campus of Yale University, which Ives attended
- [Overture for the Imagination: Louise Farrenc’s <em>Overture No. 2</em>](https://interlude.hk/overture-for-the-imagination-louise-farrenc-overture-no-2/): Louise Farrenc, born Jeanne-Louise Dumont (1804–1875), studied piano first with Cécile Soria (who had studied with Clementi), then Ignaz Moscheles (a composition student of Salieri’s) and Johann Nepomuk Hummel (who had studied with Mozart). She studied composition with Anton Reicha,
- [On This Day <br/>4 September: Anton Bruckner Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-4-september-anton-bruckner-childhood-music-education/): Born in the tiny village of Ansfelden on 4 September 1824, Anton Bruckner became one of the most innovative figures of the second half of the 19th century. Today we primarily remember him for his symphonies and sacred compositions, rooted
- [10 Fun and Exciting Clarinet Sonatas From the 19th Century](https://interlude.hk/10-fun-and-exciting-clarinet-sonatas-from-the-19th-century/): As we discovered in our last blog 10 Fun and Exciting Clarinet Duos, the clarinet was a real latecomer to the family of musical instruments. It slowly appeared in European court ensembles around the middle of the 18th century but
- [On This Day <br/>3 September: Gautier Capuçon Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-3-september-gautier-capucon-was-born/): Born on 3 September 1981 in Chambéry, Savoie, Gautier Capuçon comes from a highly musical family. Although his parents are not musicians, his sister is a capable pianist, and his brother Renaud Capuçon is an internationally established violin soloist and
- [Works Dedicated to Clara Schumann](https://interlude.hk/works-dedicated-to-clara-schumann/): Pianist and composer Clara Schumann was one of the most influential musicians of her generation. One of the ways we can measure that influence is by looking at the many works that were dedicated to her by her colleagues. Going
- [Why is the “Maestro” Teaser Trailer So Controversial?](https://interlude.hk/why-is-the-movie-maestro-teaser-trailer-so-controversial/): Buzz is building in the classical music world about Bradley Cooper’s new film Maestro, which chronicles the life and loves of Leonard Bernstein. Today we’re sitting down and examining the first teaser trailer and answering some of the questions that
- [Two Days and Two Different Feelings <br/>Lili Boulanger’s <em>D'un matin de printemps</em> and <em>D’un soir triste</em>](https://interlude.hk/two-days-and-two-different-feelings-lili-boulanger-dun-matin-de-printemps-and-dun-soir-triste/): Lili Boulanger (1893–1918), younger sister to Nadia Boulanger (1887–1979), was an accomplished composer, showing her musical talent by age two. She sat in on classes at the Paris Conservatoire from age 4, accompanying her 10-year-old sister Nadia. In 1913, she
- [Evgeny Kissin the Composer](https://interlude.hk/evgeny-kissin-the-composer/): Without doubt, Evgeny Kissin was a prodigiously talented child who began to play the piano at the age of two. He made his orchestral debut at the age of ten and played his recital debut one year later. At the
- [Meng-Chieh Liu’s Amazing <em>Chopin Nocturnes</em>](https://interlude.hk/meng-chieh-lius-amazing-chopin-nocturnes/): Meng-Chieh Liu is a highly acclaimed pianist with Taiwanese roots; he has recently released his latest album demonstrating the deeply moving nocturnes of Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849). Consisting of 21 pieces, this exquisite collection spans a total of two hours, exhibiting
- [Robert Treviño](https://interlude.hk/mexican-american-conductor-robert-trevino/): Mexican-American conductor Robert Treviño has garnered international praise for his spirited stage presence and a slew of successful recordings. As well as being Principal Guest Conductor of the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI, Robert holds the position of Music Director
- [On This Day <br/>1 September: Johann Pachelbel Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-1-september-johann-pachelbel-was-born/): He is probably never going to live down that earworm canon, but Johann Pachelbel, baptised on 1 September 1653, is the most famous of a long line of composers working in or around Nuremberg. For the longest time, Pachelbel was
- [On This Day <br/>31 August: Vadim Repin Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-31-august-vadim-repin-was-born/): Violinist Vadim Repin combines fiery passion with impeccable technique, poetry, and sensitivity. To be sure, he can master the most dangerous challenges with an almost provocative serenity. In fact, the great Yehudi Menuhin once stated that Repin is “simply the
- [Lauren Bernofsky: A Master Composer](https://interlude.hk/lauren-bernofsky-a-master-composer/): Dr. Lauren Bernofsky is a professional composer whose favorite genre to write is opera. Her coming opera, The Mensch, tells the story of Anton Schmid who saved many Jewish people from the ghetto during the Second World War. In this
- [Changing the Scene: Rossini’s <em>Moïse</em> at the Paris Opera](https://interlude.hk/changing-the-scene-rossinis-moise-at-the-paris-opera/): Gallica (gallica. bnf. fr), as part of its opera collection, has scenery models (volume models) from three centuries of opera stage construction. These volume models were created after the initial drawings were accepted by the Opera management. The flat drawings are converted
- [Introducing Trinity College London’s New Piano Syllabus](https://interlude.hk/introducing-trinity-college-londons-new-piano-syllabus/): The release of a new piano syllabus is always met with excitement and interest from piano teachers, and students too, and the latest release from Trinity College London (TCL) will not disappoint. I have been a fan of TCL’s piano
- [On This Day <br/>29 August: Bernarda Fink Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-29-august-bernarda-fink-was-born/): Mezzo-soprano Bernarda Fink has made her mark in the world of classical music by concentrating on concert and recital repertories. One of the most sought-after singers in the baroque repertoire, she has worked with René Jacobs, John Eliot Gardiner, and
- [Discovering Works of César Franck <br/>An Interview With Ingmar Lazar](https://interlude.hk/discovering-works-of-cesar-franck-an-interview-with-ingmar-lazar/): Ingmar Lazar, the founder of Festival du Bruit qui Pense, is a leading French pianist. He is set to release an album featuring four sets of pieces by César Franck. The album opens with an unpublished sonata written by Franck
- [The Last Symphony: Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6](https://interlude.hk/the-last-symphony-tchaikovsky-symphony-no-6/): Pyotr Il’ych Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) wrote his last symphony the same year he died and the work tantalizes the listener: did he write this to a program idea? Why does he seem to refer to Beethoven’s Pathétique Sonata in its opening
- [On This Day <br/>28 August: Wagner’s <em>Lohengrin</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-28-august-wagner-lohengrin-was-premiered/): As soon as Richard Wagner had put the finishing touches on Lohengrin on 28 April 1848, he got embroiled in the revolutionary stirrings of the 1848 Revolutions. In Dresden, barricades were erected and the king presented with demands for democratic
- [Are These the Best Slow Movements Beethoven Ever Wrote?](https://interlude.hk/are-these-the-best-slow-movements-beethoven-ever-wrote/): Beethoven is famous for writing big, loud, boundary-breaking music, from the string-breaking fury of his late piano sonatas to the glorious dramatics of his ninth symphony for chorus and orchestra. But the heart and soul of Beethoven’s art are found
- [The Music of Poetry <br/>Johannes Brahms’ <em>New Liebeslieder Waltzes</em> Op. 65](https://interlude.hk/the-music-of-poetry-johannes-brahms-new-liebeslieder-waltzes-op-65/): The Liebeslieder Waltzes Op. 52 had been a tremendous financial success for Johannes Brahms and his publisher. These compositions had perfectly capitalized on two musical trends of the mid-19th century. A popular love for dances to be played by piano
- [Vítězslava Kaprálová: 13 Facts You Didn't Know About the Czech Composer](https://interlude.hk/vitezslava-kapralova-13-facts-you-didnt-know-about-the-czech-composer/): Vítězslava Kaprálová is one of music history’s most fascinating what-ifs. She was hugely talented, but she died in her twenties before her creative potential could be fully realized. Here are thirteen facts you might not know about Vítězslava Kaprálová. 1.
- [Interview With Charisse Baldoria: Pianist, Composer, Educator, and Writer](https://interlude.hk/interview-with-charisse-baldoria-pianist-composer-educator-and-writer/): Philippine-born Charisse Baldoria is an accomplished and multi-talented artist. She is a pianist, composer, educator, and writer who serves as an Associate Professor of Piano at Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania. I reached out to Charisse for an interview after listening
- [The Child Prodigies of Classical Music <br/>From Mozart to Richard Strauss](https://interlude.hk/the-child-prodigies-of-classical-music-from-mozart-to-richard-strauss/): Let’s continue our exploration of early compositions by famous composers. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) is widely regarded as the child composer par excellence. It was probably because of Mozart that the image of the child composer first
- [Understanding Sounds](https://interlude.hk/understanding-sounds/): Each human being is born with five senses; the senses of touch, sight, smell, taste, and the most important one for the musician: the sense of hearing. A disclaimer first; there have been some studies that have proved that the
- [On This Day <br/>25 August: Lenny Bernstein Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-25-august-lenny-bernstein-was-born/): Once 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
- [Song For Hope: An Interview With Director Chris Haigh](https://interlude.hk/song-for-hope-an-interview-with-director-chris-haigh/): Song For Hope is an award-winning documentary that captures the awe-inspiring story of Ryan Anthony. In 2012, Ryan was diagnosed with terminal cancer. During the years following his grim prognosis, the documentary crew followed Ryan everywhere, from hospital to anywhere
- [Between the Andes and the Amazon <br/>Po Sim Head – Piano](https://interlude.hk/between-the-andes-and-the-amazon-po-sim-head-piano/): Think of the music of Latin America and one immediately conjures up the foot-tapping idioms and rhythms of dance – tango, salsa, bachata, merengue, samba, to name but a few. A keen advocate of lesser-known repertoire, in her new album
- [Five Ways to Impress Your Music Teacher](https://interlude.hk/five-ways-to-impress-your-music-teacher/): 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
- [Report From Pesaro – Rossini Opera Festival 2023: Great Casts Trump Directorial Largesse](https://interlude.hk/report-from-pesaro-rossini-opera-festival-2023-great-casts-trump-directorial-largesse/): This very first production of Eduardo e Cristina at the Rossini Opera Festival (ROF) completes the performed oeuvre of the great Pesarese maestro. The epicentre of Rossiniana possibly left it so late because of the challenges of this barely performed
- [Pianist James Iman Shines a New Light on Debussy’s Images](https://interlude.hk/pianist-james-iman-shines-a-new-light-on-debussy-images/): IMAN: ALBUM II James W. Iman, piano (Divine Art Recordings) This second album from American pianist James Iman places Debussy’s evergreen ‘Images’ alongside works by Donald Martino (1931-2005) and contemporary composer Jenny Beck (b. 1985), whose work ‘Stand Still Here’ receives
- [Claude Debussy (1862-1918) <br/> Arrangements for 2 Pianos](https://interlude.hk/claude-debussy-1862-1918-arrangements-for-2-pianos/): Claude 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
- [Ghosts and Gothic: Gounod’s <em>The Bloody Nun</em>](https://interlude.hk/ghosts-and-gothic-gounod-the-bloody-nun/): Set in Bohemia in the 11th century, The Bloody Nun is full of feuding families, escaping lovers, accidental eloping by the hero with the ghost of the title, and the real bride’s father revealed as the ghost’s kills, in short,
- [10 Fun and Exciting Clarinet Duos](https://interlude.hk/10-fun-and-exciting-clarinet-duos/): 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](https://interlude.hk/when-mahler-found-ives/): 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](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-kenneth-fuchs-and-helen-frankenthaler-cloud-slant/): 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
- [The Child Prodigies of Classical Music <br/> From Hummel to Beethoven](https://interlude.hk/the-child-prodigies-of-classical-music-from-hummel-to-beethoven/): In 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
- [13 Facts You Didn't Know About Tchaikovsky's Mysterious Benefactress, Nadezhda von Meck](https://interlude.hk/13-facts-you-didnt-know-about-tchaikovskys-mysterious-benefactress-nadezhda-von-meck/): 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
- [Antonio Salieri (1750-1825) <br/>Rise to Fame](https://interlude.hk/antonio-salieri-1750-1825-rise-to-fame/): Antonio Salieri, born on 18 August 1750 in the town of Legnago just south of Verona, was described as “the greatest musical diplomat, as he carefully cultivated friendships with people who could help him to build a career. ” The first
- [Summoning the Sound of Flight <br/>Tõnu Kõrvits’ <em>Tiibade hääl</em> (The Sound of Wings)](https://interlude.hk/summoning-the-sound-of-flight-tonu-korvits-tiibade-haal-the-sound-of-wings/): Estonian composer Tõnu Kõrvits (b. 1969) used the inspiring and tragic story of the flyer Amelia Earhart (1897–1937) as the basis for his 2022 work Tiibade hääl (The Sound of Wings). Setting the text of Estonian poet Doria Kareva, Kõrvits
- [Let’s Talk About Haydn](https://interlude.hk/lets-talk-about-haydn/): Every listener and amateur of music has a composer that he feels like he should know better; because he or she is widely known and perhaps even quite influential, because this composer is the starting point of many others, or
- [On This Day <br/>16 August: Gershwin's <em>Cuban Overture</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-16-august-gershwin-cuban-overture-was-premiered/): Escaping his hectic work schedule in 1932, George Gershwin visited Havana, the capital city of Cuba. At that time, Cuba was a highly popular tropical retreat for wealthy Americans, “as well as a convenient place to consume liquor during the
- [What the Well-Dressed Barber Wears](https://interlude.hk/what-the-well-dressed-barber-wears-rossini-barber-seville-opera-costumes/): In looking at costuming for Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia, we found some interesting 19th-century interpretations of Figaro himself. In a production at the Théâtre Royal Italien in 1844, the artist and designer Alexandre Lacauchie put the serenading barber in
- [<em>Hedda Gabler</em>: Manuscript on fire! <br/> Johan Svendsen and Sarah Levett](https://interlude.hk/hedda-gabler-manuscript-on-fire-johan-svendsen-and-sarah-levett/): The play Hedda Gabler, written by the great Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen premiered in 1891. It details Hedda’s struggles as a newlywed with an existence she finds devoid of excitement and enchantment. She is the daughter of an aristocratic general
- [A New Ending: Mozart’s Rondo, K. 382](https://interlude.hk/a-new-ending-mozart-rondo-k-382/): In 1773, Mozart completed his Piano Concerto in D major, K. 175, after he had returned from a trip to Salzburg where he was unsuccessful in getting a court position. This is the first concerto of Mozart’s maturity – opening
- [Are Mozart's Earliest Works Any Good? Listen To Them Here](https://interlude.hk/are-mozart-earliest-works-any-good-listen-to-them-here/): Every music lover knows that Mozart was one of the most extraordinary prodigies in the history of music: he began composing when he was only five years old! But have you ever sat down and listened to these early works?
- [Children’s Operas in the 2000s](https://interlude.hk/childrens-operas-in-the-2000s/): In my last article, I introduced six Children’s operas written in the 1900s. Children’s operas are often made for children or young people, but they also appeal to adult audiences. In this article, I share eight more children’s operas that
- [On This Day <br/>13 August: Jules Massenet Died](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-13-august-jules-massenet-died/): By the death of Jules Massenet on 13 August, writes a correspondence for the Musical Times “France loses her most popular and most famous composer. ” Contemporary critical assessment was rather less complimentary. “Massenet’s prolonged and widespread success,” according to Fuller
- [The Music of Poetry <br/>Johannes Brahms: <em>Liebeslieder Waltzes</em> Op. 52](https://interlude.hk/the-music-of-poetry-johannes-brahms-liebeslieder-waltzes-op-52/): While Johannes Brahms had rightfully hoped of gaining the conductorship of the Hamburg Philharmonic, the post was given to the baritone Julius Stockhausen instead. Dejected and disappointed, Brahms made his first visit to Vienna in the autumn of 1862, staying
- [On This Day <br/>12 August: John Cage Died](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-12-august-john-cage-died/): One of the most influential composers in the second half of the twentieth century, John Cage (1912-1992) was a leading figure of the post-war avant-garde. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, he
- [Five of the Angriest Classical Music Feuds](https://interlude.hk/five-of-the-angriest-classical-music-feuds/): Artistic types are famous for their big personalities and the beef and rivalries that result. Over the centuries, classical composers have had more than their fair share of tiffs. Today we’re looking at the stories and personalities behind five of
- [Counter-Revolutionary Activism <br/> From the Stages of Europe to the Soviet Gulag](https://interlude.hk/counter-revolutionary-activism-from-the-stages-of-europe-to-the-soviet-gulag/): Published in 1962 with the approval of Nikita Khrushchev, the leader of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn tells the story of a typical day in the life
- [P-P-P-Polyrhythms](https://interlude.hk/polyrhythms-definitions-guide-and-examples-in-classical-music/): We’re used to the two basic rhythms: duple and triple. Duple or two is because we have two feet – left-right, one-two, and off we march. Triple is for dancing, like a waltz. The fun comes when they get combined
- [Composing vs. Improvising](https://interlude.hk/composing-vs-improvising/): A musician has essentially two ways to create new music; either by composing or by improvising; both of these techniques follow very different processes — creating quite different results too —, equally powerful, and defining creative areas that each musician
- [Camille Marie Pleyel: The Great Pianist Berlioz Almost Murdered](https://interlude.hk/camille-marie-pleyel-the-great-pianist-berlioz-almost-murdered/): She was among the greatest pianists of the nineteenth century... and yet if music lovers know her name at all, it’s because she made a terrifying cameo in Berlioz’s memoirs. Today we’re looking at the life of great pianist Camille Marie
- [On This Day <br/>9 August: Ferenc Fricsay Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-9-august-ferenc-fricsay-was-born/): The prodigiously gifted Hungarian conductor Ferenc Fricsay tragically died at the age of 48. A student of Béla Bartók, Zoltán Kodály, Ernst von Dohnányi, and Leó Weiner, Fricsay was “one of the few artists in classical music that were seemingly
- [John Adams’ <em>Chamber Symphony</em>](https://interlude.hk/john-adams-chamber-symphony/): American composer John Adams (b. 1947) made his name in minimalism. He brought the contemporary into contemporary opera by using recent historical events (Nixon in China, The Death of Klinghoffer, Doctor Atomic) for his subject matter. His work in smaller
- [Thoughtful Memories of the Past: Massenet’s Visions](https://interlude.hk/thoughtful-memories-of-the-past-massenet-visions/): When we think of Jules Massenet (1842–1912), we principally think of the opera composer, the man behind 27 operas that became the realization of the French Belle-Époque, including Manon (1884), Werther (1892), and Thaïs (1894). However, he was also a
- [Jacqueline du Pré: Why Are These Her Five Most Popular Performances?](https://interlude.hk/jacqueline-du-pre-why-are-these-her-five-most-popular-performances/): Cellist Jacqueline du Pré was a musical meteor. She was born in Oxford, England, in 1945, asked for a cello at the age of four, and made her Wigmore Hall debut at the age of sixteen. When she was twenty,
- [Unfaithful Servants in Operas](https://interlude.hk/unfaithful-servants-in-operas/): In the ‘normal’ lives depicted in opera, our main characters are surrounded by servants – someone to bring the tea or the coffee, or drinks at the party, or whatever little things need to be handled in the background. In
- [Brian Field’s <em>Three Passions for Our Tortured Planet</em> Draws Global Participation, Driving Climate Change Advocacy, Policy Change](https://interlude.hk/brian-field-three-passions-for-our-tortured-planet-draws-global-participation-driving-climate-change-advocacy-policy-change/): Two years since its inception, Field’s suite for solo piano sees dozens of live performances, recordings and multi-media collaboration to fund non-profit support. In 2021, American composer Brian Field penned Three Passions for our Tortured Planet, a dramatic multi-movement piano
- [Ever Wonder How Musicians Get Orchestral Positions?](https://interlude.hk/how-musicians-get-orchestral-positions/): When you attend an orchestra concert you witness wonderful music-making from a singular group of musicians who seemingly play “as one. ” If it’s an orchestra of stature some of the players will remain in their positions an entire lifetime—sometimes decades—and
- [Francis Poulenc Improvisation No. 15, <em>L’hommage à Édith Piaf</em>](https://interlude.hk/francis-poulenc-improvisation-no-15-lhommage-a-edith-piaf/): Francis Poulenc completed his 15 improvisations for piano in 1959 with No. 15 in C minor, subtitled “L’hommage à Édith Piaf. ” Although dedicated to Edith Piaf, it is not known whether Poulenc and Piaf actually met, though they had friends
- [How Do Musicians Interpret Music?](https://interlude.hk/how-do-musicians-interpret-music/): When we hear an artist perform, we can’t help but wonder if there’s at least a dose of magic involved. The alchemy we witness though, is the culmination of years of concentrated training, experimentation, and study. Mastering our instruments is
- [On This Day <br/> 3 August: Itamar Golan Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-3-august-itamar-golan-was-born/): Itamar Golan, born on 3 August 1970 in Vilnius, Lithuania emigrated with his family to Israel when he was only one year old. He began his piano studies with Lara Vodovoz and gave his first concerts in Tel-Aviv at the
- [Chinese Orchestras: Bringing in a New Sound](https://interlude.hk/chinese-orchestras-bringing-in-a-new-sound/): American violinist Joshua Bell has just released 3 Western classics and 1 Chinese classic in new orchestral arrangements. Working with the Singapore Chinese Orchestra, conducted by Tsung Yeh, Bell has taken Saint-Saëns’ Introduction et rondo capriccioso, Massenet’s Médiation from Thaïs,
- [Alfred Schnittke](https://interlude.hk/composer-alfred-schnittke/): “I set down a beautiful chord on paper—and suddenly it rusts” The music of Alfred Schnittke (1934-1998) is marked by an intense expressiveness, an unpredictable flow of ideas, an innate sense of drama, and a natural lyricism. Turning his back
- [On This Day <br/>1 August: Jordi Savall Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-1-august-jordi-savall-was-born/): One of the most important architects of the current revaluation of historical music, Jordi Savall has dedicated his spectacular creative vitality to themes of cultural exchange and communication transcending borders. A concert performer, teacher, researcher, and creator of new musical
- [Zlatomir Fung](https://interlude.hk/american-cellist-zlatomir-fung/): Care in Every Little Detail Zlatomir Fung Plays Dall’Abaco’s 11 Caprices for Solo Cello American Cellist Zlatomir Fung is quickly establishing a reputation as one of the country’s top young soloists. Receiving a prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant in 2020
- [Fleeing Responsibility: Grieg’s <em>Peer Gynt</em>](https://interlude.hk/fleeing-responsibility-grieg-peer-gynt/): Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906) wrote his 5-act play Peer Gynt in 1876 and it is still one of the most performed Norwegian plays. It was given its premiere in Christiana / Oslo in February 1876, with incidental music by Edvard Grieg,
- [10 Most Exciting Mandolin Concertos](https://interlude.hk/10-most-exciting-mandolin-concertos/): Did you know that the smallest member of the lute family is known as the mandolin? The mandolin is a plucked string instrument with a neck and round back enclosing a hollow cavity, usually with a sound hole or opening
- [Children’s Operas in the 1900s](https://interlude.hk/childrens-operas-in-the-1900s/): What is a children’s opera? To my understanding, a children’s opera is an opera but shorter in length and often with themes suitable for children to watch. The most known and oldest children’s opera perhaps traces all the way back
- [Five of the Longest Symphonies Ever Composed](https://interlude.hk/five-of-the-longest-symphonies-ever-composed/): Symphonic composers are convinced that what they have to say is important. They have to be. Not only are these composers spending months or years preparing a score during the composition process, they’re also asking a room of a hundred
- [Bernard Herrmann’s <em>Wuthering Heights Suite</em>](https://interlude.hk/bernard-herrmann-wuthering-heights-suite/): Bernard Herrmann (1911–1975) is best known for his film music, particularly for Alfred Hitchcock’s evocative thrillers. His first film score was for Orson Welles’ Citizen Kane (1941) and one of his last was for Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver (1976). Before
- [Style Over Substance? <br/>The Ascendance of Image in Classical Music](https://interlude.hk/style-over-substance-the-ascendance-of-image-in-classical-music/): In a recent article for InterludeHK, British pianist Peter Donohoe said “it’s all about smiling and being sexy for the camera, and if you get the right photographer anyone can do it. It’s not enough to make a music career
- [George Bridgetower <br/>The Biracial Violinist Who Inspired Beethoven’s Kreutzer Sonata](https://interlude.hk/george-bridgetower-the-biracial-violinist-who-inspired-beethovens-kreutzer-sonata/): Beethoven’s Kreutzer Sonata is one of the most famous pieces of violin music ever written – and yet it was named for a violinist who never even played it! Had Beethoven not entered into a feud with George Bridgetower, the
- [On This Day <br/>27-28 July: Antonio Vivaldi Died](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-27-28-july-antonio-vivaldi-died/): Antonio Vivaldi’s operatic opportunities in Venice were rapidly drying up in 1739. As the famous letter from Charles de Brosse relates, “Vivaldi is an old man with a mania for composing. I have heard him boast of composing a concerto
- [What’s With Mozart, Again](https://interlude.hk/whats-with-mozart-again/): Mozart’s music brings me such bright emotions. Regardless of his works; the genres, the styles, or the instrumentation. Excitement, lightness, joy, beauty, simplicity, positivity — I can recall feeling one if not a combination of these emotions whilst listening to
- [On This Day <br/>26 July: Angela Hewitt was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-26-july-angela-hewitt-was-born/): Pianist Angela Hewitt is probably best known for her cycle of Bach recordings, a project started in 1994 and finished in 2005. To complete her mission, she added a recording of Bach’s The Art of the Fugue in 2014. Angela
- [Music Can Ameliorate Virtual Reality Experience](https://interlude.hk/music-can-ameliorate-virtual-reality-experience/): Virtual reality (VR) has applications spanning an array of industries. Although manufacturers of headsets are investing to produce the most efficient devices, people wearing virtual reality goggles can experience symptoms of cybersickness. A recent research from the University of Edinburgh
- [In Touch With Composer and Educator Wynn-Anne Rossi](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-composer-and-educator-wynn-anne-rossi/): Wynn-Anne Rossi is a notable composer and educator. As a piano teacher myself, I knew about Wynn-Anne through her always-inspiring teaching pieces. Indeed, Wynn-Anne dedicates her career and compositions to students and teachers. In this interview, you will know about
- [Dancing with Daemons: Liszt’s <em>Mephisto Waltz No. 1</em>](https://interlude.hk/dancing-with-daemons-liszt-mephisto-waltz-no-1/): Franz Liszt’s Mephisto Waltz No. 1 takes the listener on a mad whirl through a town and out the other side, pushed by the piano into a frenzied dance. Liszt wrote a number of works entitled Mephisto Waltz, and they
- [The Composer is Dead: Introducing the Orchestra to Young People](https://interlude.hk/the-composer-is-dead-introducing-the-orchestra-to-young-people/): Who among music lovers hasn’t heard Camille Saint-Saëns’ Carnival of the Animals, or Sergei Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf, or Benjamin Britten’s Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra? These works are treasured favorites, appreciated equally by audiences and musicians. Each
- [On This Day <br/>24 July: Richard Strauss’ <em>Friedenstag</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-24-july-richard-strauss-friedenstag-was-premiered/): Premiered on 24 July 1938 at the National Theatre Munich, Friedenstag (Day of Peace) is arguably the least known of Strauss’ opera and in many respects the least characteristic. In fact, this serious, rather earnest treatment of war is certainly
- [The Shock of the Not-So-New <br/>George Antheil’s <em>Violin Sonata No. 1</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-shock-of-the-not-so-new-george-antheil-violin-sonata-no-1/): For 21-year-old George Antheil (1900–1959), Europe was going to be his launch on the world. He declared his intention of being an ‘ultramodern pianist composer’ and set out to conquer the world. His first solo recital was in London in
- [Four Surviving Pianos Played by the Great Composers](https://interlude.hk/four-surviving-pianos-played-by-the-great-composers/): Pianos may be bulky instruments, but their bulkiness belies their true delicacy. From keys to hammers to strings, a single piano consists of hundreds of intricate tiny parts, and honestly, it’s a miracle that any have survived over the centuries.
- [On This Day <br/>23 July: Domenico Scarlatti Died](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-23-july-domenico-scarlatti-died/): Domenico Scarlatti’s final years are “of a contrast between a striking show of vitality, which saw him continue to father children up to the for the period advanced age of 64, and a creative mood of introspection which produced the
- [The Lost Now Found <br/>Peter Arnold Heise’s <em>String Quartets</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-lost-now-found-peter-arnold-heise-string-quartets/): Peter Arnold Heise (1830–1879) was an active composer in mid–19th-century Denmark. A student of A. P. Berggren, who was also the teacher of Niels W. Gade (1817–1890), the leading Danish musician of the day, Heise started his composing career at age
- [A Portrait of the Young Glenn Gould](https://interlude.hk/a-portrait-of-the-young-glenn-gould/): Glenn Gould’s iconic stature as one of the great if not the greatest pianists has not diminished since he passed in 1982 shortly after his 50th birthday. Many of us know him for his recordings of Bach, especially the Goldberg
- [Musicians and Artists: Jake Heggie and 5 Sculptures](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-jake-heggie-and-5-sculptures-statuesque/): Jake Heggie: Statuesque American composer Jake Heggie (b. 1961) started the piano when he was seven and composing when he was 12. A commission from the San Francisco Opera led to the start of his successful opera career when he
- [On This Day <br/>21 July: Isaac Stern Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-21-july-isaac-stern-was-born/): Isaac Stern’s tombstone simply reads, “Isaac Stern, Fiddler. ” However, the violinist was much, much more than that. He was an educator who mentored generations of musicians, including Yo-Yo Ma and Itzhak Perlman, and his activism on behalf of classical music
- [Golden Gate: The Humming Bridge](https://interlude.hk/golden-gate-the-humming-bridge/): Here is our little quiz for today. What is possibly the largest wind instrument in the world? I am sure you can immediately think of a number of vast instruments, the Wagner tuba, the ophicleide, the Alphorn, or some enormous
- [On This Day <br/>19 July: Webern’s <em>Six Bagatelles for String Quartet</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-19-july-webern-six-bagatelles-for-string-quartet-was-premiered/): The German town of Donaueschingen is picturesquely located in the Black Forest in the State of Baden-Württemberg. It stands near the two sources of the river Danube, and it started to host a festival for contemporary classical music in 1921.
- [Jane Stirling: Why Did This Piano Student Pay for Chopin's Funeral?](https://interlude.hk/jane-stirling-why-did-this-piano-student-pay-for-chopins-funeral/): Jane Stirling – Frédéric Chopin’s student, patroness, caretaker, manager, and legacy-builder – has always lived in the shadows of her piano teacher. And yet she was an integral part of Chopin’s later life and one of the reasons why his
- [The Dwarf of Death <br/>Schubert’s <em>Der Zwerg</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-dwarf-of-death-schubert-der-zwerg/): Franz Schubert (1797–1828) wrote over 600 vocal works, one of the oddest and yet most powerful of which is a ballad about a Queen, her dwarf, and a fatal encounter. The story opens in the middle of the night: we
- [Celebrating the Piano and Those Who Play It <br/>The 25th Oxford Piano Festival](https://interlude.hk/celebrating-the-piano-and-those-who-play-it-the-25th-oxford-piano-festival/): For its 25th year, the Oxford Piano Festival has put together a splendid array of world-class pianists, vibrant, varied programmes, and inspirational teaching. Founded by the renowned pianist and conductor Marios Papadopoulos in 1998, and hosted by the Oxford Philharmonic
- [Finding a New Voice: Dvořák’s <em>Cello Concerto</em>](https://interlude.hk/finding-a-new-voice-dvorak-cello-concerto/): When he went to the US in 1891 to become the head of the American Conservatory of Music in New York, Antonín Dvořák’s patron, Mrs. Jeannet Thurber, intended him to be the founder of not only the first conservatory in
- [On This Day <br/>17 July: Alexei Volodin Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-17-july-alexei-volodin-was-born/): Russian pianist Alexei Volodin, born on 17 July 1977 in St Petersburg, is highly lauded for his sensitive touch and the technical brilliance of his playing. A highly virtuoso and deeply philosophical musician, Volodin has no time for superficial effects.
- [Brazilian First Conductor and First Choro Composer <br/>Chiquinha Gonzaga (1847-1935)](https://interlude.hk/brazilian-first-conductor-and-first-choro-composer-chiquinha-gonzaga-1847-1935/): Francisca Edwiges Neves Gonzaga (1847-1935), known as Chiquinha Gonzaga, is considered one of the most important female figures in Brazilian music history. She was a feminist and abolitionist, and she was the first of many things: the first Choro composer,
- [On This Day <br/>16 July: Pinchas Zukerman Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-16-july-pinchas-zukerman-was-born/): To watch Pinchas Zukerman perform, a scholar writes, “Gives the deceptive impression that violin playing is not really all that difficult. There is nothing labored, nothing studied about the way he handles the instrument, though, this inborn ability had to
- [My Favorite Music by Gabriel Fauré](https://interlude.hk/my-favorite-music-by-gabriel-faure/): When I was a little girl, I heard Gabriel Fauré’s famous Pavane in an arrangement for two pianos on a classical music compilation disc. From the very first notes, I was taken by its elegant restraint. I listened to the
- [Costumes for Paris Opera <br/>Jacques Drésa’s Designs](https://interlude.hk/costumes-for-paris-opera-jacques-dresa-designs/): The Gallica digital library at the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris is one of the great research treasuries of the world. It was established in 1997 and now holds more than 10 million documents accessible online: books, magazines, newspapers, photographs, cartoons,
- [On This Day <br/>15 July: Weill’s <em>Down in the Valley</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-15-july-kurt-weill-down-in-the-valley-was-premiered/): In the summer of 1945, Kurt Weill received a commission for a series of short radio operas. Olin Downes, the music critic of The New York Times, and a businessman named Charles McArthur, envisioned a combination of the old English
- [Musicians and Artists: Steinke and Munch](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-greg-a-steinke-and-edvard-munch/): Greg A. Steinke: EXPRESSIONS on the Paintings of Edvard Munch Edvard Munch (1863–1944) was an artist for over six decades. His final output consists of nearly 2,000 paintings, hundreds of graphics, and thousands of drawings. He was also a writer
- [Music of the Past and the Future <br/>Dohnányi’s <em>Sextet in C Major, Op. 37</em>](https://interlude.hk/music-of-the-past-and-the-future-dohnanyi-sextet-in-c-major-op-37/): As a solo pianist, Ernő Dohnányi (1877–1960) was usually compared to Liszt and was seen as the successor to that 19th-century virtuoso. As a composer of chamber music, however, he was usually associated with following the Brahmsian tradition. As a
- [Photographing the Infinite <br/>The Art of Charles Brooks](https://interlude.hk/photographing-the-infinite-the-art-of-charles-brooks/): The cables stretch above as you stand on a richly patterned and textured floor. A seemingly infinite set of repetitive curves are set off by rich red balusters and an angled roof through which light comes. This is the new
- [On This Day <br/>13 July: Arnold Schoenberg Died](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-13-july-arnold-schoenberg-died/): The great composer Dimitri Mitropoulos said in 1951, “I was profoundly shocked to read of the death of Arnold Schoenberg. He was one of the greatest geniuses of our time. He did for music in the twentieth century what Einstein
- [Together or Separate: Dvořák’s Three Overtures <br/><em>In Nature’s Realm, Carnival</em> and <em>Othello</em>](https://interlude.hk/together-or-separate-dvoraks-three-overtures-in-natures-realm-carnival-and-othello/): In the early 1890s, Antonín Dvořák (1841–1904) stepped away from his strongly Bohemian folksong–influenced orchestral music to write three overtures that he originally intended as a unified set entitled Nature, Life and Love. In the end, however, he published the
- [On This Day <br/>12 July: Anton Arensky Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-12-july-anton-arensky-was-born/): Anton Arensky was born on 12 July 1861 in Novgorod, on the banks of Lake Ilmen. His father was a physician and played the cello, and his mother was said to have been a good pianist. Young Anton showed great
- [Five of the Best Violin Etude Books](https://interlude.hk/five-of-the-best-violin-etude-books/): At the risk of stating the incredibly obvious, the violin is hard to play. Some players find that, in order to master a specific skill, it’s useful to strip it from a wider musical context and focus on the specific
- [On This Day <br/> 11 July: Nicolai Gedda was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-11-july-nicolai-gedda-was-born/): Operatic tenors enjoy a special status in the world of music. We all still remember the illustrious Enrico Caruso, Beniamino Gigli, and Richard Tauber from the first half of the twentieth century. However, as a critic wrote, “the most versatile
- [Béla Bartók In and Out of Love](https://interlude.hk/bela-bartok-in-and-out-of-love/): Béla Bartók (1881-1945) started his musical journey at age 5 with piano lessons at home before he went to the Budapest Academy of Music in his teens. His teacher, István Thomas, had been a student of Liszt and his training
- [The Master and the Student: Humperdinck’s Wagnerian Reflection](https://interlude.hk/the-master-and-the-student-humperdinck-wagnerian-reflection/): Englebert Humperdinck (1854–1921), after his studies in Cologne and Munich, and further studies in France and Italy, became a follower of Wagner, whom he met in Italy in 1881. Wagner invited him to help with the preparation of Parsifal, and
- [On This Day <br/>10 July: Henryk Wieniawski Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-10-july-henryk-wieniawski-was-born/): The exceptional and brilliant violinist Henryk Wieniawski, born on 10 July 1835 in Lublin, was quickly considered a reincarnation of Nicolò Paganini. In the summer of 1848, a German reviewer writes, “Our third guest, violinist Wieniawski, is a 12-year-old boy
- [Famous Quotes from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://interlude.hk/famous-quotes-from-wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/): Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) penned a vast number of letters, starting from about the age of 14 and ranging to the last month of his life. Literally, thousands of these documents have been preserved, thanks to the foresight of his
- [On This Day <br/>9 July: Denisov’s <em>Clarinet Concerto</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-9-july-denisov-clarinet-concerto-was-premiered/): The clarinet concerto by Edison Denisov (1929-1996), premiered on 9 July 1989, finds the European-oriented composer firmly rooted in Russian-Siberian soil, “developing a certain partiality to the tonal qualities of the clarinet. ” In fact, the clarinet had previously featured in
- [Five of the Best Yuja Wang Performances](https://interlude.hk/five-of-the-best-yuja-wang-performances/): Yuja Wang is indisputably one of the world’s best pianists. Her musicianship pairs an ironclad technique with a searing passion. Her fashion sense is famous, too. Nobody on the concert platform today rocks stiletto heels like Yuja Wang! We checked
- [Dvořák’s <em>American Suite</em>](https://interlude.hk/dvorak-american-suite/): Antonín Dvořák (1841–1904) spent three years in America and gave us some great works written during that time that were highly influential. His use of native American and black song sources opened the eyes of many American composers to the
- [<em>Così fan tutte</em>, or The Universal Story](https://interlude.hk/mozart-cosi-fan-tutte-or-the-universal-story/): Cosí fan tutte is the least performed of the Mozart–Da Ponte operas. The comedy of Le Nozze di Figaro and the travails of our favourite libertine in Don Giovanni were much more popular. The uncertain and changing morals of Cosí
- [On This Day <br/> 8 July: Benjamin Grosvenor Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-8-july-benjamin-grosvenor-was-born/): Benjamin Grosvenor, born on 8 July 1992 in Westcliff-on-Sea, Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England, has never entered an international piano competition. And truth be told, he won’t have to in the future. In fact, he was the youngest ever winner of the
- [Louise-Angélique Bertin <br/><em>Fausto</em>](https://interlude.hk/louise-angelique-bertin-fausto/): On 20 June 2023, Christophe Rousset and “Les Talens Lyriques” premiered the recently rediscovered opera Fausto by Louise-Angélique Bertin (1805-1877). That exceptional setting by a recognized female composer and friend of Hector Berlioz had been lost except for a piano
- [Which Composer Wrote the Greatest First Symphony?](https://interlude.hk/which-composer-wrote-the-greatest-first-symphony/): Ever since Beethoven redefined what a symphony could be, composers have been, by turn, inspired and intimidated by the genre. Today we look at the stories of how five very different composers dealt with the pressure and weight of expectation
- [Some Russian Jewels <br/>An Interview with Nikita Lukinov](https://interlude.hk/some-russian-jewels-an-interview-with-nikita-lukinov/): Pianist Nikita Lukinov’s new recording, Kaleidoscope, gives us a very definite view of Russian pianism at the end of the 19th century and into the 20th. He chose piano miniatures by 3 pianists who are each separated by 40 years
- [Lost in the Maze <br/>Niloufar Iravani’s <em>The Maze</em>](https://interlude.hk/lost-in-the-maze-niloufar-iravani-the-maze/): Iranian composer Niloufar Iravani’s 2017 string quartet The Maze contains a wonderful analogy for how people listen to music. In its three movements, Energetic, Lyrical, and Mysterious, the work presents us with the various emotions in problem solving. If we
- [Wagner Rides Again <br/>From Syria to Ukraine](https://interlude.hk/wagner-rides-again-from-syria-to-ukraine/): I don’t know about you, but I see the name Wagner in the news on an almost daily basis. Specifically, the name is attached to a private paramilitary organization, known as “The Wagner Group. ” Essentially, it is a private military
- [On This Day <br/>5 July: János Starker Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-5-july-janos-starker-was-born/): The playing style of cellist János Starker was greatly admired for its “silken richness of tone and an expressive purpose governed by deep musical sensibility. ” One of the greatest cellists of all time, Starker also had a great sense of
- [Folk Music Modernized: Janáček’s Lachian Dances](https://interlude.hk/folk-music-modernized-janacek-lachian-dances/): Leoš Janáček (1854–1928), unlike his contemporaries, really only started to be a composer in mid-life, so his work emerged, fully formed and of ‘startling originality’, later in his life than for most. His reputation up to around 1916 was really
- [William Byrd](https://interlude.hk/william-byrd-renaissance-composer/): “Father of Musick” 400 years ago, on 4 July 1623, William Byrd (1540-1623) died at Stondon Massey, a small village near Chipping Ongar in Essex. According to his will, he was buried in the parish churchyard, but his grave has
- [Stopping off in Panama with Weill <br/>Kurt Weill’s <em>Suite Panaméenne</em>](https://interlude.hk/stopping-off-in-panama-with-weill-kurt-weills-suite-panameenne/): Starting with a hoot of a boat whistle, we’re off on an adventure. For our heroine, the boat trip is one with destination disaster but for us, we get a treat in Kurt Weill’s music for the musical Marie Galante.
- [Love Lost: Granados’ Goyescas](https://interlude.hk/love-lost-granados-goyescas/): The late 19th century saw a glorification of Spanish culture under the general label of the Hispanidad. All sectors of Spanish culture were up for reappraisal and promotion. One of those was the celebration in 1897 of the 150th anniversary
- [Best Symphonic Poems of all Time](https://interlude.hk/best-symphonic-poems-of-all-time/): First things first, a symphonic poem is an orchestral composition, usually in a single continuous movement. Basically, the music of a symphonic poem attempts to communicate or carry meanings, messages, or concepts that originate from outside music itself. This can
- [On This Day <br/>3 July: Carlos Kleiber Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-3-july-carlos-kleiber-was-born/): For a good number of commentators and experts, Carlos Kleiber, born on 3 July 1930 in Berlin, is regarded as among the greatest conductors of all time. “His gifts are musical and dramatic insight, analytical abilities, technique, and his methods
- [On This Day <br/>2 July: Christoph Willibald Gluck Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-2-july-christoph-willibald-gluck-was-born/): Christoph Willibald Gluck was born on 2 July 1714 in Erasbach, near Berching, in Upper Palatinate. His father Alexander “was an enterprising and energetic man, who was in charge of the forestry and the toll of several wealthy monasteries. ” Alexander
- [Beethoven's Students: From Carl Czerny to Countesses](https://interlude.hk/beethoven-students-from-carl-czerny-to-countesses/): Ludwig van Beethoven has gone down in classical music history as a great, defiant, wild-haired composer genius. However, being a genius doesn’t always pay the bills. So throughout his life, Beethoven often took on piano students to supplement his income... at
- [Violin Masterworks Inspired by Jascha Heifetz](https://interlude.hk/violin-masterworks-inspired-by-jascha-heifetz/): The famed Irish playwright, critic, and political activist George Bernard Shaw sent a personal letter to Jascha Heifetz after hearing a performance. He writes, “Your recital has filled me and my wife with anxiety. If you provoke a jealous God
- [On This Day <br/>1 July: Bartók’s <em>Piano Concerto No. 1</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-1-july-bartok-piano-concerto-no-1-was-premiered/): During the mid-1920s, Béla Bartók experienced a compositional fork in the road. His violin sonatas had represented him as a musician on the international stage, while the “Dance Suite” was a national composition celebrating the 50th anniversary of the unification
- [Laurence Kilsby](https://interlude.hk/laurence-kilsby-british-tenor/): ‘All I care about is making good music and singing it well’ Young British tenor Laurence Kilsby is no stranger to success: having won first prizes at the 2023 Heidelburger Frühling Festspiele’s “Das Lied”, 2022 Wigmore Hall/Bollinger International Song and
- [The Motet](https://interlude.hk/the-motet-in-music/): One of the most prevalent musical genres for over 500 years, the motet has virtually vanished from the performing repertoire. Throughout history, the motet changed with every new musical period. Beginning around 1220, the motet was a secular polyphonic composition
- [On This Day <br/>30 June: Esa-Pekka Salonen was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-30-june-esa-pekka-salonen-was-born/): Born in Helsinki, Finland on 10 June 1958 to a businessman father and a homemaker mother, Esa-Pekka Salonen knew from an early age that music was his destiny. His mother tried to get him to play the piano at four,
- [The Start of a Nationalist Storm <br/>Vítězslav Novák’s <em>V Tatrach</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-start-of-a-nationalist-storm-vitezslav-novak-v-tatrach/): Czech composer Vítězslav Novák (1870–1949) initially studied law at Prague University before taking up music as a student of Antonín Dvořák (1841–1904) at the Prague Conservatory. His early interest was folk songs, particularly from the Slovak and Moravian areas, and
- [An Interview with Nancy Loo as the Broadcaster](https://interlude.hk/an-interview-with-nancy-loo-as-the-broadcaster/): Miss Nancy Loo is one of the most extraordinary pianists in Hong Kong. A graduate of the Juilliard School, Miss Loo won many international competitions, including the First Prize winner at the Fourth Rina Sala Gallo International Competition in Monza
- [On This Day <br/>28 June: Thomas Hampson Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-28-june-thomas-hampson-was-born/): The American lyric baritone Thomas Walter Hampson has appeared in all the major opera houses and concert halls around the world, and he has made well over 170 recordings. His enormous operatic repertoire spans more than 80 roles, and as
- [Dvořák’s Works for Small Ensembles <br/>The Shaham Erez Wallfisch Trio](https://interlude.hk/dvorak-works-for-small-ensembles-the-shaham-erez-wallfisch-trio/): There’s something special about piano trios. Perhaps the combination of violin, cello, and piano makes the perfect pocket ensemble. They’re not as complex as string quartets, and the addition of the strings makes an ensemble that embraces the top and
- [Henriëtte Bosmans: How Did This Half-Jewish Composer Survive the Holocaust?](https://interlude.hk/henriette-bosmans-how-did-this-half-jewish-composer-survive-the-holocaust/): Henriëtte Bosmans has one of the most fascinating biographies in twentieth-century music history. She was a celebrated piano soloist and composer. Her love for great women performers inspired deeply beautiful works for both cello and voice. And when the Nazis
- [Performing the New: An Interview With Madeleine Mitchell](https://interlude.hk/performing-the-new-an-interview-with-madeleine-mitchell/): The brilliant new recording by Madeleine Mitchell is a wonderful review of late 20th- and early 21st-century violin music. Many of the works were written as gifts for Ms Mitchell and on four of the works, their composers play the
- [Lost and Found: Dvořák’s Polonaise in A major](https://interlude.hk/lost-and-found-antonin-dvorak-polonaise-in-a-major/): When we think of Antonín Dvořák, we don’t think of him in relation to genres such as the polonaise, which we associate more with Chopin and the pianistic repertoire. But, in 1879, for the cellist Alois Neruda, he composed a
- [On This Day <br/>26 June: Wagner’s <em>Die Walküre</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-26-june-wagner-die-walkure-was-premiered/): Cosima Wagner wrote pointedly in her diary of 1873, “Die Walküre is the most emotional, the most tragic of Richard’s works. ” Here as elsewhere, Cosima is responding to the classical theory of drama that Wagner had outlined during the initial
- [Why Abel Selaocoe a Dazzling Cellist, Singer, and Composer, is a Revelation](https://interlude.hk/why-abel-selaocoe-a-dazzling-cellist-singer-and-composer-is-a-revelation/): South African cellist, singer, and composer Abel Selaocoe has a remarkable and inventive approach. Taking the cello to places rarely explored, he showcases the tremendous range of expression of the cello from the classics through non-Western musical traditions. His extraordinary
- [On This Day <br/>25 June: Schumann’s <em>Genoveva</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-25-june-schumann-genoveva-was-premiered/): Premiered at the Stadtteater in Leipzig on 25 June 1850, Robert Schumann’s (1810-1856) four-act opera Genoveva elicited a strong response from Richard Wagner. “Schumann is a strange man,” he writes, “who has no sense of melody, and his opera Genoveva
- [The Lyrical Piano <br/>Mendelssohn’s <em>Lieder ohne Worte</em> (Songs without Words)](https://interlude.hk/the-lyrical-piano-mendelssohn-lieder-ohne-worte-songs-without-words/): Felix Mendelssohn is credited with creating a new genre of music for the piano: the short lyrical pieces known as the Lieder ohne Worte, the Songs Without Words. It was common in the Romantic period to have short lyrical piano
- [10 Podcasts about Classical Music and Beyond](https://interlude.hk/10-podcasts-about-classical-music-and-beyond/): Do you listen to podcasts? I enjoy listening to podcasts, especially when I am driving. In this article, I share some podcasts about classical music that our contributors and I listen to. Perhaps there are a few that you might
- [Making Fun of the Master <br/>Richard Wagner in Caricature](https://interlude.hk/making-fun-of-the-master-richard-wagner-in-caricature/): Richard Wagner (1813–1883) was a revolutionary in German music and in opera. For opera-goers, the advent of Wagner onto their stages was cause for comment, particularly in the caricature sections. In images, the cartoonists could take aim at all they saw as false or inflated in the music and person...
- [Christophe Rousset <br/>Music of a Lost World](https://interlude.hk/christophe-rousset-music-of-a-lost-world/): The harpsichordist and conductor Christophe Rousset is widely considered a leader in the contemporary revival of French Baroque music. A trained musicologist and founder of the French music ensemble “Les Talens Lyriques,” Rousset has been awarded the French honours of
- [Five Composers Who Died Tragically Young](https://interlude.hk/five-composers-who-died-tragically-young/): If you ask music lovers to name a composer who died too young, many will think of Mozart, who died just a month before his 36th birthday, in the midst of composing his Requiem. Of course, the loss of Mozart
- [The Enchanting Power of Intimacy: Music in Small Venues](https://interlude.hk/the-enchanting-power-of-intimacy-music-in-small-venues/): I will never forget a concert I attended in the mid-1980s in a tiny Medieval church in Zadar, a small seaside town in former Yugoslavia. Amidst the ancient stone pillars and arches, a string quartet played music by Beethoven and
- [The Loud Harpsichord <br/>Frank Martin’s <em>Harpsichord Concerto</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-loud-harpsichord-frank-martin-harpsichord-concerto/): Swiss composer Frank Martin (1890–1974) wrote across all genres but is known for his works for an unusual instrument. Where his 1944 work, Petite symphonie concertante, uses the instrument in conjunction with harp and piano, his 1951–1952 work, Concerto for
- ["ECHOES" - Orchestra of the Swan](https://interlude.hk/echoes-orchestra-of-the-swan/): ‘Echoes’ is the latest in Orchestra of the Swan’s ‘mixtape’ series, following on from ‘Timelapse’ and ‘Labyrinths’ (which has received over 8 million audio streams since 2021 and was shortlisted for Gramophone award in the Spatial Audio category). As with
- [On This Day <br/>21 June: Khatia Buniatishvili Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-21-june-khatia-buniatishvili-was-born/): Covid-19 has fundamentally changed the way we work, educate our children, care for others, and also the way we communicate. As a reporter stated, “the pandemic didn’t bring us together; in fact, it was never going to be the common
- [The Disappearing Light of Fireflies](https://interlude.hk/the-disappearing-light-of-fireflies/): We think of them as a summer phenomenon, a mysterious blinking in the bushes, or a trail of light seen out of the corner of your inattentive eye: fireflies! American composer Stephen Barber was in a garden in upstate New
- [Healing Music: An Interview with Kelly Tang](https://interlude.hk/healing-music-an-interview-with-kelly-tang/): Singaporean composer Kelly Tang (b. 1961) was given the first commission by the Foundation for Arts and Social Enterprise for its Music Commissioning series, encouraging the creation of new music in Singapore. The commission came in 2020, in the middle
- [On This Day <br/>20 June: Pamela Frank Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-20-june-pamela-frank-was-born/): Violinist Pamela Frank, born to noted pianists Claude Frank and Lilian Kallir in New York City on 20 June 1967, took to the violin at an early age. She started her studies at the age of 5 as a student
- [Musicians and Artists: Dutilleux and Van Gogh](https://interlude.hk/music-art-van-gogh/): Henri Dutilleux: Timbres, espace, mouvement (ou, La nuit étoilée) In the late 1880s, the sky at night was a point of inspiration for Vincent Van Gogh. In September 1888, he depicted a café at night in the middle of the
- [Playing With the Danube: Schulz-Evler’s <em>Blue Danube Arabesques</em>](https://interlude.hk/playing-with-the-danube-schulz-evler-blue-danube-arabesques/): One of the most famous of the waltzes written by Johann Strauss II was his An der schönen blauen Donau, Op. 314. By the Beautiful Blue Danube, or The Blue Danube Waltz as it’s more commonly known. It had its
- [On This Day <br/>19 June: Sergei Taneyev Died](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-19-june-sergei-taneyev-died/): Shortly after Tchaikovsky joined the staff of the Moscow Conservatoire in September 1866, a young boy was admitted to study piano. He was only 9-years old, and after a brief interruption, he resumed his studies in composition with Tchaikovsky. That
- [Classical Piano Music For Sleep <br/>Ten Pieces That Will Help You Drift Off and Dream](https://interlude.hk/classical-piano-music-for-sleep-ten-pieces-that-will-help-you-drift-off-and-dream/): Getting a good night’s sleep is not a luxury. It’s a necessity for our physical and mental well-being. Music can help people relax and fall asleep faster. Classical piano music can be especially effective at inducing sleep. In this article,
- [Putting Anger into Music <br/>Zemlinsky’s <em>The Mermaid</em>](https://interlude.hk/putting-anger-into-music-zemlinsky-the-mermaid/): Austrian composer and conductor Alexander von Zemlinsky (1871–1942) was in the middle of the innovations of the Second Viennese School, with Arnold Schoenberg (1874–1951) as his pupil. However, despite their common location and close age, Zemlinsky was not the revolutionary
- [Music of Royalty <br/>King Henry VIII](https://interlude.hk/music-of-royalty-king-henry-viii/): In popular culture, King Henry VIII (1491–1547) is primarily remembered for his six wives and countless mistresses. His private life was summarized in a popular rhyme. King Henry VIII, To six wives he was wedded. One died, one survived, Two
- [On This Day <br/>18 June: Peter Donohoe was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-18-june-peter-donohoe-was-born/): Becoming 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
- [Johann Baptist Wendling](https://interlude.hk/johann-baptist-wendling-flautist-composer/): “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
- [Tchaikovsky's Wife: Madwoman or Tragic Victim?](https://interlude.hk/tchaikovskys-wife-madwoman-or-tragic-victim/): 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
- [Abandoning All Hope and Finding Paradise <br/>Thomas Adès’ <em>Dante</em>](https://interlude.hk/abandoning-all-hope-and-finding-paradise-thomas-ades-dante/): Most 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? <br/>Essential Piano Technique by Penelope Roskell](https://interlude.hk/when-is-the-right-time-to-start-teaching-piano-technique-essential-piano-technique-by-penelope-roskell/): Renowned 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
- [The Digital Debussy Continued <br/>Francis Gorgé and Debussy](https://interlude.hk/the-digital-debussy-continued-francis-gorge-and-debussy/): We interviewed digital performer and arranger Francis Gorgé in February 2022 and took a look at his orchestration of Debussy’s Preludes Book I in January 2023. Now he’s extended his work to Debussy’s Preludes, Book II, a work by Florent
- [On This Day <br/>15 June: Julia Fischer Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-15-june-julia-fischer-was-born/): The 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
- [Accessible but Out of Favour <br/>Goltermann’s Cello Concerto No. 1](https://interlude.hk/accessible-but-out-of-favour-goltermann-cello-concerto-no-1/): In 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
- [BAGATELLES <br/>Piano Music by Bernard Hughes](https://interlude.hk/bagatelles-piano-music-by-bernard-hughes/): This album presents the complete works of Bernard Hughes for solo piano, an eclectic collection covering a period of over 30 years. The oldest piece dates back to his teenage years and the most recent is a brand new suite,
- [On This Day <br/>13 June: Verdi’s <em>Les vêpres siciliennes</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-13-june-verdi-les-vepres-siciliennes-was-premiered/): Giuseppe Verdi’s Les vêpres siciliennes premiered at the Paris Opéra on 13 June 1855. It was well received, and even the notoriously difficult Hector Berlioz found much to admire, praising “the penetrating intensity of the melodic expressiveness, the sumptuous, wise
- [Musicians and Artists: Pearson and Renoir](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-pearson-and-pierre-auguste-renoir-dance-at-bougival/): 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
- [Gone but Not Forgotten: Auber’s Overtures](https://interlude.hk/gone-but-not-forgotten-daniel-auber-overtures/): Daniel-François-Esprit Auber (1782–1871), working with the dramatist and librettist Eugène Scribe (1791–1861), was at the heart of 19th-century French opera. Auber and Scribe worked together for 41 years and through 39 operas. His specialty was grand historical drama, such as
- [Teresa Carreño: Thirteen Facts About the Great Pianist and Composer](https://interlude.hk/teresa-carreno-thirteen-facts-about-the-great-pianist-and-composer/): Teresa Carreño was one of the most famous pianists of her generation. She traveled the world from Europe to America to Africa to Australia and lived a life full of accomplishment and adventure. Franz Liszt: Annees de pelerinage, 2nd year,
- [The Shocking Stories of Three Missing Stradivarius](https://interlude.hk/the-shocking-stories-of-three-missing-stradivarius/): Everyone knows that the most famous violins in the world were built by Antonio Stradivari. He was a violin maker from Cremona, Italy, who lived from 1644 to 1737. However, you may not know that although Stradivari’s workshop produced over
- [Gershwin’s Forgotten Rhapsody](https://interlude.hk/gershwin-forgotten-second-rhapsody/): We all know George Gershwin (1898–1937) and his Rhapsody in Blue, his 1924 composition that, beginning with an extended clarinet glissando, firmly issued jazz into the world of classical music. The work was commissioned by bandleader Paul Whiteman and received
- [On This Day <br/>11 June: Britten’s <em>Midsummer Night’s Dream</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-11-june-britten-midsummer-nights-dream-was-premiered/): When a marital disagreement between the king and queen of fairies spills into the human realm, it creates a tangle of misdirected spells and misplaced love affairs. With the fairies spreading accidental chaos far and wide, nothing is what it
- [It’s All About Taste <br/>An Interview with Chiyan Wong](https://interlude.hk/its-all-about-taste-an-interview-with-chiyan-wong/): When we last caught up with pianist Chiyan Wong, he was up to his eyebrows in Bach, performing the Goldberg Variations. Now, the jazz bug has caught him, and he’s been pursuing it through the music of Ravel and Tsfasman.
- [On This Day <br/>10 June: Frederick Delius Died](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-10-june-frederick-delius-died/): By 1928, Frederick Delius was going blind and had lost the use of his limbs due to syphilis. His mental acuity, however, remained unimpaired until his death. But one thing for sure, he could no longer compose. Having learned of
- [Les Femmes “Compositeurs” <br/>Mélodies by French Romantic Women Composers](https://interlude.hk/les-femmes-compositeurs-melodies-by-french-romantic-women-composers/): The romance and its successor the mélodie was one of the main genres cultivated by Les Femmes “Compositeurs. ” A mélodie is a form of French art song that is somewhat comparable to the German Lied. Claude Debussy wrote as follows,
- [Musicians and Artists: Melchers and Rubens](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-melcher-melchers-and-peter-paul-rubens-la-kermesse/): Melcher Melchers: La Kermesse Inspired by Peter Paul Rubens In his frolicking picture La Kermesse, Peter Paul Rubens gives us a village festival that takes over the entire foreground of the painting. Though at one time to be a picture
- [On This Day <br/>9 June: Carl Nielsen Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-9-june-carl-nielsen-was-born/): “Fyn,” also known as “Funen” is the third-largest island of Denmark. Sometimes known as the “Garden of Denmark,” this predominantly flat island hosts a mainly mild climate. It is also the birthplace of pop singer MØ, a footballer named Christian
- [On This Day <br/>8 June: Ravel’s <em>Daphnis et Chloe</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-8-june-ravel-daphnis-et-chloe-was-premiered/): Set on the Greek isle of Lesbos, the ancient Greek novel Daphnis et Chloe is a pastoral tale of shepherds and shepherdesses authored by the Greek writer Longus. It tells the story of a boy and a girl, each abandoned
- [Composer Erwin Schulhoff and How His Legacy Was Destroyed by the Nazis](https://interlude.hk/composer-erwin-schulhoff-and-how-his-legacy-was-destroyed-by-the-nazis/): Erwin Schulhoff is one of the most tragic, fascinating figures in twentieth century music. His promising career was halted by the rise of the Nazis, and he died in the Holocaust in 1942, before he could fulfill his true musical
- [Words and Music and Imagination <br/>An Interview With Evelyn Chang](https://interlude.hk/words-and-music-and-imagination-an-interview-with-evelyn-chang/): Inspired by her two boys, Taiwan pianist Evelyn Chang wrote some little pieces for children. All were based on the animals that they met in their stories or saw in their life and so her collection, Fantasies for Children was
- [On This Day <br/>7 June: Philippe Entremont Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-7-june-philippe-entremont-was-born/): Born on 7 June 1934 in Reims, the French pianist and conductor Philippe Entremont came from a musical family. His father was a violinist and conductor, and his mother a “Grand Prix” pianist and piano teacher. However, Entremont’s first instrument
- [Let’s Not Be Brave <br/>Margaret Brouwer’s <em>I Cry—Summer 2020</em>](https://interlude.hk/lets-not-be-brave-margaret-brouwer-i-cry-summer-2020/): The COVID lockdown of 2020–2022 affected composers and performers in many different ways. Some reported that, at least for the first few months, all of their activity stopped while the world reassessed itself. Many people found that their future lives
- [A New World for the Keyboard: Chabrier’s <em>Bourrée fantasque</em>](https://interlude.hk/a-new-world-for-the-keyboard-chabrier-bourree-fantasque/): The composer Francis Poulenc loved the music of Emmanuel Chabrier (1841-1894), as did Debussy, saying once after a performance of Chabrier’s Ode à la musique ‘... I love this music so much that I want to hear it again. ’ Chabrier was
- [What is a Group of Classical Musicians Called?](https://interlude.hk/what-is-a-group-of-classical-musicians-called/): A group of classical musicians performing together is called an ensemble. Some ensembles consist entirely of instrumentalists, while others consist of singers. Of course, there are also ensembles where instrumentalists and singers perform together. A variety of ensembles appear in
- [On This Day <br/>5 June: Carl Maria von Weber Died](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-5-june-carl-maria-von-weber-died/): A veritable mania for Carl Maria von Weber’s (1786-1826) opera Der Freischütz swept London in 1824. Despite suffering from the advanced effects of tuberculosis, Weber accepted an offer from the impresario Charles Kemble to conduct the opera season and compose
- [Greek Gods in Music](https://interlude.hk/greek-gods-in-music/): We were looking at the Greek gods and thought we’d see how they’d fared in music. Some of them were subjects of whole operas or ballets, others were just characters who moved the action forward. All of them, however, have
- [Les Femmes “Compositeurs” <br/>Piano Music by French Romantic Women Composers](https://interlude.hk/les-femmes-compositeurs-piano-music-by-french-romantic-women-composers/): In the exciting cultural institution we know as the “Parisian salon,” Salonnières organized gatherings in their homes that brought together writers, artists, philosophers, musicians, and other patrons. “It stimulated socializing between the sexes and brought nobles and bourgeois together, eventually
- [On This Day <br/>4 June: Yevgeny Mravinsky Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-4-june-yevgeny-mravinsky-was-born/): The city of St. Petersburg was founded in 1703, and it quickly developed into “the most opulent, precocious, and enlightened metropolis in the Russian empire. ” The Academy of Sciences was founded in 1717, and Mikhail Glinka produced the first nationalist
- [The Widows of Bach, Mozart, and Mendelssohn: What Happened to Them?](https://interlude.hk/the-widows-of-bach-mozart-and-mendelssohn-what-happened-to-them/): Music lovers have always been fascinated by a good composer’s death story. Beethoven supposedly raised his arm in defiance of a thunderstorm while on his deathbed. An entire mythology arose surrounding Mozart’s final illness (“was he poisoned? ”). Bach’s Art of
- [Samuil Feinberg the Composer <br/><em>“Any work of art leaves us an impression of uniqueness and rarity”</em>](https://interlude.hk/samuil-feinberg-the-composer-any-work-of-art-leaves-us-an-impression-of-uniqueness-and-rarity/): For a number of commentators, the pianist Samuil Feinberg (1890-1962) was considered a bridge, the most important link, “between the two distinct factions of the celebrated Russian school of pianism, which pitted Scriabin’s mystical, sexual, opiate music against Prokofiev’s dynamism
- [On This Day <br/>3 June: Georges Bizet Died](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-3-june-georges-bizet-died/): Vicious reviews have been known to severely damage careers and artistic prospects. In the case of George Bizet (1838-1875), it has been suggested that the horrendous initial reception of Carmen had somehow contributed to the composer’s death. The opera premiered
- [New Music for the 20th Century](https://interlude.hk/new-music-for-the-20th-century-john-cage-inspired-by-the-book-of-i-ching/): John Cage was given a book of the I Ching (Book of Changes), a classic Chinese text that uses a hexagram symbol, to create order out of seemingly random occurrences. One of the first works that he used the I
- [The Rules of Writing: Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s <em>Greeting Cards</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-rules-of-writing-castelnuovo-tedesco-greeting-cards/): The Italian composer Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (1895–1968) developed a private system of musical cryptography and used it to create a cycle of compositions. His Greeting Cards, op. 170, cycle began in 1963 and ended with the composer’s death. His system of
- [Lorena Paz Nieto](https://interlude.hk/soprano-lorena-paz-nieto/): ‘So Much to Discover’ UK-based Spanish soprano Lorena Paz Nieto is equally at home in the worlds of opera and song. As well as already landing leading roles in operas by Donizetti, Mozart, Handel, and Britten, Lorena is a previous
- [On This Day <br/>1 June: Mikhail Glinka Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-1-june-mikhail-glinka-was-born/): We are very fortunate, indeed, that Mikhail Glinka, born on 1 June 1804, left us a detailed account of his life and works in his Memoirs. Began in June 1854, Glinka was not recording his life story, because he strongly
- [From Dawn to Dusk in a Child’s Life in Music and Pictures](https://interlude.hk/from-dawn-to-dusk-in-a-childs-life-in-music-and-pictures-tchaikovsky-album-for-the-young/): Life for Tchaikovsky in the late 1870s was fraught: his short-lived marriage was disintegrating, his suicide attempt was unsuccessful, and his doctor looked at his nearly mad patient and ordered him off to the countryside for a complete rest. Financial
- [Haochen Zhang Navigates Rachmaninoff’s Depths, but Long Yu Disappoints](https://interlude.hk/haochen-zhang-navigates-rachmaninoffs-depths-but-long-yu-disappoints/): Gold Medallist of the Van Cliburn Competition in 2009, Chinese pianist Haochen Zhang embarked on a tour de force in Hong Kong with Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor, accompanied by the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra under the
- [Musicians and Artists: <br/>John Zorn and Antonin Artaud](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-john-zorn-and-antonin-artaud-la-machine-de-letre/): John Zorn’s Musical Work La Machine de l’être Inspired by Antonin Artaud French actor and writer Antonin Artaud (1896–1948) tried to move early 20th-century theatre away from its reliance on text and towards more primal expressions of sound, movement, and
- [On This Day <br/>30 May: Smetana’s <em>The Bartered Bride</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-30-may-smetana-the-bartered-bride-was-premiered/): Political stirrings of national identity and pride ignited a great awakening across Europe in 1848. Urging an end to Habsburg absolutist rule, the Czech composer Bedřich Smetana (1824-1884) openly participated in this revolution. Barely escaping arrest, and unable to establish
- [Diplomatic Dancing: Széchényi’s <em>Le Château de Celles</em>](https://interlude.hk/diplomatic-dancing-imre-szechenyi-le-chateau-de-celles/): Imre Széchényi (1825–1898) grew up in Vienna in fortunate circumstances. His father was chief court chamberlain to the mother of the future Franz Joseph I and Széchényi grew up with Franz Joseph and his brother, later Maximillian I of Mexico.
- [Beethoven (Concert) Overtures](https://interlude.hk/beethoven-concert-overtures/): Over a period of about 22 years, Ludwig van Beethoven composed a total of eleven overtures for a variety of occasions and under different circumstances. Overtures had traditionally served as openings for stage or larger vocal works for centuries. Although
- [On This Day <br/>29 May: Isaac Albéniz Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-29-may-isaac-albeniz-was-born/): Isaac Albéniz was born on 29 May 1860 in Camprodón, a small town in the province of Girona, Spain. The town lays picturesquely nestled in the Pyrenees, at the confluence of the rivers Ter and Ritort. Located just a couple
- [Another Kind of Picture <br/>Mussorgsky’s <em>Pictures at an Exhibition</em> for Piano and Percussion](https://interlude.hk/another-kind-of-picture-mussorgsky-pictures-at-an-exhibition-for-piano-and-percussion/): Modest Mussorgsky’s walk about a picture show, Pictures at an Exhibition, started life as a piano suite in 10 parts with a recurring Promenade part as the viewer moved from picture to picture. Written in 1874, it is based on
- [In Touch with Composer/Performer Laura Moody](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-composer-performer-laura-moody/): ‘I Follow What Feels Exciting’ The work of boundary-pushing cellist, composer, songwriter, vocalist and performer Laura Moody is hard to define, such is the variety and diversity of her musical life. As a cellist she has performed with Björk, the
- [György Ligeti](https://interlude.hk/gyorgy-ligeti-hungarian-composer/): “I am in a prison: One wall is the avant-garde, the other is the past, and I want to escape” 100 years ago, on 28 May 1923, the Hungarian composer György Ligeti (1923-2006) was born in the little Transylvanian town
- [What Happened to Bach's Twenty Children?](https://interlude.hk/what-happened-to-bachs-twenty-children/): Johann Sebastian Bach is, of course, one of the most beloved composers of all time. He’s also famous for having fathered twenty children. A few became famous composers in their own right... but many of them died tragically young, too. Today
- [Les Femmes “Compositeurs” <br/>Chamber Music by French Romantic Women Composers](https://interlude.hk/les-femmes-compositeurs-chamber-music-by-french-romantic-women-composers/): Recently, the “Centre de musique romantique française” at the Venetian Palazzetto Bru Zane has released an impressive anthology of 165 compositions by French Romantic women composers. In essence, they have resurrected the memory of nineteenth-century French women composers that had
- [On This Day <br/> 27 May: Niccolò Paganini Died](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-27-may-niccolo-paganini-died/): Niccolò Paganini had never been a picture of perfect health. His physical appearance—tall and thin with long arms, legs, fingers, and toes, and exceptional flexibility of his joints—recently gave rise to suggestions that he suffered from “Marfan Syndrome. ” Although no
- [An Obsession with Bach and the Requiem <br/>Ysaÿe’s Second Violin Sonata](https://interlude.hk/an-obsession-with-bach-and-the-requiem-ysaye-second-violin-sonata/): Belgian violin virtuoso Eugène Ysaÿe (1858–1931) wrote his six violin sonatas, Op. 27, after hearing a performance of J. S. Bach’s six violin sonatas. One writer noted ‘these sketches, almost improvisations, emerged as six intimate portraits in music of his friends
- [On This Day <br/>26 May: Samuil Feinberg Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-26-may-samuil-feinberg-was-born/): For a good many commentators, the Ukrainian city of Odessa is the “cradle of Russian pianism. ” The unique blend of Russian, Yiddish, and Ukrainian cultures has given birth to pianists like Benno Moiseiwitsch, Vladimir de Pachmann, Shura Cherkassky, Emil Gilels,
- [26 May: World Dracula Day](https://interlude.hk/26-may-world-dracula-day/): I am sure I have told you that I am an absolute fan of gothic and horror novels and films. From “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre,” to “Alien” to “Prey for the Devil” and “M3GAN,” I just love them all.
- [The Evolution of East-West Collaborations in Classical Music: <br/>An Interview with Two Hong Kong Composers- Hong Hong Gianakon and Kwan Leung Ling](https://interlude.hk/the-evolution-of-east-west-collaborations-in-classical-music-an-interview-with-two-hong-kong-composers-hong-hong-gianakon-and-kwan-leung-ling/): Today, the classical music scene is much more diversified and not limited to only Western traditional instruments. In this article, two Hong Kong-born composers, Hong Hong Gianakon and Kwan Leung Ling, share their journeys as composers and their works using
- [The Dark Ensemble: Voice and String Quartet](https://interlude.hk/the-dark-ensemble-voice-and-string-quartet-20th-century/): The most familiar accompaniment to the voice is the piano, or in earlier days, the guitar or the lute. Putting the voice with larger ensembles runs the risk of drowning the voice in the volume of the other instruments. One
- [On This Day <br/>24 May: Pärt’s <em>Berliner Messe</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-24-may-arvo-part-berliner-messe-was-premiered/): Estonian-born composer Arvo Pärt (1935- ) has managed to strike a sound of devotional archaism into a world of chaotic modernity. Highly experimental during his early musical career, Part’s study of early music inspired a new, and completely unique musical
- [Musicians and Artists: <br/>Eleanor Cory and Georgia O’Keeffe](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-eleanor-cory-and-georgia-okeeffe-flora-music/): Eleanor Cory: O’Keeffe’s Flora Starting in the mid-1920s, American artist Georgia O’Keeffe (1887–1986) started her 30-year exploration of flowers. By taking something that might be quite small and painting it multiplied by many times, she found a way to make
- [On This Day <br/>23 May: Alicia de Larrocha Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-23-may-alicia-de-larrocha-was-born/): Alicia de Larrocha, born on 23 May 1923 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, was never too keen on giving interviews in English. That reluctance was based on the unfounded fear of being unable to express her views on music fully and
- [When Unfinished is Good Enough: Schubert’s Symphony No. 8](https://interlude.hk/when-unfinished-is-good-enough-schubert-symphony-no-8-recording/): In December 1822, Franz Schubert (1797-1828) was awarded a Diploma of Honour from the Styrian Music Society in Graz. As a way of saying thank you, he sent two movements of a symphony he was working on, noting that it
- [22 May: “Sherlock Holmes Day”](https://interlude.hk/22-may-sherlock-holmes-day/): Sherlock Holmes, the fictional detective of great observational and deductive powers, is probably the best-known sleuth in the world. The invention of British author Arthur Conan Doyle, Holmes sprang to life in 1887 and is supposedly modeled on Joseph Bell,
- [On This Day <br/>22 May: Rossini’s <em>L’Italiana in Algeri</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-22-may-rossini-litaliana-in-algeri-was-premiered/): L’Italiana in Algeri (The Italian Girl in Algiers) is Gioachino Rossini’s first buffo masterpiece in a fully-fledged two-act form, and it is one of the greatest comic masterpieces ever created. Based on a libretto by Angelo Anelli, and specifically written
- [Sergei Rachmaninoff <br/>Transcriptions and Arrangements](https://interlude.hk/sergei-rachmaninoff-piano-transcriptions-and-arrangements/): The process of adapting a piece of music for a scoring other than that of the original dates back for centuries. For one, by fashioning transcriptions and arrangements of orchestral works or operas, the public gained access to the latest
- [Musicians and Artists: Haydn, the Duke of Alba, and Goya](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-haydn-the-duke-of-alba-and-goya/): What was the music held by the Duke in Goya’s “José Álvarez de Toledo”? Around 1795, the Spanish painter Goya painted a picture of his patron, Don José Álvarez de Toledo Osorio y Gonzaga, 11th Marquess of Villafranca, Grandee of
- [Intermission Sessions <br/><em>‘There isn’t a ‘wrong’ way to be mindful’</em>](https://interlude.hk/intermission-sessions-there-isnt-a-wrong-way-to-be-mindful/): United by their passion to share the benefits of yoga and mindfulness with the wider musical world, Intermission is the brainchild of violinists Elena Urioste and Melissa White, both wonderful musicians in their own right who, in 2017, teamed up
- [What's the Most Expensive Cello in the World - And Where Is It?](https://interlude.hk/whats-the-most-expensive-cello-in-the-world-and-where-is-it/): Have you ever wondered what the most expensive cello in the world is, and what its story might be? Today we’re taking a look at the history of the Duport Stradivarius... and why we don’t even know for sure where it
- [On This Day <br/>20 May: Paul Lewis was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-20-may-paul-lewis-was-born/): Pianist Paul Lewis is credited with an “uncommon sensitivity and musical intelligence, with a discerning balance between vivid moment-by-moment characterization and long-range structural command. ” Without doubt, Lewis is internationally recognized as one of the leading musicians of his generation. Yet,
- [Les Femmes “Compositeurs” <br/>Orchestral Compositions by French Romantic Women Composers](https://interlude.hk/les-femmes-compositeurs-orchestral-compositions-by-french-romantic-women-composers/): The Paris Conservatoire opened its doors in 1795, and it was open to students of both sexes. However, theoretical classes like harmony, counterpoint, and fugue, and composition remained exclusively in the domain of men. A scholar writes, “Young women still
- [New Music 550 Years Later: The <em>Leuven Chansonnier</em>](https://interlude.hk/new-music-550-years-later-the-leuven-chansonnier/): In 2015, a 15th-century parchment book of songs was discovered and in the book were 12 previously unknown songs. All were given without attribution but modern scholars examining them have discovered links with works of many of the greatest composers
- [The Conditions of Memory <br/>An Interview With Harry Whalley](https://interlude.hk/the-conditions-of-memory-an-interview-with-harry-whalley/): In an upcoming concert to be held at Kings Place London, composer Harry Whalley, author Alexander McCall Smith, and neurologist Adam Zeman come together for an evening about memory. Whalley’s 13-part piece On Memory will take us through the ideas
- [On This Day <br/>18 May: Gluck’s <em>Iphigenie en Tauride</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-18-may-gluck-iphigenie-en-tauride-was-premiered/): Iphigénie en Tauride has always been one of Willibald Gluck’s most frequently performed operas. It was the sixth of his seven operas for Paris, and premiered on 18 May 1779 by the Paris Opéra at the second Salle du Palais-Royal.
- [Alistair McGowan’s Ludlow Piano Festival](https://interlude.hk/alistair-mcgowans-ludlow-piano-festival/): Celebrity impressionist, comedian, and actor turned pianist Alistair McGowan has launched the inaugural Ludlow Piano Festival, which takes place between 24 and 28 May in the beautiful, historic town of Ludlow, Shropshire, England. Alistair McGowan: The Piano Show This new
- [On This Day <br/>17 May: Erik Satie Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-17-may-erik-satie-was-born/): Eric Alfred Leslie Satie, who signed his name Erik Satie after 1884, was born at nine in the morning of 17 May 1866 in the coastal town of Honfleur. He was the son of a Scottish mother, née Jane Leslie
- [17 May: National Mushroom Hunting Day](https://interlude.hk/17-may-national-mushroom-hunting-day/): Did you know that there are over 50,000 species of mushrooms? Some are hallucinogenic, a small percentage poisonous, and a few are used for their medical properties. Although the majority of mushrooms are edible, very few varieties are actually flavorful.
- [In Praise of the Classical Music Nerd](https://interlude.hk/in-praise-of-the-classical-music-nerd/): A nerd is a person seen as overly intellectual, obsessive, introverted... . Such a person may spend inordinate amounts of time on unpopular, little known, or non-mainstream activities, which are generally either highly technical, abstract... . to the exclusion of more
- [Rocking Your Love to Sleep: Brahms’ <em>Lullaby</em>](https://interlude.hk/rocking-your-love-to-sleep-brahms-lullaby/): Johannes Brahms is better known as an instrumental composer than as a song composer, but there are still over 300 songs in his catalogue. In this recording, Karl-Heinz Schütz arranged one of the best known and best beloved of these
- [On This Day <br/>15 May: Stravinsky’s <em>Pulcinella</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-15-may-stravinsky-pulcinella-was-premiered/): In 1917, Igor Stravinsky and Pablo Picasso made an excursion to Naples, with the composer commenting on its “half Spanish character, on the pleasure he found in the aquarium, and in the Neapolitan watercolors. ” They also attended a commedia dell’arte
- [9 Greatest Arias by Gaetano Donizetti](https://interlude.hk/9-greatest-arias-by-gaetano-donizetti/): 175 years ago, Gaetano Donizetti (1797-1848) died in a state of mental derangement due to neurosyphilis. His disease was confirmed by autopsy, and many commentators have “speculated that the composer’s brain disease may have had an influence on his ability
- [Edward Elgar’s <em>Pomp and Circumstance</em> <br/> “Regal Pageantry”](https://interlude.hk/edward-elgars-pomp-and-circumstance-regal-pageantry/): Like countless people around the world, I recently settled in to watch at least part of the coronation of Charles III and Queen Camilla. This ceremony has great tradition and theatricality, from the arrival of the golden carriage to the
- [On This Day <br/>14 May: Otto Klemperer was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-14-may-otto-klemperer-was-born/): When famed conductor Otto Klemperer was roughly nine years of age, he encountered “the man who was to be the central inspiration of his entire life as a musician. ” He remembers “seeing Mahler on the street when I was quite
- [Music for Every Room <br/>Dr. J. Clarence Chambers’ <em>All American</em>](https://interlude.hk/music-for-every-room-dr-j-clarence-chambers-all-american/): Dr. J. Clarence Chambers (1910–2006), in his studies at Amherst College, became the rehearsal pianist for the music department’s operetta performances. He graduated in 1934 from Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons and did his internship at Harlem Hospital.
- [Wearing Your Music on Your Gown](https://interlude.hk/wearing-your-music-on-your-gown-fashion-inspired-by-music/): The 2023 Met Gala brought out all kinds of dresses, including Karl Lagerfeld’s 40-year-old violin dress, designed in 1983 for Chloé, worn here by Olivia Wilde. But Lagerfeld wasn’t the only designer to find his inspiration in the instruments of
- [5 Composers Who Died in the Holocaust Who You Need to Know](https://interlude.hk/5-composers-who-died-in-the-holocaust-who-you-need-to-know/): The impact of the loss of life under the Nazi regime was incalculable. One of the only ways we can begin to comprehend the scale of the destruction is by looking at the impact that the Holocaust had on individual
- [Children’s Play or Adult Play: Jumping Rope and Skipping](https://interlude.hk/childrens-play-or-adult-play-jumping-rope-and-skipping/): When composers are seeking to broaden their reach, they often look backwards to music for children or, their personal circumstances change so that children enter their adult world. Such was the case for Robert Schumann when he created his Album
- [On This Day <br/> 12 May: Gabriel Fauré Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-12-may-gabriel-faure-was-born/): Gabriel Fauré was born on 12 May 1845 in the small town of Pamiers, in the department of Ariège, in the south of France. He was the youngest of six children born to Toussaint-Honoré Fauré (1810–85) and Marie-Antoinette-Hélène Lalène-Laprade (1809–87),
- [The Power of Quiet](https://interlude.hk/the-power-of-quiet/): It’s still quite unusual these days to attend a concert where the programme begins with a quiet and/or slow piece. Often performers have a favourite “warm up” piece, one with which they feel very comfortable, which is a helpful way
- [On This Day <br/>11 May: Emmanuelle Haïm Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-11-may-emmanuelle-haim-was-born/): The English press has affectionately dubbed Emmanuelle Haïm “The Ms Dynamite of the French Baroque. ” Born on 11 May 1962 in Paris, she grew up in a highly musical household. Her father’s family hailed from Istanbul, and all of them
- [Pianist Angela Lau and Her Project Sharing Hong Kong Piano Music](https://interlude.hk/pianist-angela-lau-and-her-project-sharing-hong-kong-piano-music/): Angela Lau is a Hong Kong pianist pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Piano Performance at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM). In this interview, we discuss her latest performing project promoting music written by Hong
- [On This Day <br/>9 May: Bruckner’s <em>Symphony No. 1</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-9-may-bruckner-symphony-no-1-was-premiered/): On 9 May 1868, Anton Bruckner stepped onto the podium in the Austrian town of Linz. He stood in front of an orchestra consisting of members of the Linz theatre, regimental bands, and some local amateur musicians, and the premiere
- [A Concert of Hot Air: Dr Puff Finds Some Instruments](https://interlude.hk/a-concert-of-hot-air-dr-puff-finds-some-instruments/): In his ground-breaking pre-Surrealist drawings, the French illustrator Grandville (born Jean Ignace Isidore Gerard) (1803–1847) created worlds of anthropomorphic vegetables and zoomorphic figures that would influence artists up through the 20th century. His 1843 book Un autre monde (Another World),
- [Returning to Virtuosity: Franck’s <em>Symphonic Variations</em>](https://interlude.hk/returning-to-virtuosity-franck-symphonic-variations-early-recording/): César Franck (1822–1890) was a true international composer: he was born in Belgium, was a French citizen by choice, and may have even had a bit of German in his remote past. His musical skills were recognized early and exploited
- [On This Day <br/>8 May: Bruce Liu Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-8-may-bruce-liu-was-born/): Winning the XVIII International Chopin Piano Competition in 2021 propelled Chinese-Canadian pianist Bruce Liu “from near obscurity to rock-star status in the classical music world. ” Born Xiaoyu Liu in Paris on 8 May 1997, his path to stardom has been
- [Famous Quotes About Violins and Violinists](https://interlude.hk/famous-quotes-about-violins-and-violinists/): The violin is one of the most perfect instruments! It is the soprano member of the family of string instruments and has extraordinary musical versatility. The beauty and emotional appeal of the instrument are close to the human voice, and
- [Classical Sounds in Modern “Machines”](https://interlude.hk/classical-sounds-in-modern-machines-household-appliances-play-classical-music/): We always listen to music, whether voluntarily or involuntarily. Recently, I met my friends at a music conference that was held at a casino resort. Our conversation about classical music in our lives began when we heard Beethoven’s Ode to
- [Pianists and Their Composers: Franz Liszt](https://interlude.hk/pianists-and-their-composers-franz-liszt/): Franz Liszt divides opinion. For some he is regarded as one of the greatest pianist-composers of the Romantic era; for others, he is a showman and a charlatan who wrote vulgar, showy music. In fact, he was a remarkable musician
- [On This Day <br/>7 May: Johannes Brahms Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-7-may-johannes-brahms-was-born/): The name Johannes Brahms, born on 7 May 1833 in Hamburg, is generally known around the world. And while some of his melodies and compositions have gained international and popular currency, the psychological depths of his character have remained a
- [Yunchan Lim: Is He the Best Young Pianist Today?](https://interlude.hk/yunchan-lim-is-he-the-best-young-pianist-today/): Pianist Yunchan Lim exploded onto the international music scene in 2022 when he won the gold medal at the prestigious Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, joining the ranks of past winners like Radu Lupu and Olga Kern. Yunchan Lim was
- [On This Day <br/>6 May: Leoncavallo’s <em>La Bohème</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-6-may-leoncavallo-la-boheme-was-premiered/): For a good many opera lovers around the world, Puccini’s passionate, timeless, and indelible story of love among young artists in Paris is the world’s most popular opera. Indeed, La Bohème “is the definitive depiction of the joys and sorrows
- [Musicians and Artists: <br/>Nell Shaw Cohen and Thomas Cole](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-nell-shaw-cohen-and-thomas-cole-the-course-of-empire-string-quartet/): Nell Shaw Cohen: The Course of Empire The English-born American artist Thomas Cole (1801–1848) was the first significant American landscape painter and was the founder of the Hudson River School in New York in the mid-19th century. Although his highly
- [On This Day <br/>5 May: Cyprien Katsaris Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-5-may-cyprien-katsaris-was-born/): The French-Cypriot pianist teacher and composer Cyprien Katsaris, born on 5 May 1951 in Marseilles, might well be “one of the greatest and most charismatic musicians of his time. ” Critics have suggested that his “approach resembles that of Artur Rubinstein,
- [5 May 1891: Opening Night at Carnegie Hall](https://interlude.hk/5-may-1891-opening-night-at-carnegie-hall/): New York audiences and music lovers were treated to a momentous occasion in May 1891. Specifically, they witnessed the inaugural concert at Carnegie Hall, a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 5 May 1891. Carnegie Hall
- [Tabea Zimmermann is Bringing Dynamism to Minnesota](https://interlude.hk/tabea-zimmermann-is-bringing-dynamism-to-minnesota/): One of the new artistic partners of The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Tabea Zimmermann is an astounding artist, multiple award-winning violist, and a mesmerizing personality. Currently the artist in residence with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, previously holding the same
- [A Bad Night in Los Angeles <br/>Piano Music by Robert Matthew-Walker](https://interlude.hk/a-bad-night-in-los-angeles-piano-music-by-robert-matthew-walker/): The title alone invites further exploration of this interesting, varied disc of piano music by Robert Matthew-Walker, a British composer and an influential part of the classical music recording industry for more than half a century (he ran marketing and
- [Antonio Salieri <br/><em>The Negroes</em>](https://interlude.hk/antonio-salieri-the-negroes/): Here is a racy story for an operatic play. Imagine a Caribbean island under colonial rule as the site of an interracial love story that ends with a kiss onstage. So what, I hear you say, it’s 2023 after all.
- [Mourning the Departed: the 16th Century Art of the <em>Déploration</em>](https://interlude.hk/mourning-the-departed-the-16th-century-art-of-the-deploration/): The art of mourning in the 16th century was at its highest in the musical genre known as the Déploration. Following the model of French poets, where a déploration was a poem noting the death of an individual and those
- [On This Day <br/>2 May: Alessandro Scarlatti Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-2-may-alessandro-scarlatti-was-born/): Alessandro Scarlatti, born on 2 May 1660, is frequently considered the “founder of the Neapolitan school of 18th-century opera. ” Contemporaries called him the “Italian Orpheus,” and he became the most important opera composer of his generation in Italy. Establishing Naples
- [Castles and Kings: Czerny’s <em>Romantic Fantasy No. 3 on Sir Walter Scott's Ivanhoe</em>](https://interlude.hk/castles-and-kings-czerny-romantic-fantasy-no-3-on-sir-walter-scotts-ivanhoe/): Carl Czerny (1791–1857) had the benefit of a father, Wenzel, who knew everyone in music in Vienna. Wenzel worked in all aspects of music as a pianist, an organist, an oboist, and a singer and he made his money teaching
- [10 Exciting Operatic Arias by Georg Frideric Handel](https://interlude.hk/10-exciting-operatic-arias-by-georg-frideric-handel/): George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) composed some of the most memorable and famous melodies on this planet. He had an incredible gift for writing gorgeous melodies that “perhaps so strongly and clearly imply the harmony that it almost does not need
- [Kevin Zhu](https://interlude.hk/interview-with-violinist-kevin-zhu/): ‘It’s Exciting, It’s Stressful... Hopefully You Will Find Your Own Way’ Young violinist Kevin Zhu is making a reputation as a sought-after artist, earning praise for his ‘awesome technical command and maturity’ (The Strad). He has toured across the US
- [Big Pieces for Small Hands <br/>A New Collection for Young Pianists by Béla Hartmann](https://interlude.hk/big-pieces-for-small-hands-a-new-collection-for-young-pianists-by-bela-hartmann/): As I have written before on this site, pianists with small hands often struggle with more virtuosic repertoire because of the physical demands it puts on the hands, mostly big, awkward stretches for which a larger hand span and greater
- [Pianists and Their Composers: Claude Debussy](https://interlude.hk/pianists-and-their-composers-claude-debussy/): Claude Debussy is widely regarded as one of the most influential composers of the 20th century, with his unique style and innovative harmonies setting a new standard in classical music. The piano played a central role in Debussy’s compositions, and
- [On This Day <br/>29 April: Masaaki Suzuki Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-29-april-masaaki-suzuki-was-born/): Masaaki Suzuki, born on 29 April 1954 in Kobe, founded the Bach Collegium Japan in 1990. He simply wanted to introduce Japanese audiences to period instrument performances, and “to keep performing Bach cantatas one by one. ” The ensemble began to
- [Foreshadowing the Career <br/>Rachmaninoff’s Morceau de Fantasie, Op. 3](https://interlude.hk/foreshadowing-the-career-rachmaninoff-morceau-de-fantasie-op-3/): At age 19, Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873–1943) wrote his Op. 3, Morceaux de Fantaisie, including as its second movement, the Prelude in C sharp minor that would haunt him for years. Even considering the fame of the Prelude, all of the
- [Weaponizing Classical Music](https://interlude.hk/weaponizing-classical-music/): For me personally, Japan is the most amazing tourist destination in the world. The country offers many unique experiences, including breathtaking natural scenery, beautiful temples, shrines, and Zen gardens, traditional arts and crafts, sumo tournaments, hot springs, and incredible food.
- [Why the Metropolitan Opera in Cinemas is Not to Be Missed <br/>Richard Strauss’ <em>Der Rosenkavalier</em>](https://interlude.hk/why-the-metropolitan-opera-in-cinemas-is-not-to-be-missed-richard-strauss-der-rosenkavalier/): Today my husband and I were treated to the most overwhelming experience: hearing and seeing Der Rosenkavalier the comic opera in three acts by Richard Strauss transmitted live on Saturday April 15, 2023. How fortunate that those of us who
- [Composing as ‘Treasure Hunting’ <br/>In Touch with Composer Sylvia Lim](https://interlude.hk/composing-as-treasure-hunting-in-touch-with-composer-sylvia-lim/): Composer Sylvia Lim is a UK-based composer, whose works are known for being ‘intimate, exploring a small amount of material in depth. ’ Her music has been performed by Plus-Minus Ensemble, CoMA Singers, Liam Byrne, Ben Smith, Natasha Zielazinski, Musarc, Fournier
- [Writing What She Wants to Play <br/>An Interview with Harpist and Composer Fiona Rutherford](https://interlude.hk/writing-what-she-wants-to-play-an-interview-with-harpist-and-composer-fiona-rutherford/): Scottish harpist and composer Fiona Rutherford’s new album, Seed, was just released, and in the 9 tracks on the album, she takes us all over the musical map. We spoke with Ms. Rutherford about the album and she said it
- [On This Day <br/> 27 April (14 April): Alexander Scriabin Died](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-27-april-14-april-alexander-scriabin-died/): By 1915, Alexander Scriabin was working on a gigantic multi-media project called Mysterium. It was intended for performance in the foothills of the Himalayas over a period of seven days. “Bells suspended from clouds would summon spectators. Sunrises would be
- [Bizarre and Beautiful <br/>Maurice Ravel’s <em>L’Heure Espagnole</em>](https://interlude.hk/bizarre-and-beautiful-maurice-ravels-lheure-espagnole/): A deceitful wife, an unsuspecting husband, three concealed suitors, and a room full of clocks: far from a simple farce, this one-hour comic opera is one of Ravel’s masterpieces. It was in 1911 that the world heard Ravel’s first opera:
- [On This Day <br/>26 April: Nikolai Lugansky Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-26-april-nikolai-lugansky-was-born/): Nikolai Lugansky has been described as a “pianist of extraordinary depth and versatility, capable of great refinement and crystalline beauty. ” According to critics, “he combines elegance and grace with powerful virtuosity, and represents a true incarnation of the Russian tradition
- [<em>Harmony of Two Pianos</em> at the French May <br/>Interview with Théo Fouchenneret](https://interlude.hk/harmony-of-two-pianos-at-the-french-may-interview-with-theo-fouchenneret/): This year, as part of the French May Festival, pianists Niu Niu and Théo Fouchenneret give a concert exploring the world of two-piano music. Distinct from the piano duet, where two performers share the same instrument, two-piano music opens up
- [A Tale of Two Pianists <br/>Lifschitz & Volodin Perform Rachmaninoff’s Complete Preludes](https://interlude.hk/a-tale-of-two-pianists-lifschitz-volodin-perform-rachmaninoffs-complete-preludes/): Rachmaninoff’s Preludes have been a cornerstone of the piano repertoire, showcasing the composer’s wealth of emotions, propensity for lyricism and technical virtuosity. As part of HKU MUSE’s Russian Piano Classics series, Russian pianists Konstantin Lifschitz and Alexei Volodin took turns
- [The Swiss Hero: Rossini’s <em>William Tell Overture</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-swiss-hero-rossini-william-tell-overture/): The legend of the Swiss hero William Tell was the basis for Giaochino Rossini’s 1829 opera, Guillaume Tell, as through the hands of a play by Friedrich Schiller, Wilhelm Tell, and a libretto by Victor-Joseph Étienne de Jouy and L.
- [Have You Got a Minute? <br/>Spectacular Transcriptions of Chopin’s “Minute Waltz”](https://interlude.hk/have-you-got-a-minute-spectacular-transcriptions-of-chopins-minute-waltz/): Even people with no interest in classical music instantly recognized the famous “Minute Waltz” Op. 61, No. 1 by Frédéric Chopin. My mother, who never had any musical training, happily hums along as soon as she hears the first couple
- [Opening the House: Beethoven’s <em>Die Weihe des Hauses</em>](https://interlude.hk/opening-the-house-beethoven-die-weihe-des-hauses/): For the re-opening of the Josefstadt Theatre in Vienna, a new work was commissioned from Beethoven. The theatre was founded in 1788 and had a remodel and rebuild in 1822, which is when they contacted Beethoven for a work. Die
- [These Are the Most Popular Horowitz Videos on Youtube. Should They Be?](https://interlude.hk/these-are-the-most-popular-horowitz-videos-on-youtube-should-they-be/): Vladimir Horowitz is possibly the greatest pianist of the twentieth century. His coolness and implacability onstage masked a bone-deep passion and sensitivity. Over the course of his career, he gave countless legendary performances. Today we’re looking at Youtube to see
- [On This Day <br/> 23 April: Miloš Karadaglić Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-23-april-milos-karadaglic-was-born/): The classical guitarist Miloš Karadaglić, probably better known by his first name Miloš, was born on 23 April 1983 in the Southeastern European country of Montenegro. Growing up during the Balkan wars, Montenegro was spared from direct conflict and Miloš
- [10 Most Exciting Operatic Overtures by George Frideric Handel](https://interlude.hk/10-most-exciting-operatic-overtures-by-george-frideric-handel/): George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) must be one of my all-time favorite composers. But I am a little shy to tell you that I only know a very small part of his music. When I checked a musical dictionary I found
- [Qigang Chen - Vast and Varied Musical Landscapes](https://interlude.hk/qigang-chen-vast-and-varied-musical-landscapes/): Based between Beijing and Paris, Qigang Chen’s music has been praised for achieving a ‘sustained dialogue between Chinese and Western classical and cultural traditions’ (The Guardian), drawing inspiration from both the music of his native China and the European classical
- [On This Day <br/> 22 April: Sunwook Kim Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-22-april-sunwook-kim-was-born/): The Leeds International Piano Competition is frequently described as “one of the world’s foremost music competitions. ” It first launched in 1963 with the aim to discover the finest young pianists, and to prepare them for the challenging and ever-changing professional
- [From Scientist to Symphonist <br/>Borodin’s 3 Symphonies](https://interlude.hk/from-scientist-to-symphonist-borodin-3-symphonies/): Alexander Borodin (1833–1887). Like many of his fellow composers in mid-century St Petersburg, had a professional career and a side career. Professionally, Borodin was Professor of Chemistry at the Medico-Surgical Academy, and in his spare time, was a composer. This
- [Chevalier: 13 Facts About Composer Joseph Bologne That Inspired the New Movie](https://interlude.hk/chevalier-13-facts-about-composer-joseph-bologne-that-inspired-the-new-movie/): Classical music movies are having a moment. Last year, Cate Blanchett played a renowned conductor in Tár, and Bradley Cooper is set to portray Leonard Bernstein in 2023’s Maestro. But the next big classical music movie due to hit our
- [On this Day <br/>20 April: Villa-Lobos’ <em>Symphony No. 12</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-20-april-villa-lobos-symphony-no-12-was-premiered/): Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887-1959) celebrated his seventieth birthday in the Alrae Hotel in New York City on 5 March 1957. The New York Times published a glowing editorial in his honor on 4 March. “Heitor-Villa-Lobos, Brazil’s most famous composer and one
- [Are Performers Also Composers?](https://interlude.hk/are-performers-also-composers/): Throughout history, there has been no shortage of composers who were also brilliant performers. Even away from the obvious examples such as Mozart, Chopin, or Liszt, other composers such as Schumann, Ravel, or Richard Strauss had a prodigious talent for
- [On This Day <br/>19 April: Gluck’s <em>Iphigénie en Aulide</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-19-april-gluck-iphigenie-en-aulide-was-premiered/): Christoph Willibald Gluck (1714-1787), working at the Habsburg court in Vienna and at the Parisian stage, completely reformed operatic traditions. At a time when virtuoso singers dominated the operatic stage, Gluck set out to return opera to its origins by
- [The Turbulent Life of Composer Germaine Tailleferre](https://interlude.hk/the-turbulent-life-of-composer-germaine-tailleferre/): Germaine Tailleferre is a composer who often flies under the radar for a number of reasons. She was a woman, and women composers have historically faced a harsher battle for recognition. She was part of a larger group of composers
- [Frederic Mompou and his <em>Musica Callada</em>](https://interlude.hk/frederic-mompou-and-his-musica-callada/): Frederic Mompou’s music exists in the liminal space between ancient and modern. Nowhere is this more true than his Musica Callada (which roughly translates as ‘Music of Silence’). In many ways, it is his most radically modern work, yet its
- [On This Day <br/>18 April: Grigory Sokolov Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-18-april-grigory-sokolov-was-born/): For a good many commentators, Grigory Sokolov is the “greatest living pianist. ” And while such statements can be endlessly debated, Sokolov has certainly reached cult status among pianists and audiences. His colleague Daniil Trifonov exclaims, “Sokolov is a musical figure
- [Remembering Vienna: Liszt’s <em>Soirées de Vienne</em>](https://interlude.hk/remembering-vienna-liszt-soirees-de-vienne/): Franz Liszt dipped into the inspirational melody pool of Schubert’s music time and again in his search for creating new sounds for the piano. Liszt wanted to both reproduce the song and, at the same time, make it a pianistic
- [On This Day <br/>17 April: Artur Schnabel was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-17-april-artur-schnabel-was-born/): Pianist Artur Schnabel (1882-1951) is primarily associated with his glorious performances of the late Beethoven sonatas. As a scholar writes, “Here he often achieved a visionary quality in which the piano itself was almost forgotten; and although he allowed himself
- [Piano Repertoire <br/>Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://interlude.hk/piano-repertoire-wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/): I need to start this blog with a disclaimer. When I titled this article “Piano Repertoire” by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, I was well aware that Mozart didn’t perform and compose music for what we identify as a modern piano today.
- [50 Times Great Composers Insulted Other Great Composers](https://interlude.hk/50-times-great-composers-insulted-other-great-composers/): Listeners often think of classical composers as otherworldly gods above earthly matters, who did nothing else in life besides transcribing music from the heavens. But of course, in reality, the famous composers were human beings, indulging in the same kinds
- [On This Day <br/>16 April: Handel’s <em>Alcina</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-16-april-handel-alcina-was-premiered/): The Italian epic poem “Orlando furioso” (The Frenzy of Orlando) is considered one of the most influential works in European literature. Penned by Ludovico Ariosto and published in its completed form in 1532, the story takes place against the backdrop
- [The ambassador of women composers- Antonio Oyarzabal](https://interlude.hk/the-ambassador-of-women-composers-antonio-oyarzabal/): Antonio Oyarzabal is a pianist with a serious commitment and passion for promoting music written by women composers. In addition to being named as the ambassador of Donne, Women in Music since 2021, Antonio recently released an album, El Fin
- [An Old Genre is Given a New Voice <br/>The Art of the Coloratura Soprano](https://interlude.hk/an-old-genre-is-given-a-new-voice-the-art-of-the-coloratura-soprano/): The art of the coloratura soprano came into its own in the 18th century with lyric coloratura soprano role in works by Mozart (Blonde in Die Entführung aus dem Serail), Cimarosa (Caroline in Il matrimonio secreto), and Handel (Alcina). This
- [Pianists and Their Composers: Sergei Rachmaninoff](https://interlude.hk/pianists-and-their-composers-sergei-rachmaninoff/): Sergei Rachmaninoff is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers for the piano. Cornerstones of the repertoire for many pianists, his music is beloved by performers and audiences the world over. His piano music is known – and feared
- [Should We Remember the Titanic's Band as Heroes?](https://interlude.hk/should-we-remember-the-titanics-band-as-heroes/): When the Titanic struck an iceberg on the night of 14 April 1912, sinking at 2:20 AM the following day, eight unlikely heroes emerged: the members of the ship’s band. They played for passengers, keeping them calm and preventing panic.
- [On This Day <br/>14 April: Mikhail Pletnev Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-14-april-mikhail-pletnev-was-born/): Winning the Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition in 1978 propelled Mikhail Pletnev to international stardom. His performances aroused ardent enthusiasm from the public and he was quickly dubbed “A Devil from Moscow. ” A reviewer writes, “He uses such colors that have
- [Heroic Adventures for Guitar <br/>Carlo Domeniconi’s <em>Sinbad, a Fairy Tale</em>](https://interlude.hk/heroic-adventures-for-guitar-carlo-domeniconi-sinbad-a-fairy-tale/): The Italian composer and guitarist Carlo Domeniconi (b. 1947) took his education at the Rossini Conservatory in Pesaro and at the Hochschule für Musik in Berlin and combined with his interest in Turkey (he founded the classical guitar course at
- [Satie’s <em>Sports et divertissements</em> at 100](https://interlude.hk/erik-satie-sports-et-divertissements-illustration-and-recording/): 2023 happens to be the centenary of the publication of Erik Satie’s Sports et divertissements, a suite of 21 humoristic piano pieces depicting various sports and leisure activities. The music is accompanied by amusing text and corresponding illustrations and is
- [Meet Olga Rudge, the Violinist Who Helped Rediscover Vivaldi](https://interlude.hk/meet-olga-rudge-the-violinist-who-helped-rediscover-vivaldi/): Olga Rudge is most often remembered today for being poet Ezra Pound’s mistress. But she also was important in the classical music world: she helped to spark the twentieth-century revival of Vivaldi! Here are thirteen fascinating facts about the life
- [Little & Often: Practice ‘Snacking’](https://interlude.hk/little-often-practice-snacking/): I came across this phrase on Twitter, to describe doing short bursts of practicing, rather than long stretches. This may seem counter-intuitive: surely we should be practicing for long stretches of time to see noticeable progress? It’s a myth, which
- [On This Day <br/>12 April: Weber’s <em>Oberon</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-12-april-weber-oberon-was-premiered/): Carl Maria von Weber (1786-1826) was suffering from the advanced effects of tuberculosis when he received a letter from the impresario Charles Kemble in London on 18 August 1824. The letter issued an invitation to come to London and compose
- [On This Day <br/>11 April: Beethoven’s <em>Archduke Trio</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-11-april-beethoven-archduke-trio-was-premiered/): Johann Baptist Malfatti, Elder von Monteregio was an Italian/Austrian doctor famous for being one of Beethoven’s physicians. Beethoven first made his acquaintance in 1809 and seemed to have consulted him several times in 1810. Early in 1810 he also met
- [Ravel’s <em>Trois Poèmes de Mallarmé</em> - Fragile and Beautiful](https://interlude.hk/ravels-trois-poemes-de-mallarme-fragile-and-beautiful/): It was in the summer of 1912 when hot off the heels of the sumptuous ballet score Daphnis et Chloé – his biggest creative undertaking to date – Ravel took some time off composing to recover and wait for inspiration
- [Our Favourite Warhorse: Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5](https://interlude.hk/our-favourite-warhorse-beethoven-symphony-no-5-early-recording/): The powerful start to Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony has meant various things over the centuries. During his time, according to his assistant, the music was taken to signal Fate knocking at the door. During the second world war, it was a
- [Luise Adolpha Le Beau](https://interlude.hk/luise-adolpha-le-beau-composer/): “Teach girls the same things that are taught to boys” Luise Adolpha Le Beau (1850-1927) was regarded by major critics of her time as the first woman to compose large-scale vocal and orchestral works. However, throughout her professional career, she
- [Musicians and Artists: <br/> Rautavaara’s <em>Symphony No. 6</em> and Van Gogh](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-rautavaara-symphony-no-6-and-van-gogh/): In his 1990 opera Vincent, Finnish composer Einojuhani Rautavaara (1928–2016) took scenes from the life of the artist Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890) and, to his own libretto, created a work that starts in the mental hospital at Saint-Rémy, where he
- [The Baroque Hurdy Gurdy in XVIII Century](https://interlude.hk/the-baroque-hurdy-gurdy-in-xviii-century/): The hurdy gurdy is a musical instrument that dates back to medieval times, across history it had its ups and downs in popularity, but one of the golden eras was the Baroque period, specially the XVIII century, but... What exactly
- [Pianists and Their Composers: Olivier Messiaen](https://interlude.hk/pianists-and-their-composers-olivier-messiaen-best-piano-pieces/): Olivier Messiaen is widely regarded as one of the most important composers of the 20th century, known for his unique approach to harmony, rhythm, and melody. His music is challenging for any performer, but there are some pianists who have
- [“Resurrection” in Classical Music <br/>Biber to Penderecki](https://interlude.hk/resurrection-in-classical-music-biber-to-penderecki/): The Christian festival of Easter is sometimes called “Resurrection Sunday. ” It is at the heart of Christian belief that Jesus Christ was killed on the cross, but after three days came back to life. I think different branches of Christianity
- [On This Day <br/>8 April: Giuseppe Tartini Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-8-april-giuseppe-tartini-was-born/): Giuseppe Tartini, born 8 April 1692 in Pirano, then part of the Venetian Republic but today part of Slovenia, was proclaimed “the finest musician in the world. ” His work as a violinist, composer, and teacher was enthusiastically admired, and in
- [Artist Suzanne Valadon, Why Was She Satie’s One True Love?](https://interlude.hk/artist-suzanne-valadon-why-was-she-erik-satie-one-true-love/): She was composer Erik Satie’s one true love. But artist Suzanne Valadon was so much more than that. Here are thirteen facts you may not know about Suzanne Valadon: 1. She was born Marie-Clémentine Valadon in Haute-Vienne, France, in 1865.
- [Garrick Ohlsson Schubert Piano Sonatas D537 & D959](https://interlude.hk/garrick-ohlsson-schubert-piano-sonatas-d537-d959-album-review/): Ten years separate the composition of these two piano sonatas by Franz Schubert. The earlier one, in A minor, was completed in 1817 when Schubert was just twenty but had already written some 250 lieder. Having left several incomplete piano
- [On This Day <br/>6 April: Dvořák’s <em>Symphony No. 4</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-6-april-dvorak-symphony-no-4-was-premiered/): In 1874, Antonin Dvořák (1841-1904) submitted an application for an artist’s stipend from the Austrian government for poor but talented students. Hoping to supplement the meager income from his job as an organist at St. Adalbert, Dvořák first obtained a
- [Hallelujah for Easter <br/>Handel <em>Messiah</em> Part II](https://interlude.hk/hallelujah-for-easter-handel-messiah-part-ii/): Listening to a performance of Handel’s Messiah has long been an Easter tradition in many parts of the world. It is undoubtedly one of the composer’s most popular and enduring works, as it features three distinct parts: the Prophecy of
- [On This Day <br/>5 April: Herbert von Karajan Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-5-april-herbert-von-karajan-was-born/): Herbert von Karajan is frequently hailed as the greatest living conductor of orchestral music. And while his conducting method is one of total authority and power, many critics have praised his emphasis on the perfection of sound, “note-perfect expressions of
- [Song and Mime: The World of Cantomimes](https://interlude.hk/song-and-mime-the-world-of-cantomimes/): Building on the French mime tradition, traditionally done with white face and in white Pierrot dress, 19th-century mime Georges Wague expanded this to include song. Predating modern lipsynching by nearly a century, ‘cantomimes’ were created with a singer and instrumentalists
- [On This Day <br/>4 April: Vladimir Jurowski Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-4-april-vladimir-jurowski-was-born/): For conductor Vladimir Mikhailovich Jurowski, born on 4 April 1972, classical music is not simply an article of consumption. “The Arts should oblige people to think and ask questions and maybe fundamentally change people’s perceptions. It doesn’t mean we give
- [Dancing in Spain: Albéniz’s <em>Rapsodia española</em>, Op. 70](https://interlude.hk/dancing-in-spain-albenizs-rapsodia-espanola-op-70/): Originally created for piano and orchestra, Isaac Albéniz’s Rapsodia española received its premiere with Albéniz as the piano soloist with the Orquesta de la Sociedad de Conciertos, Tomás Bretón conducting, in March 1887. Albéniz’ version for piano four-hands came that
- [Challenging Transcriptions of Famous Melodies](https://interlude.hk/challenging-transcriptions-of-famous-melodies/): Very recently, I attended a recital by a rather well known pianist. After the programme proper had concluded, it was time for the encore ritual. Audience members were clapping furiously, cheering, standing up from their seats, and demanding that the
- [On This Day <br/>3 April: Grieg’s <em>Piano Concerto</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-3-april-grieg-piano-concerto-was-premiered/): During his time at the Leipzig Conservatory, Edvard Grieg (1843-1907) heard Clara Schumann perform her husband’s Piano Concerto. As he later recalled, the work continued to signify a deeply musical experience lasting for decades. “Inspired from beginning to end,” he
- [Who’s the Maddest of them All? <br/><em>Lucia di Lammermoor</em>](https://interlude.hk/whos-the-maddest-of-them-all-best-performances-donizetti-lucia-di-lammermoor/): Opera is a unique mixture of music and theatre; singing and acting each plays an important role in the success of a production. One of the most testing roles is that of the title role of Lucia di Lammermoor. In Sir Walter Scott’s original 1819 novel, The Bride of Lammermoor,...
- [Robert and Clara Schumann's Children: What Happened to Them?](https://interlude.hk/robert-and-clara-schumann-children-what-happened-to-them/): The love story of Robert and Clara Schumann is one of the most famous in classical music history. Over the course of their marriage, Clara carried eight pregnancies to term. Today we’re looking at the remarkable stories of those children,
- [On This Day <br/>2 April: Beethoven’s <em>Symphony No. 1</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-2-april-beethoven-symphony-no-1-was-premiered/): During his teenage years in Bonn, Ludwig van Beethoven sketched an incomplete draft for a passionate symphonic movement in C minor. Dating from between 1790 and 1792, the draft was never brought to fruition, and it took Beethoven almost another
- [Margherita Torretta](https://interlude.hk/margherita-torretta-italian-pianist/): Finding the Heart of Early Music Based in London, Italian pianist Margherita Torretta has given concerts from Asia to the USA, Australia, and all over Europe. Her renown as an interpreter of Baroque and Classical keyboard works, in particular, Scarlatti,
- [The Self-Teaching Musician](https://interlude.hk/the-self-teaching-musician/): I admit it, I’m a fervent auto-didact, a “self-teacher” whose answer to “how do I do that? ” is to either reach for a book or more likely these days, look it up on Google or YouTube. For me, self-teaching goes
- [On This Day <br/>1 April: Dinu Lipatti was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-1-april-dinu-lipatti-was-born/): Amongst 20th-century pianists, Dinu Lipatti (1917-1950) has achieved almost mythical status. Conductor Herbert von Karajan repeatedly said, “It was no longer piano playing, it was music, released from all earthly weight, music in its purest form, in a harmony that
- [Sergei Rachmaninoff: One of the Greatest Composers for the Piano](https://interlude.hk/sergei-rachmaninoff-one-of-the-greatest-composers-for-the-piano/): Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943) is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers for the piano in history, and his music is beloved and widely performed to this day. So what makes Rachmaninoff’s piano music so special? It probably helped that
- [On This Day <br/>31 March: Henryk Wieniawski Died](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-31-march-henryk-wieniawski-died/): The Polish virtuoso violinist, composer, and pedagogue Henryk Wieniawski (1835-1880) was one of the greatest violinists of the 19th Century. As a performer, he dazzled audiences with his impeccable technique, expressive phrasing, and wonderfully warm and rich tone. As a
- [Musical Dice Games](https://interlude.hk/musical-dice-games/): Sometimes, when we listen to music from the Classical Era, we think, we suspect, we believe it might be a little, shall we say, formulaic? When you get involved with the phenomenon of Musical Dice Games, you can see how
- [<em>Música callada</em> – Federico Mompou <br/>Stephen Hough, piano](https://interlude.hk/musica-callada-federico-mompou-stephen-hough-piano-album-review/): ‘the music of evaporation’ Federico Mompou‘s piano work Musica Callada is a set of twenty-eight short pieces that were written between 1959 and 1967. It was the last piece of piano music published in the composer’s lifetime The title, borrowed
- [On This Day <br/>29 March: Dvořák’s <em>Symphony No. 3</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-29-march-dvorak-symphony-no-3-was-premiered/): In 1865, Antonín Dvořák decided to write two full-scale symphonies, both nearly an hour in length. Composed within a couple of months, both works are imaginative and arresting, “yet clearly overlong. ” At that time, Dvořák was basically unknown as a
- [Abandoned by Time: Paul Wranitzky](https://interlude.hk/abandoned-by-time-paul-wranitzky/): The Czech composer Paul Wranitzky (1756–1808) moved to Vienna at age 20 to find new opportunities. His education combined music (singing, organ, violin, and viola) and then theology in Olomouc. After his move to Vienna, he led the choir at
- [Sergei Rachmaninoff](https://interlude.hk/sergei-rachmaninoff-russian-composer/): “Music is enough for a lifetime, but a lifetime is not enough for music” On 28 March 2023 we commemorate the 80th anniversary of Sergei Rachmaninoff’s death. After a concert career as a pianist that lasted fifty years, Sergei Rachmaninoff
- [Outdoor Music: Handel’s Water Music](https://interlude.hk/outdoor-music-handel-water-music/): When George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) first arrived in London in 1711, it was to oversee the staging of his new Italian opera Rinaldo. At the time, he was employed as the Kapellmeister in Hanover but was permitted to take 8
- [Musical Prayers for Peace](https://interlude.hk/musical-prayers-for-peace/): Just over one year ago, Vladimir Putin ordered his armies to invade Ukraine, an independent country with a democratically elected government. Putin’s full-blown criminal invasion has left a trail of devastation, with towns and cities in ashes. Specifically targeting civilian
- [Instrumental Architecture](https://interlude.hk/buildings-inspired-by-musical-instruments/): We know that poetry and art inspire music – and we thought we’d look at the question from the other way around. How has music inspired art, in this case, architecture. We’ve found some unusual buildings in the shapes of
- [Cellists and Their Composers <br/> The Romantic Cello: Richard Strauss and Edvard Grieg](https://interlude.hk/cellists-and-their-composers-the-romantic-cello-sonatas-richard-strauss-and-edvard-grieg/): A number of cello sonatas composed around the time of the Brahms sonatas reveal burgeoning cello writing. I’d like to feature two of my favorite romantic cello sonatas, which I heard my father play when I was growing up. The
- [On This Day <br/>26 March: Ludwig van Beethoven Died](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-26-march-ludwig-van-beethoven-died/): A biographer reports, “A violent thunderstorm struck Vienna in the afternoon of 26 March 1827. At 5:45 pm, a sudden flash of lightning was reported, and the dying man suddenly raised his head, stretched out his own right arm majestically—like
- [The Musician’s Curiosity](https://interlude.hk/the-musicians-curiosity/): The important thing is not to stop questioning... Never lose holy curiosity – Albert Einstein One of the tenets of my own musical study, my writing, and my life in general is to “stay curious”. I’ve always been curious and
- [Henri Dutilleux - Mysterious, Crystalline and Colourful](https://interlude.hk/henri-dutilleux-mysterious-crystalline-and-colourful/): Think of the world of French modernism, and many may speak of Ravel, Debussy, Boulez, or Messiaen. Henri Dutilleux (1916-2013), while not perhaps immediately springing to mind, represents a fusion of the many strands of mid twentieth century French music.
- [On This Day <br/>25 March: Béla Bartók Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-25-march-bela-bartok-was-born/): It is somewhat ironic that not a single Hungarian town in which Béla Bartók spent his youth is now within Hungarian boundaries. At the time of his birth on 25 March 1881, the town of Nagyszentmiklós was part of the
- [The Bulletproof Musician: An Interview With a Performance Psychologist Noa Kageyama](https://interlude.hk/the-bulletproof-musician-an-interview-with-a-performance-psychologist-noa-kageyama/): Noa Kageyama is a performance psychologist who focuses on teaching performing artists to apply principles of sports psychology to demonstrate their full potential even under pressure. Noa has a thriving career. In addition to maintaining his popular performance psychology blog,
- [Harriet Mackenzie and the World Heart Beat Music Academy](https://interlude.hk/harriet-mackenzie-and-the-world-heart-beat-music-academy/): ‘Music will be your Friend for Life’ On 24th March, internationally acclaimed violinist Harriet MacKenzie gives a concert to mark the opening of a new hall at the World Heart Beat Music Academy, a music school in southwest London offering
- [Ralph Vaughan Williams’ <em>Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis</em>](https://interlude.hk/ralph-vaughan-williams-fantasia-on-a-theme-by-thomas-tallis/): Ralph Vaughan Williams’ 1910 Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis was his consummate mix of all that interested him: folksong and the glories of English music from earlier centuries and their modal scales. His form was the 17th century
- [Seeking out Others’ Culture: An Interview With Yang Xuefei](https://interlude.hk/seeking-out-others-culture-an-interview-with-yang-xuefei/): In a concert planned for September 2022, but postponed due to the Queen’s death, the London Philharmonic Orchestra has rescheduled their Image China: East Meets West concert to 13 April 2023. Leading Chinese composers Tan Dun and Chen Qigang are
- [Musicians and Artists: <br/>Hovhaness, Hiroshige and Fujita](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-hovhaness-hiroshige-and-fujita-cat-inspired-piano-sonatas/): Alan Hovhaness’ Piano Sonatas Inspired by Paintings of Cats Cats were the favourite creatures of the Ukiyo-e (floating world) painters. They were shown in all kinds of attitudes: caught up in hunting, caught up in clothing, washing, playing, sleeping, in
- [On This Day <br/>21 March: Beethoven’s <em>String Quartet</em> Op. 130 Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-21-march-beethoven-string-quartet-op-130-was-premiered/): Completed in early 1826, Beethoven’s String Quartet Op. 130 premiered on 21 March 1826 as part of the concluding subscription concert by the Schuppanzigh Quartet. The work immediately caused great puzzlement, as we read in a contemporary review, “The most
- [Delving Deeper: Brahms and Song](https://interlude.hk/delving-deeper-johannes-brahms-and-4-gesange-op43/): Composers of German Lied have the ability, especially starting with Schubert, to bring a deeper meaning to poetry. A poetic reading of Goethe’s Der Erlkönig can convey the voices of the characters, but it’s Schubert’s piano that provides the horse
- [Music ‘Has to Be Alive, It Has to Live’ <br/>Igudesman & Joo](https://interlude.hk/music-has-to-be-alive-it-has-to-live-igudesman-joo/): Mozart Will Survive Violinist Aleksey Igudesman and pianist Hyung-ki Joo, better known as Igudesman & Joo, have performed their riotous duo shows all over the world, working alone as well as alongside major orchestras, sending up classical music to packed
- [On This Day <br/>20 March: Shenyang Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-20-march-shenyang-was-born/): Chinese-born bass-baritone Shenyang came to the world’s attention in 2007 when he won the “BBC Cardiff Singer of the World” competition. Ever since he has established himself as one of the finest voices of his generation. He has accumulated an
- [Show me the Money <br/>George Frideric Handel](https://interlude.hk/show-me-the-money-george-frideric-handel/): George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) was one of the all-time great composers. Restless and resourceful, Handel was a workaholic musician of great charisma with a genius for invention. For most of his life—at least during his time in London—Handel operated as
- [On This Day <br/>19 March: Isabelle Faust Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-19-march-isabelle-faust-was-born/): Isabelle Faust was born in Esslingen, near Stuttgart, on 19 March 1972. When her father decided to take up the violin as a hobby, he took his five-year-old daughter along during his lessons. While her father only showed modest talents,
- [Why Those Serious Musicians Love to Laugh](https://interlude.hk/why-those-serious-musicians-love-to-laugh-collection-of-classical-music-jokes/): We musicians love to laugh just like everyone. Perhaps our profession requires a quirky sense of humor considering all the years of discipline, motivation, and practice let alone the stress of competitions, auditions, and irascible conductors. I’ve illustrated some of
- [“Narrative of a Dying Love” <br/>Othmar Schoeck’s <em>Elegie </em>](https://interlude.hk/narrative-of-a-dying-love-othmar-schoeck-elegie/): The world of music is numerously populated by compositions that openly celebrate courtship, love, sex, and marriage. Equally numerous, although less overtly advertised, are works that exult in the suspension of a partnership, the break-up of a relationship, or the
- [New Recording of Chamber Music by Luis Humberto Salgado <br/>An Interview With Dr. Ketty Wong-Cruz](https://interlude.hk/new-recording-of-chamber-music-by-luis-humberto-salgado-an-interview-with-dr-ketty-wong-cruz/): Luis Humberto Salgado (1903-1977) was a well-known figure in the musical world of Quito, Ecuador. Although he was a prolific composer, much of his music was unperformed and unpublished during his lifetime. Recently, Dr. Ketty Wong, and the ensemble Kansas
- [On This Day <br/>18 March: Rachmaninoff’s <em>Piano Concerto No. 4</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-18-march-rachmaninoff-piano-concerto-no-4-was-premiered/): On 18 March 1927, audiences in the city of Philadelphia, USA were in high anticipation as Leopold Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra had invited Sergei Rachmaninoff as the soloist for the premiere of the composer’s Fourth piano concerto in G
- [Martinů’s Experiments with Jazz](https://interlude.hk/bohuslav-martinu-experiments-with-jazz/): Czech composer Bohuslav Martinů (1890–1959) started his music career as a violinist, giving his first public performances at age 15. Townspeople supported his career and at age 16, he was given funding to attend the Prague Conservatory. He didn’t take
- [Anna Netrebko and Yusif Eyvazov at the HK Arts Festival](https://interlude.hk/anna-netrebko-and-yusif-eyvazov-at-the-hk-arts-festival-review/): The 51st edition of the Hong Kong Arts Festival, the first after several years of muted and mostly virtual performances, featured Anna Netrebko and Yusif Eyvazov among the headline artists. There is little argument that Russian-born Anna Netrebko is the
- [Classical Music as a Constantly Evolving Organism <br/> An Interview with Clarissa Bevilacqua](https://interlude.hk/classical-music-as-a-constantly-evolving-organism-an-interview-with-clarissa-bevilacqua/): A recent Nimbus recording brings us the violin music of American composer Augusta Read Thomas. Professor of Composition at the University of Chicago and founder of the University of Chicago’s Center for Contemporary Composition, Thomas can be considered on the
- [On This Day <br/>16 March: Roger Norrington Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-16-march-roger-norrington-was-born/): The historically informed performance movement has opened up the realm of interpretation by enriching the subjectivity of artistic expression with the objectivity of scholarly study. And while critics have suggested that such performances are not really historical but a performance
- [Musicians, Artists and Poets <br/>Paulus, Rivers and O’Hara](https://interlude.hk/musicians-artists-and-poets-paulus-rivers-and-ohara-washington-crossing-the-delaware/): Poetry and Music Inspired by “Washington Crossing the Delaware” In 1953, the New York painter Larry Rivers, considered the either Godfather or Grandfather of Pop art, took up an All-American subject, General George Washington’s crossing of the Delaware. To most
- [Bach: Well-Tempered Clavier Book II <br/>Daniel Martyn Lewis, piano](https://interlude.hk/bach-well-tempered-clavier-book-ii-daniel-martyn-lewis-piano-album-review/): J. S. Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier is regarded as one of the most significant cornerstones of the keyboard repertoire and is one of the greatest edifices of Baroque repertoire, beloved by musicians, students and audiences alike. Often referred to simply as “the
- [Food for Thought <br/>Mealtime with Gioachino Rossini](https://interlude.hk/food-for-thought-mealtime-with-gioachino-rossini/): Some called him a glutton, while others considered him a gourmet. However you look at it, Gioachino Rossini was the undisputed king of the dinner table, and he knew it. Apparently, he cried only three times in his entire life.
- [My Ladye Nevells Booke: Byrd’s Keyboard Works](https://interlude.hk/my-ladye-nevells-booke-william-byrd-keyboard-works/): William Byrd (c. 1540–1623), although a Catholic in Protestant England under Elizabeth I, made his career as the greatest English composer of his era. Although his early studies are not fully known, it is believed that he studied in London
- [The 10 Most Exciting Triple Concertos](https://interlude.hk/the-10-most-exciting-triple-concertos/): If a concerto for two soloists is called a double concerto, then it follows that a concerto for three soloists is called a triple concerto. When I started researching for this blog I discovered something interesting about the triple concerto.
- [Edvard Grieg and His Circle of Friends II](https://interlude.hk/edvard-grieg-and-his-circle-of-friends-2/): Let’s continue to explore Edvard Grieg’s social circle. Christian Emil Horneman (1840-1906) was a Danish composer, conductor, and music publisher. Born in Copenhagen, he made his way to Leipzig to study at the Conservatory. That’s where he met his fellow
- [Zorba the Greek](https://interlude.hk/zorba-the-greek/): The Cretan novelist Nikos Kazatzakis brought us the expansive personality of Zorba the Greek in his 1946 novel Βίος και Πολιτεία του Αλέξη Ζορμπά (Life and Times of Alexis Zorbas). The education of a nameless well-meaning Greek intellectual, who has
- [On This Day <br/>11 March: Jean-Guihen Queyras Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-11-march-jean-guihen-queyras-was-born/): The artistry of Jean-Guihen Queyras, born on 11 March 1967 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, is characterized by insatiable curiosity, diversity and a firm focus on the music itself. A musician completely dedicated to his art, his humble approach and unpretentious
- [Unsuk Chin - Unique and Surprising Sound Worlds](https://interlude.hk/unsuk-chin-unique-and-surprising-sound-worlds/): Few composers have made such a mark on the world of modern music as Unsuk Chin. Born in South Korea, she studied in Seoul and Hamburg and is currently based in Berlin. Her music has been performed by prominent orchestras
- [Climate Change Riffs <br/>Paul Lansky: <em>Contemplating Weather</em>](https://interlude.hk/climate-change-riffs-paul-lansky-contemplating-weather/): It’s been all over the news lately. Members of a group called “Last Generation,” a student-led organization focused on raising awareness for climate change and environmental injustice, have been gluing themselves onto busy roadways or works of art. They believe
- [On This Day <br/>10 March: Fou Ts'ong Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-10-march-fou-tsong-was-born/): The original Chinese poet of the keyboard Fou Ts’ong, born on 10 March 1934 in Shanghai, was always reluctant to talk to journalists about his personal affairs and his relationship with the China he had left behind. “I tried to
- [Musicians and Artists: <br/>Pstrokońska-Nawratil and Three Impressionists](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-pstrokonska-nawratil-le-soleil-and-three-impressionists/): Grażyna Pstrokońska-Nawratil: Le soleil One of the important elements of so much of the Impressionist landscape painting is the sun. From the very first Impressionist painting, Monet’s Impression, Sunrise the sun is important, in this case, probably the most important
- [The Horses of Music](https://interlude.hk/the-horses-classical-music/): The Japanese composer Tōru Takemitsu wrote his choral work Wind Horse between 1962 and 1966, taking his imagery from Tibet. ‘Tibetan nomads tie pieces of their national dress together, It is said, about the rope. The wind blows and the
- [On This Day <br/>9 March: Verdi’s <em>Nabucco</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-9-march-verdi-nabucco-was-premiered/): Soon after the successful première of Giuseppe Verdi’s first opera Oberto, Bartolomeo Merelli, the impresario at La Scala commissioned three further operas. The comic opera Un giorno di regno was a disastrous failure, and contemporary critics considered the question of
- [Musings on Schubert](https://interlude.hk/musings-on-schubert/): To start with, I have to confess that although I have long been fond of Schubert, he hasn’t been among my “favourites” (if such a term is appropriate). Somehow, I have found a barrier between Schubert and me that prevented
- [On This Day <br/>8 March: Hector Berlioz Died](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-8-march-hector-berlioz-died/): Celebrating his 60th birthday in 1863, Hector Berlioz was overcome by a “despair and disillusionment of appalling intensity. ” Mourning the loss of two sisters and two wives, he became morbidly conscious of death. In 1864 he writes, “I am in
- [Musicians and Artists: Blackford and Hokusai](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-richard-blackford-7-hokusai-miniatures/): Richard Blackford: 7 Hokusai Miniatures Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849) was an artist in ukiyo-e (pictures of the floating world). This genre of woodblock prints and paintings shows pictures of all kinds of subjects: from beautiful women to caricatures of actors and
- [On This Day <br/>7 March: Lisa Batiashvili Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-7-march-lisa-batiashvili-was-born/): Georgian-born violinist Lisa Batiashvili made her dreams become a reality. Ever since she was a little girl, she wanted to become a violinist, live in Europe, and have a family. And that’s exactly what she has accomplished. She was born
- [Paris in Naples: Auber’s <em>Zanetta</em>](https://interlude.hk/paris-in-naples-daniel-francois-auber-opera-zanetta/): Daniel-François-Esprit Auber (1782–1871) became a serious composer when he hit his 40s. His first grand opera, La Muette de Portici (1828) was also the start of his success. His discrete and nuanced operas, set to the librettos by the dramatic
- [On This Day <br/> 6 March: Yannick Nézet-Séguin Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-6-march-yannick-nezet-seguin-was-born/): The Canadian conductor and pianist Yannick Nézet-Séguin holds the leading positions at two of America’s most storied musical institutions, the New York Metropolitan opera, and the Philadelphia Orchestra. Born on 6 March 1975 in Montreal, Yannick knew from a very early age that he wanted to be a conductor. He...
- [Nicknamed Compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach](https://interlude.hk/nicknamed-compositions-by-johann-sebastian-bach/): Johann Sebastian Bach was known as a strict disciplinarian, and apparently he never really got on well with his students. During his early professional days in Arnstadt, Bach got into a fight with a student after he called him a
- [On This Day <br/>5 March: Sergei Prokofiev Died](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-5-march-sergei-prokofiev-died/): Sergei Prokofiev’s death on 5 March 1953, only about one hour before the passing of Joseph Stalin, went almost unnoticed in the press. In fact, his death went unreported for some days. Sovetskaya Muzyka finally carried his obituary in the
- [Neo-Classicism as the Avant-Garde <br/>Stravinsky’s <em>Jeu de cartes</em>](https://interlude.hk/neo-classicism-as-the-avant-garde-stravinsky-jeu-de-cartes/): Igor Stravinsky (1892–1971) was commissioned by Lincoln Kirstein’s American Ballet in 1935 for a work, completed in 1936 and it was staged in 1937. The work, Jeu de cartes (The Card Game), was choreographed by George Balanchine. The work, a
- [Edvard Grieg and His Circle of Friends](https://interlude.hk/edvard-grieg-and-his-circle-of-friends-1/): Edvard Grieg (1843-1907) was the foremost Scandinavian composer of his generation. He was a celebrated figure on the European musical stage, and highly esteemed by Liszt, Brahms, and Tchaikovsky. Influenced by the late-Romantic spirit he was a master of the
- [Oliver Knussen - Beguiling and Beautiful](https://interlude.hk/oliver-knussen-beguiling-and-beautiful/): Oliver Knussen (1952-2018) is regarded as one of the foremost British composers of recent times. Renowned for music ‘characterised by its crystalline concision, complexity and richness’ (Faber), Knussen wrote works that challenge the ear yet invite us on a journey;
- [Jonathan Dove: “In Exile”](https://interlude.hk/jonathan-dove-in-exile-world-premiere-recording/): Statelessness and the plight of refugees are still very much here with us. A new album with a work that is based “on the universal experience of refugees being exiled from their homeland” was released on March 3, 2023, on
- [On This Day <br/> 4 March: Antonio Vivaldi Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-4-march-antonio-vivaldi-was-born/): The city of Venice underwent a fundamental transformation towards the end of the 17th century. For centuries Venice had wielded considerable economic powers based on the manufacturing of textiles and from trade with Europe and Asia. Gradually, however, culture became
- [Mendelssohn and His Place in Music History](https://interlude.hk/mendelssohn-and-his-place-in-music-history/): No one dies at a favourable time, needless to say, but Felix Mendelssohn’s timing was particularly unfortunate. 1847 was one year before revolution would sweep across Europe, and so Mendelssohn would have his legacy formed in a post-revolutionary context. His
- [On This Day <br/>3 March: Brahms’ <em>“Alto Rhapsody”</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-3-march-brahms-alto-rhapsody-was-premiered/): For well over 20 years, Johannes Brahms (1833-1896) seriously considered writing an opera. In 1869, encouraged by the conductor Hermann Levi and the engraver Julius Allgeyer, Brahms initially contemplated, more or less seriously, operatic settings of Méhul’s Uthal, the heroic
- [Musicians and Artists: Liszt, Raphael, and Michelangelo](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-liszt-raphael-and-michelangelo-annees-de-pelerinage/): Franz Liszt: Années de pèlerinage (Years of Pilgrimage) Over his life, Franz Liszt (1811–1886) travelled widely. From his start in Hungary, through his first concerts as a child, his training in Vienna, his life in Paris, living with Countess Marie
- [On This Day <br/>2 March: Haydn’s “Drumroll Symphony” Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-2-march-haydn-drumroll-symphony-was-premiered/): Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) was already considered the greatest living composer when the impresario Johann Peter Salomon invited him to compose and conduct first six, and later six more symphonies for the cosmopolitan audiences in London. The British press hailed him
- [George Fu](https://interlude.hk/george-fu-pianist/): Reconciling Worlds Described as ‘one of the most exciting young pianists of our time’ (Arts Desk), pianist-composer George Fu is based in London but splits his time between Europe and the US, where he has performed at venues including the
- [Toni Morrison and André Previn <br/><em>Four Songs for Soprano, Cello, and Piano</em>](https://interlude.hk/toni-morrison-and-andre-previn-four-songs-for-soprano-cello-and-piano/): Toni Morrison (1931-2019) was the first African-American woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. Her best-selling works explored black identity in America, and in particular the often-crushing experiences of black women. She authored 11 novels, children’s books, and a
- [Realism or Impressionism: Debussy’s Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun](https://interlude.hk/realism-or-impressionism-debussy-prelude-to-the-afternoon-of-a-faun/): Debussy hated being called an impressionist composer. Impressionism in painting had been given its name based on the title of a Monet picture, Impression, soleil levant (Impression: Sunrise), the painters preferred to regard themselves as realists, showing the world in
- [The 10 Most Exciting Double Concertos](https://interlude.hk/the-10-most-exciting-double-concertos/): There is an old saying that “two heads are better than one” when it comes to reasoning and perceptual decision-making. That might well be true, but are two soloists in classical music better than one? This seems a tricky question
- [History and Invention of the Player Piano](https://interlude.hk/history-and-invention-of-the-pianola-player-piano/): It sits there in the corner of the living room, dark, foreboding, and challenging all to make it show its true potential. The key home instrument for the rising middle class was the piano. The mark of gentility was knowing
- [On This Day <br/>26 February: Giuseppe Tartini Died](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-26-february-giuseppe-tartini-died/): Once Giuseppe Tartini returned to Padua from his two-year stay in Prague, he quickly set up his famous violin school “La scuola delle nazioni” in 1728. By that time he already had an international reputation, which brought students from all
- [Alpha Cast in Alphabet Soup <br/>Jaume Plensa’s Macbeth at Barcelona’s Liceu](https://interlude.hk/alpha-cast-in-alphabet-soup-jaume-plensa-macbeth-at-barcelonas-liceu-opera-review/): Giuseppe Verdi’s Macbeth at Barcelona’s prestigious Gran Teatre del Liceu was hard to ignore. Jaume Plensa is not only a globally admired sculptor, but he is also something of a Catalan hero. This new production was bound to be the
- [The Life of Luigi Boccherini <br/>The Price of Musical Fame](https://interlude.hk/the-life-of-luigi-boccherini-the-price-of-musical-fame/): A new life of Luigi Boccherini (1743–1805) has been published by Kahn & Averill in London. Babette Kaiserkern’s Luigi Boccherini: Musica Amorosa gives us a new and complete life of an extremely talented composer whose music has been neglected for
- [On This Day <br/>25 February: Enrico Caruso Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-25-february-enrico-caruso-was-born/): Enrico Caruso, born on 25 February 1873 in Naples, was considered the greatest tenor of the century. For one, that assessment is based on the exceptional appeal of his voice, “fusing the full burnished timbre of a baritone with a
- [In Love With the Music of Reynaldo Hahn](https://interlude.hk/in-love-with-the-music-of-reynaldo-hahn/): Reynaldo Hahn: Si mes vers avaient des ailes (Dilbèr, soprano; Ilkka Paananen, piano) Si mes vers avaient des ailesVictor Hugo If my verses had wingsEnglish Translation © Richard Stokes from A French Song Companion (Oxford, 2000) Mes vers fuiraient, doux
- [Why Musicians Enjoy Puns and Quips](https://interlude.hk/why-musicians-enjoy-puns-and-quips/): Musicians, like so many others, enjoy jokes, especially those that are puns related to music, composers, and musicians. Backstage, even onstage during rehearsals, these anecdotes, puns, and gags fly. Perhaps it’s because we spend so much time in a practice
- [On This Day <br/>24 February: Arcadi Volodos Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-24-february-arcadi-volodos-was-born/): For many critics, Arcadi Volodos is the next legendary pianist. “He has everything; imagination, color, passion, and a phenomenal technique to carry out his ideas. ” A San Francisco critic raves, “his fingers fly around the keyboard, faster and more accurately
- [Musicians and Artists: Tōru Takemitsu and Cornelia Foss](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-toru-takemitsu-final-work-mori-no-nake-de-and-cornelia-foss/): Tōru Takemitsu: Mori no naka de (In the Woods) German-born American painter Cornelia Foss (b. 1931) has works in the leading art museums in the US and specializes in paintings and portraits done around New York and Long Island. Her
- [On This Day <br/>23 February: George Frideric Handel Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-23-february-george-frideric-handel-was-born/): The Austrian poet and novelist Rainer Maria Rilke wrote, “Fame is nothing but the sum total of misunderstandings that cling to a name. ” George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) is almost universally acknowledged as one of the greatest composers of his age,
- [Hugo Wolf](https://interlude.hk/hugo-wolf-austrian-composer/): 120 years ago, on 22 February 1903, Hugo Wolf (1860-1903) died in an insane asylum after trying to drown himself in October 1898. He had last appeared in concert on February 1897, but the impending paralysis of tertiary syphilis was
- [British Cello Works <br/>Cellist Lionel Handy and Pianist Jennifer Walsh](https://interlude.hk/british-cello-works-cellist-lionel-handy-and-pianist-jennifer-walsh-album-review/): What do composers Ethel Smyth, Frederick Delius, Cecil Armstrong Gibbs, and Benjamin Britten have in common? If you guessed they all wrote cello sonatas, you’d be correct. Cellist Lionel Handy and pianist Jennifer Walsh have brought these interesting British works
- [Bruce Liu in Hong Kong <br/>Unconvincing Chopin but Stunning Ravel & Liszt](https://interlude.hk/bruce-liu-in-hong-kong-unconvincing-chopin-but-stunning-ravel-liszt/): Bruce Liu Plays Variations in B flat major, Op. 2 (18th Chopin Competition, third stage) Canadian pianist Bruce Liu has rocketed to fame since his triumph in the latest Chopin Piano Competition. In his long-awaited debut recital in Hong Kong,
- [Enough: Scenes from Childhood <br/>Stephen Hough](https://interlude.hk/book-review-enough-scenes-from-childhood-by-stephen-hough/): The title of this memoir is a clue to just how much, or how little, the author, the celebrated concert pianist and polymath Sir Stephen Hough, is prepared to reveal. Anyone looking for an account of “how I became a
- [On This Day <br/>21 February: Milhaud’s <em>Le Boeuf sur le Toit</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-21-february-darius-milhaud-le-boeuf-sur-le-toit-was-premiered/): By his mid-20s, Darius Milhaud (1892-1974) was already an international musical superstar. His musical direction was well established early on, as he writes, “My musical education was influenced exclusively by the Latin-Mediterranean cultural milieu, which is readily explained by the
- [The Dance of the Normal Fairies: Sullivan’s Incidental Music for <em>The Merry Wives of Windsor</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-dance-of-the-normal-fairies-arthur-sullivan-incidental-music-for-the-merry-wives-of-windsor/): Sir Arthur Sullivan (1842-1900), whose name is linked almost as one word with that of the librettist W. S. Gilbert for their 14 comic operas created between 1871 and 1896, was, before that partnership, an accomplished composer of many other genres
- [10 Funkiest Concerto Combinations](https://interlude.hk/10-funkiest-concerto-combinations-concertos-two-or-more-instruments/): I’ve just seen the funniest cartoon ever! It is based on a kind of parlor game, where you are to imagine being stranded on a desert island with only a single album available for your listening pleasure. In this cartoon,
- [On This Day <br/>20 February: Riccardo Chailly was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-20-february-riccardo-chailly-was-born/): An old Chinese Proverb reads, “Giving your son a skill is better than giving him one thousand pieces of gold. ” Such was certainly the case with Riccardo Chailly, born on 20 February 1953 into a highly musical family of Romagnol
- [George Frederick Pinto (1785-1806)](https://interlude.hk/george-frederick-pinto-1785-1806/): George Frederick Pinto was born on 25 September 1785. Nothing is known of his father, Samuel Sanders, except that, like his son, he died at a young age. Although baptised George Sanders, Pinto used his mother’s Italian maiden name throughout
- [The Cello Still Sings - Why Another Book About the Holocaust?](https://interlude.hk/the-cello-still-sings-why-another-book-about-the-holocaust/): Why another book about the Holocaust, you might ask? The effects of World War II, and the experiences of the millions who perished, and the many millions more who were displaced, who became refugees, and who were among those who
- [On This Day <br/>19 February: Luigi Boccherini Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-19-february-luigi-boccherini-was-born/): Popular music is full of “one-hit wonders,” with a singer or group experiencing real mainstream success with a single hit song. The same might be said of classical music, as we only need to think of Pachelbel and his famous
- [A Million Views!: The Success of Cello Kids](https://interlude.hk/a-million-views-the-success-of-cello-kids/): The trio of Valérie Aimard and Antonina Zharava on cellos and Cédric Lorel on piano brought to music education a unique new standard. In 2018, they created the YouTube Channel Cello Kids. From its first concept to its recording in
- [Musicians and Artists: Bryan Johanson’s <em>Painted Music</em> and Paul Klee](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-bryan-johanson-painted-music-inspired-by-paintings-of-paul-klee/): The Swiss-born German artist Paul Klee (1879–1940) advanced modern art through his experiments in colour theory, and his own works show his extensive work in that direction. His first studies were in music, as his father was a music teacher
- [On This Day <br/>18 February: Dominique Merlet Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-18-february-dominique-merlet-was-born/): The Geneva International Music Competition is one of the world’s leading international music competitions, alternating between several main disciplines every year. Prizewinners include some of the world’s best artists, including Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli (piano), Pamela Bowden (voice), Heinz Holliger (oboe),
- [Sharing a Birthday With a Legendary Composer: Marlos Nobre](https://interlude.hk/sharing-a-birthday-with-a-legendary-composer-marlos-nobre/): My birthday is on the 18th of February. I don’t celebrate my birthday much, but I reflect, think, and stay curious. My curiosity led me to explore if other classical musicians were born on the 18th of February. The answer
- [Edgar Allan Poe: “The Raven” and Four Composers](https://interlude.hk/edgar-allan-poe-the-raven-joseph-holbrooke-leonard-slatkin-toshio-hosokawa-betsy-jolas/): Let me tell you a big secret. Although my parents hate it, I am a great fan of Gothic movies and Gothic fiction. Sometimes it is considered a part of the broader category of horror as “it tantalizes us with
- [Qigang Chen Brings Fresh “Joy” to Lunar New Year Celebration <br/><em>La joie de la souffrance (The Joy of Suffering)</em>](https://interlude.hk/qigang-chen-brings-fresh-joy-to-lunar-new-year-celebration-la-joie-de-la-souffrance-the-joy-of-suffering/): New York Philharmonic Lunar New Year Celebration Long Yu, conductor; Yiwen Lu, erhuJanuary 31, 2023 The highlight of the New York Philharmonic’s Lunar New Year concert this year, Qigang Chen’s 2017 composition La joie de la souffrance (The Joy of
- [Musicians – Are You Incessantly in Your Head?](https://interlude.hk/musicians-are-you-incessantly-in-your-head-ways-to-convey-emotions-of-the-music/): We musicians spend a great deal of time in our heads. We are constantly analyzing the music in front of us, searching the score for hints from the composer as to how he or she intended the piece to sound;
- [On This Day <br/>16 February: Massenet’s <em>Werther</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-16-february-jules-massenet-werther-was-premiered/): On 24 January 1892, Jules Massenet left for Vienna and stayed at the famous Hotel Sacher, across from the stage entrance of the opera house. He had arrived to oversee rehearsals for his new opera Werther, and wrote, “All the
- [Paraskeva Clark’s <em>Petroushka</em>](https://interlude.hk/paraskeva-clark-petroushka/): The crowd gathers in the cobbled yard, children lifted to their shoulders. They are called to the puppet theatre by the showman with the bass drum on his back. On top of the theatre appear three characters: a man in
- [Schubert Complete Piano Sonatas – An Interview With Paul Lewis](https://interlude.hk/schubert-complete-piano-sonatas-an-interview-with-paul-lewis/): “I love the vulnerability of Schubert. I love the fragility. I love the lack of resolution. In a way, it’s the most real and human music. ” – Paul Lewis Schubert: Piano Sonata in A Major D. 664, II. Andante |
- [Comrade Composers <br/>Aaron Copland, Louis Durey and Alan Bush](https://interlude.hk/comrade-composers-aaron-copland-louis-durey-and-alan-bush/): A group of foreign delegates arrived in New York in late March 1949 to advance the cause of world peace. The “Cultural and Scientific Conference for World Peace” was to prove that the Iron Curtain did not divide the world,
- [On This Day <br/>14 February: Renée Fleming Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-14-february-renee-fleming-was-born/): For Renée Fleming, born on 14 February 1959 in Indiana, Pennsylvania, music was part of her earliest memories. “My memories so often involve someone singing,” she writes, “or me singing, or someone striking the first notes on the piano that
- [New Horn Techniques: Beethoven’s Rondino](https://interlude.hk/new-horn-techniques-beethoven-rondino/): Beethoven left his home city of Bonn in 1792 for Vienna, where he stayed for the rest of his life. This was his second attempt at Vienna – he had been sent there by his patron in 1787 where he
- [Violin Masterworks Inspired by Pablo de Sarasate](https://interlude.hk/violin-masterworks-inspired-by-pablo-de-sarasate/): Pablo de Sarasate (1844-1908), alongside Henryk Wieniawski, Joseph Joachim, Eugène Ysaye, and countless others, was part of a group of violin virtuosi that decidedly contributed to the development of instrumental music as both performers and composers. But what is more,
- [On This Day <br/>13 February: Ignaz Friedman Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-13-february-ignaz-friedman-was-born/): On 13 February 1882 in Podgórze, near Kraków, Salomea (Salcia) Friedman (Freudmann) gave birth to her son Solomon Isaac (Ignacy). She had already suffered six miscarriages and stillbirths before giving birth, and she had married the father Nachman Wolf (Wolko)
- [Antonín Dvořák and His Circle of Friends II](https://interlude.hk/antonin-dvorak-and-his-circle-of-friends-2/): The fierce music critic Eduard Hanslick (1825-1904) became aware of Antonín Dvořák’s music when he was a member of the commission which offered state scholarships to impoverished young musicians. In fact, Hanslick was instrumental in furthering Dvořák’s career by taking
- [Cellists and Their Composers <br/>Mendelssohn Sonatas: On the Cusp of the Romantic Cello](https://interlude.hk/cellists-and-their-composers-mendelssohn-sonatas-on-the-cusp-of-the-romantic-cello/): Although Felix Mendelssohn predated Brahms, his cello music is on the cusp of romanticism, bridging the classical and the romantic periods of music. He wrote two cello sonatas, No. 1 in B-flat Op. 45, and No. 2 in D Major
- [Musicians and Artists: Mondrian’s <em>Broadway Boogie-Woogie</em> and Three Composers](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-piet-mondrian-broadway-boogie-woogie-jim-parker-christopher-fox-richard-aldag/): Piet Mondrian (1872–1944) was a Dutch painter who expanded the modern abstract painter’s vocabulary by reducing his colour choices and moving to geometric elements to express his art. He is now regarded as one of the greatest artists of the
- [The Pilgrimage of the Rose <br/>Robert Schumann’s <em>Der Rose Pilgerfahrt</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-pilgrimage-of-the-rose-robert-schumann-der-rose-pilgerfahrt/): Roses are gorgeously beautiful flowers, and they are associated with romantic love and beauty. And as far back as I can remember, which isn’t really all that long, the rose has been one of the most recognized symbols of Valentine’s
- [Music, a Universal Teacher](https://interlude.hk/music-a-universal-teacher/): It is often said that life inspires art; that to its ultimate goal, art takes inspiration and pays homage to nature and to life. Over the years, it has been an obsession for artists; to imitate life. But what about
- [On This Day <br/>10 February: Offenbach’s <em>The Tales of Hoffmann</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-10-february-offenbach-the-tales-of-hoffmann-was-premiered/): The “opera fantastique” The Tales of Hoffmann (Les Contes d’Hoffmann) by Jacques Offenbach was first played publically, without the third act, at the Opéra-Comique in Paris on 10 February 1881. The composer did not live to see the premiere, as
- [Bringing the Bay Area Together for Youth <br/>YMCG: Youth Music Culture Greater Bay Area](https://interlude.hk/bringing-the-bay-area-together-for-youth-ymcg-youth-music-culture-greater-bay-area/): A week of concertizing, teaching, and community outreach started in Guangzhou six years ago and has expanded to include orchestras from up and down the Pearl River. The Guangzhou Symphony has been joined by the Hong Kong Philharmonic, the Shenzhen
- [Haydn and the Merry Widow <br/>Joseph Haydn and Rebecca Schroeter](https://interlude.hk/haydn-and-the-merry-widow-joseph-haydn-and-rebecca-schroeter/): During his two London visits, Joseph Haydn was treated like royalty. As one of the most celebrated composers in Europe, he led highly successful concerts and composed a number of his best-known works, including his last twelve symphonies. With a
- [On This Day <br/>9 February: Alban Berg was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-9-february-alban-berg-was-born/): In 1885, as Johannes Brahms was writing his Fourth Symphony, Albano Maria Johannes Berg was born on 9 February. The “o” on his first name quickly disappeared, and he was the third of four children of Johanna and Conrad Berg.
- [HKU MUSE Celebrates its 10th Anniversary and Continues to Inspire](https://interlude.hk/hku-muse-celebrates-its-10th-anniversary-and-continues-to-inspire/): Nobuyuki Tsujii & Orpheus Chamber Orchestra Full Concert The year 2023 marks the 10th season of HKU MUSE (My University Spotlight Encounters), a series of programmes presented by the Cultural Management Office of the University of Hong Kong (HKU). As
- [An Orchestral version of Schubert’s <em>Erlkönig</em>](https://interlude.hk/an-orchestral-version-of-schubert-erlkonig/): One of the great delights of Franz Schubert’s setting of Goethe’s poem Erlkönig is all the voices that appear in the work: in the vocal line, we have the narrator, the father, the child, and the Erl-king. The piano is
- [Moments of Grace <br/>The Quatuor Arod and Bruno Monsaingeon](https://interlude.hk/moments-of-grace-the-quatuor-arod-and-bruno-monsaingeon/): There’s a point in Bruno Monsaingeon’s new documentary about the Quatuor Arod, Ménage à Quatre, where it all becomes clear – you understand what they’re talking about and the minutiae of sound elements that they’re dealing with when Jérémy Garbarg,
- [Anton Rubinstein’s <em>Persian Love Songs</em>](https://interlude.hk/anton-rubinstein-persian-love-songs-12-lieder-des-mirza-schaffy/): The classical bilingual poet in Azerbaijani and Persian, Mirza Shafi Vazeh (1796-1852) was widely known as the “sage of Ganja,” the town of his birth. He initially studied Arabic and Persian but got expelled from school for questioning the arrogance
- [On This Day <br/>7 February: Germaine Mounier was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-7-february-germaine-mounier-was-born/): The exceptional pianist and pedagogue Germaine Mounier, born on 7 February 1920 in Neuilly-sur-Seine, had a reputation as one of the most successful piano teachers in Paris. She taught a very large class at the École Normale over many years
- [Charles Dickens <br/>“Ask no questions, and you'll be told no lies.”](https://interlude.hk/charles-dickens-and-classical-music/): Charles Dickens, born on 7 February 1812 on Portsea Island (Portsmouth), Hampshire, is known for creating some of the best-known fictional characters in literature. We all are familiar with Ebenezer Scrooge, Tiny Tim, Little Nell, Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, Samuel
- [Taking a Tour: Suppé’s Overture to <em>Die Afrikareise</em>](https://interlude.hk/taking-a-tour-franz-von-suppe-overture-to-die-afrikareise/): The 19th century saw the idea of travel hit everywhere. There was the Grand Tour, the novels where one went from home to exotic Brighton now changed to novels where one went around the world or even to the moon.
- [Fredrik Pacius, Oskar Merikanto and Jean Sibelius: Finnish Music Nationalism](https://interlude.hk/fredrik-pacius-oskar-merikanto-and-jean-sibelius-finnish-music-nationalism/): Finland declared its independence after the Russian Revolution in 1917. Finland had been ruled by Sweden since the late thirteenth century, but in 1908, Finland became part of the Russian Empire as the autonomous Grand Duchy. Prior to this, in
- [On This Day <br/>6 February: Schumann’s <em>Symphony No. 3</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-6-february-schumann-symphony-no-3-was-premiered/): Throughout the 19th century, the Rhine was an important symbol in German nationalism. It played a major role in the formation of the German state and spawned wide-ranging cultural symbolisms, including legends, poetry, and musical metaphors. Robert Schumann discovered the
- [Blanca Layana Gómez and her 13 <em>Ejercicios con niveles de dificultad</em>](https://interlude.hk/blanca-layana-gomez-and-her-13-ejercicios-con-niveles-de-dificultad/): About a month ago, I recorded 13 Ejercicios con niveles de dificultad written by Blanca Layana Gómez. Back in summer of 2022, I came across Blanca and her works when I was writing an article about living Latina composers. I
- [Antonín Dvořák and His Circle of Friends](https://interlude.hk/antonin-dvorak-and-his-circle-of-friends-1/): The traditional image of Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904) as a simple Czech fellow with a flair for composing symphonic and chamber music has recently given way to “one of a complex figure writing works filled with hidden drama and secret programs. ”
- [Gertrude Stein <br/> “Rose is a rose is a rose is a rose”](https://interlude.hk/gertrude-stein-rose-is-a-rose-is-a-rose-is-a-rose/): Born on 3 February 1874 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Gertrude Stein was a central figure in the Parisian art world between 1903 and her death in 1946. Her Paris Salon at 27 rue de Fleurus “brought together confluences of talent and
- [“COVID fan tutte”: 2020 Comic Opera](https://interlude.hk/covid-fan-tutte-2020-comic-opera/): Viral pandemics are pretty dire affairs, with millions of people falling sick and dying. COVID-19 hit us right in the face, mercilessly taking advantage of our human vanities and frailties, praying on our complacency, deceits, and political nonsense. In one
- [The Art of the Keyboard Case](https://interlude.hk/the-art-of-the-keyboard-case/): When you think of a piano, you think of it closed – a big black box. Sits in the corner. Its colour is only revealed when you uncover the keyboard, and the contrast of the white and black keys is
- [Russia Today - A Requiem for Peace](https://interlude.hk/russia-today-a-requiem-for-peace/): On 16 February, the London premiere of Russia Today takes place at King’s Place concert hall. With music by Russian-born composer Eugene Birman, the piece – written during the covid pandemic – features text drawn verbatim from Russians living both
- [Soloists Who Conduct: The Allure of the Podium](https://interlude.hk/soloists-who-conduct-the-allure-of-the-podium/): “Put your hands up and step away from the podium... ” This is the feeling that many musicians have when a prominent soloist appears on stage not in their usual guise, but as a conductor. It’s a bit like trying to
- [First Works: Vladimir Feltsman on Schumann](https://interlude.hk/first-works-vladimir-feltsman-on-schumann-album-review/): A composer’s first published works are often interesting discoveries: what did they want to publish with their name on it? How did they want to attract attention? In this new recording by Vladimir Feltsman, we get to explore the first
- [Wilhelm Furtwängler<br/> The Conducting Composer](https://interlude.hk/wilhelm-furtwangler-the-conducting-composer/): Wilhelm Furtwängler (1886-1954) is known as one of the greatest conductors of the 20th century, but he saw himself primarily as a composer for whom conducting was “the roof under which I have taken refuge in life because I was
- [On This Day <br/>2 February: Fritz Kreisler Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-2-february-fritz-kreisler-was-born/): Almost every biography of Fritz Kreisler quotes his famous saying, “I knew musical scores instinctively before I knew my A B C. It was a gift of Providence. I did not acquire it. ” I have always wondered how this statement
- [Rachell Ellen Wong](https://interlude.hk/rachell-ellen-wong-violinist/): “Play It How You Want To” The worlds of ‘modern’ and ‘historical’ performance are often seen as two very different beasts – but not for young violinist Rachell Ellen Wong. The only early music practitioner to have ever received an
- [On This Day <br/>1 February: Puccini’s <em>La Bohème</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-1-february-puccini-la-boheme-was-premiered/): Giacomo Puccini’s (1858-1924) La Bohème is one of his best-loved and most frequently performed operas. After its premiere on 1 February 1896 it was quickly adopted into the repertory of all the major theatres across Italy. However, the response of
- [Victor Hugo’s <em>Les Djinns</em> <br/>By Gabriel Fauré, César Franck and Louis Vierne](https://interlude.hk/victor-hugo-les-djinns-in-classical-music-by-gabriel-faure-cesar-franck-and-louis-vierne/): Victor Hugo’s 1829 poetry collection, Les Orientales, was inspired by the Greek War of Independence, where, between 1821 and 1829, the Greeks worked to overthrow the Ottoman Empire. Assisted by the British, the French, and the Russians, the Greeks overthrew
- [North to South: Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 4](https://interlude.hk/north-to-south-mendelssohn-symphony-no-4/): Mendelssohn had the consummate skill to bring a landscape to life, whether it was the wilds of the Scottish Isles in his Symphony No. 3, or the warmth of Italy in his Symphony No. 4. Mendelssohn began writing his Italian
- [10 Hilarious Titles in Classical Music](https://interlude.hk/10-hilarious-titles-in-classical-music/): Classical music has a reputation for being altogether too serious. It’s an often-repeated cliché based on the great fear of being locked in a concert hall for several hours without the use of mobile phones. Granted, classical composers didn’t make
- [On This Day <br/>30 January: Francis Poulenc Died](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-30-january-francis-poulenc-died/): Some say that Francis Poulenc was granted an ideal death. He died of a heart attack in his Paris apartment on the rue des Medicis, on 30 January 1963. On that day he was planning to have lunch with Denise
- [“None Shall Sleep” <br/>Exciting Versions of “Nessun Dorma”](https://interlude.hk/none-shall-sleep-exciting-versions-of-giacomo-puccini-nessun-dorma/): Crossover and Pop Versions of the Famous Opera Aria I believe that it was Luciano Pavarotti who single-handedly made “Nessun dorma,” from Giacomo Puccini’s opera Turandot one of the most popular tunes on the planet. “Nessun dorma”: Luciano Pavarotti It
- [The Lure of Light Music](https://interlude.hk/the-lure-of-light-music/): Sometimes you get tired of the details, tired of the intricate formal structure, and you just long for a piece of simple music. This is where Light Music plays a role. Starting in the 18th century, light music was the
- [On This Day <br/>29 January: Frederick Delius Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-29-january-frederick-delius-was-born/): Fritz Albert Theodor Delius, better known to the world in later years as Frederick Delius, was born on 29 January 1862 in Bradford, a city in West Yorkshire, England. His parents came from Bielefeld in Germany, and his father Julius
- [Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (Molière) 1622-1673 <br/>“Of All the Noises Known to Man, Opera Is the Most Expensive”](https://interlude.hk/jean-baptiste-poquelin-moliere-french-playwright/): On 15 January 1622, one of the greatest writers in the French language was baptized in Paris. His name was Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, but everybody immediately recognizes him by his stage name Molière. It is thought that Molière adopted his stage
- [Planning Your Practice: How Much Planning is Too Much?](https://interlude.hk/planning-your-practice-how-much-planning-is-too-much/): You close the door to the practice room behind you. You are alone with your instrument. You take it out of the case, lift it up and... now what? Should I start with some scales? What was that bit that
- [On This Day <br/>28 January: Arthur Rubinstein Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-28-january-arthur-rubinstein-was-born/): Widely regarded as one of the greatest pianists of all time, Arthur Rubinstein (1887-1982) combined a prodigious technique with musicianship, scholarship, and a richly poetic temperament. One of the greatest Chopin interpreters of his time, his warmly outgoing and the
- [Playing and Directing - Performance Enhancer or Mood Killer?](https://interlude.hk/playing-and-directing-performance-enhancer-or-mood-killer/): Playground without a bully, or plane without a pilot? Depending on the situation, eliminating one element of the equation can bring either joy or disaster. Where do conductors sit along this spectrum? While many orchestral musicians joke about the ineptitude
- [On This Day <br/>27 January: Giuseppe Verdi Died](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-27-january-giuseppe-verdi-died/): During the final years of his life, Giuseppe Verdi devoted himself to a number of philanthropic ventures. Chiefly among them was the establishment of a hospital at Villanova sull’Arda, close to Busseto. Yet, overseeing such a noble cause was not
- [On This Day <br/>26 January: Mozart’s <em>Così fan tutte</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-26-january-mozart-cosi-fan-tutte-was-premiered/): Ever since Mozart’s Così fan tutte: La scuola degli amanti premiered on 26 January 1790 at the Burgtheater in Vienna, Austria, its critical reception has been marked by ambivalence. For one, it opened during the Austro-Turkish War of 1787-91, playing
- [The Memory of the Past: <em>Chants Nostalgiques</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-memory-of-the-past-chants-nostalgiques-album-review/): In this new recording of French songs from the turn of the 20th century, we explore the sonic world of Gabriel Fauré (1845–1924), Ernest Chausson (1855–1899), and the unknown Charlotte Sohy (1887–1955). For the soprano, Marie-Laure Garnier, this music covers
- [Bavarian State Opera Munich](https://interlude.hk/history-bavarian-state-opera-munich-bayerische-staatsoper/): Ludwig II of Bavaria had a number of interesting nicknames. He was called the “Swan King,” the “Fairy Tale King,” the “Dream King,” and most damningly, “Mad Ludwig. ” He built himself fairytale castles, had severe problems relating to women and
- [On This Day <br/>25 January: Wilhelm Furtwängler Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-25-january-wilhelm-furtwangler-was-born/): Born on 25 January 1886 in Berlin, Wilhelm Furtwängler still inspires acrimonious debates surrounding his “role as de facto chief conductor of the Nazi regime,” his passive political resistance, and his outspoken opinions on the relationship between art and politics.
- [Wilhelm von Kaulbach and Franz Liszt <br/>The Battle of the Huns](https://interlude.hk/wilhelm-von-kaulbach-and-franz-liszt-the-battle-of-the-huns-hunnenschlacht/): Franz Liszt: Hunnenschlacht When the newly constructed “Neues Museum” (New Museum) in Berlin was looking for frescoes to illustrate the history of mankind, they turned to the painter and muralist Wilhelm von Kaulbach (1805-1874). Kaulbach had made a name for
- [Remembering the Music: Thalberg’s Souvenir de Rigoletto de Verdi](https://interlude.hk/remembering-the-music-sigismund-thalberg-souvenir-de-rigoletto-de-verdi/): Verdi’s Rigoletto, with its story of seduction and deception at the court of the Duke of Mantua, culminating in a murder attempt that goes horribly wrong, was most famous for the Duke’s philandering song, La donna è mobile. In his
- [On This Day <br/>23 January: Muzio Clementi Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-23-january-muzio-clementi-was-born/): For a time, the exact birthdate of Muzio Clementi was hotly debated. When he died on 10 March 1832, official records put his age at eighty, but his widow claimed that he was actually eighty-two. Others swore that he died
- [Funniest Shows in Classical Music <br/>“All the Right Notes, Not Necessarily in the Right Order”](https://interlude.hk/funniest-shows-in-classical-music-all-the-right-notes-not-necessarily-in-the-right-order/): Don’t laugh, but my favorite quote on music is spoken by Albus Dumbledore, the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the Harry Potter series. Listening to the school orchestra he says, “Ah, Music... a magic beyond all
- [Musical Double Takes II by Charles-Valentin Alkan, Johann Nepomuk Hummel & More](https://interlude.hk/musical-double-takes-ii-by-charles-valentin-alkan-johann-nepomuk-hummel-more/): Charles-Valentin Alkan In our exploration of musical double takes—composers who wrote multiple sets of preludes and/or fugues in all major and minor keys—we have to honour one of the most enigmatic composers in the history of music. Charles-Valentin Alkan (1813-1888)
- [On This Day <br/>22 January: Myung-whun Chung Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-22-january-myung-whun-chung-was-born/): Most of us know Myung-whun Chung as one of the world’s leading conductors. He started his career with the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 1977, becoming the assistant conductor to Carlo Maria Giulini. The Beginning of His Career as the Assistant
- [Beethoven of the Flute: Rediscover Kuhlau and His Works for Flute, Piano, and Operas!](https://interlude.hk/friedrich-kuhlau-and-his-works-for-flute-piano-and-operas/): Danish composer and pianist Friedrich Kuhlau (1786 –1832) was one of the key figures of the Danish Golden Age, and his music represented Danish romanticism. Most of his compositions were either for the flute or piano and to this day,
- [Reminiscences: In Conversation With Pianist Catherine Gordeladze](https://interlude.hk/reminiscences-in-conversation-with-pianist-catherine-gordeladze/): We caught up with Georgian pianist Catherine Gordeladze to talk about her new album ‘La Ricordanza’, a selection of piano works inspired by or reminiscent of the human voice. Can you tell us a little more about the inspiration for
- [Yearnings of a King <br/>Poetry of Ludwig I of Bavaria](https://interlude.hk/yearnings-of-a-king-poetry-of-ludwig-i-of-bavaria/): Ludwig I, king of Bavaria from 1825 until 1848, was primarily known for his enthusiasm for the arts and women. As a crown prince he collected German and Dutch painting, masterpieces of the Italian renaissance, and contemporary art for his
- [A Fraction of the Whole <br/>Classical Music Is Defined by a Few Giants](https://interlude.hk/a-fraction-of-the-whole-classical-music-is-defined-by-a-few-giants/): How much do we really know about classical music? I have recently read about how success happens to only a very small number of people. How everything that is successful is a tiny portion of the whole. How the law
- [On This Day <br/>20 January: Yvonne Loriod Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-20-january-yvonne-loriod-was-born/): Born on 20 January 1924 in Houilles, on the north-western outskirts of Paris, Yvonne Loriod was a dedicated champion of the piano works of Pierre Boulez, André Jolivet, Jean Barraqué and Arnold Schoenberg, and she played the world premieres of
- [On This Day <br/>19 January: Verdi’s <em>Il Trovatore</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-19-january-giuseppe-verdi-il-trovatore-was-premiered/): While Giuseppe Verdi was basking in the tremendous success he enjoyed with Rigoletto in March 1851, he was also looking for a subject for his next opera. His lover Giuseppina Strepponi had recently translated a play by García Gutiérrez titled
- [The Year of the Water Rabbit](https://interlude.hk/the-year-of-the-water-rabbit/): According to the Chinese zodiac, 2022 was “characterized by strength, vitality, and growth, underpinned by the dynamism of the tiger. ” It was a year designated as yang, the active principle of the universe in ancient Chinese philosophy. As such, in
- [Louis Jullien: Classical Music for the Masses](https://interlude.hk/louis-jullien-classical-music-for-the-masses/): We should never forget that performing artists are essentially entertainers. And one of the biggest entertainers of his time was described as follows by the British magazine Belgravia in 1880: “In the years 1847 the management of the Drury Lane
- [Review: Boris Giltburg in Hong Kong](https://interlude.hk/review-boris-giltburg-in-hong-kong/): Pianist Boris Giltburg has risen to worldwide fame since his victory in Queen Elisabeth Competition in 2013. The ambition of the Moscow-born Israeli pianist can easily be illustrated by his discography (e. g. Rachmaninoff‘s 24 Preludes, Beethoven’s Complete Piano Sonatas &
- [On This Day <br/>17 January: Tomaso Albinoni Died](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-17-january-tomaso-albinoni-died/): Tomaso Albinoni, who according to his death notice dated 17 January 1751, died of diabetes mellitus in Venice, is primarily known for his famous “Adagio in G minor. ” No self-respecting collection of Baroque music can do without it. But wait,
- [Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas as He Might Have Heard Them](https://interlude.hk/beethovens-piano-sonatas-as-he-might-have-heard-them/): This sparkling new release from British pianist Daniel Tong opens with an explosive ‘Mannheim rocket’, the dramatic first sentence of the Piano Sonata in C minor, Op 10, No. 1, which sets the tone for an uplifting and very enjoyable
- [The Soul of Brazil: Levy’s <em>Tango Brasiliero</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-soul-of-brazil-alexandre-levy-tango-brasiliero/): The lure of South America in the late 19th- and early 20th-century resulted in the South American craze in France starting in the 1910s. Brazilian dancers and orchestras travelled to Europe and Europeans travelled back. French composers such as Darius
- [Nicknamed Compositions by Ludwig van Beethoven](https://interlude.hk/nicknamed-compositions-by-ludwig-van-beethoven/): Ludwig van Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor, Op. 27, No. 2 “Moonlight” In the wonderful and whacky world of fancy nicknames, nothing is more famous than Beethoven’s “Moonlight” Sonata. Unsurprisingly, that particular nickname does not originate with
- [On This Day <br/>16 January: Léo Delibes Died](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-16-january-leo-delibes-died/): Shortly before his 55th birthday, Léo Delibes collapsed and died at his home in Paris. He was buried in the Cimetière de Montmartre in Paris, and his legacy was secured with the ballet Coppélia and his operatic masterpiece Lakmé. The
- [Felix Mendelssohn and His Circle of Friends II](https://interlude.hk/felix-mendelssohn-and-his-circle-of-friends-ii/): Mendelssohn was only 26 when he took up his appointment as Director of the Leipzig Gewandhaus in 1835. Mendelssohn was internationally famous, and Schumann, who had just founded the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik, was still struggling to find his way
- [Alternative New Years Playlist](https://interlude.hk/alternative-new-years-playlist/): The New Year period is a rare occurrence where we take time to look both forwards and backwards. It is an opportunity to take stock of where we are, and many New Years, spent in the company of family and
- [On This Day <br/>14 January: Fazıl Say Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-14-january-fazil-say-was-born/): For pianist Fazıl Say, music is a path to social change, in his native Turkey and beyond. In a speech for the 38th Congress of the International Federation of Human Rights in Istanbul in 2013, he said, “I strongly believe
- [The Puzzle Dance <br/>Igor Markevitch’s <em>Rebus</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-puzzle-dance-igor-markevitch-rebus/): The Russian–Italian–French composer Igor Markevitch (1912-1983) was a discovery of the choreographer-impresario Serge Diaghilev who commissioned a piano concerto from him when he was only 17. Markevitch had studied in Paris with Alfred Cortot for piano and with Nadia Boulanger
- [When Being a Principal Player is Nerve Wracking](https://interlude.hk/when-being-a-principal-player-is-nerve-wracking/): Last year I wrote about what the associate principal cello does. As the person who held that position with the Minnesota Orchestra, I must admit, I often would ruminate that playing a concerto as soloist seemed easier than playing the
- [A Musical Diet](https://interlude.hk/a-musical-diet/): It is often said that what one eats is what one is, or becomes. Indeed, food fuels the human body, and good, diverse, nutritious quality food is key to a strong and durable body. It is of course the provider
- [On This Day <br/>13 January: Juan Diego Flórez Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-13-january-juan-diego-florez-was-born/): Lady Luck smiled on Juan Diego Flórez in 1996. Cast in a small role in Rossini’s Ricciardo e Zoraide at the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro, the tenor engaged to sing the leading role of “Corradino” in Matilde di Shabran
- [Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and Aleksey Apukhtin <br/>The Musician and the Poet](https://interlude.hk/pyotr-ilyich-tchaikovsky-and-aleksey-apukhtin-the-musician-and-the-poet/): In 1850, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky entered the School of Jurisprudence in Saint Petersburg as a boarding student. This most prestigious school for boys destined to become imperial administrators was to be his home for the next nine years. Being separated
- [Édouard Lalo](https://interlude.hk/french-composer-edouard-lalo/): “Be yourself, because everyone else is taken” “The glory of Édouard Lalo (1823-1892),” wrote a scholar in 1925, “was that he cast a shaft of sunlight into French music, expressing joy, life, and chaste tenderness free of sentimentality, and burning
- [Clara Clemens and Ossip Gabrilowitsch](https://interlude.hk/clara-clemens-and-ossip-gabrilowitsch/): “A Gentleman Is Someone Who Knows How to Play the Banjo and Doesn’t” Considered the “greatest humorist the United States has produced,” Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known as Mark Twain (1835-1910), had an uneasy relationship with classical music. He wrote
- [The Art of the Virtuoso:  Vieuxtemps’ <em>Variations on a Theme from Beethoven's Romance No. 1 in G Major</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-art-of-the-virtuoso-henri-vieuxtemps-variations-on-a-theme-from-beethovens-romance-no-1-in-g-major/): Henry (Henri) Vieuxtemps (1820-1881), from Belgium, was one of the top violinists of his time. In the mid–19th century, the Franco-Belgian violin school set the standard for the world and Vieuxtemps was one of the leaders. His father was a
- [The Father of Piano: Muzio Clementi](https://interlude.hk/the-father-of-piano-muzio-clementi/): If you are a pianist, you probably have heard of Clementi and played his six piano sonatinas, Op. 36. Indeed, Clementi was one of the most influential classical keyboard composers in music history. I was introduced to his piano sonatas years
- [The True Picture: Boccherini’s Night Music](https://interlude.hk/the-true-picture-boccherinis-night-music/): The Italian composer Luigi Boccherini made his name in Spain at the Royal Court, and then, unfortunately, got caught there when his patron was side-lined and sent to the countryside. New rulers come in and the old ruler’s family gets
- [Felix Mendelssohn and His Circle of Friends](https://interlude.hk/felix-mendelssohn-and-his-circle-of-friends/): Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) and his sister Fanny were born into a prosperous and prominent Jewish family. Extraordinarily talented, they grew up in a highly intellectual environment. Visitors to the salon organized by their parents included the poets Heinrich Heine and
- [Food for Thought <br/> Mealtime with Johannes Brahms](https://interlude.hk/food-for-thought-mealtime-with-johannes-brahms/): Johannes Brahms (1833-1896) essentially grew up in the slums of Hamburg. And although the famous “Herr Doktor Brahms” would later rub shoulders with Viennese high society, his eating habits apparently never changed. “I live in Vienna as if I were
- [On This Day <br/>7 January: Janine Jansen Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-7-january-janine-jansen-was-born/): Born on 7 January 1978 in Soest in the Netherlands, Janine Jansen is described as “a charismatic violinist of tremendous versatility and breathtaking virtuosity. ” She has also been called the “Queen of the download,” with downloads of her recordings going
- [Classical to Broadway: The Art of Robert Wright and George Forrest](https://interlude.hk/classical-to-broadway-the-art-of-robert-wright-and-george-forrest/): What do Kismet, Song of Norway, Gypsy Lady, and The Great Waltz all have in common? They were all productions using the music of long-dead composers with updated lyrics. Robert Wright (1914-2005) worked with George Forrest (1915-1999) to bring classical
- [On This Day <br/>6 January: Alexander Scriabin Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-6-january-alexander-scriabin-was-born/): The Russian Composer’s Family History When Alexander Scriabin was asked about his origins, he proudly proclaimed, “I come from a noble and military family. ” His family ancestry can be traced back to the thirteenth century when Russia was under Tatar
- [Musical Double Takes <br/>Bach, Bentzon, Czerny, Rekhin, Rheinberger, and Madsen](https://interlude.hk/musical-double-takes-bach-bentzon-czerny-rekhin-rheinberger-and-madsen/): Johann Sebastian Bach was one of the first composers to contemplate a collection of preludes and fugues in all 24 major and minor keys. However, the concept of basing a musical collection on a theoretical system of scales/harmonies was not
- [On This Day <br/>5 January: Alfred Brendel was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-5-january-alfred-brendel-was-born/): Alfred Brendel’s Family Background The legendary Alfred Brendel was born in Wizemberk, Czechoslovakia, on 5 January 1931. He considers himself a typical Austrian mix, with German as well as Austrian forebears, and a grandmother called Aloisia Guerra who came from
- [Leonard Bernstein <br/><em>Thirteen Anniversaries</em>](https://interlude.hk/leonard-bernstein-thirteen-anniversaries/): In all, Leonard Bernstein composed twenty-nine musical vignettes that he published in four collections called Anniversaries. The final set, containing thirteen pieces, was written between 1964 and 1988, and published as 13 Anniversaries in 1989. As in his previous attempts,
- [AI Composes Classical Music <br/>David Cope](https://interlude.hk/ai-composes-classical-music-david-cope/): Algorithms have taken over our everyday. They are used virtually everywhere, from financial institutions to Google Search, Facebook News Feed, Date Matching, and myriads of online services like Amazon and Netflix. Basically, computer scientists describe algorithms “as a set of
- [Thoughts on Private Tuition](https://interlude.hk/thoughts-on-private-tuition-music/): While many musicians learn from schools and academies, others learn from private teachers and through one-to-one lessons. But with all the different modes of education, teaching, and transmission of knowledge, there is a constant teacher, in common to all; the
- [The Music of Poetry <br/> Songs of Franz Liszt to Poetry by Victor Hugo II](https://interlude.hk/music-of-poetry-songs-of-franz-liszt-to-poetry-by-victor-hugo-ii/): Victor Hugo published his Les chants du crépuscule on 25 October 1835, as the second of four volumes commonly referred to as the July Monarchy collections. “Twilight Songs” includes a short preface, a prelude poem, and thirty-nine additional pieces. “If
- [Dancing the Classics <br/>Bach, Schubert, Debussy and Mozart](https://interlude.hk/dancing-the-classics-bach-schubert-debussy-and-mozart/): Bodily movement is such a natural and emotional response to music. I think that dance has been a part of human culture since the very beginning. It is a way of communicating, celebrating, and expressing an infinite number of feelings,
- [The Digital Debussy: Francis Gorgé and Debussy](https://interlude.hk/the-digital-debussy-francis-gorge-orchestrations-debussy-preludes-book-i/): We interviewed digital performer and arranger Francis Gorgé in February 2022 and now look at this recording as our Music of the Week. In Debussy’s Préludes, Book I, the second piece has the title Voiles, which can be translated as
- [On This Day <br/>2 January: Pascal Amoyel Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-2-january-pascal-amoyel-was-born/): Pianist Pascal Amoyel has produced a number of award-winning recordings of the piano music of Liszt, Chopin, and Scriabin, and also received commendations for his duo performances with cellist Emmanuelle Bertrand. He has composed a number of smaller-scale compositions, but
- [Happy New Year <br/> Johann Strauss Jr.’s <em>Die Fledermaus</em> “Overture”: “The Bat” in Arrangement](https://interlude.hk/happy-new-year-johann-strauss-junior-die-fledermaus-overture-the-bat-in-arrangement/): Ever since I was a little girl, my parents made me watch the New Year’s concert of the Vienna Philharmonic. Apparently, as they kept telling me, “it is good for you. ” They needn’t have worried, because I loved to watch
- [Nicholas Mulroy](https://interlude.hk/interview-with-nicholas-mulroy-tenor/): Communicate Something Somehow to Everyone All the Time Tenor Nicholas Mulroy started his singing career in his native Liverpool’s cathedral choir, and after a hiatus from singing in his teen years, joined the chapel choir of Clare College, Cambridge, where
- [Happy New Year 2023<br/> A Journey into Becoming](https://interlude.hk/classical-music-about-travel-and-journey/): As we say goodbye to 2022 and hello to 2023, we embark once more on a journey into the unknown. We might have gained the upper hand in the seemingly never-ending struggle against Covid-19, but new flu variants are once
- [Cellists and Their Composers <br/>The Romantic Cello: Brahms Sonatas](https://interlude.hk/cellists-and-their-composers-the-romantic-cello-brahms-sonatas/): Cellists over the world relish playing the works of Johannes Brahms. The chamber music—his string quartets, piano trios, piano quartets, piano quintet, and the two string sextets are lush and rewarding to play. Brahms intended to perform the piano parts
- [Most Memorable Events in China’s Classical Music Scene 2022](https://interlude.hk/most-memorable-events-in-chinas-classical-music-scene-2022/): Here are my picks to remember 2022 in music. Nixon in China according to TANG Jianping How about a different narrative of Nixon in China, probably from a Chinese perspective? Beijing-based composer TANG Jianping’s opera Premier ZHOU (2019) got its
- [The Witches of the New Year <br/>Jesús Arámbarri’s <em>Gabon-zar sorgiñak</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-witches-of-the-new-year-jesus-arambarri-gabon-zar-sorginak/): Basque composer Jesús Arámbarri (1902-1960) used both his Spanish and Basque links in his music. On one hand, the Spanish tradition of composers such as Felipe Pedrell, and Isaac Albéniz were valuable, but the addition of the music of his
- [On This Day <br/>29 December: Pablo Casals Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-29-december-pablo-casals-was-born/): It was almost a miracle that Pablo Casals survived his childhood. He was born on 29 December 1876 in Vendrell, a town near Barcelona, with his umbilical cord wrapped around his neck. Fortunately, “the village midwife was skilled enough to
- [Melancholy Dancing Under the Stars: Finzi’s <em>New Year Music</em>](https://interlude.hk/melancholy-dancing-under-the-stars-gerald-finzi-nocturne-new-year-music/): The arrival of the New Year is a time filled with a lot of emotion and questions. Will 2023 be better than 2022? Will I be able to achieve what I want in 2023? How do I change what I
- [On This Day <br/>28 December: Nigel Kennedy Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-28-december-nigel-kennedy-was-born/): Born on 28 December 1967 in the town of Brighton, England, Nigel Kennedy is pejoratively known by his detractors as the “Liberace of the Nineties. ” He wasn’t at all interested in the prevailing image of the straight-laced musician in a
- [Wishing You a Happy, Joyful & Musical 2023](https://interlude.hk/wishing-you-a-happy-joyful-musical-2023/)
- [The Year 2022 in Review <br/>Maestro Xu Zhong](https://interlude.hk/the-year-2022-in-review-maestro-xu-zhong/): For Maestro Xu Zhong, 2022 has been an incredibly busy and fruitful year. With the Covid-19 pandemic still paralyzing much of the world, Xu has launched a number of initiatives to assure that music and the arts have not been
- [New Year’s Music Across Time and Space](https://interlude.hk/new-years-music-across-time-and-space/): Once you get away from the maudlin 19th-century songs such as Auld Lang Syne, that sing farewell to the old year, there’s a world of other traditions for the new year. Many involve street or home parties, fireworks, special foods,
- [Cellists and Their Composers <br/>The Dvořák Cello Concerto](https://interlude.hk/cellists-and-their-composers-the-dvorak-cello-concerto/): The Cello Concerto of Antonín Dvořák Op. 104 is considered by most cellists as the ultimate masterpiece that displays the depth, emotion, versatility, and range of our beloved instrument. Composed for the cellist Hanuš Wihan during Dvořák’s term as Director
- [Making the Donkey Dance: Gomes’ Sonata for Strings](https://interlude.hk/making-the-donkey-dance-carlos-gomes-sonata-for-strings/): Brazil, like many countries in the 19th century, saw the rise of a well-to-do middle class that then needed entertainment. In the field of classical music, the Imperial Conservatory was founded in Rio de Janeiro in 1848 and the Academy
- [The Music of Poetry <br/>Songs of Franz Liszt to Poetry by Victor Hugo](https://interlude.hk/the-music-of-poetry-songs-of-franz-liszt-to-poetry-by-victor-hugo/): It is not commonly known that Franz Liszt composed well over eighty songs in German, French, Italian, Hungarian, Russian, and English. While his settings of German poetry predominate, “his songs in French are among the most significant works, especially those
- [The Music of Christmas Movies](https://interlude.hk/the-music-of-christmas-movies/): What is your best way of getting in the mood for Christmas? One of my all-time favorite activities is to watch hours upon hours of Christmas movies. I understand that traditions and tastes are different from person to person, and
- [On This Day <br/>25 December: Sonya Yoncheva Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-25-december-sonya-yoncheva-was-born/): Sonya Yoncheva, born on 25 December 1981 in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, had a very strong mother. In Asia we would call her a “tiger mom,” in Bulgaria she is known as a “lion mother. ” Yoncheva recalls, “When I was born, she
- [Nicknamed Compositions by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://interlude.hk/nicknamed-compositions-by-wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/): Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Serenade No. 13 in G major, K. 524 “Eine kleine Nachtmusik” In the wonderful and whacky world of musical nicknames, there is nothing more famous than “Eine kleine Nachtmusik” by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. This “Little Night Music”
- [Bach in 19th-Century France: Saint-Saëns’ <em>Oratorio de Noël</em> (Christmas Oratorio)](https://interlude.hk/bach-in-19th-century-france-saint-saens-oratorio-de-noel-christmas-oratorio/): Starting with a bow to the great master, Camille Saint-Saëns (1835–1921) opened his 1858 Oratorio de Noël (Christmas Oratorio) with an organ prelude ‘in the style of J. S. Bach’. Written in 1858, the work was recognized in its time for
- [Interlude Wishes You Peace, Love & Joy This Holiday Season!](https://interlude.hk/interlude-wishes-you-peace-love-joy-this-holiday-season/)
- [Carol of the Bells by Mykola Leontovych: History and Recordings](https://interlude.hk/carol-of-the-bells-by-mykola-leontovych-history-and-recordings/): The beautiful Christmas song Carol of the Bells is just over a century old. The music, based on a Ukrainian folk chant, Shchedryk (The Generous One), was written by Mykola Leontovych. The original lyrics tell of a swallow flying into
- [On This Day <br/>23 December: Edita Gruberova Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-23-december-edita-gruberova-was-born/): Edita Gruberova, the eternal high priestess of “bel canto” is simply a legend. Sporting perfect intonation, ornamentation, and clarity in tone and diction, her vocal agility, dramatic power, and endurance are unsurpassed. And we may add an engaging stage personality
- [Classical Divinities: Why Are Some Composers Placed on a Pedestal?](https://interlude.hk/classical-divinities-why-are-some-composers-placed-on-a-pedestal/): Why is it that some composers are placed on a pedestal, high above their peers; that one might consider Beethoven, Mozart, or Bach, for instance, to be above? And furthermore, why does it provoke such strong reactions when one dares
- [On This Day <br/>21 December: András Schiff Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-21-december-andras-schiff-was-born/): The philosophical argument titled the “lottery of birth” avers, “no one chooses the circumstances into which they are born. ” Essentially, we do not choose to exist and we are faced with a world that we played no part in creating.
- [Two Famous Christmas Chants <br/> “Viderunt omnes” and “Dies sanctificatus”](https://interlude.hk/two-famous-christmas-chants-viderunt-omnes-and-dies-sanctificatus/): The history of Christmas makes fascinating reading. Christmas, as we know, is the annual celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. For the most part, it is observed on December 25, but as with a good many other religious holidays,
- [Not So Silent Night](https://interlude.hk/not-so-silent-night/): I hate going to shopping malls around Christmas time. It is still a great place to meet friends, the shops are beautifully decorated, and there are many exciting bargains to be had, so why do I hate it? My dislike
- [On This Day <br/> 20 December: Mitsuko Uchida Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-20-december-mitsuko-uchida-was-born/): The city of Atami is located in Shizuoka Prefecture, at the northern end of the Izu Peninsula. Built on the steep slopes of a partially submerged volcanic caldera, the name of the city literally translates as “hot ocean. ” That name
- [Improvising and Imagining: Schubert’s Fantasie in F minor](https://interlude.hk/improvising-and-imagining-schubert-fantasie-in-f-minor/): Before Schubert, works for piano four-hands were associated with music for amateurs to be played at home. Music that was too much for one player was easier with more hands helping. The work’s title, Fantasie, although given in French, has
- [Chamber Music <br/>The 10 Most Beautiful Piano Quartets](https://interlude.hk/chamber-music-the-10-most-beautiful-piano-quartets/): What do you get when you add a piano to a string trio? That’s right, you get a piano quartet. Pairing a violin, viola, and cello with a piano is basically the standard instrument lineup for this type of chamber
- [On This Day <br/>19 December: William Christie Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-19-december-william-christie-was-born/): The harpsichordist and conductor William Christie is internationally famous as the founder of “Les Art Florissants. ” This vocal and instrument group, performing English, French, and Italian Baroque repertory and Classical opera, takes its name from the 1685 opera of the
- [On This Day <br/>18 December: Tchaikovsky’s <em>Capriccio Italien</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-18-december-tchaikovsky-capriccio-italien-was-premiered/): In October 1878, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky resigned from his post at the Moscow Conservatoire. The resignation followed on the heels of the disintegration of his disastrous marriage to his former student Antonia Miliukova. Psychologically and sexually mismatched, the couple lived
- [Artists and Musicians: Nolan and Williams](https://interlude.hk/artists-and-musicians-sidney-nolan-and-adrian-williams-chamber-concerto-portraits-ned-kelly/): Adrian Williams: Chamber Concerto, “Portraits of Ned Kelly” Many countries, particularly those with recent wild pasts, have their favourite bad guys – for the US, it can range from Billy the Kid in the 1880s, nicely made into a ballet
- [Violin Masterworks Inspired by David Oistrakh](https://interlude.hk/violin-masterworks-inspired-by-david-oistrakh/): By 1937, David Oistrakh was considered the leading Soviet violinist. He had participated in a good number of competitions and was under tremendous pressure from the government during that time. Gennadi Rozhdestvensky wrote, “Young musicians who took part in competitions
- [Christmas Piano Music](https://interlude.hk/christmas-piano-music/): With Christmas just around the corner, here is a selection of festive piano music to bring good cheer and warmth, peace and joy. J. S. Bach: Jesu Joy of Man’s Desiring (arr. Myra Hess) Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring is the
- [Show me the Money <br/>Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)](https://interlude.hk/show-me-the-money-franz-joseph-haydn-1732-1809/): Haydn was rich, but he wasn’t born wealthy... He did come from humble origins, but for his gentrified English audience Joseph Haydn was an accomplished composer, businessman, and gentleman. Yet, his early years of poverty and struggles during his years
- [On This Day <br/>16 December: Zoltán Kodály Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-16-december-zoltan-kodaly-was-born/): Zoltán Kodály was born in the Hungarian city of Kecskemét on 16 December 1882. His father worked for the railroad, having risen to the rank of stationmaster by 1883. He was described as “a plump, reticent man of medium height,
- [Food for Thought <br/> Mealtime with Frédéric Chopin](https://interlude.hk/food-for-thought-mealtime-with-frederic-chopin/): Frédéric Chopin had a love affair with food. On a trip to the town of Toruń, the 15-year-old composer goes to great length to describe the local food specialty. Although he visited the famed Copernicus museum and various fortified building,
- [Guitar 101: Explore the Essential Classical Music Repertoire](https://interlude.hk/guitar-101-explore-essential-classical-music-repertoire-of-the-guitar/): The guitar is one of the most, if not the most, famous musical instrument in the world. It is used in all nations, in one form or the other — acoustic, electric, nylon, or steel strings, through different shapes and
- [Review: Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda](https://interlude.hk/review-donizetti-maria-stuarda-musica-viva/): Blood, sex and sceptres: two queens battle it out in Maria Stuarda Maria Stuarda (Donizetti) MusicaVivaHong Kong City Hall, Concert Hall9,10, 11 Dec 2022 An opera in two acts, Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda (1835) is about two queens, Mary Stuart and
- [On This Day <br/>14 December: C.P.E. Bach Died](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-14-december-c-p-e-bach-died/): On 2 November 1788, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach wrote to a friend, “Since 18 September I have been very ill with gout and other ailments. Now my health is beginning to improve. ” However, this period of improvement was short-lived, as
- [Medieval Animal Musicians: Bears](https://interlude.hk/medieval-animal-musicians-bears/): Hidden in the decoration of medieval books are many different kinds of illustrations – some of them show people doing everyday things, others show animals doing everyday human things. And then, in some special ones, we see animals playing musical
- [An Interview With Mezzo-Soprano Coline Dutilleul: The Play of Light and Shadow](https://interlude.hk/an-interview-with-mezzo-soprano-coline-dutilleul-the-play-of-light-and-shadow/): The album Licht in der Nacht by mezzo-soprano Coline Dutilleul and American pianist Kunal Lahiry is described as being ‘from the roots of modern music (1896–1914)’. It starts with French Impressionism and ends with German Expressionism (and the start of
- [How An Austrian Becomes Italian: Meyerbeer’s <em>Overture to Romilda e Costanza</em>](https://interlude.hk/how-an-austrian-becomes-italian-meyerbeers-overture-to-romilda-e-costanza/): Giacomo Meyerbeer (1791-1864), born the year Mozart died, found his own musical art in his youth. His first production, a ballet, was staged when he was 19 and still a student. After studying in Germany, Meyerbeer went to Italy, where
- [Cellists and Their Composers <br/>The Beethoven Sonatas: The Pinnacle](https://interlude.hk/cellists-and-their-composers-the-beethoven-sonatas-the-pinnacle/): Ludwig van Beethoven’s five Sonatas for Cello and Piano span the entirety of his life. From the lyrical Sonata in F Major Op. 5 No. 1, and the three sets of variations, to the grandiose Sonata Op. 102. No. 2
- [On This Day <br/>12 December: Sabine Devieilhe Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-12-december-sabine-devieilhe-was-born/): The French coloratura soprano Sabine Devieilhe was born on 12 December 1985 in Ifs, near Caen, in the Calvados region of Normandy. Her parents are specialized educators, and music was not an integral part of the Devieilhe household. She received
- [Why Is John Cage So Fascinating?](https://interlude.hk/why-is-john-cage-so-fascinating/): There is something about the American artist and composer John Cage that I find fascinating. Something that transcends his works, his music — in fact, many seem to know the man better than the music, thanks to his groundbreaking approach
- [On This Day <br/>11 December: Hector Berlioz Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-11-december-hector-berlioz-was-born/): Hector Berlioz was born at 5pm on Sunday, 11 December 1803 in the small village of La Côte-Saint-André in the département of Isère. His father, Louis-Joseph Berlioz was a hardworking town physician who advocated such progressive cures as hydrotherapy and
- [Classical Music Beyond the Concert Stage PART III: 9 More Classical Pieces Used in Commercials](https://interlude.hk/classical-music-beyond-the-concert-stage-part-iii-9-more-classical-pieces-used-in-commercials/): Without a good piece of music, a commercial can never stand out, that’s why we always find classical music used in tv commercials. This article continues with the previous two articles highlighting 9 more commercials using classical repertoire. Karl Jenkins’
- [Art into Sound II: George Crumb’s <em>Metamorphoses, Book II</em>](https://interlude.hk/art-into-sound-ii-george-crumbs-metamorphoses-book-ii/): In his 2016-2017 collection, George Crumb metamorphosed art by 8 artists into 10 piano works. These weren’t music representations of the actions in the pictures, such as what was done in the past with tone poems, but a far more
- [On This Day <br/>10 December: Sarah Chang Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-10-december-sarah-chang-was-born/): When it comes to awards there are very few artists in the same league as violinist Sarah Chang. And I am not just talking about musical awards, but commendations that transcend her professional accomplishments. Together with Pete Sampras, Wynton Marsalis,
- [Musical Tributes: Straussiana, Brahmsiana, Tartiniana and Tocatta Bachiana](https://interlude.hk/musical-tributes-straussiana-brahmsiana-tartiniana-and-tocatta-bachiana/): Johann Strauss II was one of Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s (1897-1957) musical idols. Korngold possessed considerable knowledge of the Waltz King’s works as he had arranged for the Theater an der Wien new performing versions of Nacht in Venedig, Cagliostro in
- [Romanticism and Modernism: An Interview With Violinist Madeleine Mitchell](https://interlude.hk/romanticism-and-modernism-an-interview-with-violinist-madeleine-mitchell/): We spoke with violinist and Royal College of Music professor Madeleine Mitchell recently about two very interesting films she’s just made. The first was created in relation to an exhibition at the V&A museum in London and the other is
- [On This Day <br/>9 December: Alexandre Tharaud Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-9-december-alexandre-tharaud-was-born/): Alexandre Tharaud considers the piano “an extension of his voice, of his body, of his heart. ” At the same time, he likens the musical score with all the composer’s annotations “to a straitjacket that restrains us, and we are also
- [On This Day <br/>8 December: James Galway Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-8-december-james-galway-was-born/): James Galway, who eventually became known as the “Man with the Golden Flute,” basically grew up with a flute in his crib. His grandfather James Galway was a highly regarded flute player in Belfast. He taught his son, another James
- [César Franck](https://interlude.hk/cesar-franck/): “I dared much, but the next time, I will dare even more” Born in the city of Liège on 10 December 1822, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, César Franck (1822-1890) composed in a rich and luxurious
- [Medieval Animal Musicians: Monkeys](https://interlude.hk/medieval-animal-musicians-monkeys/): Hidden in the decoration of medieval books are many different kinds of illustrations – some of them show people doing everyday things, others show animals doing everyday human things. And then, in some special ones, we see animals playing musical
- [On This Day <br/>7 December: Pietro Mascagni Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-7-december-pietro-mascagni-was-born/): Pietro Mascagni, who single-handedly established the prototype of verismo opera with his 1890 masterpiece Cavalleria Rusticana, was born on 7 December 1863. His father was a baker, and he was determined that Pietro should follow in his footsteps. Pietro’s precocious
- [The Force of Internal Fire: An Interview With Işıl Bengi](https://interlude.hk/the-force-of-internal-fire-an-interview-with-isil-bengi/): In her latest album of piano music, pianist Işıl Bengi confronts the dark side of the recent COVID lockdowns. She writes in her programme notes: ‘I felt a lot of anger, disappointment, despair, doubts... To feel crushed in front of
- [On This Day <br/>6 December: Nikolaus Harnoncourt Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-6-december-nikolaus-harnoncourt-was-born/): Specifically known for his historically informed performances of music from the Classical era, Nikolaus Harnoncourt was born in Berlin on 6 December 1929. His full name actually reads Johann Nikolaus Graf de la Fontaine and d’Harnoncourt-Unverzagt, a lineage passed on
- [Playing on Glass: Mozart’s K. 617 (Adagio & Rondo for Glass Harmonica)](https://interlude.hk/playing-on-glass-mozart-k-617-adagio-rondo-for-glass-harmonica/): We now think that the Glass Harmonica is simply an instrument with an otherworldly tone, but at its heyday in the late 17th century, it was an instrument that some thought could drive you mad. Musical Glasses, or glasses filled
- [Pianists and Their Composers: Franz Schubert](https://interlude.hk/pianists-and-their-composers-franz-schubert/): “Schubert’s music is the most human that I know. ” – András Schiff Schubert’s music provides the bridge between the classical and romantic eras. Yet his music was not well known during his lifetime outside of Schubert’s own intimate circle of
- [When Latin Meets Classical](https://interlude.hk/when-latin-meets-classical/): The Latin Music Elements in Classical Music What is often called Latin music consists of music made in South America, from the islands of Cuba, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico to Chile, Argentina, Brazil, and the broader continent. These music —
- [On This Day <br/>4 December: Benjamin Britten Died](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-4-december-benjamin-britten-died/): Benjamin Britten was admitted to the National Heart Hospital on 2 May 1973. Under the care of the cardiologist Graham Hayward, Britten’s medical history noted a heart murmur in infancy and an episode of pneumonia. Aortic regurgitation was detected in
- [Dancing and Flying: The Minerva Piano Trio](https://interlude.hk/dancing-and-flying-the-minerva-piano-trio/): The Minerva Piano Trio, made up of pianist Annie Yim, violinist Michal Ćwiżewicz, and cellist-composer Richard Birchall, have created a new album Dance! , that gives us a revisit of favourite works with a new sound. Stravinsky’s Pulcinella, originally created for
- [Art into Sound I: George Crumb’s <em>Metamorphoses, Book I</em>](https://interlude.hk/art-into-sound-i-george-crumb-metamorphoses-book-i/): A recent work by American composer George Crumb (1919-2022) looked at 10 famous paintings dating from 1872 to 1990. Metamorphoses (Book I), subtitled Ten Fantasy-Pieces (after celebrated paintings), was composed between 2015 and 2017 for amplified piano. Crumb himself pointed
- [Musical Tributes: Paganiniana, Schubertiana, Gershwiniana and Bachiana Brasileira](https://interlude.hk/musical-tributes-paganiniana-schubertiana-gershwiniana-and-bachiana-brasileira/): Alfredo Casella (1883-1947) entered the Paris Conservatoire at age 12, taking piano lessons from Louis Diémer and instructions in composition from Gabriel Fauré. As you will probably know, Casella came from a highly musical family. His father, Alfredo Piatti was
- [Where Have All the Audiences Gone?](https://interlude.hk/where-have-all-the-audiences-gone-noticeable-decline-music-audiences/): Examine the Reasons Behind the Decline in Music Audiences After Covid There has been a fair amount of commentary in the UK in recent months about a noticeable drop in audience numbers for concerts as live music returns to (almost)
- [On This Day <br/>2 December: Aaron Copland Died](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-2-december-aaron-copland-died/): By the early 1970s, Aaron Copland stopped composing. As he wrote, “It was exactly as if someone had simply turned off a faucet. ” He felt lucky to have been given so long to be creative, and was resigned to the
- [Eric Lu](https://interlude.hk/eric-lu-pianist-artist-of-the-month/): ‘Experience Goes a Long Way’ Eric Lu Plays Chopin’s Sonata No. 2 in B-flat minor, Op. 35 (Leeds Semifinal) Born in 1997, pianist Eric Lu splits his time between Berlin and Boston, performing frequently across both Europe and the US. He has played with the Chicago Symphony, London Symphony, Boston...
- [On This Day <br/>1 December: Rudolf Buchbinder Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-1-december-rudolf-buchbinder-was-born/): Rudolf Buchbinder has been described as “the greatest natural pianist talent,” a performer “whose interpretations flow from a unique fusion of spiritual insight and intellectual rigour. ” In fact, the critic Joachim Kaiser praised Buchbinder’s “innate ability to reveal fresh ideas
- [On This Day <br/>30 November: Radu Lupu Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-30-november-radu-lupu-was-born/): There is nothing more irritating to reporters and music aficionados than a superstar who makes himself unavailable. For well over 30 years, Radu Lupu basically refused to talk to the press. As such he was termed a “woolly recluse,” referring
- [Medieval Animal Musicians: Rabbits](https://interlude.hk/medieval-animal-musicians-rabbits/): Hidden in the decoration of medieval books are many different kinds of illustrations – some of them show people doing everyday things, others show animals doing everyday human things. And then, in some special ones, we see animals playing musical
- [On This Day <br/>29 November: Giacomo Puccini Died](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-29-november-giacomo-puccini-died/): Giacomo Puccini lived life to its fullest. He loved fine cigars, expensive spirits, and fell in love at the drop of a hat. He was an addicted gambler and hunter and loved nothing more than fast cars and speedboats. Puccini
- [Pictures of Light: Music by William Baines](https://interlude.hk/pictures-of-light-music-by-william-baines-album-review/): The exceptionally gifted British composer William Baines died 100 years ago on 6 November 1922; he was just 23, yet he left behind a remarkably large body of work, which is celebrated in this new release from pianist Duncan Honeybourne,
- [Classical Music Beyond the Concert Stage PART II: 8 Classical Pieces Used in Commercials](https://interlude.hk/classical-music-beyond-the-concert-stage-part-ii-8-classical-pieces-used-in-commercials/): It has been over a year since part one of Classical Music Beyond the Concert Stage was published. One year passed, and I discovered more TV commercials using classical music. Some of them were found and inspired by our readers
- [On This Day <br/>28 November: Rachmaninoff’s <em>Piano Concerto No. 3</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-28-november-rachmaninoff-piano-concerto-no-3-was-premiered/): Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor, Op. 30 has the reputation of being one of the most technically challenging piano concertos in the piano repertoire. It first sounded on 28 November 1909 in New York City with
- [Improvising on the Familiar <br/> Thalberg’s <em>Introduzione e Variazioni sulla Barcarola dell' Elisir d'amore</em>](https://interlude.hk/improvising-on-the-familiar-thalberg-introduzione-e-variazioni-sulla-barcarola-dell-elisir-damore/): The now-forgotten genre of ‘fantasy of operatic themes’ was very important in the 19th century – it served a double duty of preserving the important melodies from favourite operas and also, in the century of the virtuoso, was a showcase
- [On This Day <br/>27 November: Hilary Hahn Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-27-november-hilary-hahn-was-born/): Shinichi Suzuki was one of the most influential pedagogues in music education for children. His famous “Suzuki Method” is based on creating a positive environment that fosters musical immersion at an early age. Suzuki strongly believed that “every child was
- [Claude Debussy and His Circle of Friends II](https://interlude.hk/claude-debussy-and-his-circle-of-friends-ii/): Let’s continue to look at Debussy’s relationships with his fellow artists and musicians. The Scottish operatic soprano Mary Garden wrote, “I honestly don’t know if Debussy ever loved anybody really. He loved his music – and perhaps himself. I think
- [What Is Wrong With Labeling Classical Music From Around the World as World Music?](https://interlude.hk/what-is-wrong-with-labeling-classical-music-from-around-the-world-as-world-music/): Classical music is a term often used to describe traditional academic — also sometimes wrongly called, serious music. It is generally defined as the formal musical tradition of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk, jazz, or
- [Musicians and Artists: Wagner and Beardsley](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-richard-wagner-and-aubrey-beardsley/): Creations Inspired by Characters in Wagner’s Siegfied, Tristan und Isolde and Ring Cycle For the artists and followers of Decadence in late–19th century London, Richard Wagner (1813-1883) was their composer of choice. The artist Aubrey Beardsley (1872-1898) was a devoted
- [Interview With Pianist Tal Walker](https://interlude.hk/interview-with-pianist-tal-walker/): “Study as much repertoire as you can and then find the pieces that you feel most passionate about” To coincide with the release of his debut album, we caught up with Israeli-Belgian pianist Tal Walker who shares his influences and
- [Making Ballet Modern: Viganò and Beethoven](https://interlude.hk/making-ballet-modern-onorato-vigano-and-ludwig-van-beethoven/): The New Kind of Ballet ‘Coreodramma’ The cello virtuoso Luigi Boccherini came from a family of talented performers: his father, Leopoldo, was a bass player; his brother Giovanni was a ballet dancer and later a librettist for comic operas; his
- [Beethoven, Franck and Romantic Dreams of the Counterpoint <br/>With Warren Lee & Sylvia Chan](https://interlude.hk/beethoven-franck-and-romantic-dreams-of-the-counterpoint-with-warren-lee-sylvia-chan/): Two Hong Kong-born pianists explore and celebrate the inventiveness and brilliance of polyphony in a concert of works by Beethoven, Busoni, Brahms, Franck, and J. S. Bach, the supreme master of the art and craft of counterpoint. Warren Lee brings part
- [On This Day <br/>24 November: Angelika Kirchschlager Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-24-november-angelika-kirchschlager-was-born/): Born in Salzburg on 24 November 1965, Angelika Kirchschlager is enjoying an international career, dividing her time between recitals and operas. Acclaimed as one of the foremost interpreters of Richard Strauss and Mozart, Kirchschlager counts herself lucky to have had
- [Medieval Animal Musicians: Cats](https://interlude.hk/medieval-animal-musicians-cats/): Hidden in the decoration of medieval books are many different kinds of illustrations – some of them show people doing everyday things, others show animals doing everyday human things. And then, in some special ones, we see animals playing musical
- [On This Day <br/> 23 November: Krzysztof Penderecki Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-23-november-krzysztof-penderecki-was-born/): In a lecture delivered at the turn of the century, Krzysztof Penderecki said, “One must have the courage to be oneself. The period of stagnation, the wearing away of individual characteristics in art, cannot last forever. Art must be reborn.
- [An Impressive Debut Recording <br/>Fauré, Poulenc, Messiaen: Preludes & Nocturnes – Tal Walker, Piano](https://interlude.hk/an-impressive-debut-recording-faure-poulenc-messiaen-preludes-nocturnes-tal-walker-piano/): A keen advocate and performer of French piano music, the young Israeli-Belgium pianist Tal Walker explores three masters of French pianism in his debut disc, Fauré, Poulenc, and Messiaen. “The idea of miniatures (Preludes and Nocturnes) written by French composers
- [In Love with the Boss’s Daughter <br/>Ferdinand David and Sophie von Liphardt](https://interlude.hk/in-love-with-the-bosss-daughter-ferdinand-david-and-sophie-von-liphardt/): By a remarkable coincidence, the German violin virtuoso and composer Ferdinand David (1810-1873) was born in the same house in which Felix Mendelssohn had been born a year earlier. Like Mendelssohn, David was Jewish but later converted to Christianity. And
- [On This Day <br/>22 November: Stephen Hough Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-22-november-stephen-hough-was-born/): Stephen Hough has been described as “one of the most distinctive artists of his generation. ” And while his achievements as a pianist are well-known and documented, Hough is also a published and frequently commissioned composer. But what is more, he
- [On This Day <br/>21 November: Pablo Heras-Casado Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-21-november-pablo-heras-casado-was-born/): A critic writes, “Pablo Heras-Casado came roaring in like a lion. There was a thunderous physicality to his conducting that I don’t recall having witnessed before, a readiness to unleash the full sonic resources of the orchestra and to marshal
- [Cellists and Their Composers <br/>The Bach Solo Suites: A Cellist’s Inspiration](https://interlude.hk/cellists-and-their-composers-the-bach-solo-suites-a-cellists-inspiration/): The Bach Six Solo Cello Suites are considered a must for every cellist and when you look at lists of recordings of the Bach Suites they read like a who’s who of cellists. These pieces are an incredible inspiration and
- [In a Minor Mode: Schubert’s String Quartet No. 14](https://interlude.hk/in-a-minor-mode-schubert-string-quartet-no-14/): Franz Schubert was in dire straits in the mid-1820s. He was very ill and this seems to have crept into his music. His String Quartet No. 14 in D minor was called ‘the most morose instrumental work’ in the Viennese
- [American Art](https://interlude.hk/american-art-classical-music-leading-figures/): A Short Summery of American Classical Music and Its Leading Figures A recent visit to Los Angeles triggered the intensification of my curiosity of American art in general, but particularly American classical music. While quite aware of many American composers
- [Claude Debussy and His Circle of Friends](https://interlude.hk/claude-debussy-and-his-circle-of-friends/): For a good many of his contemporaries, Claude Debussy was considered unsociable and reserved. Some writers even describe him as having “little strength of character. ” To be sure, he frequently distanced himself from most musicians and tended to mingle with
- [Dance, Dance, Dance: The Gavotte](https://interlude.hk/dance-dance-dance-the-gavotte/): Our Guide to The Gavotte Dance Coming from the area of the Gavot in Brittany, the gavotte is a dance in duple time usually of a moderate tempo. In the late 16th century, the Gavotte was usually associated with the
- [Leonard Bernstein: <em>Seven Anniversaries</em> (1942-3)](https://interlude.hk/leonard-bernstein-seven-anniversaries-1942-3/): Over the course of 40 years, Leonard Bernstein crafted a series of short compositions to honor close friends, relatives, family members, and professional colleagues. He started writing his “Anniversaries” in the 1940s and composed the last group in 1988, two
- [Musicians and Artists: Dürer’s <em>Apocalypse</em> and Four Composers](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-albrecht-durers-apocalypse-and-four-composers/): In 1498, in response to the announcement of the end of the world that the European Christian world believed would happen in 1500, the 27-year-old Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528) completed his sixteen designs for the Apokalyse (Apocalypse). Dürer was born in
- [On This Day <br/>18 November: Andris Nelsons Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-18-november-andris-nelsons-was-born/): As a child, Andris Nelsons desperately wanted to become a football player. However, he soon got interested in playing the piano, the trumpet, and singing before turning his attention towards conducting. Nelsons was born in the Latvian capital Riga on
- [Sophie Webber’s Roots: Transcriptions of Romantic Works for Cello and Piano](https://interlude.hk/sophie-webbers-roots-transcriptions-of-romantic-works-for-cello-and-piano-album-review/): “A must for every lover of the romantic cello” British Cellist Dr. Sophie Webber is not only an internationally accomplished soloist, chamber musician, and educator, she is an artist who believes in the healing power of music. She creates innovative
- [Auguste Rodin <br/> “I Invent Nothing, I Rediscover”](https://interlude.hk/auguste-rodin-sculptures-inspirations-classical-music-composers/): One might argue that Auguste Rodin (1840-1917) is perhaps the most exhibited and collected sculptor in the world. His sumptuous bronze and marble figures, including the highly lauded “The Thinker” and “The Kiss,” are masterpieces by what some critics consider
- [Menotti’s Double Bill: Silly Meets Spine-Chilling in Fun Opera Production](https://interlude.hk/silly-meets-spine-chilling-in-fun-double-bill/): Menotti’s chamber operas get uncomplicated but fun treatment by new opera company Tutti Double bill: The Telephone and The Medium Tutti Hong Kong City Hall, Theatre 3,4 November 2022 Menotti was an Italian-American composer well-known in the 1940s and 50s
- [The Animal Orchestra <br/>CCOHK: WILD (The Musical)](https://interlude.hk/the-animal-orchestra-ccohk-wild-the-musical/): We’ve seen a number of interesting responses to keeping ensemble vocal music alive during the COVID epidemic – Michael Ching’s Zoom Speed Dating Tonight! being one of them. The City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong (CCOHK), which has, like most
- [On This Day <br/>15 November: Daniel Barenboim Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-15-november-daniel-barenboim-was-born/): Daniel Barenboim’s early pianistic career produced performances distinguished by flexibility, spontaneity, and quick sensitivity. As a conductor, in both the operatic and orchestral repertories, he places the emphasis on freedom of expression, allowing for frequent changes in tempo and careful
- [Chamber Music <br/>The 10 Most Beautiful Piano Trios](https://interlude.hk/chamber-music-the-10-most-beautiful-piano-trios/): I have never really played in a chamber music group, but if I had the chance, I would probably try to find a piano trio. It is not only one of the most popular ensembles in chamber music, but it
- [On This Day <br/>14 November: Manuel de Falla Died](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-14-november-manuel-de-falla-died/): The Spanish Civil War raged for about thirty months between 1936 and 1939. It pitted the left-wing Republicans, loyal to the government of the Second Spanish Republic, against the Nationalists under General Francisco Franco. A historian writes, “The war became
- [A Paris Reflection: Arriaga’s Symphony in D major](https://interlude.hk/a-paris-reflection-juan-de-arriaga-symphony-in-d-major/): Juan Crisóstomo de Arriaga (1806-1826) received the nickname of ‘The Spanish Mozart’ after his early death because, like his namesake, he was a child prodigy at both the keyboard and in composition. He was born on what would have been
- [Maurice Ravel and His Circle of Friends II](https://interlude.hk/maurice-ravel-and-his-circle-of-friends-ii/): Let’s continue to look at Ravel’s relationships with his fellow artists and musicians. In 1907 Ralph Vaughan Williams went to Paris to take lessons with Maurice Ravel. The student was three years older than the teacher, but Ravel’s sinuous, detailed,
- [On This Day <br/>13 November: Marguerite Long Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-13-november-marguerite-long-was-born/): Marguerite Long is rightfully considered one of the most important French pianists of the 20th century. Her career, which included a long professorship at the Paris Conservatoire, was guided by her burning desire to discover French contemporary music. Her marriage
- [Who Says Music Shouldn’t be Political? <br/>Trailblazing Composer Jennifer Jolley](https://interlude.hk/who-says-music-shouldnt-be-political-trailblazing-composer-jennifer-jolley/): Composer, conductor, and professor person, Jennifer Jolley believes her music can and should address current and provocative subject matter such as political issues. Consider the 2017 piece The Eyes of the World Are Upon You. The titles of her works
- [Yunchan Lim’s Hong Kong Debut – Imaginative Playing with Volcanic Passion](https://interlude.hk/yunchan-lim-hong-kong-debut-imaginative-playing-with-volcanic-passion/): The youngest winner of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition ever, South Korean pianist Yunchan Lim, at the mere age of 18, has rocketed to worldwide prominence after his impressive performance in the competition. His performance of Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto
- [Musicians and Artists: Pärt and Kapoor](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-arvo-part-and-anish-kapoor-lamentate/): Arvo Pärt: Lamentate The Tate Modern in London has one exhibition hall, the Turbine Hall, that is so large it becomes its own problem for artists. The space is 155m x 23m x 115m (500’ x 75’ x 115’) with
- [The Double Musical Identities of Miklós Rózsa](https://interlude.hk/the-double-musical-identities-of-miklos-rozsa/): Compositions for Films and the Concert Hall On a long rainy day, with typhoon winds lashing the windows, I love nothing better than curling up with my favorite snacks in front of the Television. Basically, I will binge-watch an entire
- [On This Day <br/>12 November: Kristine Opolais Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-12-november-kristine-opolais-was-born/): The voice of Latvian soprano Kristine Opolais has been described as “the gold of the Baltic Sea, with a honey-colored foundation and a vibrant high register, velvety splendor and character. ” Born into a musical family in the Latvian city of
- [Dance, Dance, Dance: The Bolero](https://interlude.hk/dance-dance-dance-the-bolero/): Although to many people the Bolero is a work for orchestra by Maurice Ravel, or, perhaps, a short jacket imitating a matador’s short jacket, the bolero is also a dance. Coming out of Spain in the late 18th century, the
- [On This Day <br/>10 November: François Couperin Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-10-november-francois-couperin-was-born/): Historians frequently regarded François Couperin as “a composer of elegant trifles written for a sophisticated, yet frivolous, audience. ” Charles Burney, for example, described Couperin’s music as “so crowded and deformed by beats, trills, and shakes, that no plain note was
- [How, When, and What to Eat: Food for Musicians](https://interlude.hk/how-when-and-what-to-eat-food-for-musicians/): Travelling, touring, teaching, playing, singing: whatever it looks like for you, life as a musician can take its toll on our bodies. Musicians and others working in the performing industries face some tough challenges when it comes to eating healthily.
- [On This Day <br/>9 November: Thomas Quasthoff Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-9-november-thomas-quasthoff-was-born/): Thomas Quasthoff was born on 9 November 1959 in Hildesheim, Germany, under horribly tragic circumstances. His mother had been prescribed the barbiturate Contergan or thalidomide, to ease her morning sickness. At that time she did not know that there was
- [Meredith Monk](https://interlude.hk/meredith-monk-composer/): “That inner voice has both gentleness and clarity” A correspondent for the Washington Post wrote, “When the time comes, perhaps a hundred years from now, to tally up achievements in the performing arts during the last third of the 20th
- [Beauty in the Heart: The Chansonnier Cordiforme](https://interlude.hk/beauty-in-the-heart-the-chansonnier-cordiforme/): The Chansonnier Cordiforme or Chansonnier de Jean de Montchenu (Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale de France , Ms. Rothschild 2973) is a beautiful music manuscript created for Jean de Montchenu, who was appointed Archbishop of Agen in 1477. The title of the
- [Pianists and Their Composers: Chopin](https://interlude.hk/pianists-and-their-composers-chopin/): The music of Frédéric Chopin is perennially popular – it has never lost its universal appeal and Chopin remains one of the greatest composers for the piano. Virtuosic, imaginative, and emotionally profound, Chopin’s music offers pianists a wealth of expressivity,
- [On This Day <br/>7 November: Hélène Grimaud Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-7-november-helene-grimaud-was-born/): Music lovers know Hélène Grimaud as a deeply passionate and committed performance and recording artist. Her basic biography is well known. Born on 7 November 1969 in Aix-en-Provence, she discovered the piano at the age of seven. As she explained
- [The Mystery Symphony: Schubert’s Unfinished Symphony No. 8](https://interlude.hk/the-mystery-symphony-schubert-unfinished-symphony-no-8/): Franz Schubert (1797-1828) wrote hundreds of songs but started only 13 symphonies and completed only seven of them. And yet, it is his Symphony No. 8, known as the Unfinished that remains as one of his most popular orchestral works.
- [Tracing the Influences: Schubert to García Lorca to Crumb](https://interlude.hk/tracing-the-influences-schubert-to-garcia-lorca-to-george-crumb-poetry-and-music/): George Crumb: Madrigals, Book II and Songs, Drones and Refrains of Death Franz Schubert’s hair-raising setting of Goethe’s poem about a father with an ailing child in his arms, racing towards help but being thwarted by the illusions of the
- [Maurice Ravel and His Circle of Friends](https://interlude.hk/maurice-ravel-and-his-circle-of-friends/): How private was Maurice Ravel’s private life? Well, to this day nobody has uncovered conclusive evidence that he ever had a sexual relationship. While his music is passionate and distinctive, Ravel’s personality remains mysterious. His friend and biographer Alexis Roland-Manuel
- [On This Day <br/>5 November: György Cziffra Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-5-november-gyorgy-cziffra-was-born/): György Cziffra, born in Budapest on 5 November 1921, must be counted among the greatest pianists of the twentieth century. “Born with outstanding talent in circumstances of dire poverty, he survived war, imprisonment and hard labor as a political prisoners,
- [Musicians and Artists: Turnage and Bacon](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-mark-anthony-turnage-and-francis-bacon-three-screaming-popes/): Mark-Anthony Turnage: Three screaming popes British artist Francis Bacon (1909-1992) was a figurative painter in terms of starting with a figure. Where he took that figure, into often unsettling portraits, made him one of the giants of contemporary British art.
- [Playing Music Has Amazing Benefits for Young and Old](https://interlude.hk/playing-music-has-amazing-benefits-for-young-and-old/): Did you know that years of music training can dramatically shape our brains? Those of us who spend many years practicing—repeating passages, mastering scales, and working on studies and repertoire—know that we not only become better musicians as a result.
- [On This Day <br/> 4 November: Gabriel Fauré Died](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-4-november-gabriel-faure-died/): Once he had reached the age of 75, Gabriel Fauré retired as head of the Paris Conservatoire in October 1920. He was excited to finally have the time to devote himself entirely to composition, and “produced a series of works
- [Dance, Dance, Dance: The Waltz](https://interlude.hk/dance-dance-dance-the-waltz/): After the quadrille had had its day, the waltz took the dance floors of Europe by storm. The title for the dance comes from the German meaning to revolve and that twirling motion was the primary characteristic of the form.
- [On This Day <br/>3 November: Vincenzo Bellini Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-3-november-vincenzo-bellini-was-born/): The city of Catania, at the beginning of the 19th century, was considered the jewel of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Picturesquely located on Sicily’s east coast, it sits at the base of Mount Etna, one of the tallest
- [The Mechanics of Movie Music in Concert](https://interlude.hk/the-mechanics-of-movie-music-in-concert/): Rehearsing and Performing Film Music in Orchestral Concerts I look out across the audience from my seat on the stage of the Royal Albert Hall. The audience is slowly filling the building, couples holding hands, parents with young children, and...
- [Keeping in Time and Space <br/>Maya Magub’s Canon Collaborations](https://interlude.hk/keeping-in-time-and-space-maya-magub-canon-collaborations/): The lockdown and isolation caused by COVID have proved to be inspirational to musicians. We’ve all seen zoom concerts, zoom recitals, and even a Zoom Opera (Michael Ching’s Zoom Speed Dating). British violinist Maya Magub, living in Los Angeles, has
- [On This Day <br/>2 November: Daniel Müller-Schott Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-2-november-daniel-muller-schott-was-born/): Daniel Müller-Schott, born on 2 November 1976 in Munich, Germany, started his musical education on the recorder, but soon began to take cello lessons at the age of five. The reason he decided on the cello was because his mother,
- [Raoul Steffani](https://interlude.hk/raoul-steffani-dutch-baritone-artist-of-the-month/): ‘Breathe And Be In the Moment’ Young Dutch Baritone Raoul Steffani is preparing for his debut at Dutch National Opera, singing in Operetta Land by Steef de Jong, and has recently given performances including a tour with the Orchestra of
- [On This Day <br/>31 October: Alondra de la Parra Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-31-october-alondra-de-la-parra-was-born/): Conductor Alondra de la Parra, born on 31 October 1980 in New York City has “gained widespread attention for her spellbinding and vibrant performances, making her one of the most compelling conductors of her generations. ” Her performances attract an unusually
- [Nicknamed Compositions by Frédéric Chopin](https://interlude.hk/nicknamed-compositions-by-frederic-chopin/): I have recently been listening to a lot of Frédéric Chopin’s music, and I am constantly in awe of the unbelievable and imaginative sound world he was able to create. It is a world of incredible passion and of poetry,
- [Politics Hidden in Music: David’s <em>Le Désert</em>](https://interlude.hk/politics-hidden-in-music-felicien-cesar-david-le-desert/): French composer Félicien César David (1810-1876) composed his symphonic ode, Le Désert, in 1844, setting the poetry by August Colin. This work for speaker, tenor soloists, male chorus and orchestra was the perfect piece for the new Orientalists. As Victor
- [On This Day <br/>30 October: Aaron Copland’s <em>Appalachian Spring</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-30-october-aaron-copland-appalachian-spring-premiered/): Aaron Copland can undoubtedly be counted among the most important American composers. He displayed a pronounced interest in music as a child, and his interest in music composition led him to Paris in 1920, where he studied with Nadia Boulanger.
- [Wordless Communication](https://interlude.hk/wordless-communication/): Musicians’ Communicating Tricks During Performance When you glance out at an orchestra during a concert, what do you see? Bows moving up and down in (hopefully) perfect unison? Eyes moving between music stand and conductor? Wind players breathing and moving
- [Musicians and Artists: Satie and Martin](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-erik-satie-and-charles-martin/): Erik Satie: Sports et Divertissements Erik Satie‘s piano cycle Sports et divertissements was inspired by twenty drawings by the caricaturist Charles Martin, or perhaps it was the other way around: it was Satie’s ideas for the music that inspired the
- [Fanfares for the New Century](https://interlude.hk/fanfares-for-the-new-century/): Fanfares are a way of stating the obvious: a short ceremonial tune or a flourish on trumpets or brass instruments to introduce something or someone important. What happens when the fanfare becomes something else? Tobias Picker: Old and Lost Rivers
- [Christopher Jessup – EP review](https://interlude.hk/christopher-jessup-ep-review/): This new release, a 6-track EP from New York-based pianist Christopher Jessup (b. 1998), is a kind of musical ‘amuse bouche’ in that it offers a taster of the breadth of Jessup’s repertoire coupled with his excellent, refined playing. It’s an
- [Who Got It Right and Who Got It Wrong? <br/> Critics and Composers](https://interlude.hk/who-got-it-right-and-who-got-it-wrong-critics-and-composers/): We were looking at a book of musical quotations the other day and found some things that make one so glad to have a sense of perspective. Here, John Gregory, writing in 1766 in his A Comparative View of the
- [On This Day <br/>27 October: Brigitte Engerer Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-27-october-brigitte-engerer-was-born/): Stanislav Neuhaus, son of the legendary pianist and pedagogue Heinrich Neuhaus, would likely have won the Chopin Prize in 1949. However, the Soviet regime did not allow him to make the trip to Warsaw, and thus he shared the pedagogical
- [From Afar - Vikingur Ólafsson](https://interlude.hk/from-afar-vikingur-olafsson-album-review/): It seems that whenever Icelandic pianist Vikingur Ólafsson touches a piano, beautiful sounds flow from the instrument – whether it’s Bach, Rameau, Debussy or Philip Glass. His latest release on the DG label, From Afar, is no exception, with the
- [Recordings vs Live Performance](https://interlude.hk/recordings-vs-live-performance-differences/): A Musician’s View on the Differences Between Recording Music and Performing in a Live Concert Recordings are, by nature, performances in quite an unnatural environment. Microphones squat beneath you and leer over your shoulders, wires and cables snake around the
- [Brianna Matzke: a Champion of New Music](https://interlude.hk/brianna-matzke-a-champion-of-new-music/): Dr. Brianna Matzke is a pianist, educator, collaborator, producer, as well as an advocate of new music. Matzke, who grew up in a small-town Minnesota, was famously known as the “piano girl” playing for major occasions around town. Fast forward,
- [On This Day <br/> 25 October: Johann Strauss Jr. Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-25-october-johann-strauss-jr-was-born/): Johann Strauss Senior was a very wealthy man indeed. Operating under the assumption that “there is a sucker born every minute,” he filled the dance halls of Europe and performed in front of royalty, even playing for Queen Victoria’s coronation.
- [Composers and Super-Stars Can Be Normal People](https://interlude.hk/composers-and-super-stars-can-be-normal-people/): For audience members, it’s difficult to imagine musicians anywhere other than on the stage wearing their tails or long gowns, looking serious, playing music with utmost concentration. I remember walking to my car after an evening concert, in my lumpy,
- [The Cryptic Code: Schumann’s <em>ASCH-SCHA</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-cryptic-code-schumann-asch-scha/): Carnival, the festive season that occurs in the Christian calendar before Lent, was used by Robert Schumann (1810-1856) as the inspiration for his work Carnaval, Op. 9, written in 1834 and 1835. In 21 short pieces, Schumann created a world
- [Four-Hand Piano Works From Latin America II](https://interlude.hk/four-hand-piano-works-from-latin-america-ii/): I am always fascinated with the sounds of Latin American music, and as a pianist, I enjoy discovering more works from Latin America. We have explored four-hand piano music by Méndez, Guastavino, Villa-Lobos and Lacerda last time. Let’s continue to
- [The Ghost Variations <br/>A Novel by Damian Lanigan](https://interlude.hk/the-ghost-variations-a-novel-by-damian-lanigan/): Declan Byrnie, child prodigy, and world-class concert pianist has enjoyed a glittering career from a young age, touring the world’s best concert halls and producing acclaimed recordings. Ten years into his career his wife dies in a terrible accident, and
- [On This Day <br/> 23 October: Lucas Debargue Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-23-october-lucas-debargue-was-born/): Born on 23 October 1990, Lucas Debargue has been described as “A performer of fierce integrity and dazzling communicative power, who draws inspiration for his playing from literature, painting, cinema, jazz, and develops very personal interpretations of a carefully selected
- [Food for Thought <br/> Mealtime with Richard Wagner](https://interlude.hk/food-for-thought-mealtime-with-richard-wagner-favourite-restaurant-and-meal/): As we all know, Richard Wagner (1813-1883) was a man of numerous contradictions. And that is certainly true of his eating habits as well. According to his second wife Cosima, Richard Wagner was “in principle” a vegetarian, but “in practice
- [‘Classical Music – Saviour of the Burnt Out?’](https://interlude.hk/classical-music-saviour-of-the-burnt-out/): The previous article (Einaudi: The Saviour of Classical Music) was a provocation designed to explore the relationship of a new generation of people to a flourishing genre of music based around relaxing solo piano. Because of the requirements of word
- [Dance, Dance, Dance: The Quadrille](https://interlude.hk/dance-dance-dance-the-quadrille/): You might know the Quadrille as a dance from Alice in Wonderland. When she’s speaking with the Mock Turtle and the Gryphon, they tell her about the dance they used to perform at school, when they were learning the fundamentals
- [Schubert in the Hands of Liszt <br/>Tamayo Ikeda’s New Recording](https://interlude.hk/schubert-in-the-hands-of-liszt-tamayo-ikedas-new-recording/): One of the favourite activities of the 19th century was creating piano versions of works from other genres: symphonies reduced to the piano for two or four hands, favourite arias from favourite operas made into variation forms, songs with the
- [Musicians and Artists: Musgrave and the Seasons](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-thea-musgrave-and-the-seasons/): Thea Musgrave: The Seasons Inspired by Paintings From the 15th to 20th Century When we think of a musical work called The Seasons, we first think of Vivaldi’s set of violin concertos or Glazunov’s ballet or Tchaikovsky’s cycle for piano,
- [On This Day <br/>20 October: Ivo Pogorelichh Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-20-october-ivo-pogorelichh-was-born/): For his admirers, Ivo Pogorelich “has broadened the horizons of piano literature with his evocative interpretations and refined musical taste. ” Others suggest that he is capable of producing a vast tonal palette, although his interpretations can sometimes be marred by
- [On This Day <br/>19 October: Richard Wagner’s <em>Tannhäuser</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-19-october-richard-wagner-tannhauser-was-premiered/): Prior to his transformation of operatic thought via the notion of the “Gesamtkunstwerk,” a concept that attempted to achieve a synthesis of poetic, visual, musical, and dramatic arts, Richard Wagner was predominantly known as an opera composer in the romantic
- [How Do Recording Sessions Work?](https://interlude.hk/how-do-recording-sessions-work/): Things That Actually Happen in the Recording Studio The world of session recordings can seem quite mysterious from the outside. What actually happens in the recording studio, and how is it to work as a musician in a recording session?
- [A Lighter Touch: Callaghan and Takenouchi on Rachmaninoff Symphony No. 2](https://interlude.hk/simon-callaghan-and-hiraoki-takenouchi-on-rachmaninoff-symphony-no-2-piano-four-hand/): Four-hand Piano Version of Rachmaninoff’s most popular work After the complete and utter failure of his Symphony No. 1 at its premiere in 1897, Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff took a decade off from the genre, returning to create his Symphony
- [On This Day <br/> 18 October: Mahler’s <em>Symphony No. 5</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-18-october-mahler-symphony-no-5-was-premiered/): In the afternoon of 24 February 1901, Gustav Mahler conducted the sixth Philharmonic concert in a performance of Bruckner’s Fifth Symphony. Mahler had been unhappy that Bruckner had left so many passages and themes “of a Beethovenian grandeur not carried
- [Lucrezia Floriani <br/>Romantic Relationship Between Frédéric Chopin and George Sand](https://interlude.hk/lucrezia-floriani-romantic-relationship-between-frederic-chopin-george-sand/): The phrase “to kiss and tell” first appeared in print in 1695 in the comedy Love for Love by playwright William Congreve. In the play, the swain is worried about his love’s indiscretion as she is in the process of
- [The Greatest Composers of Film Music <br/>From John Williams to Tan Dun](https://interlude.hk/the-greatest-composers-of-film-music-from-john-williams-to-tan-dun/): Do you know the answer to the question as to which film score the American Film Institute considers the greatest film score of all time? I am sure you can hazard a pretty good guess, but just in case, the
- [Dueling with Himself: Saint-Georges’ Symphonie Concertante in A major](https://interlude.hk/dueling-with-himself-saint-georges-symphonie-concertante-in-a-major/): Joseph Boulogne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges (1745-1799) was not only a virtuoso violinist, a classical composer, a conductor of the leading orchestra in Paris but also was a champion fencer. When we listen to his music, we can hear exactly how
- [Elliott Carter](https://interlude.hk/elliott-carter-composer/): “My musical life started with hearing contemporary music” The American composer Elliott Carter (1908-2012) blended the “achievements of European modernism and American ultra-modernism into a unique style of surging rhythmic vitality, intense dramatic contrast, and innovative fracture. ” Glowing accolades aside,
- [Four-Hand Piano Works From Latin America I](https://interlude.hk/four-hand-piano-works-from-latin-america-i/): Latin American music is a broad term: it encompasses a variety of styles and often combines elements of folk and indigenous music, African rhythms, and traditional western European music. We may be aware of several famous Latin American composers of
- [On This Day <br/>16 October: Marin Alsop Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-16-october-marin-alsop-was-born/): Much has been made of Marin Alsop’s appointment as Music Director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in 2007. And rightfully so, as she was the first woman to hold this position with a major American orchestra. Her achievement forever raised
- [On This Day <br/>15 October: Claude Debussy’s <em>La Mer</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-15-october-claude-debussy-la-mer-was-premiered/): Claude Debussy writes, “I love music passionately. And because I love it, I try to free it from barren traditions that stifle it. It is a free art gushing forth, an open-air art boundless as the elements, the wind, the
- [Ludovico Einaudi: Saviour of Classical Music](https://interlude.hk/ludovico-einaudi-saviour-of-classical-music/): Oh go on, get over it. You clicked on it, you’re ready to scoff and get angry, and you’re sceptical as shit about anything I could write that might convince you to think otherwise. But let me invite you for
- [Le Corbusier <br/>“To Be Modern Is Not a Fashion, It Is a State”](https://interlude.hk/le-corbusier-architecture-integrate-with-music/): Born in a small town in the Swiss Jura region famous for precision watchmaking on 6 October 1887, Charles-Édouard Jeanneret, later known as Le Corbusier, was one of the great pioneers of Modernism in architecture. His designs, buildings, and urban
- [Dance, Dance, Dance:  The Chaconne / Ciacona](https://interlude.hk/dance-dance-dance-the-chaconne-ciacona/): The chaconne or ciacona in Italian, is a dance with a double life. When it first appeared in Spain in the late 16th century as a transplant from the New World, it was a quick-tempo dance song, where the texts
- [On This Day <br/>14 October: Freddy Kempf Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-14-october-freddy-kempf-was-born/): On occasion, failure to win a major international competition can be beneficial for an artist’s career. Such was the case with the British pianist Freddy Kempf, born in Croydon to a German father and a Japanese mother on 14 October
- [Musicians and Artists: Antheil and Ernst](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-george-antheil-and-max-ernst-la-femme-100-tetes/): George Antheil: La femme 100 têtes In 1929, the German/American/French artist Max Ernst (1891-1976) created a new kind of graphic novel. In La femme 100 têtes, he created his collage-novel (as he called it) by cutting up illustrations from 19th-century
- [On This Day <br/>12 October: Lloyd Webber’s <em>Jesus Christ Superstar</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-12-october-lloyd-webber-jesus-christ-superstar-was-premiered/): The biblical narrative of the New Testament has been called the “greatest story ever told. ” And while the story of Jesus Christ is deceptively easy to understand, it is also the most difficult to interpret. One such interpretation premiered on
- [A Glimpse Into the World of the Music Session](https://interlude.hk/a-glimpse-into-the-world-of-the-music-session-film-music-recording/): Recording Film and TV Music Behind-the-Scene Cast your mind back to the last movie or TV show you watched. Chances are there was music of some kind, enhancing the mood, providing suspense at cliffhangers, setting the scene or underscoring a
- [On This Day <br/>11 October: Frédéric Chopin’s <em>Piano Concerto No. 1</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-11-october-frederic-chopin-piano-concerto-no-1-was-premiered/): On 22 September 1830, Frédéric Chopin invited all of musical Warsaw to his home for a dress rehearsal of his E-minor Concerto. The rehearsal was enormously successful and a press review announced, “I hasten to bring a piece of good
- [Spiders Music](https://interlude.hk/spiders-music/): We hate them and we love them – they can make us jump up in fright just as much as we can admire their filigree webs. Composers have spiders in their music and we end up with a marvelous variety
- [Taking the Symphonic Poem Further: Dvořák’s <em>The Wild Dove</em>](https://interlude.hk/taking-the-symphonic-poem-further-dvorak-the-wild-dove/): The symphonic poem had been created by Liszt as an orchestral work, usually in one movement, that takes another work, such as a poem, a short story, a novel, a painting, a landscape, or some other non-musical source, as its
- [On This Day<br/>10 October: Evgeny Kissin Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day10-october-evgeny-kissin-was-born/): Evgeny Kissin, born on 10 October 1971, was undoubtedly one of the most astonishing child prodigies in the second half of the 20th century. But even more remarkable is the fact that Kissin has matured into one of the most
- [Baroque Music](https://interlude.hk/best-baroque-music/): Operas, Concertos, Oratorios, Cantatas & More I know this is absolutely subjective, but for me personally, the Baroque music period produced some of the most intense, dramatic, devotional, appealing, and simply most beautiful music imaginable. In school, we are all
- [Opera Doctors – the 20th century, Part III](https://interlude.hk/opera-doctors-the-20th-century-part-iii/): Doctors in the 20th century continue their more complex and complicated paths. Tennessee Williams’ play Summer and Smoke, about a repressed minister’s daughter and the doctor who lives next door. She cannot accept his advances until, too late, when he’s
- [“I Can’t Make Music Without Sharing” - House Concert by Igor Levit](https://interlude.hk/house-concert-by-igor-levit-book-review/): On 12 March 2020, pianist Igor Levit tweeted the following: Empty concert halls. The idea of listening to and experiencing music together is gone – for now. It’s necessary, yet so sad. But it’s ok. Still: I’d like to continue
- [Dance, Dance, Dance: The Canario](https://interlude.hk/dance-dance-dance-the-canario/): The Canario (Italian), or Canarie (French), or Canary (English) dance was inspired, as you tell from the name by a dance from the Canarie Islands. It was popular in Europe in the late 16th and early 17th centuries and appeared
- [On This Day <br/>8 October: Tōru Takemitsu Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-8-october-toru-takemitsu-was-born/): When Emperor Hirohito ascended to the throne in 1927, he initiated a period known as the “Showa Restoration. ” It advocated the revival of Shinto, and the so-called “State Shinto,” which had been developing over a period of time, came to
- [Vaughan Williams’ Anniversary and a New Lark](https://interlude.hk/vaughan-williams-anniversary-and-a-new-lark/): Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) took British music out of its German mindset and gave it its own voice. His 150th anniversary will occur on 12 October and a new version of one of his most famous pieces lets us hear
- [Musicians and Artists: Zimmermann and Klein](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-bernd-alois-zimmermann-and-klein-photoptosis/): Bernd Alois Zimmermann: Photoptosis (Incidence of Light) Created for the celebrations for the 100th anniversary of the Gelsenkirchen town bank, Bernd Alois Zimmerman’s 1968 work Photoptosis (Incidence of Light) looked to the gigantic paintings created by French artist Yves Klein
- [On This Day <br/>7 October: Yo-Yo Ma Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-7-october-yo-yo-ma-was-born/): When it comes to famous classical musicians, Yo-Yo Ma is at the head of the class. For many years he has carried a celebrity status that rivals rock stars or famous athletes. He is a superstar, for sure, but you would never know it meeting him in person. Soft-spoken and...
- [The Musical Honeymoon <br/>Jacques Ibert’s <em>Escales</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-musical-honeymoon-jacques-ibert-escales/): Seen by his contemporaries as an ‘authentically French’ composer, Jacques Ibert (1890-1962) brought not only artistry but also humour to the orchestra. His 1924 work Escales (Ports of Call) was a product of his Rome residency as winner of the
- [Taking Telemann Home <br/><em>Der getreue Music-Meister</em>](https://interlude.hk/taking-telemann-home-der-getreue-music-meister/): Georg Philipp Telemann published his collection Der getreue Music-Meister (The Faithful Music Master) in a set of 25 parts between 1728 and 1729. It was like a musical journal with 70 small vocal and instrumental works mostly by Telemann, and
- [On This Day <br/>5 October: Jacques Offenbach Died](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-5-october-jacques-offenbach-died/): Medically speaking, gout is a form of inflammatory arthritis “characterized by recurrent attacks of a red, tender, hot and swollen joint, caused by deposition of monosodium urate monohydrate crystals. ” Basically, this means that the patient has persistently elevated levels of
- [Collecting Musical Instruments on Paper](https://interlude.hk/collecting-musical-instruments-on-paper/): Between 1875 and the 1840s, if you bought a packet of cigarettes, it came with a cigarette card. This little trading card served two purposes: it stiffened the paper packets of cigarettes so they wouldn’t crush, and it served as
- [On This Day <br/>4 October: Franz Schubert’s <em>Mass in E-flat Major</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-4-october-franz-schubert-mass-in-e-flat-major-was-premiered/): Describing the emotional effects of the Latin mass settings by his brother Franz, Ferdinand Schubert writes, “For through these pious compositions every person, if there is so much as a glimmer of feeling in him, must be aroused to religious
- [Air Explosions: Stravinsky’s <em>Feu d’artifice</em>](https://interlude.hk/air-explosions-stravinsky-feu-dartifice/): Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971) achieved fame and position as a composer building on a basis of a firm understanding of the art of composition. He came from a musical family – his father, Feodor Stravinsky, was a celebrated opera singer and
- [Johannes Brahms and His Family](https://interlude.hk/johannes-brahms-and-his-family/): Johannes Brahms would not do well on Facebook, Twitter, or TikTok, that’s for sure. Of course, he is one of the most widely performed and beloved composers of all time. In the historiography of music, he stands alongside Johann Sebastian
- [Beyond the Silver Screen <br/>The Concert Music of John Williams](https://interlude.hk/beyond-the-silver-screen-the-concert-music-of-john-williams/): I’ve never made a secret of the fact that John Williams is my favourite film composer. With over 100 film scores to his credit, he has composed some of the most popular, recognizable and critically acclaimed film scores in cinematic
- [The Music of Poetry <br/>Victor Hugo’s <em>Les Djinns</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-music-of-poetry-victor-hugo-les-djinns-in-music/): In pre-Islamic Arabia the “Jinn” represented invisible spirits inhabiting the earth. Unseen by humans, they are capable of assuming various forms and exercising extraordinary powers. In common Arabic mythology, jinn “are capable of assuming human or animal form and are
- [Domestic Animal of the Year 2022: Donkey](https://interlude.hk/domestic-animal-of-the-year-2022-donkey/): The German group Bündnis Mensch & Tier (Alliance for Humans and Animals) has chosen its Pet of the Year: The Donkey. The group points out all the benefits of the alliance between donkeys and humans and closes with the thought:
- [Anne Gastinel](https://interlude.hk/anne-gastinel-cellist/): ‘Life Is a Constant Inspiration’ Anne Gastinel and Claire Désert Play Chopin French cellist Anne Gastinel is one of the foremost cellists of her generation. Hailing from southeastern France, she entered Lyon’s conservatoire to study when she was just 11
- [On This Day <br/>1 October: Vladimir Horowitz Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-1-october-vladimir-horowitz-was-born/): On his Russian tour in 1912, the fabled pianist Josef Hofmann performed twenty-one consecutive recitals, with each program different and no single work repeated. Since his recitals were sold out weeks ahead of time, the eight-year-old Vladimir Horowitz snuck into
- [Dance, Dance, Dance: The Branle](https://interlude.hk/dance-dance-dance-the-branle/): The Branle was a group dance, performed by couples in a line or in a circle. The name of the dance comes from the French verb ‘branler’, meaning to shake, sway, or wobble because of the sideways steps. After the
- [On This Day <br/>30 September: David Oistrakh Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-30-september-david-oistrakh-was-born/): A good many commentators consider David Oistrakh as one of the preeminent violinists of the 20th century. Said to represent “the ideal violinist, combining fingers of steel with a heart of gold,” Oistrakh made playing the violin look easy. His
- [Brett Dean’s <em>The Lost Art of Letter Writing</em>](https://interlude.hk/brett-deans-the-lost-art-of-letter-writing/): In his 2009 violin concerto, composer Brett Dean looked at an art form that is not only being lost in today’s world but being replaced with something that gives a different level of satisfaction: the letter. The Lost Art of
- [How Influence Carries <br/>Perilous Night From Cage to Johns to Crumb](https://interlude.hk/how-influence-carries-perilous-night-from-cage-to-johns-to-crumb/): In 1944, John Cage wrote a work for prepared piano that reached beyond the sound into emotion. The Perilous Night takes its title from Arthurian legend, where the knight Gawain, in the Marvelous Castel, encounters a bed on ruby wheels
- [On This Day <br/>28 September: Krzysztof Penderecki’s <em>Polish Requiem</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-28-september-krzysztof-penderecki-polish-requiem-was-premiered/): The Stuttgart Liederhalle witnessed an unusual premiere performance on 28 September 1984. It featured a Russian conductor, a German choir and orchestra, an American soprano, a German mezzo-soprano, a Polish tenor, and a British bass. They had gathered to present
- [More Than a Toy <br/>Everything About the Toy Piano](https://interlude.hk/more-than-a-toy-everything-about-the-toy-piano/): There are a surprising number of pieces written for toy piano. One of the most famous is John Cage’s Suite for Toy Piano (1948) but the instrument has a much longer history, dating back to the mid-19th century. As pianos
- [Looking Down from Paradise: Debussy’s <em>La Damoiselle élue</em>](https://interlude.hk/looking-down-from-paradise-debussy-la-damoiselle-elue/): For students at the Paris Conservatoire, winning the Prix de Rome meant following a tradition that had been established in 1663 during the reign of Louis XIV of France. The prize meant receiving a stipend that would cover 3 to
- [On This Day <br/>26 September: George Gershwin Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-26-september-george-gershwin-was-born/): George Gershwin thought of himself as “a modern romantic” but more than any other American composer of the period “his impact on the American musical scene is of social as well as musical significance. ” The son of Russian-Jewish immigrants, born
- [Nicknamed Compositions by Franz Schubert](https://interlude.hk/nicknamed-compositions-by-franz-schubert/): During the first decades of the 19th Century, the city of Vienna must have been a real party town. Conductors, performers and composers from all parts of Europe flocked to the city to take advantage of the rapidly expanding employment
- [School Music Teachers: Ingenuity, Innovation, and Inspiration](https://interlude.hk/school-music-teachers-ingenuity-innovation-and-inspiration/): Christian Li Plays Handel Halvorsen Violin and viola duo Once again, it’s back to school time and music teachers are preparing their classrooms with equipment and with innovation. You’d be surprised how many issues a music teacher encounters. Organizing the
- [Opera Doctors – the 20th century, Part II](https://interlude.hk/opera-doctors-the-20th-century-part-ii/): The character of Dr. Daniel Athanasius in Hans Pfiztner’s 1931 opera Das Herz returns us to the Faustian pacts we saw in the 19th century, however, this opera has a very different ending. Instead of being dragged down to hell,
- [On This Day <br/>25 September: Glenn Gould Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-25-september-glenn-gould-was-born/): Nothing could possibly have prepared Florence Emma Gold and Russell Herbert Gold for the arrival of their son Glenn Herbert, born on 25 September 1932 in Toronto. Florence was a part-time voice teacher, and her maternal grandfather John Charles Holman
- [King and Composer: Henry V of England](https://interlude.hk/king-and-composer-henry-v-of-england/): We know of Henry V through Shakespeare’s eponymous history play, telling of the events surrounding the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. We first met Henry V when he was plain Hal, bouncing around the play Henry IV, parts 1 and
- [Music That Brings You Back Your Childhood Wonderland](https://interlude.hk/music-that-brings-you-back-your-childhood-wonderland/): My job as a piano teacher has given me many opportunities to work with children. For the most part, I always have a wonderful time with them. Children are born without knowing any rules and boundaries, and their imagination can
- [On This Day <br/>24 September: Andrzej Panufnik Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-24-september-andrzej-panufnik-was-born/): Andrzej Panufnik is considered one of the most important and original symphonic composers of the 2nd half of the 20th century. As he famously stated, “In all my works, I attempt to achieve a true balance between feeling and intellect,
- [Frog Music](https://interlude.hk/frog-music/): Of all the water animals, the frog appears most often in music. Most of the time it’s for its repetitive and rhythmic sound, but sometimes, particularly in vocal music, as a representative of various human characteristics, most often envy of
- [On This Day <br/>23 September: Vincenzo Bellini Died](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-23-september-vincenzo-bellini-died/): Vincenzo Bellini (1801-1835) was the quintessential composer of the Italian bel canto era during the early 19th century. His last opera I Puritani (The Puritans) was first staged in Paris in January 1835, and it is based on a deeply
- [Granted an Audience by the Queen](https://interlude.hk/granted-an-audience-by-hm-queen-elizabeth-ii-musicians-recollections/): In May 2022, shortly before the Platinum Jubilee, I began to work on a story on Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II considering it apt to look into HM’s connection with Chinese musicians, particularly those who had met her and had
- [Musicians and Artists: Bingham in Rome](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-judith-bingham-in-roman-conversions/): Judith Bingham: Roman Conversions In her 2017 organ work, Roman Conversions, British composer Judith Bingham looks at ‘five metamorphoses’ that happened in Rome, beginning in ancient times and concluding in the Baroque. Her first movement describes the setting: San Clemente:
- [On This Day <br/> 22 September: Richard Wagner’s <em>Rheingold</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-22-september-richard-wagner-rheingold-was-premiered/): Ludwig II ascended to the throne of Bavaria in 1864 at the age of eighteen. By that time, he was already demonstrating signs of mental illness, and he frequently heard voices. Eventually, Ludwig would be deposed based on a report
- [Optimism Within Contradictions: Prokofiev’s <em>Symphony No. 5</em>](https://interlude.hk/optimism-within-contradictions-prokofievs-symphony-no-5/): Having recently given a performance of Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 5, I was reminded how lyrical, intense, and downright wonderful this piece is. With that said, Prokofiev’s music can take some getting used to. I speak from personal experience: it took
- [What’s Better Than One Violin, Viola, and Cello? TWO! String Sextets III](https://interlude.hk/whats-better-than-one-violin-viola-and-cello-two-string-sextets-iii/): Tchaikovsky String Sextet in D Minor Op. 70 Souvenir de Florence was composed in 1890 – a remembrance of the wonderful summer spent in Rome, Florence, and Venice away from harsh Russian winters. Although Tchaikovsky found composing for this complement
- [On This Day <br/>20 September: Pablo de Sarasate Died](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-20-september-pablo-de-sarasate-died/): The Hungarian violinist and teacher Carl Flesch writes in his Memoirs, “for all who played the violin during the last quarter of the nineteenth century, Pablo de Sarasate was a magical name, and even more: he stood for aesthetic moderation,
- [Influenced by Mugams: Tigranian’s <em>Bayati-kurd</em>](https://interlude.hk/influenced-by-mugams-nikoghayos-tigranian-bayati-kurd/): Armenian composer Nikoghayos Tigranian (1856-1951) was one of the first generation of composers in Armenia. Joined by others who were folk-music collectors, they laid the foundation for the Armenian national style. He lost his sight to smallpox at age 9
- [Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616) <br/>“In Order to Attain the Impossible, One Must Attempt the Absurd”](https://interlude.hk/miguel-de-cervantes-author-of-don-quixote/): “One man scorned and covered with scars still strove with his last ounce of courage to reach the unreachable stars; and the world will be better for this. ” This line from Don Quixote could well have originated from the biography
- [Yoonie Han: On Enriching Students’ Musical Experience](https://interlude.hk/yoonie-han-on-enriching-students-musical-experience/): Dr. Yoonie Han, Assistant Professor of Piano at the Academy of Music at Hong Kong Baptist University, is also a Steinway Artist and Steinway Honorary Teacher. She has encouraged Hong Kong students to join international music festivals and competitions to
- [The High Art of the High Voice <br/>Lakmé: <em>The Bell Song</em> and Faust: <em>The Jewel Song</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-high-art-of-the-high-voice-lakme-the-bell-song-and-faust-the-jewel-song/): At the beginning of Act II of Delibes’ tale of forbidden love in British India, our heroine Lakmé sings a highly virtuosic aria, ‘Où va le jeune Indoue,’ which carries the informal title of The Bell Song. Lakmé produces one
- [Musical Tributes: Brahmsiana, Rossiniana, Segoviana and Telemanniana](https://interlude.hk/musical-tributes-brahmsiana-rossiniana-segoviana-and-telemanniana/): For American composer Paul Reale—born in 1943 in New Jersey—the “most significant element which is under the control of the composer is time. By controlling the way the listener perceives time, a well-written musical composition garners the full attention of
- [The Funeral of Reynard the Fox](https://interlude.hk/the-funeral-of-reynard-the-fox/): The character of the trickster fox is everywhere in folktales from around the world. Sometimes he’s evil, but most often he’s a trickster, known for being cunning, wily, and resourceful. Their first mention comes in the fables of Aesop, in
- [Théâtre du Châtelet <br/>From Ballet to Broadway](https://interlude.hk/theatre-du-chatelet-from-ballet-to-broadway/): It sits on the right bank of the Seine in Paris’ 1st arrondissement and was built on the orders of Napoleon III’s chief architect, Baron Haussmann. The Théâtre du Châtelet towers above the busy Place du Châtelet, directly opposite its
- [Dance, Dance, Dance: The Saltarello](https://interlude.hk/dance-dance-dance-the-saltarello/): Although the source of the name is clear, the history of the dance itself is not. The Saltarello takes its name from the Italian verb saltare, meaning ‘to jump’, and it was the peculiar jumping step used in the saltarello
- [On This Day <br/>16 September: Nadia Boulanger Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-16-september-nadia-boulanger-was-born/): A scholar and former student writes, “To measure the potency of Nadia Boulanger’s influence is impossible. As a tree is rooted firmly to the earth, she was rooted in the history and grammar of Western music. She was gifted with
- [Musicians and Artists: Leisner and Bellows](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-david-leisner-and-george-bellows-dances-in-the-madhouse/): David Leisner: Dances in the Madhouse American realist painter George Bellows (1882–1925) is best known for his realist paintings of New York City. Before that, while still in his student years in the Midwest, he made a drawing based on
- [On This Day <br/>15 September: Jessye Norman Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-15-september-jessye-norman-was-born/): The incomparable Jessye Mae Norman was born on 15 September 1945 into the segregated American South. As she wrote in her memoirs, “I am the joy and pride of my maternal grandmother, looking out over a front yard overflowing with
- [1937: The Year of the Ondes Martenot](https://interlude.hk/1937-the-year-of-the-ondes-martenot/): It was the hot new instrument in town – eventually combining a seemingly traditional keyboard with the modern valve/tube technology developed in the first world war. Maurice Martenot (1898-1980) developed his ‘Ondes Musicales’ (musical waves) instrument in 1928, first as
- [On This Day <br/>14 September: Tōru Takemitsu’s <em>Fantasma</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-14-september-toru-takemitsu-fantasma-was-premiered/): Commissioned by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) for the clarinetist Richard Stoltzman and the BBC Welsh Symphony Orchestra, Fantasma/Cantos for clarinet and orchestra first sounded on 14 September 1991 in Cardiff. In this composition, Takemitsu imagined the orchestra as a
- [Music to Make You Run Away <br/>L. Frank Baum’s <em>The Patchwork Girl of Oz</em>](https://interlude.hk/music-to-make-you-run-away-l-frank-baum-the-patchwork-girl-of-oz/): In his 1913 children’s book, The Patchwork Girl of Oz, L. Frank Baum added a bit of music criticism into his text. His characters disapprove of classical music, ragtime, and ‘popular’ music, and, in fact, you sense a slight disapproval
- [On This Day <br/>13 September: Clara Schumann Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-13-september-clara-schumann-was-born/): An eminent scholar writes, “Clara Schumann was the creative partner of three men: Friedrich Wieck, Robert Schumann, and Johannes Brahms. Her father was her sole teacher, much maligned for the role he later played in the romance between his daughter
- [The Procession: Albéniz’s <em>Corpus Christi en Sevilla</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-procession-albeniz-corpus-christi-en-sevilla/): In 1905, the Spanish composer Isaac Albéniz (1860-1909) published the first book of his piano suite Iberia, subtitled 12 Nouvelles impressions en quatre cahiers (12 New Impressions in Four Books). He dedicated the work to the widow of the composer
- [On This Day <br/>12 September: Gustav Mahler’s <em>Symphony No. 8</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-12-september-gustav-mahler-symphony-no-8-was-premiered/): On 12 September 1910, audiences in Munich were treated to a unique classical music extravaganza. For the premiere of his 8th Symphony, Gustav Mahler had assembled a performing cast that stretched the resources to their limits. It involved 858 singers,
- [Famous Music Composers <br/>New York](https://interlude.hk/famous-music-composers-new-york/): In 1944, Leonard Bernstein wrote music for the musical On the Town. It tells the story of three sailors on shore leave for their 24 hours of adventures and romance in New York City. The song “New York, New York,”
- [Musicians and Artists: Respighi and Botticelli](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-ottorino-respighi-trittico-botticelliano/): Ottorino Respighi: Trittico botticelliano Venus, in the middle, presides over her realm, but as it’s Spring, as we know from the painting’s title, Primavera, the world is a buzz of activity. As we read the painting from right to left,
- [On This Day <br/>11 September: Arvo Pärt Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-11-september-arvo-part-was-born/): Arvo Pärt was born on 11 September 1935 in Paide, in Järva County, Estonia, as the only child of Linda Anette and August Pärt. Raised by his mother and stepfather, the family moved to Rakvere, where he studied at Rakvere
- [What’s Better Than One Violin, Viola, and Cello? TWO! String Sextets II](https://interlude.hk/whats-better-than-one-violin-viola-and-cello-two-string-sextets-ii/): After Brahms wrote his two brilliant string sextets, Dvořák, Erwin Schulhoff, Schoenberg, Tchaikovsky, Reger, Rimsky-Korsakov, Franck, Korngold, Martinů, and others followed suit. I’d like to feature two Czech composers’ sextets. Antonín Dvořák (1841-1903) the first of 14 children, showed exceptional
- [Opera Doctors – The 20th Century, Part I](https://interlude.hk/opera-doctors-the-20th-century-part-i/): The 20th century normalized doctors – we now see them in their more accustomed roles as healers or consultants to the ill. The occasional black magician / doctor still appears, but that role is increasingly rare. We open the century
- [Jean Françaix](https://interlude.hk/jean-francaix-composer-of-the-month/): “My music exists to give pleasure” The son of the former director of the Conservatory of Le Mans, Jean Françaix (1912-1997) was a prodigious musical talent. He received his early musical instructions from his father and composed his first piano
- [King and Composer: João IV of Portugal](https://interlude.hk/king-and-composer-joao-iv-of-portugal/): João IV / John IV (1604-1656) of Portugal, got the nickname of ‘John the Restorer’ for his freeing of Portugal from Spanish rule. Beginning in 1580, Portugal and Spain were ruled together by the Habsburg Spanish court. Under João, the
- [A Book As String Quartet <br/>Elena Ruehr’s <em>Bel Canto</em>](https://interlude.hk/a-book-as-string-quartet-elena-ruehrs-bel-canto/): American author Ann Patchett’s 2001 book Bel Canto, which used the 1996-97 Japanese Embassy Hostage Crisis in Lima, Peru, as its inspiration, was, in turn, inspiration for American composer Elena Ruehr (b. 1963) to write her String Quartet No. 5,
- [On This Day <br/>8 September: Antonín Dvořák Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-8-september-antonin-dvorak-was-born/): Since all of Antonín Dvořák’s predecessors were butchers or innkeepers, it was automatically assumed that he would inherit the business. However, in addition to the butcher’s trade the Dvořák family also cultivated another talent, namely, a flair for music. However,
- [The Invisible Force: Wind](https://interlude.hk/the-invisible-force-wind/): The elements of nature frequently are represented in music: water, snow, and, of course, wind. We looked at a number of different works that might, literally, blow us away. We never see the wind but only the effect of the
- [On This Day <br/> 7 September: Angela Gheorghiu Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-7-september-angela-gheorghiu-was-born/): The Romanian soprano Angela Gheorghiu, born on 7 September 1965 in the small town of Adjud, certainly isn’t afraid to speak out. “I hate directors who want to express their own fantasies, forgetting about the characters. What they put on
- [Other Melodies of Death](https://interlude.hk/other-melodies-of-death/): We looked at how the Dies Irae melody was used in music from the 18th to the 21st centuries. Now let’s look at how the Dies Irae text was used. Composers didn’t always choose to use the melody regularly associated
- [On This Day <br/>6 September: Ralph Vaughan Williams’ <em>Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-6-september-ralph-vaughan-williams-fantasia-on-a-theme-by-thomas-tallis-was-premiered/): Although Ralph Vaughan Williams was an avowed atheist, he greatly bemoaned the state of church music in England. As he writes, “It ought no longer to be true anywhere that the most exalted moments of a church-goer’s week are associated
- [The Coming Joy: Raff’s <em>Ode au Printemps</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-coming-joy-joachim-raff-ode-au-printemps/): Considered during his lifetime the premier symphonist of the day, Joachim Raff (1822-1882) has now virtually vanished from our concert stages. He was encouraged by Mendelssohn and his scores, sent to his publisher by Mendelssohn, got the approval of Robert
- [Let’s Fly to the Moon!!](https://interlude.hk/operatic-works-inspired-by-moon-and-space/): Operatic Works Inspired by the Moon and Space Last year, I shared some music inspired by the moon to celebrate the moon festival. This year, I have compiled a collection of operatic works inspired by the moon and space. Il
- [On This Day <br/>5 September: Marc-André Hamelin Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-5-september-marc-andre-hamelin-was-born/): Pianist Marc-André Hamelin has been called “a performer of near-superhuman technical prowess. ” In a world of pianism populated by countless aspiring virtuosos, Hamelin stands at the head of the class. Critics have described him “as one of the marvels of
- [Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and His Circle of Friends II](https://interlude.hk/pyotr-ilyich-tchaikovsky-and-his-circle-of-friends-ii/): The lawyer Nikolay Kondratyev (1832-1887) was first introduced to Tchaikovsky in 1864 at the estate of Prince Aleksey Golitsyn. They became fast friends in 1870, when the Kondratyev family moved to Moscow for the winter. Tchaikovsky was a frequent guest
- [On This Day <br/>  4 September: Edvard Grieg Died](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-4-september-edvard-grieg-died/): During his time in Leipzig, Edvard Grieg suffered from pleurisy, a condition in which the two large, thin layers of tissue that separate the lungs from the chest wall, becomes inflamed. According to medical reports, therapeutic pneumothorax of the left
- [The One Who Got Away <br/>The Story of Apollo and Daphne](https://interlude.hk/the-one-who-got-away-the-story-of-apollo-and-daphne/): The story of Apollo and Daphne is upsetting to the modern psyche. She is pursued and to escape her pursuer, would rather become non-human than acquiesce. Or, you can view it from a different angle: despite being the ideal god,
- [What’s Better Than One Violin, Viola, and Cello? TWO! String Sextets](https://interlude.hk/whats-better-than-one-violin-viola-and-cello-two-string-sextets/): The combination of two violins, two violas, and two cellos is a lush and almost orchestral sound. Most musicians I know relish the opportunity to play string sextets. Even so, these works are not played as often as other chamber
- [Evgeny Kissin: The Salzburg Recital – Eclectic Programme and Emphatic Playing](https://interlude.hk/evgeny-kissin-the-salzburg-recital-eclectic-programme-and-emphatic-playing/): The Salzburg Festival made its comeback in 2021 amid the pandemic and welcomed a full-capacity audience. Pianist Evgeny Kissin gave a compelling recital with a splendidly idiosyncratic programme, journeying from Alban Berg to Tikhon Khrennikov to George Gershwin in the
- [Dance, Dance, Dance: The Pavan and Galliard](https://interlude.hk/dance-dance-dance-the-pavan-and-galliard/): We saw in the Baroque dance suite that the dances were in pairs: Allemande–Courente and then Sarabande–Gigue. Those dances had tempos of slow/fast and this continues with our next pair, the Pavane and Galliard. The Pavan came from Italy and
- [Food and Meals as the Cue in Operas](https://interlude.hk/food-and-meals-as-the-cue-in-operas/): Meals and food in operas can be dramatic turning points – let’s look at how they can help us understand the character more deeply or provide the push for the action. At the very end of Mozart’s Don Giovanni, the
- [Andrey Gugnin](https://interlude.hk/andrey-gugnin-artist-of-the-month/): Playing Is ‘Your Reflection Of Your Soul’ Andrey Gugnin Plays Chopin’s Sonata No. 3 Russian pianist Andrey Gugnin has toured all over the world, performing across Europe, America and Australia, and makes his Hong Kong debut on 16 September, giving
- [On This Day <br/> 1 September: Seiji Ozawa Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-1-september-seiji-ozawa-was-born/): The iconic Japanese conductor Seiji Ozawa is internationally known for his energetic conducting style and his advocacy of modern composers. He attributes his involved podium style to his first conducting teacher, Saito, and to the language barrier he feels he
- [Composers and Poets: Walton and Sitwell](https://interlude.hk/composers-and-poets-william-walton-and-edith-sitwell-facade-an-entertainment/): The musico-poetic work Façade: An Entertainment Called ‘the high priestess of 20th century poetry,’ English author Edith Sitwell used her experimental poetry to drive a dying form forward. Sitwell (1887-1964) filled her poetry with melody, new rhythms, and confusing private
- [On This Day <br/> 31 August: Itzhak Perlman Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-31-august-itzhak-perlman-was-born/): Itzhak Perlman is one of the world’s most popular classical musicians. “Beloved for his charm and humanity as well as his talent, he is treasured by audiences throughout the world who respond not only to his remarkable artistry, but also
- [The Melody of Death: The Dies Irae](https://interlude.hk/the-melody-of-death-the-dies-irae/): Composers make up melodies all the time and create new and innovative pieces to show off those talents. Occasionally, though, they go back to older melodies, even melodies that they may not have written, and use them to make a
- [The Colours of Villa-Lobos’ Piano Music](https://interlude.hk/the-colours-of-villa-lobos-piano-music-olga-kopylova-album-review/): “Ms. Kopylova approaches the repertoire with an authority that is welcoming. ” The pianist for the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra, Olga Kopylova, has created an album of selections from the extensive repertoire for solo piano written by Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos.
- [Report From Pesaro – Frivolity and Femicide](https://interlude.hk/rrossini-opera-festival-2022-la-gazzetta-otello-review/): Review on Rossini Opera Festival 2022 – La Gazzetta and Otello The 43rd edition of the Rossini Opera Festival (ROF) in Pesaro, Rossini’s birthplace, featured a selection of rare Rossini operas and recitals. The nearly two week-long event again drew
- [Dancing in the Woods: Strauss II’s Tales of the Vienna Woods](https://interlude.hk/dancing-in-the-woods-johann-strauss-ii-tales-of-the-vienna-woods/): Situated just north-west of Vienna, the Wienerwald, the eastern foothills of the Alps were an enticing area for Vienna’s composers – we have many images of composers such as Beethoven and Schubert walking through the Vienna Woods and we have
- [Playing the Cello: The Best Icebreaker](https://interlude.hk/playing-the-cello-the-best-icebreaker/): You’ve probably heard the cello on numerous occasions either because you love its deep baritone sounds or because the cello is used whenever someone dies in a movie. The cello—its vibrant sounds so close to the human voice—is the perfect instrument to portray a melancholy or heartfelt or gripping mood....
- [On This Day <br/>29 August: Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-29-august-mirga-grazinyte-tyla-was-born/): Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla is, without doubt, one of the most in demand conductors and music directors of our times. Gentle, strong, calm and self-confident, she proudly says, “The only thing that could ever stop me is my own lack of imagination. ”
- [Cathedrals in Sound](https://interlude.hk/cathedrals-in-sound-and-music/): Composers’ Inspirations From Imaginary, Ruined and Monumental Cathedrals At the heart of every major European city is the cathedral. A cathedral is more than a mere church, it contains the cathedra, i. e. , the seat of a bishop. A cathedral is
- [Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and His Circle of Friends](https://interlude.hk/pyotr-ilyich-tchaikovsky-and-his-circle-of-friends/): To his extensive entourage, fellow colleagues, and large circle of friends, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was “a sweet and caring man, full of excellent manners. ” Yet in his own words, the composer considered himself almost antisocial. “By nature, I am a
- [On This Day <br/> 28 August: Bohuslav Martinů Died](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-28-august-bohuslav-martinu-died/): Escaping Nazi oppression, Bohuslav Martinů found refuge in the United States. Struggling financially and eternally homesick, Martinů started to set folk song texts that became a symbolic connection to his beloved homeland. Dejected dreamlike vision of peace and the longing
- [Opera Doctors – The 19th Century, Part II](https://interlude.hk/opera-doctors-the-19th-century-part-ii/): As we progress further into the 19th century, doctors (be they medical or learned) become more than just figures of fun. In the last article, we saw doctors becoming major characters, if not the central character. In 1850 and beyond,
- [René Magritte (1898-1967) <br/>“Making Poetic Images Visible”](https://interlude.hk/rene-magritte-making-poetic-images-visible-inspiration-to-classical-composers/): One of the most enduringly influential members of the Surrealist movement René Magritte is best known for his illusionistic images that challenged the viewer’s preconceptions of reality. Magritte once said, “my painting is visible images which conceal nothing; they evoke
- [On This Day <br/>27 August: Gabriel Fauré’s <em>Prométhée</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-27-august-gabriel-faure-promethee-was-premiered/): On 27 August 1900 a massive number of performers assembled at Arènes de Béziers to premiere the tragédie lyrique, essentially the grand cantata Prométhée by Gabriel Fauré. The performing cast, numbering almost 800 participants including two wind bands and 15
- [Prince and Composer: Louis Ferdinand of Prussia](https://interlude.hk/prince-and-composer-louis-ferdinand-of-prussia/): Berlin-born Louis Ferdinand of Prussia (1772-1806) was a nephew of Frederick the Great. He was active in the Prussian military, serving as lieutenant general. He died in battle with French forces at the Battle of Saalfied, during the War of
- [On This Day <br/>26 August: Ralph Vaughan Williams Died](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-26-august-ralph-vaughan-williams-died/): Ralph Vaughan Williams enjoyed excellent health throughout his life, and at the age of 85 he has just completed the piano score of his new opera Thomas the Rhymer. He also planned two song cycles for voice and piano, to
- [Journeys to Fantastical Places: Offenbach’s <em>Féerie</em> Operas](https://interlude.hk/journeys-to-fantastical-places-offenbach-feerie-operas/): In its attempts to be ever more spectacular and outrageous, French theatre began to explore the realm of the fairy (féerie) on its stages. Adding elements of the supernatural to any plot expanded its possibilities – flying through the air!
- [On This Day <br/>25 August: Leonard Bernstein Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-25-august-leonard-bernstein-was-born/): At the insistence of his grandmother, Leonard Bernstein was born Louis Bernstein in Lawrence Massachusetts on 25 August 1918. His parents, Jennie (née Resnick) and Samuel Joseph Bernstein, always called him Leonard, and to his friends and many others he
- [Musicians and Artists: Nieuhusmann and Böcklin](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-volker-nieuhusmann-songs-of-calypso-inspired-by-bocklin-odysseus-and-calypso/): Volker Niehusmann: Songs of Calypso In Homer’s Odyssey, during his 10-year struggle to return home, Odysseus is stranded on Calypso’s island. Although she promises him immortality, he yearns to return home and after seven years as her captive, he’s able
- [Messaien’s Light and Water Show](https://interlude.hk/messaien-light-and-water-show-fete-des-belles-eaux-for-ondes-martenot/): Fete des belles eaux for 6 ondes martenot For six months in 1937, Paris was the place to see the latest and greatest in ‘art and technology in modern life. ’ In other words, the 1937 Exposition Internationale des Arts et
- [A Lost Master: Raff’s <em>La fée d’amour</em>](https://interlude.hk/a-lost-master-joachim-raff-la-fee-damour/): The Spanish violin virtuoso Pablo de Sarasate (1844-1908) entered the Paris Conservatoire at age 12, won first prize in violin at age 15, first prize for solfège the next year, and won the prize for harmony in 1859. That same
- [Pianists and Their Composers <br/>Beethoven’s 32 Piano Sonatas – Scaling the Pianistic Everest](https://interlude.hk/pianists-and-their-composers-beethoven-32-piano-sonatas-recordings/): Beethoven’s 32 Piano Sonatas are often referred to as the ‘New Testament’ of the pianist’s repertoire, and for many pianists they offer a remarkable, quasi-religious journey – physical, metaphorical and spiritual – through Beethoven’s creative life. This is truly “great”
- [On This Day <br/>22 August: Claude Debussy Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-22-august-claude-debussy-was-born/): Claude Debussy once told a journalist in Vienna, “See how they are mistaken. Some think I am a melancholy northerner, other that I am from the south, from Provence, the country of Daudet—tireli, tirela! Well, I am just a native
- [The Exotic Other Brought Home <br/><em>Les pêcheurs de perles, Lakmé</em> and <em>Le roi de Lahore</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-exotic-other-brought-home-les-pecheurs-de-perles-lakme-and-le-roi-de-lahore/): The world of opera is a world of fantasy – people fall in love just by hearing the other person, all rumours are instantly believed, and miscommunication rules. Three French operas stand out because of their use of exotic locations
- [An Invitation to Listen Deeply <br/>Inner Landscapes: Christina McMaster](https://interlude.hk/an-invitation-to-listen-deeply-inner-landscapes-christina-mcmaster/): “An entry point for less familiar or more unusual repertoire. ” “The act of listening can be transformative. It can introduce a change of perspective, heighten our perception of sound, space, time, spirituality. Our intuitive intelligence knows there is more beyond
- [On This Day <br/>21 August: Janet Baker Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-21-august-janet-baker-was-born/): Janet Baker, born in Yorkshire on 21 August 1933, considers herself perfectly lucky. “I have all the thing which, to the outward eye, spells success,” she writes. “A marvelous career, the kind any performer dreams about... All my working life
- [The Wind, The Wind](https://interlude.hk/the-wind-inspired-classical-music/): Wind-Inspired Classical Music In depicting the meteorological phenomenon, one of the most interesting is the most invisible – the wind. It can be the gentle breeze of spring or the rough gales of winter, the cooling breeze of summer, or
- [Ice Lollies and Classical Music Marketing](https://interlude.hk/ice-lollies-and-classical-music-marketing/): Scrolling through Twitter recently, this concert poster immediately jumped out at me: It’s striking, isn’t it? Not just the bright colours and simple design, but the choice of image which instantly says “summer” – appropriately, for a summer concert. It’s
- [On This Day <br/>20 August: Maxim Vengerov Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-20-august-maxim-vengerov-was-born/): Maxim Vengerov, born on 20 August 1974 in Novosibirsk, combines “superb technical command with lyrical eloquence that easily captivates audiences. ” He is hailed as one of the world’s finest musicians, and sometimes lauded as “the greatest living string player in
- [Dance, Dance, Dance: The Bourrée](https://interlude.hk/dance-dance-dance-the-bourree/): Popular for just over a century, the Bourrée or Bourée started as a folk dance in the mid–17th century but upon its adoption by the Academie of Dance at the French court (the Academie was established by Louis XIV in
- [On This Day <br/>19 August: Vilde Frang Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-19-august-vilde-frang-was-born/): In 2012, violinist Vilde Frang was unanimously awarded the Credit Suisse Young Artist Award, and she made her debut with the Vienna Philharmonic under Bernard Haitink at the Lucerne Festival shortly thereafter. Born on 19 August 1986 in Norway, Frang
- [Musicians and Artists: Tsao and Goya](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-tsao-and-goya/): Ming Tsao: If ears were all that were needed Los caprichos, by Francisco Goya, are a series of 80 prints done in aquatint and etching created in 1797 and 1798. The series illustrates the world follies, as represented in contemporary
- [On This Day <br/>18 August: Antonio Salieri Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-18-august-antonio-salieri-was-born/): The town of Legnago is situated on the Adige River, in relatively close proximity to Venice, Mantua, Verona, and Vincenza. Since it is located on a rich agricultural plane, it long served as a center of grain trading. On 18
- [Magical Instruments](https://interlude.hk/magical-instruments-from-operas-and-video-games/): Magic flutes, bells, bagpipes, and ocarina from operas and video games! More powerful than any simple musical instrument, magical musical instruments can change the world around them. Where do we find them? In the opera Die Zauberflöte, both the hero,
- [Stopping Time <br/>Žibuoklė Martinaitytė’s <em>Nunc fluens. Nunc stans</em>](https://interlude.hk/stopping-time-zibuokle-martinaityte-nunc-fluens-nunc-stans/): The Lithuanian composer Žibuoklė Martinaitytė writes under self-imposed strictures: for the piece here, she confines herself to the diatonic notes, the white notes, of the piano, with only rare movements onto the chromatic, black keys. Her time signs are confined
- [On This Day <br/>16 August: Richard Wagner’s <em>Siegfried</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-16-august-richard-wagner-siegfried-was-premiered/): Cosima Wagner, daughter of a great musician and wife of another, was instrumental in helping to found Bayreuth, the festival featuring her husband’s operas, “and ensuring its survival as an annual event of worldwide fame. ” Every year, large audiences gather
- [Mixing Styles: Bach’s Toccata in C minor, BWV 911](https://interlude.hk/mixing-styles-bach-toccata-in-c-minor-bwv-911/): When we hear the toccatas of Bach, we’re hearing the written representation of something at which he was a master – free improvisation at the keyboard. When we have a paired piece, such as a toccata and fugue, we have
- [Music Practice <br/>Music Theory](https://interlude.hk/music-practice-music-theory/): When I first started taking music lessons in college, I thought that music theory was one of the most boring subjects in the world. My professors dutifully explained that music theory “is how musicians explain and describe the phenomena heard
- [On This Day <br/>15 August: Aldo Ciccolini Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-15-august-aldo-ciccolini-was-born/): There are several reasons as to why Aldo Ciccolini is not habitually listed among the top pianists in the world. For one, his tasteful and understated style of playing, a combination of humble stage demeanor paired with emotional restraint, did
- [Musicians and Artists – de Meij and Venetian Art](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-johan-de-meij-and-venetian-art/): Johan de Meij: The Venetian Collection Dutch composer Johann de Meij (b. 1954) was inspired by four paintings in the Peggy Guggenheim collection in Venice to create his own Venetian Collection. The paintings he chose come from some of the
- [War Memorials](https://interlude.hk/war-memorials-music/): Music on Wars and World Crises There is a lot of music that takes place during war, such as the marching songs that help you get your troops in place, the campfire songs to encourage comradery off the battlefield, and
- [On This Day <br/>14 August: Richard Strauss’ <em>Die Liebe der Danae</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-14-august-richard-strauss-die-liebe-der-danae-was-premiered/): The first public performance of Richard Strauss’ opera Die Liebe der Danae (The Love of Danae) took place as part of the Salzburg Festival on 14 August 1952. At that time, the composer had already been dead for three years.
- [Opera Doctors – The 19th Century, Part I](https://interlude.hk/opera-doctors-the-19th-century-part-i/): Doctors in the 19th century in opera began to reflect the change in the field – now fewer are allied with the black arts and there are more specialties. Doctors can be heroes in the opera, they can be the
- [Pianists and Their Composers: J.S. Bach](https://interlude.hk/pianists-and-their-composers-j-s-bach/): Why is it that some pianists have become so closely associated with specific composers? Is it due to personal preference, that they feel a particular affinity with certain composers, or simply like their music? Or is the association one which
- [On This Day <br/>13 August: Kathleen Battle Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-13-august-kathleen-battle-was-born/): Kathleen Battle, born on 13 August 1948 in Portsmouth, Ohio, has been called “one of the very few most beautiful voices in the world. ” Possessing a distinctive, light, and nimble voice, Battle has won international acclaim for soubrette opera roles,
- [Princess and Composer: Anna Amalia of Prussia](https://interlude.hk/princess-and-composer-anna-amalia-of-prussia/): Anna Amalia (1723-1787) of Prussia was the younger sister of Frederick II of Prussia. Eleven years younger, she benefitted from the new musical focus he brought to the court. Anna Amalia played the harpsichord, flute, and violin, with her first
- [On This Day <br/>12 August: Leoš Janáček Died](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-12-august-leos-janacek-died/): On the occasion of his 70th birthday, Leoš Janáček received his first honorary doctorate from the Masaryk University in Brno. The composer was predictably proud and signed his correspondence and all his compositions as “Dr. Ph. Leoš Janáček” thereafter. It
- [Alexandre Kantorow’s Saint-Saëns: Astounding Virtuosity and Conviction](https://interlude.hk/alexandre-kantorows-saint-saens-astounding-virtuosity-and-conviction/): “This album is a true delight and has much to savour. ” Having recorded the last three piano concertos by Saint-Saëns with great acclaim, Alexandre Kantorow, the winner of the Tchaikovsky Competition in 2019, went on to record not only
- [The Unsung Hero of Music Making <br/>Collaborative Pianist: An Interview With Leona Cheung](https://interlude.hk/the-unsung-hero-of-music-making-collaborative-pianist-an-interview-with-leona-cheung/): For this month, I would like to shift your focus towards one of the unsung heroes of music making that are vital in concerts — collaborative pianists. As a Boston-based professional collaborative pianist, Leona Cheung is an acclaimed musician who
- [On This Day <br/>10 August: Alexander Glazunov Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-10-august-alexander-glazunov-was-born/): Alexander Glazunov, born on 10 August 1865 in St Petersburg, was a musical prodigy. His father Alexander was in the publishing business, and his mother Yelena, née Gromova, was a professional pianist. From his earliest years, Glazunov was blessed with
- [Making the Piano Hide](https://interlude.hk/making-the-piano-hide/): We’re so used to the piano being a large black hole in the middle of the living room, or, perhaps, a smaller black hole on the side of the living room, as an upright piano placed against the wall. In
- [Water Wandering: Henselt’s <em>La Gondola</em>](https://interlude.hk/water-wandering-adolf-von-henselt-la-gondola/): Adolf von Henselt (1814-1889) was one of a number of exceptional pianists who all were born in the second decade of 19th century: Chopin (1810-1849), Robert Schumann (1810-1856), Clara Schumann (1819-1896), Sigismond Thalberg (1812-1871), Franz Liszt (1811-1886). A classical child
- [Musicians Divulge a Secret: The Pieces They Would Rather Not Play Ever Again!](https://interlude.hk/musicians-divulge-a-secret-the-pieces-they-would-rather-not-play-ever-again/): Put Ravel’s Daphnis and Chloe or La Valse, Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring, or Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances—or pretty much anything by Prokofiev or Mahler—in front of me and I’ll play them happily over and over, and I have. But dear readers
- [Gazing at the Stars <br/>Charles Koechlin: <em>The Seven Stars' Symphony</em>](https://interlude.hk/gazing-at-the-stars-charles-koechlin-the-seven-stars-symphony/): French composer Charles Koechlin (1867-1950) started life as an engineering student but poor health and poor grades made him give this up at age 22, he entered the Paris Conservatoire. He studied composition with Jules Massenet with his fellow students
- [What Does an Associate Principal Cello Do?](https://interlude.hk/what-does-an-associate-principal-cello-do/): If you love classical music and attend symphony concerts you are aware certain musicians have titles and special responsibilities. The concertmaster does not simply get a bow at the beginning of a concert and a handshake at the end. He
- [Lukas Foss](https://interlude.hk/lukas-foss-composer-of-the-month/): “An Authentic Genius” A scholar writes, “the works of Lukas Foss (1922-2009) spring from a distinct personality: enthusiastic, curious, and receptive to every kind of musical idea... he was one of his era’s most communicative and representative composer-performer. ” It’s not surprising
- [Swimming in Music](https://interlude.hk/swimming-in-music/): It’s summer! Where I live, it’s been humid and heavy with some days at ‘93° but feels like 124°’ (33C, feels like 51C), according to my overly helpful weather app, so definitely summer. So, let’s see where water has inspired
- [Reading Franz Liszt: The Poetry Behind the Piano Music](https://interlude.hk/reading-franz-liszt-the-poetry-behind-the-piano-music/): “I find Roberts’ argument most persuasive” In the introduction to his new book, pianist Paul Roberts recounts a conversation with “an elderly and much celebrated piano teacher” when he was just starting out as the inspiration for a lifetime’s fascination
- [On This Day <br/> 6 August: Busoni’s <em>Fantasia Contrappuntistica</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-6-august-ferruccio-busoni-fantasia-contrappuntistica-2-pianos-was-premiered/): Ferruccio Busoni had always been fascinated by the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, and he gradually “achieved a profound understanding of Bach’s polyphony and his expressive intentions. ” Over time, Busoni translated a good many of Bach’s compositions for the piano,
- [Dance, Dance, Dance: The Baroque Dance Suite](https://interlude.hk/dance-dance-dance-the-baroque-dance-suite/): Allemande, Courante, Sarabande, and Gigue In the new series on dance music, Dance, Dance, Dance, we’ll be looking at dance and how it comes into classical music. You’re going to be surprised at some of the places where it has
- [When the Hero isn’t Quite Heroic <br/>The Clueless Heroes in Classical Operas](https://interlude.hk/when-the-hero-isnt-quite-heroic-clueless-heroes-in-classical-operas/): Throughout most of the opera, there are certain tropes that repeat and repeat: the heroine will die of some wasting disease (La Bohéme, La Traviata, etc. ), the hero will save the day (Die Zauberflöte), and so on. There are some
- [Musicians and Artists: Alwyn and Frith](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-alwyn-and-frith/): William Alwyn: Derby Day Commissioned by the BBC to replace a performance of his Second Piano Concerto, British composer William Alwyn wrote a lively overture that was only after the fact linked to a work of art. Alwyn agreed that
- [Small Wonder: The Songs of William Busch](https://interlude.hk/small-wonder-the-songs-of-william-busch/): English composer William Busch (1901-1945) started his music career as a concert pianist, performing mostly in the UK, Europe, and the US, and then turned to composition. In 1915, he was sent to the US because of the war, and
- [On This Day <br/>2 August: Pietro Mascagni Died](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-2-august-pietro-mascagni-died/): Pietro Mascagni wrote fifteen operas, an operetta, several orchestral and vocal works, and also songs and piano music. However, he will always be remembered for his 1890 masterpiece Cavalleria Rusticana. Considered the first verismo opera, Cavalleria Rusticana mirrored the Italian
- [Creating a New Symphonic Ideal: Schubert’s Tragic Symphony](https://interlude.hk/creating-a-new-symphonic-ideal-schubert-tragic-symphony/): Franz Schubert’s young life was spent at the imperial-royal municipal seminary as a choir boy, and thought he’d been sent to prison – the day was a cycle of obligatory mass attendance, hours of daily prayer, weekly confession, all in
- [Nickname Symphonies by Joseph Haydn](https://interlude.hk/nickname-symphonies-by-joseph-haydn/): Over the last couple of days, I have conducted a little musical experiment. I noticed that 35 out of 106 Symphonies by Joseph Haydn carry a nickname of sorts. There is a “Bear,” a “Queen,” a “Philosopher,” a “Surprise,” a
- [On This Day <br/>1 August: Alice Sara Ott Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-1-august-alice-sara-ott-was-born/): Alice Sara Ott has been described as one of the most fascinating artists of her generation. Equipped with impressive technique and sensitive musicality, her poetic piano playing is praised for its perfection and intensity. Following her debut release on Deutsche
- [Vivi Vassileva](https://interlude.hk/vivi-vassileva/): ‘We Need To Always Search For More’ Vivi Vassileva Performs Jacob Gade’s Tango Jalousie Hailing from Hof in southeast Germany, percussionist Vivi Vassileva grew up in a family of Bulgarian musicians and has been described as ‘hold an exceptional musicality
- [Maene-Viñoly Concert Grand Piano <br/> “Ergonomic Keyboard”](https://interlude.hk/maene-vinoly-concert-grand-piano-ergonomic-keyboard/): The most valuable violins in the world sport colorful nicknames that disclose the providence of ownership or describe the sound quality or shape of the instrument. We just have to think of the “Molitor Stradivari,” the “Virgin Stradivari,” or the
- [Learning from the Master: An Interview With Roger Nichols](https://interlude.hk/learning-from-the-master-an-interview-with-roger-nichols/): One of the most wonderful experiences in the world is to sit with the master of a subject and listen to their discourse. That’s what our recent conversation with Roger Nichols was like. This master of French music has made
- [Food for Thought <br/>Mealtime With Franz Liszt](https://interlude.hk/food-for-thought-mealtime-with-franz-liszt/): Franz Liszt had a number of worldly vices, and alcohol, cigars, and cognac ranked high on that list. Mealtime with Franz Liszt invariably meant getting hammered! When he attended a banquet in Prague in 1846, Hector Berlioz was in attendance
- [Opera Doctors – The 18th Century](https://interlude.hk/opera-doctors-the-18th-century/): A 2006 article in the British medical journal BMJ looked at 200 years of opera and how they treated doctors. This prompted us to take up the question ourselves. Doctors – good guys or bad guys? Well, it depends... . Characters
- [King and Composer: Frederick II of Prussia](https://interlude.hk/king-and-composer-frederick-ii-of-prussia/): The court of King Frederick II (1712-1786) of Prussia was one of the most musically sparkling of its time. Led by its flute-playing king, the court began with a chamber orchestra with 17 members conducted by Johann Gottlieb Graun and
- [On This Day <br/>29 July: Robert Schumann Died](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-29-july-robert-schumann-died/): On 24 October 1850, Robert Schumann took up his post as municipal music director in Düsseldorf. Although he complained about the amount of work and the occasional squabble with the administration, he felt happy and content. After roughly 2 years,
- [On This Day <br/>28 July: Johann Sebastian Bach Died](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-28-july-johann-sebastian-bach-died/): At the age of 57, Johann Sebastian Bach started to experience a number of health problems. Most serious was an affliction to his eyes, a condition that seemingly had plagued him from a young age. “His eyes had naturally bad
- [The World in Miniature: Palmgren’s <em>Preludes</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-world-in-miniature-selim-palmgren-preludes/): Finnish composer Selim Palmgren (1878-1951) was a prolific composer for the piano, writing some 300 small piano works, 5 piano concertos, choral works and one opera (another opera was never completed). Although in his 1948 biography, Minusta tuli muusikko (I
- [On This Day <br/>27 July: Enrique Granados Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-27-july-enrique-granados-was-born/): Pantaleón Enrique Joaquín Granados Campiña was born on 27 July 1867 in Lleida, Catalonia, Spain. His mother Enriqueta Elvira Campiña de Herrera hailed from Santander, while his father Calixto José de la Trinidad Granados y Armenteros, a Spanish army captain,
- [Camargo Guarnieri: Chôro and Concerto](https://interlude.hk/camargo-guarnieri-choro-and-concerto/): The Brazilian composer Camargo Guarnieri (1907-1993) met the poet and musicologist Mário de Andrade in 1928. The student was already a composer and the poet was working on a theory, encapsulated in his book Ensaio sopra la Música Brasiliera (Essay
- [Musicians and Artists: Musgrave and Turner](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-musgrave-and-turner/): Thea Musgrave: Turbulent Landscapes In an extraordinary work that is not only based on a number of paintings by JMW Turner (1775–1851) but also uses a particular thematic point to connect them, Scottish composer Thea Musgrave (b. 1928) creates a
- [Bringing the Past to the Future: Webern’s <em>Passacaglia</em>](https://interlude.hk/bringing-the-past-to-the-future-anton-webern-passacaglia/): In 1908, at the end of his 4 years of study in Vienna with Arnold Schoenberg, Anton Webern (1883-1945) wrote his Passacaglia, Op. 1. The passacaglia was invented in the early 17th century in Spain, but first found its way
- [On Conductors—When Musicians Are Asked for Their Opinions](https://interlude.hk/on-conductors-when-musicians-are-asked-for-their-opinions/): How many conductors does it take to change a lightbulb? Nobody knows. Nobody is watching. Gustav Holst: The Planets Op. 32 Mars, the Bringer of War (E. Ormandy) It’s an unprecedented time for symphony orchestras. There are numerous and prestigious
- [The Sound Alternative <br/>Alphonse Allais, Erwin Schulhoff and John Cage](https://interlude.hk/the-sound-alternative-alphonse-allais-erwin-schulhoff-and-john-cage/): Although his piece is the most famous, 4’33” by John Cage wasn’t the first silent piece to be written. There are at least two earlier works that also take up the sound of silence. Alphonse Allais (1854-1905) wasn’t a composer
- [On This Day <br/>24 July: Paganini’s <em>Violin Concerto No. 3</em> Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-24-july-paganini-violin-concerto-no-3-premiered/): Niccolò Paganini gave the world a new kind of musician, the musical superstar with a devoted following. Everything he did in performance, including his love for black clothes, his carefully disheveled hair, and his over-the-top mannerisms, was deliberately planned to
- [Gustav Klimt (1862-1918) <br/>“All Art Is Erotic”](https://interlude.hk/gustav-klimt-1862-1918-all-art-is-erotic/): In 1903, the Austrian painter and illustrator Gustav Klimt paid a visit to Ravenna, the capital of Byzantine Italy in the 6th century. The proclaimed goal of this visit was to broaden his range of artistic historical references by closely
- [The Timeless Topicality of Opera](https://interlude.hk/the-timeless-topicality-of-opera/): How classical operas can relate to our current life We were looking at a list of opera titles the other day and started noting (with a certain snarkiness) that many of the title could be applicable to today’s news. Just
- [On This Day <br/>23 July: Maria João Pires Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-23-july-maria-joao-pires-was-born/): Performances by Maria João Pires, born on 23 July 1944 in Lisbon, are “distinguished by her crystalline technique, spontaneous poetry and profound, impassioned musicianship. ” A daughter of João Baptista Pires and his wife Alzira dos Santos Alexandre Barbosa, Pires played
- [Frances Wilson in Conversation With Maxim Vengerov](https://interlude.hk/frances-wilson-in-conversation-with-maxim-vengerov/): “I’m the lucky one, who can bring the music alive – and this is the greatest joy” I’ve admired world-renowned violinist Maxim Vengerov ever since I first heard him at the Proms in 1999, when he played a fabulous, varied
- [Hilarity Onstage!](https://interlude.hk/hilarity-onstage-classical-musicians-funny-moments/): Audience members may be surprised to hear that we classical musicians are not staid, dour, formal, and stiff. Yes, we are serious about our art, and achieving excellence takes diligence, hard work, sacrifice and years of practice. But we cannot
- [On This Day <br/>22 July: Manuel de Falla’s <em>El Sombrero des Tres Picos</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-22-july-manuel-de-falla-el-sombrero-des-tres-picos-was-premiered/): On 22 July 1919, the Alhambra Theatre in London saw the world premiere of the ballet El sombrero de tres picos under the title “Le Tricorne. ” It had been commissioned by Serge Diaghilev and featured choreography by Léonide Massine, costumes
- [Report From Bad Wildbad – Opera, Spas and Black Forest Cake](https://interlude.hk/report-from-bad-wildbad-opera-spas-and-black-forest-cake/): Bad Wildbad is one of the least probable stations on the European summer festival circuit. Small, relatively nondescript and poorly accessible, the spa town in the Black Forest once welcomed Gioachino Rossini when he was seeking cures for his many
- [On This Day <br/>21 July: Mozart’s <em>“Haffner” Serenade</em> Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-21-july-mozart-haffner-serenade-premiered/): On 22 July 1776 two of the most powerful Salzburg families joined for the wedding of Elisabeth Haffner and Franz Xaver Späth. The bride’s father, Sigmund Haffner had married the heiress of an important trading post. Sigmund Haffner worked in
- [Beloved Maestro Bramwell Tovey](https://interlude.hk/beloved-maestro-bramwell-tovey/): Beloved Maestro—seems like a non-sequitur. But the recent passing on July 12 of Bramwell Tovey has inspired these honorariums. So many colleagues have indicated how devastating it is to have lost Bramwell Tovey, cited not only for his tremendous contribution
- [On This Day <br/>20 July: Nicola Benedetti Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-20-july-nicola-benedetti-was-born/): Nicola Benedetti, born on 20 July 1987, is widely considered one of the most sought-after violinists of her generation. According to critics, “her ability to captivate audiences with her innate musicianship and spirited presence, coupled with her wide appeal as
- [The Youth of a Composer: Rautavaara’s <em>Lost Landscapes</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-youth-of-a-composer-einojuhani-rautavaara-lost-landscapes/): Einojuhani Rautavaara (1928-2016) was one of the new Finnish composers who followed after Sibelius. He wrote using both 12-tone serial techniques and in a neo-romantic style. He started his music education with his father, an opera singer and cantor, but
- [The Symphonic Poem of Nature <br/>Čiurlionis’ <em>In the Forest</em> and <em>The Sea</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-symphonic-poem-of-nature-ciurlionis-in-the-forest-and-the-sea/): Lithuanian composer Mikolajus Kosntantinas Čiurlionis (1875-1911) was the son of an organist and started the musical school of Polish Prince Michał Ogiński in Plungė before attending the Warsaw Music Institute at age 19. He started as a piano student, then
- [Playing with Opera at Home: Chopin’s Variations Brillantes, Op. 12](https://interlude.hk/playing-with-opera-at-home-chopin-variations-brillantes-op-12/): The advent of the home piano changed music immeasurably. Now it was possible to have music available when you wanted it and something that you’d heard at a concert could be yours at home. It wasn’t until the advent of
- [Music for Sleeping: <br/>12 Pieces You Should Know](https://interlude.hk/music-for-sleeping-12-lullabies-berceuse-in-classical-music-you-should-know/): A few weeks ago, a good friend of mine invited me to play some lullabies for her baby shower. She collected lullabies from different parts of the world and transcribed them for guitar, piano, and violin. I am very much
- [On This Day <br/>18 July: Kurt Masur Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-18-july-kurt-masur-was-born/): For well over three decades, Kurt Masur was one of the world’s most celebrated conductors, having established an international reputation as “a sensitive and innovative interpreter of the Classical and Romantic repertoire, specifically Mendelssohn, Brahms and Tchaikovsky. ” He was also
- [Cutting a Swathe through Vivaldi <br/>Max Richter’s <em>The Four Seasons (after A. Vivaldi)</em>](https://interlude.hk/cutting-a-swathe-through-vivaldi-max-richter-the-four-seasons-after-a-vivaldi/): We’ve said it before – some music you can just hear too much. For a while, you couldn’t move on American public radio without being assaulted by Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. Every once in a while, though, a performance has the
- [Marc-André Hamelin - William Bolcom: The Complete Piano Rags](https://interlude.hk/marc-andre-hamelin-william-bolcom-the-complete-piano-rags/): After his sparkling C P E Bach disc, released on the Hyperion label in January 2022, Marc-André Hamelin, that fearless master of the piano who seems to be able to play anything (and I mean anything! ) moves seamlessly from the
- [Reduced to Anonymity: <br/>Ukrainian Composer Dmitri Klebanov](https://interlude.hk/reduced-to-anonymity-ukrainian-composer-dmitri-klebanov/): Another prodigiously talented composer is being resurrected from obscurity. Dmitri Klebanov (1907-1987) had two strikes against him during the Soviet era of cultural suppression. He was Ukrainian and Jewish, and his music has been largely unknown. Somehow, he evaded capture,
- [Influencers: Hungarian Violinists and Sisters, Jelly and Adila d’Aranyi](https://interlude.hk/influencers-hungarian-violinists-and-sisters-jelly-and-adila-daranyi/): The D’Aranyi Sisters Play Spohr’s Duo in D minor 1927 Two sisters and outstanding violinists inspired several great musical works of the 20th century. Born in Budapest, Adila (1886) and Jelly d’Aranyi (1893) possessed royal musical blood. Their great-uncle was
- [The Baschet Brothers and Their Instruments](https://interlude.hk/the-baschet-brothers-and-their-instruments/): You want to travel with your guitar, but your luggage just won’t let you. How do you manage? The French inventor François Baschet ran into that problem when he wanted to travel after WWII. His guitar proving too big to
- [On This Day <br/>15 July: Carl Czerny Died](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-15-july-carl-czerny-died/): Carl Czerny, unquestionably one of the towering figures in the history of nineteenth-century pianism, died on 15 July 1857 at the age of 66. As a contemporary publication notes, “The death of Carl Czerny, although it cannot be said to
- [A Theme of His, Dedicated to Her, Written by a Third <br/>Brahms’ <em>16 Variations on a Theme by R. Schumann, Op. 9</em>](https://interlude.hk/a-theme-of-his-dedicated-to-her-written-by-a-third-brahms-16-variations-on-a-theme-by-r-schumann-op-9/): The relationship between Robert Schumann, Clara Schumann, and Johannes Brahms started out as student comes to work with mentor but evolves into something more complex. Brahms had been introduced to the Schumanns in October 1853 with a letter of introduction
- [Musicians and Artists: Mascagni and Bernini](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-mascagni-and-bernini-visione-lirica/): Pietro Mascagni: Visione lirica In 1921, Italian composer Pietro Mascagni (1863-1945), having finished his latest verismo opera, Il piccolo Marat, he shut himself away to fight the modernism that seemed to be taking over opera. He stopped writing almost entirely
- [Getting to Zero <br/>Bruckner’s <em>Symphony No. 0 in D Minor, "Nullte"</em>](https://interlude.hk/getting-to-zero-bruckner-symphony-no-0-in-d-minor-nullte/): Anton Bruckner (1824-1896) is known for his 9 symphonies. No. 1 falls into his early style; Nos. 2-5 are his middle style, culminating in the consummate mastery evident in the Fifth; Nos. 6-8 and the incomplete 9th form the last
- [On This Day <br/>12 July: Van Cliburn Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-12-july-van-cliburn-was-born/): It still ranks as one of the biggest sensations in classical music when Harvey Lavan “Van” Cliburn Jr. won the inaugural International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow in 1958. With the Cold War raging, the Soviet Union scored a huge technological
- [The Ecstasy of the Diver: Jost’s TiefenRausch](https://interlude.hk/the-ecstasy-of-the-diver-christian-jost-tiefenrausch/): When asked in an interview what the title of his violin concerto, Tiefenrausch, meant to him, German composer Christian Jost (b. 1963) said it was both his manifesto and a confession. The word refers to the effect of nitrogen on
- [The Greatest Composers of Film Music <br/>From Bernard Herrmann to Jerry Goldsmith](https://interlude.hk/the-greatest-composers-of-film-music-from-bernard-herrmann-to-jerry-goldsmith/): While the war years provided much opportunity for stirring patriotic films, the industry underwent a number of significant changes immediately following. With money in short supply, the lush symphonic scores of the Golden Age gradually declined, and composers started to
- [On This Day <br/>11 July: George Gershwin Died](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-11-july-george-gershwin-died/): In 1936, George Gershwin told a friend, “I am thirty-eight, famous, and rich, but profoundly unhappy. Why? ” Gershwin had been experiencing severe headaches, but many of his friends simply attributed his unhappiness to his working conditions in Hollywood, “or to
- [Sergei Rachmaninoff and His Circle of Friends II](https://interlude.hk/sergei-rachmaninoff-and-his-circle-of-friends-ii/): Henry Cowell (1897-1965) was a twenty-two year old Californian composer trying to establish his musical reputations. His mentor John Varian suggested, “you will have to depend on yourself and very few other musicians to develop your music. ” As such Cowell
- [Bird Music or Music from Birds <br/>Schlein’s <em>Strictly from the Birds</em>](https://interlude.hk/bird-music-or-music-from-birds-irving-schlein-strictly-from-the-birds/): In his 1904 publication, Field Book of Wild Birds, F. Schuyler Mathews made a significant contribution to music, because the title goes on to say ... and their Music: A Description of the Character and Music of Birds, Intended to Assist
- [On This Day <br/>10 July: Jonas Kaufmann Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-10-july-jonas-kaufmann-was-born/): Described as “the hottest tenor in the world,” Jonas Kaufmann is constantly trying to live down the “greatest living tenor hype. ” While the tabloid press focuses on his physical attributes and his earlier supposed liaison with Madonna, Kaufmann has a
- [The Modern Patron: Benny Goodman](https://interlude.hk/the-modern-patron-benny-goodman/): After having made his name in jazz, clarinetist Benny Goodman set out to make his name in classical music, feeling that he was likely to leave a longer impression in classical music than in jazz. To fill that need, he
- [On This Day <br/> 9 July: Ottorino Respighi Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-9-july-ottorino-respighi-was-born/): Born on 9 July in Bologna, Ottorino Respighi’s paternal ancestry originated from Cortemaggiore, a small country town near Piacenza in northern Italy. His grandfather Tommaso was a capable violinist and the founder of the local orchestra. He also worked as
- [Every Good Boy Does Fine <br/>Pianist Jeremy Denk’s Memoir](https://interlude.hk/every-good-boy-does-fine-pianist-jeremy-denk-memoir/): The title of pianist Jeremy Denk‘s recently published memoir, will be familiar to anyone who had piano lessons as a child. It’s a mnemonic of the notes e, g, b, d and f which sit on the lines of the
- [A Royal Family of Composers in Sweden: <br/>The Bernadotte Dynasty](https://interlude.hk/a-royal-family-of-composers-in-sweden-the-bernadotte-dynasty/): The Bernadotte dynasty in Sweden was founded in 1818 when the French field marshal Jean Baptiste Bernadotte ascended the throne as Charles XIV John (Karl XIV Johan) of Sweden. How a French military leader rose to be head of Sweden
- [Abandoned at the Altar <br/>Maxwell Davies’ <em>Miss Donnithorne's Maggot</em>](https://interlude.hk/abandoned-at-the-altar-maxwell-davies-miss-donnithornes-maggot/): Eliza Emily Donnithorne (1821-1886) got engaged to George Cutherbertson, a clerk in a local shipping company in Sydney, Australia, or perhaps it was Stuart Donaldson, an aspiring politician in Sydney. Come the wedding day, the guests gather, the wedding breakfast
- [On This Day <br/>7 July: Gustav Mahler Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-7-july-gustav-mahler-was-born/): The birth of Gustav Mahler, the second of fourteen children born to Bernhard Mahler and Marie Mahler née Herrmann, was announced on 7 July 1860 in Kalischt, a small settlement on the border of Moravia. His parents were members of
- [Untuning the World of Jan Steen](https://interlude.hk/untuning-the-world-of-jan-steen/): The household is in an uproar – the cat is at the meat, a bottle is broken on the floor, a heavy book is being trodden on, the backgammon board is overturned, a pocket watch lies open, and the lute
- [On This Day <br/> 6 July: Vladimir Ashkenazy Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-6-july-vladimir-ashkenazy-was-born/): Vladimir Ashkenazy was born on 6 July 1937 in Gorky, presently called Nizhniy Novgorod, a city on the river Volga about 250 miles east of Moscow. The family name Ashkenazy is inextricably connected with Jewish history, in particular with “that
- [A Worthwhile Wait of 180 Years  <br/>Mercadante’s <em>Il Proscritto</em> Brought to Life by Opera Rara](https://interlude.hk/a-worthwhile-wait-of-180-years-mercadante-il-proscritto-brought-to-life-by-opera-rara/): Music lovers often wonder how a 19th century audience would experience an opera during its absolute first performance, without the benefit of extensive written plot summaries, YouTube videos and CDs to prepare for the music, or Wikipedia guides to pinpoint
- [The Sound of Summer Rain in Classical Music <br/>Vivaldi, Rameau, Beethoven, Grofé and Whitacre](https://interlude.hk/the-sound-of-summer-rain-in-classical-music-vivaldi-rameau-beethoven-grofe-and-whitacre/): Channeling the sound and fury of nature through an orchestra gives everyone, from the composer to the conductor to the orchestra (primarily the string section) a thorough workout. Antonio Vivaldi: The Four Seasons – Violin Concerto in G Minor, Op.
- [On This Day <br/>5 July: Wanda Landowska Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-5-july-wanda-landowska-was-born/): Wanda Aleksandra Landowska, born to Jewish parents in Warsaw on 5 July 1879, played a seminal role in reviving the popularity of the harpsichord in the early 20th century. A champion of 17th and 18th-century music and the leading figure
- [How Beethoven Lost a Symphony: Witt’s <em>Jéna</em> Symphony](https://interlude.hk/how-beethoven-lost-a-symphony-friedrich-witt-jena-symphony/): In 1909, in the papers of the Academic Concert of the University of Jena, the music director found complete parts for a Symphony in C. Written on the 2nd violin part was ‘par Louis van Beethoven’ and, on the cello
- [Famous Classical Music Pieces](https://interlude.hk/famous-classical-music-pieces/): I read that popular culture in the 1960s and 70 reveled in the “Age of Aquarius,” but in the 2020s we are clearly in the “Age of Superlatives. ” Everybody seems bent on breaking records in every field of human endeavor.
- [Sergei Rachmaninoff and His Circle of Friends](https://interlude.hk/sergei-rachmaninoff-and-his-circle-of-friends/): Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943) was one of the last great pianist-composers in a long tradition stretching back to Mozart, Beethoven, Liszt and Brahms. He always maintained that “a composer’s music should express the country of his birth, his love affairs, his
- [On This Day <br/>3 July: Leoš Janáček Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-3-july-leos-janacek-was-born/): Hukvaldy was described as the largest fortified castle in Moravia belonging to the bishops of Olomouc. In time, a small village began to grow up beneath the castle in the second half of the eighteenth century. The village sported a
- [Coloured Clouds in the Air – With Explosions! <br/>A Fanfare to Fireworks in Classical Music](https://interlude.hk/coloured-clouds-in-the-air-with-explosions-a-fanfare-to-fireworks-in-classical-music/): July is coming and for Americans and the French, it’s a time for fireworks. Le feu d’artifice! Times of joy for young and old. Colourful explosions in the air, designs and flourishes in ephemeral light, and the boom of excitement.
- [On This Day <br/>2 July: Sibelius’ <em>Finlandia</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-2-july-sibelius-finlandia-was-premiered/): The so-called “February Manifesto,” issued on 15 February 1899 was a Russian imperial proclamation that revoked Finland’s autonomy within the Russian Empire. Finland was ceded by Sweden to Russia in 1809, and gained the status of a grand duchy. While
- [Jiří Antonín (Georg Anton) Benda](https://interlude.hk/jiri-antonin-georg-anton-benda/): Mozart: “Benda was always my favorite” Jiří Antonín Benda (1722-1795), later known as Georg Anton Benda, was born 300 years ago on 30 June 1722 in the Bohemian town of Benátky nad Jizerou, twenty-two miles north-east of Prague. He was
- [On This Day <br/>1 July: Erik Satie Died](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-1-july-erik-satie-died/): Decades of heavy alcohol consumption finally caught up with Erik Satie in February 1925. He started to experience a rapid decline in health due to cirrhosis of the liver and pleurisy in January 1925, and he was initially cared for
- [Christian-Pierre La Marca](https://interlude.hk/cellist-christian-pierre-la-marca/): Christian-Pierre La Marca Plays Rameau’s Les Sauvages from Les Indes Galantes Described by Gramophone as ‘a master of his instrument and a musician of lyrical elegance and good taste’, French cellist Christian-Pierre La Marca talks to me from Paris where
- [On This Day <br/>30 June: Rafał Blechacz Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-30-june-rafal-blechacz-was-born/): Winning the prestigious International Chopin Piano Competition in 2005 immediately thrust Rafał Blechacz into the international limelight. He had became the first Polish musician to win the competition in 30 years, and in addition to winning first prize, he was
- [Auroras](https://interlude.hk/auroras-borealis-in-classical-music/): They appear in the sky at the poles, flickering patterns of light that can cover the whole sky or sweep across like a curtain. The Auroras, named for the goddess of dawn, are one of the wonderful natural light displays
- [On This Day <br/>29 June: Anne-Sophie Mutter Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-29-june-anne-sophie-mutter-was-born/): Anne-Sophie Mutter was born on 29 June 1963 in the German town of Rheinfelden, Baden-Württemberg. Her parents Karl Wilhelm Mutter and Gerlinde Mutter did not play musical instruments, but they were passionate about classical music. Anne-Sophie took up the piano
- [A Variety of Opera Singers in Ceramic](https://interlude.hk/a-variety-of-opera-singers-in-ceramic/): The ceramic modeler Johann Joachim Kändler designed many music objects for the porcelain maker Meissen. In addition to the figures of the singer with the fox at the keyboard, he also did other figurines of singers. This group of two
- [On This Day <br/>28 June: Sergiu Celibidache Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-28-june-sergiu-celibidache-was-born/): In the eyes of many critics, the career of Romanian conductor, composer and music theorist Sergiu Celibidache was deeply controversial and beset by contradictions. “While advocating the gentle themes of Zen, he could treat individuals with brutal contempt. ” In fact,
- [Sing Cucu! <br/> Updating a 13th-Century Song](https://interlude.hk/updating-a-13th-century-song-variations-sumer-is-icumen-in/): Collaborative Variations on Sumer is icumen in Written in the Wessex dialect of Middle English, the 13th century song Sumer is icumen in welcomes the warmest season with open arms. The cuckoo is called on to sing, the seeds are
- [The Organ and the Orchestra: Franck’s <em>Rédemption</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-organ-and-the-orchestra-franck-redemption/): César Franck (1822-1890) came to Paris in 1835 where he studied privately. When he became a teacher in Paris at the Conservatoire, he taught the students who would go on to define French music at the turn of the century:
- [Climate Change and Music <br/>9 Pieces Inspired by Climate Change](https://interlude.hk/climate-change-and-music-9-pieces-inspired-by-climate-change/): Climate change has been triggering a growing number of natural disasters worldwide. The tragedies, such as tornadoes, floods, and fire, cause death and unimaginable damage to peoples’ homes, their lives, and threaten the existence of wildlife around the globe. Music,
- [On This Day <br/>26 June: Mahler’s <em>Symphony No. 9</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-26-june-mahler-symphony-no-9-was-premiered/): After listening to Mahler’s Ninth Symphony, the American physician and poet Lewis Thomas wrote an essay that addresses the anxieties produced by the development of nuclear weapons. “I cannot listen to Mahler’s Ninth with anything like the old melancholy mixed
- [Remember Me! <br/>Dido’s Apocalyptic Romance](https://interlude.hk/remember-me-dido-apocalyptic-romance-henry-purcell-dido-and-aeneas/): Henry Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas in Different Instrumentations At the tragic conclusion to English composer Henry Purcell’s opera Dido and Aeneas, Aeneas has been given a message supposedly sent by the god Jove to leave Dido and Carthage and to
- [A World of Influences <br/>The Orchestral Music of Thomas de Hartmann](https://interlude.hk/a-world-of-influences-the-orchestral-music-of-thomas-de-hartmann/): The Ukrainian-born composer Thomas de Hartmann (1885-1956) studied at the Imperial Conservatory of Music with the three greatest Russian composers of the late 19th-century: Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Anton Arensky, and Sergei Taneyev after entering the conservatory at age 11. The first
- [Weird and Wonderful: Discovering Classical Music with a Difference](https://interlude.hk/weird-and-wonderful-discovering-classical-music-with-a-difference/): Sometimes composer break out of their box – make a new sound – make you hear music a new way – and sometimes it’s the performers who help as well. Take a listen to these performances and these interesting works
- [The Parents of Wi-Fi <br/>Hedy Lamarr and George Antheil](https://interlude.hk/the-parents-of-wi-fi-hedy-lamarr-and-george-antheil/): Do you know the joke about the Hollywood screen goddess and the bad boy of music collaborating to invent a remote-controlled torpedo? Funny enough, it actually isn’t a joke but a delightful anecdote from the pages of music and science
- [Prince and Composer <br/>Prince Johann Ernst of Saxe-Weimar (1696 - 1715)](https://interlude.hk/prince-and-composer-prince-johann-ernst-of-saxe-weimar-1696-1715/): Johann Ernst died at age 18, in 1715, but in his few years, wrote 19 concertos and a trumpet sonata. Two of his concertos were arranged for keyboard by no less a composer than J. S. Bach. His importance lies in
- [Whom Would You Have Chosen if You Had Been on the Jury of Cliburn 2022?](https://interlude.hk/whom-would-you-have-chosen-if-you-had-been-on-the-jury-of-cliburn-2022/): One of the most prestigious piano competitions worldwide, the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition 2022 has finally come to an end after an enduring 17 days, in which competitors had to go through 4 rounds and prepare solo recitals of
- [Scandalous Tales of Society Told in Ceramic <br/>Faustina Bordoni and Johann Adolf Hasse](https://interlude.hk/scandalous-tales-of-society-told-in-ceramic-faustina-bordoni-and-johann-adolf-hasse/): The Italian mezzo-soprano Faustina Bordoni (1697-1781) started her career in opera in Venice in 1716. She created dozens of roles as she moved around Italy: Milan, Modena, Bologna, Naples before moving north and creating a sensation in Munich and Vienna.
- [On This Day <br/>23 June: Henning Kraggerud Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-23-june-henning-kraggerud-was-born/): Norwegian violinist and composer Henning Kraggerud, the Artistic Director of the Arctic Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra, has been lauded for his versatility and passion for music and the beauty of his performances. A critic writes, “Kraggerud displays striking virtuosity which feels
- [On This Day <br/>22 June: Darius Milhaud Died](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-22-june-darius-milhaud-died/): Darius Milhaud, one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century, died in his home in Geneva, Switzerland, on 22 June 1974 at the age of 81. For the last 25 years of his life, Milhaud had been confined
- [Say It in Silk: Silk Presentation Programmes](https://interlude.hk/say-it-in-silk-silk-presentation-programmes/): English theatres had a special way of celebrating important performances. Gala, royal, anniversary, benefit, charity, or visits of foreign dignitaries called for the use of a silk programme. This programme was made for the grand opening night of the London
- [On This Day <br/>21 June: Wagner’s <em>Meistersinger</em> Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-21-june-wagner-meistersinger-premiered/): Richard Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg premiered, generously supported by Ludwig II of Bavaria, at the Munich Court Opera on 21 June 1868. Hans von Bülow conducted, and Franz Strauss, the father of Richard Strauss played the French horn at
- [The Tears of Dowland](https://interlude.hk/the-tears-of-john-dowland-lachrimae-seven-tears/): From Flow My Tears to Lachrimae, or Seven Tears The composer John Dowland (1563-1626) perfected the idea of the lute song. He also thought himself as suffering from melancholy, a known illness of his time. Melancholy was one of the
- [A Love-Hate Relationship with New York: Danielpour’s <em>Toward the Splendid City</em>](https://interlude.hk/a-love-hate-relationship-with-new-york-richard-danielpour-toward-the-splendid-city/): American composer Richard Danielpour (b. 1956), while working outside New York in Seattle and in Taos, New Mexico, had time to reconsider if he wanted to return to New York City. It’s big, it’s dirty, there’s 7 million other people
- [On This Day <br/>20 June: Jacques Offenbach Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-20-june-jacques-offenbach-was-born/): Jacques Offenbach composed some of the catchiest tunes and melodies ever written, and he exerted a powerful influence on subsequent composers for the music theatre. Initially, however, he was primarily known as a traveling cello virtuoso. He was born Jacob
- [Music, Musicians, and Climate Change <br/>An Interview With John Warner, Founder of the Orchestra for the Earth](https://interlude.hk/music-musicians-and-climate-change-an-interview-with-john-warner-founder-of-the-orchestra-for-the-earth/): Breathe: A Countdown to Earth Hour Orchestra for the Earth (OFE) was founded in England in 2018 to share the message of valuing and protecting our beloved earth. John Warner, the founder and current artistic director of OFE, is a
- [On This Day <br/>19 June: Elgar’s <em>Enigma Variations</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-19-june-elgar-enigma-variations-was-premiered/): One October evening in 1898, having returned home after a long day teaching, Edward Elgar lit a cigar and began to improvise at the piano. Elgar recalls, “I began to play, and suddenly my wife interrupted by saying: ‘Edward, that’s
- [Musicians and Artists: <br/> Saariaho and the 15th century Bridal Couple](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-kaija-saariaho-and-the-15th-century-bridal-couple-orion-memento-mori/): Kaija Saariaho: Orion – I. Memento mori A painting in the Cleveland Museum of Art was the unexpected inspiration for composer Kaija Saariaho’s orchestral work Orion. Orion was the giant hunter in Greek mythology. A son of Poseidon, he was
- [Morningside Music Bridge Brings Its 26th Annual Summer Music Training Program to Boston](https://interlude.hk/morningside-music-bridge-brings-its-26th-annual-summer-music-training-program-to-boston/): For our 26th annual summer program this year, Morningside Music Bridge has selected 65 outstanding musicians, aged 12 to 18, from 11 countries. Representing the highest international standards of excellence, the young violinists, violists, cellists, and pianists will receive full
- [Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527) <br/>“It is better to be feared than loved, if you cannot be both”](https://interlude.hk/niccolo-machiavelli-1469-1527-it-is-better-to-be-feared-than-loved-if-you-cannot-be-both/): Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527) is frequently called the father of modern political philosophy and political science. Machiavelli’s best-known book Il Principe (The Prince) was written around 1513 and contemplates a new type of ruler not guided by the conventions of heredity.
- [On This Day <br/>17 June: Charles Gounod Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-17-june-charles-gounod-was-born/): Charles Gounod, born on 17 June 1818 in Paris, is primarily remembered as the composer of the opera Faust and an Ave Maria descant to the first prelude of J. S. Bach’s C-major prelude from the WTC. Yet in his day,
- [Anton Reicha: Inventing the Wind Quintet](https://interlude.hk/anton-reicha-inventing-the-wind-quintet/): Antonín Rejcha, later Antoine or Anton Reicha (1770-1836) came from a hard childhood. His father, Simon, the town piper of Prague, died when he was 10 months old and at age 11, he ran away from his mother who couldn’t
- [On This Day <br/>16 June: Spohr’s <em>Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra No. 1</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-16-june-spohr-concerto-for-clarinet-and-orchestra-no-1-was-premiered/): When it comes to collaborations between clarinetists and composer we quickly think of Mozart and Stadler, Weber and Baermann, and Brahms and Mühlfeld. In my opinion, these pairing should also include Louis Spohr and Johann Simon Hermstedt. Hermstedt was born
- [King and Composer: <br/>Henry VIII of England (1491-1547)](https://interlude.hk/king-and-composer-henry-viii-of-england-1491-1547/): We have a variety of images of Henry VIII, King of England (1491-1547). The majority of them come from late in his life, when he was overweight and suffering from a sequential wife problem. Or maybe it was a sequence
- [On This Day <br/>15 June: Edvard Grieg Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-15-june-edvard-grieg-was-born/): Bergen is Norway’s second-largest city, picturesquely located on the west coast of the country. It is known as “the city of seven mountains,” and the birthplace of Edvard Hagerup Grieg. He was born on 15 June 1843 to Alexander Grieg
- [From Tragedy to Art: Mahler’s <em>Symphony No. 2</em>, "Resurrection"](https://interlude.hk/from-tragedy-to-art-mahler-symphony-no-2-resurrection/): The Birth of Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony When he started work on his second symphony, Gustav Mahler (1860-1911) started with a funerary idea. After a performance of Carl Maria von Weber’s comic opera Die drei Pintos, which Mahler had completed from
- [Sixty Years of Weeping: Dowland’s <em>Flow My Tears</em>](https://interlude.hk/sixty-years-of-weeping-john-dowland-flow-my-tears/): The English composer John Dowland (1563-1626) wanted to be lutenist to the English court. Unfortunately, the difficulties in England between Protestants (the court) and Catholics, made Dowland’s desire difficult to achieve, as he had converted to Catholicism while traveling in
- [On This Day <br/>14 June: Lang Lang Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-14-june-lang-lang-was-born/): There can be no denying the fact that Lang Lang is China’s first crossover classical superstar pianist. He has conquered the classical world with dazzling technique and charisma, “displaying flair and great communicative power. ” He has played for presidents, on
- [The Opera in the Symphony: Weber’s Symphony No. 1](https://interlude.hk/the-opera-in-the-symphony-weber-symphony-no-1/): We are most familiar with Carl Maria von Weber (1786-1826) from his opera Der Freischütz. Weber’s connections with the theatre began in childhood where he grew up in his father’s traveling theatre. His father, uncle to Mozart’s wife Constanze Weber,
- [On This Day <br/> 13 June: Weber’s <em>Clarinet Concerto No. 1</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-13-june-weber-heinrich-baermann-clarinet-concerto-no-1-was-premiered/): Carl Maria von Weber garnered international fame by composing Der Freischütz (The Marksman), the first German Romantic opera in 1821. However, his compositional acumen had long been established before he made his name as an opera composer. In fact, his
- [An Interview With Samantha Ege](https://interlude.hk/an-interview-with-samantha-ege/): Dr. Ege discusses her life, her work, and her wonderful new album which reintroduces audiences to the works of women whose artistic genius and beauty has suffered undue neglect for too long. Dr. Samantha Ege is a pianist, scholar, and
- [Show Me the Money <br/>Johann Strauss Jr.](https://interlude.hk/show-me-the-money-johann-strauss-jr/): The American showman and businessman P. T. Barnum famously quipped, “Every crowd has a silver lining. ” As the founder of the Barnum & Bailey Circus, an entertainment institution that ran for almost 150 years, he certainly knew how to draw in
- [The Violin in Your Pocket](https://interlude.hk/the-violin-in-your-pocket/): One of the most exquisite of the stringed instruments were the little violins that were designed, it is thought, to fit in a pocket. Its name, pochette, is French for ‘small pocket. ’ Intended for adults, despite their compact size, these
- [Pelléas and Mélisande](https://interlude.hk/pelleas-and-melisande/): These days, when we hear of the doomed lovers Pelléas and Mélisande, we most often think of Claude Debussy’s opera, but there were other composers who took up the story by Maurice Maeterlinck. In Maeterlinck’s 1893 play, Golaud finds Mélisande
- [On This Day <br/>11 June: Richard Strauss Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-11-june-richard-strauss-was-born/): Richard Georg Strauss was born on 11 June 1864 as the first of two children of Franz Strauss and Josephine Pschorr. Franz was the principle horn player at the Court Opera in Munich, and a professor at the Royal Music
- [Recording the Entirety of Fauré’s Art Songs <br/>An Interview With Cyrille Dubois](https://interlude.hk/recording-the-entirety-of-faure-art-songs-an-interview-with-cyrille-dubois/): Fauré: Chanson d’amour | Cyrille Dubois & Tristan Raës When considering the song repertoire of Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924), tenor Cyrille Dubois and pianist Tristan Raës couldn’t choose which works to do, so they decided to record them in their entirety.
- [Musicians and Artists: <br/>Peter Maxwell Davies and Paul Klee](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-peter-maxwell-davies-5-klee-pictures-inspired-by-paul-klee/): Peter Maxwell Davies: 5 Klee Pictures After his graduation from Manchester, British composer Peter Maxwell Davies’ first position was with the Cirencester Grammar School. In his three years there, he wrote a number of works for their orchestra, the first
- [Music in the Mountains <br/>The Gstaad Menuhin Festival and Academy](https://interlude.hk/music-in-the-mountains-the-gstaad-menuhin-festival-and-academy/): “The hills are alive with the sound of music” is a verse taken from a well-known Rodgers and Hammerstein’s song in the 1965 Hollywood movie “The Sound of Music”. At the opening scene, Julie Andrews made her first appearance twirling
- [Sad Summer Nights <br/>Berlioz’s <em>Les nuits d’été</em>](https://interlude.hk/sad-summer-nights-berlioz-les-nuits-dete/): Picking unpublished poems from the manuscripts of his neighbor romantic poet and writer Théophile Gautier, Hector Berlioz (1803-1869) created his song group (not a cycle) Les nuits d’été (The Nights of Summer). Completed in 1841, the songs, written for mezzo
- [On This Day <br/>9 June: Mahler’s <em>Symphony No. 3</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-9-june-mahler-symphony-no-3-was-premiered/): On 9 June 1902, Gustav Mahler treated the audience in Krefeld to the premiere of his complete 3rd Symphony. The second movement alone had first sounded on 9 November 1896, and the second, third and sixth movements on 9 March
- [On This Day <br/> June 8: Robert Schumann Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-june-8-robert-schumann-was-born/): The leading exponent of musical Romanticism, Robert Schumann was born in Zwickau, Saxony, on 8 June 1810. He was the fifth and last child of August Schumann and Johanna Christiana Schumann (née Schnabel). August Schumann was a book dealer, and
- [E. T. A. Hoffmann](https://interlude.hk/e-t-a-hoffmann-composer/): “Music is the most romantic of all the arts for its sole subject is the infinite” Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann (1776-1822), better known by his pen name E. T. A. Hoffmann, was possibly the most original and influential fiction writer
- [The Book of Beasts <br/>Schafer’s <em>A Medieval Bestiary</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-book-of-beasts-r-murray-schafer-a-medieval-bestiary/): In 1954, British author T. H. White, known for his children’s Arthurian novels such as The Sword in the Stone, translated a medieval bestiary. His interest in the medieval started in the late 1920s, when he discovered Thomas Malory’s 15th-century chronicle
- [On This Day <br/>7 June: Britten’s <em>Peter Grimes</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-7-june-britten-opera-peter-grimes-was-premiered/): The performing arts venue Saddler’s Wells Theater is located in Clerkenwell, London. The present-day theatre is the sixth on the site since 1683, and when the venue reopened after World War II, it did so with the premiere of Benjamin
- [The Virtuoso Who Challenged Bach: Weiss’ Lute Sonata No. 39](https://interlude.hk/the-virtuoso-who-challenged-bach-weiss-lute-sonata-no-39/): Compared to Bach by J. N. Forkel, Bach’s biographer, the lutenist Sylvius Leopold Weiss was described as a composer of “excellent and difficult compositions. ” Another writer describes Weiss’ works for the lute as ‘the best, the soundest, the most galant and
- [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart <br/>10 Most Frequently Asked Questions](https://interlude.hk/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart-life-work-legacy-10-most-frequently-asked-questions/): I really enjoy reading biographies of historical figures, authors, scientists, and musicians. And while it is fascinating to read a detailed description of a person’s life, biographies are not just presentations of facts and figures. We get to know a
- [Romancing the Reed <br/>An Interview With Gabriel Pidoux](https://interlude.hk/romancing-the-reed-an-interview-with-gabriel-pidoux/): We were speaking the other day with oboist Gabriel Pidoux, whose new album Romance was released in February 2022, about the oboe repertoire. He said that there was a great flowering of material in the Baroque, after the oboe /
- [On This Day <br/>5 June: Martha Argerich Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-5-june-martha-argerich-was-born/): A good many commentators consider Martha Argerich the greatest living pianist today. While such statements are always debatable, it is difficult to think of a more universally loved and respected musician. Her performances and recordings are as inward as they
- [Musicians and Artists: Shepherd and Abstract Expressionism](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-sean-shepherd-express-abstractionism-inspired-by-calder-richter-kandinsky-krasner-mondrian/): Sean Shepherd: Express Abstractionism In the 20th century, there was a deliberate effort in art to get away from the literal, the real, and the representative and into the realms of the mind. Abstract Expressionism was just one of those
- [Selected Works by Three Latina Composers](https://interlude.hk/selected-works-by-three-latina-composers/): The music culture in Latin America is vibrant and fascinating. Unfortunately, the music of Latin America tends to get pigeonholed by a few common characteristics while in reality, the musical features vary throughout the countries of Latin America. Women composers
- [The Fascinating Story of Felix Yaniewicz in Scotland](https://interlude.hk/the-fascinating-story-of-felix-yaniewicz-in-scotland/): Who was Felix Yaniewicz, and why is he important in the history of Scotland’s cultural life? This fascinating story of music and migration begins with the discovery of a beautiful square piano, bearing the signature of Felix Yaniewicz. Found in
- [On This Day <br/>3 June: Albrecht Mayer Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-3-june-albrecht-mayer-was-born/): Germany’s most popular oboist, Albrecht Mayer was born on 3 June 1965 in Erlangen. As a child he sang in the choir of Bamberg Cathedral, but he soon found his love for the oboe. After studies with Gerhard Scheuer, Georg
- [Cricket Music](https://interlude.hk/cricket-music/): The repetitive click of the cricket is a sound for a summer night. They are all over the world with the greatest variety of them being in the tropics. They appear in literature and movies, such as The Cricket in
- [On This Day <br/>2 June: Edward Elgar Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-2-june-edward-elgar-was-born/): Born in the small village of Lower Broadheath near Worcester on 2 June 1857, Edward Elgar was the fourth of seven children born to William Henry Elgar and Ann Greening. William Elgar hailed from Dover and had been working as
- [Night and Day and Delius](https://interlude.hk/delius-summer-night-on-the-river-and-song-before-sunrise/): Frederick Delius: Summer Night on the River and A Song Before Sunrise Two works written in close proximity give us two different times of day. Frederick Delius (1862-1934) was a quiet master of the tone poem. Summer Night on the
- [Fatma Said](https://interlude.hk/fatma-said-soprano/): What do the Argentine tango, French poetry, and Beyoncé all have in common? If you said that they all brim with passion, you’d be right; but they’re all also things that inspire Fatma Said in her work. Fatma Said Sings
- [On This Day <br/>31 May: Joseph Haydn Died](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-31-may-joseph-haydn-died/): When Joseph Haydn peacefully closed his eyes for the last time at 12:40 am on 31 May 1809, he was considered Europe’s most illustrious and famous composer. I have previously written a blog on Haydn’s Funeral and the macabre way
- [David Teniers II’s Singeries and Cats](https://interlude.hk/david-teniers-iis-singeries-and-cats-monkey-scenes-in-paintings/): The Bavarian State Painting Collection has a painting from the late 17th century that just begs the question of where the artist got the inspiration for his work. The prolific Flemish artist David Teniers the Younger (1610-1690) was a contributor
- [Solo or Ensemble: Rameau’s <em>Pièces de clavecin en concert</em>](https://interlude.hk/solo-or-ensemble-rameau-pieces-de-clavecin-en-concert/): When one door closes, another opens, and so it was for Rameau. Shortly after his opera Dardanus was given its premiere at the Opèra, Rameau quarrelled with the management of the theatre and so from 1740 to 1744, he wrote
- [Walkin’ round the World Again](https://interlude.hk/walkin-round-the-world-again-ensembles-preserve-ancestral-musical-expressions/): Ensembles and Bands That Preserve and Evolve Ancestral Musical Expressions It is a horrifying fact, but as many as half of the world’s 7,000 languages are expected to be extinct by the end of this century. “The effect of language
- [On This Day <br/>29 May: Erich Wolfgang Korngold Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-29-may-erich-wolfgang-korngold-was-born/): Erich Wolfgang Korngold, possibly the most phenomenal musical prodigy of all time was born in Brünn, currently Brno, on 29 May 1897 to Julius Korngold and Josefine née Witrowsky. His older brother was named Hans Robert, with their middle names
- [Musicians and Artists: Adler and Pollock](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-samuel-adler-and-jackson-pollock-pasiphae/): Samuel Adler: Pasiphae In the mid-1940s, Jackson Pollock started on a series of mythologically themed pictures, the largest of which was Pasiphae. Pasiphaë was the daughter of the god of the sun, Helios, and Perse, an Oceanid nymph. She was
- [Georges Braque <br/>“Truth exists, only falsehood has to be invented”](https://interlude.hk/georges-braque-truth-exists-only-falsehood-has-to-be-invented/): How the artistic camaraderie between Braque and Picasso inspired classical composers Born 140 years ago in Argenteuil, Val-d’Oise, Georges Braque (1882-1963) played a decisive role in the revolutionary art movement of Cubism. Guided from a young age toward creative painting
- [On This Day <br/>28 May: Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-28-may-dietrich-fischer-dieskau-was-born/): Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, born on 28 May 1925 in Berlin, is widely considered one of the greatest singers of the century. In fact, the French press dubbed him “Le miracle Fischer-Dieskau,” and Elisabeth Schwarzkopf called him “a born god who has
- [From Quartet to Orchestra to the World <br/>Barber’s Agnus Dei](https://interlude.hk/from-quartet-to-orchestra-to-the-world-samuel-barber-agnus-dei/): In 1936, American composer Samuel Barber (1910-1981) composed his only string quartet. Its Molto allegro and appassionato first movement carries more than a little of the strength of Beethoven’s own first string quartet, Op. 18, No. 1. It’s the three-note
- [Norma Fisher At The BBC <br/>Rediscovering a Lost Piano Star](https://interlude.hk/norma-fisher-at-the-bbc-rediscovering-a-lost-piano-star/): The classical music world has been given a wonderful opportunity to rediscover the brilliant British pianist Norma Fisher, now internationally renowned as one of the finest piano teachers in the world, who enjoyed a sparkling career as a concert pianist
- [More Than a Double Quartet: The Joy of the String Octet](https://interlude.hk/more-than-a-double-quartet-the-joy-of-the-string-octet/): The string quartet, made up of 2 violins, viola, and a cello, was one of the great developments of musical genre. With these three instrumental sounds, an entire world of music was created. One writer compared it to four intellectuals
- [On This Day <br/>27 May: Gustav Mahler’s <em>Symphony No. 6</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-27-may-gustav-mahler-symphony-no-6-was-premiered/): Gustav Mahler conducted the premier performance of his 6th Symphony on 27 May 1906 at the Saalbau Concert Hall in Essen. It was conceived and composed during a period of great personal happiness and professional success. In 1902 he had
- [How to Improve Your Sight Reading](https://interlude.hk/how-to-improve-your-sight-reading/): While it’s true that good sight readers often have a solid technique to back themselves up, sight reading is a skill that needs care and attention in its own right. The method to improving sight reading is a long journey,
- [On This Day <br/>26 May: Magdalena Kožená Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-26-may-magdalena-kozena-was-born/): Czech mezzo-soprano Magdalena Kožená, today also known as Lady Rattle, was born in Brno on 26 May 1973. Her father was a mathematician and her mother a biologist, and Magdalena sang in the Children’s and Youth choir attached to the
- [The Women He Knew: Virgil Thomson’s <em>5 Ladies</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-women-he-knew-virgil-thomson-5-ladies/): Taking up the genre of musical portraits as had been done by earlier composers such as Couperin, Schumann, Anton Rubinstein and Elgar, American composer Virgil Thomson (1896-1989) began composing his portraits in 1928 and completed his final one 60 years
- [On This Day <br/>25 May: Gustav Holst Died](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-25-may-gustav-holst-died/): Gustav Holst’s reputation had been steadily growing during the years before World War I, and in 1917 “he composed the choral and orchestral Hymn of Jesus, perhaps the most characteristic and original work of his maturity. ” His true breakthrough, however,
- [Away from Home: Martinů’s <em>La Jolla Sinfonietta</em>](https://interlude.hk/away-from-home-martinu-la-jolla-sinfonietta/): As WWII disrupted the world, many composers fleeing Europe ended up in the United States and were never able to return. One of those composers was Bohuslav Martinů (1890-1959). He moved to France from Czechoslovakia in 1923 and then ended
- [For the Virtuoso at Home: Busoni’s <em>Solo Dramatique</em>](https://interlude.hk/for-the-virtuoso-at-home-busoni-solo-dramatique/): Italian composer Ferruccio Busoni (1866-1924) had an international career in music, starting with his own career as pianist. He studied at the Vienna Conservatory, taught briefly in Helsinki, Moscow, and Boston, and then started his international tours as a pianist.
- [On This Day <br/> 23 May: Beethoven’s Fidelio (Final Version) Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-23-may-beethoven-fidelio-final-version-was-premiered/): As you can tell from the title, Beethoven’s only opera Fidelio was a long time in the making. In fact, the process of composition and revision took nearly 10 years, from the first failure in 1805 to the premiere of
- [The Greatest Composers of Film Music <br/>Satie, Ibert, Tailleferre, Milhaud and Honegger](https://interlude.hk/the-greatest-composers-of-film-music-satie-ibert-tailleferre-milhaud-and-honegger/): I was still too young to actually see the first “Tomb Raider” film release in 2001. But when I first watched it some years later, I thought it was the biggest thing since the invention of the handbag. Finally, there
- [Music, Musicians, and Climate Change <br/>An Interview With Brian Field, an Award-Winning Composer](https://interlude.hk/music-musicians-and-climate-change-an-interview-with-brian-field-an-award-winning-composer/): Climate change, according to the United Nations, which is defined by long-term changes in climate and weather patterns, has become an alarming issue that threatens many human lives. Ironically, human activities are considered a primary cause of disastrous weather events.
- [On This Day <br/>22 May: Richard Wagner Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-22-may-richard-wagner-was-born/): I absolutely love the way Richard Wagner is introduced in the most-respected English-language dictionary. The author writes, “It is both fitting and psychologically congruous that a question mark should hover over the identity of the father and mother of the
- [Musicians and Artists: Zwilich and the NMWA](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-zwilich-and-the-nmwa/): Ellen Taaffe Zwilich: Images, for two pianos and orchestra American composer Ellen Taaffe Zwilich responded to a commission from the National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA) with a work that reflected the contents of the museum’s collection. Written
- [Finding Comfort Through Music <br/>Channeling Grief](https://interlude.hk/finding-comfort-through-music-channeling-grief/): Losing a parent, spouse, child, sibling or a very dear friend is one of life’s most difficult experiences. Although we all are aware of the transitory nature of life, we can never be fully prepared for death. And in times
- [On This Day <br/>20 May: Clara Schumann Died](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-20-may-clara-schumann-died/): On 21 May 1896, the Guardian reports, “We have to announce, with sincere regret, the death of Madame Clara Schumann, which occurred early yesterday morning, at her residence in Frankfort. For some months the health of the distinguished lady had
- [Dining With Music](https://interlude.hk/dining-with-music/): As you peek around the corners of the repertoire, there are a few pieces that reflect the daily concern with Dining. There are works that set recipes, works that show the activities in a kitchen, works that show the procession
- [The Spanish Inspiration: Chabrier’s <em>Bourrée fantasque</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-spanish-inspiration-chabrier-bourree-fantasque/): The last piano work of Emmanuel Chabrier (1841-1894) was Bourrée fantasque (Whimsical Bourrée), composed in 1891 when he fell under the terminal stages of syphilis. Unfortunately, it was just as his musical life was changing for the better. His latest
- [Milton, Ned, Gunther and David:<br/> <em>4 Composer Portraits</em> by Samuel Adler](https://interlude.hk/milton-ned-gunther-and-david-4-composer-portraits-by-samuel-adler/): Composer Samuel Adler (b. 1928) was born in Mannheim, Germany, but immigrated to the US at age 11 and was a student of Aaron Copland, Paul Hindemith, Walter Piston and Randall Thompson. He studied conducting with Serge Koussevitzky and joined
- [On This Day <br/>18 May: Satie’s <em>Parade</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-18-may-satie-parade-was-premiered/): The famed Folies Bergère in Paris was built as an opera house and initially opened its doors by offering performances of light entertainment, including operettas, comic opera, popular songs, and gymnastics. The venue reached the height of its fame and
- [From Silence to Death: The Silver Swan](https://interlude.hk/from-silence-to-death-the-silver-swan/): The swan is a bird of many metaphors: sailing perfectly calmly on the surface and flapping wildly with their webbed feet below is one of the more memorable. In music, however, the swan is the bird that is silent in
- [Chiun-Teng Cheng <br/>Founder of the "Professor Shu-Te Sylvia Lee Violin Competition"](https://interlude.hk/chiun-teng-cheng-founder-of-the-professor-shu-te-sylvia-lee-violin-competition/): The most famous and recognized violin competition with the highest prize money in Taiwan, “Professor Shu-Te Sylvia Lee Violin Competition” (the Competition), will return at the end of December 2022. The Competition is sponsored and organized by Chiun-Teng Cheng Rare
- [One Laughs, The Other Weeps: Brahms’ <em>Tragic Overture</em>](https://interlude.hk/one-laughs-the-other-weeps-brahms-tragic-overture/): In his catalogue, Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) only has two concert overtures and they were both written the same year: 1880. The first is the well-known Academic Festival Overture, written as a thank-you following the awarding of an honorary degree by
- [On This Day <br/>16 May: Friedrich Gulda Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-16-may-friedrich-gulda-was-born/): Pianist Friedrich Gulda is commonly regarded as the “cross-over” pioneer of his time. Known for his extraordinary interpretations of the music of Bach, Mozart, Schubert, and Beethoven, he freely cultivated an interest in jazz and composition. Stylistic references to jazz
- [Piano Repertoire <br/>Ludwig van Beethoven](https://interlude.hk/piano-repertoire-ludwig-van-beethoven/): It has never been a big secret, but the piano is definitely my favorite instrument. For me, no other instrument possesses that kind of versatility. Actually it’s ideal as a means of musical expression for both the amateur and the
- [Musicians and Artists: Carpenter and Braque](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-carpenter-and-braque/): Gary Carpenter: After Braque The French painter Georges Braque (1882-1963) had a style that encompassed Fauvism from 1905 before he worked with Picasso on the development of Cubism (1908-1912). Where Picasso’s Cubism was more puzzling and confrontational, Braque’s Cubism was
- [Musical Tributes: Chopiniana, Mozartiana, Vivaldiana and Bachiana](https://interlude.hk/chopiniana-and-other-tributes/): In 1892 Alexander Glazunov (1865-1936) set to work on an orchestral suite with arrangements of piano music by Frédéric Chopin. Entitled Chopiniana it was introduced to the public in December 1893 by Rimsky-Korsakov, and published by Belyayev one year later.
- [Thinking About Returning to the Piano?](https://interlude.hk/thinking-about-returning-to-the-piano/): Here are some tips to help you on your piano journey It may be two years or twenty since you last touched a piano, but however long the absence, taking the decision to return to playing is exciting, challenging and
- [Bird Music](https://interlude.hk/bird-in-classical-music/): Birds in music are everywhere – even non-singing birds, such as Sibelius’ The Swan of Tuonela. There’s also Vaughan Williams’ Lark (ascending), and Delius’ First Cuckoo in Spring, and even Mussorgsky’s Ballet of Unhatched Chicks. Let’s explore some other birds.
- [Presenting the Possibilities: The Life of VP Music Production Queenie Li](https://interlude.hk/presenting-the-possibilities-the-life-of-vp-music-production-queenie-li/): Hong Kong–born Queenie Li has taken her music training forward into a field that very few venture into with such success. She is VP of Music Production for 14th Street Music in Los Angeles, working on the post-production end for
- [Eleonor Bindman Plays Bach’s Partitas](https://interlude.hk/eleonor-bindman-plays-bach-partitas/): When I had sufficiently advanced in my piano studies, my teacher introduced me to the “French Suites” by Johann Sebastian Bach. I was told that “Suites” generally consisted of a series of stylized dance movements, with the name of the
- [On This Day <br/>12 May: Donizetti’s <em>L’Elisir d’amore</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-12-may-donizetti-lelisir-damore-was-premiered/): L’Elisir d’amore (The Elixir of Love) is one of the most beloved of all Donizetti’s operas. It combines touching romance and hilarious comedy with beautiful music. Donizetti composed the opera in a six-week period, and it went into rehearsal around
- [The Dead Are Sad Enough <br/>Ravel’s <em>Le tombeau de Couperin</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-dead-are-sad-enough-ravel-le-tombeau-de-couperin/): The Great War, as World War I was known at the time, inspired many works of music, often set to poetry. Maurice Ravel took inspiration from his many dead friends to create a piano work, Le tombeau de Couperin (1914-1917),
- [On This Day <br/>11 May: Busoni’s <em>Turandot</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-11-may-busoni-turandot-was-premiered/): Ferruccio Busoni (1866-1924) famously claimed that Schiller’s translation of Carlo Gozzi’s dramatic fairy-tale Turandot in conjunction with Carl Maria von Weber’s incidental music “ruined a masterpiece of Italian literature. ” Gozzi’s play, supposedly based on a Persian story from the collection
- [The Post-Covid Opera](https://interlude.hk/the-post-covid-opera/): We were thinking about what post-COVID opera might be like. Can we really go back to operas with parties with women coughing themselves to death in the corner (La Traviata), with false doctors (any number of operas from 1730 forward)?
- [On This Day <br/>10 May: Gabriela Montero Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-10-may-gabriela-montero-was-born/): Venezuelan pianist Gabriela Montero, born on 10 May 1970, has garnered critical acclaim and a devoted following on the world stage for her visionary interpretations and unique compositional gift. She has come to be known in particular for her real-time
- [Women Composers You Should Know V](https://interlude.hk/women-composers-you-should-know-v/): In the 19th century, we have women composers with famous brothers, such as Fanny Mendelssohn (1805-1847) and women composers from famous musical families, such as Pauline Viardot (1821-1910) and Maria Malibran (1808-1836). In Clara Schumann (1819-1896), we have woman composer
- [Song from a Forgotten Finnish Composer: Palmgren’s <em>Aria</em>](https://interlude.hk/song-from-a-forgotten-finnish-composer-selim-palmgren-aria/): Although our knowledge of Nordic composers seems now to circle around Nielsen, Grieg, and Sibelius, the latter two who trained in the German and Austrian tradition, there were also other composers, such as the Finnish composer Selim Palmgren (1878-1951), who
- [Fine-Tuning Vladimir Horowitz <br/>Franz Mohr](https://interlude.hk/fine-tuning-vladimir-horowitz-franz-mohr/): One very special person has played more in Carnegie Hall than all pianist superstars put together. His name was Franz Mohr, and he was the piano tuner to the stars. You see, he was the chief concert technician for Steinway
- [On This Day <br/>8 May: Ravel’s <em>Valses nobles et sentimentales</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-8-may-ravel-valses-nobles-et-sentimentales-was-premiered/): On 21 September 1927, Anton Webern penned an extended letter to Maurice Ravel. “Although we have never met, I write on behalf of my mentor Arnold Schoenberg to express his thanks for all your efforts to facilitate his upcoming appearance
- [Bells for All Occasions](https://interlude.hk/bells-for-all-occasions/): It was just Orthodox Easter Eve and all over Greece, the church bells rang out at midnight. We were thinking about music with bells and all the different ways that they are used. They’re used in a couple of different
- [Fish Music](https://interlude.hk/fish-music/): So you don’t have a dog or a cat, but a fish tank is the place where your animal companion resides. What kind of music do we have about fish? We’ll start with the tank itself, and Giancarlo Vulcano’s Music
- [On This Day <br/>7 May: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-7-may-pyotr-ilyich-tchaikovsky-was-born/): Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, born on 7 May 1840 deep within the Ural Mountains roughly 600 miles east of Moscow, had Ukrainian, German, and French ancestry. His father Ilya Petrovitch Tchaikovsky, a mining engineer and manager of an iron works, traced
- [Pop-Classical Connection](https://interlude.hk/pop-classical-connection/): We know... there’s only 12 notes in a scale and how many different ways can there be of combining them? Sometimes, you get a song in your ear and start to hear it in many different places. Sometimes it was deliberate
- [On This Day <br/>6 May: Nathalie Stutzmann Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-6-may-nathalie-stutzmann-was-born/): Nathalie Stutzmann, born 6 May 1965 in Suresnes, France, was the first female conductor named principal guest conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra in December 2020. One year later, she was appointed the music director of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra with
- [A Celebration of the Piano in Chamber Music](https://interlude.hk/a-celebration-of-the-piano-in-chamber-music/): In November this year, six selected young ensembles will be invited to Birmingham to take part in our International Piano Chamber Music Festival. All six will give a recital as part of the Festival programme and take part in masterclasses,
- [On This Day <br/>5 May: Cédric Tiberghien Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-5-may-cedric-tiberghien-was-born/): In 1999, BBC Radio 3 launched their “New Generation Artists Scheme” as part of its commitment to young musical talent. Each autumn six or seven young artist at the beginning of careers on the national and international music scene join
- [Johann Kuhnau](https://interlude.hk/composer-johann-kuhnau/): “The Musical Quack” 300 years ago, on 5 June 1722, Johann Kuhnau (1660-1722) the immediate predecessor of Johann Sebastian Bach as Kantor at the Thomasschule in Leipzig, passed away after suffering from extended periods of illness. Kuhnau was not only
- [On This Day <br/>4 May: Haydn’s <em>Symphony in D</em> “London” Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-4-may-haydn-symphony-in-d-london-was-premiered/): Although Joseph Haydn had a wicked sense of humour, he musically never left anything to chance. When he accepted commissions away from his working place at Eszterháza, he conducted extensive research about the performers, the concert hall, and related matters
- [Not the Cello You Started With <br/>An Interview with Valérie Aimard](https://interlude.hk/not-the-cello-you-started-with-an-interview-with-valerie-aimard/): In 2018, cellist Valérie Aimard had a vision – 18 recording sessions later, that vision is complete, and you can now see what she imagined in that fabled time before Covid. Valérie’s Only Cello channel on YouTube is more than
- [A Bug’s Life](https://interlude.hk/a-bugs-life-villa-lobos-the-martyrdom-of-insects/): Heitor Villa-Lobos: The Martyrdom of Insects Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887-1959) is considered ‘the single most significant creative figure in 20th-century Brazilian art music. ’ Immensely prolific, at his death he left some 2,000 works, many of which had gained international
- [Remembering Radu Lupu](https://interlude.hk/remembering-radu-lupu/): Romanian pianist Radu Lupu, who died in April 2022 at the age of 76, shot to prominence when he won a trio of highly prestigious international piano competitions – the Van Cliburn in Texas in 1966, the George Enescu International
- [A Lost Soul: Brahms’ <em>Alto Rhapsody</em>](https://interlude.hk/a-lost-soul-brahms-alto-rhapsody/): In 1777, the German poet Johann von Goethe was traveling in the Harz mountains in the winter. He ascended the Brocken, the highest peak in the Harz, arriving at midday, and gazed out on a white world, with the landscape
- [On This Day <br/>2 May: Philippe Herreweghe Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-2-may-philippe-herreweghe-was-born/): The Belgian conductor and chorus director Philippe Herreweghe, born on 2 May 1947, is frequently credited with restoring the freshness and purity of Baroque choral music. As a critic wrote, “Herreweghe crafts intimate performances that try to impress with lean
- [Walkin’ Round the World](https://interlude.hk/walkin-round-the-world-folk-music-traditions/): Multicultural Folk Music Traditions From Various Places With all this talk of a globalized society it is easy to forget that we are surrounded by the timeless beauty and grace of countless multicultural folk music traditions. That rich ethnic heritage
- [Johannes Brahms and His Circle of Friends II](https://interlude.hk/johannes-brahms-and-his-circle-of-friends-ii/): Fritz Steinbach (1855-1916), none withstanding Hans von Bülow, was regarded as the foremost conductor of Brahms’ music. We know that they first met when Steinbach attempted to persuade Brahms to take him on as a student in 1875. Brahms declined,
- [Bruno Philippe](https://interlude.hk/cellist-bruno-philippe/): Improving and Serving the Music Young French cellist Bruno Philippe has already performed with some of Europe’s most prestigious orchestras, including the Frankfurt Radio Symphony, Bavarian Radio Symphony, and the Chamber Orchestra of Paris. The 29-year-old is a prize-winner of
- [On This Day <br/>May 1: Antonín Dvořák Died](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-may-1-antonin-dvorak-died/): The Prague-based, Czech language music magazine Dalibor reports on 2 May. “Our nation has received a terrible, terrible blow, Antonín Dvořák is no more. Yesterday, at half past twelve in the afternoon, he died from sudden heart failure, having been
- [Musical Definitions with a Twist](https://interlude.hk/musical-definitions-with-a-twist-john-parry-manual-of-musical-terms/): John Parry’s Manual of Musical Terms and Various Other Subjects Connected with Music Art The English actor, pianist, artist, comedian, songwriter and singer John Orlando Parry (1810-1879) started his career as a singer, harpist, and pianist. He knew and sang
- [Edward Elgar: “From the Bavarian Highlands”](https://interlude.hk/edward-elgar-from-the-bavarian-highlands/): The next Covid-19 mutation is starting to rear its ugly spike. Depressingly, Omicron comes at a time when we thought that things were finally starting to look up. Every time I am looking forward to a little holiday under a
- [Musicians and Artists: Antheil and Brâncuși](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-antheil-and-brancusi/): George Antheil: The Golden Bird Slimmed down to just a shadow of a profile, the Golden Bird launches itself upward. Its feet and tail are streamlined down to just minimal forms and the bird is topped with an upturned beak,
- [On This Day <br/>29 April: Zubin Mehta Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-29-april-zubin-mehta-was-born/): When Zubin Mehta made his conducting debut at New York Carnegie Hall in 1967 a critic wrote, “Mehta has the capacity to control every sound made by an orchestra, and he does this with the simplest of gestures, every one
- [Practice vs Sight Reading - What’s the Difference?](https://interlude.hk/practice-vs-sight-reading-whats-the-difference/): The pressure of sight reading can seem a lot like a bad date: unpleasant surprises, sweaty palms and awkward silences can be just as common across the dinner table as when fumbling through an unfamiliar piece of music. Thankfully, although
- [Musicians and Artists: Ferneyhough and Piranesi](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-brian-ferneyhough-and-piranesi-carceri-d-invenzione/): Brian Ferneyhough: Carceri d’invenzione cycle Endless staircases, blocked passages, heavy machinery with unknown power, figures trapped in dead hallways: you’re in the world of Giovanni Battista Piranesi and his world of imaginary prisons. The Carceri d’invenzione of Piranesi were begun
- [On This Day <br/>27 April: Handel’s <em>Music for the Royal Fireworks</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-27-april-handel-music-for-the-royal-fireworks-was-premiered/): To celebrate the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, which ultimately ended the War of Austrian Succession, King George II of Great Britain hosted a gargantuan festival on 27 April 1749. Citizens from all corners of the kingdom arrived in London to witness
- [Women Composers You Should Know IV](https://interlude.hk/women-composers-you-should-know-iv/): Anna Amalia, Princess of Prussia The 18th century shows a wonderful increase in the number of women composers who we know today. The number of royal composers, including Barbara of Portugal who became Queen Barbara of Spain, Princess Anna Amalia
- [On This Day <br/>26 April: Paganini’s <em>Violin Concerto No. 4</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-26-april-paganini-violin-concerto-no-4-was-premiered/): For almost 20 years, Niccolò Paganini had patiently confined his concert activities to Italy before setting out to conquer various European capitals. Initially he appeared in Vienna and Franz Schubert excitedly reported, “We will never hear his like again! ” He
- [The Double Princess: Klampanis’ <em>Ariadne’s Duality</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-double-princess-petros-klampanis-ariadnes-duality/): The Cretan princess Ariadne appears across a number of the Greek myths. She first appears as the daughter of King Minos of Crete and his wife Pasiphaë, mother of the Minotaur. She helped Theseus escape the yearly sacrifice of 7
- [The Greatest Composers of Film Music <br/>Saint-Saëns, Breil, Steiner and Korngold](https://interlude.hk/the-greatest-composers-of-film-music-saint-saens-breil-steiner-and-korngold/): I am just an ordinary city girl, and one of the greatest joys during the burning hot day of summer is a visit to my local cinema. Sitting in a comfy chair in a chilled air-conditioned room with a huge
- [On This Day <br/>25 April: Truls Mørk Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-25-april-truls-mork-was-born/): Known for his “compelling performances, combining fierce intensity and passion with integrity and grace,” Norwegian cellist Truls Mørk has long taken audiences on compelling musical journeys. One of the pre-eminent cellists of our time, he was the first Scandinavian to
- [Dog Music](https://interlude.hk/dog-music/): If you’re not a cat person, perhaps dogs are your home animal of choice. Known for their love and faithfulness to their owners, dogs are also work animals for some people. In this survey of dog music, where does your
- ["These Concerts Are a Gift to Myself" <br/>In Conversation With Pianist James Lisney](https://interlude.hk/these-concerts-are-a-gift-to-myself-in-conversation-with-pianist-james-lisney/): After two years of cancelled concerts and performances in empty halls, British pianist James Lisney, who turns 60 this year, is looking forward to his spring and early summer concerts with excitement. We caught up with James to talk about
- [Johannes Brahms and His Circle of Friends](https://interlude.hk/johannes-brahms-and-his-circle-of-friends/): Johannes Brahms was well connected. He befriended and collaborated with hundreds of people during his career, including fellow musicians and composers, publishers and artists, poets whose texts he set to music, and even rulers of certain German states with whom
- [Robert Schumann: <em>Album of Songs for the Young</em>](https://interlude.hk/robert-schumann-album-of-songs-for-the-young/): For the 7th birthday of his daughter Marie, Robert Schumann compiled a short album of “Little Piano Pieces. ” Once he had gotten that process started, Schumann kept adding miniatures to the collection. His wife Clara Schumann wrote in her diary,
- [On This Day <br/>23 April: Sergei Prokofiev Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-23-april-sergei-prokofiev-was-born/): Sergei Prokofiev was born on 23 April 1891 in Sontsovka, now located in Ukraine but then a remote rural estate of the Yekaterinoslav Governorate of the Russian Empire. His father Sergey Alekseyevich Prokofiev was an agronomist and managed the estate
- [Quick Sketch Artist: Renoir Meets Wagner](https://interlude.hk/quick-sketch-artist-renoir-meets-wagner/): Pierre August Renoir (1841-1919), who loved music, was a great admirer of Richard Wagner (1813-1883). As one of the first Wagnerites in France, Renoir jumped at the opportunity to meet his hero when he was in Italy in 1882. Two
- [I Lombardi at La Fenice in Venice](https://interlude.hk/i-lombardi-at-la-fenice-in-venice/): For the music obsessed, no visit to la Serenissima would be complete without an evening at the opera. Venice’s legendary Teatro La Fenice opera house, reopened in 2004 after the catastrophic fire of 1996, was resplendent with its riotously colourful
- [History of Classical Music <br/>Minority Report](https://interlude.hk/history-of-classical-music-minority-report/): The history of classical music is essentially populated and written by Caucasian white males. Everybody knows the names Ludwig van Beethoven and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, but do you know Margaret Bonds, Eleanor Alberga, Bright Sheng, Isang Yun, Priti Paintal and
- [The Delphic Mysteries <br/>Annie Bélis and Mark Edwards Wilson](https://interlude.hk/the-delphic-mysteries-annie-belis-and-mark-edwards-wilson/): Zeus sent out two eagles and where their paths crossed was the center of the world. At that center, Delphi the Oracle, made her pronouncements. You could seek guidance from her, but the interpretation of what she said was up
- [On This Day <br/>20 April: John Eliot Gardiner Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-20-april-john-eliot-gardiner-was-born/): John Eliot Gardiner, born on 20 April 1943, is revered as “one of the world’s most innovative and dynamic musicians, constantly in the vanguard of enlightened interpretation and standing as a leader in contemporary musical life. ” He founded and artistically
- [The Chromatic Master: Bach’s Fantasy and Fugue, BWV 903](https://interlude.hk/the-chromatic-master-bach-fantasy-and-fugue-bwv-903/): Schoenberg, the master of the Second Viennese School, called him the first 12-tone composer. It was his treatment of chromatic themes that prompted that statement. It’s J. S. Bach, of course, and one of the works that prompted that label was
- [On This Day <br/>19 April: Murray Perahia was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-19-april-murray-perahia-was-born/): Armed with consummate technical skills, boundless imagination and near-mystical eloquence, American pianist Murray Perahia’s “artistry connects with their freedom of expression and nobility of sound. ” Widely considered one of the greatest living pianists, “his interpretations project above all a compelling
- [The French Wagnerian: Chabrier’s <em>Gwendoline</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-french-wagnerian-chabrier-gwendoline/): As happened with many composers in the 19th century, just as they set off to be composers, their fathers intercede and off they went to commercial college, or law school, or medical school. Such was the case of Emmanuel Chabrier
- [A New Book by David Francis Urrows <br/>François Ravary SJ and a Sino-European Musical Culture in Nineteenth-Century Shanghai](https://interlude.hk/a-new-book-by-david-francis-urrows-francois-ravary-sj-and-a-sino-european-musical-culture-in-nineteenth-century-shanghai/): François Ravary SJ and a Sino-European Musical Culture in Nineteenth-Century Shanghai is a recent publication written by Dr. David Francis Urrows. Following Keys to the Kingdom: A History of the Pipe Organ in China, this book turns the discussion of
- [Performing Artistry of Ukraine <br/>Top Pianists and Violinists](https://interlude.hk/performing-artistry-of-ukraine-top-pianists-and-violinists/): The Ukrainian lands have given rise to some of the most exceptionally gifted artists on the planet. Steeped in musical traditions established well over 1,000 year ago, Ukrainian composers and performers have significantly contributed to the world of classical music.
- [On This Day <br/>18 April: Ottorino Respighi Died](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-18-april-ottorino-respighi-died/): Ottorino Respighi was working on his last opera Lucrezia when he unexpectedly died of congestive heart failure on 18 April 1936. Respighi had not yet reached his 57th birthday, and his wife Elsa suspected that the cause of his early
- [Iannis Xenakis](https://interlude.hk/iannis-xenakis/): “Mathematical formulas translated into beautiful and convincing music” In 2022 we celebrate the centenary of the birth of Iannis Xenakis (1922-2001), an artist of fierce originality who produced some of rawest and wildest music in history. He belonged to a
- [When Opera Houses, Art Museums, and Concert Halls Are Imperiled by War](https://interlude.hk/when-opera-houses-art-museums-and-concert-halls-are-imperiled-by-war/): Freedom Square in the heart of Kharkiv, Ukraine houses the State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater, Kharkiv Philharmonic concert hall, and numerous universities and government buildings. On March 1st, the square, the second largest city square in Europe, became the
- [On This Day <br/>17 April: Gregor Piatigorsky Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-17-april-gregor-piatigorsky-was-born/): For several decades in the mid-twentieth century, Gregor Piatigorsky (1903-1976) was the undisputed cello superstar. Some say, that he “was the greatest string player of all time, possessing a glorious low-register sound characterized by a distinctive fast and intense vibrato. ”
- [Classical Music Moments in Movies V](https://interlude.hk/classical-music-moments-in-movies-v/): The music of American composer Howard Hanson entered popular consciousness when excerpts of his 2nd Symphony were used in the 1979 sci-fi horror movie “Alien. ” Although the musical excerpt was used without permission, the composer decided not to fight the
- [Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) <br/> “Simplicity Is the Ultimate Sophistication”](https://interlude.hk/leonardo-da-vinci-1452-1519-simplicity-is-the-ultimate-sophistication/): On 15 April 1452, a small village near the town of Vinci in Tuscany saw the birth of Leonardo da Vinci, one of the most diversely talented individuals to ever have lived. Scholars have rightly suggested that “the scope and
- [On This Day <br/>15 April: Neville Marriner Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-15-april-neville-marriner-was-born/): Neville Marriner is perhaps the most recorded of all classical conductors. In fact, his legacy includes more than 600 recording of 2,000+ works, including the soundtrack to the 1984 hit film “Amadeus” that sold more than 6. 5 million copies and
- [Mitsuko Uchida’s Beethoven <em>Diabelli Variations</em> – From Frolics To Transcendence](https://interlude.hk/mitsuko-uchidas-beethoven-diabelli-variations/): “Uchida has breathed new life into this work with immense passion and focus” Well known for her interpretations of the Austro-German repertoire, Mitsuko Uchida recorded Beethoven Diabelli Variations in the studio for the first time, although it has
- [On This Day <br/>14 April: Léo Delibes’ <em>Lakmé</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-14-april-leo-delibes-lakme-was-premiered/): Brooklyn-born soprano Marie van Zandt (1858-1919) “outshone her competitors with her extraordinary ability to learn parts quickly and to sing them perfectly. ” Her mother was a well-known singer who traveled extensively across Europe, and she had professional connections with Paris
- [How to Practise Music <br/>A Pocket-Sized Guide by Andrew Eales](https://interlude.hk/how-to-practise-music-a-pocket-sized-guide-by-andrew-eales/): The expression “small but perfectly formed” is rather over-used, but in the case of this new book How to Practise Music (Hal Leonard) it is entirely apt. Written by Andrew Eales, a highly respected British music educator, piano teacher and
- [On This Day <br/>13 April: Handel’s <em>Messiah</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-13-april-handel-messiah-was-premiered/): The Fishamble Street Musick Hall in Dublin was abuzz with jittery electricity on 13 April 1742. The musical superstar George Frideric Handel was ready to present his oratorio Messiah to the public, and the audience reached a record 700 listeners.
- [Women Composers You Should Know III](https://interlude.hk/women-composers-you-should-know-iii/): More and more women composers come to our attention in the 17th century. Part of this was the increase in the wealthy middle class that required entertainment and the increasing power taken by women over their resources. Francesca Caccini A
- [10 Greatest Easter Movies](https://interlude.hk/10-greatest-easter-movies/): Easter is the most important holiday for Christians around the world. But you don’t have to be seriously religious to enjoy that particular time of year, as the coming of Spring, at least in the Northern hemisphere also signals a
- [Dance of the Circus Clowns: Milhaud’s <em>Tango des Fratellini</em>](https://interlude.hk/dance-of-the-circus-clowns-milhaud-tango-des-fratellini/): At the turn of the 20th century and past the end of WWI, Paris was the bright and shining light of culture for the world. Everything happened in Paris – new music, new art, new dances, new everything. Cafés were
- [Nine Selected Early Percussion Ensemble Pieces](https://interlude.hk/nine-selected-early-percussion-ensemble-pieces/): The percussion ensemble is a relatively new performance genre among all classical music ensembles. Even though percussion instruments were used in orchestral works as early as in the Baroque era, music written only for percussion instruments did not come into
- [On This Day <br/>10 April: Yefim Bronfman Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-10-april-yefim-bronfman-was-born/): The American novelist and short story writer Philip Milton Roth is known for fiction that “features intensely autobiographical characters, for philosophically and formally blurring the distinction between reality and fiction, for its sensual, ingenious style and for its provocative explorations
- [Winter’s Journey: Schubert’s Winterreise on film](https://interlude.hk/winters-journey-schubert-winterreise-on-film/): British director John Bridcut has made a striking new film of Winterreise, Schubert’s great song cycle, with baritone Benjamin Appl and pianist James Baillieu. It’s all the more remarkable because it was made during the first year of the pandemic,
- [Winning by Giving In <br/> Borys Lyatoshynsky’s Symphony No. 3, "Peace Shall Defeat War"](https://interlude.hk/winning-by-giving-in-borys-lyatoshynsky-symphony-no-3-peace-shall-defeat-war/): Ukrainian composer Borys Mykolayovych Lyatoshynsky (1895-1968) trained with Glière at the Kiev Conservatory and became the most important Ukrainian composer through the mid-20th century. He also taught at the Kiev Conservatory from age 25 through to his death, with occasional
- [Films Adapted from Dostoevsky Novels <br/> “The Gambler”](https://interlude.hk/films-adapted-from-dostoevsky-novels-the-gambler/): Gerard Schurmann: The Gambler Suite The Russian novelist, short story writer, essayist, and journalist Fyodor Dostoevsky (1821-1881) had a serious gambling addiction. Like a good many gamblers, he believed that he had found the secret to winning at the tables.
- [Grigory Sokolov at Esterházy Palace – A Journey to the Sublime](https://interlude.hk/grigory-sokolov-at-esterhazy-palace-a-journey-to-the-sublime/): In keeping with Sokolov’s insistence on releasing live recordings only, this newly released album was taken from his recital in Haydnsaal, Esterházy Palace in 2018, consisting of three sonatas by Haydn, Schubert’s Impromptus D. 935 and, as expected, a generous
- [On This Day <br/> 7 April: Beethoven’s <em>Symphony No. 3</em> "Eroica" Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-7-april-beethoven-symphony-no-3-eroica-was-premiered/): Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 “Eroica” premiered on 7 April 1805 at the Theater an der Wien, Vienna. It was immediately recognized as an important work of unprecedented length and complexity. All the movements depart in unexpected ways from his previous
- [Reaching Out of the Darkness <br/>Julia Wolfe’s <em>Oxygen</em>](https://interlude.hk/reaching-out-of-the-darkness-julia-wolfe-oxygen-for-12-flutes/): COVID times have been hard on musicians – ensembles closed down, operas and orchestras relied on streaming older material, lockdowns prevented rehearsals, social distancing regulated not only the number of people in the audience but also the number of people
- [Giving the Lark New Wings <br/> Ralph Vaughan Williams: <em>The Lark Ascending</em>](https://interlude.hk/giving-the-lark-new-wings-ralph-vaughan-williams-the-lark-ascending/): Ralph Vaughan Williams’ quintessential work for violin and for the summer is The Lark Ascending. We are so familiar with its trilling and rising skylark, personified by the violin, who takes flight above a quiet chamber orchestra. Vaughan was inspired
- [On This Day <br/>6 April: Igor Stravinsky Died](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-6-april-igor-stravinsky-died/): At the age of 88, Igor Stravinsky died on 6 April 1971 at his apartment in New York City. The composer had been in frail health for years but returned much refreshed from a two and a half month holiday
- [Recommended Recordings of Chopin Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, Op. 11](https://interlude.hk/recommended-recordings-of-chopin-piano-concerto-no-1-in-e-minor-op-11/): One of the greatest piano concertos ever, Chopin Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor has long been a cornerstone in the repertoire of many concert pianists. It was actually Chopin’s second piano concerto, as it was written after the
- [On This Day <br/>5 April: Louis Spohr Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-5-april-louis-spohr-was-born/): Louis Spohr (1784-1859), actually born Ludewig Spohr in Braunschweig on 5 April 1784, was the greatest violinist of his generation and a prolific composer. He wrote roughly 300 much admired compositions in a variety of genres, but is probably most
- [National Heroics: Liszt’s <em>Mazeppa</em>](https://interlude.hk/national-heroics-liszt-mazeppa/): Lord Byron’s narrative poem from 1819, Mazeppa, was one of the great influential pieces of Romantic writing. Plays, musical pieces, operas, novels, even circus performances were based on the work. The poem tells the legend of Ivan Mazepa (1639-1709). Mazepa
- [On This Day <br/>4 April: Bedřich Smetana’s <em>Vltava</em> (The Moldau) Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-4-april-bedrich-smetana-vltava-the-moldau-was-premiered/): The conductor Adolf Čech (1841-1903) premiered a number of significant works by Antonín Dvořák, Zdeněk Fibich, and Bedřich Smetana. Such was the case on 4 April 1875, when he took the podium with the Orchestra of the Prague Provisional Theatre
- [Hope for Peace <br/>Refugee Composers and Performers](https://interlude.hk/hope-for-peace-refugee-composers-and-performers/): With some notable exceptions, the vast majority of the civilized world is currently in deep shock by the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Ukraine. Once again, millions of innocent civilians are made to suffer by a totalitarian dictator, and once again,
- [A Piano Trio Symphony <br/>Beethoven: Symphony No. 2](https://interlude.hk/a-piano-trio-symphony-beethoven-symphony-no-2/): A recent recording by Emanuel Ax, Yo-Yo Ma, and the Greek violinist Leonidas Kavakos provided an interesting examination of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 2, but as arranged for piano trio. The music was arranged by Beethoven’s right-hand man, Ferdinand Ries (1784-1838).
- [Classical Music Moments in Movies IV](https://interlude.hk/classical-music-moments-in-movies-iv/): Some say that feminist musicology started at the movies, and that it all kicked off with Stanley Kubrick’s dystopian crime film “A Clockwork Orange” of 1971. The central character Alex is a charismatic and antisocial delinquent who is interested in
- [On This Day <br/>3 April: Johannes Brahms Died](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-3-april-johannes-brahms-died/): Johannes Brahms was certainly open to life’s pleasures, and he would never decline a good meal. He once told a friend, “I live in Vienna as if I were in the country,” and he ate his lunch at the same
- [John Woods Duke: 3 Chinese Love Lyrics](https://interlude.hk/john-woods-duke-3-chinese-love-lyrics-2/): The American composer and pianist John Woods Duke (1899-1984) might not be a household name, but he was certainly one of the most talented composers of art song in the 20th century. Duke was fascinated by the “strange and marvelous
- [Musicians and Artists: Fibich and 5 Painters](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-zdenek-fibich-and-5-painters/): Zdeněk Fibich: Studies of Painters (Malířské studie) In this 1899 work, Czech composer Zdeněk Fibich (1850-1900) chose works by 5 different painters from the 15th to the 18th centuries to illustrate in his Studies of Painters, Op. 56 (Malířské studie).
- [Ryan Corbett](https://interlude.hk/accordionist-ryan-corbett/): ‘Understand their world through your own life experience’ Ryan Corbett: Spanische Caprice Originally starting self-taught on the instrument, young Scottish accordionist Ryan Corbett has become a rising star. Currently in his final year of study at the Royal Conservatoire of
- [On This Day <br/>1 April: Sergei Rachmaninoff Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-1-april-sergei-rachmaninoff-was-born/): Throughout the history of music, a good many composers had been able to claim aristocratic lineage. Such is certainly the case with Sergei Rachmaninoff, born on 1 April 1873. His father Vassili Rachmaninoff, son of the landowner Arkadi Rachmaninoff and
- [Cat Music](https://interlude.hk/cat-music/): Cats are our life companions, yet they remain separate. They walk alone. They delight us in their fantasies (what is in that corner they’re staring at? Should I be concerned? ). They amaze us with their ability to fly gracefully to
- [On This Day <br/>31 March: Joseph Haydn Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-31-march-joseph-haydn-was-born/): The village of Rohrau steadily grew from a Roman road and river crossing to support a castle built in the Middle Ages. When the village was attacked in the early 18th century by “a peasant army of the anti-Habsburg Hungarian
- [The Pleasures of Life: Foote’s <em>Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-pleasures-of-life-footes-rubaiyat-of-omar-khayyam/): In 1859, English poet and writer Edward FitzGerald published the first translation of what he called the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám. Coming from one of the wealthiest families in England, FitzGerald could do as he wished and one of the
- [On This Day <br/>30 March: Sabine Meyer Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-30-march-sabine-meyer-was-born/): Critics have written, “Few clarinetists today show such technical perfection as Sabine Meyer. ” In fact, she has quietly achieved superstardom “through a combination of effortless but unmistakable accomplishment, well-honed technical skills, a varied palette of sound and an irresistible musicality.
- [Musicians and Artists: Baley and 4 Sculptors](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-virko-baley-sculptured-birds-and-4-sculptors/): Most composers who look to art for inspiration look to paintings. A few, however, look to sculpture and one composer who look at four very different artists for a similar theme was Virko Baley (b. 1938). This Ukrainian-American composer began
- [A Dark Impressionism: Vierne’s Funeral Bells](https://interlude.hk/a-dark-impressionism-vierne-funeral-bells/): The French composer Louis Vierne (1870-1937) had a life of great potential that was thwarted by circumstances. He was born nearly blind and his musical abilities were developed at the Institut National des Jeunes Aveugles (National Institute for the Young
- [Ukrainian Choral Art](https://interlude.hk/ukrainian-choral-art/): “A thousand years of musical and cultural Identity” Choral music has always held special significance in Ukrainian national culture. A good many features of what might be called an indigenous Ukrainian musical style formed and evolved from its choral music.
- [Women Composers You Should Know II](https://interlude.hk/women-composers-you-should-know-ii/): Our history of women composers drops off in between the late 14th century and the mid-16th century. Too much was destroyed across Europe, and too much was lost to be able to construct a rational history. Fortunately, one of the
- [Notes From the Past <br/>Annotations on the Musical Score](https://interlude.hk/notes-from-the-past-annotations-on-the-musical-score/): The musical score is both a text and a visual artefact that can be converted by the musician into an aural experience, for player and audience. In order to achieve this, virtually every score is annotated by those musicians who
- [On This Day <br/>27 March: Mstislav Rostropovich Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-27-march-mstislav-rostropovich-was-born/): Mstislav Rostropovich has been called the greatest cellist of the second half of the 20th century, and one of the greatest of all time. Armed with impeccable technique, his playing produced a unique richness of tone as he famously exploited
- [Frédéric Chopin <br/>Looking for Sex in Public Toilets](https://interlude.hk/frederic-chopin-looking-for-sex-in-public-toilets/): Every week tabloid journalism reports “true stories” on celebrities, entertainment, alien abductions or people doing unspeakable things to themselves or others. Granted, the divide between professional journalistic standards and reporting stepped in sensationalism, which encourages biased or emotionally loaded impressions,
- [On This Day <br/>26 March: Pierre Boulez Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-26-march-pierre-boulez-was-born/): Probably the most important 20th century French composer of the avant-garde, Pierre Boulez was born on 26 March 1925 in Montbrison, a small town in the Loire department to Léon and Marcelle (née Calabre) Boulez. He tirelessly worked on behalf
- [Why Rachmaninoff Wrote So Much Music in Minor Keys](https://interlude.hk/why-rachmaninoff-wrote-so-much-music-in-minor-keys/): You have to hand it to composer Sergei Rachmaninoff—his three symphonies, the Symphonic Dances, four piano concertos, and the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini are all written in minor keys. Other favorites, perhaps less frequently performed, are also in
- [On This Day <br/>25 March: Claude Debussy Died](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-25-march-claude-debussy-died/): As German troops bombarded the city of Paris, Claude Debussy died in 25 March 1918. The chaotic situation did no permit a public funeral, but a lonely funeral cortège nevertheless made its way through deserted streets, passing the Tuileries, and
- [Opalescence – Piano & Chamber Works by Ruth Gipps](https://interlude.hk/opalescence-piano-chamber-works-by-ruth-gipps/): “A very welcome addition to recordings of Ruth Gipps’ music” A very welcome addition to recordings of Ruth Gipps’ music, this new disc, released at the end of 2021 to coincide with the centenary of Gipps’ birth (1921), contains no
- [Leading Greatness Forward <br/>An Interview With Naomi Belshaw](https://interlude.hk/leading-greatness-forward-an-interview-with-naomi-belshaw/): Naomi Belshaw came to her new role with an ideal background: she’s worked at the Performing Rights Society, she’s been a PR person for contemporary music, and is experienced in all those areas necessary in the contemporary arts scene: funding,
- [Classical Music Moments in Movies III](https://interlude.hk/classical-music-moments-in-movies-iii/): Ever since sound was first coupled with moving images at the turn of the 20th century, classical music has played an important role. In fact, the new film medium provided the avenue for Western classical music to reach people from
- [The Goldilocks Principle in the Performance of Music](https://interlude.hk/the-goldilocks-principle-in-the-performance-of-music/): This is the first of two articles, continuing our series from BodyMinded in Sydney1, addressing the relationship between too much tension, and too little. Muscle activity is a part of everything we do. Coordinating your movement skilfully is essential in
- [Holiday Writing: Brahms’ Violin Sonata No. 2](https://interlude.hk/holiday-writing-brahms-violin-sonata-no-2/): Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) didn’t come from money and spent the summers of his youth playing the piano to entertain guests at summer inns outside Hamburg. He was promoted by Schumann in his role as editor of the Neue Zeitschreift für
- [Ukrainian Struggles for Identity](https://interlude.hk/ukrainian-struggles-for-identity/): “Music is a splendid lawless land where no one can give orders” The Ukrainian region suffered considerable political instability and oppression during the early 20th century. In fact, Ukrainians entered World War I on the side of both the Central
- [On This Day <br/>21 March: Johann Sebastian Bach Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-21-march-johann-sebastian-bach-was-born/): On 21 March, I always celebrate the birthday of Johann Sebastian Bach by listening to as many of his compositions as possible. Basically, it’s Seb overdose for an entire day, and I simply can’t get enough. As you might have
- [The Unseen and Continuing Waves of the Pandemic for Musicians](https://interlude.hk/the-unseen-and-continuing-waves-of-the-pandemic-for-musicians/): A psychologist describes her work with musicians navigating the impacts of the pandemic Psychological counselors working with musicians receive valuable and intimate insights into the inner lives of these artists. We are privileged to hear deeply private and intimate expressions
- [Musicians and Artists: Small and Renoir](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-small-and-renoir/): Pierre-August Renoir (1841-1919) led the Impressionist style but also was a singer, a student of Charles Gounod. Family circumstances, however, led him away from Gounod’s church choir and into a porcelain factory apprenticeship at age 13. Mechanization of his work
- [On This Day <br/>20 March: Sviatoslav Richter Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-20-march-sviatoslav-richter-was-born/): He was described as “a pianist with a technique that conquered almost every obstacle, a sound that commanded the colors of the rainbow and an intellect and imagination that permitted an authoritative grasp of possibly the largest repertory in pianistic
- [On This Day <br/>19 March: Dvořák’s Cello Concerto in B minor Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-19-march-dvorak-cello-concerto-in-b-minor-was-premiered/): With his Cello Concerto in B minor, Op. 104, Antonín Dvořák created one of the all-time greatest works in the genre. Yet curiously, Dvořák had written in 1865, “The cello is a beautiful instrument, but its place is in the orchestra
- [Constantin Brâncuși](https://interlude.hk/constantin-brancusi/): “Work like a slave; command like a king; create like a god” The majority of photographs taken of French-Romanian sculptor Constantin Brâncuși (1876-1957) show a kind of Grizzly Adams, a man with unkempt hair, long beard, a deeply lined face
- [Women Composers You Should Know I](https://interlude.hk/women-composers-you-should-know-i/): They’re out there, hidden in the background, pushed out of the way by not only male composers but also male programmers, male conductors, male artistic directors. You have to look deep to find them, but they’re there, all through history.
- [Forgotten Cellist, Conductor, Heroine and LGBTQ advocate: Frieda Belinfante](https://interlude.hk/forgotten-cellist-conductor-heroine-and-lgbtq-advocate-frieda-belinfante/): Belinfante Quartet Plays Bosmans The Dutch cellist, conductor, and Nazi-resistance fighter Frieda Belinfante led an extraordinary life. Belinfante was born in Amsterdam in 1904, into a musical family, the third of four children. Her father was a prominent pianist who
- [Three Together: Trio Aries <em>Awakening</em>](https://interlude.hk/three-together-trio-aries-awakening/): The Trio Aries, founded in Belgium and active since 2018, just released their first album, the fruit of their winning the Supernova chamber music competitions in February 2020. One of the special prizes that came with being declared Supernovas was
- [The Song With Many Meanings](https://interlude.hk/the-song-with-many-meanings/): The psalm text “Ecce quam bonum et quam iocundum habitare fratres in unum” (Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity) (Vulgate Ps. 132, King James Ps. 133) was widely used in medieval
- [On This Day<br/> 17 March: Chopin’s <em>Piano Concerto No. 2</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-17-march-chopins-piano-concerto-no-2-was-premiered/): Although he published it second, Chopin’s Piano Concerto in F minor was actually the first concerto he composed. Written before he had actually finished his formal education, Chopin was the soloist in the premiere of the work on 17 March
- [On Holiday With Benjamin Britten <br/>Britten’s <em>Holiday Diary</em>](https://interlude.hk/on-holiday-with-benjamin-britten-brittens-holiday-diary/): Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) wrote very little for solo piano – a mere 6 pieces – but one of them was the delightful Holiday Diary, written in 1934, when he was 21, but creating a scene as for a child half
- [On This Day <br/>16 March: Massenet’s <em>Thaïs</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-16-march-massenets-thais-was-premiered/): When it comes to religious eroticism, nothing beats Jules Massenet’s Thaïs, composed to a libretto by Louis Gallet and based on a novel by Anatole France. The action takes place in Alexandria and the Thebaid desert in Egypt in the
- [Seeing Music](https://interlude.hk/seeing-music/): We think of musical notation as an object to be realized by a performer. As it sits on the page, there’s little there for someone who’s not musically educated to understand. You need the knowledge to read the notes. And
- [Behind the Scenes at the Circus: <br/>Lord Berners’ <em>Luna Park</em>](https://interlude.hk/behind-the-scenes-at-the-circus-lord-berners-luna-park/): The country gentleman as composer sounds like the stuff of romance novels, but for Right Honourable Sir Gerald Hugh Tyrwhitt-Wilson, later 14th Baron Berners in the peerage of England, and a baronet, that was his life. On the surface a
- [Mykola Lysenko (1842-1912) <br/>The Father of Ukrainian Music](https://interlude.hk/mykola-lysenko-the-father-of-ukrainian-music/): Mykola Lysenko: String Quartet in D minor, “1st Movement” The political conditions in 19th century Europe spawned a rapid growth of Nationalism and Patriotism across the continent. “The pride of conquering nations and the struggle for freedom of suppressed ones
- [Original Compositions and Transcriptions by Vladimir Horowitz](https://interlude.hk/original-compositions-and-transcriptions-by-vladimir-horowitz/): From his earliest days, the legendary pianist Vladimir Horowitz wanted to be a composer/performer in the great tradition of Franz Liszt and Sergei Rachmaninoff. In fact, despite his early successes as a pianist, Horowitz always claimed “he wanted to be
- [The Most Beautiful Note that Never Was <br/>Allegri’s <em>Miserere mei, Deus</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-most-beautiful-note-that-never-was-allegri-miserere-mei-deus/): Gregorio Allegri (c. 1582-1652) was a composer and singer at the Vatican. He started his career in Rome as a chorister in the French national church, San Luigi dei Francesi. His skills as a composer in the cathedral of Fremo
- [Two More Woman Composers Who Wrote Enduring Cello Music <br/>Marie Jaëll and Dora Pejačević](https://interlude.hk/two-more-woman-composers-who-wrote-enduring-cello-music-marie-jaell-and-dora-pejacevic/): How is it that we don’t know more about the astonishing talents Marie Jaëll (1846-1925) and Dora Pejačević (1885–1923)? Jaëll, a French pianist, composer, and teacher, composed works in several genres—solo piano, concertos, and quartets. Attuned to music from her
- [On This Day <br/> 12 March: Schubert’s <em>“Death and the Maiden”</em> Quartet Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-12-march-schubert-death-and-the-maiden-quartet-was-premiered/): In 1774 the poet Matthias Claudius (1740-1815) published a short poem titled “Death and the Maiden. ” The poem is designed as a dialogue, contrasting a young woman’s fear with the reassurance of death. Claudius creates opposites and connections between the
- [On This Day <br/>11 March: Katia Labèque Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-11-march-katia-labeque-was-born/): I really don’t know how to talk about one without the other, as many consider Katia and Marielle Labèque, “the best and closest piano duo in front of an audience today. ” The Labèque sisters are tremendous, exclaims American composer Philip
- [Beethoven in His Year of Despair <br/><em>Piano Sonata No. 17 in D Minor, Op. 31, No. 2, "Tempest"</em>](https://interlude.hk/beethoven-piano-sonata-no-17-in-d-minor-op-31-no-2-tempest/): The year 1802 was a year of despair for Beethoven. His hearing had been declining since 1796 and he had been consulting doctors everywhere. Finally, in mid-1801 he found Professor Johann Schmidt, who became his personal physician until his death
- [On This Day <br/>10 March: Igor Levit Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-10-march-igor-levit-was-born/): While pianists Yuja Wang and Lang Lang have undoubtedly achieved mass-market appeal, Igor Levit has, at least in German-speaking countries, become a political figure and social advocate. He is not only considered one of the best pianists of the century,
- [In Remembrance of George Crumb](https://interlude.hk/in-remembrance-of-george-crumb/): George Crumb, one of the most influential American composers of the 20th century, passed away on February 6th. Crumb’s music was an exploration of humanistic art. A winner of the Grammy Award and Pulitzer Prize, He was known as the
- [On This Day <br/>9 March: Samuel Barber Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-9-march-samuel-barber-was-born/): Samuel Osmond Barber, born in West Chester, Pennsylvania, on 9 March 1910, went on to become one of the most celebrated, honored and most frequently performed American composer of the 20th century. A critic writes, “Probably no other American composer
- [Defining the American Tragedy <br/>Copland’s <em>Billy the Kid Suite</em>](https://interlude.hk/defining-the-american-tragedy-aaron-copland-billy-the-kid-suite/): The American tragedy these days is gun violence and how it has become a part of the familiar scene. It seems like most films from the US have a gun in the imagery and the news is filled with today’s
- [Joachim Raff](https://interlude.hk/joachim-raff-composer/): “The Pressure Which Liszt Has Put On My Personality Is Insufferable” In his lifetime the composer and teacher Joachim Raff (1822-1882) was greatly celebrated and admired. His music was valued, with some reservations, by Mendelssohn, Liszt, von Bülow, and Clara
- [On This Day <br/>8 March: Mark Padmore Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-8-march-mark-padmore-was-born/): Tenor Mark Padmore, born in London on 8 March 1961, came of age singing in choirs oriented toward Renaissance and Baroque music, and as a soloist he specialized in Baroque opera and choral music. Padmore grew up in Canterbury, and
- [Choosing Your Partner: <br/>Cimarosa’s <em>Il Matrimonio Segreto</em>](https://interlude.hk/choosing-your-partner-cimarosa-il-matrimonio-segreto/): When fathers have plans and their daughters have other plans, it made for any number of comic operas and Cimarosa’s The Secret Marriage is one of them. Geronimo has two daughters, Elisetta and her younger sister Carolina. He wants a
- [Piano Practice <br/>Etudes from Planet Impossible](https://interlude.hk/piano-practice-etudes-from-planet-impossible/): Virtuosity is totally intoxicating. To me, there is nothing ambivalent in a performance of a piece of music of such complexity that only the most exceptional artists can tackle it. It’s like an athletic event of the most demanding physicality,
- [On This Day <br/>7 March: Maurice Ravel Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-7-march-maurice-ravel-was-born/): Maurice Ravel was born on 7 March 1875 in the Basque town Ciboure, Basses-Pyrénées located in France, situated close to the Spanish border near Biarritz. It was the village where his Basque mother, Marie Ravel, née Delouart, was born and
- [On This Day <br/>6 March: Verdi’s <em>La Traviata</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-6-march-verdi-la-traviata-was-premiered/): Marie Duplessis (1824-1847) was one of the most famous and sought-after French courtesans of her time. Born on 15 January 1824, her father wasn’t a particularly pleasant man, and early on sold his daughter to a variety of men. It
- [Ukrainian Voices for Independence](https://interlude.hk/ukrainian-voices-for-independence/): On 17 July 2014, Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 with 283 passengers and 15 crew on board was shot down while flying over eastern Ukraine. Everybody on that flight was killed by a surface-to-air-missile launched from pro-Russian separatist-controlled territory in Ukraine.
- [The Horrors of War: Composers and Picasso’s Guernica](https://interlude.hk/the-horrors-of-war-composers-and-picasso-guernica/): Picasso’s 1937 oil painting Guernica is considered one of the ‘most moving and powerful anti-war painting in history. ’ The work is enormous, standing 3. 49 meters (11 ft 5 in) tall and 7. 76 meters (25 ft 6 in) across. The picture
- [Prokofiev: <em>Old Grandmother's Tales</em>](https://interlude.hk/prokofiev-old-grandmothers-tales/): In 1914, Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953) graduated from the St. Petersburg Conservatoire, having entered there ten years earlier at age 14 as the youngest-ever student to enter the Conservatoire. His teachers were the finest in Russia: Glazunov, Rimsky-Korsakov, and Lyadov. He
- [On This Day <br/>5 March: Heitor Villa-Lobos Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-5-march-heitor-villa-lobos-was-born/): Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887-1959) has been described as “the single most significant creative figure in 20th century Brazilian art music. ” His quest to develop musical compositions using indigenous Brazilian elements fueled a number of ethno-musicological excursions into the northeastern states of
- [Shanghai Sonatas: Hope Not Hate](https://interlude.hk/shanghai-sonatas-hope-not-hate/): The pianists Yuja Wang, Lang-Lang, and Ji Liu, cellist Yo Yo Ma, composers Chen Yi and Tan Dun, and pipa player Wu Man are household names in the world of music. There are an astounding number of Chinese people joining
- [Musicians and Artists: Cohen and Calder](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-robert-cohen-and-alexander-calder/): American sculptor Alexander Calder (1898-1976) was known not only for his distinctive mobiles but also his ‘stabiles,’ non-moving sculptures. One of his best-known ‘stabiles’ is Cirque Calder (Calder’s Circus), a collection of over 70 miniature figures and animals with over
- [On This Day <br/>4 March: Mozart’s <em>Piano Concerto No. 27, K. 595</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-4-march-mozart-piano-concerto-no-27-k-595-was-premiered/): Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart completed his final piano concerto in January of 1791, shortly before his thirty-fifth birthday. Mozart could hardly have known that K. 595 was going to be his last piano concerto, and that 1791 was going to be
- [What is Sight Reading?](https://interlude.hk/what-is-sight-reading/): The end of January sees the UK deadline fast-approaching for self-employed people up and down the country to submit their ‘Self Assessment’ tax returns. Sight reading, much like filing tax forms, is something that makes sense in theory, but can
- [On This Day <br/> 3 March: Mendelssohn’s <em>“Scottish Symphony”</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-3-march-mendelssohn-scottish-symphony-was-premiered/): During his first visit to Britain in 1829, Felix Mendelssohn participated in a series of highly successful performances in London. During his London stay, Mendelssohn was in the care of his close lifelong friend Carl Klingemann. Klingemann was eleven years
- [Mother and Maiden <br/> Variations of “I Sing of a Maiden” in Classical Music](https://interlude.hk/mother-and-maiden-variations-of-i-sing-of-a-maiden-in-classical-music/): The fifteenth century poem ‘I syng of a mayden,’ also known ‘As Dew in Aprille,’ celebrates the Annunciation and coming birth of Christ. Although thought to be well-known in the 15th century, the poem comes to us now only in
- [Producer and Evil Henchman: Rossini’s <em>L’inganno felice</em> <br/>An Interview With Martin Ng](https://interlude.hk/producer-and-evil-henchman-rossini-linganno-felice-an-interview-with-martin-ng/): We caught up with Martin Ng the other day when he was in the middle of rehearsals for Rossini’s L’inganno felice (The Blissful Deception), which will make its appearance in Singapore in early March. He talked about the founding of
- [Tal-Haim Samnon](https://interlude.hk/tal-haim-samnon-pianist-interview/): “Good for the Soul” Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 5 in E flat Major, “The Emperor” 3rd Movement (Tal-Haim Samnon, piano; Zubin Mehta, cond. ) Israeli pianist Tal-Haim Samnon is based in Tel Aviv, and regularly performs as a concerto soloist in
- [On This Day <br/>1 March: Frédéric Chopin Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-1-march-frederic-chopin-was-born/): In my opinion, Frédéric Chopin was one of the greatest pianists the world has ever known. One of his students writes, “Chopin’s playing was always noble and beautiful; his tones sang, whether in full forte or softest piano... He demanded the
- [Music in National Rhythms: Vladigerov’s <em>Bulgarian Dance</em>](https://interlude.hk/music-in-national-rhythms-vladigerov-bulgarian-dance/): Bulgaria’s history of occupation by the Thracians, the Slavs, and the Proto-Bulgarians has given them a music background unlike any other in Europe. One of the relics of these old civilizations is the music where an asymmetry and unfamiliar rhythmic
- [More Famous Orchestra Musicians You Must Know](https://interlude.hk/more-famous-orchestra-musicians-you-must-know/): Many orchestra musicians start professional careers soon after graduating from a conservatory music performance program. There is a good chance that aspiring orchestra musician already gained first experience in ensembles, school orchestras, or by temping in a civic ensemble. After
- [Schumann and his Circle of Friends II](https://interlude.hk/schumann-and-his-circle-of-friends-ii/): Robert Schumann was a progressive critic and editor of the influential music periodical Neue Zeitschrift für Musik, which he had founded in 1834. He populated the pages of his journal with a cast of characters called the “Davidsbündler” (League of
- [Between Mozart and Mussorgsky: Persichetti’s Symphony No. 4](https://interlude.hk/between-mozart-and-mussorgsky-vincent-persichetti-symphony-no-4/): We really can’t think of two more contrasting composers than Mozart and Mussorgsky – the first is a composer for whom the melodies flowed like water and the second a man for whom music was difficult to bring to completion
- [On This Day <br/>27 February: Patricia Petibon Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-27-february-patricia-petibon-was-born/): A critic wrote, “It is simply not possible to listen to Patricia Petibon—born on 27 February—without gasping with admiration at her versatility, flexibility, musicality, virtuosity and sheer force of personality... Petibon has the ability to make Baroque music so much
- [Greek Mythology in Music II <br/>Handel, Slonimsky, Schubert, Bolcom, Mendelssohn and Szymanowski](https://interlude.hk/greek-mythology-in-music-ii-handel-slonimsky-schubert-bolcom-mendelssohn-and-szymanowski/): The King of Arcadia had no use for female offspring, and when his daughter Atalanta was born, he ordered her abandoned in the wilderness. Luckily for Atalanta, a mother bear took on the human cub and the girl grew up
- [On This Day <br/>26 February: Saint-Saëns’ <em>The Carnival of Animals</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-26-february-saint-saens-the-carnival-of-animals-was-premiered/): “The Carnival of Animals,” also known as “Le Carnaval des Animaux,” is one of Camille Saint-Saëns’ most famous works. It’s hardly surprising, as bees, bears, birds, cows and all manner of creatures spring to life in the ultimate musical animal
- [Played by the Wind <br/>Adams’ <em>Artic Dreams</em>](https://interlude.hk/played-by-the-wind-john-luther-adams-artic-dreams/): Sound comes from something vibrating, be it your vocal chords or your guitar strings. What, though, if you want to have sound without using your body? This is where the wind harp comes in. Set in the outdoors where the
- [On This Day <br/>25 February: Myra Hess Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-25-february-myra-hess-was-born/): Julia Myra Hess was born on 25 February 1890 in London, as the youngest of four children. Her paternal grandfather Samuel Hess had migrated from his native Alsace to England, and he established a highly successful textile firm in London’s
- [On This Day <br/>24 February: Monteverdi’s <em>L’Orfeo</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-24-february-monteverdi-orfeo-was-premiered/): Commissioned for the 1606/7 Carnival season, Monteverdi’s first opera L’Orfeo was performed in Mantua on 24 February 1607. Essentially, it was commissioned by Francesco Gonzaga in competition with his brother Ferdinando Gonzaga, both sons of the Duke of Mantua. Claudio
- [Monteverdi’s Toccata and Its Interpretations](https://interlude.hk/monteverdi-toccata-and-its-interpretations/): Claudio Monteverdi’s 1607 opera L’Orfeo wasn’t the first opera, Jacopo Peri’s Dafne (1598) bears that honour. However, L’Orfeo is the earliest opera that is still on our opera stages, and for an opera to hold our attention for over 400
- [On This Day <br/> 23 February: Edward Elgar Died](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-23-february-edward-elgar-died/): A contemporary newspaper reported, “No soldiers paraded, no trumpets blared, no drums rolled out an elegy. But throughout the Western World last week a mighty marching tune reverberated. Sir Edward Elgar, 76, was dead on 23 February 1934. ” During an
- [Carnival Celebrations: Villa-Lobos’ <em>Mômoprecóce</em>](https://interlude.hk/carnival-celebrations-villa-lobos-momoprecoce/): Starting with work that is made up of a set of 7 solo piano pieces and concluding with a piano duet, Carnaval das crianças (Children’s Carnival) of 1919, Heitor Villa Lobos (1887-1959) created a larger work for piano and orchestra
- [On This Day <br/>22 February: Rolando Villazón Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-22-february-rolando-villazon-was-born/): Born on 22 February 1972 in Fuentes de Satélite, Mexico, Rolando Villazón has firmly established himself as one of the world’s most critically acclaimed tenors of our day. Raised in a suburban area of Greater Mexico City, he was discovered
- [Invented for a New Time: An Interview With Susannah Self](https://interlude.hk/invented-for-a-new-time-an-interview-with-susannah-self/): Composer Susannah Self started out as Mezzo-Soprano Susannah Self and also adds the title of Conductor Susannah Self to her honorifics. That’s not to say that all of these titles were sequential, but rather concurrent. As a student, she took
- [Old Music in New Bottles: <br/>Handel’s Concerto Grosso, Op. 6](https://interlude.hk/old-music-in-new-bottles-handel-concerto-grosso-op-6/): In the Baroque era, the Concerto grosso, the big concerto, was the workhorse genre. Unlike a regular concerto where one soloist contrasted with the orchestra, in a concerto grosso a small group of soloists, known as the concertino alternates with
- [On This Day <br/> 21 February: Carl Czerny Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-21-february-carl-czerny-was-born/): For every aspiring pianist, Carl Czerny is still a household name. His extensive sets of technical exercises are part of nearly every pianist’s training. Czerny was also the most famous student of Beethoven, and in turn a teacher of Liszt.
- [Classical Music Inspired by Mariachi](https://interlude.hk/classical-music-inspired-by-mariachi/): Joyful tunes by Blas Galindo, Juan Pablo Contreras, Jose Pablo Moncayo and Aleksey Igudesman Mexico has a vibrant musical history full of different musical styles and influences. Mariachi music is one of them. Mariachi refers to both the genre of
- [On This Day <br/> 20 February: Tōru Takemitsu Died](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-20-february-toru-takemitsu-died/): On 20 February 1996, while undergoing treatment for abdominal cancer, Tōru Takemitsu died at the age of sixty-five. He had been diagnosed mid-1995, and “by October the disfiguring side-effects of the medical treatments were pronounced. ” Takemitsu became increasingly weak and
- [Schumann and His Circle of Friends](https://interlude.hk/schumann-and-his-circle-of-friends/): Robert Schumann (1810-1856) was a seminal figure in 19th-century musical and critical thought. He was a visionary composer and seasoned journalist, a cultured man of letters and a musical genius who eventually succumbed to mental illness. An individual of incredible
- [Playing With the Piano <br/>Henry Cowell and John Cage](https://interlude.hk/playing-with-the-piano-henry-cowell-and-john-cage/): For American composer Henry Cowell (1897-1965), the piano wasn’t just an instrument where you sat down at the piano stool and played the keys. He used the pianist as the sound generator for all kinds of sounds on the piano.
- [Greek Mythology in Music <br/>Beethoven, Handel, Dittersdorf, Strauss, Cherubini and Roussel](https://interlude.hk/greek-mythology-in-music-beethoven-handel-dittersdorf-strauss-cherubini-and-roussel/): Prometheus, so it is told in Greek mythology, gave humanity the gift of fire. That creative spark gave humankind the ability to run its own affairs, and it awoke a consciousness that once only belonged to the gods. Human were
- [On This Day <br/>19 February: Gil Shaham Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-19-february-gil-shaham-was-born/): Gil Shaham is rightfully considered one of the foremost violinists of our time. Born on 19 February 1971 in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, his playing combines inimitable warmth and generosity of spirit. Musical America named him “Instrumentalist of the Year 2012,” and
- [When the Maid Isn’t the Maid <br/>Stravinsky’s Mavra](https://interlude.hk/when-the-maid-isnt-the-maid-stravinsky-mavra/): To begin his new neo-classical period, Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971) took a story by Alexander Pushkin and had Boris Kochno, Serge Diaghilev’s personal secretary, create a libretto for a little one-act comic opera. In Pushkin’s poem, a widowed mother and her
- [Famous Orchestra Musicians You Must Know](https://interlude.hk/famous-orchestra-musicians-you-must-know/): To land a permanent position in a symphony orchestra is a dream for many classically trained musicians. It offers job security, a good salary, medical benefits, and probably most importantly, “the opportunity to play regularly with other outstanding musicians. Orchestra
- [Quartet Berlin-Tokyo: Two Extraordinary Modern String Quartets](https://interlude.hk/quartet-berlin-tokyo-two-extraordinary-modern-string-quartets/): Erwin Schulhoff: Five Pieces for String Quartet Gaviil Popov: Quartet-Symphony The Quartet Berlin-Tokyo has issued a new CD with works by the Czech composer Erwin Schulhoff (1894-1942) and the Soviet composer Gavriil Popov (1904-1972). Each composer struck the genre with
- [Andy Warhol (1928-1987) <br/>“I Am a Deeply Superficial Person”](https://interlude.hk/andy-warhol-1928-1987-i-am-a-deeply-superficial-person/): Born Andrew Warhola on 6 August 1928 in Pittsburgh, Andy Warhol (1928-1987) was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. This exciting artistic movement challenged the traditions of fine art by including imagery from popular
- [Darius Milhaud’s Flying Doctor Scaramouche](https://interlude.hk/darius-milhauds-flying-doctor-scaramouche/): In 1936, the French composer Darius Milhaud (1892-1974) wrote incidental music for Le médécin volant (The Flying Doctor), a play by Charles Vildrac based on Molière’s play of the same name, which uses Italian commedia dell’arte characters. The title of
- [On This Day <br/>15 February: Mikhail Glinka Died](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-15-february-mikhail-glinka-died/): Mikhail Glinka (1804-1857) has been described as a “dilettante of genius. ” His compositions are widely considered the foundation of Russian music, but he primarily wrote them while living and traveling in Western Europe for 23 years. During the 1850s, Glinka
- [Musicians and Artists: Robert Jager and Edvard Munch](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-robert-jager-and-edvard-munch/): The art of the Norwegian painter Edvard Munch (1863-1944) was always conducted in the shadow of illness – both his own and hereditary mental illnesses that ran in his family. In his art, we find out hidden fears, the shadow
- [The New Noise in the House: Korngold’s <em>Baby Serenade</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-new-noise-in-the-house-korngold-baby-serenade/): From its very beginning, Erich Korngold’s light symphonic suite Baby Serenade shows us the chaos and celebration that a new baby can bring. Written in 1928, it was a very definite musical response to the birth of either young Ernest
- [Valentine’s Day Proposal <br/>Will You Marry Me?](https://interlude.hk/valentines-day-proposal-will-you-marry-me-classical-music-for-marriage-proposal/): Who said romance was dead? Well, clearly it hasn’t died but simply been updated in the Instagram era. Many of my friends find it very romantic for their partner to tag them in a photo in Instagram or Facebook. They
- [On This Day <br/>14 February: Víkingur Ólafsson Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-14-february-vikingur-olafsson-was-born/): Born on 14 February 1984, Icelandic pianist Víkingur Ólafsson grew up in Reykjavík and started playing the piano at an early age under the tutelage of his mother, a piano teacher. He studied at the Juilliard School in New York,
- [On This Day <br/>13 February: Richard Wagner Died](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-13-february-richard-wagner-died/): We do know that Richard Wagner died on 13 February 1883 after suffering his final, fatal heart attack. However, there is still much debate as to what triggered that fatal attack. The leading English-language dictionary asserts, “the attack followed an
- [The Composer as Poet: Claude Debussy](https://interlude.hk/the-composer-as-poet-claude-debussy-proses-lyriques/): We think of Debussy as the composer of the dreamworld sound of impressionism. He was an active follower of the symbolist movement, which rejected naturalism, realism, and clear-cut forms in favour of the indefinite and the mysterious. The symbolist poets
- [The Nightingale’s Sonata <br/>The Story of Violinist Lea Luboshutz and Her Musical Dynasty](https://interlude.hk/the-nightingales-sonata-the-story-of-violinist-lea-luboshutz-and-her-musical-dynasty/): Legendary violinist Lea Luboshutz, was one of the first female soloists to be internationally recognized, and yet her name is not well-known. In 2019 Thomas Wolf, Ms Luboshuz’s grandson, illuminated her place in history in his book The Nightingale’s Sonata—The
- [On This Day <br/>12 February: George Gershwin’s <em>Rhapsody in Blue</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-12-february-george-gershwin-rhapsody-in-blue-was-premiered/): The son of poor Jewish immigrants, George Gershwin (1898-1937), could hardly have dreamt that his Rhapsody in Blue would single-handedly propel him to world fame. The work was originally titled “American Rhapsody,” but when his brother Ira saw a painting
- [The Magic of Franco Zeffirelli](https://interlude.hk/the-magic-of-franco-zeffirelli/): An exhibition just opened in Muscat, Sultanate of Oman, on the artistic legacy of Franco Zeffirelli (1923-2019). In talking to people at the opening, so many remember so many different aspects of his art: one remembers his film of Romeo
- [On This Day <br/>11 February: Kirill Petrenko Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-11-february-kirill-petrenko-was-born/): Kirill Petrenko, currently chief conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic, was born on 11 February in Omsk, a city in Siberia “that made its living from the arms industry and petrochemicals. ” Petrenko recalls that it was a closed city for foreigners,
- [A Brief Flicker: Rentarō Taki](https://interlude.hk/a-brief-flicker-rentaro-taki/): With the Meiji Restoration in 1868, Japan began to modernize. Western systems and Western technology were adopted and Western music was allowed to return after a 250-year absence. The Tokyo Academy of Music opened in 1887 and one of its
- [On This Day <br/>10 February: Yuja Wang Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-10-february-yuja-wang-was-born/): Combining phenomenal technical brilliance and dramatic outfits, Yuja Wang is one of the hottest tickets on the classical music stage. Born in Beijing, China, on 10 February 1987, Yuja Wang comes from an artistic family. Her mother, Zhai Jieming, is
- [Francis Gorgé: The Fine Art of Orchestration](https://interlude.hk/francis-gorge-the-fine-art-of-orchestration/): When many composers work, they start with a piano score – just getting the basic melody and harmonies down. If they’re going on to create an orchestral work, many composers start with the piano score and fill that out as
- [Following the Master’s Path: A Conversation With the Leopold Auer Society](https://interlude.hk/following-the-masters-path-a-conversation-with-the-leopold-auer-society/): He was born in 1845 in Vezprém, Hungary, and in the 85 years of his life, was one of the most important violin teachers of the late 19th and early 20th century. He taught at the St. Petersburg Conservatory for
- [Piano Practice <br/>Etudes for Intermediate Beginners](https://interlude.hk/piano-practice-etudes-for-intermediate-beginners/): I started piano lessons at the age of six, and it was a lot of fun. There were so many exciting things to explore, and thankfully I had a very nice and knowledgably teacher. At that age, I didn’t get
- [Symphony 7, 8 or 9: Schubert’s Great C major](https://interlude.hk/symphony-7-8-or-9-schuberts-great-c-major/): Schubert’s final symphony, his ninth, was called the Great C major to distinguish it from his earlier Symphony No. 6 in C major (called the Little C major). Now, the word Great refers to the work’s majesty. It is the
- [Valentine’s Day 2022 <br/> “You Say It Best When You Say Nothing at All”](https://interlude.hk/valentines-day-2022-you-say-it-best-when-you-say-nothing-at-all/): I have never been that interested in American country music, because I naively connected it with bar fights, drinking whisky and plenty of flag waving. To be sure, it has nothing to do with the music or the lyrics, but
- [Monteverdi and Jazz](https://interlude.hk/monteverdi-and-jazz/): We were listening to a bit of Bill Evans the other day and something struck us as very familiar about it. We heard, of all things, an odd bass line, played very slow – descending. And then the trumpets came
- [On This Day <br/>6 February: Poulenc’s <em>La Voix Humaine</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-6-february-poulenc-la-voix-humaine-was-premiered/): Francis Poulenc: La voix humaine In the early 1920’s, Jean Cocteau (1889-1963) had been the unofficial spokesman for a group of six composers emphasizing directness, simplicity, clarity and humor. “Les Six,” comprising George Auric, Louis Durey, Arthur Honegger, Darius Milhaud,
- [In Our Service – A Special Platinum Jubilee Commission From the Royal School of Church Music](https://interlude.hk/in-our-service-a-special-platinum-jubilee-commission-from-the-royal-school-of-church-music/): Music has long been associated with royalty, from coronation anthems to music for royal fireworks, and much more. To celebrate Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee, the Royal School of Church Music (RSCM), a UK music and education charity based in
- [Ferde Grofé](https://interlude.hk/ferde-grofe-composer/): “On the Trail” Shortly before celebrating his 80th birthday, the American composer, arranger, pianist, and instrumentalist Ferde Grofé (1892-1972) died in Santa Monica, California. As we celebrate the 50th year of his passing, he might not be a household name.
- [The Heart Symbol and Music](https://interlude.hk/the-heart-symbol-and-music/): We don’t really think about what the heart symbol (♥) really means. We know it’s not the shape of a real heart, which is much more asymmetrical. It’s been discovered in jewelry dating back to 3,000 years BCE, and is
- [On This Day <br/>5 February: Verdi’s <em>Otello</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-5-february-verdi-otello-was-premiered/): After the enormous success of Aida in 1871, Giuseppe Verdi decided on an early retirement. He still had things to say, but as a composer who had been at the forefront of Italian musical taste for two decades, he now
- [2nd Hong Kong Early Music Festival 2021: A Historical Journey](https://interlude.hk/2nd-hong-kong-early-music-festival-2021-a-historical-journey/): In one way or another, this seemingly never-ending pandemic has greatly affected each and every one of us. It has severely restricted our freedoms and abilities to travel, affected our livelihoods, and occasionally left deep scars on our psychological wellbeing.
- [Making Fun of Opera: Victorian Opera Burlesques](https://interlude.hk/making-fun-of-opera-victorian-opera-burlesques/): As soon as an opera hit the London stage in the mid-to-late 19th century and everyone was familiar with the tunes, it immediately became subject of humorous versions. Beethoven’s Fidelio was turned into Pizzarro the Great Tyrant or the Little
- [On This Day <br/>3 February: Felix Mendelssohn Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-3-february-felix-mendelssohn-was-born/): On 3 February 1809, Felix Mendelssohn was born in Hamburg into a highly prominent Jewish family. His grandfather Moses Mendelssohn was the “preeminent Jewish philosopher of the Enlightenment in Germany, who had argued for religious tolerance and the assimilation of
- [On This Day <br/> 2 February: Jascha Heifetz Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-2-february-jascha-heifetz-was-born/): After the 19-year-old Jascha Heifetz played his London debut, Georg Bernard Shaw wrote to him, “If you provoke a jealous God by playing with such superhuman perfection, you will die young. I earnestly advise you to play something badly every
- [A New Set of Planets <br/>Piano Reflections by Tanya Ekanayaka](https://interlude.hk/a-new-set-of-planets-piano-reflections-by-tanya-ekanayaka/): Conceived of and finished during the global COVID-19 pandemic, The Planets and Humanity is Sri-Lankan–British composer Tanya Ekanayaka’s reflections on ancient music in a modern world. She says ‘I see a uniquely powerful and delicate congruence between ancient music which
- [A Galant Orchestra <br/>By Johann Joachim Kändler](https://interlude.hk/a-galant-orchestra-by-johann-joachim-kandler/): The master ceramic designer Johann Joachim Kändler observed the world around him and re-created it for the ceramic company Meissen. Kändler, through his work, established the appropriate scale and style for porcelain figures, based on his previous training as a
- [On This Day <br/> 1 February: Alexander Melnikov Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-1-february-alexander-melnikov-was-born/): Born on 1 February 1973, the Russian pianist Alexander Melnikov began his musical studies at the Moscow Central Music School at the age of 6. Although he never considered himself a child prodigy, he did play Rachmaninoff’s first piano concerto
- [Dominique Vleeshouwers](https://interlude.hk/dominique-vleeshouwers-artist-of-the-month/): From Bach to Breakdancing Dominique Vleeshouwers Plays Double by Karmit Fadael Dominique Vleeshouwers is a musical powerhouse. The Dutch percussionist also turns his hand to producing, composing, curating and creating, and has earned a reputation for performances that are electrifyingly
- [Unfaithful or Worse? Wolf-Ferrari’s <em>Il segreto di Susanna</em>](https://interlude.hk/unfaithful-or-worse-wolf-ferraris-il-segreto-di-susanna/): Not quite an opera, the intermezzo Il segreto di Susanna, The Secret of Susanna, presents what appears to be a classic case of the jealous husband and the invisible lover... or does it? In the hands of the Italian composer
- [On This Day <br/>31 January: Franz Schubert Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-31-january-franz-schubert-was-born/): Franz Schubert was born in the early afternoon of 31 January 1797 in a one-room apartment in a house called “The Red Crab”, then located in the district of the “Himmelpfortgrund,” an area northwest of the bustling and overcrowded center
- [Music Inspired by the Tiger](https://interlude.hk/music-inspired-by-the-tiger/): The year of the Tiger is coming! Tigers are courageous and competitive. According to the Chinese zodiac, tiger people have strong personalities who like to fight for themselves, but they can also be friendly and generous. How about classical music
- [On This Day <br/>30 January: Gerald Finley Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-30-january-gerald-finley-was-born/): Canadian bass-baritone Gerald Finley is widely acclaimed as “one of the classical music world’s great communicators. ” Having exceptional control and command over a wide variety of repertoire, Finley is one of the premiere dramatic interpreters of our time. In fact,
- [Musical River Journeys](https://interlude.hk/musical-river-journeys/): We had such exciting plans for the summer of 2021. Together with some of my best friends, we decided to take part in a musical river cruise. We had always heard that gliding along the world’s most exciting waterways was
- [Satie Discovers Ragtime](https://interlude.hk/satie-discovers-ragtime/): Although we associate ragtime music with composers such as Scott Joplin and Joseph Lamb, we rarely consider what effect this new musical style might have had internationally. Through performers such as Jelly Roll Morton and band leaders such as W. C.
- [Three Minute Symphonies: Milhaud’s Chamber Symphonies](https://interlude.hk/three-minute-symphonies-milhauds-chamber-symphonies/): Written in an unusual small format, and with only three movements, the Chamber Symphonies of Darius Milhaud (1892-1974) are perfect pocket symphonies. Begun while he was in Brazil in 1917, while he was serving as the secretary to Paul Claudel,
- [On This Day <br/>29 January: Fritz Kreisler Died](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-29-january-fritz-kreisler-died/): Remembered as one of the best and most refined violinists of all time, Fritz Kreisler died at the age of 86 on 29 January 1962. Old age and a persistent heart condition had finally taken its toll, but Kreisler had
- [Composers and their Poets: Christopher Ludwig and William Carlos Williams](https://interlude.hk/composers-and-their-poets-christopher-ludwig-and-william-carlos-williams/): In 1962, the American poet William Carlos Williams (1883-1963) published his last book of poetry, Pictures from Brueghel and Other Poems. The book opens with a ten-poem cycle based on paintings by the Flemish painter Pieter Bruegel the Elder (ca.
- [Welcome to the Year of the Water Tiger <br/>Gong Hei Fat Choy](https://interlude.hk/welcome-to-the-year-of-the-water-tiger-gong-hei-fat-choy/): In the twelve-year cycle of animals that appear in the Chinese zodiac, the mighty tiger surprisingly only comes in as number three. When the Jade Emperor invited all the animals of the world to take part in a race, the
- [Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres](https://interlude.hk/jean-auguste-dominique-ingres-1780-1867-fine-and-delicate-taste-is-the-fruit-of-education-and-experience/): “Fine and Delicate Taste Is the Fruit of Education and Experience” The popular French expression “le violon d’Ingres” essentially makes reference to a secondary skill or hobby, that is, an activity done in one’s leisure time. This figurative term originated
- [<em>Hello CelloBello</em> – Paul Katz and Everything Cello and More](https://interlude.hk/hello-cellobello-paul-katz-and-everything-cello-and-more/): Cellists are known to be a genial and collaborative bunch. In fact, cellists love to share information, anecdotes, news, and even fingerings. There are several websites geared towards cellists but CelloBello is a top destination not only because it’s an
- [On This Day <br/>27 January: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-27-january-wolfgang-amadeus-mozart-was-born/): On 27 January 1756 a boy was born to Leopold Mozart and his wife Anna Maria, née Pertl, in an apartment on the third floor of Getreidegasse 9 in the city of Salzburg. That particular house is still standing, and
- [George Rochberg: Caprice Variations <br/>Léo Marillier: Violin](https://interlude.hk/george-rochberg-caprice-variations-leo-marillier-violin/): The violin virtuoso Niccolò Paganini (1782-1840) wrote his set of 24 Caprices for Solo Violin between 1802 and 1817. Dedicated by Paganini to ‘all artists’ upon its publication by Ricordi in 1820, his own score carries names of performers and
- [On This Day <br/>26 January: Gustavo Dudamel Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-26-january-gustavo-dudamel-was-born/): Son of a trombonist and a singing teacher, Gustavo Dudamel was born 26 January 1981 in Barquisimeto, Venezula. In this city full of crime and drugs, Gustavo initially took violin lessons, but he had a favorite game as a child.
- [The Soul of the Composer: Simone Menezes’ Metanoia Project](https://interlude.hk/the-soul-of-the-composer-simone-menezes-metanoia-project/): Metanoia, a change in one’s way of life resulting from penitence or spiritual conversion, can be considered one of the interesting offshoots of the whole COVID period. If we redefine it away from spiritual matters and make it “transformations in
- [The Lost Art of the Composer-Conductor](https://interlude.hk/the-lost-art-of-the-composer-conductor/): It is not only the essence of music which has evolved over the centuries, but also the manner in which it has and is being created, produced and performed — its medium. As music became more and more complex, its
- [The Non-Dance: Chopin’s Mazurkas](https://interlude.hk/the-non-dance-chopin-mazurkas/): The Mazurka in the hands of Chopin changed from being a Polish country dance to being found in the drawing rooms and parlours of the most distinguished homes in the Romantic period. Its origin is in the mazur, a folk
- [A New Year and a ‘New Normal’ for Live Concerts?](https://interlude.hk/a-new-year-and-a-new-normal-for-live-concerts/): The word “normal” has shifted in meaning over the past nearly two years of the covid pandemic. For concert halls and opera houses, and other arts venues such as galleries and exhibition spaces, “normal” now has a variety of meanings,
- [Looking From the Inside Out: Self-Portraits in Music <br/>Couperin, Poulenc, Thomson, and Ligeti](https://interlude.hk/looking-from-the-inside-out-self-portraits-in-music-couperin-poulenc-thomson-and-ligeti/): How does a composer look at himself? In these works, covering some 400 years, we’ll see composers’ self-portraits in music and try to discern how they saw themselves. Seeing himself in an allemande rhythm, the French composer François Couperin (1668-1733)
- [On This Day <br/>23 January: Yvonne Lefébure Died](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-23-january-yvonne-lefebure-died/): Yvonne Lefébure, who passed away on 23 January 1986 in Paris, was one of the premiere French pianists and teachers of the 20th century. She was a remarkably well-rounded and cultured musician with a no-nonsense approach to performing and to
- [Conductors 3/3: Behind the Baton](https://interlude.hk/conductors-3-3-behind-the-baton/): For musicians, trading off stories about conductors is the water-cooler-iest form of water cooler gossip. Tales of incompetence abound, and those who are lucky enough to gain approval are spoken of with respect and appreciation. To an audience, conducting seems
- [On This Day <br/>21 January: Plácido Domingo Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-21-january-placido-domingo-was-born/): Plácido Domingo is recognized as one of the best and most influential singing actors in the world of opera. He has recorded over 100 complete operas in addition to arias and duets compilations, and his crossover recordings have earned him
- [Musicians and Artists: John Cage and Robert Rauschenberg](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-john-cage-and-robert-rauschenberg/): Usually when we write about musicians and artists, we write about how one inspires the other, either how an artist might choose a musical work as the inspiration for his work or how a composer might choose to portray a
- [On This Day <br/>20 January: Claudio Abbado Died](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-20-january-claudio-abbado-died/): On 20 January 2014, Claudio Abbado died at the age of 80 after a long and severe illness in Bologna. One of the greatest conductors of his time, he led La Scala, the Vienna and Berlin Philharmonics, and the Lucerne
- [On My Music Desk…… <br/>Allegretto in C minor, D. 915 – Franz Schubert](https://interlude.hk/on-my-music-desk-allegretto-in-c-minor-d-915-franz-schubert/): Following my article about Schubert’s Drei Klavierstucke, here is another piano work which I feel is unfairly overlooked and rarely performed, perhaps simply because of its brevity and apparent simplicity. Yet Schubert packs an expressive punch and offers the pianist
- [A Lost World: Bax’ <em>The Happy Forest</em>](https://interlude.hk/a-lost-world-arnold-bax-the-happy-forest/): With a title that sounds rather like a children’s story, The Happy Forest by Arnold Bax (1883-1953) sprang from a prose poem by the British theatrical writer Herbert Farjeon. This appeared in the quarterly magazine Orpheus, which was edited by
- [On This Day <br/>19 January: Saint-Saëns’ <em>Cello Concerto No. 1</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-19-january-saint-saens-cello-concerto-no-1-was-premiered/): On 19 January 1873, the French cellist, viola da gamba player and instrument maker Auguste Tolbecque premiered Camille Saint-Saëns’ Cello Concerto No. 1 in A minor, Op. 33, a work specifically composed for him. Tolbecque was a close personal friend,
- [Instrumental Discrimination](https://interlude.hk/instrumental-discrimination/): If one had to name, from the top of the mind, what the most well-known instruments are, the result would probably be the following: the piano, the guitar and the violin. I have already written about how the piano and
- [We Will Remember (We Can’t Forget): Paul K. Joyce](https://interlude.hk/we-will-remember-we-cant-forget-paul-k-joyce-commemorate-all-nhs-workers-who-lost-their-lives-during-covid-19-pandemic/): Commemorating all NHS workers who lost their lives during the Covid-19 pandemic In early 2021, the British Medical Association (BMA) opened applications for a commission that would commemorate the lives lost of those who worked for Britain’s National Health Service
- [Modern Impressionism: Schmitt’s <em>Crépéscules</em>](https://interlude.hk/modern-impressionism-schmitt-crepescules/): The elegant French composer Florent Schmitt (1870-1958) has been called “one of the most fascinating of France’s lesser-known classical composers. ” Entering the Paris Conservatoire at the age of 19, he studied with Gabriel Fauré and Jules Massenet, where his fellow
- [The Next Operatic Stars <br/>Five Promising Young Singers That You Should Watch Out For in 2022](https://interlude.hk/the-next-operatic-stars-five-promising-young-singers-that-you-should-watch-out-for-in-2022/): Once again, it is time for the annual pick of the most promising opera singers of the new year. But first, like any good stock picker, we need to take account of how last year’s winners fared. Stock pickers would
- [Chopin and His Circle of Friends II](https://interlude.hk/chopin-and-his-circle-of-friends-ii/): Chopin did not gain an international reputation as a composer until 1833. And while his reception was generally positive, he certainly had his detractors. The influential editor and critic Ludwig Rellstab writes, “In his dances the author satisfies the passion
- [On This Day <br/>16 January: Arturo Toscanini Died](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-16-january-arturo-toscanini-died/): On New Year’s Day 1957, Arturo Toscanini suffered a stroke. Unable to recover, he passed away on 16 January at the age of 89 at his home in the Riverdale section of the Bronx in New York City. His body
- [Better Than It Can Be Performed](https://interlude.hk/better-than-it-can-be-performed/): The great pianist Artur Schnabel famously spoke of his interest in music which was “better than it can be performed”, in particular the works of Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert. In this quote, he expresses why the sonatas of Beethoven, for
- [On This Day <br/>15 January: Tchaikovsky's <em>Sleeping Beauty</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-15-january-tchaikovsky-sleeping-beauty-was-premiered/): On 25 May 1888, Ivan Vsevolozhsky, the Director of the Imperial Theatres in St. Petersburg, approached Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893). “I am planning to write a libretto on “La Belle au Bois Dormant” after Perrault’s fairy tale,” he writes. “I
- [Conductors 2/3: The Technical Stuff](https://interlude.hk/conductors-2-3-the-technical-stuff/): The job of a conductor has evolved greatly over the years. From a simple timekeeper, to rehearsal director, to full-blown interpreter, the conductor’s role has no doubt grown in prominence. But how do they do what they do? What’s all
- [Piano Practice <br/>From Czerny to Chopin](https://interlude.hk/piano-practice-from-czerny-to-chopin-piano-etude-repertoire/): Glenn Gould is my favourite pianist. There, I said it. The reason I like him is because he is unconventional; unconventional in his approach to the stuffy world of classical music, unconventional in his interpretations, and unconventional in his mannerisms.
- [On This Day <br/>	14 January: Puccini’s <em>Tosca</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-14-january-puccini-tosca-was-premiered/): Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924) saw Victorien Sardou’s play La Tosca in Florence in 1895 with Sarah Bernhardt in the leading role. He immediately envisioned an opera without excessive proportions or a decorative spectacle, nor one that called for a superabundance of
- [The Devil in the Guitar <br/>Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s <em>Capriccio diabolico</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-devil-in-the-guitar-castelnuovo-tedesco-capriccio-diabolico/): Niccolò Paganini (1782-1840) is best known to us as the consummate virtuoso violinist. He was the most famous violinist of his day and his name still resonates when speaking of intricately difficult music. In addition to the violin, he was
- [On This Day <br/>3 January: Schumann’s <em>Scenes from Goethe’s Faust</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-3-january-schumann-scenes-from-goethes-faust-was-premiered/): Robert Schumann (1810-1856) always envisioned a national German opera that presented a complete union of text and music with a plot based upon a supernatural and mythical German legend. As he confessed to a friend in 1842, “Do you know
- [John Adams](https://interlude.hk/john-adams-composer-of-the-month/): “I Was Looking at the Ceiling and Then I Saw the Sky” Celebrating his 75th birthday in 2022, American composer John Adams is considered one of the most frequently performed living composers of concert music. Primarily known for his operatic
- [Sergey Vasilenko: <em>Chinese Suite</em>](https://interlude.hk/sergey-vasilenko-chinese-suite/): The Russian composer Sergey Vasilenko (1872-1956) might not be a household name today, but he was considered a master orchestrator during his days as professor at the Moscow Conservatory. He originally studied music theory with Grechaninov, and while studying law
- [Celestial Project - Four Years On](https://interlude.hk/celestial-project-four-years-on/): Universal Beauty I chatted to composer Paul K. Joyce back in 2017, when he was in the midst of a Kickstarter campaign to create a set of songs set to words by then-7-year-old Johnnie Douglas-Pennant, who died in a tragic
- [Belying the Title: Mahler’s <em>Tragic</em> Symphony](https://interlude.hk/belying-the-title-mahler-tragic-symphony/): Mahler’s Sixth Symphony, nicknamed, though not by him, Tragic, was actually written at a happy time for Mahler. He completed it in 1903 after having married the 21-year-old Alma Schindler in 1902, and while he was composing the work, his
- [On This Day <br/>10 January: Mischa Maisky Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-10-january-mischa-maisky-was-born/): Happy Birthday Mischa Maisky, born on 10 January 1948 in Riga, Latvia. Maisky has the distinction of being the only cellist in the world to have studied with both Mstislav Rostropovich and Gregor Piatigorsky. The legendary Rostropovich praised Maisky as
- [Frédéric Chopin and His Circle of Friends](https://interlude.hk/frederic-chopin-and-his-circle-of-friends/): No single instrument served the cult of self-expression more comprehensively than the piano. It could emulate the rising and falling inflections of human speech and the outlines of non-verbal expressions from a sigh to a scream. Frédéric Chopin (1810-49), more
- [Teaching Healthy Piano Technique with Penelope Roskell](https://interlude.hk/teaching-healthy-piano-technique-with-penelope-roskell/): A comprehensive course for piano teachers Following on from the success of her award-winning book, The Complete Pianist: from healthy technique to natural artistry (Peters Edition, 2020), renowned pedagogue Penelope Roskell has now produced a nine-hour series of videos which
- [Time of Day: Morning <br/>Schwanter, Bax, Delius, Baltas, Fokkens, Achalinotopoulos, and Grieg](https://interlude.hk/time-of-day-morning-schwanter-bax-delius-baltas-fokkens-achalinotopoulos-and-grieg/): Morning can be a time for a slow start – a reflection on the day to come, a slow sip of a warm beverage, waiting for the sun to make its appearance. We’ll ignore those mornings we used to have
- [Three Female Composers in Société Nationale de Musique <br/>Augusta Holmès, Clémence de Grandval and Marie Jaëll](https://interlude.hk/three-female-composers-in-societe-nationale-de-musique-augusta-holmes-clemence-de-grandval-and-marie-jaell/): In 1871, the loss of Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871) led to a musical movement in France to strive for a real “Frenchness” of music. Under the leadership of Camille Saint-Saëns and Vincent d’Indy, Société Nationale de Musique adopted the motto “Ars
- [On This Day <br/>8 January: Alexis Weissenberg Died](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-8-january-alexis-weissenberg-died/): On 8 January 2012, the legendary pianist Alexis Weissenberg died in Lugano, Switzerland. Weissenberg possessed otherworldly technical prowess, but was taken to task for his unsentimental and cold performances. Sitting stoically at the keyboard, he barely raised an eyebrow, cracked
- [Conductors 1/3: Conductor Basics. <br/>Who Are They and What Do They Do?](https://interlude.hk/conductors-1-3-conductor-basics-who-are-they-and-what-do-they-do/): If you’ve ever spoken to an orchestral musician, it is almost without doubt that you will have experienced at some point or another an (often strong) opinion on a conductor they recently worked with. It’s like British people with the
- [Introduction to a Podcast: A Musician Who Can’t Tolerate Sound; My Story](https://interlude.hk/introduction-to-a-podcast-a-musician-who-cant-tolerate-sound-my-story/): It’s no secret that our world is becoming toxically noisy. People like to make a lot of noise. In fact, for some musicians, producing a huge sound is a goal in itself. But at what cost? Like overuse syndromes, the
- [On This Day <br/>7 January: Francis Poulenc Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-7-january-francis-poulenc-is-born/): Francis Poulenc (1899-1963) was one of the most original and sincere voices of the 20th century. His music and personality mirror the often-conflicting nature of humanity. Simultaneously earthy and refined, a promiscuous homosexual who fathered a daughter late in his
- [The Practice Playground](https://interlude.hk/the-practice-playground/): “Do outrageous things in practising” – Leon Fleischer Practicing is the musician’s training and, like the successful sportsperson, a musician needs to ensure their training is structured, thoughtful and intelligent. The notion that musicians spend hours and hours practicing is
- [Benjamin Britten: <em>Songs from the Chinese</em>](https://interlude.hk/benjamin-britten-songs-from-the-chinese/): Benjamin Britten was working on the full-length ballet The Prince of the Pagodas when he wrote to Edith Sitwell that he was “on the threshold of a new musical world. ” This project, slated for Covent Garden, was set aside for
- [On This Day <br/> 5 January: Ravel’s <em>Concerto for the Left Hand</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-5-january-ravel-concerto-for-the-left-hand-was-premiered/): The promising career of pianist Paul Wittgenstein (1887-1961), older brother of the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein was seemingly cut short by events of World War I. Paul had given his debut recital in December of 1913, an event that was enthusiastically
- [Mozart and the Stuttering Dim-Witted Judge](https://interlude.hk/mozart-and-the-stuttering-dim-witted-judge/): Mozart operas are filled with commedia dell’arte stock characters, scenarios and situations that provide the framework for jokes, buffoonery, and just plain silliness! Some famous stock characters of the commedia include a pair of young people suffering from a wildly
- [Peter Cornelius: <em>The Barber of Bagdad</em>](https://interlude.hk/peter-cornelius-the-barber-of-bagdad/): When the writer, critic, poet, translator, and composer Peter Cornelius (1824-1874) approached his close friend and patron Franz Liszt with the idea of writing an opera based on a story from “The Arabian Nights,” Liszt strongly disapproved. Cornelius had written
- [On This Day <br/> 4 January: Giovanni Battista Pergolesi Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-4-january-giovanni-battista-pergolesi-is-born/): The Baroque composer Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (1710-1736) was a leading figure in the rise of Italian comic opera. The crown of his achievement, according to the 19th century, however, was his Stabat Mater, composed “in a devotional frenzy on his
- [The Disappearance of Musical Forms](https://interlude.hk/the-disappearance-of-musical-forms/): It is commonly believed that creating with no constraints is what is most fruitful; what the artist seeks; ultimate freedom in his creative choices. Contrary to this belief, what is often more productive — and tends to breed creativity and
- [Looking Forward to 2022](https://interlude.hk/looking-forward-to-2022/): After reviewing the less-than-brilliant 2021, we can now go to the optimism side for looking forward to 2022! Concert! Travel! So much to look forward to! Opera seasons are opening! I think the first opera we would all like to
- [The Art of the Trio: Bach’s Sonata No. 1 for Violin and Harpsichord](https://interlude.hk/the-art-of-the-trio-bach-sonata-no-1-for-violin-and-harpsichord/): Bach seems so firmly tied to the keyboard that we forget that he was also a master of violin. His initial employment in Weimar was a violinist, eventually rising to the position of concertmaster. His composer sons spoke about their
- [Lang Lang: Goldberg Variations](https://interlude.hk/lang-lang-goldberg-variations/): The plethora of Goldberg Variations recordings, since pioneered by Wanda Landowska in 1933, has garnered many different, if not conflicting, views. Even the great pianist Glenn Gould who recorded them twice, first in 1955 then later in 1981, crystallises opposite
- [Why D-Flat Major Should Be One of Our Favorite Keys](https://interlude.hk/why-d-flat-major-should-be-one-of-our-favorite-keys/): “What? D-Flat Major? ” Most string players wail, “that’s a key signature with FIVE FLATS! ” I don’t blame them. It’s so much more difficult to play in tune on string instruments without the resonance of the open strings. Pianists, though, will
- [On My Music Desk…… <br/><em>Drei Klavierstücke</em>, D946 – Franz Schubert](https://interlude.hk/on-my-music-desk-drei-klavierstucke-d946-franz-schubert/): Impromptus in all but name, the three “piano pieces” D946, were completed in May 1828, the year Schubert died, and follow the far more well-known and popular Impromptus D899 and D935, which Schubert composed the previous year. Like the Impromptus, the Drei Klavierstücke express in microcosm so much of Schubert’s...
- [Time of Day: Dawn <br/>Mussorgsky, Pigovat, Sviridov, Eller, Harris and Qin](https://interlude.hk/time-of-day-dawn-mussorgsky-pigovat-sviridov-eller-harris-and-qin/): How do you take the morning, musically? Bright and brassy alarm bells, a gentle reminder from the buzzer, the shock of morning radio? We decided to survey music for the earliest time of day: Dawn. We’ll start with Mussorgsky’s music
- [4 Piano Suites From Latin America in the 20th Century](https://interlude.hk/4-piano-suites-from-latin-america-in-the-20th-century/): Since the turn of the 20th century, the piano suite has become a popular genre among Latin American composers. From Baroque dance suites (such as French and English suites by J. S. Bach) to suites written in the Romantic era (Kreisleriana
- [Philippe Sly](https://interlude.hk/philippe-sly/): I talk to French-Canadian bass-baritone Philippe Sly just before his final appearance as Leporello in a run of Don Giovanni at the Wiener Staatsoper. Hailing from Ottawa, Philippe won first prize at the renowned Concours Musical International de Montréal, and
- [Everybody Does the Blues <br/>Tansman, Copland, Ravel and Schulhoff](https://interlude.hk/everybody-does-the-blues-tansman-copland-ravel-and-schulhoff/): The idea of using jazz idioms in an otherwise “serious” composition was a recurrent element in European music between the two World Wars. Composers of all nationalities sought to break down the distinction between high and popular art, and the
- [On This Day <br/>1 January: Johann Christian Bach Died](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-1-january-johann-christian-bach-died/): In April 1782, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart famously wrote to his father, “I suppose that you have heard that the English Bach is dead? What a loss to the musical world! ” Johann Christian Bach, known in London circles as John Bach,
- [More Year in Review 2021](https://interlude.hk/more-year-in-review-2021/): For a year when so many of us limited our social activities to things that were local, the only real travel news that made an international hit was Billionaires in Space! Why use your fortune for good when you can
- [Lieder for and About New Year](https://interlude.hk/lieder-for-and-about-new-year/): It’s time to say good riddance to 2021 as we hopefully look forward to a more upbeat 2022. The changing of a calendar year, regardless of culture, nationality or creed has traditionally been cause for celebrations. Expressions of exuberance include
- [My Top Ten Concert Experiences in China in 2021](https://interlude.hk/my-top-ten-concert-experiences-in-china-in-2021/): If there is one perfect word to sum up the audible culmination of China in 2021, homogeneity must be somewhere close to the top. The whole country indulged in a year-long celebration of the centennial of the Chinese Communist Party
- [Here's to a 2022 filled with Music and Harmony!](https://interlude.hk/heres-to-a-2022-filled-with-music-and-harmony/)
- [6 Types of Orchestral Musician](https://interlude.hk/6-types-of-orchestral-musician/): Orchestral musicians are an odd bunch. It’s ok, I can say that – I speak as one of the oddest. Within any orchestra different personalities emerge, each with their own quirks and habits. Take this as a guide through the
- [End of the Year Review 2021](https://interlude.hk/end-of-the-year-review-2021/): How will we end this year? With an Omicron bang or a COVID whimper? A year ago, we expected that by mid-summer, all would be back to normal and life could resume. Now, however, we’re not so sure what normal
- [Carl Maria von Weber: <em>Abu Hassan</em>](https://interlude.hk/carl-maria-von-weber-abu-hassan/): First performed in Munich in 1811, the delightful one-act Singspiel Abu Hassan is based on a famous episode in “The Arabian Nights. ” Set to music by Carl Maria von Weber, the opera features Abu Hassan (tenor) and his devoted wife
- [Connections – An Interview With Işıl Bengi](https://interlude.hk/connections-an-interview-with-isil-bengi/): When we last interviewed pianist Işıl Bengi in 2020, she’d just issued her first album. Now, nearly 2 years later, we interviewed a very different pianist about a very different album. The reason? The same reason all of our lives
- [On This Day <br/>28 December: Maurice Ravel Died](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-28-december-maurice-ravel-died/): In the early morning hours of 28 December 1937, Maurice Ravel lapsed into a coma and died aged 62. The composer had entered a clinic on rue Boileau in Paris for neurological tests. In the event, exploratory brain surgery—apparently without
- [How The Taubman Approach Can Help Prevent Tension, Even If You’re Not a Musician](https://interlude.hk/how-the-taubman-approach-can-help-prevent-tension-even-if-youre-not-a-musician/): At its roots, the Taubman Approach is based on the premise that there is a way to play the piano that is tension-free. However, in the past thirty years, I’ve discovered these life-changing techniques can benefit not only pianists and
- [Everyman as the Future: Wagner’s <em>Faust Overture</em>](https://interlude.hk/everyman-as-the-future-wagner-faust-overture/): We associate Richard Wagner with the four great operas of his Ring Cycle, but we should also look at his earlier works to see where his musical sources were. One interesting work is the Faust Overture he wrote while in
- [New Year’s 2021/22 <br/>Music of Defiance](https://interlude.hk/new-years-2021-22-music-of-defiance/): It’s shaping up to be another depressing New Year’s Eve in 2021. Just when a glimmer of hope appeared on the horizon, a new mutation has reared its ugly head, and we seem to be back to where it all
- [On This Day <br/>26 December: Donizetti’s <em>Anna Bolena</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-26-december-donizetti-anna-bolena-was-premiered/): Anna Bolena: Act I Finale — Anna Netrebko (Met Opera) During an extended apprenticeship lasting the better part of a decade, Gaetano Donizetti (1797-1848) composed in the region of 30 operas. However, his national and international reputation was firmly established
- [The Legends and Sounds of Amazonia <br/>Heitor Villa-Lobos and Philip Glass](https://interlude.hk/the-legends-and-sounds-of-amazonia-heitor-villa-lobos-and-philip-glass/): The Amazon rainforest covers the majority of the Amazon basin in South America. Its region stretches over nine nations and thousands of indigenous territories, and it is said to represent over half of the planet’s remaining rainforests. Well over 30
- [‘Sonic Madeleines’ and Musical Memory Triggers](https://interlude.hk/sonic-madeleines-and-musical-memory-triggers/): “No sooner had the warm liquid mixed with the crumbs touched my palate than a shudder ran through me and I stopped, intent upon the extraordinary thing that was happening to me. An exquisite pleasure had invaded my senses, something
- [On This Day <br/> 25 December: Bach’s <em>Magnificat</em> BWV 243a Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-25-december-bachs-magnificat-bwv-243a-was-premiered/): Johann Sebastian Bach: Magnificat in E-flat Major, BWV 243a The church of St. Nicholas in Leipzig is named after the patron of travelers and merchants. Construction began around 1165, and originally the church featured twin towers. It was extended and
- [Hidden Gems for Christmas](https://interlude.hk/hidden-gems-for-christmas/): Christmas is once again around corner, and hopefully we can spend some time with friends and family. For many people around the world it is a time of reflection, and a time to celebrate old family traditions or to create
- [Merry Christmas From Leipzig and Johann Sebastian Bach](https://interlude.hk/merry-christmas-from-leipzig-and-johann-sebastian-bach/): Gottfried Vopelius (1645-1715) published his “Neu Leipziger Gesangbuch” (The new Leipzig hymnbook) in 1682. Vopelius was a Lutheran academic and hymn-writer, and he writes in the preface that the hymns are “compiled from the most beautiful and best songs; In
- [Lieder for and about X-Mas](https://interlude.hk/lieder-for-and-about-christmas/): In the Lieder oeuvre of Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, and Franz Schubert, we find a substantial variety of folksongs and folksy carols, but none of them are directly related to Christmas. For these famous composers, Christmas was squarely located in the
- [Interlude Wishes You Merry Christmas!](https://interlude.hk/interlude-wishes-you-merry-christmas/)
- [LIVE From London <br/>Christmas 2021](https://interlude.hk/live-from-london-christmas-2021/): The VOCES8 Foundation presents its fifth online festival series “LIVE from London. ” Founded in 2020 during lockdown, the festival covers a broad spectrum of modern and contemporary pieces alongside traditional choral Christmas music. A stellar lineup of vocal ensembles and
- [On This Day <br/>23 December: Beethoven’s <em>Violin Concerto</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-23-december-beethoven-violin-concerto-was-premiered/): During his formative years in Bonn, Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1828) took organ and keyboard lessons from Christian Gottlob Neefe. Concurrently, he received instructions on the violin and viola from the court musician Franz Georg Rovantini and from Franz Ries, Electoral-Court
- [The Unique and Unconventional PH Piano](https://interlude.hk/the-unique-and-unconventional-ph-piano-designed-by-poul-henningsen/): “An instrument is always beautiful” A grand piano is a striking piece of fine furniture, and even a baby or boudoir grand brings elegance, class and grandeur to a room. The design of the grand piano, as we know it
- [Balancing Act: Evelyn Chang on Life as a Professional Musician, and a Mother](https://interlude.hk/balancing-act-evelyn-chang-on-life-as-a-professional-musician-and-a-mother/): Evelyn Chang is a Taiwan-born, Hong Kong-based pianist who enjoys collaborations with artists and composers around the world, including Maxim Rysanov and Dobrinka Tabakova. She trained in the UK, first at the Purcell School and then at the Royal College
- [On This Day <br/>22 December: Giacomo Puccini Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-22-december-giacomo-puccini-is-born/): Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini was born in Lucca, Italy, on 22 December 1858. He was the sixth of nine children by Michele Puccini and Albina Magi, and his birthplace was on the second floor of the historic
- [The Gift: Bosch and Menotti’s <em>Amahl and the Night Visitors</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-gift-bosch-and-menotti-amahl-and-the-night-visitors/): The most famous opera in America had its premiere 70 years ago on Christmas Eve. At its debut, it was estimated that it had audience of 5 million people – a record for any opera. Giancarlo Menotti’s Amahl and the
- [Some Other Nutcrackers](https://interlude.hk/some-other-nutcrackers/): You can hear it one too many times. It’s the season for every ballet company to line up all their children dancers, get their prima ballerinas primed and put on their annual edition of The Nutcracker. It serves as the
- [Murakami & Music](https://interlude.hk/haruki-murakami-music/): The Japanese author and writer Haruki Murakami is quite passionate about music. So much, that his works are filled with quotations, references and inspiration from the music world, and some of them even take their structure in musical works. He
- [Peter Ritzen: The Last Empress Piano Concerto](https://interlude.hk/peter-ritzen-the-last-empress-piano-concerto/): The pianist and composer Peter Ritzen, born in Ghent, Belgium in 1956 might not be a household name in Europe and the United States, but he certainly enjoys high acclaim in Mainland China and in Taiwan. In fact, between 2009
- [Finding the Right Husband: Smetana’s <em>The Bartered Bride</em>](https://interlude.hk/finding-the-right-husband-smetana-the-bartered-bride/): The Czech composer Bedřich Smetana (1824-1884) wrote his comic opera The Bartered Bride between 1863 to 1866 about the hard path true love takes to thwart ambitious parents and a marriage broker. Mařenka is to be married to the son
- [On This Day <br/>20 December: Arturo Márquez Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-20-december-arturo-marquez-is-born/): Born on 20 December 1950 in the colonial town of Álamos deep in the Sonoran desert, Arturo Márquez has “always been enthralled by the music bubbling out of cafes and dance salons in Mexico. ” That love for the musical forms
- [Christmas Bells are Ringing](https://interlude.hk/christmas-bells-are-ringing-introduction-handbells/): Depending on your location, there might already be a touch of frost in the air. Days are getting shorter and the nights much darker and longer. There might even be a whiff of snow in the air. Judging by the
- [Exploring Partitas III <br/>Marx, Casella, Martinů, Petrassi, Dressel, Leighton, Penderecki, and Pärt](https://interlude.hk/exploring-partitas-iii-marx-casella-martinu-petrassi-dressel-leighton-penderecki-and-part/): Joseph Marx (1882-1964) enjoyed an esteemed reputation as a major composer and teacher. Nikolay Medtner, one of the most important representatives of the group of composers based in Moscow that included Sergei Rachmaninoff, Alexander Scriabin and Alexander Taneyev expressed his
- [From Ugly Duckling to Leading Composer <br/>Tālivaldis Ķeniņš: Symphony No. 6, "Sinfonia ad Fugam"](https://interlude.hk/from-ugly-duckling-to-leading-composer-talivaldis-kenins-symphony-no-6-sinfonia-ad-fugam/): Latvian-born composer Tālivaldis Ķeniņš (1919-2008) was educated first in Latvia and then in France, and made his home in Canada, serving on the faculty of the University of Toronto. He composed across many genres, with his output including 8 symphonies,
- [Poetry and Music: <br/>Whitman and Vaughan Williams and Holst](https://interlude.hk/poetry-and-music-whitman-and-vaughan-williams-and-holst/): The American visionary poet Walt Whitman (1819-1892) was one of the transitional writers between transcendentalism and realism and his works reflect both points of view. He is considered the ‘father of free verse’ and his non-sectarian poems and his views
- [Practicing Without Your Orchestra](https://interlude.hk/practicing-without-your-orchestra/): It’s always been a problem – you want to practice your piano concerto and the orchestra is away for the day, or on a break, or just not able to assemble due to the new social distancing rules. You need
- [Antarctic Symphonies by Vaughan Williams and Maxwell Davies](https://interlude.hk/antarctic-symphonies-by-vaughan-williams-and-maxwell-davies/): Our incredible planet is in real trouble. Scientists have identified a triple-threat of climate change, biodiversity loss and overpopulation as humanity is racing “towards mass extinctions, health crises and constant climate-induced disruptions to society. ” Earth has lost an estimated 50%
- [Leningrad Does Varietee <br/>Wooding, Shostakovich, Dunayesky and Prokofiev](https://interlude.hk/leningrad-does-varietee-wooding-shostakovich-dunayesky-and-prokofiev/): Just a couple of years after Western Europe fell under the spell of popular American musical styles, it also debuted in the Soviet Union. As a musical language increasingly placed at the service of social commentary, and with its strong
- [On This Day <br/>17 December: Ludwig van Beethoven Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-17-december-ludwig-van-beethoven-is-born/): Ludwig van Beethoven probably wasn’t actually born on 17 December, but in the absence of an authentic record of birth, we rely on the registry of his baptism in the Catholic Parish of St. Remigius in Bonn on 17 December
- [Legitimatizing Jazz and Failing: Copland’s Piano Concerto](https://interlude.hk/legitimatizing-jazz-and-failing-aaron-copland-piano-concerto/): American composer Aaron Copland (1900-1990) only wrote one work for piano and orchestra, his 1926 Piano Concerto. To put this work in context, we need to listen to it not only as a work by the young American composer newly
- [Camille Saint-Saëns](https://interlude.hk/camille-saint-saens-composer-of-the-month/): “I am an eclectic spirit” Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921) was one of the leaders of the French musical renaissance during the later part of the 19th century. He was a scholar of music history and tolerant of a wide range of
- [Hearing Beethoven a New Way <br/>Michael Gordon: Rewriting Beethoven's Seventh Symphony](https://interlude.hk/hearing-beethoven-a-new-way-michael-gordon-rewriting-beethovens-seventh-symphony/): In 2020, the year the “Beethoven Year” met the COVID-19 virus, we heard hours and hours and miles of miles of Beethoven. We recently found, however, a different version of Beethoven that we found very intriguing. American composer Michael Gordon
- [Mixing the Symphony and the Concerto: Lalo’s <em>Symphonie espagnole</em>](https://interlude.hk/mixing-the-symphony-and-the-concerto-lalo-symphonie-espagnole/): The 1870s were a time for Spanish, or Spanish-themed music, especially by French composers. Édouard Lalo’s Symphony espagnole was written in 1874 and a months after its February premiere, Bizet’s Carmen has its premiere at the Opera-Comique in Paris. Pablo
- [Henryk Wieniawski and Isabella Hampton <br/>“Music May Melt the Heart of Stone”](https://interlude.hk/henryk-wieniawski-and-isabella-hampton-music-may-melt-the-heart-of-stone/): We all know that music may melt the heart of stone! And that was seemingly the case when Mr. Hampton heard the Légende by superstar violinist and composer Henryk Wieniawski (1835-1880). You see, Henryk had fallen in love with Isabella
- [The Fortunate Fisherman: Rimsky-Korsakov’s <em>Sadko</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-fortunate-fisherman-rimsky-korsakov-sadko/): One of Rimsky-Korsakov’s most beloved operas in Russia was Sadko, a tale of a musician-fisherman who makes good. This opera was given its premiere in 1896 and was staged in Moscow in 1898. The opera’s libretto was written by the
- [On This Day <br/>14 December: Schubert’s <em>Symphony No. 6</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-14-december-schubert-symphony-no-6-was-premiered/): During his short but highly productive career Franz Schubert worked on a total of thirteen symphonies. Three symphonic projects were abandoned in fragments, and three more left incomplete. The Symphony No. 7 in E major was fully sketched and fully
- [What Should We Be Looking for in Chopin Competition? <br/>A Promising Pianist or a Chopinist?](https://interlude.hk/what-should-we-be-looking-for-in-chopin-competition-a-promising-pianist-or-a-chopinist/): This is a never-ending question that always sparks heated debate, which sometimes even the jury can’t come to an agreement. It was also why Fou Ts’ong protested against awarding the first prize to Stanislav Bunin by not signing the verdict
- [Silver Memories: Grieg’s <em>Wedding Day at Troldhaugen</em>](https://interlude.hk/silver-memories-grieg-wedding-day-at-troldhaugen/): Returning to Norway after a musical education at the Leipzig Conservatory starting at age 15, Edvard Grieg (1843-1907) took the piano education he had under Ignaz Moscheles and turned it into a successful career. He disliked the discipline of his
- [On This Day <br/>13 December: Franz von Lenbach Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-13-december-franz-von-lenbach-is-born-famous-portraits-of-composers/): Franz von Lenbach (1836-1904) was one of the most accomplished portrait artists in German art of the 19th century. As one of the leading exponents of 19th century realism in Germany, he was the best-known and highest-paid portrait painter of
- [Bach’s Greatest Chorale Hits <br/>“Music Is an Agreeable Harmony for the Honour of God”](https://interlude.hk/bach-greatest-chorale-hits-music-is-an-agreeable-harmony-for-the-honour-of-god/): The term “chorale” can be somewhat confusing. That’s not surprising, as the meaning is slightly different in German and in English usage. Let’s not get into the technical differences but simply say that a “chorale” is the congregational hymn of
- [Exploring Partitas II <br/>Telemann, Graupner, L. Mozart, Albrechtsberger, M. Haydn, Rosetti, Mozart and Krommer](https://interlude.hk/exploring-partitas-ii-telemann-graupner-leopold-mozart-albrechtsberger-michael-haydn-rosetti-mozart-and-krommer/): Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767) published his collection of “Little Chamber Music” in 1716. As he writes in the preface, “it consists of 6 Parties, which are arranged in a light and singing manner for the violin, transverse flute, and for
- [On This Day <br/>12 December: Ravel’s <em>La Valse</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-12-december-ravel-la-valse-was-premiered/): Composed between 1919 and 1921, La Valse by Maurice Ravel premiered on 12th December 1920 in Paris. On that occasion, Camille Chevillard conducted the Lamoureux Orchestra of Paris in a performance of the orchestral version. Ravel and Alfredo Casella had
- [Legacies](https://interlude.hk/legacies-recordings-and-teachings-of-leading-musicians-in-classical-music-community/): Death has been on our minds, collectively and individually, more than usual during this time of COVID. A number of famous people have died during the pandemic, though not necessarily as a direct result of it but merely due to
- [The Danish String Quartet Finally Celebrated Beethoven’s 250th Birthday](https://interlude.hk/the-danish-string-quartet-finally-celebrated-beethovens-250th-birthday/): The award winning Danish String Quartet performed all sixteen Beethoven String Quartets from November 5-11 in an astonishing six programs—a belated celebration of Beethoven’s 250th birthday worth waiting for. The ensemble was originally scheduled to perform the works in a
- [Changing the Unattainable: Nielsen’s <em>Pan and Syrinx</em>](https://interlude.hk/changing-the-unattainable-nielsen-pan-and-syrinx/): The tale of the Greek god Pan and the nymph Syrinx is a tale of unrequited love and the invention of a musical instrument. After doing readings in Ovid’s Metamorphses, the Danish composer Carl Nielsen (1865-1931) took up the take
- [On This Day <br/>10 December: Dvořák’s <em>String Serenade</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-10-december-dvorak-string-serenade-was-premiered/): On 10 December 1875, Antonín Dvořák’s Serenade for Strings in E major premiered at Prague’s Žofín Palace. The work was immediately recognized for its emotional appeal and overriding sunny disposition. A review of the premiere, published on 16 December, states,
- [Mahler for Chamber Orchestra](https://interlude.hk/mahler-for-chamber-orchestra-symphony-no-4/): The problems with performances in the age of Covid is that the large orchestral works are just too dangerous to assemble. In Erwin Stein’s 1921 arrangement of Mahler’s Symphony No. 4, created for Arnold Schoenberg’s ‘Society for Private Musical Performances,’
- [Labyrinths <br/>David Le Page - Orchestra of the Swan](https://interlude.hk/labyrinths-david-le-page-orchestra-of-the-swan/): Labyrinths, the latest release from Orchestra of the Swan, explores themes of isolation, distance and a longing for human connection. Ideas of pilgrimage, contemplation and enlightenment are filtered through a sequence of beautifully atmospheric soundworlds. Formed in 1995, Orchestra of
- [The Genius Boys <br/>Mozart, Linley and Lamotte](https://interlude.hk/the-genius-boys-mozart-thomas-linley-and-franz-lamotte/): Musical tourism to Italy was in full swing by the middle of the 18th century. Italian cities and courts welcomed streams of musicians in search of performing opportunities, official appointments or commissions, and steady jobs. And that included the three
- [On This Day <br/>	8 December: Jean Sibelius Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-8-december-jean-sibelius-is-born/): The small garrison town Hämeenlinna is located roughly 100 kilometers north of Helsinki. When Jean Sibelius was born in Hämeenlinna on 8 December 1865, the town was located in the Grand Duchy of Finland, at that time an autonomous part
- [Writing in Your Native Language: Copland’s <em>Vitebsk</em>](https://interlude.hk/writing-in-your-native-language-aaron-copland-vitebsk/): Sometime in the late 1920s, American composer Aaron Copland went to a performance of S. Ansky’s play The Dybbuk, a tale of pre-destined love and demonic possession. For a production of the play in Moscow in 1919, composer Joel Engel
- [Music in View: Cleveland Museum of Art](https://interlude.hk/music-in-view-cleveland-museum-of-art/): The Cleveland Museum of Art was founded in 1913 by 3 Cleveland industrialists and has grown to be the 4th wealthiest in the US. It holds international collections ranging from Chinese, Japanese and Korean Art to Western Medieval through Modern.
- [The Composer’s Block](https://interlude.hk/the-composers-block/): Being stuck in front of an empty page is quite a common phenomenon for artists, regardless of the medium or format of the art. The writer’s block is the result of the creator not being able to produce new works,
- [The Landscape of Sound: Debussy’s String Quartet, Op. 10](https://interlude.hk/the-landscape-of-sound-debussy-string-quartet-op-10/): Claude Debussy (1862-1918), better known for his piano and orchestral works, was also a master of the string quartet. He wrote his first one in 1893 and planned a second one to go into a series of six chamber works.
- [On This Day <br/> 6 December: Berlioz’s <em>La Damnation de Faust</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-6-december-berlioz-la-damnation-de-faust-was-premiered/): When Claude Debussy was working on his opera, Pelleas et Melisande, he wrote “Berlioz was never, properly speaking, a musician of the theater. ” Debussy’s comment mirrored the thoughts of contemporary critics and scholars who suggested that Berlioz was more successful
- [Ludwig von Beethoven <br/>“The Sounds of Silence”](https://interlude.hk/ludwig-von-beethoven-the-sounds-of-silence-the-cause-of-beethoven-hearing-loss-and-series-of-treatment/): Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) was the rising star on the Viennese music scene in the last decade of the 18th century. He made his name by showcasing his talents as a pianist, and he composed and performed piano sonatas of
- [Challenging Traditional Practices at the Piano](https://interlude.hk/challenging-traditional-practices-at-the-piano/): There are certain habits of piano practice which are ingrained in us from an early age and which have become a form of “piano dogma”. As a young piano student we may accept these practices without question, trusting in our
- [On This Day <br/>5 December: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Died](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-5-december-wolfgang-amadeus-mozart-died/): At 12:55 am on 5 December 1791, the singular and unique Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart took his last breath. He had fallen ill in Prague in September 1791, but continued his professional activities, including conducting the premiere of The Magic Flute
- [Friendship and Love <br/>Georges Bizet’s <em>Les Pêcheurs de Perles</em>](https://interlude.hk/friendship-and-love-georges-bizet-les-pecheurs-de-perles/): When talking about operas, we mostly focus on arias, those glorious moments where all time stops and the hero or heroine tells us of their hopes and their dreams, or their disappointments and anger. Duets, however, have their own strength.
- [A Life in a Circle: Schubert’s <em>Die Schöne Müllerin</em>](https://interlude.hk/a-life-in-a-circle-schuberts-die-schone-mullerin/): Franz Schubert (1797-1828) took up the story of the beautiful miller’s daughter in 1823 using selections from a longer poem published in 1820 by his friend Wilhelm Müller. Müller’s original poem is made up of some 25 separate poems, only
- [Food for Thought <br/>Mealtime With Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://interlude.hk/food-for-thought-mealtime-with-wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/): Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart loved billiards, his pet starling, and food! Food was plentiful in Vienna during Mozart’s time, and a cheap and common meal would have consisted of two large meat dishes with soup, vegetables, bread, and a quarter liter
- [Vivaldi in All Dimensions <br/>An Interview With Michel Brun of the Ensemble Baroque de Toulouse](https://interlude.hk/vivaldi-in-all-dimensions-an-interview-with-michel-brun-of-the-ensemble-baroque-de-toulouse/): When you think of Vivaldi, what do you think of? Just his hundreds of concertos? His operas? His sacred music? When we look at recordings today, we tend to get single subject collections. Concerto recordings don’t touch the opera arias,
- [Frankfurt Does the Foxtrot <br/> Seiber, Hindemith, Schulhoff and Tansman](https://interlude.hk/frankfurt-does-the-foxtrot-seiber-hindemith-schulhoff-and-tansman/): The composer, conductor and educator Bernhard Sekles (1872-1934) caused a minor scandal in 1928. Sekles was director of the Hoch Conservatory of Music in Frankfurt am Main, and he decided to put Jazz on the curriculum. The courses in the
- [A New Way to Hear Brahms <br/>An Interview With Jérémie Rhorer of Le Cercle de l’Harmonie](https://interlude.hk/a-new-way-to-hear-brahms-an-interview-with-jeremie-rhorer-of-le-cercle-de-lharmonie/): In talking with Jérémie Rhorer of Le Cercle de l’Harmonie, an ensemble founded in 2005 to explore the line between Classical and Romantic music, we discovered a new Brahms. Le Cercle de l’Harmonie is an orchestra that plays period instruments,
- [NetEase Cloud Music Appoints Maestro Xu Zhong](https://interlude.hk/netease-cloud-music-appoints-maestro-xu-zhong/): NetEase Cloud Music is a freemium music streaming service publically launched in 2013. Its music service has attracted over 800 million registered users, and its principle aim, according to a spokesperson, is to “actively fulfill our responsibilities to promote the
- [Edward Elgar: The Crown of India](https://interlude.hk/edward-elgar-the-crown-of-india/): George V, alongside Queen Mary, was crowned King of the United Kingdom, the British Dominions, and Emperor of India at Westminster Abbey on 22 June 1911. It had already been announced that the royal couple would travel to India to
- [On My Music Desk……<br/> Richard Pantcheff – Nocturnus V](https://interlude.hk/on-my-music-desk-richard-pantcheff-nocturnus-v/): This atmospheric piece for solo piano, whose Afrikaans subtitle ‘Wind oor die Branders’ translates as Wind over the Waves, is by Richard Pantcheff, a British composer, born in 1959. It comes from ‘Nocturnus’, a suite of six pieces written for
- [Love Came Down at Christmas <br/>Celebrating the Anticipation, Hope and Peace of Christmas](https://interlude.hk/love-came-down-at-christmas-celebrating-the-anticipation-hope-and-peace-of-christmas/): In 2020, two British teenagers, Myron and Archie, former boy choristers with the renowned Magdalen College Choir, Oxford, recorded a very special album of music arranged for the unusual ensemble of treble duet. Myron and Archie’s debut album LOVE IS... .
- [Busoni’s Chinese Fable: Turandot Suite](https://interlude.hk/ferruccio-busoni-chinese-fable-turandot-suite/): Ferruccio Busoni (1866-1924) famously claimed that Schiller’s translation of Carlo Gozzi’s dramatic fairy-tale Turandot in conjunction with Carl Maria von Weber’s incidental music “ruined a masterpiece of Italian literature. ” With the centennial of Gozzi’s death on the horizon in 1906,
- [The Hermes Experiment](https://interlude.hk/the-hermes-experiment/): A Unique Musical Journey I should probably begin this Artist of the Month article with a little disclaimer: this month’s offering is something slightly different, as, erm, I’m in the group being featured. Nevertheless, I will aim to keep my
- [Music in View: Detroit Institute of Arts – (DIA)](https://interlude.hk/music-in-view-detroit-institute-of-arts-dia/): The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) was founded in 1885 and benefitted from the Detroit philanthropists such as the Dodges, the Firestones, and the Fords, i. e. , the leaders of the American automotive industry, known collectively as the Auto Barons. Charles
- [On This Day <br/>30 November: Tchaikovsky’s <em>Variations on a Rococo Theme</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-30-november-tchaikovskys-variations-on-a-rococo-theme-was-premiered/): On 30 November 1877, the German cellist and professor at the Moscow Conservatory Wilhelm Fitzenhagen performed the premier of Tchaikovsky’s Variations on a Rococo Theme under the baton of Nikolay Rubinstein. Nadezhda von Meck wrote to Tchaikovsky, “today is the
- [The Lonely Decision: Schubert’s Winterreise](https://interlude.hk/the-lonely-decision-schubert-winterreise/): The song cycle enabled a composer to look at a subject from a variety of points of view. In the two song cycles by Franz Schubert (1797-1828), the first, Die schöne Müllerin (The Beautiful Miller’s Daughter), setting the poetry of
- [On This Day <br/>29 November: Gaetano Donizetti Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-29-november-gaetano-donizetti-is-born/): Gaetano Donizetti was born into abject poverty in the town of Bergamo on 29 November 1797. He was the fifth child of Andrea Donizetti, a custodian at a local pawnshop, and Domenica Nava-Donizetti. His older brother Giuseppe served as a
- [Exploring Partitas <br/>Johann Sebastian Bach](https://interlude.hk/exploring-partitas-johann-sebastian-bach/): In the course of your instrumental studies or attending concert performances you might have come across works title “Partita. ” It is a slippery term, and throughout history it has designated a number of different concepts. At times it was used
- [Franz Liszt and His Circle of Friends II](https://interlude.hk/franz-liszt-and-his-circle-of-friends-ii/): Franz Liszt first met Hector Berlioz a few months after the July Revolution. He attended the first performance of Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique in the company of the composer on 5 December 1830. Almost immediately, Liszt started work on his piano
- [On This Day <br/>28 November: Beethoven’s “Emperor” Concerto Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-28-november-beethoven-emperor-concerto-was-premiered/): Beethoven’s Fifth Piano Concerto—nicknamed “Emperor” after Beethoven’s death and referring to the work’s majestic character rather than a specific political figure—was conceived during troubled times. Napoleon’s forces had invaded Vienna in 1809, and the subsequent French occupation brought physical and
- [The Musician’s Autonomy II <br/>Encouraging Autonomy in Music Students](https://interlude.hk/the-musicians-autonomy-ii-encouraging-autonomy-in-music-students/): The best teachers want to be made redundant – that is, they aim to make their students confident, independent musicians. In other words, they want to encourage autonomy in their students. As a teacher, perhaps the simplest way to encourage
- [Classical Music in Cartoons](https://interlude.hk/classical-music-in-cartoons/): For years, film and television producers and writers have been using classical music to make their work more memorable. It should come as no surprise that some of our earliest memories of classical music might be from the cartoons we
- [On This Day <br/>27 November: Richard Strauss' <em>Also sprach Zarathustra</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-27-november-richard-strauss-also-sprach-zarathustra-was-premiered/): “God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him. How shall we comfort ourselves, the murderers of all murderers? ” This most widely quoted statement originating with Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche first appeared in the 1882 publication Die fröhliche Wisssenschaft
- [Christopher Rouse: Kabir Padavali](https://interlude.hk/christopher-rouse-kabir-padavali/): The Indian mystic poet and saint Kabir is believed to have lived between 1398 and 1448. His writings, according to some scholars, are known “for being critical of both Hinduism and Islam. ” He suggested, “True God is with the person
- [The Romantic 20th-Century Guitar <br/>Agustín Barrios Mangoré’s <em>La Catedral</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-romantic-20th-century-guitar-agustin-barrios-mangore-la-catedral/): Paraguayan composer Agustín Barrios Mangoré (1885-1944) started his recording career as guitarist around 1911, and his concert career at age 18. This continued for the next 40-some years touring, mainly in South and Central America. Largely forgotten except in his
- [Play Always as if in the Presence of a Master](https://interlude.hk/play-always-as-if-in-the-presence-of-a-master/): The title of this article is a quote from Robert Schumann’s ‘Advice to Young Musicians’, a cornucopia of practical advice and poetic words of wisdom for young people beginning their musical education, which still has plenty of relevance for musicians
- [Other Kinds of Wandering <br/>Schubert, Zöllner and Traditional](https://interlude.hk/other-kinds-of-wandering-schubert-zollner-and-traditional/): The opening song in Franz Schubert’s song cycle Die schöne Müllerin is the lively and distinctive “Das Wandern” where our hero journey-man miller sings as he walks along a stream, appreciating all that he sees and hears. It’s a simple
- [William Powell and William Lintern <br/> Handel’s “Harmonious Blacksmith”](https://interlude.hk/william-powell-and-william-lintern-handels-harmonious-blacksmith/): I am sure you have heard numerous piano students slugging their way through the final movement of George Frideric Handel’s Suite No. 5 in E major. This particular movement has gained notoriety because it carries the imaginative nickname “The Harmonious
- [Translated to Another Medium <br/>Vivaldi’s Spring Concerto](https://interlude.hk/translated-to-another-medium-vivaldis-spring-concerto/): We are so familiar with a work such as Vivaldi’s Spring Concerto from The Four Seasons. As a violin concerto, it provides the violin with the opportunity to show off the player’s virtuoso skills. We’ve heard it and, dare I
- [On This Day <br/>23 November: Manuel de Falla Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-23-november-manuel-de-falla-is-born/): Manuel María de los Dolores Falla y Matheu was born on 23 November 1876 in Cádiz, a city and port in the autonomous community of Andalusia. His father José María Falla came from a family of merchants from Valencia, a
- [Music in View: Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts (PAFA)](https://interlude.hk/music-in-view-pennsylvania-academy-of-fine-arts-pafa/): Considered the first and oldest art museum and art school in the United States, the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts (PAFA) was founded in 1805. Known for its collections of 19th and 20th century materials, it also has a strength
- [Finishing With a Flourish: Bach’s Partitas](https://interlude.hk/finishing-with-a-flourish-bach-partitas/): Between 1725 and 1731, Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) wrote the last of his keyboard suites. His earlier suites, the six English Suites, BWV 806-811, the six French Suites, BWV 812-817, and the Overture in the French style, BWV 831, culminated
- [On This Day <br/>22 November: Arthur Sullivan Died](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-22-november-arthur-sullivan-died/): On Friday 23 November 1900, The Times published the following obituary. “The death of Sir Arthur Sullivan, which we announce this morning with great regret, not only deprives England of the man who for many years has been her most
- [Guilty Pleasures?](https://interlude.hk/guilty-pleasures/): What’s your “guilty pleasure music”? That is, music or a composer that you’d rather keep quiet about in case your highbrow, classical music-loving friends look down on you. Mine is Philip Glass – although I don’t feel remotely embarrassed about
- [Making the Case for English Piano Music <br/>Duncan Honeybourne](https://interlude.hk/making-the-case-for-english-piano-music-duncan-honeybourne/): ‘De Profundis Clamavi’, a recent release by British pianist Duncan Honeybourne on the EM Records label, makes a persuasive and enjoyable case for lesser-known English composers of the 20th and 21st centuries. Recorded in August 2020 in between the UK
- [Franz Liszt and His Circle of Friends](https://interlude.hk/franz-liszt-and-his-circle-of-friends/): Franz Liszt was the greatest piano virtuoso of his time; possibly the greatest of all time! His sensational technique and captivating concert personality turned him into the ultimate rock star of the 19th century. However, this notoriety also created uncertainty,
- [The Inspirational Ensemble from <em>Pierrot Lunaire</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-inspirational-ensemble-from-pierrot-lunaire/): In his 1912 work for voice and ensemble, Arnold Schoenberg created what has turned out to be one of the most copied small mixed ensemble in 20th century music. The group he put together for Pierrot lunaire, consisted of flute,
- [Why Augustin Hadelich and Orion Weiss Are a Perfect Violin-Piano Duo](https://interlude.hk/why-augustin-hadelich-and-orion-weiss-are-a-perfect-violin-piano-duo/): The Schubert Club of Saint Paul Minnesota opened its 2021-22 International Artists Series on November 2, and 3, featuring violinist Augustin Hadelich and Orion Weiss. My expectation was that it would be a great evening. Finally: a live concert. I
- [Chamber Music by Women Composers V <br/>Röntgen-Maier, La Guerre, Price, Frank, and Pejačević](https://interlude.hk/chamber-music-by-women-composers-v-rontgen-maier-la-guerre-price-frank-and-pejacevic/): The violinist and composer Amanda Röntgen-Maier (1853–1894) created a sensation when she became Sweden’s first-ever female Director of the Music at the Conservatory in Stockholm in 1872. Maier decided to continue her private studies in Leipzig with the concertmaster of
- [Musicians and Artists: Mahler and Böcklin](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-mahler-and-bocklin/): The Swiss symbolist artist Arnold Böcklin (1827-1901) was born in Dusseldorf and studied at the Dusseldorf Academy. His teacher sent him to Antwerp, Brussels, and Paris to study the old masters and develop his potential. In 1850, after a stint
- [On This Day <br/> 19 November: Franz Schubert Died](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-19-november-franz-schubert-died/): On 19 November 1828, Franz Schubert died at the age of 31 in his brother’s flat in Vienna. He had been seriously ill for some time, with the primary symptoms of syphilis presenting themselves as early as December 1822. Premonitions
- [Sing for Your Supper: Renaissance Notation Knives](https://interlude.hk/sing-for-your-supper-renaissance-notation-knives/): In the Renaissance, the musical score didn’t exist. Each singer received their own part book and sang from it. In this 17th century painting, we see the singers and players gathered around the table, each with a separate book in
- [Franz Schubert and Luigi Lablache <br/>The Italian Connection](https://interlude.hk/franz-schubert-and-luigi-lablache-the-italian-connection/): Franz Schubert started his composition lessons with the famed Antonio Salieri at the age of 15. Salieri quickly realized that he was looking at an exceptional talent, and he instructed the teenage Schubert free of charge. Salieri gave Schubert a
- [Music in View: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston](https://interlude.hk/music-in-view-museum-of-fine-arts-boston/): The Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) in Boston was founded in 1870 with most of its initial collection coming from the Boston Athenaeum, where the Museum was housed. With over 450,000 items in its collection, it’s one of the largest
- [Classical Romance <br/>The Sweetest Love Stories of Classical Music Composers](https://interlude.hk/classical-romance-the-sweetest-love-stories-of-classical-music-composers/): I am not a great fan of tabloid or boulevard journalism. Surely you have seen these colourful publications at checkout counters in your local supermarket and elsewhere. Most carry outrageous headlines of alien invasions or some poor souls doing something
- [The Memory of the Faun: Dukas’ <em>La Plainte, au loin, du faune…</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-memory-of-the-faun-paul-dukas-la-plainte-au-loin-du-faune/): In 1920, Henry Prunières, editor of the journal Revue Musicale, commissioned 10 of the leading composers of the day to contribute to a work in memory of Claude Debussy, who had died 2 years earlier. The works were a mixed
- [Mozart and His Circle of Friends II](https://interlude.hk/mozart-and-his-circle-of-friends-ii/): The composer and tenor Benedikt Schack (1758-1826) was a close friend of Mozart, and he was the first performer of the role of Tamino in The Magic Flute. Schack hailed from the Bohemian provinces of the Austrian Empire, but moved
- [On This Day <br/>14 November: Aaron Copland Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-14-november-aaron-copland-is-born/): Harris Morris Kaplan grew up in Lithuania, and before immigrating to the United States he lived in Scotland for a couple of years. It was in Scotland that he changed his family name “Kaplan” to “Copland. ” He had no particular
- [Celebrating Twenty Years of Music Making <br/>Weymouth Lunchtime Chamber Concerts](https://interlude.hk/celebrating-twenty-years-of-music-making-weymouth-lunchtime-chamber-concerts/): The bustling English seaside town of Weymouth, which enjoyed its heyday in the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries after King George III visited the town to partake in the health-giving properties of “sea dipping”, is not the most obvious location
- [On This Day <br/>13 November: Gioachino Rossini Died](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-13-november-gioachino-rossini-died/): Gioachino Rossini (1792–1868) was celebrated throughout Europe, and his operas became fixtures on the most prestigious stages around the world. However, things weren’t all that cheerful in terms of his health. An infection with gonorrhea, the result of his early
- [Notes From a Cello-Playing Mom <br/>Practicing and Performing Still Has to Be Done](https://interlude.hk/notes-from-a-cello-playing-mom-practicing-and-performing-still-has-to-be-done/): My two-year old wasn’t feeling well. “Mommy don’t go,” he whined. I had already donned my long black satin dress. Looking nervously at my watch I realized that it was very near concert time. I bent over to pick him
- [Felix Mendelssohn and Queen Victoria](https://interlude.hk/felix-mendelssohn-and-queen-victoria/): Queen Victoria (1819-1901) and Prince Albert (1819-1861) were accomplished pianists and singers, and Felix Mendelssohn was their musical hero. The composer first met the Prince on 14 June 1842, hand delivering a letter from Albert’s cousin, Frederick William IV of
- [On This Day <br/>11 November: Fyodor Dostoevsky Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-11-november-fyodor-dostoevsky-is-born/): “The greatest happiness is to know the source of unhappiness” The Russian novelist, short story writer, essayist, and journalist Fyodor Dostoevsky (1821-1881) explored human psychology in the troubled political, social, and spiritual atmospheres of 19th-century Russia. His name is sometimes
- [Ten Piano Works by Female Composers From Baroque to Present](https://interlude.hk/ten-piano-works-by-female-composers-from-baroque-to-present/): The music of women composers has long been overshadowed by their male counterparts. In an effort to shine a light, and cast away the shadows, this article features ten works for piano, each written by a female composer. Élisabeth Jacquet
- [Modes of Motion: Poulenc’s <em>Promenades</em>](https://interlude.hk/modes-of-motion-poulencs-promenades/): In his 1921 collection Promenades, Francis Poulenc presents us with an odd world of travel. Rarely performed because of its technical and musical difficulties, Promenades gives us an audio image of travel in early 20th century France. One writer compares
- [Historical but Modern: An Interview With Christian Fergo of the Duo Morat-Fergo](https://interlude.hk/historical-but-modern-an-interview-with-christian-fergo-of-the-duo-morat-fergo/): A new recording of the Mozart Piano Sonatas caught our attention because it wasn’t being played on the latest new keyboard or a historical reconstruction of a keyboard, but on 2 Viennese guitars. To hear works that are so familiar
- [Music in View: Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)](https://interlude.hk/music-in-view-los-angeles-county-museum-of-art-lacma/): The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is the largest art museum in the Western United States, holding a collection of more than 142,000 objects. We’ll continue our museum ramblings in through this wide-ranging collection that covers more than
- [The Four-Voice Orchestra: Grieg’s String Quartet](https://interlude.hk/the-four-voice-orchestra-edvard-grieg-string-quartet/): We credit Haydn for codifying it, Mozart for extending it, and Beethoven for bringing it to its highest level. We look to Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg (1843-1907), however, to take Beethoven’s ideas and move them forward yet again. We generally
- [On This Day <br/>8 November: César Franck Died](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-8-november-cesar-franck-died/): During the early months of 1890, César Franck (1822-1890) was busy on a number of compositional projects, including his String Quartet and the Trois Chorals for organ. Sadly, in July of that year he was involved in an accident. He
- [Mozart and His Circle of Friends I](https://interlude.hk/mozart-and-his-circle-of-friends-i/): Let’s start this little series on Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and his circle of friends with a look at the supposed relationship between Mozart and Beethoven. Biographer Otto Jahn related the following anecdote: “Beethoven... was introduced to Mozart, and played to
- [The Symbol of Love: Couperin’s Nightingale](https://interlude.hk/the-symbol-of-love-couperin-nightingale-in-love/): French Baroque composer François Couperin (1668–1733), who had a career as a composer, harpsichordist, and organist in the French royal court, was born into a famous family of Parisian musicians. He served in the court of Louis XIV as organiste
- [Franz Liszt: <em>Dante Symphony</em> <br/>Premiered on 7 November 1857](https://interlude.hk/franz-liszt-dante-symphony-premiered-on-7-november-1857/): Enjoying the shores of Lake Como with Marie d’Agoult in 1837, Franz Liszt (1811-1886) immersed himself in a close reading of Dante’s Divine Comedy. The idea of composing a symphony to Dante’s Divine Comedy, one that would combine music, poetry
- [Going It Alone: The Autonomous Musician](https://interlude.hk/going-it-alone-the-autonomous-musician/): autonomy: the ability to make your own decisions without being controlled by anyone else – Cambridge Dictionary definition As musicians, we may seek external endorsement and extrinsic motivation through examinations and assessments, the accrual of qualifications such as diplomas, and
- [On This Day <br/>6 November: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Died](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-6-november-pyotr-ilyich-tchaikovsky-died/): Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky arrived in St Petersburg on 22 October 1893 to oversee the first performance of his Sixth Symphony. Tchaikovsky was elatedly optimistic and wrote, “I think it will be successful; it is rare for me to write anything
- [Musicians and Artists: Reger and Böcklin](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-max-reger-and-arnold-bocklin/): Known more for his abstract works, Max Reger decided to take, as he described it, ‘an excursion in the realm of program music’ in 1913 when he created his 4 Tondichtungen nach Arnold Böcklin (4 Tone Poems after Arnold Böcklin).
- [Chamber Music by Women Composers IV <br/> Farrenc, Beach, Tate, N. Boulanger, and Liu](https://interlude.hk/chamber-music-by-women-composers-iv-louise-farrenc-amy-beach-phyllis-tate-nadia-boulanger-and-liu-zhuang/): Louise Farrenc (1804-1875) was one of the first successful female composers in 19th century France. That opinion is not only based on 21st century assessments, but also on views expressed by her contemporaries. Robert Schumann wrote for example, “her works
- [Vienna Does the Shimmy <br/>Bittner, Krenek, Grosz and Martinů](https://interlude.hk/vienna-does-the-shimmy/): Ah, Vienna! The city of Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert and the waltzing Lanner and Strauss families. Even today, Vienna likes to promote itself as the eternally waltzing city. While that may be the case to some extent, in the period between
- [On This Day <br/> 4 November: Felix Mendelssohn Died](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-4-november-felix-mendelssohn-died/): Although Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) had suffered from poor health for a number of years, he maintained a hectic performing schedule in the early months of 1847. He conducted Gewandhaus concerts in Leipzig, and presented a series of four historical concerts
- [Sheng Cai - Grieg album](https://interlude.hk/sheng-cai-grieg-album/): “all these works have rarely been recorded... . . most people don’t know about them, and I would like to bring them to the forefront. I am always interested in great works that deserve more attention. ” Sheng Cai, pianist A leading composer of
- [Neighbourhood Watch: Poulenc’s <em>Les Soirées de Nazelles</em>](https://interlude.hk/neighbourhood-watch-poulencs-les-soirees-de-nazelles/): In his 1889 work known as the Enigma Variations, English composer Edward Elgar depicted his friends and neighbours in music. Although he first gave the movements coded titles, their identities were quickly figured out. In a similar fashion, the French
- [Vincenzo Bellini](https://interlude.hk/vincenzo-bellini-composer/): “The Swan of Catania” Vincenzo Bellini (1801-1835) rose from humble beginnings in Sicily to take the operatic stages in Italy, London and Paris by storm. Closely connected to the Italian “bel canto” singing style practiced by the most illustrious performers
- [Music in View: The J. Paul Getty Museum](https://interlude.hk/music-in-view-the-j-paul-getty-museum/): The J. Paul Getty Museum, aka the Getty, is housed in Los Angeles. Founded by Jean Paul Getty, the museum opened in 1974. Getty’s collecting had started in the 1930s, after the depression hit, when European art was readily available
- [On This Day<br/> 2 November: George Bernard Shaw Died](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-2-november-george-bernard-shaw-died/): Long before George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) became a Nobel-prize winning dramatist and author of more than sixty plays, including Man and Superman of 1902 and Pygmalion of 1912, he worked as a music critic. He wrote his first musical criticisms
- [The Fabled Awakening: Debussy’s <em>Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-fabled-awakening-claude-debussy-prelude-a-lapres-midi-dun-faune/): Slowly, sleepily, and lasciviously, the faun awakes. So begins Debussy’s Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune, taking us to the imaginary world of a mythical creature. The work should really be entitled Prélude à ‘l’après-midi d’un faune’ because it is a
- [On This Day <br/>1 November: World Vegan Day](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-1-november-world-vegan-day/): Since 1994, World Vegan Day is celebrated on November 1. It commemorates the 50th anniversary of the UK Vegan Society devoted to non-dairy vegetarianism. Donald Watson and his future wife Dorothy Morgan coined the word “vegan,” and veganism is defined
- [4 Hands 4 More Piano Fun III](https://interlude.hk/4-hands-4-more-piano-fun-iii/): It is certainly telling that the earliest surviving music by Franz Schubert is the extended Fantasie D. 48 for piano duet. Composed at the age of thirteen, Schubert composed prolifically for the medium until his untimely death at the age
- [Dai Miyata](https://interlude.hk/dai-miyata-artist-of-the-month/): Once In A Lifetime Experiences Ponce: Estrellita (Dai Miyata, cello; Hibiki Tamura, piano) Our November’s Artist of the Month is Japanese cellist Dai Miyata who, since winning every major competition in Japan, went on to study at the Kronberg Academy
- [On This Day<br/>31 October: Halloween](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-31-october-halloween/): In some parts of the word, Halloween is a hugely profitable holiday for retailers. In fact, roughly 25 percent of all the candy sold annually in the United States is purchased for Halloween. Halloween isn’t just a holiday for kids,
- [Going Against the Composer’s Wishes: Mahler’s <em>Sentinel’s Night Song</em>](https://interlude.hk/going-against-the-composers-wishes-mahlers-sentinels-night-song/): In his settings of songs from the von Armin and Bretano collection Das Knaben Wunderhorn, Mahler set the martial Der Schildwache Nachtlied (The Sentinel’s Night Song), which is the musing of a night guard. As everyone slumbers around him, he
- [Johann Sebastian Bach and His Circle of Friends II](https://interlude.hk/johann-sebastian-bach-and-his-circle-of-friends-ii/): Johann Georg Schübler (1720-1755? ) was an engraver and organist, and a private student of J. S. Bach. “He learned the music in Leipzig with the famous Bach,” but Schübler’s name is more notably connected with the publication of a set of
- [Cello Music by Women Composers VII <br/>Mazzoli, Clyne, and Montgomery](https://interlude.hk/cello-music-by-women-composers-vii-missy-mazzoli-anna-clyne-and-jessie-montgomery/): Today major orchestras and artists are commissioning young women composers to write music for them. Here are three rising stars. Missy Mazzoli was selected as a featured composer by the Minnesota Orchestra’s Composer’s Institute more than a decade ago. We
- [Remembering Debussy <br/><em>Le Tombeau de Claude Debussy</em> Premiered in 1921](https://interlude.hk/remembering-debussy-le-tombeau-de-claude-debussy-premiered-in-1921/): In 1920, Henry Prunières, editor of the French music journal Revue Musicale, commissioned 10 of the leading composers of the day to contribute to a work in memory of Claude Debussy, who had died from cancer 2 years earlier. The
- [If You Were on the Jury, Whom Would You Choose as Winner of the 18th Chopin Piano Competition?](https://interlude.hk/if-you-were-on-the-jury-whom-would-you-choose-as-winner-of-the-18th-chopin-piano-competition/): This was the most frequently posed question among my friends and colleagues at the conclusion of the Chopin Piano Competition in 2021. I suspect that it did not come from those who approved of the jury’s official verdict, but probably
- [Nightlight – Cordelia Williams](https://interlude.hk/nightlight-cordelia-williams/): Darkness and light pervade Cordelia Williams’ latest release, Nightlight, which explores the many facets of nighttime – its turmoil, terror and tenderness, and the longing for and consolation of light – through a programme of brooding, atmospheric and ultimately consoling
- [Recording Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas, at Last!](https://interlude.hk/recording-beethovens-piano-sonatas-at-last/): My closest, most long-standing musical relationship is with Beethoven. The essential joy of life as an interpreter is, to me at least, in making friends with these extraordinary composers through their music; I know his moods, his rough humour, his
- [On This Day <br/>27 October: Niccolò Paganini Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-27-october-niccolo-paganini-is-born/): Niccolò Paganini was born in Genoa, then capital of the Republic of Genoa, on 27 October 1782. His father, Antonio Paganini was a dockworker and unsuccessful trader who supplemented his meager income by playing the mandolin for social occasions. Unsurprisingly,
- [Ancient and Modern and Left-Handed: Korngold’s <em>Suite</em>](https://interlude.hk/ancient-and-modern-and-left-handed-korngolds-suite/): When up-and-coming pianist Paul Wittgenstein (1887-1961) returned from WWI, it was without his right arm, amputated by necessity in a Russian prison camp. He did return to a family with money and so was able to commission works that he
- [On This Day <br/> 26 October: Domenico Scarlatti Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-26-october-domenico-scarlatti-is-born/): The Scarlatti family was one of the most prominent musical dynasties in Italy, with various branches of the family living in Sicily, Rome, and in northern Italy. Alessandro Scarlatti (1660-1725) became the most important opera composer of his generation in
- [Music in View: The Victoria and Albert Museum](https://interlude.hk/music-in-view-the-victoria-and-albert-museum/): The collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London is idiosyncratic, to say the least. Within the British national collections, that V&A holds sculpture and applied arts. The first musical piece of applied art is an 18th century work
- [For Love of a Woman: Wagner’s <em>The Flying Dutchman</em>](https://interlude.hk/for-love-of-a-woman-richard-wagner-the-flying-dutchman/): The sea was Richard Wagner’s inspiration for his 1843 opera Der fliegende Hollander (The Flying Dutchman). In July to August 1839, Wagner travelled from Riga to London, crossing the Baltic Sea and the North Sea on what proved to be
- [Scary Music for a Scary Night](https://interlude.hk/scary-music-for-a-scary-night/): Whether you decide to venture out for the end of October holiday or stay home and just scare people with the music you’re playing, there’s a lot of scary music out there to chose from. Opening with 12 strokes of
- [The Pulitzer Prize in Music <br/>1990s and the New Century](https://interlude.hk/the-pulitzer-prize-in-music-1990s-and-the-new-century/): See here for the history of the prize. The 1990s Composer Mel Powell, who founded the music department at the California Institute of the Arts, started his career as a jazz pianist, joining Benny Goodman’s band in 1941. During WWII,
- [Johann Sebastian Bach and His Circle of Friends I](https://interlude.hk/johann-sebastian-bach-and-his-circle-of-friends-i/): Carl Philipp Emanuel (1714-1788) described his father’s household in Leipzig as a “pigeon coop. ” People were constantly swarming in and out all the time, and he told the Bach biographer Forkel, “with his many activities Bach hardly had time for
- [Death Comes at the End: Mahler’s <em>Totenfeier</em>](https://interlude.hk/death-comes-at-the-end-mahlers-totenfeier-first-movement-of-resurrection-symphony/): If Mahler could write a scary movie soundtrack, his symphonic poem Totenfeier (Funeral Rites) would be one of his contributions. This 1888 work, which one writer described as a ‘huge symphonic funeral march,’ comes between his first two symphonies. If
- [Chamber Music by Women Composers III <br/>Chaminade, Clarke, Bacewicz, Garcia-Viardot, and Higdon](https://interlude.hk/chamber-music-by-women-composers-iii-cecile-chaminade-rebecca-clarke-grazyna-bacewicz-pauline-garcia-viardot-and-jennifer-higdon/): Cécile Chaminade (1857-1944) was the first woman composer ever to be awarded with the legion d‘honneur in 1913. The composer Ambroise Thomas said, “This is not a woman who composes, but a composer who is a woman. ” Chaminade was well
- [On This Day <br/>22 October: Franz Liszt Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-22-october-franz-liszt-is-born/): Franz Liszt was born to Marie Anna Lager and Ádám Liszt on 22 October 1811. His father was a gifted amateur singer, pianist and cellist who took part in summer concerts at the Esterházy estates. He personally knew Joseph Haydn,
- [Paris Does the Ragtime <br/>Debussy, Satie, Antheil and Stravinsky](https://interlude.hk/paris-does-the-ragtime-debussy-satie-antheil-and-stravinsky/): During July 1900, as part of an extended European tour, John Philip Sousa and his band performed at the opening of the Universal Exposition in Paris. Celebrating the 4th of July, they played at the dedication of the American Pavilion
- [First Steps of A Little Artist <br/>In Touch With Dr. Erman Turkili](https://interlude.hk/first-steps-of-a-little-artist-in-touch-with-dr-erman-turkili/): This new book from musician and educator Dr Erman Turkili uses an intuitive approach that enables very young beginners of piano and children with special educational needs to start playing the piano right away. Using colours, shapes, stickers and symbols,
- [In Touch With the Trio Zadig](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-the-trio-zadig/): We know the French composer Saint-Saëns for just a few works today, primarily The Carnival of the Animals. The Trio Zadig, however, wants us to know more about the man that critic Harold Schonberg considered “... the most remarkable child prodigy
- [On This Day <br/>20 October: Charles Ives Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-20-october-charles-ives-is-born/): The Ives family, prominently active in business, civic improvement and social causes, resided in Danbury, Connecticut. Charles Ives was born there on 20 October 1874 to George Edward Ives and his wife Mary Elizabeth Parmelee-Ives. George Ives was a U. S.
- [Forgotten Pianists: Marcelle Meyer](https://interlude.hk/forgotten-pianists-marcelle-meyer/): The French pianist Marcelle Meyer (1897-1958) learned piano at age 5 from her older sister and entered the Paris Conservatoire at age 14. Two years later, she was awarded the Premier Prix after studying first with Marguerite Long and then
- [Music in View – The National Gallery, London](https://interlude.hk/music-in-view-the-national-gallery-london/): The National Gallery of Art in London holds art from the mid-13th century up to 1900 – other collections in London hold other varieties of art: sculpture and applied art are at the Victoria and Albert Museum, The British Museum
- [Style and Culture: An Interview With Simone Menezes](https://interlude.hk/style-and-culture-an-interview-with-simone-menezes/): Italian-Brazilian conductor Simone Menezes faced the problem of being a female conductor in the classical world head on. She noted that her male contemporaries were getting jobs and she wasn’t. She seemed to fall out of the way people think
- [A Forgotten Composer: Thieriot’s String Trio](https://interlude.hk/a-forgotten-composer-ferdinand-thieriot-string-trio/): Ferdinand Thieriot (1838-1919) started his musical studies, like Brahms, in Hamburg on piano with Eduard Marxsen before going on to Munch for organ studies with Josef Rheinberger and cello studies in Dresden with Friedrich August Kummer. Supported by Brahms’ recommendation,
- [The Best Performances <br/> “Una Voce Poco Fa” by Rossini](https://interlude.hk/the-best-performances-una-voce-poco-fa-by-rossini/): Gioachino Rossini’s opera “The Barber of Seville” is one of the most fun operas in the entire repertoire. It’s full of humour and romantic encounters, and for a change, nobody dies. The story is set in Sevilla, Spain during the
- [On This Day <br/> 17 October: Frédéric Chopin Died](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-17-october-frederic-chopin-died/): Frédéric Chopin suffered from serious and chronic health problems throughout his short life. Already in his teens, Chopin suffered from frequent respiratory problems that included coughing, headaches, and the swelling of the cervical lymph glands. Biographers and doctors have detailed
- [Ways of Listening](https://interlude.hk/ways-of-listening/): “Art is not what you see, but what you make others see. ” This quote from the French artist Edgar Degas could be paraphrased for music – Music is not what you hear, but what you make others hear. In other
- [The Pulitzer Prize in Music <br/>1960s, 1970s, and 1980s](https://interlude.hk/the-pulitzer-prize-in-music-1960s-1970s-and-1980s/): See here for the history of the prize. 1960s When we look at the awards for the 1960s, we see a distinct turn away from large symphonic works towards quartets and works that include new technology, such as electronic tape.
- [On This Day <br/>16 October: World Food Day](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-16-october-world-food-day/): On 16 October 1945, the United Nations founded the Food and Agriculture Organization. To commemorate this day, countries around the world annually celebrate World Food Day on 16 October. The FAO is an intergovernmental organization dedicated to achieving food security
- [Cello Music by Women Composers VI <br/>Price, Beamish, Higdon, and Larsen](https://interlude.hk/cello-music-by-women-composers-vi-florence-price-sally-beamish-jennifer-higdon-and-libby-larsen/): We are now delving into the 20th and 21st century with a few more outstanding women composers who wrote cello music. Florence Price (1887-1953), an American pianist, composer, organist, and teacher, is not only the first African American woman to
- [Bach and George Martin, the Fifth Beatle](https://interlude.hk/bach-and-george-martin-the-fifth-beatle/): The English rock band The Beatles, formed in Liverpool in 1960, is widely considered the most influential band of all time. Led by songwriters Lennon and McCartney, the band was part of 1960s counterculture and inspired an international fan frenzy
- [On This Day <br/>14 October: Leonard Bernstein Died](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-14-october-leonard-bernstein-died/): On 14 October 1990, five days after announcing his retirement from conducting, Leonard Bernstein died in his New York apartment at “The Dakota. ” Bernstein had been ill for years as he suffered from emphysema, asthma attacks and bouts of bronchitis
- [In Touch With Pianist Brenda Lucas Ogdon](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-pianist-brenda-lucas-ogdon/): “Listening to other musicians gives me a lot of inspiration” Critically acclaimed British pianist Brenda Lucas Ogdon returns with her new album ‘Ravel que J’Aime’ (released 1 October 2021). The album marks only the most recent chapter of Brenda’s rich
- [Forgotten Pianists: Monique de La Bruchollerie](https://interlude.hk/forgotten-pianists-monique-de-la-bruchollerie/): Following the line from Franz Liszt, through his pupil Emil von Sauer, French pianist Monique de La Bruchollerie (1915-1972) was one of the great pianists of her day, which ended far too quickly. Her family was one of musicians, with
- [Reflections on the Leeds Piano Competition in 2021](https://interlude.hk/reflections-on-the-leeds-piano-competition-in-2021/): Murray Perahia: Winner in 1972 Since its inception, the Leeds International Piano Competition has attained a highly respected reputation as the “most coveted prize in the piano world and internationally acclaimed for introducing some of the greatest pianists of our
- [Music in View: The Barnes Foundation](https://interlude.hk/music-in-view-the-barnes-foundation/): Albert C. Barnes made his money in pharmaceuticals, cashed out his company before the 1929 stock market crash, and ended up creating a unique personal collection of some of the best of the early 20th century French paintings. When the
- [Bringing Poland to the Keyboard: Chopin’s Mazurkas](https://interlude.hk/bringing-poland-to-the-keyboard-frederic-chopin-mazurkas/): Polish composer Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin (1810-1849), better known under the French version of his name, Frédéric Chopin left Poland at age 20, just as the November 1830 Uprising was about to start, and started a new life in Paris. Although
- [Anton Bruckner](https://interlude.hk/anton-bruckner/): “It is to God that I must give account” 125 years ago, on 11 October 1896, Anton Bruckner (1824-1896) died from acute heart disease brought on by persistent alcoholism. His funeral took place in the Karlskirche in Vienna on 14
- [Baroque Composers <br/>10 Greatest Masters of Baroque Music](https://interlude.hk/baroque-composers-10-greatest-masters-of-baroque-music/): If I could take only one style of music to a deserted island it would have to be Baroque music. Music written during that period is full of drama and energy, and it can be very intimate or simply grandiose.
- [Making It Easier for Audiences](https://interlude.hk/making-it-easier-for-audiences-optimise-potential-audience-engagement-and-retention-after-covid/): As concert life begins to return to something resembling “normal” after months of silence – the result of government restrictions in response to the coronavirus pandemic – venues, promoters and indeed the performers themselves can do a great deal to
- [The Pulitzer Prize in Music <br/>1940s and 1950s](https://interlude.hk/the-pulitzer-prize-in-music-1940s-and-1950s/): The Pulitzer Prize was first awarded in 1917, following instructions left by newspaper publisher Joseph Pulitzer in his 1904 will. The Pulitzer Prize in Music was established in 1943 after being converted from an annual scholarship for “the student of
- [On This Day <br/>9 October: Giuseppe Verdi Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-9-october-giuseppe-verdi-is-born/): We do know that Giuseppe Verdi was born in the small village of Roncole, near Busseto in the Duchy of Parma. What is not clear, however, is the exact date of his birth. The baptismal register of 11 October records
- [Chamber Music by Women Composers II<br/> Mendelssohn, Lombardini, Bonis, Smith, and Tailleferre](https://interlude.hk/chamber-music-by-women-composers-ii-fanny-mendelssohn-maddalena-lombardini-sirmen-melanie-bonis-julia-smith-and-germaine-tailleferre/): Musicologists have suggested that “the life of Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel (1805-1847) is compelling proof that women’s failure to compete with men on the compositional playing-field has been the result of social prejudice and patriarchal mores, which in the nineteenth century
- [Bright Celebrations: Shostakovich’s <em>Festive Overture</em>](https://interlude.hk/bright-celebrations-shostakovichs-festive-overture/): Written in a rush for a celebratory concert, Shostakovich’s Festive Overture is a joyous bubble starting with a brilliant fanfare. Written for a concert in Moscow at the Bolshoi Theatre celebrating the 37th anniversary of the October 1917 Revolution, this
- [Daniil Trifonov’s Bach: <em>The Art of Life</em>](https://interlude.hk/daniil-trifonovs-bach-the-art-of-life/): Daniil Trifonov’s fame in the classical music scene has been skyrocketing in recent years, and to many piano music lovers, his name needs no introduction. But Bach isn’t a composer that one normally associates Trifonov with, who is more known
- [Folk Instruments Blossom in the Concert Hall](https://interlude.hk/folk-instruments-blossom-in-the-concert-hall/): Creativity never ends! Our predecessors contributed a lot of fantastic musical compositions using what have become known as “standard” orchestral instruments. Our contemporary composers continue to build on this tradition. However, “folk” and “classical” music has become more blended in
- [The Happy Music Play Book <br/>Cordelia Williams](https://interlude.hk/the-happy-music-play-book-cordelia-williams/): There’s a lot more to making music with children than singing The Wheels on the Bus or dancing to Baby Shark. Newborn babies can detect the pulse in music and infants respond to maternal speech and singing. Many children have
- [From Lucretius to Goethe to Strauss: <em>Metamorphosen</em>](https://interlude.hk/from-lucretius-to-goethe-to-strauss-metamorphosen/): In the last days of WWII, German composer Richard Strauss saw the world he knew in tatters around him. Germany was occupied by foreign powers, the great monuments of German culture had been destroyed – its opera houses and theatres,
- [Forgotten Pianists: Vladimir Krainev](https://interlude.hk/forgotten-pianists-vladimir-krainev/): Little known in the West, Vladimir Krainev (1944 – 2011) was an exceptional yet criminally underrated pianist and pedagogue. Born in Krasnoyarsk, Krainev displayed musical talent at a precocious age and gave his debut performance at 7 with piano concertos
- [Music In View: The National Portrait Gallery – London](https://interlude.hk/music-in-view-the-national-portrait-gallery-london/): The National Portrait Gallery in London holds images of important and famous British people as drawings, painting, and photographs. We will be ignoring the single portraits of musicians, conductors, composers, and others with a life in music and will examine,
- [Bringing Impressionism Home: Charles Griffes’ Tone Pictures](https://interlude.hk/bringing-impressionism-home-charles-griffes-tone-pictures/): American composer Charles Tomlinson Griffes (1884-1920) started his piano studies in upstate New York before doing further study in Berlin. He then started studying composition, working for a while with Engelbert Humperdinck. When he came back to the US in
- [On This Day <br/>4 October: World Animal Day](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-4-october-world-animal-day/): On 4 October, the feast day of Francis of Assisi, we celebrate World Animal Day. Saint Francis was the patron saint of animals, and this international day of action for animal rights and welfare aims “to raise the status of
- [The Best Performances <br/>“Ombra mai fù” by Handel](https://interlude.hk/the-best-performances-ombra-mai-fu-by-handel/): George Frideric Handel premiered his opera Serse on 15 April 1738 at the King’s Theatre, Haymarket in London. The composer had decided on a semi-historical plot involving the hot-blooded Persian tyrant Xerxes. It is a rather complicated plot, typical of
- [Poetry and Music: Vivaldi’s Four Seasons <br/>Autumn and Winter](https://interlude.hk/poetry-and-music-vivaldis-four-seasons-autumn-and-winter/): Although Spring may be the concerto that most people are familiar with, it’s Autumn and its return to a major key that seems to be central to The Four Seasons. The fear and frights of Summer disappear with the appearance
- [More Fugues and Other Musical Charms <br/> From Handel to Bruckner](https://interlude.hk/more-fugues-and-other-musical-charms-from-handel-to-bruckner/): In his seminal study on counterpoint and fugue, Alfred Mann writes, “There is probably no branch of musical composition in which theory is more widely, one might almost say hopelessly, at variance with practice than fugue. ” Basically, Mann is telling
- [Cello Music by Women Composers V <br/>Beach, Szymanowska, and Holst](https://interlude.hk/cello-music-by-women-composers-v-amy-beach-maria-szymanowska-and-imogen-holst/): Continuing our series, I’d like to focus on the cello music of three additional women composers, artists whom I’ve previously featured. Amy Beach, (1867-1944) is one of the first American woman to be recognized as a composer. Her ‘Gaelic’ Symphony,
- [On This Day <br/>1 October: International Coffee Day](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-1-october-international-coffee-day/): For millions of people around the world, having a cup of coffee in the morning is a delicious part of their daily routine. Reaching for that cup of coffee improves alertness and helps to overcome fatigue and drowsiness. That wonderful
- [Tom Borrow](https://interlude.hk/tom-borrow-artist-of-the-month/): ‘A Good Piece Is One That Persuades You At This Moment That It’s The Most Beautiful Thing In The World’ Chopin: Polonaise-Fantaisie in A flat major, Op. 61 Barely age 21, young Israeli pianist Tom Borrow is making a name
- [Songs For Murdered Sisters <br/>A Move Towards Ending Gender-Based Violence](https://interlude.hk/songs-for-murdered-sisters-a-move-towards-ending-gender-based-violence/): Songs for Murdered Sisters (Margaret Atwood & Jake Heggie) On the morning of 22 September, 2015, a man went on a killing spree in Renfrew County, Ontario, murdering three ex-partners at their separate homes. Nathalie Warmerdam, the sister of baritone
- [Poetry and Music: Vivaldi’s Four Seasons <br/>Spring and Summer](https://interlude.hk/poetry-and-music-vivaldis-four-seasons-spring-and-summer/): We think of Vivaldi’s set of four violin concertos known as The Four Seasons as one of the warhorses of the classical world. They’re everywhere, used in advertising and in movies, often even used to advertise classical radio stations. However,
- [What Authenticity Really Is](https://interlude.hk/what-authenticity-really-is/): I often explain how many — if not all — artists create; in my opinion, the saying that good artists copy and great artists steal should be admitted as common truth. While it is often well-hidden and sometimes resembles a
- [Music in View: The Philadelphia Museum of Art](https://interlude.hk/music-in-view-the-philadelphia-museum-of-art/): Originally created as part of the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Museum of Art came to its current location in 1928 as part of a complex that now includes the Rodin Museum and The Perelman Building. The Philadelphia
- [One More Than Beethoven: Schubert’s <em>Octet</em>](https://interlude.hk/one-more-than-beethoven-schuberts-octet/): Count Ferdinand Troyer (1780-1851) occupied a position of power as chief steward to Archduke Rudolf of Austria and also as an amateur clarinettist. His performance of the clarinet obliggato in ‘Parto, parto’ from Mozart’s La Clemenza di Tito with the
- [On This Day <br/> 27 September: World Tourism Day](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-27-september-world-tourism-day/): World Tourism Day was the brainchild of Ignatius Amaduwa Atigbi. The Nigerian national proposed to celebrate this special day on 27 September, and the World Tourist Organization of the United Nations adopted the resolution in 1970. Ever since 1980, the
- [Classical Mercury: Freddie and the Bohemian Rhapsody](https://interlude.hk/classical-mercury-freddie-and-the-bohemian-rhapsody/): We don’t think of the late Freddie Mercury (1946-1991) in the realm of classical music except for his duets with Montserrat Caballée. Secretly though, the world of classical music has been looking at the music of Freddie Mercury and dragging
- [On This Day <br/>26 September: George Gershwin Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-26-september-george-gershwin-is-born/): The great American composer, pianist and conductor George Gershwin was born in Brooklyn, NY, on 26 September 1898. Son of poor Jewish immigrants, his parents Moshe Gershovitz and Rose Bruskin emigrated from the St. Petersburg region in Russia. They settled
- [On This Day <br/>26 September: European Day of Languages](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-26-september-european-day-of-languages/): The Council of Europe represents 47 member states, and roughly 800 million Europeans. Celebrating Europe’s rich linguistic diversity, the Council celebrated the European Year of Languages in 2001. At the end of this campaign the Council of Europe’s Committee of
- [Robert Delaunay (1885-1941) <br/> “Vision Is the True Creative Rhythm”](https://interlude.hk/robert-delaunay-1885-1941-vision-is-the-true-creative-rhythm/): The experimental and visionary paintings of Robert Delaunay (1885-1941) represent a unique fusion of early 20th-century European artistic trends. Visually and intellectually stimulated by the exuberant environment of Belle Epoque Paris, he founded—together with his wife Sonia—a movement termed “Orphism. ”
- [On This Day <br/> 25 September: Dmitry Shostakovich Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-25-september-dmitry-shostakovich-is-born/): Born in Saint Petersburg, Russia, on 25 September 1906, Dmitry Shostakovich was the second of three children of Dmitri Boleslavovich Shostakovich and Sofiya Vasilievna Kokoulina. His father was studying physics and mathematics at St Petersburg University, and subsequently worked as
- [Starker Tales: The Great Cellist Was Human](https://interlude.hk/janos-starker-tales-the-great-cellist-was-human/): Perhaps some of you don’t know that the great cellist and pedagogue János Starker began his illustrious career as an orchestral musician. He played in Broadway orchestras too. Born in Budapest July 5, 1924, as a wunderkind, Starker performed all
- [Chamber Music by Women Composers <br/>Schumann, Lebrun, Bond, Boulanger, and Carreño](https://interlude.hk/chamber-music-by-women-composers-clara-schumann-franziska-lebrun-victoria-bond-lili-boulanger-and-teresa-carreno/): Clara Wieck-Schumann (1819-1896) confided in her diary, “a woman must not wish to compose—there never was one able to do it. Am I intended to be the one? It would be arrogant to believe that. ” Her husband Robert was supportive
- [Simple and Complex: Ustvolskaya’s <em>Children’s Suite</em>](https://interlude.hk/simple-and-complex-galina-ustvolskaya-childrens-suite/): Leningrad / St. Petersburg composer Galina Ustvolskaya (1919-2006) was considered to be one of the most gifted of the students of Russian composer Dmitry Shostakovich. She studied with him from 1937 to 1947 and it is rumoured that he even
- [Fugues and Other Musical Charms <br/> From Bach to Shostakovich](https://interlude.hk/fugues-and-other-musical-charms-from-bach-to-shostakovich/): Among the most feared course requirements for many aspiring composers and students of music is a class simply labeled “Fugue. ” And it’s no wonder, as a good many universities that still teach this kind of skills will ask you to sit in this particular class for an entire semester....
- [88 Days of Musical Adventures: The Jukebox Album <br/>Tom Poster (piano) and Elena Urioste (violin)](https://interlude.hk/88-days-of-musical-adventures-the-jukebox-album-tom-poster-piano-and-elena-urioste-violin/): Few of us believed the 2020 lockdown would go on for more than a couple of weeks. In the midst of the initial announcement by government, many musicians – and others – watched in horror as their work dried up
- [BodyMinded Thinking for the Fingers and Thumbs](https://interlude.hk/bodyminded-thinking-for-the-fingers-and-thumbs/): Ever heard the saying “all fingers and thumbs”? Today we are jumping from our previous topics of whole arm movement and postural support, to the ease of movement, control and power of the fingers and thumbs in playing a musical
- [Charles Ives’ Approach to Music](https://interlude.hk/charles-ives-approach-to-music/): The American composer Charles Ives has often been associated with experimental music, or rather advanced music. One does not simply immerse himself in the academic music world through him. Indeed, his works include polytonality, polyrhythm, tone clusters, aleatory elements and
- [A Miracle of Music: HKU Celebrates 40 Years](https://interlude.hk/a-miracle-of-music-hku-celebrates-40-years/): Forty years ago, the Hong Kong University Music Department was founded at the behest of then–Vice Chancellor Rayson Huang (1920-2015). He had come to Hong Kong in 1938 following the Japanese invasion of Shanghai to be a student at HKU,
- [On This Day <br/>21 September: Gustav Holst Was Born](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-21-september-gustav-holst-is-born/): The English composer Gustav Holst was born in Cheltenham on 21 September 1874. His father Adolph von Holst was an excellent pianist and organist, and he was musically active in his local community. He married his piano student Clara Lediard,
- [On This Day <br/>21 September: International Day of Peace](https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-21-september-international-day-of-peace/): The International Day of Peace was established in 1981 by the United Nations General Assembly. It is dedicated to world peace, and specifically to the absence of war and violence, “such as might be occasioned by a temporary ceasefire in
- [Brazil and Concert Innovation: Nepomuceno’s Symphony in G minor](https://interlude.hk/brazil-and-concert-innovation-albert-nepomucenos-symphony-in-g-minor/): Alberto Nepomuceno (1864-1920) oversaw the transition of classical music in Brazil between the 19th and 20th centuries. After a youth in northeast Brazil in the city of Recife, in 1884 he moved to Rio de Janeiro, making his debut as
- [Romantic Classical Music](https://interlude.hk/romantic-classical-music/): A famous writer once said, “Music is the most romantic of all arts. ” And then he goes on to say that it “unlocks an unknown realm, a word with nothing in common with the surrounding outer worlds of the senses.
- [The Last Rose of Summer III <br/>Giuliani, Hindemith, Kuhlau and Britten](https://interlude.hk/the-last-rose-of-summer-iii-giuliani-hindemith-kuhlau-and-britten/): Italian cellist Mauro Giuliani (1781-1829) made his home in Vienna in 1806. In 1813 he played in the famous performance of Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony during a gala event, which saw the participation of many of Vienna’s most celebrated musicians, including
- [Nicolas Slonimsky <br/>Rediscover His Legacy Through His Music and Life](https://interlude.hk/nicolas-slonimsky-rediscover-his-legacy-through-his-music-and-life/): Nicolas Slonimsky (1894-1995) was a child prodigy, pianist, composer, conductor, scholar, lexicographer, and world traveler. His legacy continues to influence many musicians through his writings and compositions. Best known as the editor of Baker’s Biographical Dictionary of Music, and author
- [Interview with Colin Riley](https://interlude.hk/interview-with-colin-riley/): Paying tribute to unexpected sources of inspiration In my childhood years as a musician, I was inspired – paradoxically (I say as a concert pianist) – by people who, though they had little musical knowledge or training, were highly enthusiastic
- [Your 21st-Century Classical Music Playlist for Moon Festival](https://interlude.hk/your-21st-century-classical-music-playlist-for-moon-festival/): In the last article, I introduced some moon-related music of the 20th century. In this article, I will introduce some moon-theme music written in the 21st century. These pieces span a variety of styles, instrumentation, and writing techniques. Written by
- [Your 20th-Century Classical Music Playlist for Moon Festival](https://interlude.hk/your-20th-century-classical-music-playlist-for-moon-festival/): Moon festival is coming! Moon-theme music has been popular among composers and audience for centuries. This is the first of two articles introducing some 20th and 21st -century works related to the moon. Perhaps you might want to add them
- [The Non-Meeting of Two Masters: Schoenberg’s <em>Book of the Hanging Garden</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-non-meeting-of-two-masters-stefan-george-arnold-schoenberg-book-of-the-hanging-garden/): The German symbolist poet Stefan George (1868-1933) and Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951) probably never met – as one commentator said, ‘One reason could be that as charismatic leaders of cults, they too much resembled each other. ’ In Paris in 1889, Stefan
- [Composing 2.0 <br/>The Purpose of Computers in the World of Creative Music](https://interlude.hk/composing-2-0-the-purpose-of-computers-in-the-world-of-creative-music/): Throughout the history of music, there have been a couple of events and inventions that have revolutionised both how music was created and how it was experienced. The invention of musical notation, the keyboard and later the piano, the development
- [Josquin <br/>The Making of a Superstar](https://interlude.hk/josquin-des-prez-the-making-of-a-superstar/): A good many performing artist today are known by a single name. There is Beyoncé and Lola, Madonna and Sting, Cher and Hauser. And we might make an exception and include Lang Lang in this list. These celebrities are so
- [Music in View: The Metropolitan Museum of Art](https://interlude.hk/music-in-view-the-metropolitan-museum-of-art/): One of the great things to do in an art museum is to go through the collection to see what’s being pictured. This may sound a bit obvious, but for those with a musical bent, it’s an interesting exercise to
- [Víkingur Ólafsson’s Mozart & Contemporaries – Daring Yet Thoughtful](https://interlude.hk/vikingur-olafssons-mozart-contemporaries-daring-yet-thoughtful/): First taught by his mother, Icelandic pianist Víkingur Ólafsson studied at the Julliard School under Jerome Lowenthal and Robert McDonald. The unique persona and creative genius of the pianist account for his recent rise to fame. Currently one of the
- [Inspired by Spain: Chabrier’s <em>España</em>](https://interlude.hk/inspired-by-spain-chabrier-espana/): What started as a tour of Spain for six months in 1882, turned into a research trip on the folk music and dances of Spain. Chabrier’s tour took in most of the principal cities of Spain, starting in San Sebastián,
- [Ten Movies About Musicians](https://interlude.hk/ten-movies-about-musicians/): Classic films such as Amadeus, Immortal Beloved, and Lisztomania have brought the stories of our legendary composers to life. While these movies are known widely, I want to share some lesser-known movies about the music world that you might want
- [The Last Rose of Summer II <br/>Flotow, Mendelssohn, Franchomme, and Glinka](https://interlude.hk/the-last-rose-of-summer-ii-flotow-mendelssohn-franchomme-and-glinka/): “The Last Rose of Summer” reached a world audience as part of the romantic opera Martha by Friedrich von Flotow (1812-1883), premiered in Vienna on 25 November 1847. Adapted from a ballet to a story by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges,
- [9/11 : 20 <br/>Memorials on the Twentieth Anniversary of September 11th <br/>Adam Swayne, piano](https://interlude.hk/9-11-20-memorials-on-the-twentieth-anniversary-of-september-11th-adam-swayne-piano/): British pianist Adam Swayne’s latest disc marks the twentieth anniversary of 9/11 – a date which is deeply, painfully etched on our collective modern memory – and seeks to demonstrate ways in which composers memorialise or commemorate disaster through works
- [Symphonies by Women Composers <br/>Smyth, Auerbach, Holmès, Chen, and Taaffe Zwilich](https://interlude.hk/symphonies-by-women-composers-ethel-smyth-lera-auerbach-augusta-holmes-chen-yi-and-ellen-taaffe-zwilich/): Ethel Smyth (1858-1944) was determined to devote her life to music and thus she studied at the Leipzig Conservatory. There she met Dvořák, Grieg and Tchaikovsky, and later through her private teacher Heinrich von Herzogenberg, became acquainted with Clara Schumann
- [Cello Music by Women Composers IV <br/>Keal, Soulage and Kaprálová](https://interlude.hk/cello-music-by-women-composers-iv-minna-keal-marcelle-soulage-and-vitezslava-kapralova/): British composer Minna Keal (1909-1999) was born Minnie Nirenstein of Russian Jewish parents. By the age of 12 she had already begun composing and subsequently she was offered a scholarship to study at the Royal Academy of Music. When in
- [Let People Enjoy Music](https://interlude.hk/let-people-enjoy-music/): I review classical music and jazz concerts. My editor says you are not a critic, do not critique the music or the performance. While sometimes I come close to critiquing the music; I hold back. But other times, there’s an
- [In the Air: Respighi’s Birds](https://interlude.hk/in-the-air-ottorino-respighi-birds-gli-uccelli/): In his 1928 work Gli uccelli (The Birds), Ottorino Respighi brings us classical European birds, using music from earlier times as his inspiration. The core of the work is a selection from 5 seventeenth- and eighteenth-century composers’ compositions for harpsichord
- [Building Skills and Encouraging Progress: London Young Musician Competition](https://interlude.hk/building-skills-and-encouraging-progress-london-young-musician-competition/): Whatever you may feel about music competitions, they are an established part of the music world, and for young musicians in particular an important means of benchmarking success and showcasing talent. For those who wish to play professionally, the publicity
- [Why Stravinsky Is the Most Rock’n’Roll of All Composers](https://interlude.hk/why-stravinsky-is-the-most-rocknroll-of-all-composers/): Music takes a whole new meaning when seen in writing; when taken its soul away, and when left to simple ink on paper. Out of their physical contexts, musical ideas are perceived differently. This separation of physical and spiritual allows
- [Josquin des Prez](https://interlude.hk/josquin-des-prez/): “Master of the Notes” In 2021, we commemorate the death of Josquin des Prez (c.  1450/1455-1521) who passed away 500 years ago in what is now western Belgium. For a good many scholars and historians—despite some current revisionist tendencies—he was the
- [Music in View – The Art Institute of Chicago](https://interlude.hk/music-in-view-the-art-institute-of-chicago/): The Art Institute of Chicago is one of the rare art museums that was founded by artists, rather than by collectors. With the Chicago Academy of Design in 1866, a group of 35 artists started a free art school with
- [The Composer at His Jolliest: Mendelssohn’s Italian Symphony](https://interlude.hk/the-composer-at-his-jolliest-mendelssohn-italian-symphony/): In his tours of Europe, Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) found inspiration in Scotland for his Symphony No. 3 and The Hebrides Overture and in Italy for his Symphony No. 4, The Italian. His tour of Italy left him time to do
- [Dragging Mozart into the 21st Century](https://interlude.hk/dragging-mozart-into-the-21st-century/): In the 21st Century, pop stars—real, imagined or virtual—are a dime a dozen. In 250 years will we see their faces printed on chocolates, dishtowels, coffee cups and all kinds of digital media? I suspect that the great majority will
- [The Last Rose of Summer <br/>Stevenson, Beethoven, Ries and Ernst](https://interlude.hk/the-last-rose-of-summer-stevenson-beethoven-ries-and-ernst/): As summer is stormily giving way to autumn in the Northern Hemisphere, and the next corona lockdown is just around the corner, we still fondly remember those warm and carefree summer days. The passing of the seasons and a deep
- [Piano Rhapsodies](https://interlude.hk/piano-rhapsodies/): A rhapsody is a one-movement, episodic work, often featuring a contrasting moods, colours and tonalities, with a distinct air of spontaneity and improvisation. In these respects, the Rhapsody is related to the Fantasia or Fantasy or Ballade. Perhaps the most
- [Cello Music by Women Composers III <br/>Rebecca Clarke and Rita Strohl](https://interlude.hk/cello-music-by-women-composers-iii-rebecca-clarke-and-rita-strohl/): We have not exhausted the gorgeous cello music written by women composers by any means. Here are three more outstanding gems. Rebecca Clarke (1886-1979) is another composer who deserves the limelight. A world-class viola soloist, chamber musician, and composer, Clarke
- [Everyone Wants a Goldberg](https://interlude.hk/everyone-wants-a-goldberg-bach-goldberg-variations-arrangements/): J. S. Bach: Goldberg Variations (Glenn Gould) We were thinking about Bach’s Goldberg Variations the other evening. Written, as related by Bach’s biographer Johann Forkel, for the ill and often sleepless Count Kaiserling, who wished for some night music that was
- [Taking an Old Idea Further: Strauss’ <em>Aus Italien</em>](https://interlude.hk/taking-an-old-idea-further-richard-strauss-aus-italien/): The lure of Italy to those who live in cold Northern Europe cannot be understated. Composer after composer went south and brought back their musical memories of that country of sunshine and warmth, of folksong and dance, and of landscapes
- [Music & Language: An Analogy](https://interlude.hk/music-language-an-analogy/): I often describe music as a language; it is in my opinion the purest of all. As are its intentions and purpose. This is how I approach creating and performing music; as a means to exchange my ideas and feelings.
- [Joshua Hopkins](https://interlude.hk/joshua-hopkins/): Rossini: Il barbiere di Siviglia – Largo al Factotum (Joshua Hopkins) Canadian Baritone Joshua Hopkins has developed a career as one of the leading young singers of his generation, performing regularly at the Metropolitan Opera, Houston Grand Opera, and the
- [Condemned by a Kiss: Stravinsky’s <em>Le baiser de la fée</em>](https://interlude.hk/condemned-by-a-kiss-igor-stravinsky-le-baiser-de-la-fee/): Stravinsky’s ballet Le baiser de la fée gives us the life of a child fated to a bad end by a desirous fairy. Composed in 1928 for Diaghilev and created for the prima ballerina Ida Rubinstein, the ballet tells of
- [To Rise and Fall: Debussy’s Sunken Cathedral](https://interlude.hk/to-rise-and-fall-debussy-sunken-cathedral/): In French legends, there are many connected with the sea. One of the most interesting, however, is Debussy’s take on the long-ago city of Ys, which was engulfed by the sea and rises occasionally, to be seen on clear days.
- [From Schumann to Tsitsaros <br/>Humoresque Encounters](https://interlude.hk/from-schumann-to-tsitsaros-humoresque-encounters/): In the early 19th century, the term “Humoreske” started to appear in popular periodicals. This period of history, known as Biedermeier in Central Europe, saw a great flourishing of artistic styles in literature, music, the visual arts and interior design.
- [Inspired and Fertilized by Music V <br/>Mann, Nguyen Tuan, Miró and Prix](https://interlude.hk/inspired-and-fertilized-by-music-v-mann-nguyen-tuan-miro-and-prix/): Thomas Mann (1875-1955) won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1929 for his highly symbolic, ironic and epic novels and novellas. A determined social critic, his writings provide biting insights into the psychology of the artist and the intellectual within
- [The Self-Coached Musician](https://interlude.hk/the-self-coached-musician/): I’m not that interested in sport, but I did watch the Olympic cycling from Tokyo this year. I was surprised to discover that the Austrian cyclist Anna Kiesenhofer, who won the gold medal in the Tokyo Olympics women’s road race,
- [HK Phil Season Opening 2021 <br/>A Talk with Raymond Yiu](https://interlude.hk/hk-phil-season-opening-2021-a-talk-with-raymond-yiu/): After what seemed like an eternity, the Hong Kong Philharmonic invites music lovers back into the concert hall for the 2021 season opening concert. Under the banner “Harbour A Love For Music,” Maestro Jaap van Zweden turns his interpretive focus
- [Happiness in Love: Debussy’s <em>L’isle Joyeuse</em>](https://interlude.hk/happiness-in-love-debussy-lisle-joyeuse/): The Fêtes galante style was a term specifically created by the French Academy in the early 18th century to describe Watteau’s paintings of country or parkland parties. It was his way of giving his patrons what they wanted, namely, pictures
- [Symphonies by Women Composers <br/>Kaprálová, Beach, Auner, Mayer, Larsen, and Pavlova](https://interlude.hk/symphonies-by-women-composers-kapralova-beach-auner-mayer-larsen-and-pavlova/): Vítězslava Kaprálová (1915-1940) was one of the most impressive and exciting musical voices at the beginning of the 20th century. She wrote her first compositions for piano solo at the age of nine, and graduated from Brno Conservatory with a
- [What Does Music Do to You?](https://interlude.hk/what-does-music-do-to-you/): So, what does music do to you? I’m not asking how music makes you feel. I’m asking does music make you change your mind about the world. Does it help you appreciate life and give meaning to your existence? When
- [The Piano: A History in 100 Pieces <br/>Susan Tomes](https://interlude.hk/the-piano-a-history-in-100-pieces-susan-tomes/): It was perhaps inevitable that pianist and writer Susan Tomes would turn her attention eventually to the extraordinarily broad repertoire of the piano – her instrument, and mine, and that of countless others, both professional and amateur players. While her
- [The Losses of Another War: Bax’ <em>In Memoriam</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-losses-of-another-war-arnold-bax-in-memoriam/): A work from 1916 entitled In memoriam would normally be assumed to be work commemorating the losses of World War I. This work by English composer Arnold Bax, however, is for a different struggle – the armed uprising in Ireland
- [Pizzi Party: Moïse et Pharaon at the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro](https://interlude.hk/pizzi-party-moise-et-pharaon-at-the-rossini-opera-festival-in-pesaro/): Every year, especially during Covid, one must ask oneself if it is worthwhile to make the arduous trip to the poorly connected Adriatic town of Pesaro for the Rossini Opera Festival. This year, after a reduced 2020 program, the ROF
- [Caravaggio (1571-1610) <br/>“Amore Vincit Omnia” (Love Conquers All)](https://interlude.hk/caravaggio-1571-1610-amore-vincit-omnia-love-conquers-all/): Film director Martin Scorsese commented in 2005, “If Caravaggio were alive today he would have loved the cinema; his paintings take a cinematic approach... He painted religious subject matter but the models were obviously people from the streets; he had
- [Sweet Memories: Tchaikovsky’s Mélodie, Op. 42/3](https://interlude.hk/sweet-memories-tchaikovsky-melodie-op-42-3/): In 1878, while in Switzerland, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) wrote the first part of his op. 42 cycle for violin and piano, Souvenir d’un lieu cher (Memory of a dear place). The three movements, Méditation, Scherzo, and Mélodie were published
- [Dragging Bach Into the 21st Century](https://interlude.hk/dragging-bach-into-the-21st-century/): Ludwig van Beethoven would have been decidedly unhappy in the 21st Century, I think. He didn’t have the highest opinion of humanity to begin with, and all this social media influencing and posturing would have driven him downright crazy. Yet,
- [A Work Symbolic of the World: Alexander Tchaikovsky’s <em>Quarantine</em> Symphony](https://interlude.hk/a-work-symbolic-of-the-world-alexander-tchaikovsky-quarantine-symphony/): For composer Alexander Tchaikovsky (b. 1946), it wasn’t the thought of doing his 9th symphony that was the difficult mountain to meet, it was the sixth and seventh. Having completed his sixth symphony (and remembering that the sixth symphony was
- [Inspired and Fertilized by Music IV <br/>Lüpertz, Klee, Bukowski and Libeskind](https://interlude.hk/inspired-and-fertilized-by-music-iv-lupertz-klee-bukowski-and-libeskind/): The city of Salzburg rose from a small Celtic settlement into a powerful economic center because of its trade in salt. The city regulated the collection of tolls and taxes from barges ferrying salt from the northern part of the
- [Cello Music by Women Composers II <br/>Hensel (Mendelssohn), Farrenc, and Le Beau](https://interlude.hk/featuring-cello-music-gems-by-women-composers-ii-fanny-hensel-mendelssohn-louise-farrenc-and-luise-adolpha-le-beau/): We continue with more wonderful cello works by the accomplished women composers of yesteryear who had to grapple with a lack of recognition for their music. Fanny Hensel, née Mendelssohn (1805-1847) is recognized as an important composer especially of lieder,
- [Can You Improvise Classical Music?](https://interlude.hk/can-you-improvise-classical-music/): As a lover of jazz, especially early jazz, the thing that pulls me towards this form is the improvisation that gives jazz its unique quality. Not all jazz is improvised. In fact, most is not. But at the heart of
- [Ellen Taaffe Zwilich: <em>Peanuts Gallery</em>](https://interlude.hk/ellen-taaffe-zwilich-peanuts-gallery/): Widely considered the most influential cartoonists of all time, Charles Schulz (1922-2000) created the “Peanuts” in 1950. This most famous of all comic strips ran for 50 years, with 17,897 original strips published in all. It appeared in over 2,600
- [BodyMinded Thinking for Dynamic Postural Support](https://interlude.hk/bodyminded-thinking-for-dynamic-postural-support/): “Lighter”, “easier”, “freer”, “weird”. These are the sort of things musicians (and others) say as they improve the way they sit and stand to play. It is not unusual for a real change in postural support to completely change the
- [Interview With Monica McCabe](https://interlude.hk/interview-with-monica-mccabe-remembering-piano-music-of-john-mccabe/): Remembering the Piano Music of John McCabe Monica McCabe, thank you so much for talking to me today about the piano music of your husband. I first met John McCabe and you in 2005; now, after his death in 2015,
- [Caravaggio (1571-1610) <br/>“All Works… Are Made and Painted From Life”](https://interlude.hk/caravaggio-1571-1610-all-works-are-made-and-painted-from-life/): In 2021 we commemorate the Quincentenary of the birth of Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571-1610). He was an enigmatic, rebellious and dangerous individual, and he did affect a paradigm shift in the arts. His paintings probed the physical and emotional
- [In a Melancholy Mood: Mozart’s Little G minor](https://interlude.hk/in-a-melancholy-mood-mozart-little-g-minor/): Should we consider Mozart to be the most positive of composers? In all of his dozens of symphonies, they were all in a major key, with two exceptions and those were both in the same minor key. Mozart’s Symphony No.
- [Classical Music Inspired by Your Purry Friends!](https://interlude.hk/classical-music-inspired-by-your-purry-friends-music-for-cat-lovers/): That’s right! This article is about cat-inspired music. I love cats, and I have two cats. My older cat, Miss Cruncher, is turning four and she likes listening to music... at least she never runs away when I practice the
- [Star Wars and the Nutcracker: The Phenomenon of the Concert Suite](https://interlude.hk/star-wars-and-the-nutcracker-the-phenomenon-of-the-concert-suite/): For many people, their first (and perhaps only) exposure to the sound of the orchestra has been through film music. We can all think of the big blockbusters and films we cherish from our childhoods, and the big, lush, orchestral
- [Inspired and Fertilized by Music III <br/>Henry, Chagall, Tolstoy and Holl](https://interlude.hk/inspired-and-fertilized-by-music-iii-john-henry-marc-chagall-leo-tolstoy-and-steven-holl/): The internationally renowned sculptor John Henry has produced a substantial number of monumental and large-scaled works across the United States, Europe, and Asia. His sculptures resemble huge welded steel drawings, “arranging linear and rectilinear elements that appear to defy gravity
- [Musicians and Artists: Dufourt and Pollock](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-hugues-dufourt-and-jackson-pollock/): In 1947, with Lucifer, American painter Jackson Pollock (1912-1956) put down his brush, laid his canvas on the floor, and started to apply his paint by drips and spatters. In this canvas, he also added small bits of gravel to
- [Symphonies by Women Composers <br/>Farrenc, Gubaidulina, Price, Senfter and Zaimont](https://interlude.hk/symphonies-by-women-composers-farrenc-gubaidulina-price-senfter-and-zaimont/): Museums can be magical places as they collect, preserve, interpret and display objects of artistic, cultural, or scientific significance. Exhibitions tell us stories of communities and cultures or highlight particular missions such as civil rights or environmentalism. In essence, museums
- [Music Is My Life](https://interlude.hk/music-is-my-life/): My first recollection of anything was the sound of music. At age five, so my mother told me, I used to sing from behind a curtain in our lounge room to my family. Supposedly, I was too shy to have
- [A New Orchestral Sound: Martinaitytė’s <em>Saudade</em>](https://interlude.hk/a-new-orchestral-sound-martinaitytes-saudade/): We’re used to the classical orchestral sound – the violins, the winds, the mostly ignored lower brass. Žibuoklė Martinaitytė (b. 1973), a Lithuanian composer currently based in New York, uses the symphony orchestra as her instrument of many voices –
- [Musicians and Artists: Hahn and Proust and Others](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-hahn-and-proust-and-others-portraits-de-peintres/): We think of Marcel Proust (1871-1922) mainly as the novelist, author of À la recherche du temps perdu (In Search of Lost Time / Remembrance of Things Past) but in his youth, he was a poet as well. In his
- [Marcel Dupré	(1886-1971) <br/>The Organ in the Living Room](https://interlude.hk/marcel-dupre1886-1971-the-organ-in-the-living-room/): Orgue de Marcel Dupre à Meudon In 1925, Marcel Dupré (1886-1971) bought a large house in the Parisian suburb of Meudon. He quickly installed a house organ that had once belonged to the revered organist Alexandre Guilmant (1837-1911). Aristide Cavaillé-Coll
- [Listening to Choral Composers <br/>David Wordsworth: “Giving Voice to My Music”](https://interlude.hk/listening-to-choral-composers-david-wordsworth-giving-voice-to-my-music/): Conductor David Wordsworth has taken advantage of his connections within the choral world and the fact that everyone’s been home for quite a few months to speak with 24 of the world’s leading choral composers. He started with a list
- [Memories of the Past: Rahbari’s <em>Children’s Prayer</em>](https://interlude.hk/memories-of-the-past-alexander-rahbari-childrens-prayer/): Iranian composer Alexander Rahbari (b. 1948) had his compositional talent recognized before he was a teenager and when still a youth, agreed to a contract with the Iran Ministry of Culture to write a monthly piece of music. As a
- [Marcel Proust <br/>Portraits de Musiciens](https://interlude.hk/marcel-proust-portraits-de-musiciens/): Marcel Proust’s oeuvre is rife with musical references. He openly refers to composers, librettists, performers and musical compositions. One anecdote reports that Proust woke up Gaston Poulet, the leader of the Poulet Quartet, in the middle of the night. The
- [Toy Piano: From Kid’s Toy to Concert Hall Instrument!](https://interlude.hk/toy-piano-from-kids-toy-to-concert-hall-instrument/): When I was four years old, I received a toy piano as a Christmas present. I loved it. I remember I spent at least half an hour playing it almost every day. I made up songs, and then I performed
- [Inspired and Fertilized by Music II <br/>Khnopff, Cook, Lupertz and Hardy](https://interlude.hk/inspired-and-fertilized-by-music-ii-khnopff-cook-lupertz-and-hardy/): The Belgian Symbolist painter and sculptor Fernand Khnopff (1858-1921) is best known for his paintings that blend precise realism with a dreamlike atmosphere. His scenes are quite realistic, but then he mixes in motive and ideas from history and the
- [Cello Music by Women Composers<br/> Boulanger, Smyth, Bonis and Bosmans](https://interlude.hk/featuring-cello-music-gems-by-women-composers-boulanger-smyth-bonis-and-bosmans/): Accomplished women composers of yesteryear wrote music that was highly regarded by both their male peers and the listening public in their day. These composers, who struggled for recognition, their works neglected for decades, deserve the accolades and attention they
- [Best Premieres at the “Société Nationale de Musique”](https://interlude.hk/best-premieres-at-the-societe-nationale-de-musique/): Paris has always provided the fertile soil for specialized music societies. Some have focused on early music, individual composers or single genres. Others were born from political division, or attempts to bridge them. A good many societies were based on
- [Katia Beaugeais – <em>Breath by Breath</em>](https://interlude.hk/katia-beaugeais-breath-by-breath/): The saxophone in classical and contemporary music is a much under-explored instrument. In jazz, it has gone through almost every sound and technique possibility over the past 100 years. But for saxophone music today, there is little to compare this
- [Daily Confrontations: Mussorgsky’s <em>Songs and Dances of Death</em>](https://interlude.hk/daily-confrontations-mussorgskys-songs-and-dances-of-death/): When many composers do songs about death, it’s death as an abstract concept. In Mussorgsky’s Song and Dances of Death, however, Death (capital D) is an active character. He rocks babies, he sings to children, he gets drunk men to
- [Rossini and His Overtures](https://interlude.hk/rossini-and-his-overtures/): We celebrate Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868) as one of the most successful and popular operatic composers of his time. And although you might never have actually seen or heard a complete Rossini opera, I am sure you know a good many
- [Marcel Dupré](https://interlude.hk/marcel-dupre-composer/): “Paganini of the Organ” Marcel Dupré (1886-1971), who passed away 50 years ago, was one of the greatest organists of all time. He had complete technical command over his instrument, and his brilliant technique accentuated his extraordinary talents as an
- [One night only: <em>I due Foscari in Aix-en-Provence</em>](https://interlude.hk/one-night-only-i-due-foscari-in-aix-en-provence/): For one night only, the Festival in Aix-en-Provence put on Verdi’s early opera, I Due Foscari. Staging this lesser known work with its unlikely story devoid of much dramatic development, the choice of a concert version was a good one.
- [A Miscellaneous Collection: Bach’s <em>Brandenburg Concertos</em>](https://interlude.hk/a-miscellaneous-collection-bach-brandenburg-concertos/): We tend to think of Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos as a unified collection, but, in fact, they’re rather a strange grouping of works that only have the idea of ‘concerto’ as their unifying feature. Bach prepared the six concertos during 1720,
- [Forgotten Pianists: Aldo Ciccolini](https://interlude.hk/forgotten-pianists-aldo-ciccolini/): Erik Satie: Gymnopédie No. 1 A celebrated interpreter of Erik Satie’s music, Aldo Ciccolini (1925 – 2015) was born and raised in Naples, Italy. Enrolled at the Naples Conservatory at the age of 9 as an exceptional case, he studied
- [Persistence and the Concept of ‘Grit’](https://interlude.hk/persistence-and-the-concept-of-grit/): How many times were you told as a child or teenager during your piano lessons that “practice makes perfect”? It’s a well-worn cliché and like most clichés it contains more than a grain of truth. Not only does regular practice
- [Inspired and Fertilized by Music <br/>Klinger, Whitman, Klimt and Woolf](https://interlude.hk/inspired-and-fertilized-by-music/): There never was, and never will be, a defining boundary between music and the other arts. The arts are constantly engaged in a process of circular cross-fertilization that continuously shape and refine artistic practices, visual expressions and sonic experiences. We
- [María Dueñas](https://interlude.hk/maria-duenas/): ‘Have The Will To Be Inspired’ Young Spanish violinist María Dueñas is taking the classical music world by storm. Not even 20 years old, she has already performed with orchestras including the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra, the Philharmonic Orchestra of Russia,
- [A Brief Limerick History of Music](https://interlude.hk/a-brief-limerick-history-of-music/): For a good many people, including some practicing musicians, music history can be a somewhat distant and dry subject. Educators, scholars and critics have long searched for ways to make this particular subject more palatable. The Musical Herald started publishing
- [Scott Ordway and Arlen Hlusko Explore the Vast Capabilities of the Cello <br/>Nineteen Movements for Unaccompanied Cello Part II](https://interlude.hk/scott-ordway-and-arlen-hlusko-explore-the-vast-capabilities-of-the-cello-nineteen-movements-for-unaccompanied-cello-part-ii/): Nineteen Movements for Unaccompanied Cello is a fascinating program-length collection that explore the vast expressive capabilities of the cello, while at the same time forming a powerful and cohesive narrative arc. It was commissioned by cellist Arlen Hlusko with support
- [When Webern was Romantic: <em>Im Sommerwind</em>](https://interlude.hk/when-webern-was-romantic-im-sommerwind/): Anton Webern (1883-1945) is best known to us as part of the Second Viennese School with his teacher Arnold Schoenberg and fellow-student Alban Berg. Before he was a radical atonal composer, however, he was a nice Romantic composer whose idol
- [Karaoke Bach](https://interlude.hk/karaoke-bach/): If you listen to the recordings by Glenn Gould playing Bach, you can’t help but notice that he kept singing, humming or groaning along as he plays. Since audio engineers were not always successful in erasing his voice from the
- ["Opera is the Ultimate Art Form": Maestro Xu Zhong](https://interlude.hk/opera-is-the-ultimate-art-form-maestro-xu-zhong/): Starting from 6:00am on July 19 at Times Square New York City – known as the “crossroads of the world”- a digital billboard has been displaying an unique poster to endorse opera featuring Xu Zhong, President of Shanghai Opera House
- [The Nostalgia and Pain of Memory: Janáček’s <em>On an Overgrown Path</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-nostalgia-and-pain-of-memory-janaceks-on-an-overgrown-path/): The nationalism that hit the 19th century and carried through to the 20th century had a profound effect on music. Music that had been ignored for its folk-like character, or its non-urban nature, became the basis for new works that
- [4 Hands 4 More Piano Fun II](https://interlude.hk/4-hands-4-more-piano-fun-ii/): Throughout his early years, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was teamed up with his older sister Nannerl to entertain audiences with music for piano four-hands. And not entirely unexpected, he composed a number of works for himself and his sister. However, once
- [Ancient Evocations: Mouquet’s <em>La Flûte de Pan</em>](https://interlude.hk/ancient-evocations-jules-mouquets-la-flute-de-pan/): Jules Mouquet (1867-1946) studied at the Paris Conservatoire and after winning the Prix de Rome in 1896, became a professor at the Conservatoire in 1913. In the early 20th century, Mouquet wrote his lovely flute sonata, La Flûte de Pan.
- [The Piano Challenge: Schubert’s <em>Wanderer Fantasy</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-piano-challenge-schuberts-wanderer-fantasy/): At the heart of Schubert’s Wanderer Fantasy is a song he wrote in 1816 based on a text by Georg Philipp Schmidt von Lübeck (1766 – 1849). In the song, the wander seeks happiness, but cannot find it anywhere –
- [The Bartered Bride](https://interlude.hk/smetana-opera-the-bartered-bride/): How Smetana Established the “Czechness” in His Opera The Bartered Bride is a comic opera with three acts completed in 1866. It was written by Bedřich Smetana (1824-1884) with libretto by Karel Sabina (1813-1877). 1 The first performance was held at
- [Why the Piano Is My Favourite Instrument](https://interlude.hk/why-the-piano-is-my-favourite-instrument/): When people learn that I’m a pianist, they usually say “oh I’d love to learn the piano” or “I wish I’d kept up piano lessons”. The piano is one of the most popular instruments to learn, especially for children as
- [The Music of Poetry <br/>Giovanni Guarini: “Il Pastor Fido” (The Faithful Shepherd)](https://interlude.hk/the-music-of-poetry-giovanni-guarini-il-pastor-fido-the-faithful-shepherd/): Giovanni Guarini started work on his pastoral tragicomedy “Il pastor fido” (The Faithful Shepherd) around 1580. It took him a good four years before he was able to finish the five-act, 39-scene pastoral drama. Guarini circulated the play among literary
- [Composer Scott Ordway and Cellist Arlen Hlusko <br/>The Evolution of a Vibrant Solo Piece](https://interlude.hk/composer-scott-ordway-and-cellist-arlen-hlusko-the-evolution-of-a-vibrant-solo-piece/): Recently a new solo cello work entitled Nineteen (Nineteen Movements for Unaccompanied Cello) and the close collaboration between two outstanding young artists, composer Scott Ordway, and cellist Arlen Hlusko, captured my imagination. Scott is currently the Assistant Professor of Composition
- [The Voice of Nature: Enescu’s Tone Poems](https://interlude.hk/the-voice-of-nature-enescus-tone-poems/): In 1935, Romanian composer George Enescu (1881-1955) started working on what was going to be a symphonic suite entitled Voix de la nature (Voice of Nature). He only completed one movement, Nuages d’automne sur les forêts (Autumn Clouds over the
- [Dante Alighieri <br/>“Francesca da Rimini”](https://interlude.hk/dante-alighieri-francesca-da-rimini/): Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) was a keen observer of the human condition, and a number of his contemporaries become important characters in his “Divine Comedy. ” One such contemporary was Francesca da Rimini, the daughter of Guido da Polenta of Ravenna. Francesca
- [Metro to Nowhere for Music From the Heavens<br/> Wagner: Tristan und Isolde](https://interlude.hk/metro-to-nowhere-for-music-from-the-heavens-wagner-tristan-und-isolde/): Aix-en-Provence’s longstanding summer music festival commands a somewhat inconspicuous position in the European landscape of music festivals. While the Festspiele dominate Salzburg during the summer months, the performances in the arena define Verona during their season, and Bayreuth pulsates during
- [Musicians and Artists: Beethoven and Auchentaller](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-beethoven-and-auchentaller/): After the overwhelming flood of Beethoven during the 2020 Beethoven Year, it’s a pleasure to see a different view of the man’s works. Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony was the inspiration for Viennese Jugendstil artist and Klimt colleague Josef Maria Auchentaller (1865-1949)
- [Symphonic Transformations <br/>From Weber to Hindemith to Lawrence](https://interlude.hk/symphonic-transformations-from-weber-to-hindemith-to-lawrence/): One of the most interesting cross-generational music styles is the theme and variations, particularly when a composer delves into the past to find his inspiration. How a work gets changed and modernized, its style developed, and a new work created
- [Tomaso Albinoni and Margherita Raimondi <br/> “Seducing Florinda”](https://interlude.hk/tomaso-albinoni-and-margherita-raimondi-seducing-florinda/): On 7 November 1699 the San Salvatore Theatre in Venice produced the drama per musica “L’amar per virtù” (To love for the sake of virtue), with music attributed to Antonio Draghi. The plot focuses on the establishment of Moorish rule
- [Bringing out the National Song: Liszt’s <em>Hungarian Rhapsodies</em>](https://interlude.hk/bringing-out-the-national-song-franz-liszt-hungarian-rhapsodies/): In 1839, Franz Liszt (1811-1886) returned to Hungary, which he had left in 1822 at age 11. In the new nationalism that was sweeping Europe, he was hailed as a true Hungarian champion. As part of his musical explorations of
- [Johann Sebastian Bach Top 10](https://interlude.hk/johann-sebastian-bach-top-10/): I love all kinds and styles of music, but my true love belongs to classical music. Whether it is Liszt or Mozart, Schubert or Handel, Monteverdi or Mahler, the universe of classical music seems endless. Sometimes my schoolmates want to
- [The Musician’s Honesty](https://interlude.hk/the-musicians-honesty/): A great deal is said and written about “integrity” and “honesty” in musical performance. For most people, this means respecting the score by following the composer’s markings and attempting, as far as possible, to interpret the composer’s intentions in the
- [The Music of Poetry <br/>Giovanni Battista Guarini: “Dear Heart, I Prithee, Do Not Waste Away”](https://interlude.hk/the-music-of-poetry-giovanni-battista-guarini-dear-heart-i-prithee-do-not-waste-away/): Under the heading “Pietà dolente” (Sorrowful Piety), Giovanni Battista Guarini published his simply poem “Cor mio, deh, non languire” (Dear Heart, I prithee, do not waste away) in Venice in 1598. The poet could not possibly have foreseen that this
- [Wait Until the End: Haydn’s <em>Joke Quartet</em>](https://interlude.hk/wait-until-the-end-joseph-haydn-joke-quartet/): As the ‘Father of the String Quartet,’ Haydn did a great deal to standardize the quartet form that we love so well. And yet, while giving him this comfortable title, we always have to recognize his sense of humour in
- [Forgotten Cellists: Pál Hermann](https://interlude.hk/forgotten-cellists-pal-hermann/): Let Forbidden Music Sound Again Another cellist and composer whose name we should not forget is Pál Hermann. Born into a middle-class family in Budapest, Hungary in March of 1902, he showed great talent and audacity even as a child.
- [Enchanted by Dante Alighieri](https://interlude.hk/enchanted-by-dante-alighieri/): Dante Alighieri’s “Divine Comedy” contains 14, 233 lines of text divided into three main sections, “Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise. ” As we might well imagine, there isn’t much music in Hell. It reverberates with “sighs, screams and lamentations, and different tongues
- [Great Performers: Sir András Schiff](https://interlude.hk/great-performers-sir-andras-schiff/): A consummate musician, with a ferocious intellect, András Schiff is one of the greatest pianists of our time – indeed of all time – acclaimed in particular for his interpretations of the keyboard music of J. S. Bach and the Viennese
- [The Transfigured Night <br/>Richard Dehmel, Arnold Schoenberg and Oskar Fried](https://interlude.hk/the-transfigured-night-richard-dehmel-arnold-schoenberg-and-oskar-fried/): In his breakthrough instrumental piece, written in 1899 and given its premiere in 1902, Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951) set aside all the vocal music he’d been writing to produce a work of true beauty. Verklärte Nacht (Transfigured Night) was based on
- [Albinoni and Bach <br/> “What I Have Achieved by Industry Anyone Else Can Also Achieve”](https://interlude.hk/albinoni-and-bach-what-i-have-achieved-by-industry-anyone-else-can-also-achieve/): Tomaso Albinoni (1671-1750) and Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) were contemporaries, but they never actually met. While Albinoni was at home on various Italian and international operatic stages, Bach never traveled far away from his native community in North-Germany. We do
- [The Old Tango: Arolas’ <em>Derecho Viejo</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-old-tango-eduardo-arolas-derecho-viejo/): The Argentine tango scene in the early 20th century was not quite the scene we know from the later tangos of Piazzolla. In this 1912/1916 tango by Argentine composer Eduardo Arolas (1892-1924), we have a more normalized work. Arolas made
- [Perceiving Music](https://interlude.hk/perceiving-music-concept-of-labelling-categorizing-art-and-music/): This article addresses the elephant in the room; music genres. And questions the whole concept of labelling art and music. For starters, let’s stop talking about classical music, jazz music, popular music, folk music, and let’s try to perceive music,
- [The Best Performances <br/> “Flower Duet” by Delibes](https://interlude.hk/the-best-performances-flower-duet-by-delibes/): One of the most famous duets in all of opera comes from Lakmé composed by Léo Delibes. The opera is set in British India during the late 19th century and was first performed in 1883. It brings together many popular
- [On ‘Letting Go’ as a Musician <br/>Part 3 - Letting Go of the Notes](https://interlude.hk/on-letting-go-as-a-musician-part-3-letting-go-of-the-notes/): In my first article on ‘letting go’ as a musician I explored how we know when it is time to “let go” of a piece of music we have been learning and set it free in a performance setting or
- [The Music of Poetry <br/>Giovanni Battista Guarini: “Tirsi wanted to die”](https://interlude.hk/the-music-of-poetry-giovanni-battista-guarini-tirsi-wanted-to-die/): The Italian lyric and dramatic poet Giovanni Battista Guarini (1538-1612) is credited with establishing a new literary genre, “the pastoral drama. ” According to scholars, he was the poet “whose verses were most frequently set by Italian madrigalists and monodists in
- [Music and Bows and Clothes: Oh My! <br/>More Musician Mishaps](https://interlude.hk/music-and-bows-and-clothes-oh-my-more-musician-mishaps/): It’s hard to believe how many hilarious behind-the-scenes mishaps we musicians experience. Afterwards, once we’ve recovered from the embarrassment, we love to share these stories at parties! My friend cellist Clay Ruede recently told me this one: He was playing
- [Not a Niche, but an Opportunity <br/>An Interview With Guillaume Descottes of Vialma.com](https://interlude.hk/not-a-niche-but-an-opportunity-an-interview-with-guillaume-descottes-of-vialma-com/): Classical music is always viewed as a niche market with a big learning curve for admission. It’s often derided as being music for the elite or music for the wealthy. As a listener, people find it hard to break into
- [Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) <br/>“Father of the Italian language”](https://interlude.hk/dante-alighieri-1265-1321-father-of-the-italian-language/): The poet, writer and philosopher Dante Alighieri—who died in Ravenna 700 years ago—is widely considered one of the most influential creative minds in Western culture. His “Divine Comedy” is not only one of the most important poems of the Middle
- [Kit Armstrong’s Byrd & Bull – Lucid Yet Restrained Playing](https://interlude.hk/kit-armstrongs-byrd-bull-lucid-yet-restrained-playing/): Described as “the greatest talent he has ever encountered” by his mentor Alfred Brendel, Kit Armstrong is a British-Taiwanese pianist and one of the most versatile artists of his generation. He is a true polymath – he taught himself composition
- [Stealing and Re-Imagining <br/>‘Landscapes’ by Doug Thomas](https://interlude.hk/stealing-and-re-imagining-landscapes-by-doug-thomas/): Most composers (and artists and writers too) steal from others. They learn their craft by copying; studying the works of others who’ve gone before them offers important insights into the nuts and bolts of the music (structure, harmony, texture etc)
- [Hiroyuki Fujikake <br/>“Aqua Rhythms”](https://interlude.hk/hiroyuki-fujikake-aqua-rhythms/): Throughout human consciousness, the great rivers of this world have spiritually highlighted the paradoxical relationship between eternity and change. As metaphors for life itself, they simultaneously underscore all that is timeless and ephemeral in human experience and existence. Because rivers
- [Keeping it Simple: Holst’s <em>St Paul’s Suite</em>](https://interlude.hk/keeping-it-simple-gustav-holst-st-pauls-suite/): Named not for the cathedral but for the girls’ school in Hammersmith where he was music master for nearly 30 years, the St Paul’s Suite by Gustav Holst provided the students with a beautiful piece that was all their own.
- [Tomaso Albinoni](https://interlude.hk/tomaso-albinoni/): “The Professional Dilettante” There is hardly a collection of recorded Baroque favorites that does not include the “Adagio in G minor” by Tomaso Albinoni (1671-1751). Although that world-famous composition is attributed to Albinoni, it was actually the creation of the
- [An Oriental Fantasy: Balakirev’s <em>Islamey</em>](https://interlude.hk/an-oriental-fantasy-mily-balakirevs-islamey/): Reputed to be the hardest work for piano, Balakirev’s 1869 work Islamey saved many a pianist’s weary wrists when it was orchestrated in 1907 by Alfredo Casella. Its reputation ensured that both Rubinstein and Liszt had the piano work in
- [Death Brings Success](https://interlude.hk/death-brings-success-musicians-and-artists-who-found-recognition-after-death/): It seems that the human ear needs time to accommodate and accept the new, the different and the strange. Actually, all senses seem to need some sort of reflection and acceptance from the heart, and the brain. A mid-life adult
- [Forgotten Pianists: Jorge Bolet](https://interlude.hk/forgotten-pianists-jorge-bolet/): To say that Jorge Bolet (1914 – 1990) is “forgotten” may not be entirely correct, but he is certainly one of the most underrated pianists of the 20th century. Born in Havana, Bolet gave his first public performance at 9
- [6 Reasons Why Musicians Should Use Social Media](https://interlude.hk/6-reasons-why-musicians-should-use-social-media/): Social media, especially platforms like Twitter and Facebook, get a bad press, but it is also a force for good, which offers musicians opportunities to create meaningful interactions with other musicians, connect with potential and existing audiences, and promote their
- [The Music of Poetry <br/>Friedrich Hebbel: “Beautiful Hedwig”](https://interlude.hk/the-music-of-poetry-friedrich-hebbel-beautiful-hedwig/): Friedrich Hebbel wrote his poem “Schön Hedwig” in 1838 as a protest reaction against “Griseldis,” a play in blank verse by Friedrich Halm that enjoyed huge success in Vienna. Halm’s play is set in Arthurian England, with the eponymous heroine
- [Musicians and Artists: Harris and McCahon](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-ross-harris-and-colin-mccahon/): The art of the landscape painting has become rarer in modern art – with our closed urban environments, it’s more difficult to take that longer view, to survey the world, and find one’s position in a green space. New Zealand
- [Musical Tributes: Mozartiana, Schumanniana, Schubertiana and Bachiana](https://interlude.hk/mozartiana-and-other-tributes/): In the endless universe of classical music it is not surprising to frequently find titles of musical works that use the suffix of Latin origin “-ana. ” Various spellings none withstanding, it generally indicates a specific tribute of one composer to
- [In Remembrance of Frederic Rzewski (1938-2021)](https://interlude.hk/in-remembrance-of-frederic-rzewski-1938-2021/): Frederic Rzewski passed away at his house in Montiano, Italy, on June 26, 2021. He was 83. This renowned American composer and performer exposed another spectrum of music to the world over his 60-year career. Rzewski was the son of
- [Houses Slide: An Interview With Laura Bowler](https://interlude.hk/houses-slide-an-interview-with-laura-bowler/): At the Royal Festival Hall in London on Friday, 9 July, the focus of the concert will be the current climate situation. Composer Laura Bowler’s Houses Slide, commissioned by the London Sinfonietta, is a work for soprano and orchestra that
- [Serenades and Symphonies](https://interlude.hk/serenades-and-symphonies/): We think of serenades like lullabies – songs to put you in a sleepy mood and to help carry you off into dreams. Serenades, however, are from a different source – they’re not designed to lull you to sleep like
- [Small Is Beautiful <br/>6 Exquisite Piano Miniatures](https://interlude.hk/small-is-beautiful-6-exquisite-piano-miniatures/): Amidst all the great works for piano – the concertos and sonatas, themes and variations and suites – the miniature, a small work just a few minutes long, is often overlooked. Yet the genre includes some of the best and
- [Ryan Speedo Green](https://interlude.hk/ryan-speedo-green/): “Come dal ciel precipita” from Macbeth American bass-baritone Ryan Speedo Green is carving out a reputation as one of the great young singers of today. He has performed across the US and Europe, including roles at the Metropolitan Opera, Wiener
- [Writing the Past into the Future: Bacewicz’ <em>Concerto for Strings</em>](https://interlude.hk/writing-the-past-into-the-future-grazyna-bacewicz-concerto-for-strings/): Grażyna Bacewicz (1909-1969) was one of the leading Polish composers who brought Polish classical music into the international mainstream. Following the example of fellow-countryman Karol Szymanowski, Bacewicz combined Polish folksong with modernism in music. More so than any other country,
- [Writing From the Heart: An Interview With Adrienne Albert](https://interlude.hk/writing-from-the-heart-an-interview-with-adrienne-albert/): After an outstanding career in New York as a singer, working with and performing the music of Leonard Bernstein, Philip Glass, Gunther Schuller, and Igor Stravinsky, soprano Adrienne Albert (b. 1941) returned to California and started on a new but
- [Czech Folktales: Dvořák’s <em>The Golden Spinning Wheel</em>](https://interlude.hk/czech-folktales-dvorak-the-golden-spinning-wheel/): When Antonín Dvořák returned from the US in 1896, he took poetic ballads from the Czech poet Karel Jaromír Erben as the basis for a set of symphonic poems, including The Water Goblin, The Noonday Witch, The Wild Dove, and
- [What's With Mozart](https://interlude.hk/whats-with-mozart/): The music of Mozart fascinates. Often, his name is synonymous with musical genius, and he is perhaps the most popular classical composer ever. His musical output and extraordinary life, including musical precocity, have been the subject of many studies, books,
- [Discover Influential Latin American Composers of the 20th Century II](https://interlude.hk/discover-influential-latin-american-composers-of-the-20th-century-ii-manuel-ponce-carlos-chavez/): In the last article, I mentioned several composers from different Latin American countries. This article will introduce two important Mexican composers, Manuel Ponce and Carlos Chávez. They were both significant figures in Mexican music history. While Ponce was influential to
- [Entertaining the Prisoners: Borodin’s <em>Polovtsian Dances</em>](https://interlude.hk/entertaining-the-prisoners-alexander-borodins-polovtsian-dances/): In Alexander Borodin’s opera Prince Igor, left unfinished at the composer’s death, we have modern Russia of the 12th century fighting pre-modern Russia. Prince Igor and his army are going to war against the Polovtsy who have attacked Russian lands.
- [The Audience Is Not Your Enemy](https://interlude.hk/the-audience-is-not-your-enemy/): Glenn Gould claimed to “detest” audiences, regarding them as “mob rule” and “a force for evil” (he retired from performing in public at 31), but most performers take a far more positive and generous attitude towards audiences. Audiences – real
- [The Music of Poetry <br/>Friedrich Hebbel: “Genoveva”](https://interlude.hk/the-music-of-poetry-friedrich-hebbel-genoveva/): Robert Schumann (1810-1856) devoted his formative years primarily to literature. Already at the age of 13, he had published articles, written large anthologies of poetry, a five-act tragedy, and translated many Latin works into German. He even tried his hands
- [Four on the Floor: A Classical Music Video Adventure](https://interlude.hk/libby-larsen-four-on-the-floor-a-classical-music-video-adventure/): I met the American composer Libby Larsen when we were both just beginning our careers. I had joined the Minnesota Orchestra and with three other colleagues formed The Minneapolis Artists Ensemble, whose mandate was to play a variety of chamber
- [Musicians and Artists: Éric Montalbetti and Henri Matisse](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-eric-montalbetti-and-henri-matisse/): Henri Matisse (1869-1954) was known for his fluid style and his use of colour and it’s those two attributes that French composer Éric Montalbetti (b. 1968) chose as the inspiration for the three vocalises for voice and clarinet he created
- [Piano Music in the Key of D](https://interlude.hk/piano-music-in-the-key-of-d/): D major is unquestionably one of the “bright” keys – perhaps the brightest, and, allegedly, for Mozart the “happiest” key (he wrote three piano concertos in D major and four piano sonatas, including the sonata for two pianos KV 448).
- [The Sound Around: Rautavaara’s <em>Cantus Articus</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-sound-around-einojuhani-rautavaaras-cantus-articus/): Finnish composer Einojuhani Rautavaara (1928-2016) started his studies at the University of Helsinki and the Sibelius Academy before Jean Sibelius recommended that he study at the Juilliard School. There, in addition to his studies with Vincent Persichetti, and at Tanglewood
- [The Sorcerer’s Apprentice <br/>Leschetizky Legacy](https://interlude.hk/the-sorcerers-apprentice-leschetizky-legacy/): Theodor Leschetizky’s career as a pedagogue spanned the better part of 75 years. In all, in excess of 1,200 students are known to have studied with him. The sheer number of students is of course striking, but more impressive is
- [Making New From Old: Berlioz’ <em>Roman Carnival Overture</em>](https://interlude.hk/making-new-from-old-berlioz-roman-carnival-overture/): Hector Berlioz (1803 – 1869) had a difficult path to success. He tried time and time again to win the highest award France gave for music, the Prix de Rome, but he could only win it by modifying his style
- [Dreaming of Summer <br/>Piano Music Evocative Of Summertime and Holidays](https://interlude.hk/dreaming-of-summer-piano-music-evocative-of-summertime-and-holidays/): It’s still cool here in the UK, but when the sun is out I can already feel its warmth on my face, beckoning summer. The ongoing coronavirus pandemic may mean that summer holidays are limited but that doesn’t stop us
- [The Best Performances <br/> “Voi Che Sapete” by Mozart](https://interlude.hk/the-best-performances-voi-che-sapete-by-mozart-marriage-of-figaro/): When it comes to Mozart operas, “The Marriage of Figaro” is one of my all-time favorites. Mozart composed this opera buffa in 1786 to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte. The libretto is based on a stage comedy by
- [Musical Punctuation Marks](https://interlude.hk/musical-punctuation-marks/): Imagine if you were listening to someone speak, perhaps reading out the news on television, or reciting a poem. The speaker’s voice sounds the same the entire time they are speaking, with no rise or fall in sound, no changes
- [The Music of Poetry <br/>Friedrich Hebbel: “Wiegenlied”](https://interlude.hk/the-music-of-poetry-friedrich-hebbel-wiegenlied/): Robert Schumann (1810-1856) suffered from various mental illnesses from an early age. Counselors and historian suggest that his diagnosis was dementia praecox, an illness soon renamed schizophrenia. Beginning in 1849, Schumann began to suffer from auditory hallucinations, and he heard
- [That Summer Sound <br/>Mister Softee](https://interlude.hk/that-summer-sound-mister-softee/): The truck comes down the street, playing its little melody, summoning all the little (and big) kids out for ICE CREAM. The Mister Softee ice cream trucks first hit the streets of Philadelphia in 1956 and now operate in about
- [Musicians and Artists: Suckling and De Waal](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-martin-suckling-and-edmund-de-waal/): The ceramic art of writer and potter Edmund de Waal focuses on porcelain pieces, usually in a single colour, against a plain background. The installations carry their own rhythm and, when Scottish composer Martin Suckling looked at the works from
- [Rehearsals vs Concerts - Playing to an Empty Room](https://interlude.hk/rehearsals-vs-concerts-playing-to-an-empty-room/): Ill-timed coughs, un-silenced cellphones, rustling sweet wrappers... the frustration felt by some musicians towards their audiences at concerts is unfortunately all too well documented. You’d almost think some musicians prefer performing to an empty room. But, come to think of
- [Five Famous Themes & Variations for Piano](https://interlude.hk/five-famous-themes-variations-for-piano/): From J. S. Bach’s Goldberg Variations to Frederic Rzewski’s The People United Will Never Be Defeated, the theme and variations remains a popular musical genre and one which composers have used to create some of the greatest works in the piano
- [A Danced Poem: Dukas’ <em>La Péri</em>](https://interlude.hk/a-danced-poem-dukas-la-peri/): Commissioned in 1911 by Serge Diaghilev for the Ballets Russes, the ballet by Paul Dukas, La Péri, had a difficult birth. Dukas came up with the scenario and then wrote the music; choreography, design and stage decoration followed. Originally intended
- [Talking With the Giants: An Interview With Claudio Bohórquez](https://interlude.hk/talking-with-the-giants-an-interview-with-claudio-bohorquez/): Cellist Claudio Bohórquez wants to talk about mentorship – how do we learn from our teachers and those who have guided us on our way? To do this, he’s started a series on the streaming channel IDAGIO: On the Shoulders
- [The “Leschetizky Method”](https://interlude.hk/the-leschetizky-method/): What made Theodor Leschetizky one of the most impressive piano pedagogues of all time? Supposedly, his success was based on the so-called “Leschetizky Method,” a method of instruction that relied on several distinct influences. As part of an unbroken chain
- [The Work Before the Opera: Harbison's <em>Remembering Gatsby</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-work-before-the-opera-john-harbison-remembering-gatsby/): American composer John Harbison (b. 1938) had a family connection with F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896-1940) through his uncle who had been a member of same club at Princeton as Fitzgerald. After his first 2 operas failed, Harbison took up Fitzgerald’s
- [Impressionism, a Three-Part Series: In Our Modern World](https://interlude.hk/impressionism-a-three-part-series-in-our-modern-world/): The following article is the third and last of a three-part series on impressionism around the world; in France, in Europe and in our Modern World. In these articles, I explore the genre of impressionism. Born in France, it is
- [Narrow Repertoire Can Hold Us Back, Musically and Culturally](https://interlude.hk/narrow-repertoire-can-hold-us-back-musically-and-culturally/): When I was having piano lessons as a child and teenager from the early 1970s to the mid-1980s I never played any piano music by women composers, except perhaps some very rudimentary pieces by the late Fanny Waterman (though I
- [The Music of Poetry <br/>Friedrich Hebbel: “Nachtlied”](https://interlude.hk/the-music-of-poetry-friedrich-hebbel-nachtlied/): Robert Schumann had a face-to-face encounter with Friedrich Hebbel in 1847. Hebbel had called on Schumann in Dresden while passing through. Hebbel found Schumann “not only persistently, but also uncomfortably mute. ” Schumann, as he noted in his diary, however, felt
- [Classical Violin Music](https://interlude.hk/classical-violin-music/): Albert Einstein is one of the greatest physicists of all time. Since he was a highly original thinker, his name has become synonymous with genius. Yet, this most famous and immortal scientist once said, “the most joy in my life
- [Musicians and Artists: Shohat and Modernism](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-gil-shohat-and-modernism/): One of the problems in trying to portray a painting in music is how literal one chooses to be. Some of the most successful of the musician / artist combinations we’ve looked at in this series have dealt with modern
- [Piano Music in the Key of F-Sharp Major](https://interlude.hk/piano-music-in-the-key-of-f-sharp-major/): F-sharp major: “Triumph over difficulty, free sigh of relief uttered when hurdles are surmounted; echo of a soul which has fiercely struggled and finally conquered lies in all uses of this key”. – Christian Shubart Ideen zu einer Aesthetik der
- [The Lost Child: Bridge’s <em>Lament</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-lost-child-frank-bridge-lament/): The British ocean liner RMS Lusitania was sunk by a German U-Boat on 7 May 1915 off the coast of Ireland, leaving over 1,100 dead. The US had not yet entered WWI but was an active part of the supply
- [Theodor Leschetizky](https://interlude.hk/theodor-leschetizky/): “No life without art, no art without life” Theodor Leschetizky (1830–1915) is one of the most illustrious and supremely towering figures in the history of the piano. In fact, his student Annette Hullah suggested that Leschetizky “was the best piano
- [The Best Performances <br/>“Nessun dorma” by Giacomo Puccini](https://interlude.hk/the-best-performances-nessun-dorma-by-giacomo-puccini/): Talk about a strange story. Calaf is one of three suitors for the hand of the prickly Princess Turandot. Her suitors must solve three riddles, with any single wrong answer resulting in execution. Calaf manages to solve all three riddles
- [Supernatural Schumann: The <em>Manfred</em> Overture](https://interlude.hk/supernatural-robert-schumann-the-manfred-overture/): Solitude... . suffering... . and the supernatural. Yes, we’re in the middle of Romanticism and when one of the most romantic of composers, Robert Schumann, takes up the romantic tale of Count Manfred as told by the most romantic of poets, Lord Byron, we
- [Impressionism, a Three-Part Series: In Europe](https://interlude.hk/impressionism-a-three-part-series-in-europe/): The following article is the second of a three-part series on impressionism around the world; in France, in Europe and in our Modern World. In these articles, I explore the genre of impressionism. Born in France, it is known to
- [Never Stop Learning](https://interlude.hk/never-stop-learning-fou-tsong-richard-feynman/): “I am a beginner. I am always learning”Fou Ts’ong (from an interview with British journalist Jessica Duchen) Frédéric Chopin: Mazurka No. 13 in A Minor, Op. 17, No. 4 (Fou Ts’ong, piano) This wonderfully humble quote from Fou Ts’ong, the
- [The Music of Poetry <br/>Friedrich Hebbel: “Ich und Du”](https://interlude.hk/the-music-of-poetry-friedrich-hebbel-ich-und-du/): The poet and dramatist Friedrich Hebbel (1813-1863) grew up in abject poverty and struggled with severe health issues throughout his life. From personal experience and meticulous observations he concluded that life is “a struggle between the individual and the universe. ”
- [Jean-Antoine Watteau (1684–1721) <br/>“Fêtes galantes”](https://interlude.hk/jean-antoine-watteau-1684-1721-fetes-galantes/): Antoine Watteau (1684–1721), who died 300 years ago at the young age of 37, was one of the most original and brilliant artists of the eighteen-century. Rising from an obscure provincial background he achieved fame in the French capital, and
- [For the Love of More Musical PUNS](https://interlude.hk/for-the-love-of-more-musical-puns/): Musicians and music lovers enjoy musical puns. Who doesn’t need a laugh these days? I thought why not expand on some of the puns colleagues have shared with me, of course omitting the ubiquitous viola jokes! (Special thanks to prolific
- [Discover Influential Latin American Composers of the 20th Century I](https://interlude.hk/discover-influential-latin-american-composers-of-the-20th-century-i/): Latin American music is one of the exciting topics among musicians these days. However, a lot of Latin American composers remain undiscovered. We cannot truly explore such diverse styles of Latin American music without knowing more composers. This article discusses
- [Drama in Mozart’s D minor Fantasy K397](https://interlude.hk/drama-in-mozart-d-minor-fantasy-k397/): Composers use a variety of means to create drama in music, from simple devices such as dynamics (level of sound) or tempo (speed) to repetitions, the use of rests and pauses, and changes of harmony or key (modulation). Mozart’s Fantasy
- [Pianist Rachel Cheung Dazzles the Audience With Her Artistry and Poetry](https://interlude.hk/pianist-rachel-cheung-dazzles-the-audience-with-her-artistry-and-poetry/): One of the most sought-after musicians in Hong Kong, pianist Rachel Cheung achieved worldwide acclaim after reaching the finals and winning the Audience Award in Van Cliburn Piano Competition in 2017. She gave a compelling recital entitled “Fantasies” on 31
- [Meet Percussionist Matthew Lau](https://interlude.hk/meet-percussionist-matthew-lau-and-recommended-percussion-repertoire/): While I have been researching a lot of different topics for Interlude, I would like to turn my attention to classical musicians who are currently based in Hong Kong. For my first article highlighting Hong Kong artists, I am honored
- [Geneva Lewis](https://interlude.hk/geneva-lewis/): Originally from Auckland, young violinist Geneva Lewis has already performed extensively throughout Europe and the USA. As a member of the Callisto Trio, she has played at Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, and her solo work has seen her perform with orchestras including
- [From Opera to Trumpet Solo: Ligeti’s <em>Mysteries of the Macabre</em>](https://interlude.hk/from-opera-to-trumpet-solo-gyorgy-ligeti-mysteries-of-the-macabre/): György Ligeti’s 1977/1996 opera Le Gran Macabre was commissioned by the Royal Opera in Sweden. It operated both as a summary of the previous 25 years of his compositional work and an overview of the human condition from ‘sex to
- [The Versatility of the Clarinet](https://interlude.hk/the-versatility-of-the-clarinet/): You probably will have heard at least something on this list already, perhaps without even realising. The clarinet has a chameleon-like ability to change styles at the drop of a hat, and while there might not be many solo clarinet
- [Impressionism, a Three-Part Series: In France](https://interlude.hk/impressionism-a-three-part-series-in-france-debussy-ravel-satie/): The following article is the first of a three-part series on impressionism around the world; in France, in Europe and in our Modern World. In these articles, I explore the genre of impressionism. Born in France, it is known to
- [The Classical Music Profession](https://interlude.hk/the-classical-music-profession/): When we think of those who work in classical music we tend only to think of the musicians – soloists, ensemble players, orchestral musicians and conductors. But there’s a whole “back office” and “supply chain”, if you will, of other
- [Behind the Curtain <br/>Haydn’s Funeral Music](https://interlude.hk/behind-the-curtain-haydn-funeral-music/): The story of Haydn’s funeral and last remains is complicated and pretty macabre. It all starts in 1771, when Haydn was director of the Esterházy court orchestra. He conducted and wrote music for that ensemble for many, many years, and
- [Musicians and Artists: Rorem and Picasso](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-ned-rorem-and-pablo-picasso/): The influence of Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) for the art world is clear – from his cubist works to his focus on mythological beings, with his effortless drawing and painting style, he created a 20th century that has never really been
- [Music is Performance](https://interlude.hk/music-is-performance/): After attending live music festivals here in Australia recently, this has more than cemented my already long-held view that music is performance. Over the two large festivals where around 10,000 music lovers paid their money and turned up to hear
- [Water-Inspired Piano Music](https://interlude.hk/water-inspired-piano-music/): The piano seems to me to be the perfect instrument to convey the patter of raindrops, downpours and showers, the play of water in fountains, the shimmering sea lit by the sun, and the serenity of calm waters... . . as these water-inspired
- [Eugène Ysaÿe, Louise Bourdau and Jeannette Dincin <br/>An Officer’s Daughter and a Brooklyn Bride](https://interlude.hk/eugene-ysaye-louise-bourdau-and-jeannette-dincin-an-officers-daughter-and-a-brooklyn-bride/): On 28 September 1886 something special happened in the town of Arlon, just west of the Belgium-Luxembourg border. On that memorable day, the violin superstar and newly appointed professor at the Brussels Conservatory Eugène Ysaÿe married the singer Louise Bourdau
- [How Do Rehearsals Work?](https://interlude.hk/how-do-rehearsals-work/): The rehearsal room of an orchestra is a strange place. We musicians take it for granted, but for people on the outside it can seem like the rehearsal is a mysterious place with its own customs, rituals and etiquette. Things
- [The International Unknown: Viotti’s Violin Concerto No. 22](https://interlude.hk/the-international-unknown-viotti-violin-concerto-no-22/): The most famous 19th-century violinist that you’ve probably never heard of had a career that spanned all of Europe. He was widely travelled, his debut in Paris in 1782 was an unprecedented success, he was a favourite of Queen Marie
- [The Best Performances <br/> “Song to the Moon” by Antonín Dvořák](https://interlude.hk/best-performances-song-to-the-moon-by-antonin-dvorak/): Antonín Dvořák wrote some of the most memorable melodies in all of music. And from the very beginning he wanted to be known as an opera composer. Since he was active during a time when Czech national opera was being
- [On Taking, and Giving Advice, for Musicians](https://interlude.hk/on-taking-and-giving-advice-for-musicians/): Musicians, especially young musicians, are bombarded with advice over the course of their career, especially in those early, fledgling years. Most advice will come from teachers, but also from peers, colleagues, friends, promoters, agents and critics. Knowing how to take
- [Art and Music: Warhol and Grundman](https://interlude.hk/art-and-music-andy-warhol-and-jorge-grundman/): Taking the ideas of painter Andy Warhol (1928-1987) as his inspiration, Spanish composer Jorge Grundman (b. 1961) also used his own experience in Spanish pop music to create Warhol in Springtime. The composer wrote that: ‘The work’s name is in
- [Customized Perfection: Schubert’s Trout Quintet](https://interlude.hk/customized-perfection-schuberts-trout-quintet/): Franz Schubert (1797-1828) met the singer Johann Michael Vogl (1768-1840) in March 1817 at the house of a mutual friend, Franz von Schober. Schober was an Austrian poet and writer and supplied Schubert with the libretto for his opera Alfonso
- [<em>Only Cello</em> With Valérie Aimard](https://interlude.hk/only-cello-with-valerie-aimard/): We’ve caught up with French cellist Valérie Aimard before, first to talk about her Cello Kids program and then about her work as a ... ... Mime. In her other life, she’s a professor of cello at the Conservatoire Maurice Ravel
- [Composers of the Zodiac <br/> Tropic of Gemini](https://interlude.hk/composers-of-the-zodiac-tropic-of-gemini/): Between 21 May and 21 June, the sun transits the constellation of Gemini. This third astrological sign represents the twins Castor and Pollux. In Greek and Roman mythology, they are twin half-brothers. Their mother was Leda, but they had different
- [Piano Music in the Key of B-Flat Major](https://interlude.hk/piano-music-in-the-key-of-b-flat-major/): There’s a special nobility to B-flat Major. Open and expressive, it’s regarded as an uplifting key, full of hope and aspiration. The first movements of Bach’s Partita No. 1, and Schubert’s final piano sonata share this openness and nobility. Meanwhile, Beethoven’s
- [Eugène Ysaÿe: <em>Six Sonatas for Solo Violin</em>, Op. 27 <br/> “Mirroring the technical evolution and expressions of his time”](https://interlude.hk/eugene-ysaye-six-sonatas-for-solo-violin-op-27-mirroring-the-technical-evolution-and-expressions-of-his-time/): In 1923, Eugène Ysaÿe attended a performance by the great violinist Joseph Szigeti. The entire concert was dedicated to Ysaÿe’s favorite composer, Johann Sebastian Bach. Deeply moved and inspired, Ysaÿe went to work and over the course of twenty-four hours
- [Ludwig van Beethoven <br/>Most Beloved Piano Favourites](https://interlude.hk/ludwig-van-beethoven-most-beloved-piano-favourites/): The piano was Ludwig van Beethoven’s favourite instrument. He was a virtuoso at the keyboard, and his compositions for piano “became a vehicle for experimenting not only with the fundamental aspects and techniques of music, but also a means of
- [Wolfgang A. Mozart and His Fellow Musicians III](https://interlude.hk/wolfgang-a-mozart-and-his-fellow-musicians-iii/): Maria Theresia Paradis (1759-1824) was the daughter of the Imperial Secretary of Commerce and Court Councilor to Empress Maria Theresa. She lost her eyesight at the age of 4, and although she initially responded to treatment, she relapsed into her
- [Losing it All: Barber’s <em>Andromache’s Farewell</em>](https://interlude.hk/losing-it-all-samuel-barber-andromaches-farewell/): Euripes (480-406 BC) focused on the women of the war in his middle-period play The Trojan Woman. As was common with his middle period plays, this play looked, too, at the senselessness of war. One of the central women was
- [Classical Music Beyond the Concert Stage: Ten Classical Pieces Used in Commercials](https://interlude.hk/classical-music-beyond-the-concert-stage-ten-classical-pieces-used-in-commercials/): Have you ever heard any advertisement music on the radio and TV that sounds familiar to you? A lot of them are excerpts or adaptations from classical music. I am going to share with you ten pieces that have been
- [Who Owns What? <br/>Stories on Intellectual Property; Copyrights and Royalties](https://interlude.hk/who-owns-what-stories-on-intellectual-property-copyrights-and-royalties/): Royalties are quite unique to the music world; indeed composers and songwriters benefit from the advantage of being rewarded for each active and passive use of their works. While the painter, for instance, does not earn each time his work
- [Encouraging Engagement With Classical Music](https://interlude.hk/encouraging-engagement-with-classical-music/): Encouraging people to engage with and listen to classical music is an ongoing preoccupation for musicians, concert promoters, venue managers, critics and others. The perennial anxiety is that classical music is ‘dying’ (it’s not) and that it needs to attract
- [Art and Music: Klee and Schuller](https://interlude.hk/art-and-music-paul-klee-and-gunther-schuller/): American composer Gunther Schuller (1925-2015) took the Swiss artist Paul Klee (1879-1940) as his inspirational source for his 1959 orchestral work 7 Studies on Themes of Paul Klee. The seven works he chose were created between 1912 and 1933 and
- [Robert Burns (1759-1796) <br/>National Poet of Scotland](https://interlude.hk/robert-burns-1759-1796-national-poet-of-scotland/): In 2021 we celebrate the 225th passing of Robert Burns, Scotland’s national poet. He died on the morning of 21 July 1796 at the age of 37, and he had been a practicing poet throughout his life. Famous for his
- [Opera Wars <br/>Gluck vs. Piccinni](https://interlude.hk/opera-wars-gluck-vs-piccinni/): When Christoph Willibald Gluck (1714-1787) set out to reform opera, he knowingly provided the spark for a full-out culture war. Gluck believed that the principal Italian operatic genres—opera buffa and opera seria—had become unnatural. Characters seemed nothing more than empty
- [On My Music Desk……<br/> Franz Schubert – Impromptu in G-flat, D899/3](https://interlude.hk/on-my-music-desk-franz-schubert-impromptu-in-g-flat-d899-3/): Schubert’s first set of Impromptus (D899) are amongst my most favourite pieces of piano music, ever since my mother, who admired the pianist Alfred Brendel, bought me the score of the Impromptus and Moments Musicaux after hearing Brendel perform them
- [Dedicated to Ysaÿe <br/>“Ysaÿe Plays the Fiddle as the Birds Sing”](https://interlude.hk/dedicated-to-ysaye-ysaye-plays-the-fiddle-as-the-birds-sing/): Eugène Ysaÿe (1858-1931) was not only one of the greatest violinists of his time, but he was also a composer, conductor, and teacher. And what is more, great composers inspired him, and in turn, his exceptional artistry inspired them to
- [How to Prepare for Rehearsals](https://interlude.hk/how-to-prepare-for-rehearsals/): As a classical musician, we are often faced (in more normal times, at least) with the dilemma of having too many notes to learn and not enough time to learn them in. Concerts and opportunities come in at the last minute, sometimes leaving us barely enough time to practice the...
- [Against a Habanera Rhythm: Saint-Saëns’ <em>Havanaise</em>](https://interlude.hk/against-a-habanera-rhythm-saint-saens-havanaise/): The match between the French composer Camille Saint-Saëns and the Spanish violin virtuoso Pablo Sarasate was ideal – even when Sarasate didn’t play the premiere of a Saint-Saëns violin work, his light and nimble style was always there in the
- [The Best (Sexiest) Performances <br/> “Habanera” by Georges Bizet](https://interlude.hk/the-best-sexiest-performances-habanera-by-georges-bizet/): If there is one opera I love above all others, it has to be Georges Bizet’s Carmen. It contains beautiful and ethnic melodies, plenty of action and great drama. But the reason I personally rate it above others in the
- [Online Communities for Musicians Offer Advice, Support and Inspiration](https://interlude.hk/online-communities-for-musicians-offer-advice-support-and-inspiration/): Some years ago, when I was working on two of Rachmaninoff’s Opus 33 Etudes-Tableaux for a performance diploma, I posted on Facebook a screen shot of a passage which was giving me some issues and asked if anyone had some
- [The Music of Poetry <br/>Pablo Neruda: “Poems of Love and of Protest”](https://interlude.hk/the-music-of-poetry-pablo-neruda-poems-of-love-and-of-protest/): Pablo Neruda famously quipped, “Love is so short, forgetting is so long. ” In his “Saddest Poem” he laments the loss of a lover who has moved away from him. The strong connection of the poem to the stars and sky
- [Art and Music: Romare Bearden and Music in Collage](https://interlude.hk/art-and-music-romare-bearden-and-music-in-collage/): Music has so many aspects in art and we were looking at the collage art of American artist Romare Bearden to see how he captured both sound and sight in his work. Romare Bearden (1911-1988) was not only an artist
- [Wolfgang A. Mozart and His Fellow Musicians II](https://interlude.hk/wolfgang-a-mozart-and-his-fellow-musicians-ii/): Recently, Antonio Salieri (1750-1825) has gotten some seriously bad PR. But we need to be clear about the fact that he did not cause Mozart’s death. Salieri was a serious and steady man, but there is also mention of him
- [A Fantasy About a Fantasia: Henry Purcell and Elliott Carter](https://interlude.hk/a-fantasy-about-purcell-fantasia-upon-one-note-henry-purcell-and-elliott-carter/): In the summer of 1680, Henry Purcell (1659-1695) started to experiment with an older musical form, the fantasia. The basic structure of a fantasia is the construction of several musical phrases, or points, each of which is given a contrapuntal
- [Review: Niu Niu’s Fate & Hope](https://interlude.hk/review-niu-niu-fate-and-hope/): It’s been more than one year, and we (the classical music industry included) continue to be impacted by the pandemic. I believe most, if not all, of you will agree with me that music is desperately needed especially in these
- [Setting Repertoire in Context: Lang Lang and Bach](https://interlude.hk/setting-repertoire-in-context-lang-lang-and-bach/): Following his double CD release of Bach’s Goldberg Variations, Chinese superstar pianist Lang Lang has now released a 4-CD extended edition which includes bonus tracks of music by, attributed to, or influenced by J. S. Bach. “The more time I spent
- [Pure Class – and in a Class of Her Own: Christa Ludwig (1928-2021)](https://interlude.hk/pure-class-and-in-a-class-of-her-own-christa-ludwig-1928-2021/): Ottavia’s Torment (Christa Ludwig) I never had the privilege of experiencing Christa Ludwig perform live. But I saw her year after year in the audience of the Salzburg Festival. Statuesque, elegant, attractive and humble, this true operatic diva was content
- [Eugène Ysaÿe](https://interlude.hk/eugene-ysaye-violinist-and-composer/): “The King of the Violin” Eugène Ysaÿe (1858-1931) was, without doubt, one of the most important and towering violinists of his time. Born in Liège on 16 July 1858, he received his initial violin instructions from his father at the
- [Discover Piano Four-Hand Music by Franz Schubert](https://interlude.hk/discover-piano-four-hand-music-by-franz-schubert/): “It is no coincidence that the literature of ‘original compositions’ for four hands is limited to this period... . its true master is Schubert. ” Quoted from Theodor Adorno’s article, “Four Hands, Once Again. ” Music for piano four hands came to popularity almost
- [The Invisible Opera: Farrenc’s <em>Overture No. 1</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-invisible-opera-louise-farrenc-overture-no-1/): French pianist Louise (Dumont) Farrenc (1804-1875) was a piano student of Cécile Soria, who had studied with Clementi, and of Johann Nepomuk Hummel, who had been a student of Mozart, and Ignaz Moscheles, who had been a student of Salieri,
- [More on Musical Quotation](https://interlude.hk/more-on-musical-quotation/): Musical quotation is the art of integrating one’s musical words and sentences into another one’s work. It is quite similar to how quoting works in spoken languages, but differs in the capacity in which the quote can adapt and almost
- [The Most Famous Classical Clarinet Pieces](https://interlude.hk/the-most-famous-classical-clarinet-pieces/): The clarinet often feels a bit left out when sitting next to its windy friends in the orchestra. There they all are, the flute, oboe, and bassoon, sitting high and mighty, all firm fixtures in the group when the new
- [Rekindling the Love for Music](https://interlude.hk/rekindling-the-love-for-music/): Few people would dispute that the last year has been difficult. Many of us have lived under extraordinary restrictions for months, unable to see family and friends. Largely confined to our homes, we have had to adapt to new ways
- [The Music of Poetry <br/>Pablo Neruda: “Body of a Woman”](https://interlude.hk/the-music-of-poetry-pablo-neruda-body-of-a-woman/): Pablo Neruda published his “Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair” in 1924. “Daringly metaphorical and sensuous, this collection juxtaposes youthful passion with the desolation of grief. ” It is drawn from the poet’s most intimate and personal associations, and
- [J’Nai Bridges](https://interlude.hk/jnai-bridges/): ‘I Have Listened And Followed My Heart’ Gounod: Sapho: O ma lyre immortelle I chat to American mezzo-soprano J’Nai Bridges just as she is about to travel to Amsterdam to perform excerpts from Donizetti’s Tudor Trilogy with the Dutch National
- [Good Taste in Music and Geminiani](https://interlude.hk/good-taste-in-music-and-francesco-geminiani/): Francesco Geminiani (1687-1762) was, in his day, one of the great composers and musicians in Europe, often considered the equal of Handel or Corelli. Born in Lucca, Italy, he made his career in London and later Paris, arriving as a
- [Fashion in Classical Music <br/><em>“Naked people have little or no influence in society.”</em>](https://interlude.hk/fashion-in-classical-music-naked-people-have-little-or-no-influence-in-society/): Mark Twain has always been one of my favorite writers. I just love the way he tells stories that focus on the follies of human nature. Twain was world-famous for his witty quotes and he once said, “Clothes make the
- [In Touch With Paul Wee](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-paul-wee/): “I revel in every opportunity that I have to sit down at the keyboard” Paul C. K. Wee, an Australian with Singaporean-Malaysian heritage, is a London-based barrister, and also a concert pianist. He took up the piano as a young child,
- [BodyMinded Thinking in the Performance of Music](https://interlude.hk/bodyminded-thinking-in-the-performance-of-music/): Musicians contribute so much to the personal and cultural well-being of the community and play music because they love it. Given that, it is a shame that for some, a career and/or long-term love of playing is associated with levels
- [The What, How, and Why of Arrangements](https://interlude.hk/the-what-how-and-why-of-arrangements/): Classical music is no stranger to arrangements. The history of music is littered with adaptations, adjustments and rescorings – even Bach rearranged and incorporated his own works into other pieces – but what really is an arrangement? How do we
- [The French Flute: Caplet’s <em>Petite Valse</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-french-flute-caplet-petite-valse/): In the late-19th and early-20th century, the flute rose on the solo stage, largely through the efforts of French flutists such as Georges Barrère (1876-1944). His career started with a solo in one of the most innovative works of Claude
- [Musical Quotation](https://interlude.hk/musical-quotation/): Musical quotation is the art of integrating one’s musical words and sentences into another one’s work. It is quite similar to how quoting works in spoken languages but differs in the capacity in which the quote can adapt and almost
- [Know the Best Cello Pieces Ever Written in History!](https://interlude.hk/know-the-best-cello-pieces-ever-written-in-history/): Why does one choose a piece of music over another? The best cello pieces ever written are, for me, the ones that I return to over and over that always seem to offer new insights and emotions. The greatest repertoire
- [On ‘Letting Go’ as a Musician <br/>Part 2 - Letting Go of Criticism and Negative Feelings](https://interlude.hk/on-letting-go-as-a-musician-part-2-letting-go-of-criticism-and-negative-feelings/): In my first article, I discussed how musicians can judge when it’s time to ‘let go’ of a piece of music and decide it is ready for performance or should be put aside for a while. In this second part
- [The Music of Poetry <br/>Pablo Neruda: “Odes to Common Things”](https://interlude.hk/the-music-of-poetry-pablo-neruda-odes-to-common-things/): The Chilean poet and politician Pablo Neruda (1904-1973) wrote four volumes of odes to ordinary objects. Among them are odes to salt, a chair, a table, socks, and soap, among others. “I have a crazy, crazy love of things,” he
- [Best Songs in C Minor](https://interlude.hk/best-songs-in-c-minor/): When I was a little girl, my parents took me to the Cathedral in Hong Kong. I just loved that huge space that seemed to have so many memories. But what was really fascinating was the fact that it was
- [Rediscovering Clichés in Classical Music](https://interlude.hk/rediscovering-cliches-in-classical-music/): There are always pieces that classical music lovers have heard so many times to the extent of finding them annoying. Yet I’d like to invite you to re-visit some of them and perhaps you will discover something interesting! Bach: Toccata
- [Music as Consolation](https://interlude.hk/music-as-consolation/): Not just in times of lockdown or isolation, music is the invention that comforts us. During this pandemic, I have had ample time to discover new music that helps me to relax. I’ve found that it is early music that
- [Ophélie Gaillard Cellist: Queen of Versatility and Invention](https://interlude.hk/ophelie-gaillard-cellist-queen-of-versatility-and-invention/): Cellist Ophélie Gaillard is a marvel. Her many recordings, indicate a versatility that is rare and includes everything from solo Bach on Baroque cello, to Brahms Sonatas, concertos, collaborations with dancers, accordion, bandoneon, and singers, and playing in a tree!
- [Piano Music in the Key of C](https://interlude.hk/piano-music-in-the-key-of-c/): The key of C major. It’s the beginner’s key signature and usually the first scale that early piano students learn. (In fact, Chopin considered it the most difficult scale to play and instead liked to begin his students with the
- [Sigismond Thalberg and Cecchina Lablache <br/>“The Glass Coffin With the Ermine Cape”](https://interlude.hk/sigismond-thalberg-and-cecchina-lablache-the-glass-coffin-with-the-ermine-cape/): In the preface to his L’art du chant appliqué au piano, the distinguished virtuoso pianist and composer Sigismond Thalberg (1812-1871) states that he took voice lessons from a famous singer in his youth. That famous singer turned out to be
- [Composers of the Zodiac <br/>Tropic of Taurus](https://interlude.hk/composers-of-the-zodiac-tropic-of-taurus/): Between 20 April and 20 May, the “Great Bull of Heaven” charges across the celestial sky. The constellation Taurus, according to Greek mythology, depicts the god Zeus changing himself into a beautiful white Bull. Zeus was rather famous for changing
- [In Honour of Your Majesty <br/>Britten, Hindemith, Bach, Handel and Mozart](https://interlude.hk/in-honour-of-your-majesty-britten-hindemith-bach-handel-and-mozart/): The United Kingdom is currently in a period of national mourning for Prince Philip, husband to Queen Elizabeth II, who died at the age of 99. The Prince requested a funeral of minimal fuss, and with Corona restrictions in place,
- [Symbolic Processions: Skalkottas’ <em>Ancient Greek March</em>](https://interlude.hk/symbolic-processions-skalkottas-ancient-greek-march/): Founded in 1911 in Athens, the Lyceum Club of Greek Women is still active today. This historic educational, ethnological, and charitable organisation was the first organized women’s association in Greece. It had a role in the preservation and dissemination of
- [Wolfgang A. Mozart and His Fellow Musicians](https://interlude.hk/wolfgang-a-mozart-and-his-fellow-musicians/): In the historiography of Western music Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart occupies a special position. We consider him an exceptional and singular musical genius who attained the status of an undisputed superstar of Classical music. God-like status and reverence aside, we also
- [Piano, Guitar: The Co-Parents of Music](https://interlude.hk/piano-guitar-the-co-parents-of-music/): The guitar and the piano. From a composer’s point of view they are both small-sized orchestras; although one slightly more portable than the other. They have been used by musicians, and particularly composers — unstoppably since their invention, and for
- [Exceptional Amateur Pianists](https://interlude.hk/exceptional-amateur-pianists/): Alan Rusbridger, journalist and former editor-in-chief of The Guardian newspaper, gave us some fascinating insights into the world of the amateur pianist in his 2013 book ‘Play It Again’ – a world hitherto regarded by many as the realm of
- [The Music of Poetry <br/>Peter Lieberson: “Neruda Songs”](https://interlude.hk/the-music-of-poetry-peter-lieberson-neruda-songs/): Pablo Neruda (1904-1973) is one of the most influential and widely read 20th-century poets of the Americas. He received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1971, and he is widely regarded “as the greatest poet writing in the Spanish language
- [How to Get Back in Shape as Live Concerts Begin Again: <em>Gradually</em>](https://interlude.hk/how-to-get-back-in-shape-as-live-concerts-begin-again-gradually/): GRADUAL RETURN Now that live concerts are becoming more of a reality, I’ve been approached by several musicians about how to safely return to playing after a hiatus without injuring ourselves. It’s essential to return gradually. Begin with 10 minutes.
- [The Passion in Classical Music](https://interlude.hk/the-passion-in-classical-music/): If there is one art form that wears its passion on its sleeve, it is classical music. Images of conductors in full flight have become the go-to photos and videos for people who are looking to express visually the passion
- [Variations – Clare Hammond, Piano](https://interlude.hk/variations-clare-hammond-piano/): It’s a simple concept – a theme, or melody, initially stated in its original form, is put through a series of transformations, often quite complex and including textural, dynamic and key changes, to take player and listener on a fascinating
- [Brahms and Piazzolla: An Interview With Mariano Chiacchiarini](https://interlude.hk/brahms-and-piazzolla-an-interview-with-mariano-chiacchiarini/): In these times of restricted travel and stringent quarantine, it’s wonderful to have a visiting conductor who’s willing to do a 3-week quarantine as the first step to conducting your local orchestra. Argentinian conductor Mariano Chiacchiarini put himself through quarantine
- [Sigismond Thalberg at the Opera <br/>“Totally Unlike in Style to either Chopin or Liszt”](https://interlude.hk/sigismond-thalberg-at-the-opera-totally-unlike-in-style-to-either-chopin-or-liszt/): Sigismond Thalberg (1812-1871) devised one of the most illustrious and financially successful careers the world of music had ever seen. He was one of the greatest virtuoso pianists of his day, and he performed almost exclusively his own compositions based
- [Musicians and Artists: Gary Smart and <em>4 American Painters</em>](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-gary-smart-and-4-american-painters/): American composer Gary Smart combines an interest in Americana, world music, and jazz with his education in Western classical music to create an improvisation style that permits him to react and perform. When his improvisational style meets with 4 painters
- [For Who?: Beethoven’s Für Elise](https://interlude.hk/for-who-beethoven-bagatelle-a-minor-fur-elise/): It’s the bane of every beginning pianist – it’s too easy to make it banal and not musical – and it’s probable that the work itself is misunderstood by 99% of the amateurs who attempt it. ‘It’ is Beethoven’s Bagatelle
- [The Best Performances <br/> “Casta Diva” by Vincenzo Bellini](https://interlude.hk/the-best-performances-casta-diva-by-vincenzo-bellini/): Vincenzo Bellini (1801-1835) was the undisputed master of writing gorgeous melodies. Sensuous in expression and pure in style, Bellini was closely connected with the “bel canto” style of the great singers of his day. In his music, he always looked
- [Let’s Celebrate Popular Classical Pieces](https://interlude.hk/lets-celebrate-popular-classical-pieces/): In 2020, Ralph Vaughan Williams’ ‘The Lark Ascending’ topped Classic FM’s Hall of Fame as Britain’s most favourite piece of classical music. And it’s not the first time this piece has topped a poll of listeners – in fact it’s
- [The Music of Poetry <br/>Wilhelm Müller: Old Poems for New Melodies](https://interlude.hk/the-music-of-poetry-wilhelm-muller-old-poems-for-new-melodies/): Wilhelm Müller’s poetic imagination is rooted in a strong sense of proportion, in what has been termed his “architectural sense. ” However, none of his poems can be forced into the mold of a rigid system. “Everything develops organically between such
- [Best Songs in E-Flat Major](https://interlude.hk/best-songs-in-e-flat-major/): When I first got interested in classical music, my music teacher told us an interesting story about Beethoven. When the composer had finished his 3rd symphony, he dedicated the work to Napoleon. When Napoleon crowned himself Emperor, however, Beethoven was
- [Forgotten Pianists: Sergio Fiorentino](https://interlude.hk/forgotten-pianists-sergio-fiorentino/): “The only other pianist” – Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli “Recently I listened to a pianist on the radio who impressed me very much: Sergio Fiorentino, do you know him? ” – Vladimir Horowitz It takes a musical genius to be such highly
- [Charles Baudelaire (1821-1867) <br/>“I Have Cultivated My Hysteria With Pleasure and Terror”](https://interlude.hk/charles-baudelaire-1821-1867-i-have-cultivated-my-hysteria-with-pleasure-and-terror/): 200 years ago this month, on 9 April 1821, Charles-Pierre Baudelaire was born in Paris. Roughly thirty years later, his Les Fleurs du mal (The Flowers of Evil) was considered the most important and influential poetry collection published in all
- [Why Isn’t Classical Music Popular?](https://interlude.hk/why-isnt-classical-music-popular/): Julian Johnson is a lecturer in music at the University of Oxford. In his book, Who needs classical music? , he asks why isn’t classical music popular? He doesn’t answer the question, either because he can’t, or no one can, or
- [Paul Wee – Sigismond Thalberg: L'art Du Chant](https://interlude.hk/paul-wee-sigismond-thalberg-lart-du-chant/): A conundrum which faces all pianists – professional, student or amateur – is how to make the piano, a percussive instrument whose sounds are created by hammers hitting strings, sing. Legato, the technique for creating a joined-up, singing or “cantabile”
- [Conductors Caricatured](https://interlude.hk/conductors-caricatured/): To the outsider, the conductor looks as though he holds the oddest position in the orchestra – he may be the focus of the audience’s attention, but the orchestra barely seems to look at him. He turns his back to
- [Upcycling Pianos](https://interlude.hk/upcycling-pianos/): In our last article on this topic, we looked at orchestral instruments, but omitted the most versatile of them all, the piano. The piano offers a world of upcycling possibilities and in a number of different media. First, let’s look
- [Fighting the Persians: Brian’s Symphony No. 16](https://interlude.hk/fighting-the-persians-havergal-brian-symphony-no-16/): Havergal Brian (1876-1972) was one of the most prolific modern symphonists, writing 32 symphonies between 1919 and 1968. However, he considered his calling to be to the field of opera. Accordingly, he wrote 5 operas, works for voice and orchestra,
- [Arnold Böcklin (1827-1901) <br/>“Nothing in Art Is Created Without Effort”](https://interlude.hk/arnold-bocklin-1827-1901-nothing-in-art-is-created-without-effort/): The Swiss symbolist painter Arnold Böcklin (1827-1901), who died 120 years ago, was a controversial figure during his lifetime. Considered one of the founders of Symbolism, and highly influential for the development of Surrealism, Böcklin achieved enormous fame in German-speaking
- [Why Classics Are, Classics](https://interlude.hk/why-classics-are-classics/): Classics, standards — even at times masterpieces — often make classical music’s true devotees raise an eyebrow. “Oh, not again”. How many times have they been performed, at times doubtful and at rarer exceptional. It is quite true that the
- [Everything Is Connected](https://interlude.hk/everything-is-connected/): My son is a professional chef who has been working in fine dining in London for 6 years. He lived with me during the UK lockdown, and in addition to enjoying his beautiful, inventive and flavoursome cooking, I learnt some
- [The Music of Poetry <br/>Wilhelm Müller: “Winterreise”](https://interlude.hk/the-music-of-poetry-wilhelm-muller-winterreise/): On 15 December 1822, Wilhelm Müller wrote a letter to the composer Bernhard Klein. Klein had set a number of poems from “Die schöne Müllerin,” and Müller thanked him for “the musical animation of my verses. ” Müller writes, “My songs
- [Discover Margaret Bonds](https://interlude.hk/discover-margaret-bonds/): Because my mouthIs wide with laughterAnd my throatIt is deep with songYou do not thinkI suffer afterI have held my painSo long? Because my mouthIs wide with laughterYou do not hearMy inner cry? Because my feetAre gay with dancingYou do not knowI
- [Sigismond Thalberg](https://interlude.hk/sigismond-thalberg/): “Thalberg is the finest pianist in the world” 150 years ago, on 27 April 1871, the musical world mourned the passing of one of the most distinguished virtuoso pianists of the 19th century. Sigismond Thalberg (1812-1871) was greatly admired for
- [What Makes a Masterpiece?](https://interlude.hk/what-makes-a-masterpiece/): While I much prefer the term ‘work of genius’ over masterpiece, it looks like we are still stuck with this word stemming from c. 1600 to define, well, a masterpiece. In an exhibition happening now until June 14, 2021, at
- [Fire & Water – Ji Liu](https://interlude.hk/fire-water-ji-liu/): This recently released anthology of piano music comes two years after Ji Liu’s album of the same name and offers intermediate and advanced level pianists an opportunity to explore and play some of the pieces featured on Ji Liu’s recording,
- [Camille Thomas](https://interlude.hk/camille-thomas/): “Everything in the World is an Inspiration” I talk to young Franco-Belgian cellist Camille Thomas mid-hotel quarantine for a concerto appearance in Seoul, giving the Asian premiere of a piece written for her in 2018 by Fazıl Say about the
- [Most Fun Classical Songs and Popular Tunes for Easter](https://interlude.hk/most-fun-classical-songs-and-popular-tunes-for-easter/): Pandemics come and pandemics go, but Easter will surely return every year. For many Christians around the world this is the most important holiday of the year. It commemorates the Passion of Christ, starting with the Last Supper and culminating
- [Behind the Curtain <br/>Brahms’ Funeral Music](https://interlude.hk/behind-the-curtain-brahms-funeral-music/): At the end of the summer of 1896, Johannes Brahms was displaying some typical jaundice symptoms. The whites of his eyes and the mucous membranes had started to turn yellow. His doctors continued to observe Brahms for several months before
- [Upcycling Sound](https://interlude.hk/upcycling-sound/): You see them huddled on top shelves in antique stores, pinned to the walls in themed bars and restaurants, or piled in mouldy smelling cases at swap meets and antiques fairs. What can be done with these poor abandoned instruments?
- [Perfect, But Too Strong: Beethoven’s <em>Leonore Overture No. 3</em>](https://interlude.hk/perfect-but-too-strong-beethoven-leonore-overture-no-3/): Beethoven’s opera Fidelio had problems from the start. Its premiere, in November 1805, came a week after Napoleon’s troops had invaded Vienna. The composer’s patrons had left the city, and the audience, largely made up of French officers, didn’t like
- [Music to Make you Happy and Feel Energized](https://interlude.hk/music-to-make-you-happy-and-feel-energized/): Best Classical Music to Workout To There are certain times when you want music to bring you up out of your chair, get you skipping around the room, and change your feeling to one of complete energy. We surveyed our
- [What Have Musicians Learned From Lockdown?](https://interlude.hk/what-have-musicians-learned-from-lockdown/): Most of us have had to live in lockdown or under various restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic for over a year now. It has been a particularly difficult time for musicians, in an already precarious profession, and the knock-on
- [The Music of Poetry <br/>Wilhelm Müller: “Die schöne Müllerin”](https://interlude.hk/the-music-of-poetry-wilhelm-muller-die-schone-mullerin/): The poet Wilhelm Müller (1794-1827) was famous in his lifetime for his verses in support of Greek struggle for emancipation from the Turks. Today, we mainly remember him for the highly popular song-cycles “Die schöne Müllerin,” and “Die Winterreise,” poems
- [Best Songs in G Minor](https://interlude.hk/best-songs-in-g-minor/): I am always surprised how many different characteristic and emotions can be associated with a single key. Written by critics and theorist over time, some of these characteristics don’t seem to agree at all. When we look at the key
- [A Playlist for Piano Day 2021](https://interlude.hk/a-playlist-for-piano-day-2021/): Piano Day was founded in 2015 by composer and pianist Nils Frahm, and a group of like-minded others, and it celebrates all things piano – the instrument and those who play it, its extensive repertoire, and other piano-related projects. It
- [Can Music Be Intelligent?](https://interlude.hk/can-music-be-intelligent/): To frame the subject of can music be intelligent, we must first disregard most music that has lyrics or words from the subject. Studies have shown that people who received musical training displayed improved intelligence. But can music by itself
- [Vida Breve (Short Life) – Stephen Hough](https://interlude.hk/vida-breve-short-life-stephen-hough/): It seems fitting that British pianist Stephen Hough’s new album Vida Breve, featuring music on the theme of death, should be released while we are still in the thrall of the coronavirus. But this album is not a response to
- [Audition Preparation](https://interlude.hk/audition-preparation/): Ah, auditions. One of my favourite performance experiences where nothing ever goes wrong and I feel totally calm and relaxed and always play exactly how I do in real life with no silly mistakes at all... If only, right? Apart
- [Should You Sit the Piano Grade Examinations as an Adult Learner?](https://interlude.hk/should-you-sit-the-piano-grade-examinations-as-an-adult-learner/): As a piano lover interested in getting started or as a piano learner, you have probably heard about the grade examinations offered by ABRSM or Trinity College. Praised by some and criticised by others, they are undoubtedly a well-known topic
- [Xu Zhong and the Suzhou Symphony Orchestra: “A Giant’s Dream” <br/> 28 March 2021: Shanghai Grand Theatre](https://interlude.hk/xu-zhong-and-the-suzhou-symphony-orchestra-a-giants-dream-28-march-2021-shanghai-grand-theatre/): Once upon a time, Shanghai was a small fishing village on the Yangzi River delta. By the mid-19th century, however, the village turned into a city administered concurrently by the British, Americans and French. Each colonial presence brought its particular
- [A Russian Introspection: Mysakovsky’s Thirteenth Symphony](https://interlude.hk/a-russian-introspection-mysakovsky-thirteenth-symphony/): Russian composer Nikolay Yakovlevich Myaskovsky’s works always had an introspective and fatalistic quality and carried the 19th-century Russian qualities of symphonic music to a new level. After Stalin’s rise to power in 1928 and the institution of Socialist Realism became
- [Music That Brings up Sad Memories](https://interlude.hk/music-that-brings-up-sad-memories/): Music can guide our emotions and sometimes we really want to wallow in sadness. Evoking sad memories can be a cathartic experience that leaves us feeling better at the end. We surveyed our writers to find out their music for
- [The Habit of Creation](https://interlude.hk/the-habit-of-creation/): It is often said that musicians — particularly performers — and athletes behave similarly. As a matter of fact, it is quite true. Aside from the physical, training and practice aspect of their activity, both are bound to dedication, discipline,
- ["There Are Many Works I Love That Do Not Love Me Back!"](https://interlude.hk/there-are-many-works-i-love-that-do-not-love-me-back/): This quote from an interview I did with pianist Antoine Préat perfectly expresses my relationship with many composers and their music. When I returned to playing the piano seriously in my later 30s, after a break of some 20 years,
- [James Joyce (1882-1941) <br/> “Mistakes Are the Portals of Discovery”](https://interlude.hk/james-joyce-1882-1941-mistakes-are-the-portals-of-discovery/): 80 years ago, on 13 January 1941, the Irish author, novelist and poet James Joyce died in Zürich, Switzerland. One of the most influential and innovative writers of the 20th century, “his innovative language, use of dialogue, characteristic modernist forms,
- [Composers of the Zodiac <br/>Tropic of Aries](https://interlude.hk/composers-of-the-zodiac-tropic-of-aries/): Aries is one of the oldest constellations of the zodiac. It has been described by a number of ancient cultures, including astronomers in Babylonian, Egypt, Persia, and China. In Greek mythology, it is associated with the golden ram and particularly
- [From Winter to Spring: Britten’s <em>Spring Symphony</em>](https://interlude.hk/from-winter-to-spring-brittens-spring-symphony/): Britten’s Spring Symphony, completed in 1949, is a unique song-symphony. Not with just one movement set to words, as in Beethoven’s Ninth, but with English texts throughout. Most of the sources are from the 16th and 17th century, but a
- [Where Does Music Come From?](https://interlude.hk/where-does-music-come-from/): Does music come from some place other than through a musician or a composer? When I first started making music, much of it flowed through me by what I had learnt from other composers. Now, that is still part of
- [What Is a ‘Picardy Third’?](https://interlude.hk/what-is-a-picardy-third/): You’ll recognise it instantly: that happy “lift” at the end of a piece in a minor key, an unexpected lightening of the mood, like a ray of sunshine peeping through the rain clouds. That expressive “lift”, an expression of happiness
- [Stravinsky’s Literary Sources](https://interlude.hk/stravinskys-literary-sources/): Igor Stravinsky had a vast appetite for literature. That appetite basically reflected his constant desire for learning, exploring, and for making new discoveries. Forced into exile by World War I, Stravinsky initially found inspiration in Russian folklore. A collection of
- [Symphonies You Don’t Want To Miss In Your Life, Ever](https://interlude.hk/symphonies-you-dont-want-to-miss-in-your-life-ever/): I have always enjoyed participating in team sports. Although I am naturally happy in my own company there are times when I want to be part of a team moving towards a shared goal and objective. Volleyball is my favorite
- [Piano Music for Springtime](https://interlude.hk/piano-music-for-springtime/): Springtime – the turning of the season, the weather growing milder and the days longer, the first fresh buds of blossom appearing – is fertile territory for musical inspiration, as this selection of piano pieces inspired by Spring or emblematic
- [10 Contemporary Female Composers That You Should Know](https://interlude.hk/10-contemporary-female-composers-that-you-should-know/): To celebrate Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day, I would like to introduce ten contemporary female composers who have not been introduced on Interlude before. While certainly not exhaustive, this list of ten composers illustrates the wide scope of
- [Locked Out of Fame: Balakirev’s Nocturne No. 2](https://interlude.hk/locked-out-of-fame-balakirev-nocturne-no-2/): Mily Alexeyevich Balakirev (1837-1910) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor who saw those he promoted go on to greatness while he always seemed to elude the same spotlight. He, along with Vladimir Stasov, brought together The Five (Borodin, Cui,
- [Music for Meditation or Reflection](https://interlude.hk/music-for-meditation-or-reflection/): When our contributors were asked to list the work that they thought best for meditation or reflection, they ranged around the entire musical spectrum from J. S. Bach to Steve Reich. Come ponder on the wonders of classical music with these
- [Xu Zhong and the Suzhou Symphony Orchestra: “Song of Life” <br/>21 March 2021: Suzhou Grand Theatre](https://interlude.hk/xu-zhong-and-the-suzhou-symphony-orchestra-song-of-life-21-march-2021-suzhou-grand-theatre/): The number of symphony orchestras in China has grown exponentially over the last couple of years. One of the newest kids on the block is the Suzhou Symphony Orchestra founded in 2016. This enormous orchestral flowering has in large part
- [What Are Music Lessons For?](https://interlude.hk/what-are-music-lessons-for/): It seems a simple question, doesn’t it? And the simple answer is that music lessons are for learning music / a musical instrument. But learning an instrument, either via formal music lessons or self-teaching, offers so much more. Gustav Holst:
- [The Sorcerer's Apprentice <br/>Hélène Grimaud, György Sándor and Martha Argerich](https://interlude.hk/the-sorcerers-apprentice-helene-grimaud-gyorgy-sandor-and-martha-argerich/): Hélène Grimaud is a woman of multiple talents, intellectually sparkling in various directions. While she is a critically acclaimed performance and recording artist, she is also a committed wildlife conservationist, and a compassionate human rights activist. She campaigns on behalf
- [Forgotten Cellists: Harvey Shapiro](https://interlude.hk/forgotten-cellists-harvey-shapiro/): Our popular series forgotten cellists from 2018 continues with several outstanding artists you may not know of. One-thousand students claim cellist Harvey Shapiro the “cello doctor” was the single greatest influence in their lives. The esteemed pedagogue taught at Juilliard
- [Best Songs in B-Flat Major](https://interlude.hk/best-songs-in-b-flat-major/): I have always loved songs in the key of B-flat major. For me, songs in that particular key always sound very bright and cheerful. I was really happy to discover that important musicians and theorist think about that key in
- [Music for Travelling: The Hong Kong Philharmonic Takes to the Rails](https://interlude.hk/music-for-travelling-the-hong-kong-philharmonic-takes-to-the-rails/): What’s your local subway system like? Like being in a tiled basement, somewhat dimly lit, and all you hear are the rumbles and screeches of the trains? In a new collaboration between the HK Philharmonic and the MTR in Hong
- [Forgotten Pianists: Rafael Orozco](https://interlude.hk/forgotten-pianists-rafael-orozco/): The winner of the 1966 Leeds International Piano Competition, Spanish pianist Rafael Orozco (1946-1996) was born into a musical family and enrolled at the Conservatorio Superior de Música de Córdoba at the age of 7. He later studied at the
- [The Message of Music Is the Music Itself](https://interlude.hk/the-message-of-music-is-the-music-itself/): After almost a lifetime of music-making and trying to figure out what it is saying, I’m coming closer to the thought that the message of music is the music itself. For an experiment in discovery, I’ve been listening to all
- [All at Sea: The Barcarolle in Piano Music](https://interlude.hk/all-at-sea-the-barcarolle-in-piano-music/): Evoking the rush of water, the stroke of oars and the motion of the ocean, the Barcarolle was a folk song sung by Venetian gondoliers (the word comes from “Barca” meaning “boat”). Characterised by a rocking rhythm, suggestive of the
- [Igor Stravinsky and His Maidens](https://interlude.hk/igor-stravinsky-and-his-maidens/): Igor Stravinsky first met Katherine Gavrylivna Nosenko in 1890. He was quietly drawn to “Katya,” who was by all accounts a soft-spoken and intelligent girl. They shared a number of interests, and found common ground in music, as Katya was
- [Modern and Familiar: Peter Breiner’s Romantic Concepts](https://interlude.hk/modern-and-familiar-peter-breiner-romantic-concepts/): Slovak composer Peter Breiner, who we interviewed in November has a follow-up album to his earlier album of calm Romantic music. A Journey, released on 1 March 2021, has both Breiner’s compositions and his arrangements of composers who often fall
- [Bach and the Monkey King <br/>An Interview With Chiyan Wong](https://interlude.hk/bach-and-the-monkey-key-an-interview-with-chiyan-wong/): In his concept for his new album of Bach’s Goldberg Variations, pianist Chiyan Wong cast his mind back to the Chinese literary classic Journey to the West and the seminal character of the Monkey King. Just as the Monkey King
- [Piano in the Sun: Paús’ <em>Piano en Arlés</em>](https://interlude.hk/piano-in-the-sun-paus-piano-en-arles/): When we think of Arles, we think of the paintings of Van Gogh: sun and fields and trees. In 1990, the Japanese film director Akira Kurosawa made a set of short films, collectively entitled Dreams. One of the dreams, Crows,
- [Avoiding Our Peers](https://interlude.hk/avoiding-our-peers/): A natural process for the creative artist is to reproduce what he admires. In the case of composers, it translates as composing the music that they heard and enjoyed, or the music that they want to hear. Of course, the
- [Based on Bach <br/>Gounod: <em>Ave Maria</em>](https://interlude.hk/based-on-bach/): Charles Gounod took the first prelude of Bach’s Well-Tempered Klavier and started noodling around on it, and his piano teacher, Pierre Zimmerman, with whom he was studying at the Paris Conservatoire, took note of it. J. S. Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier,
- [The Wisdom of Alfred Brendel](https://interlude.hk/the-wisdom-of-alfred-brendel/): It’s hard to believe Alfred Brendel turned 90 at the start of 2021. He’s been a part of my musical landscape since I was a teenager, when my mother, who was a great fan of Brendel and admired him in
- [Marcel Proust (1871-1922) <br/>“In Search of Lost Time” and the Mysterious Violin Sonata](https://interlude.hk/marcel-proust-1871-1922-in-search-of-lost-time-and-the-mysterious-violin-sonata/): Born 150 years ago in Paris, Marcel Proust was a sickly child and he suffered from poor health for most of his short life. Yet his almost inexhaustible complexity as a novelist, critic and essayist has reverberated through virtually every
- [Practicing! Oh the Troubles with Motivation and Concentration](https://interlude.hk/practicing-oh-the-troubles-with-motivation-and-concentration/): Practicing has never been more challenging than right now while for the foreseeable future scheduling live concerts is in doubt. Amateurs, students, professionals—we’re all in the same boat. Without a performance on the horizon I too am unmotivated to practice.
- [How I Fell in Love With Classical Music](https://interlude.hk/how-i-fell-in-love-with-classical-music/): How did you fall in love with classical music? We did a survey of our writers to find out what they considered their top musical pieces, composers, or performers, starting with the work or performance that made them seriously fall
- [Not My First Quarantine: An Interview With Martin Ng](https://interlude.hk/not-my-first-quarantine-an-interview-with-martin-ng/): The prospect of putting on an opera these days has been more than many opera companies can face. The National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts, known as Weiwuying, in Taiwan, however, has been able to forge ahead with getting operas
- [5 Great Piano Sonatas](https://interlude.hk/5-great-piano-sonatas/): The piano sonata genre boasts some of the finest music written for the instrument, from the wit and inventiveness of Haydn or the rhetoric and forward vision of Beethoven to the passionate romanticism of Chopin and Liszt, and the modernism
- [Igor Stravinsky](https://interlude.hk/igor-stravinsky/): “My music is best understood by children and animals” Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971) graced the cover of Time Magazine in 1948. The supporting article described him as a “Master Mechanic,” a man to be hired, on his terms, to write music
- [Le Tombeau de Couperin <br/>A Tribute to Friends and Music](https://interlude.hk/le-tombeau-de-couperin-a-tribute-to-friends-and-music/): Nestled somewhere in Ravel’s output there resides a curious set of piano pieces, entitled Le Tombeau de Couperin – literally, Couperin’s Tomb. The set of six piano pieces were composed between 1914 and 1917; four of the six then went
- [The Lost Daughter: Thomas’ <em>Mignon</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-lost-daughter-thomas-mignon/): The 1866 opera by Ambroise Thomas, Mignon, was an outstanding success in Paris. It was given its premiere in November 1866 at the Opéra-Comique and over the next 50 years had nearly 1,500 performances in the house. The story comes
- [Alana Youssefian](https://interlude.hk/alana-youssefian/): ‘If you can’t do your own art your own way it doesn’t seem worth it’ Hailing from New Jersey, violinist Alana Youssefian is equally at home with the baroque violin as with the modern – her performance of Vivaldi’s Spring
- [20 Quotes From Famous Cellists](https://interlude.hk/20-quotes-from-famous-cellists/): “Playing lifts you out of yourself into a delirious place. ”– Jacqueline du Pré (1945-1987) Arguably one of the best cellists in the 20th century, the brief career and short life of Jacqueline du Pré (1945-1987) are a tragic story: A
- [Musicians & the Menopause](https://interlude.hk/musicians-the-menopause/): Menopause is the hardest teacher I’ve met. Harder than fame– Tori Amos, singer-songwriter York Bowen: Evening Calm (Joop Celis, piano) No one likes to be reminded of increasing age and for women the menopause is perhaps the most obvious indication.
- [Musicians and Artists: Somers and Picasso](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-somers-and-picasso/): Most composers seek to capture a single artwork in their compositions based on art works. Canadian composer Harry Somers (1925-1999), in his Picasso Suite (1964), sought to capture the entire life of a painter in the sweep of his work.
- [Best Songs in D Minor](https://interlude.hk/best-songs-in-d-minor/): Sometimes, I really don’t understand the descriptions assigned to particular keys. When it comes to D minor, we can read that it represents “dejected womanhood which broods on notions and illusions. ” I guess it’s a pretty fancy and period description
- [An Audition Won the Hard Way](https://interlude.hk/an-audition-won-the-hard-way/): Many of us have unique and sometimes daunting audition stories. I was fortunate enough to win the position of associate principal cello of the Minnesota Orchestra but not without an ordeal. In 1979, I held the same position with the
- [Interview With a Concert Photographer – Peter Hislop](https://interlude.hk/interview-with-a-concert-photographer-peter-hislop/): Tell us a bit about yourself, Peter. I grew up in middle-class north-west Sydney, Australia in the 1960s. I was an anomaly in a non-artistic family. In my teens, I started doing overnight hikes with friends and found taking photographs
- [Dynamics in Music](https://interlude.hk/dynamics-in-music/): In simple terms, dynamics are directions which indicate how quietly or loudly a piece of music should be played. Dynamics are an important way of conveying mood and enhancing the dramatic narrative of the music. Directions, indicate in the score,
- [The Piazzolla Music Competition <br/>Celebrating the Legacy of Piazzolla](https://interlude.hk/the-piazzolla-music-competition-celebrating-the-legacy-of-piazzolla/): 2021 marks 100 years since the birth of Astor Piazzolla, and the inaugural year of the Piazzolla Music Competition. The competition aims to celebrate the legacy of the composer synonymous with the reinvention of the tango, and the winner will
- [Farewell, Farewell Christopher Plummer](https://interlude.hk/farewell-farewell-christopher-plummer/): “Farewell, Farewell... touch her soft lips and part... ” William Walton: Henry V (adapted by Christopher Palmer) – IV. Interlude: Touch her Soft Lips and Part (Academy of St. Martin in the Fields Chorus; Westminster Cathedral Choir; Christopher Plummer, reader; Academy
- [Musicians – Enough With the Servility<br/> Part 2: The Existential Quest for Independent Values](https://interlude.hk/musicians-enough-with-the-servility-part-2-the-existential-quest-for-independent-values/): Part Two of this article series was originally going to explore the mindset of musicians with regards to financial support during the Covid-19 pandemic – a call to action for artists to choose innovation and creative thinking over consistent begging
- [Musical Spoofs and Lampoons](https://interlude.hk/musical-spoofs-and-lampoons/): Carnival celebrations typically involve public parades, street parties and entertainments. In some parts of the world, large decorated platforms are towed through the streets in dedicated carnival floats featuring everything from flowers, elements from the circus and the sideshow to
- [Consonance & Dissonance](https://interlude.hk/consonance-dissonance/): Consonance and dissonance are two concepts that are taught both inside and outside of music education. In my opinion, more often than not, wrongly. Aside from a purely physical level of definition, the perception of consonance and dissonance is entirely
- [The Glorious Roman Past: Marx’s <em>Castelli Romani</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-glorious-roman-past-joseph-marx-castelli-romani/): Austrian composer and pianist Joseph Marx (1882-1964) started his life under his mother’s piano, listening while she practiced. When she noticed his own musical gifts, she sent him off to music school and he developed his pianistic skills. His talents
- [Keyboard Circus Tricks "Ain’t Got Nothing to Do With Music-Making"](https://interlude.hk/keyboard-circus-tricks-aint-got-nothing-to-do-with-music-making/): The quote in the title is from celebrated pianist Leon Fleisher, who died in August 2020 at the age of 92. In the many tributes to him, his wisdom and good sense, as a musician and a human being, and
- [When Musical Worlds Collide <br/>Classical Mozart vs. Romantic Beethoven](https://interlude.hk/when-musical-worlds-collide-classical-mozart-vs-romantic-beethoven/): When we read textbooks on music history, Mozart is frequently classified as a Classical, and Beethoven as a Romantic composer. It almost sounds like that these two musical giants were diametrically opposed to each other—like two boxers in a ring—with
- [Animals in Musical Society: The Caricatures of J.J. Grandville](https://interlude.hk/animals-in-musical-society-the-caricatures-of-j-j-grandville/): Jean-Jacques or J. J. Grandville, the pseudonym of Jean Ignace Isidore Gérard (1803-1847), looked at the world around him and saw it as a vast human comedy that, for him, could be played out with animals. The collection that made his
- [In Memoriam <br/>Armando “Chick” Corea (1941-2021)](https://interlude.hk/in-memoriam-armando-chick-corea-1941-2021/): Long before we needed childish simplifications and social media overhype to describe the musical explorations of different musical style and genres, there was Chick Corea (1941-2021). To him, musical styles and genres were not restrictive constructs, but an invitation for
- [More Conducting Fathers and Sons](https://interlude.hk/more-conducting-fathers-and-sons/): It’s almost uncanny how many musicians follow in their parents’ footsteps and conducting is no exception! Here are three legendary families. Leopold and Walter Damrosch One of America’s leading and most influential musicians, Walter came from a historically musical family.
- [Benjamin Grosvenor’s <em>Liszt</em> Album – A Fine Combination of Artistry and Virtuosity](https://interlude.hk/benjamin-grosvenors-liszt-album-a-fine-combination-of-artistry-and-virtuosity/): Known for his technical mastery and musicality, British pianist Benjamin Grosvenor achieved worldwide acclaim after winning in the keyboard section of BBC Young Musician of the Year 2004 at the age of 11. Recorded in London in October 2020, this
- [Composers of the Zodiac <br/>Tropic of Pisces](https://interlude.hk/composers-of-the-zodiac-tropic-of-pisces/): The deadliest creature in Greek mythology was a monstrous serpentine giant called “Typhon. ” That vile creature challenged the god Zeus for supremacy of the cosmos, but was eventually defeated and buried underneath Mount Etna. During that cataclysmic battle, Typhon was
- [Flowers in Piano Music](https://interlude.hk/flowers-in-piano-music/): Nature is a rich source of inspiration for composers, and flowers and blossoms have inspired some really lovely piano music, often miniatures or intimate salon pieces celebrating the beauty of flowers, nodding buds, heady aromas, and delicate petals. Debussy: Bruyères
- [The Orchestra in Hollywood](https://interlude.hk/the-orchestra-in-hollywood/): What do dinosaurs, an extra-terrestrial and a killer shark all have in common? The answer: well, apart from at-times-questionable prosthetics, they all share a soundtracks featuring sumptuous orchestral scores, in this case, from the modern master of movie music John
- [The Aria Ballet: Reinhild Hoffmann’s <em>Callas</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-aria-ballet-reinhild-hoffmanns-callas/): The idea of Tanztheater (dance theatre) came out of Germany in the 1920s. It started as ‘expressionist dance’ and was reborn in the 1980s in the work of German choreographers such as Pina Bausch and Reinhild Hoffmann. The influences of
- [Welcoming Spring: Delius’ <em>Four Old English Lyrics</em>](https://interlude.hk/welcoming-spring-frederick-delius-four-old-english-lyrics/): During the war years of 1915 and 1916, Delius looked to older poets for a cheering series. His collection of Old English Lyrics took the poetry of William Shakespeare, and his contemporaries, Ben Jonson, Thomas Nashe, and Robert Herrick, as
- [The Hero Changes His Mind: Beethoven’s <em>Coriolan Overture</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-hero-changes-his-mind-beethoven-coriolan-overture/): In the 19th century, the rise of Napoleon and the threat he posed to all of Europe (and Russia) cannot be underestimated. As his victorious armies swept from border to border, whole nations fell under his sway. Those with revolutionary
- [“You Don’t Play the Piano With Your Fingers”](https://interlude.hk/you-dont-play-the-piano-with-your-fingers/): When I said this to one of my students, he looked at me slightly askance from beneath his thick fringe of auburn hair, and I could see him thinking his piano teacher was probably slightly mad. Of course we play
- [Musicians and Artists: Carpenter and Vermeer](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-gary-carpenter-and-vermeer/): Silence and sound – we see this in the paintings of Vermeer and hear it in the Vermeer composition by Gary Carpenter. He was intrigued by an entry listing Vermeer’s works where in 1711, an inventory of the property of
- [Year of the Ox Around the World](https://interlude.hk/year-of-the-ox-around-the-world/): Perhaps when we consider the Chinese zodiac and why the Year of the Rat (2020) and the Year of the Ox (2021) are in that order perhaps we can also see a greater symbolism. According to ancient Chinese myths, the
- [Best Songs in F Major](https://interlude.hk/best-songs-in-f-major/): The beautiful key of F major is frequently associated with the outdoors. It is supposed to convey feelings of calm and contemplation, and depict rustic or pastoral scenes. It’s all clearly Beethoven’s fault, because his “Pastoral” symphony is written in
- [Welcome to the Year of the Metal Ox <br/>Gong Hei Fat Choy 2021](https://interlude.hk/welcome-to-the-year-of-the-metal-ox-gong-hei-fat-choy-2021/): A good many people around the world are probably overjoyed that the Year of the Rat is quickly coming to an end. 2020 was a difficult year all around, but luckily we can look forward to the Year of the
- [The Best Love Duets for Valentine’s Day](https://interlude.hk/the-best-love-duets-for-valentines-day/): Love comes in all forms, shapes, colours, and sizes. We’ve all been there, and falling in love is rather strange and really wonderful. Of course, it’s always complicated as well. The process of falling in love can be a beautiful
- [Music That Makes You Feel in Love](https://interlude.hk/music-that-makes-you-feel-in-love/): Ah, love – that ineffable feeling of excitement and happiness and belonging. What’s the music that gives you that same feeling or what was the music that brought together all those disparate feelings? We surveyed our writers and got an
- [The Power of Love <br/> Piano Music on the Theme of Love](https://interlude.hk/the-power-of-love-piano-music-on-the-theme-of-love/): Love has long provided inspiration to writers, poets and, of course, composers. The following pieces portray love in its infinite variety – from tender intimacy to heart-stopping passion and burning desire. Schumann: Fantasy in C, Op 17 This “love letter
- [Anton Arensky (1861-1906)<br/> “He will be soon forgotten”](https://interlude.hk/anton-arensky-1861-1906-he-will-be-soon-forgotten/): In his Memoirs, Rimsky-Korsakov was decidedly unkind to his student Anton Arensky. He accused him of having been an alcoholic and gamblers, and that his death by consumption was the final and just result. “By the nature of his talents
- [Franz Schubert and His Circle of Friends V](https://interlude.hk/franz-schubert-and-his-circle-of-friends-v/): Raphael Georg Kiesewetter (1773–1850) studied philosophy at Olmütz and law in Vienna before he was employed in the chancellery of the imperial army. Subsequently, he became a valued official at the war office in Vienna. Kiesewetter was an accomplished musician
- [A Sad Darkness: Asenjo’s <em>Cello Concerto</em>](https://interlude.hk/a-sad-darkness-alfonso-romero-asenjo-cello-concerto/): Spanish composer Alfonso Romero Asenjo (b. 1957) has been called a ‘trans-avant-garde’ composer: ‘it is neither here in the vanguard nor beyond it, but it takes it into account, knows it, values it, uses it eventually if it needs it
- [Best Classical Songs for Carnival](https://interlude.hk/best-classical-songs-for-carnival/): Carnival is the jolliest and most colourful time of the year; in a word, it’s non-stop party time. Christians around the world celebrate Easter, and the period of about six weeks that prepares the faithful for Easter Sunday is called
- [Curious Soundworlds<br/> Piano Music Using Extended Techniques](https://interlude.hk/curious-soundworlds-piano-music-using-extended-techniques/): ‘Extended techniques’ are those which involve using unconventional or unorthodox methods to create sounds and unusual sonic effects. Perhaps the most famous of these is the “prepared piano”, whereby everyday objects such as nuts and bolts, nails and small pieces
- [Musicians and Artists: Steffens and Picasso](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-steffens-and-picasso/): The German composer Walter Steffens has made a life’s work about being inspired by art. Over 100 of his compositions have artists’ works as their inspiration. Works by a wide range of artists including Picasso, Hieronymus Bosch, Edvard Munch, Bernard
- [Best Classical Songs for Valentine’s](https://interlude.hk/best-classical-songs-for-valentines/): When all thoughts turn to love, and lovers express their affection with greetings and gifts, it must be Valentine’s Day. That very special day for lovers falls annually on February 14, because it is named after a Christian martyr by
- [Working With Composers](https://interlude.hk/working-with-composers/): We tend to think of lots of classical music as being set in stone, as always having had that form or those notes in those places; what we often forget is that music is the result of a process of
- [Interview With a Maestro – Roland Peelman](https://interlude.hk/interview-with-a-maestro-roland-peelman/): It can be hard to describe someone who is a conductor, a pianist, a mentor and a music director. But with so much experience in arts organisations in Australia, most recently as the Artistic Director of the Canberra International Music
- [Pavel Kolesnikov Plays Bach’s Goldberg Variations](https://interlude.hk/pavel-kolesnikov-plays-bach-goldberg-variations/): What is it about the Goldberg Variations which gives them such an enduring appeal? Two new recordings have been released in as many months, by two leading pianists of the 21st-century, yet each quite different in their approach. Maybe it
- [Anton Arensky](https://interlude.hk/anton-arensky-composer-of-the-month/): Anton Stepanovich Arensky (1861-1906), born in Novgorod 160 years ago, never considered himself a musical rebel. He was not particularly interested in musical folklore or Russian musical identity, but rather combined his native musical influences with a much more cosmopolitan
- [Franz Schubert and His Circle of Friends IV](https://interlude.hk/franz-schubert-and-his-circle-of-friends-iv/): The baritone singer and composer Johann Michael Vogl (1768–1840) was a key figure in Schubert’s success as a Lied composer. Vogl was engaged at the Vienna Court Opera, and he met Schubert for the first time in 1817. Renowned for
- [Yehuda Inbar](https://interlude.hk/yehuda-inbar/): Audiences and Solitude Israeli pianist Yehuda Inbar, currently based in Berlin, is an internationally renowned young performer, and the artistic director of the Akko International Chamber Music and Jazz Festival in Israel. His debut album, released in 2019, featured the
- [Bringing Beethoven Home: Liszt and Beethoven](https://interlude.hk/bringing-beethoven-symphonic-works-home-liszt-transcriptions-of-beethoven/): In our current musical world, we can hear, literally, anything at anytime. Want a string quartet – The Kronos is on call. Want a piano recital – voilá, Lang Lang appears (if that’s who you want). A full orchestra can
- [Is It Time to Lose the Concert Interval?](https://interlude.hk/is-it-time-to-lose-the-concert-interval/): British pianist Stephen Hough thinks it is, and he makes a persuasive case for it in an article for The Guardian, reminding us that coronavirus has forced us to rethink how we organise and attend concerts. Those who decry the
- [Musicians and Artists: Stravinsky and Benois](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-igor-stravinsky-and-alexandre-benois/): Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes hit Europe like a storm: no one had ever seen ballet taken to this level. Founded in 1909 by Diaghilev and lasting 20 years, the Ballet was based in Paris and traveled around Europe and to
- [Best Songs in B Minor](https://interlude.hk/best-songs-in-b-minor/): I was reading that the key of B minor meant different things to different people at different times. According to some theorists, during Bach’s time it “expressed a quiet acceptance of fate, a submission to divine dispensation, and very gentle
- [Classical Music’s Way of Expressing Love and Intimacy <br/>10 Romances to Stir Ardor](https://interlude.hk/classical-musics-way-of-expressing-love-and-intimacy-10-romances-to-stir-ardor/): In classical music, composers have used the romance as the perfect vehicle to express tenderness. The romance grew out of narrative ballads of Spain and by the 18thcentury they became distinctive as lovely, lyrical, short works. Composers such as Elgar,
- [Interview With a Recorder Player – Alicia Crossley](https://interlude.hk/interview-with-a-recorder-player-alicia-crossley/): When listening to Alicia Crossley play one of her 18 handmade recorders, which I’ve heard her play many times, a listener gets the feeling that the instrument was made for her. In this interview, we get to understand more about
- [Helmut Deutsch: Memoirs of an Accompanist](https://interlude.hk/helmut-deutsch-memoirs-of-an-accompanist/): The glossy cover of this book features a blown-up photograph of an unassuming gentleman with a deep penetrating gaze. It is quite reasonable to surmise that the subject is an intelligent, astute and empathetic individual, exuding an air of contemplative
- [Note For Note: A Musical Fable by Howard Smith](https://interlude.hk/note-for-note-a-musical-fable-by-howard-smith/): In part a memoir, ‘Note for Note’ is a Pilgrim’s Progress for the amateur pianist – indeed, any amateur musician – and in it the author charts the pleasures and the pitfalls, the breakthroughs and “lightbulb moments” as well as
- [Fairies and Butterflies in the Salon: Debussy’s <em>Two Arabesques</em>](https://interlude.hk/fairies-and-butterflies-in-the-salon-debussy-two-arabesques/): Private gatherings at home, known as salons, started in the 17th century in France, where literary gatherings or intellectual groups would get together to exchange ideas. Often headed by a brilliant man or woman who could bring like-minded people together,
- [Franz Schubert and His Circle of Friends III](https://interlude.hk/franz-schubert-and-his-circle-of-friends-iii/): Franz Schubert and his close-knit circle of artist and friends frequently gathered at the large apartment of Ignaz von Sonnleithner to hold their Schubertiades. These meeting had distinct intellectual, erotic and often political undercurrents. In the aftermath of the French
- [Entering the Past: Brouwer’s <em>Las Cíclades arcaicas</em>](https://interlude.hk/entering-the-past-brouwer-las-ciclades-arcaicas/): The Cyclades islands in Greece are a set of islands that encircle the main island of Delos. They are known in the art world for their flat-faces sculptures from the late Neolithic period. Between 3000 and 2000 BC these islands
- [Finding Comfort Through Music <br/> Recovery from Illness](https://interlude.hk/finding-comfort-through-music-recovery-from-illness/): In April 1825 Ludwig van Beethoven developed a serious intestinal illness. His exact condition was unclear, but his doctor ordered him away from Vienna to rest at the nearby spa of Baden. Placed on a strict diet and forbidden to
- [In Praise of Audiences](https://interlude.hk/in-praise-of-audiences/): We missed our audiences in the year of pandemic and when they returned, they were sparser than usual due to social distancing. But they are coming back to the concert halls and opera houses, their appetite for live music apparently
- [Musicians and Artists: Feldman and Guston](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-morton-feldman-and-philip-guston/): The art of Philip Guston (1913-1980) remains controversial even 30 years after his death. A founder of the New York School, this abstract-expressionist was not afraid of putting his beliefs on canvas. One of his early 20th century works, The
- [The Sorcerer's Apprentice <br/>Bruno Seidlhofer and Rudolf Buchbinder](https://interlude.hk/the-sorcerers-apprentice-bruno-seidlhofer-and-rudolf-buchbinder/): The pianist Rudolf Buchbinder is considered one of today’s legendary performers. For over 50 years he has appeared in concerts with renowned orchestras and conductors all over the world. His broad artistic range is documented in more than 100 recordings,
- [Listening to Recordings When Practising: Useful, or a Thing to Avoid?](https://interlude.hk/listening-to-recordings-when-practising-useful-or-a-thing-to-avoid/): Many musicians or students start learning a piece that inspired them when they heard it at a concert or on the radio. Some famous pieces have been recorded hundreds of times, and with streaming services and YouTube out there for
- [The Out of Tune Pianos of Lockdown](https://interlude.hk/the-out-of-tune-pianos-of-lockdown/): Soon after the first UK lockdown began in March 2020, videos began appearing online of people playing their pianos in their homes. Often these home performances – more playing for oneself than for others – were prefaced by an apology
- [The Stag Hunt <br/><em>I Fagiolini</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-stag-hunt-i-fagiolini/): It is always a distinct pleasure to learn of a new release by the celebrated vocal ensemble I Fagiolini. In a substantial number of CDs and short films the ensemble has deliciously probed the frequently quirky imagination of artists and
- [Composers of the Zodiac <br/>Tropic of Aquarius](https://interlude.hk/composers-of-the-zodiac-tropic-of-aquarius/): Aquarius is a highly prominent winter constellation in the northern hemisphere, and the sun transits this zodiac between January 20 and February 19. Aquarius is represented by the water bearer, the mystical and beautiful healer who bestows water and life
- [Franz Schubert and His Circle of Friends II](https://interlude.hk/franz-schubert-and-his-circle-of-friends-ii/): It is not entirely clear when Franz Schubert met Franz von Schober (1796–1882). But from the very beginning, the two men had a special relationship. Gifted, charismatic and undisciplined, Schober was tall, smooth, good-looking and a gifted orator. Basically, everything
- [The Soul of Russia: Tchaikovsky’s <em>Russian Dance</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-soul-of-russia-tchaikovsky-russian-dance/): In 1876, when Swan Lake was given its premiere in Moscow, it wasn’t the hit that we consider it today. The prima ballerina was involved in a scandal with a government official (he gave her jewels, she married someone else
- [The Creativity of Laziness](https://interlude.hk/the-creativity-of-laziness/): Given the context of 2020, many composers and artists have regretted not having created more; having been given the gift of time and not making the most of it. While there are many reasons for a lack of creative result,
- [When Is a Sold Out Concert Not a Sold Out Concert?](https://interlude.hk/when-is-a-sold-out-concert-not-a-sold-out-concert/): Answer:When it’s a socially-distanced concert I’ve been guilty of it myself, proudly trumpeting “this concert is now sold out! ” for the events I have been promoting last year in September and October (I work for a London-based arts organisation and
- [Musicians and Artists: Busoni and Boccioni](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-ferruccio-busoni-and-umberto-boccioni/): When we look at artists and their friends, sometimes its because, in each of their realms, the artist and the composer may have similar stylistic thoughts. In other cases, however, the works of the two artists may be completely opposite.
- [Best Songs in D Major](https://interlude.hk/best-songs-in-d-major/): I have always liked songs in D Major. To me, this key is full of confidence and victory. It is a very bright key used frequently for symphonies, marches and various choruses. It’s been called the “key of triumph, war-cries,
- [The Most Famous Classical Piano Pieces](https://interlude.hk/the-most-famous-classical-piano-pieces/): The classical piano repertoire is extraordinarily broad and varied, with new pieces being added to it all the time to satisfy the appetites and tastes of pianists and audiences. Amidst this vast repertoire, there are pieces which are almost instantly
- [Randall Snyder: <em>Jasmine Dreams</em>](https://interlude.hk/randall-snyder-jasmine-dreams/): Randall Snyder spent the majority of his professional life at the School of Music at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Appointed Composer-in-Residence, his contributions have been acknowledged by various Artist Fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts. Son of a
- [What Might 2021 Bring for Classical Music?](https://interlude.hk/what-might-2021-bring-for-classical-music/): 2020 was the year of silent concert halls and shuttered opera houses and theatres. Yet the music played on, as musicians, ensembles, orchestras and venues were determined to continue to offer performances via livestreams and video casts, and, when possible,
- [Beethoven’s Teaching Resource <br/>Johann Baptist Cramer: “Studio per il pianoforte”](https://interlude.hk/beethoven-teaching-resource-johann-baptist-cramer-studio-per-il-pianoforte/): The name Johann Baptist Cramer (1771-1858) is essentially synonymous with his celebrated set of 84 studies published as “Studio per il pianoforte. ” The first set of 42 studies appeared in print in 1804, and a second set was issued in
- [Franz Schubert and His Circle of Friends](https://interlude.hk/franz-schubert-and-his-circle-of-friends/): Franz Schubert lived the quintessential life of an urban bachelor. He rejected the restraints and dependence of family life and found sustenance and camaraderie in a close, but ever-changing circle of friends. Perpetually short of money, he lived with various
- [A Day in the Life: Bond’s Leopold Bloom’s Homecoming](https://interlude.hk/a-day-in-the-life-victoria-bonds-leopold-blooms-homecoming-inspired-by-james-joyce-ulysses/): ‘Stately plump Buck Mulligan,’ walking down through the beginning of James Joyce’s phenomenal Ulysses, marked the start of one of the most important works of modernist literature. Chronicling a day in the life of Leopold Bloom, on 16 June 1904,
- [The MAYA Principle](https://interlude.hk/the-maya-principle/): Raymond Loewy is a famous industrial designer, responsible for some of the most famous designs of the 21st century; the Coca-Cola bottle, the Shell Oil logo, the US Postal Service logo etc. His approach to design is well-known under the
- ["Music Is an Act of Communication. Without Anyone Listening It Doesn't Exist"](https://interlude.hk/music-is-an-act-of-communication-without-anyone-listening-it-doesnt-exist/): This quote by English conductor Mark Wigglesworth, from a recent British newspaper article, has resonances with the philosophical statement “If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? “ Francis
- [Khatia Buniatishvili <br/> “Beyond the Eccentricity of Planet Pogorelich”](https://interlude.hk/khatia-buniatishvili-beyond-the-eccentricity-of-planet-pogorelich/): One of the most visually glittering pianists today, Khatia Buniatishvili steadily appears on television sets, front covers of glossy magazines and every imaginable social media outlet. She certainly attracts attention; on the cover of a recent Schubert release, Khatia takes
- [When Cellists Play in the Strangest Places and Other Adventures](https://interlude.hk/when-cellists-play-in-the-strangest-places-and-other-adventures/): We play the loveliest of instruments with its golden tones and heartrending melodies, but, its wide appeal has caused endless adventures. I can remember being asked to pose with my cello in boxer shorts; playing a recital on a stage
- [4 Top Tips for Slow Practice](https://interlude.hk/4-top-tips-for-slow-practice/): Ever watched a piano virtuoso flying around the keyboard at breakneck speed, or an ensemble ripping through John Adams’ frantic Chamber Symphony? One of the things that these have in common is the preparation needed to reach such dazzling speeds:
- [Interview With a Harpsichordist – Ariana Odermatt](https://interlude.hk/interview-with-a-harpsichordist-ariana-odermatt/): Tell us a bit about yourself, Ariana. I was born in Hamilton, NZ. My mum is musical, a singer and an amazing singing teacher. Dad used to play the diatonic accordion, where each button produces two notes, one when pressing
- [On My Music Desk……<br/> Samuel Barber – Excursions](https://interlude.hk/on-my-music-desk-samuel-barber-excursions/): Excursions, Op. 20 is American composer Samuel Barber’s first published piece for solo piano, and remains one of his most popular pieces for the instrument. A neo-Romantic composer whose style was characterised by lyricism and expression, Barber takes small classical
- [Franz Schubert and the Unfinished Lazarus](https://interlude.hk/franz-schubert-and-the-unfinished-lazarus/): Between 1819 and 1820, Franz Schubert set to work on a large-scale, three-act dramatic work for six vocal soloists, chorus, and orchestra. Setting a libretto written in 1778 by August Hermann Niemeyer—modeled after Pietro Metastasio—Lazarus was originally intended to encompass
- [Johann Baptist Cramer](https://interlude.hk/johann-baptist-cramer/): If you have ever taken formal piano lessons, there is a good chance that you will have played some of Johann Baptist Cramer’s celebrated set of 84 studies for the piano. Published in two sets of 42 each in 1804
- [Lang Lang’s Goldberg Variations – Original or Sacrilegious?](https://interlude.hk/lang-langs-album-bach-goldberg-variations-original-or-sacrilegious/): Bach’s Goldberg Variations have long been regarded as “a musical Everest”. As soon as Lang Lang’s recording was issued by Deutsche Grammophon, it instantly attracted attention from classical music aficionados worldwide and very polarised reviews from music critics – from
- [Legendary Beethoven Performances <br/>Sonatas, Quartets and Other Works](https://interlude.hk/legendary-beethoven-performances-sonatas-quartets-and-other-works/): By taking care of Symphonies and Concertos in the first two part of this survey, we’ve done the massive works. Now we look at the works for smaller ensembles and soloists, but the task doesn’t get any easier. Nearly every
- [Another Heroic Man: Beethoven’s <em>Egmont Overture</em>](https://interlude.hk/another-heroic-man-beethovens-egmont-overture/): Beethoven’s incidental music to Goethe’s play Egmont, being given at the Royal Imperial Court at Vienna was late. The play opened on 24 May 1810 and the only mention of the incidental music comes at the time of the third
- [Let’s Embrace 2021<br/> The Most Uplifting Classical Tracks](https://interlude.hk/lets-embrace-2021-the-most-uplifting-classical-tracks/): However you look at it, 2020 was not the most cheerful year; and that’s an understatement for sure. It certainly was a wild ride, and we are all wondering what 2021 will have in store for us? It seems that
- [The Spirits of Music](https://interlude.hk/the-spirits-of-music-relationship-of-alcohol-and-music/): In a previous article — entitled The Kitchen & the Pit —, I mention the relationship between music and food, and more specifically between the orchestra and the kitchen. I conclude by pointing out the similitudes in the training of
- [In Memoriam <br/>Ivry Gitlis (1922-2020)](https://interlude.hk/in-memoriam-ivry-gitlis-1922-2020/): Ivry Gitlis, who died on 24 December in Paris at age 98, was known for his fierce and powerfully individual performances over the course of a career that spanned almost 90 years. Hugely charismatic with a decided passion for experimentation,
- [Musicians and Inspiration](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-inspiration/): Inspiration NOUN 1. the process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something, especially to do something creative. Robert Schumann: Piano Quintet in E-Flat Major, Op. 44 – IV. Allegro, ma non troppo (Fine Arts Quartet; Xiayin Wang, piano)
- [Chloe Chua — More Than an “Ordinary” Wunderkind](https://interlude.hk/chloe-chua-more-than-an-ordinary-wunderkind/): Chloe Chua, a 13-year-old Singaporean violinist, was the laureate of several major competitions, most notably Menuhin Competition 2018 (Junior Division) and 24th Andrea Postacchini International Violin Competition in 2017. Studying with Mr Yin Ke at the Nanyang Academy of Fine
- [In Memoriam<br/>Fou Ts’ong (1934-2020)](https://interlude.hk/in-memoriamfou-tsong-1934-2020/): In the waning days of 2020, Covid-19 has claimed the life of Fou Ts’ong, the original Chinese poet of the keyboard and the first internationally acclaimed Chinese soloist. He was an introspective interpreter, who lived his life in the greatest
- [Best Songs in E Minor](https://interlude.hk/best-songs-in-e-minor/): When it came to my favorite songs in G major, I had to think a bit to come up with the best song. I have absolutely no such trouble when it comes to the key of E minor, there are
- [Most Beautiful and Soothing Cello Music to Start the Year](https://interlude.hk/most-beautiful-and-soothing-cello-music-to-start-the-year/): Recently, I listened to the soothing and beautiful classical music pieces my father used to play. I immediately teared up! Some exquisite works seem to have gone out of fashion. I’d love to introduce you to several cello pieces that
- [Duncan Ward](https://interlude.hk/duncan-ward/): With performances from Moscow to Newcastle, Dresden to Geneva, young British conductor and composer Duncan Ward has had a very busy year, given the current circumstances. As 2020 draws to a close, I catch up with him and hear his
- [Passing on the Wisdom <br/> Leon Fleisher and Hamish Milne](https://interlude.hk/passing-on-the-wisdom-leon-fleisher-and-hamish-milne/): Death has been on our collective minds more than usual in this year of the coronavirus pandemic. A number of well-known composers and musicians passed away in 2020, including composers Krzystof Penderecki, Nikolai Kapustin and Ennio Morricone, cellist Lynn Harrell,
- [Roll Over Beethoven <br/>Dragging Beethoven Into the 21st Century](https://interlude.hk/roll-over-beethoven-dragging-beethoven-into-the-21st-century/): 2020 was to be the main stage for Ludwig van Beethoven. Just about everybody was ready to celebrate the 250th year of his birth with concerts, installations and special exhibitions. And then we got Covid-19, and Beethoven wasn’t the main
- [Here's to a 2021 filled with Music and Harmony!](https://interlude.hk/heres-to-a-2021-filled-with-music-and-harmony/)
- [Bach’s Corona Cantata BWV 28 <br/>“Praise God, This Year Is Coming to an End”](https://interlude.hk/bachs-corona-cantata-bwv-28-praise-god-this-year-is-coming-to-an-end/): Of course, Bach didn’t know about Corona. But he certainly knew about hardship, depression, disease and death. In fact, Bach and his family endured extended periods of tragedy and loss. Bach had twenty children by two wives, but ten children
- [Legendary Beethoven Performances <br/>Piano Concertos](https://interlude.hk/legendary-beethoven-performances-piano-concertos/): For Beethoven the pianist, the piano sonata and the piano concerto were his star vehicle of choice. In the piano sonatas, his tremendous virtuosity came to the fore. Remember that when he came to Vienna, he was there as the
- [THAT Sound: Kontogiorgo’s <em>Ringtone</em>](https://interlude.hk/that-sound-kontogiorgos-ringtone/): How context can change everything – when we listen to Francisco Tárrega’s 1905 work Gran vals, we hear an elegant guitar waltz... until we get to measure 13. Francisco Tárrega: Gran vals (Mats Bergström, guitar) Ah, the Nokia ringtone. The bane
- [The Many Versions of  “Auld Lang Syne”](https://interlude.hk/good-riddance-2020-hello-2021-the-many-versions-of-auld-lang-syne/): To say that 2020 was a difficult and complicated year is a massive understatement. Since Covid has taken away so many of our freedoms and our plans, it’s been downright depressing at times. I was really looking forward to visit
- [Books for Pianists and Pianophiles](https://interlude.hk/books-for-pianists-and-pianophiles/): There is a wealth of books for pianists and pianophiles, from detailed analyses of repertoire to books on technique and practising, pianists’ memoirs and novels featuring pianists. Here is a brief selection of books to satisfy the pianist and pianophile,
- [Hooray for the New Year: Welcoming in 2021](https://interlude.hk/hooray-for-the-new-year-welcoming-in-2021/): If there ever was a year that didn’t live up to its promise, it was 2020. Do you remember January? Do you remember February? You certainly remember March! The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic changed everything. Introspection became the order
- [Beethoven in the Background](https://interlude.hk/beethoven-in-the-background/): We’ve looked at Monumental Beethoven where Beethoven is a presence that overwhelms everything – he’s depicted in statuary all over the world. There’s another type of artwork, however, where Beethoven appears, but not front and center. He’s used as a
- [Exploring the Most Relaxing Classical Music Pieces for the Cello](https://interlude.hk/exploring-the-most-relaxing-classical-music-pieces-for-the-cello/): The voice of the cello touches us deeply. Perhaps it speaks to us in a special way as it is the closest sound to the human voice. Due to the fantastic range of the cello, from the brilliant high tones
- [The Sacred Celebration](https://interlude.hk/the-sacred-celebration-christmas-carols/): Once you get away from the commercialization and implied coziness of Christmas, we come to the backbone of Christmas – the celebration and the reason why it’s a season of generosity and the family. Carols started out as basic songs
- [Having A Merry Little Christmas](https://interlude.hk/having-a-merry-little-christmas-popular-christmas-songs-playlist/): Christmas music comes in two varieties – the secular, which includes jingling bells and sleigh rides, and the sacred, which involves travel by donkey and stables, with the appearance of a few camels. The language of the secular Christmas, even
- [William Henry Fry’s <em>Santa Claus: Christmas Symphony</em>](https://interlude.hk/william-henry-fry-santa-claus-christmas-symphony/): William Henry Fry (1813-1864) has rather fallen off our musical horizon, but he was the first native-born American to write for a symphony orchestra, and the first to write a grand opera. He was the first music critic (remember those? )
- [Lawrence Brownlee and Michael Spyres <br/>“Rossini: Amici e Rivali”](https://interlude.hk/lawrence-brownlee-and-michael-spyres-rossini-amici-e-rivali/): In the competitive operatic CD landscape, the frequent “best of” or “highlight” recordings have become a repetitive and uninspiring drag. Erato’s just released “Rossini: Amici e Rivali” featuring Lawrence Brownlee and Michael Spyres stands out not just thanks to its
- [Beethoven’s Lairs <br/>“Altes Schwarzspanierhaus”](https://interlude.hk/beethovens-lairs-altes-schwarzspanierhaus-final-residence/): In October 1825 Ludwig van Beethoven moved into his final lodgings at the Schwarzspanierhaus, the old monastery of the “Black Spaniards,” where he remained until his death in 1827. His apartment was located on the upper floor of the building
- [Composers of the Zodiac <br/>Tropic of Capricorn](https://interlude.hk/composers-of-the-zodiac-tropic-of-capricorn/): The astrological sign Capricorn is one of the four cardinal signs, and it is ruled by the planet Saturn. The sun transits this constellation from about December 22 to January 20, and people born under this sign are said to
- [The Best Christmas Present: Wagner’s <em>Siegfried Idyll</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-best-christmas-present-richard-wagner-siegfried-idyll/): In 1870, Richard Wagner (1813-1883) married his second wife, Cosima Liszt. His first wife, Minna, had died in 1866 but he’d had a relationship with Cosima, the illegitimate daughter of Franz Liszt and Marie d’Agoult, since 1863 when she was
- [Greetings of the Season <br/>Rare Holiday Gems of Music to Listen](https://interlude.hk/greetings-of-the-season-rare-holiday-gems-of-music-to-listen/): Holiday music lists crop up at this time of year and there are several that one can refer to including on Interlude. I thought it would be interesting to not only feature the classics, but also rare gems. British composer
- [Christmas at the Piano](https://interlude.hk/christmas-at-the-piano/): Gone are the days when the family would gather round the piano to sing carols or enjoy Christmas music. Now, such family time is more likely to involve watching a popular Christmas film together or a favourite TV show Christmas
- [Winter Wonderland <br/>The Best Versions of “Silent Night”](https://interlude.hk/winter-wonderland-the-best-versions-of-silent-night/): The best thing about Christmas, besides getting nice presents and spending quality time with family, is to sing Christmas carols. And one of the most popular carols worldwide is “Silent Night,” a song written in a small village near Salzburg in Austria. The story goes that the young priest, Father...
- [Best Songs in G Major](https://interlude.hk/best-songs-in-g-major/): When I took my first couple years of piano lessons, it seemed that every sonatina or beginner’s etude was written in the key of G major. Maybe that’s the reason I have never really paid special attention to that key,
- [Behind the Curtain <br/>Beethoven’s Funeral Music](https://interlude.hk/behind-the-curtain-beethoven-funeral-music/): Ludwig van Beethoven suffered from a variety of medical conditions throughout his life. We all know about his struggle with deafness, and how it affected his mental health by creating a sense of deep isolation and frustration. However, he also
- [Gifts for Classical Music Lovers and Musicians](https://interlude.hk/gifts-for-classical-music-lovers-and-musicians/): Music-themed gifts for music lovers and musicians – and not just for Christmas! Aaron Copland: Appalachian Spring: Variations on a Shaker Hymn (London Symphony Orchestra; Walter Susskind, cond. ) Mozart Kugeln Mozart ‘balls’ are delicious morsels of pistachio marzipan and praline,
- [Beethoven’s High Priestess of Music <br/>Dorothea Ertmann](https://interlude.hk/beethovens-high-priestess-of-music-dorothea-ertmann/): On 16 January 1817 the Wiener Allgemeine Musikalische Zeitung announced the forthcoming publication of Beethoven’s A-major sonata op. 101. According to the newspaper, with reference to the title page, the sonata was dedicated to “Freyin Dorothea Ertmann née Graumann. ” Beethoven
- [The Courtly Art of Dresden: An Interview with Javier Lupiáñez](https://interlude.hk/the-courtly-art-of-dresden-an-interview-with-javier-lupianez/): The German city of Dresden in the late 17th and early 18th centuries was a center for music and the arts. The Elector and ruler of Saxony, Frederick Augustus I, brought together musicians, architects, and painters from all over Europe
- [Josef Strauss and Karoline Pruckmayer <br/>“Always With You, Only Because of You, and Forever for You!”](https://interlude.hk/josef-strauss-and-karoline-pruckmayer-always-with-you-only-because-of-you-and-forever-for-you/): The musical Strauss family dynasty took full advantage of the pleasure-seeking and carefree spirit of Imperial Vienna. As members of the public piled into the great dancehalls of the city, the Strauss family gleefully provided the musical background that gaily
- [Legendary Beethoven Performances <br/>Symphonies](https://interlude.hk/legendary-beethoven-performances-symphonies/): Everyone will have an opinion on this – do you want the traditional German heavy recordings? The new interpretive English opinions? Do you want national orchestras? Idiosyncratic readings that make you hear old warhorses with a new manner of understanding?
- [A Shower of Musical Sparks: Bernstein’s <em>Candide Overture</em>](https://interlude.hk/a-shower-of-musical-sparks-bernsteins-candide-overture/): In the late 20th century, Bernstein’s Overture to his opera Candide was the most performed piece of contemporary classical music, or so the secretary at ASCAP told me in the 1980s when I was sent to go pick up the
- [Collaboration: A One-Person Job](https://interlude.hk/collaboration-a-one-person-job/): Composers are well-known for spending most of their time in solitude, in the quietness of a room, in front of a desk or an instrument. They are often the loners of music. But is composing always a one-person job? Are
- [Caring for Your Piano](https://interlude.hk/caring-for-your-piano/): A piano is a significant investment and in order to retain its value and quality, the instrument needs to be well looked after. Many people believe that tuning is all that is required to maintain a piano, but while regular
- [William Bolcom and His Contribution to the Revival of Ragtime](https://interlude.hk/william-bolcom-and-his-contribution-to-the-revival-of-ragtime/): Perhaps you have heard of Scott Joplin and one of his famous works, The Entertainer. Scott Joplin, known as the King of Ragtime, was one of the pioneers creating this American musical art form. Originally it not only referred to
- [Putting Beethoven Into Our Time <br/> An Interview With Maestro Johannes Vogel](https://interlude.hk/putting-beethoven-into-our-time-an-interview-with-maestro-johannes-vogel/): To end the Beethoven year, there will be a performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony in Vienna. A simple enough statement but when you add in all the conditions: nothing live, social distancing, pandemic aware, then that statement becomes immensely complicated.
- [There’s More to the Solo Cello Repertoire Than You Might Think!](https://interlude.hk/theres-more-to-the-solo-cello-repertoire-than-you-might-think/): The Six Bach Suites for Solo Cello are magnificent works and every cellist worth their salt plays them, and revisits them throughout their cello-playing lives. Many of us have resorted to Bach, during the pandemic, to be able to play
- [Mitsuko Uchida at Wigmore Hall](https://interlude.hk/mitsuko-uchida-at-wigmore-hall/): 16 December 2020: Schubert This concert will be live streamed on the Wigmore Hall website in HD, and all concerts in the Autumn Series will be available on demand for 30 days after the date of the concert. This generous
- [Piano Music for Winter](https://interlude.hk/piano-music-for-winter/): From freezing snow-covered landscapes, blizzards and snowstorms to delicate dancing snowflakes, Winter offers plenty of inspiration to composers of piano music. Here are five atmospheric pieces which evoke the winter season: Pēteris Vasks: Balta ainava/White Scenery (Winter from The Seasons)
- [Duncan Honeybourne’s Contemporary Piano Soundbites](https://interlude.hk/duncan-honeybournes-contemporary-piano-soundbites-new-solo-piano-miniatures-by-contemporary-british-composers/): A musician supports musician friends and colleagues during lockdown There have been many musical initiatives during the national lockdowns in response to coronavirus as musicians and others have sought to keep the music playing and to remind audiences that even
- [The Self-Isolation Choir - ‘Christmas at Home’](https://interlude.hk/the-self-isolation-choir-christmas-at-home/): For many around the world, choral music and Christmas go hand in hand, the sounds of choirs reverberating around magnificent churches where audiences flock to soak up the festive spirit. What, then, to do if pandemic restrictions put a halt
- [Josef Strauss (1827-1870) <br/>Art imitates Life](https://interlude.hk/josef-strauss-1827-1870-art-imitates-life/): How did Josef Strauss incorporate his life passions in his compositions? Born into one of the most famous Viennese musical families, Josef Strauss (1827-1870) really had no intention of becoming a musician. Even his father, the world-famous Johann Strauss Senior
- [Beethoven’s Lairs <br/>“Ungargasse 5”](https://interlude.hk/beethovens-lairs-ungargasse-5/): Beethoven’s apartment at Ungargasse 5 sports a unique memorial plague. It reads, “In this house Ludwig van Beethoven finished his Symphony No. 9 during winter 1823/24. In memorial of the centenary of the world premiere on 7 May 1824, this
- [Bringing Music to Children: An Interview With Joanne Chan](https://interlude.hk/bringing-music-to-children-an-interview-with-joanne-chan/): One of the problems faced by parents seeking to interest children in classical music is that there are few entry points. A live concert is the most exciting way, but few children can endure the necessity of sitting still and
- [The Dancing Brahms: Brahms’ Hungarian Dance No. 9](https://interlude.hk/the-dancing-brahms-brahms-hungarian-dance-no-9/): Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) discovered the music of Hungary through the Hungarian violinist Ede (Eduard) Reményi, who was in Germany after being banned from Austria following his participation in the Hungarian Revolution of 1848. Brahms, 15 at the time of their
- [History Repeats Itself <br/> Is It an Issue When Musicians Focus on the Release of Small Scale Recorded Projects Instead of Complete Ablums?](https://interlude.hk/history-repeats-itself-is-it-an-issue-when-musicians-focus-on-the-release-of-small-scale-recorded-projects-instead-of-complete-ablums/): The following article came about after the comment on social media of a contemporary composer regretting the focus of many current musicians on the release of small scale recorded projects — in this case, singles — against bigger and what
- [Moving On – When It’s Time to Leave Your Piano Teacher](https://interlude.hk/moving-on-when-its-time-to-leave-your-piano-teacher/): They say that goodbye is one of the hardest things to say, and saying goodbye to your piano teacher can be a difficult decision, especially if you have been taking lessons with that teacher for some time. There are many
- [Finding Comfort Through Music <br/>From Chaos to Enlightenment](https://interlude.hk/finding-comfort-through-music-from-chaos-to-enlightenment/): Peoples and Cultures around the world have always been asking the fundamental question of human awareness, where did we come from and why are we here? Attempting to answer these fundamental questions, the human imagination has produced stories of creation
- [Best Songs in A Minor](https://interlude.hk/best-songs-in-a-minor/): I have always loved the key of A minor. Maybe it’s because it is supposed to represent “pious womanliness,” whatever that means, and “tenderness of character. ” I am personally very much comfortable with the description of tenderness of character. Schumann:
- [Truck Concerts, Drive-in Concerts: Creativity and Innovation in the Time of Covid](https://interlude.hk/truck-concerts-drive-in-concerts-creativity-and-innovation-in-the-time-of-covid/): Symphony orchestras perform some of the greatest music ever created by mankind. Nonetheless, negative labels have been hurled at these bastions of classical music, accusations such as—they’re like an albatross, slow to embrace change; they uphold antiquated traditions and formats;
- [Paul Lewis at Wigmore Hall](https://interlude.hk/paul-lewis-at-wigmore-hall/): 9 December 2020: Haydn and Beethoven This concert will be live streamed on the Wigmore Hall website in HD, and all concerts in the Autumn Series will be available on demand for 30 days after the date of the concert.
- [Musicians – Enough With the Servility<br/>Part 1: The Dress Code](https://interlude.hk/musicians-enough-with-the-servilitypart-1-the-dress-code/): A while ago, I read an interesting story about the evolution of the performance dress code for musicians. It stated that the tradition of black-tie formal wear in classical music harks back to the Victorian era, where manservants and butlers
- [The Austrian Connection <br/>Haydn, Mozart, Schubert & Gál – Sarah Beth Briggs, piano](https://interlude.hk/the-austrian-connection-haydn-mozart-schubert-gal-sarah-beth-briggs-piano/): British pianist Sarah Beth Briggs has built her reputation on performing and recording on the “core canon” of piano repertoire and has a particular affinity with the music of Haydn, Mozart and Schubert. Her playing is always elegant and tasteful,
- [Doric String Quartet at Wigmore Hall](https://interlude.hk/doric-string-quartet-at-wigmore-hall/): 7 December 2020: Mozart, Britten This concert will be live streamed on the Wigmore Hall website in HD, and all concerts in the Autumn Series will be available on demand for 30 days after the date of the concert. This
- [Josef Strauss](https://interlude.hk/josef-strauss/): “Pepi (Josef) is the more gifted of us two; I am merely the more popular... ” When it comes to dynasties in classical music, it’s difficult to upstage the Viennese Strauss family. They were musical megastars of international reputation whose dance
- [My Beethoven by Anson](https://interlude.hk/my-beethoven-by-anson/): Unlike others, I often find it difficult to recall my first encounter with a certain composer. So, for Beethoven, it could have been his Für Elise, Symphony No. 5 (ta-ta-ta duh) or something else – I don’t know. But anyways, as
- [Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir](https://interlude.hk/saeunn-thorsteinsdottir/): December’s Artist of the Month is Icelandic-American cellist Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir. Currently based in Seattle, she has appeared as a soloist with orchestras including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, BBC Symphony Orchestra and NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester. Sæunn also teaches cello at the
- [Micro-Variations: El-Khoury’s <em>Thème et variations</em>](https://interlude.hk/micro-variations-el-khourys-theme-et-variations/): Lebanese composer Bechara El-Khoury (b. 1957- ) studied in Lebanon before continuing musical studies in Paris at the École Normale de Musique de Paris “Alfred Cortot” in 1979. A 1983 broadcast celebrating the centenary of the Lebanese-American writer and philosopher
- [When the Eye Meets the Ear <br/> How Are Intricate Music Concepts Represented in Visual Arts](https://interlude.hk/when-the-eye-meets-the-ear-how-are-intricate-music-concepts-represented-in-visual-arts/): In my article When the Ear Meets the Eye, I mentioned how music and visual arts have collaborated throughout the years, and particularly how composers have taken inspiration in works of visual art to create their own musical works. I
- [That’s “My” Music!](https://interlude.hk/thats-my-music-amateurs-jealous-possessiveness-about-the-music-they-learn/): How often a listener returning from a recital by an important performer remains unsatisfied. Not because of the imperfection of the artist’s playing but because of lack of penetration into the composer’s ideas – ideas that the amateur has cultivated
- [The Music of Poetry <br/>John Keats: Ode to a Nightingale](https://interlude.hk/the-music-of-poetry-john-keats-ode-to-a-nightingale/): In the woods in May 1819, a nightingale sings of summer and her notes fall on the ears of the poet John Keats. He uses the metaphor of the audible but invisible bird, singing to the open skies, as a
- [Jaap Nico Hamburger <br/>Outstanding Composer While a Heart Specialist, The Holocaust and Music from the Camps](https://interlude.hk/jaap-nico-hamburger-outstanding-composer-while-a-heart-specialist-the-holocaust-and-music-from-the-camps/): Canadian Composer Jaap Nico Hamburger has had a unique career. A well-regarded cardiologist he is now a full-time composer, currently the Composer in Residence with Mécénat Musica in Montréal, where he lives with his wife and five children. Recently I
- [Trying to Stay Busy: An Interview With Peter Breiner](https://interlude.hk/trying-to-stay-busy-an-interview-with-peter-breiner/): You’ve heard the music and the arrangements of Peter Breiner if you’ve ever listened to the Olympics – all those 1-minute national anthems? That’s his work. So many of the Naxos recordings with the Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra and the Slovak
- [Good Night! <br/>Bertrand Chamayou’s Selection of Lullabies](https://interlude.hk/good-night-bertrand-chamayous-selection-of-lullabies/): This captivating, engrossing album of lullabies, or berceuses, will make you want to ease back in your chair, or retreat to somewhere more comfortable – perhaps a chaise longue, or even your bed. Turn the lights low and allow French
- [The Title Is a Lie:  Chopin’s Minute Waltz](https://interlude.hk/the-title-is-a-lie-chopins-minute-waltz-no-6-in-d-flat-major/): Chopin was inspired by the antics of a small dog chasing its tail to write his Waltz No. 6 in D-Flat Major, Op. 64, No. 1. His publisher, Breitkopf & Härtel, added a title on it to let people know
- [Beethoven’s Lairs <br/>“Landstraßer Hauptstraße 26”](https://interlude.hk/beethovens-lairs-landstraser-hauptstrase-26/): In the autumn of 1817, Ludwig van Beethoven accepted an offer from the Philharmonic Society of London. He was commissioned to write two symphonies, and invited to appear in London during the winter season of 1817/18. However, Beethoven had not
- [Youth in Old Age: Janáček’s <em>Mladi</em>](https://interlude.hk/youth-in-old-age-janaceks-mladi/): Leoš Janáček (1854-1928) was not one of the usual child musical prodigies. He was a gifted child as a pianist and organist but it wasn’t until he was in his 50s that he made his name in music with his
- [Composers in the Court Room <br/>Bach versus Longman & Lukey](https://interlude.hk/composers-in-the-court-room-johann-christian-bach-versus-longman-lukey/): Johann Christian Bach was one of the leading composers of his day; if you don’t believe me, just ask Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart! But the “London Bach” was also known in legal circles, as he brought the first legal action for
- [Quantity Creates Quality](https://interlude.hk/quantity-creates-quality/): The saying goes this way, quality over quantity. But what if the saying was: quantity creates quality? What if instead of focusing on one or the other, one would lead to the other? In order to grow, a composer —
- [Composers of the Zodiac <br/>Tropic of Sagittarius](https://interlude.hk/composers-of-the-zodiac-tropic-of-sagittarius/): Chiron was a centaur of Greek mythology, and his stepfather Apollo taught him the art of medicine, herbs, music, archery, hunting, gymnastics and prophecy. In essence, Chiron was able to “rise above his beastly nature. ” Centaurs were notoriously wild, lusty,
- [A Sense of Place <br/>My Favourite Piano Music Evoking Landscapes and Places](https://interlude.hk/a-sense-of-place-my-favourite-piano-music-evoking-landscapes-and-places/): Composers, especially from the Romantic period onward, have sought to evoke places, real or imagined, in their music – from the awe-inspiring grandeur of the Alps in Liszt‘s Vallée d’Obermann to Debussy‘s shimmering pagodas, the heady sounds, scents and scenes
- [Best Songs in C Major](https://interlude.hk/best-songs-in-c-major/): I have a huge list of favorite songs. Actually, there are so many different kinds of songs in my list that I get easily confused. So I was thinking of organizing them somehow, but that’s still not so easy. If
- [Famous Composers as Subjects of Opera III](https://interlude.hk/famous-composers-as-subjects-of-opera-iii/): Police officals in Naples were presented with a rather gruesome scenario on 16 October 1590. The palace apartment near the Piazza San Domenico Maggiore was the scene of a horrific double murder. They found the body of Don Fabrizio Carafa,
- [By Life Tormented <br/>Anton Arensky: <em>3 Vocal Quartets</em>](https://interlude.hk/by-life-tormented-anton-arensky-3-vocal-quartets/): In Russian literary circles, and indeed in many other parts of the world, Afanasy Afanasyevich Fet (1820-1892) is considered to be “among the best lyricists of Russian literature. ” A critic wrote, “Such lyrical insight into the very core of human
- [Encounter – Igor Levit](https://interlude.hk/encounter-igor-levit/): Pianist Igor Levit is one of the heroes of lockdown – a “key worker”, if you will (! ), who provided comfort and distraction in those anxious, early days of the pandemic. At a time when the concert halls of the
- [Orchid Music](https://interlude.hk/orchid-music/): What do you think of when you think of orchids – exotic plants in whites and purples and all the colours in between? What’s the sound of an orchid? What is its music? We surveyed several composers’ works to see
- [Monumental Beethoven](https://interlude.hk/monumental-beethoven/): We did a survey of Beethoven monuments and it turns out that there are basically two kinds. The most traditional is Beethoven in full glower, standing or sitting and thinking of things far beyond the knowledge of mere mortals. The
- [Most Popular Classical Pieces of Music in 2020](https://interlude.hk/most-popular-classical-pieces-of-music-in-2020/): I am sure you have noticed already, but it is getting really difficult to find your way around classical music these days. That particular musical world is full of influencers and marketing specialists that are happy to tell you exactly
- [Virtuosic Nationalism: Rimsky-Korsakov’s <em>Fantasia</em>](https://interlude.hk/virtuosic-nationalism-rimsky-korsakovs-fantasia-on-two-russian-themes/): Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908) came of age as a composer just as Russia was having a resurgence of national feeling in music. In 1861, he met Mily Balakirev, a composer who would be the founding spirit of the later group known
- [The Next Operatic Stars <br/>Five Promising Young Singers That You Should Watch Out For](https://interlude.hk/the-next-operatic-stars-five-promising-young-singers-that-you-should-watch-out-for/): Lockdowns have given this correspondent plenty of time to review the next crop of promising young singers. All under 40 years old, these performers have enormous talent and are likely to be on the cusp of stardom once the theatres
- [On ‘Letting Go’ as a Musician <br/>Part 1 - Letting Go of the Music](https://interlude.hk/on-letting-go-as-a-musician-part-1-letting-go-of-the-music/): Writers, artists and musicians all understand this dilemma – when do we “let go” of that article or book manuscript, painting or piece of music? Given half the chance, most of us would happily continue tinkering and refining ad infinitum,
- [The Music of Poetry <br/>Goethe: “The Book of Suleika” II](https://interlude.hk/the-music-of-poetry-goethe-the-book-of-suleika-ii/): The Suleika figure we find in Felix Mendelssohn’s settings is far less Oriental and feminine than the one found in his sisters reading. Some scholars have suggested that chromaticism is traditionally linked with Orientalism. “It is supposed to embody cultural
- [Famous Composers as Subjects of Opera II](https://interlude.hk/famous-composers-as-subjects-of-opera-ii-alessandro-stradella-benedetto-marcello-johann-adolph-hasse/): The life of Alessandro Stradella (1639-1682) was characterized by turbulence, adventure and amorous escapades. In fact, in 1677 an attempt was made to murder him for reasons unknown, although it was believed to be at the instigation of a Venetian
- [The Knowing Audience <br/>Don Giovanni: <em>Gia la mensa e preparata</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-knowing-audience-mozart-opera-don-giovanni-gia-la-mensa-e-preparata/): In the dramatic final scene of Don Giovanni, Mozart includes an on-stage band, a Tafelmusik, that plays light fluff of the day for the party that Don Giovanni is planning. The music the group plays, however, may be fluff, but
- [Nicky Spence at Wigmore Hall](https://interlude.hk/nicky-spence-performs-janacek-at-wigmore-hall/): Jess Dandy: mezzo-soprano, Julius Drake: piano 16 November 2020: Janáček This concert will be live streamed on the Wigmore Hall website in HD, and all concerts in the Autumn Series will be available on demand for 30 days after the
- [On the Road: Jürgen Saalmann’s <em>28 Days</em>](https://interlude.hk/on-the-road-jurgen-saalmanns-28-days/): Remember when you used to run out, get in the car, and just drive? Somewhere? Anywhere? Those days have been pretty much finished since early 2020 but in 2019, guitarist Jürgen Saalmann designed his own road trip and his new
- [Tōru Takemitsu <br/>A Composer Between Two Traditions](https://interlude.hk/toru-takemitsu-a-composer-between-two-traditions/): As a composer, Tōru Takemitsu (1930-1996) was essentially self-taught. In fact, as he freely admits, his first real teacher was the radio. During the post-war occupation of Japan, Takemitsu worked for the U. S. Armed Forces. He contracted tuberculosis and was
- [Beethoven’s Lairs <br/>“Ossolynskisches Schloß, Baden”](https://interlude.hk/beethovens-lairs-ossolynskisches-schlos-baden/): By 15 November 1815, Beethoven’s brother Caspar Carl’s health had suddenly deteriorated, and he suddenly collapsed and died on that very day. In his will, he appointed Beethoven the sole guardian of his only child, the 9-year-old Karl, but an
- [The Basque Mozart: Arriaga’s <em>Symphony in D</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-basque-mozart-arriagas-symphony-in-d/): Born on 27 January 1806, Juan Crisóstomo de Arriaga y Balzola shares his birthday (and his middle name) with Mozart, but at a 50-year remove. Like Mozart, his career was cut short; he didn’t even get the 34 years of
- [Piano Music for Autumn](https://interlude.hk/piano-music-for-autumn/): The turning of the season sees some composers of piano music in reflective mood, while others portray meteorological conditions – misty mornings and autumn gales which blow the gold and red leaves from the trees and toss them around in
- [Five Notes<br/> How the Pentatonic Scale Guided the Evolution of Contemporary Classical Music](https://interlude.hk/five-notes-how-the-pentatonic-scale-guided-the-evolution-of-contemporary-classical-music/): Five notes, endless possibilities... The pentatonic scale is often associated with popular music — and for a very good reason, it has been used extensively from blues to jazz, rock, pop and everything in between. However, as much as it
- [Animals and Birds in Music](https://interlude.hk/animals-and-birds-in-classical-music/): Most of us are familiar with ‘Saint-Saens’ ‘Carnival of the Animals’ or Prokofiev’s ‘Peter and The Wolf’, two works in which animals are brought to life and characterised through imaginative instrumentation, melody and rhythm – from the shimmering, darting fish
- [The Music of Poetry <br/>Goethe: “The Book of Suleika”](https://interlude.hk/the-music-of-poetry-johann-wolfgang-von-goethe-the-book-of-suleika/): Throughout the 19th century, the Orient raised scholarly interest and provided subjects for lyric poetry, fantasies and novels. Embodying everything that was exotic, erotic, and decadent, the orientalising fetish as it has been called, was fueled by two important sources
- [How Can Music Help to Relax Migraine Headaches?](https://interlude.hk/how-can-music-help-to-relax-migraine-headaches/): Migraines are excruciating headaches that affect people in various ways. However, no matter what type of side effects they cause, they can be very painful and difficult to deal with. Thankfully, there are many ways to help relieve them, including
- [Famous Composers as Subjects of Opera](https://interlude.hk/famous-composers-as-subjects-of-opera/): Recently, I had a chat with a young colleague who suggested that the writing of biographies of great composers was a boring myth-making exercise practiced in a cultural galaxy far away and two centuries removed. She had a point about
- [Musicians and Artists: Fuchs and Wyeth](https://interlude.hk/music-and-art-kenneth-fuchs-and-andrew-wyeth/): It’s one of the most dramatic of American paintings. On a large grassy field, a woman sits on the ground, turned with her back to the viewer, facing a rolling hill. Her body is twisted, her left hand in front
- [Lawrence Power and Ryan Wigglesworth at Wigmore Hall](https://interlude.hk/lawrence-power-and-ryan-wigglesworth-at-wigmore-hall/): 9 November 2020: Dowland, Britten, Wigglesworth, Brahms This concert will be live streamed on the Wigmore Hall website in HD, and all concerts in the Autumn Series will be available on demand for 30 days after the date of the
- [Interview with Pierre Tran](https://interlude.hk/interview-with-pierre-tran-and-new-annotated-edition-of-bach-goldberg-variations/): Long regarded as the most serious and ambitious work for keyboard, Bach’s Goldberg Variations represent one of the highest Himalayan peaks of the standard keyboard repertoire, a mountain that few musicians are prepared to scale. Yet in spite of this,
- [Tōru Takemitsu](https://interlude.hk/toru-takemitsu/): “My Music Is Like a Garden” Tōru Takemitsu (1930-1996), who was born in Tokyo 90 years ago, once likened his music to a walk through a garden. “I am the gardener,” he writes, “who experiences the changes in light, pattern
- [My Beethoven by Rob](https://interlude.hk/my-beethoven-by-rob/): Is there anyone who does not know the name of Beethoven? Beethoven might just be the universal word for classical music. His contemporaries thought so much of him that in 1877, Dr. Ludwig Nohl published a book titled Beethoven Depicted
- [Hands of the Master: Clementi’s Sonata Op. 9/2](https://interlude.hk/hands-of-the-master-clementis-sonata-op-9-2/): Muzio Clementi (1752-1832) may be better known today for his keyboard exercises but in his day, he was a noted performer and composer. Born in Rome, he was discovered by an English visitor and brought to England at age 13.
- [Composers in the Court Room <br/>Satie versus Poueigh](https://interlude.hk/composers-in-the-court-room-erik-satie-versus-jean-poueigh/): The premiere of the ballet Parade at the Théâtre du Châtelet in May 1917 turned into a veritable riot. Jean Cocteau, the author of the story claimed, “I have heard the cries of a bayonet charge in Flanders, but it
- [Jacquelyn Wagner](https://interlude.hk/jacquelyn-wagner/): Heart and Home American soprano Jacquelyn Wagner is getting ready for her first opera appearance since the Coronavirus pandemic, singing Alice in Verdi’s Falstaff in Malmö, Sweden. After a long enforced break she is excited to be back, and talks
- [The Curious Pleasures of LPs](https://interlude.hk/the-curious-pleasures-of-lps/): My son (22) amused me when he told me recently that one of the reasons why he liked LPs was “because of the crackles”. For someone who has grown up in the digital age, with almost unlimited access to superb-quality
- [The Best Performances <br/>“O mio babbino caro” by Giacomo Puccini](https://interlude.hk/the-best-performances-o-mio-babbino-caro-by-giacomo-puccini/): Without doubt, Giacomo Puccini scored an all-time hit with his aria “O mio babbino caro. ” Just about everybody knows this famous melody, and it has been performed by some of the most illustrious singers of our time, not to mention
- [17th-Century Music Making in the World of Samuel Pepys](https://interlude.hk/17th-century-music-making-in-the-world-of-samuel-pepys/): Samuel Pepys, FRS (1633-1703), is best known to us through his 10-year private diary, kept between 1 January 1660, when he was just ending his 26th year, and 31 May 1669. He lived for another 34 years but complains at
- [Democracy and Music](https://interlude.hk/democracy-and-music/): Looking at the history of music, it hasn’t always been the most democratic art form in the world. Religion and royalty held sway over music-making and music performance for a long time. Joseph Haydn had his employer, Prince Esterhazy. Beethoven
- [On My Music Desk……<br/>Ravel – <em>Tombeau de Couperin</em>](https://interlude.hk/on-my-music-deskravel-tombeau-de-couperin/): Popular in concert programmes and a staple of the pianist’s repertoire, Ravel’s Tombeau de Couperin is the last work he wrote for solo piano. It cleverly melds his sensibilities with a full appreciation of his Baroque antecedents, notably the brilliant
- [Hummel Fools Field](https://interlude.hk/johann-nepomuk-hummel-fools-john-field/): In his day, Johann Nepomuk Hummel (1778-1837) was considered the greatest pianist in Europe. Even Chopin, who wasn’t particularly forthcoming with praise of other composers, wrote in a letter “such great masters as Mozart, Beethoven and Hummel, the masters of
- [Beethoven’s Lairs <br/> “Rotes Haus, Alservorstädter Glacis 173”](https://interlude.hk/beethovens-lairs-rotes-haus-alservorstadter-glacis-173/): In the spring of 1804, Ludwig van Beethoven moved into the “Rotes Haus” (Red House) where his friend Stephan von Breuning was lodging. Beethoven had been sick for some time, and von Breuning invited the composer to stay with him
- [Praising the Country: Janáček’s <em>Sinfonietta</em>](https://interlude.hk/praising-the-country-janaceks-sinfonietta/): The 1920s in Europe became a time of strong nationalism, often covering not just a country but a whole region. Leoš Janáček’s Glagolitic Mass, for example, was his offering to pan-Slavism. The 1926 Sinfonietta, on the other hand, was his
- [Reconverted Musicians <br/> How Working in a Different Art Field Shaped These Composers’ Music Uniquely?](https://interlude.hk/reconverted-musicians-how-working-in-a-different-art-field-shaped-these-composers-music-uniquely/): While some composers are famous for having previous non-musical careers — the most recent and famous example being Glass, who has been amongst others, a taxi driver, a mover and a plumber. However in many of these cases, the primary
- [Listen to the Best of Baroque Music This Christmas!](https://interlude.hk/listen-to-the-best-of-baroque-music-this-christmas/): There is no better way to celebrate the holiday season than to listen to joyful and uplifting Baroque music. For me, it’s the best and most inspiring classical Christmas music, and it includes Messiah by Handel, the beautiful Christmas Oratorio
- [The Music of Poetry <br/>Alfred de Musset: “La coupe et les lèvres”](https://interlude.hk/the-music-of-poetry-alfred-de-musset-la-coupe-et-les-levres/): When Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924) was commissioned to compose a new opera in 1884, his choice of story fell on Edgar, a tragedy inspired by La coupe et les lèvres by Alfred de Musset. The librettist Ferdinando Fontana took some liberties,
- [Challenging Technical Perfection](https://interlude.hk/challenging-technical-perfection/): “my jump is not high enough, my twists are not perfect, I can’t place my leg behind my ear... . . Sometimes there is such an obsession with the technique that this can kill your best impulses. Remember that communicating with a form
- [Musicians and Artists: Bruegel and Ferneyhough](https://interlude.hk/music-and-art-bruegel-and-ferneyhough/): Flailing and falling, so Icarus descends from the skies, having melted his wings in the heat of the sun. In this landscape, we see life going on and then, in the bottom right corner of the work, the legs of
- [Cancelling Classical Music](https://interlude.hk/cancelling-classical-music/): I have always thought that music was inclusive. If you didn’t like a certain type of music, it was because you didn’t like the style, not what its creator represented to you. But that was not always the case. For
- [Composers of the Zodiac <br/>Tropic of Scorpio](https://interlude.hk/composers-of-the-zodiac-tropic-of-scorpio/): The constellation of Scorpio is associated with a number of myths. In one version rooted in Greek mythology, the legendary hunter Orion boasted to the goddess Artemis that he would kill every animal on Earth. Insulted by Orion’s excessive pride,
- [Finding the “Essence of Bach”](https://interlude.hk/finding-the-essence-of-bach/): How a lifelong love of Bach led this pianist to transcribe the complete solo cello suites “Bach first became my beacon when I was about 10 years old. I remember sneaking a peek at my piano teacher’s notebook and seeing
- [Pavel Kolesnikov at Wigmore Hall](https://interlude.hk/pavel-kolesnikov-at-wigmore-hall/): 26 October 2020: ‘The Tempest’ This concert will be live streamed on the Wigmore Hall website in HD, and all concerts in the Autumn Series will be available on demand for 30 days after the date of the concert. This
- [Max Bruch and Clara Tuczek](https://interlude.hk/max-bruch-and-clara-tuczek/): “My Domain Is Vocal Music” During his long career as a teacher, conductor and composer Max Bruch (1838-1920) almost constantly moved among various musical posts in Germany. He found employment in Mannheim (1862–1864), Koblenz (1865–1867), Sondershausen (1867–1870), Berlin (1870–1872), and
- [Ludwig van Beethoven and His Fellow Musicians II](https://interlude.hk/ludwig-van-b-and-his-fellow-musicians-ii/): Ludwig van B. and Franz Schubert resided in the same city for 31 years, but we don’t really have conclusive evidence that they ever met. We do know that they moved in different social circles, and that Schubert admired Beethoven
- [Love and Life: Spohr’s ‘Ghasel’](https://interlude.hk/love-and-life-spohrs-ghasel/): During his lifetime, Louis Spohr (1784-1859) was considered the greatest composer after Beethoven. The fact that he’s so little known today speaks volumes about changes in taste. Famous primarily as a violinist, then as a composer, his reputation did not
- [My Journey Through Classical Music](https://interlude.hk/my-journey-through-classical-music/): I have to say, it is rather uncommon for people of my age to be classical music aficionados. I was not born into a musical family and neither of my parents learnt classical music. There wasn’t much music in my
- [When Music May Not Be Your “First” Profession](https://interlude.hk/when-music-may-not-be-your-first-profession/): At the risk of sounded clichéd, the coronavirus pandemic has thrown into sharp focus the precarious nature of most professional musicians’ lives. With concert and opera venues closed – and only now beginning to reopen cautiously – many musicians are
- [The Music of Poetry <br/>Alfred de Musset “Contes d'Espagne et d'Italie”](https://interlude.hk/the-music-of-poetry-alfred-de-musset-contes-despagne-et-ditalie/): Alfred de Musset published his first collection of poems, Contes d’Espagne et d’Italie (Tales of Spain and Italy) in 1829. He strongly believed that the inspiration of the poet was intricately connected to personal emotions. Poetry was highly personal and
- [Musicians and Artists: Peter Maxwell Davies and Bruegel](https://interlude.hk/music-and-art-peter-maxwell-davies-and-bruegel/): Pieter Bruegel’s enormous painting Children’s Games is 118 x 161cm (46” x 63”) and throws us into the middle of a complicated street scene. Over 200 children play over 80 different games and we approach it with our modern eyes
- [A Digital Cultural Life](https://interlude.hk/a-digital-cultural-life/): Can you experience cultural enrichment in a virtual world? Another way of looking at this question is if our foremost experience of culture had always been gleaned digitally, would it be a lesser one? COVID-19 has vastly changed our cultural
- [Ravel: Le Langage des Fleurs <br/>Ann Martin-Davis, piano](https://interlude.hk/ravel-le-langage-des-fleurs-ann-martin-davis-piano/): Maurice Ravel has been an enduring part of British pianist Ann Martin-Davis’ musical life and in the liner notes to her new collection of his piano music, she relates an anecdote which gave her a particularly special connection to the
- [The Neglected Bruch](https://interlude.hk/the-neglected-bruch/): “As time goes on most of my works will be more and more neglected” Max Bruch (1838-1929) is almost exclusively associated with his famed G-minor violin concerto. However, throughout his long and industrious musical career he composed well over 200
- [Beethoven’s Lairs<br/>“Klepperstalle 82”](https://interlude.hk/beethovens-lairs-klepperstalle-82/): Throughout the years 1808/09, Beethoven was restlessly moving from apartment to apartment. From October 1808 he resided at the home of Countess Erdödy at Krugerstrasse 1074, in March and April 1809 he took an apartment on the 2nd floor of
- [Translating the Past to Today: Grieg’s <em>Holberg Suite</em>](https://interlude.hk/translating-the-past-to-today-griegs-holberg-suite/): Edvard Grieg (1843-1907) brought the music of Norway out of the shadow of the other Scandinavian countries. Musically educated at the Leipzig Conservatory, he returned home having met a world of international composers from England’s Arthur Sullivan, Denmark’s Niels Gade,
- [When the Ear Meets the Eye <br/>Music Composers Who Drew Inspirations From Visual Arts…](https://interlude.hk/when-the-ear-meets-the-eye-music-composers-who-drew-inspirations-from-visual-arts/): Music is, to many people, very abstract. It is the only form of art that is a language of its own, and oftentimes it is difficult for the common listener to understand the true message of the composer without a
- [There’s No “Quick Fix” to Learning to Play an Instrument](https://interlude.hk/theres-no-quick-fix-to-learning-to-play-an-instrument/): The internet is full of articles promising to help you learn to play an instrument: – Learn to play in just 4 weeks! – Play piano in 10 easy steps– 5 ways to become a great pianist As one of my
- [The Music of Poetry <br/>Alfred de Musset: “Ninon”](https://interlude.hk/the-music-of-poetry-alfred-de-musset-ninon/): On the basis of his sentimental and declamatory verse, Alfred de Musset has not been well judged by mid-twentieth-century criticism. Yet, Musset is perhaps the first French poet since the Renaissance to make humor a vehicle for impulses essentially lyrical.
- [Musicians and Artists: Aaron Douglas and Jazz](https://interlude.hk/music-and-art-aaron-douglas-and-jazz/): Aaron Douglas (1899-1979), was a leading painter in the Harlem Renaissance. In 1934, he created a 4-panel mural for the 135th Street branch of the New York Public Library. This branch later became NYPL’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black
- [The World at Your Door: VirtuMasterClass](https://interlude.hk/the-world-at-your-door-virtumasterclass/): The COVID-19 Pandemic closed everything around the world from your office to your favourite restaurant to your favourite concert halls and then, slowly, we figured out how to Zoom, the wonders of online ordering and delivery, and the concerts that
- [On My Music Desk……<br/>Samuel Coleridge-Taylor – ‘Deep River’](https://interlude.hk/on-my-music-desksamuel-coleridge-taylor-deep-river/): Deep river, my home is over Jordan; Deep river, Lord, I want to cross over into campground. Oh don’t you want to go to that gospel feast, that Promised Land where all is peace? Deep river, Lord, I want to cross over
- [Max Bruch](https://interlude.hk/max-bruch/): “Music is the Language of God” Celebrating his 75th birthday in 1906, the legendary violinist Joseph Joachim declared that Germany had four great violin concertos. Among the four—of course including the superb singular efforts in this genre by Beethoven, Mendelssohn
- [My Beethoven by Chris](https://interlude.hk/my-beethoven-by-chris/): It’s taken a while to get to this article. When the Interlude. HK organisation requested an article about LVB + Me to contribute to his 250th birthday celebrations, I thought ‘great, how hard can that be? ’, and then promptly spent the
- [Eric Lu at Wigmore Hall](https://interlude.hk/eric-lu-at-wigmore-hall/): 10 October 2020: Schubert This concert will be live streamed on the Wigmore Hall website in HD, and all concerts in the Autumn Series will be available on demand for 30 days after the date of the concert. This generous
- [The Neo-classical piano: Lipatti’s <em>Piano Concertino</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-neo-classical-piano-lipattis-piano-concertino/): Pianist Dinu Lipatti (1917-1950) is best known as one of the leading pianists of the 20th century but less for his compositions. This dual life of composer / pianist had been his since childhood where he was a wunderkind on
- [Show me the Money <br/>George Gershwin (1898-1937)](https://interlude.hk/show-me-the-money-george-gershwin-1898-1937/): It has been said that the total royalties George Gershwin accrued from performances of “Summertime” from his opera Porgy and Bess are equivalent to the Argentine national debt. Whether there is any truth to that anecdote or not, Gershwin was
- [Speaking the Music](https://interlude.hk/speaking-the-music/): Helping audiences to feel the deep connection with music and musicians Musicians are often praised for their ability to “communicate” – through the sounds of music and the accompanying physical gestures in performance which help “tell the story” of the
- [The Music of Poetry <br/>Alfred de Musset: “Poésies Nouvelles”](https://interlude.hk/the-music-of-poetry-alfred-de-musset-poesies-nouvelles/): Arthur Rimbaud was highly critical of Alfred de Musset’s work. In his “Letters of a Seer” he wrote, “Musset did not accomplish anything because he closed his eyes before the visions. ” Just exactly what visions Rimbaud had in mind we
- [Composers in the Court Room <br/>Robert Schumann versus Friedrich Wieck](https://interlude.hk/composers-in-the-court-room-robert-schumann-versus-friedrich-wieck/): When it comes to lawsuits filed by composers, none is more famous than Robert Schumann’s petition for the right to marry his sweetheart Clara Wieck. The lovers had been kept apart for some time, and on 9 April 1839 Clara
- [Finding a New Repertoire <br/>City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong](https://interlude.hk/finding-a-new-repertoire-city-chamber-orchestra-of-hong-kong/): Hong Kong is one of the few cities with not one, not two, but three orchestras: the Hong Kong Philharmonic, The Hong Kong Sinfonietta, and City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong (CCOHK). We spoke recently with Leanne Nicholls, founder of
- [Robin Tritschler at Wigmore Hall](https://interlude.hk/robin-tritschler-at-wigmore-hall/): Graham Johnson, piano6 October 2020: Schubert This concert will be live streamed on the Wigmore Hall website in HD, and all concerts in the Autumn Series will be available on demand for 30 days after the date of the concert.
- [Andrés Orozco-Estrada](https://interlude.hk/andres-orozco-estrada/): Keeping Connections Present Andrés Orozco-Estrada is about to commence a five-year music directorship of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, the city where he has lived for more than 23 years. Moving in 1997 from Colombia to study at the Vienna Hochschüle,
- [Guys, what WERE you Thinking! <br/>Bigotry and Racism in Classical Music](https://interlude.hk/guys-what-were-you-thinking-bigotry-and-racism-in-classical-music/): One of my all-time favorite childhood snacks was a corn-wheat-potato concoction with a slightly spicy paprika seasoning. Produced by a Viennese snack manufacturer, this product was branded “Zigeuner Räder” (Gypsy Wheels), and it was simply delicious. Against the current backdrop
- [Beethoven’s Lairs<br/> “Kreuzgasse 35”](https://interlude.hk/beethovens-lairs-kreuzgasse-35/): On 29 March 1795 Ludwig van Beethoven made his public debut in Vienna. Performing at a charity concert at the Burgtheater, Beethoven appeared as a composer as well as the featured virtuoso. He performed a piano concerto of his own,
- [The Nash Ensemble at Wigmore Hall](https://interlude.hk/the-nash-ensemble-at-wigmore-hall/): 3 October 2020: Brahms and Dvořák This concert will be live streamed on the Wigmore Hall website in HD, and all concerts in the Autumn Series will be available on demand for 30 days after the date of the concert.
- [A New Kind of Music: Monteverdi’s <em>Amor, Che Deggio Far</em>](https://interlude.hk/a-new-kind-of-music-monteverdis-amor-che-deggio-far/): By the time of his seventh book of madrigals in 1619, Monteverdi was in the middle of changing the concept of the madrigal and starting to approach the musical style that would become the most prominent in the following centuries:
- [Music & Colours <br/>How I Associate Colours to Music Vocabulary](https://interlude.hk/music-colours-how-i-associate-colours-to-music-vocabulary/): In a 2018 article entitled Three Shades of Yellow, I explain what synesthesia is — a condition in which one sense, in this case hearing, is simultaneously perceived as if by one or more additional senses, such as sight. I
- [Sir András Schiff at Wigmore Hall](https://interlude.hk/sir-andras-schiff-at-wigmore-hall/): 4 October 2020: Schumann & Janacek5 October 2020: Beethoven This concert will be live streamed on the Wigmore Hall website in HD, and all concerts in the Autumn Series will be available on demand for 30 days after the date
- [New Pieces to Try If You’re Stuck for Repertoire Ideas](https://interlude.hk/new-pieces-to-try-if-youre-stuck-for-repertoire-ideas/): Pianists are very spoilt for choice. We have a huge repertoire to draw on and a seemingly endless array of music to explore, with new music being added to the repertoire all the time. In addition, in the world of
- [Music – Refresher of Spirits](https://interlude.hk/music-refresher-of-spirits/): The title page of the first edition of Bach’s Goldberg Variations describes the work as music “for the refreshment of their spirits”. During this time of pandemic, people have turned to music not just to refresh but also to provide
- [The Music of Poetry <br/>Alfred de Musset: “La Nuit de Mai”](https://interlude.hk/the-music-of-poetry-alfred-de-musset-la-nuit-de-mai/): The French dramatist, poet and novelist Alfred de Musset (1810-1857) is probably best known for his autobiographical novel La Confession d’un enfant du siècle (The Confession of a Child of the Century). It was inspired by his scandalous real-time affair
- [Composers in the Court Room <br/>Lichnowsky versus Mozart](https://interlude.hk/composers-in-the-court-room-lichnowsky-versus-mozart/): A curious entry was found in a Logbook of the Special Court of Aristocrats in Vienna dated 12th November 1791. It states, “Prince Karl Lichnowsky in his case against K. K. Hof Kappelmeister Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, owing to indebtedness of 1,435 Gulden
- [Dancing in Character: Bottiroli’s <em>La tribu baila</em>](https://interlude.hk/dancing-in-character-bottirolis-la-tribu-baila/): When we think of a waltz, we think of the big waltzes in the Viennese style – sweeping gestures, sweeping gowns, and a multi-part complex composition. Argentine composer José Antonio Bottiroli (1920-1990), however, reduced the waltz to little works of
- [The City Morning and Night <br/>Molinelli’s <em>4 Pictures from New York</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-city-morning-and-night-molinellis-4-pictures-from-new-york/): How to you show the various facets of a great and complex city? In his Four Pictures from New York, composer Roberto Molinelli takes a range across a day, with a focus on the inherent music of the city. The
- [Carl Maria von Weber: Inspired by Turandot <br/><em>“Overture and Marches” for Turandot, Op. 37</em>](https://interlude.hk/carl-maria-von-weber-inspired-by-turandot-overture-and-marches-for-turandot-op-37/): Carlo Gozzi’s play Turandot was first performed in Venice in 1762. It was a deliberate attempt to counter the new literary trend of bourgeois realism so prevalent in the works of Carlo Goldoni. When Friedrich Schiller fashioned his German translation,
- [Ludwig van Beethoven and His Fellow Musicians](https://interlude.hk/ludwig-van-b-and-his-fellow-musicians/): By placing Ludwig van B. on a musical pedestal we tend to forget that he was surrounded by a whole host of talented composers and musicians who competed for his audience. And as we all know, Beethoven was a difficult
- [Composers of the Zodiac <br/>The Tropic of Libra](https://interlude.hk/composers-of-the-zodiac-the-tropic-of-libra/): Located between the constellation of Virgo to the west and Scorpio to the east, the constellation of Libra was first cataloged by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the second century. It is the only zodiac sign not represented by a
- [Commemorating the Centuries: Strauss’ <em>Japanische Festmusik</em>](https://interlude.hk/commemorating-the-centuries-strauss-japanische-festmusik/): In 1939, in the middle of writing his opera Die Liebe der Danae, Richard Strauss wrote a work that’s rarely performed but commemorates an event few countries can claim. His Japanische Festmusik was written for the 2,600th anniversary of the
- [<em>En Pleine Lumière</em> <br/>Shining a Light on Piano Music by Women Composers](https://interlude.hk/en-pleine-lumiere-shining-a-light-on-piano-music-by-women-composers/): It seems extraordinary to us now, in these equality-conscious times, that women composers and musicians were, until fairly recently, sidelined, ignored or simply erased from music history. Now, women such as Clara Schumann, Amy Beach and Cécile Chaminade are recognised
- [The Music of Poetry <br/> Joseph Eichendorff: “The poet is the heart of the world”](https://interlude.hk/the-music-of-poetry-joseph-eichendorff-the-poet-is-the-heart-of-the-world/): The German Romantic painter Caspar David Friedrich (1774-1840) is best known for his allegorical landscapes. Contemplating nature, he sought to convey a subjective, emotional response to the natural world. He was looking not just to explore the blissful enjoyment of
- [Conducting Fathers and Sons I](https://interlude.hk/conducting-fathers-and-sons-i/): What is it about conducting fathers whose sons followed in their footsteps? Many professional musicians sire musical offspring, (myself included) but I was struck by the number of conductors in the bunch and thought you’d like to hear more about
- [“In a Chinese Temple Garden” <br/>Exotic Mood Pictures by Albert Ketèlbey](https://interlude.hk/in-a-chinese-temple-garden-exotic-mood-pictures-by-albert-ketelbey/): He was proclaimed “Britain’s greatest living composer” in the Performing Right Gazette of 1929. That assessment was based on the overall number of performances of his works, and his apparent popularity caused a good deal of professional jealousy. Today, he
- [On My Music Desk……<br/>Benjamin Britten – ‘Notturno’ (Night Piece)](https://interlude.hk/on-my-music-desk-benjamin-britten-notturno-night-piece/): This atmospheric miniature was composed in 1963 as a test piece for the inaugural Leeds Piano Competition (which was won by Michael Roll, the seventeen-year-old pupil of Dame Fanny Waterman, the competition’s founder). The competition committee regarded it as a
- [Anton Webern and Wilhelmine Mörtl](https://interlude.hk/anton-webern-and-wilhelmine-mortl/): “If only grown-ups were like children, free from prejudice against everything new! ” Anton Webern and Wilhelmine Mörtl, the daughter of his mother’s sister, were married in Danzig on 22 February 1911. They had kept their affair ingeniously secret until she
- [Beethoven’s Lairs<br/>“1087 Walfischgasse”](https://interlude.hk/beethovens-lairs-1087-walfischgasse/): In 1809, the French army under Napoleon once again set their sights on the city of Vienna. On short notice, the imperial family fled the city, but it was decided that Vienna should nevertheless be defended. French howitzers bombarded the
- [The Gothic Tchaikovsky: Manfred Symphony](https://interlude.hk/the-gothic-tchaikovsky-manfred-symphony/): Lord Byron’s 1817 poem Manfred brought out all the elements of the Gothic novel into a dramatic poem. In 1816, Byron was traveling with Mary and Percy Shelley in Switzerland with her sister Claire Clairmont. The two couples began a
- [A Day in the Life <br/> Daily Creative Habits of the Most Well-Known Classical Composers](https://interlude.hk/a-day-in-the-life-daily-creative-habits-of-the-most-well-known-classical-composers/): What is the daily life of a composer like? How much time did Mozart spend on composing? Did Bach have a day job? What was Ives’ parallel career? Let’s find out the daily creative habits of some of the most
- [J. S. Bach: Taxes From Beyond the Grave](https://interlude.hk/j-s-bach-taxes-from-beyond-the-grave/): As Benjamin Franklin famously said, “... but in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes. ” And while the mega rich have long attempted to find ingenious ways of avoiding tax payments, during Johann Sebastian Bach’s
- [Yes, You Can Have a Concert in a Carpark!](https://interlude.hk/yes-you-can-have-a-concert-in-a-carpark/): A concert in a carpark? It’s certainly a novel way to experience live classical music, orchestra and audience gathered on Level 8 of a 1980s brutalist hulk of ugly concrete. The traditional rules of engagement of classical music are more
- [The Music of Poetry<br/> Joseph von Eichendorff “In der Nacht”](https://interlude.hk/the-music-of-poetry-joseph-von-eichendorff-in-der-nacht/): Joseph von Eichendorff was the quintessential poet of the German landscape. His indirect mode of representation is almost pictorial. Fields, trees, woods, river and streams conjure up images experienced at morning, noon, evening, dusk, and night. Each moment has its
- [Anson’s Favourite Pianists](https://interlude.hk/ansons-favourite-pianists/): 1. Grigory Sokolov Winner of Tchaikovsky Competition in 1966, Grigory Sokolov has been hailed as one of the greatest pianists. Known for his mastery of the keyboard, Sokolov is always able to conjure up a kaleidoscope of tone colours from
- [Max Frisch and Einar Englund: The Great Wall of China](https://interlude.hk/max-frisch-and-einar-englund-the-great-wall-of-china/): Only months after the horrendous atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Swiss playwright and novelist Max Frisch (1911-91) penned his theatrical play “The Chinese Wall. ” It is in equal parts tragedy, comedy, history and satire that address the possibility
- [On My Music Desk……<br/>Claude Debussy – La cathédrale engloutie (The Sunken Cathedral)](https://interlude.hk/on-my-music-desk-claude-debussy-la-cathedrale-engloutie-the-sunken-cathedral/): Atmospheric, mysterious and dramatic, this quintessential example of “musical impressionism” is captivating to play and to hear. In less than 6 minutes of music, Debussy tells a remarkable story and creates a vivid aural, and visual, portrayal of the mythical
- [Anton Webern](https://interlude.hk/anton-webern/): “Music is natural law as related to the sense of hearing” Throughout his short life—having been accidentally shot by an American soldier in 1945—the music of Anton Webern (1883-1945) was almost totally unknown. With the end of WWII, however, the
- [My Beethoven by Nicolette](https://interlude.hk/my-beethoven-by-nicolette/): My first encounter with Beethoven was through the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music aural tests back when I was a little kid. One part of the test was to clap the rhythm of a short excerpt and
- [Not the Bach You Think: Bittner’s <em>Shimmy on Bach’s Name</em>](https://interlude.hk/not-the-bach-you-think-bittners-shimmy-on-bachs-name/): Composers love mysteries, particularly when they can hide something in plain sight in their music. Starting with Johann Sebastian himself, hiding words and letters became a thing to do. When you convert the scale into letters and use German, you
- [4 Hands 4 More Piano Fun](https://interlude.hk/4-hands-4-more-piano-fun/): Repertoire for Two Piano Players Performance by two piano players simultaneously sharing a single piano requires not only a level of intimacy unique to chamber music, it also presents its own set of technical challenges. Despite a number of notable
- [The Tide of Practice](https://interlude.hk/the-tide-of-practice/): Practicing is the musician’s day-to-day work and when done well it is undertaken with the focus and concentration of an elite athlete to achieve the necessary technical and artistic facility to perform complex repertoire. As a child, learning the piano
- [The Music of Poetry<br/>Joseph von Eichendorff: “In der Fremde”](https://interlude.hk/the-music-of-poetry-joseph-von-eichendorff-in-der-fremde/): Joseph von Eichendorff’s poetry addresses a number of basic concepts, including the passing of time and nostalgia. Time for Eichendorff “is not just a natural phenomenon but each day and each of our nights have a metaphysical dimension. ” The morning,
- [Art Into Music Into Art: Kandinsky and Mussorgsky](https://interlude.hk/art-into-music-into-art-kandinsky-and-mussorgsky/): At what must be regarded as one of the most well-known painting exhibitions in music, Modest Mussorgsky’s 1874 piano work Pictures at an Exhibition takes the listener around a gallery of his late friend Viktor Hartmann’s paintings. Hartman died in
- [In the Musical Service to Catherine the Great of Russia](https://interlude.hk/in-the-musical-service-to-catherine-the-great-of-russia/): Catherine the Great (1729-1796), born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst, ushered in what many considered to be the “Golden Age of Russia. ” She freed Russian nobles from compulsory military service and enthusiastically supported the ideas of the Enlightenment. She established a
- [A Feast in the Time of Plague<br/>A Brand-New Opera Written in Direct Response to COVID-19](https://interlude.hk/a-feast-in-the-time-of-plague-a-brand-new-opera-written-in-direct-response-to-covid-19/): A brand new opera written in direct response to the coronavirus crisis receives its premiere at Grange Park Opera (GPO) in September. Commissioned by GPO, with a libretto by director, producer and librettist Sir David Pountney, A Feast in the
- [Turandot’s Chambers](https://interlude.hk/turandots-chambers-by-busoni/): Several years before Puccini charmed the operatic world with his musical setting of Carlo Gozzi’s theatrical fairytale “Turandot,” Ferruccio Busoni completed his opera by the same name in 1917! As early as 1905, Busoni had composed incidental music for the
- [Beethoven’s Lairs<br/> “650 St. Petersplatz”](https://interlude.hk/beethovens-lairs-650-st-petersplatz/): Between 1796 and 1799, Beethoven did not have a permanent address in Vienna, at least not that we know. He was busily engaged in establishing his reputation, and rubbed shoulders with royalty and with Joseph Haydn. He played a piano
- [Iveta Apkalna](https://interlude.hk/iveta-apkalna/): Widor, Vierne, and variety in life ‘My hands and feet are full of notes again! ’ exclaims Iveta Apkalna, as her concert diary is beginning to fill up again into the autumn. And as it should; Iveta has played with some
- [Changing the Nature of the Relationship: Franck’s <em>Variations Symphoniques</em>](https://interlude.hk/changing-the-nature-of-the-relationship-francks-variations-symphoniques/): Franck’s Symphonic Variations (1885) for piano and orchestra takes the piano and orchestra relationship out of the typical concerto contest of piano versus orchestra and places the two as equal partners. We’re used to the piano as a soloist, but
- [Music Is Everywhere<br/>Different Forms of Music in Our Modern World](https://interlude.hk/music-is-everywhere-different-forms-of-music-in-our-modern-world/): What is the function of music? Can it be considered as useful? If so, what is its value? There are many answers to these questions, and each is debatable. What is sure though, is that music is everywhere. In our
- [Outspoken Performances III: Political Voices of Opera Singers](https://interlude.hk/outspoken-performances-iii-political-voices-of-opera-singers/): Anna Netrebko, one of today’s best-known sopranos has never shied away from speaking her mind. When she was asked about allegations of sexual assault against high profile conductors, including James Levine and Charles Dutoit, she publically stated “Any of this
- [The Language of Music](https://interlude.hk/the-language-of-music/): Music is a universal language and Italian is, largely, the language of music itself. It’s everywhere, nestled in amidst the dots and squiggles of the score, directing the musicians to play loudly (forte), or quietly (piano), or more quickly (accelerando)
- [The Music of Poetry<br/>Joseph von Eichendorff: “Mondnacht”](https://interlude.hk/the-music-of-poetry-joseph-von-eichendorff-mondnacht/): The poet, novelist, translator, and playwright Joseph von Eichendorff (1788-1857) might not be a household name today. Yet, his poetry was set to music approximately 5,000 times, rivaling if not surpassing the number of musical settings of Goethe and Heine.
- [An Abstract Inspiration: Éric Montalbetti and Wassily Kandinsky](https://interlude.hk/an-abstract-inspiration-eric-montalbetti-and-wassily-kandinsky/): Éric Montalbetti started to make his music public in 2015, following 20 years at the Philharmonic Orchestra of France as Artistic Director. He had started composing at the age of 11 and did his studies at IRCAM and the Collège
- [Ambient Music](https://interlude.hk/ambient-music/): The Benefits of Art Sounds and Some Recommendations Pollution, rain, fog, mist, wallpaper, machinery, people, the sounds of wildlife and music all exist as part of the surrounding ambience. Throughout most of history, music was never thought of as a
- [Fannie Bloomfield-Zeisler: Leschetizky’s Legacy in the United States](https://interlude.hk/fannie-bloomfield-zeisler-leschetizkys-legacy-in-the-united-states/): While Fannie Bloomfield-Zeisler (1863-1927) is largely forgotten today, her tireless pursuit of excellence and extraordinary gifts as a pianist and teacher made her one of the most significant figures in the classical music world in the early twentieth century. Born
- [Dragonetti: First to the Bottom<br/>Giving Double Bass a Voice in the Mighty Strings Family](https://interlude.hk/dragonetti-first-to-the-bottom-giving-double-bass-a-voice-in-the-mighty-strings-family/): Domenico Dragonetti was one of the first bassists to highlight the impact of the double bass and expose the virtuosic nature and capabilities of its profession. His life as a musician, the people he influenced, and the music he played
- [Ludwig van Beethoven and the Ladies](https://interlude.hk/ludwig-van-b-and-the-ladies/): Much has been written about the women in Beethoven’s life, and undoubtedly you have either read or seen one or the other fictional take on the matter. It all seems a bit muddled and mysterious, so let’s try to unravel
- [Depicting Nature: Hoch’s <em>Dune</em>](https://interlude.hk/depicting-nature-hochs-dune/): Swiss composer Francesco Hoch takes modern music everywhere. He’s written for a wide variety of ensembles, from children’s voice through full orchestral works. He’s been part of the International New Music Workshop at the Venice Biennale. He was commissioned to
- [Outspoken Performances II: Conductor's Podium as a Political Platform](https://interlude.hk/outspoken-performances-ii-conductors-podium-as-political-platform/): Conductors are the only musical performers that do not produce sound. Rather, they operate at the tip of a long chain of non-verbal communication from the composer to the audience. But conductors are hardly silent. Since conducting has always been
- [Creating a Good Syllabus for Graded Music Exams](https://interlude.hk/creating-a-good-syllabus-for-graded-music-exams/): A new music exam syllabus is always eagerly anticipated by teachers and there’s a great deal of pleasure and excitement in browsing the new selection of music and considering which pieces will appeal to our students and which ones we
- [Composers of the Zodiac<br/>The Tropic of Virgo](https://interlude.hk/composers-of-the-zodiac-the-tropic-of-virgo/): In Greek mythology, Virgo is the Goddess of Innocence and Purity, called Astraea. She was the daughter of the Titan Astraeus, the god of dusk, and Eos, the goddess of dawn. She lived on earth alongside humans during the Golden
- [20 Quotes From 20th-Century Pianists](https://interlude.hk/20-quotes-from-20th-century-pianists/): “Do not find yourself in the music, but find the music in yourself. ”– HEINRICH NEUHAUS (1888-1964) An outstanding Ukrainian pianist and pedagogue in the early 20th century, Neuhaus was born in a musical family whose parents were both music teachers.
- [Interview With Helmut Deutsch, Pianist](https://interlude.hk/interview-with-helmut-deutsch-pianist/): “I think one has certain ideals in performance which one attempts to reach” Helmut Deutsch ranks among the finest, most successful and sought-after song recital accompanists in the world. He was born in Vienna, where he studied at the Conservatory,
- [The Modern Theremin: The Theremini](https://interlude.hk/the-modern-theremin-the-theremini/): The tradition theremin, developed in the early 20th century by Léon Theremin and patented in 1928, looks like a box with antennas. It’s not stylish, it really only has one sound and it’s not even something you want in your
- [A Matter of Discretion<br/>Franz von Suppé, Therese Merville and Sofie Strasser](https://interlude.hk/a-matter-of-discretion-franz-von-suppe-therese-merville-and-sofie-strasser/): In his professional diary under 2 May 1841, Franz von Suppé writes, “First encounter with Therese Merville, my 1st wife. ” We do know that Suppé age 22 and Merville age 25 married on 13 October 1841 in Preßburg, currently Bratislava.
- [Beethoven’s Lairs<br/>“Döblinger Hauptstrasse 92”](https://interlude.hk/beethovens-lairs-doblinger-hauptstrasse-92/): The House Where Beethoven Wrote The Eroica Symphony Escaping the stifling summer heat of Vienna, Beethoven enjoyed spending his summer months in the countryside. And he seemed to have preferred the wine-growing villages to the northwest of the city. Bordering
- [The Waltz in Russia: Glazunov’s Concert Waltz No. 1](https://interlude.hk/the-waltz-in-russia-glazunovs-concert-waltz-no-1/): Outside Vienna, the finest waltz composer the world was acknowledged to be Tchaikovsky and another Russian master of this light genre was Alexander Glazunov (1865-1936). Between 1905 and 1928, he was director of the St. Petersburg Conservatory and shepherded it
- [Outspoken Performances: Politics on and off the Stage](https://interlude.hk/outspoken-performances-politics-on-and-off-the-stage/): While it has been fashionable to separate the art from the artist—just think of Caravaggio, Woody Allen, Benjamin Britten, Richard Wagner and countless others—music and politics have always been intricately connected and entwined. As the great Isaac Stern famously said,
- [On Tradition & Innovation: The Case of Stravinsky](https://interlude.hk/on-tradition-innovation-the-case-of-stravinsky/): Artists are taught tradition in order to innovate. While there are some discussions about tradition and innovation, they are both essential to the wellbeing of art, to progress and continuity. I like to think that one looks at the past,
- [Tapering and the Craft of Performance Preparation](https://interlude.hk/tapering-and-the-craft-of-performance-preparation/): Athletes and experts in peak performance understand very well the concept of “tapering” – a significant reduction in training load in the days before a competition which is, paradoxically, thought to have the effect of optimising performance. This often involves
- [The Music of Poetry<br/>John Keats and Fanny Brawne “La Belle Dame Sans Merci”](https://interlude.hk/the-music-of-poetryjohn-keats-and-fanny-brawne-la-belle-dame-sans-merci/): Fanny Brawne met John Keats at Wentworth Place in November 1818. She was described as “small, her eyes were blue and often enhanced by blue ribbons in her brown hair... She was not conventionally beautiful; her nose was a little
- [Samuel Coleridge-Taylor and Jessie Sarah Fleetwood Walmisley<br/> “Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen”](https://interlude.hk/samuel-coleridge-taylor-and-jessie-sarah-fleetwood-walmisley-nobody-knows-the-trouble-ive-seen/): On the very last Saturday of 1899, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor married Jessie Sarah Fleetwood Walmisley in a parish church at Selhurst, near Croydon, England. Just a regular wedding ceremony, I hear you say, but in reality it followed some very tense
- [Double the Fun?<br/>Auxiliary Instruments and the Strange World of Doubling](https://interlude.hk/double-the-fun-auxiliary-instruments-and-the-strange-world-of-doubling/): A large aspect of an orchestral wind player’s life can involve playing auxiliary instruments – instruments that you learn alongside your main instrument, for example the bass clarinet, cor anglais, piccolo or contrabassoon. Not everyone specialises on auxiliary instruments: firstly,
- [On My Music Desk……<br/>Philip Glass – Wichita Vortex Sutra](https://interlude.hk/on-my-music-deskwichita-vortex-sutra-philip-glass/): It starts quietly, a haunting nostalgic hymn-like sequence of gentle chords in both hands. A few bars in, the bass accompaniment changes into a gently undulating pattern of broken fourths, anchored by a low F. In this opening section, Glass
- [Overtures by Franz von Suppé (1819-1895)<br/>From Popeye to Betty Boop](https://interlude.hk/overtures-by-franz-von-suppe-1819-1895from-popeye-to-betty-boop/): You might never have heard of the composer Franz von Suppé (1819-1895), but there is a very good chance that you know some of his music. Suppé composed tantalizing music mainly for the theater, in particular operettas, ballets and comedies.
- [My Beethoven by Frank](https://interlude.hk/my-beethoven-by-frank/): OzymandiasPercy Bysshe Shelly I met a traveler from an antique land,Who said—-“Two vast and trunkless legs of stoneStand in the desert... . Near them, on the sand, Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown, And wrinked lip, and sneer
- [Taking the Tune on the Road: Paul Huang](https://interlude.hk/taking-the-tune-on-the-road-paul-huang/): In 1879, composer Johannes Brahms and violinist Joseph Joachim took a concert trip through Transylvania to workshop Brahms’ latest work, the Violin Concerto, Op. 77, which had opened to less-than-satisfactory reviews. Although Brahms wasn’t really up for a tour, of
- [Top 10 Pianists (?)](https://interlude.hk/top-10-pianists/): A reflection on the obsession with rankings I have to apologise that this is a clickbait. This is not going to be a list of top 10 pianists or anything like that. But before you close this tab, I would
- [In Memoriam: Leon Fleisher (1928-2020)](https://interlude.hk/in-memoriam-leon-fleisher-1928-2020/): “The purpose of music is to communicate from the heart to the heart” He has been called “one of the most refined and transcendent musicians the United States has ever produced. ” But Leon Fleisher (1928-2020), who died of cancer at
- [A Grand Fermata](https://interlude.hk/a-grand-fermata/): nounMusicnoun: fermata; plural noun: fermatas – a pause of unspecified length on a note or rest– a sign indicating a prolonged note or rest John Cage’s 4’33” may be the most infamous example of the use of silence in music
- [The Music of Poetry<br/>John Keats “Nothing Ever Becomes Real Till It Is Experienced”](https://interlude.hk/the-music-of-poetryjohn-keats-nothing-ever-becomes-real-till-it-is-experienced/): Tuberculosis, or consumption as it was known throughout the 19th century—decisively shaped the social history of Europe. Its impact on the artistic world was extremely powerful, with artists offering their own commentaries on the disease through painting, poetry and opera.
- [Learning From the Video Experience<br/>A Chat With the Savannah Voice Festival](https://interlude.hk/learning-from-the-video-experiencea-chat-with-the-savannah-voice-festival/): When the close of the live performance season hit the musical world, many festivals and houses were forced to close. Wait out the pandemic. See what next year holds. But the Savannah VOICE Festival (SVF) looked at the situation as
- [Modern Audience](https://interlude.hk/modern-audience/): A Response to Frances Wilson — Why Sir András Schiff is Not All Wrong about Modern Audience Previously, our contributor Frances has written an articulate article in response to András Schiff’s comment about modern audiences, which I attach here again
- [A Zoom Opera](https://interlude.hk/a-zoom-opera/): “It truly is a show that is utterly current and one where you want to know what happens next. ” Over the weekend, the Janiec Opera at the Brevard Music Center did an experiment in producing opera in a new format:
- [On My Music Desk……<br/>Couperin – Les Barricades Mystérieuses](https://interlude.hk/on-my-music-deskcouperin-les-barricades-mysterieuses/): No one really knows what Les Barricades Mystérieuses actually means. The title literally translates from the French as “the mysterious barricades” but it gives little clue. It could refer to masks – or masques, a form of courtly entertainment –
- [The Newest of the New: The Hermes Experiment](https://interlude.hk/the-newest-of-the-new-the-hermes-experiment/): When four music graduates of Cambridge get together, you never expect the expected. Singer and co-director Héloïse Werner, clarinetist Oliver Pashley, harpist Anne Denholm, and double-bassist Marianne Schofield got together after graduation to create The Hermes Experiment. Shortly after they
- [Franz von Suppé](https://interlude.hk/franz-von-suppe/): Opera for the People I’ve got a bit of a tongue twister for you today. Try to say the name of the composer Francesco Ezechiele Ermenegildo, Cavaliere Suppé-Demelli rapidly five times. Fortunately, the composer under consideration shortened his professional name
- [Beethoven’s Lairs<br/>“Obere Pfarrgasse”](https://interlude.hk/beethovens-lairsobere-pfarrgasse/): For a couple of short months in 1822, Beethoven took quarters at Obere Pfarrgasse, currently 22 Laimgrubengasse. We don’t have any particular knowledge of the apartment’s interior, but it is mentioned in connection with the revival of Fidelio, which took
- [Concentrating the Wonder: Strauss’ <em>Der Rosenkavalier Suite</em>](https://interlude.hk/concentrating-the-wonder-strauss-der-rosenkavalier-suite/): Unlike earlier days, it was harder for modern operas to truly qualify as a Hit! However, Richard Strauss’ 1911 opera Der Rosenkavalier was not only a success, but a triumph, with impressive ticket sales from the night of its premiere.
- [Primavera and the Seasons: How Nature Influences Music](https://interlude.hk/primavera-and-the-seasons-how-nature-influences-music/): Music is a wonderful support for sensorial illustrations and evocative descriptions. While some is considered absolute — music for the sake of music — the contrast, expressive music, is often a great support for composers’ creativity. Also known as program
- [How to Make a Recording From Home](https://interlude.hk/how-to-make-a-recording-from-home/): The recent lockdown has seen a rise in videos from confinement, with musicians reaching out and putting things out to entertain, soothe, comfort and connect with their audiences during this period of isolation and uncertainty. Thinking of making your own
- [The Music of Poetry<br/>John Keats “Heard Melodies Are Sweet, but Those Unheard Are Sweeter”](https://interlude.hk/the-music-of-poetryjohn-keats-heard-melodies-are-sweet-but-those-unheard-are-sweeter/): The English Romantic poet John Keats (1795-1821) tragically died from tuberculosis at the age of 25. Creating a profound body of work under the cloud of near-constant illness, Keats captured extreme emotions through an emphasis on natural imagery. In the
- [Atmosphere<br/> When Horse Races and Concerts Are Held in a Void of Silence](https://interlude.hk/atmosphere-when-horse-races-and-concerts-are-held-in-a-void-of-silence/): Horse races run on empty courses, Premier League football matches played in cavernous deserted stadia, tennis tournaments played “behind closed doors”, concerts performed into a void of silence. Without the roar of the crowd, the cheering and the applause, the
- [Stanislas de Barbeyrac](https://interlude.hk/stanislas-de-barbeyrac/): French tenor Stanislas de Barbeyrac has performed in opera houses all over Europe, including Covent Garden’s Royal Opera House, the Opéra National de Paris, Staatsoper Berlin and the Teatro Real in Madrid. He talks to me from his home in
- [Live From London – A Choral Festival Borne Out of the Pandemic](https://interlude.hk/live-from-london-a-choral-festival-borne-out-of-the-pandemic/): Following the success of their ‘Live From Home’ online performances and workshops, the VOCES8 foundation are launching a new online festival in response to the coronavirus pandemic: Live From London. The festival, featuring weekly concerts from 1 August to 3
- [Roman Parties<br/>Respighi: Feste Romane](https://interlude.hk/roman-partiesrespighi-feste-romane/): The last of Ottorino Respighi’s celebrations of Rome looked at its festivals. Feste romane was completed in 1928 and received its premiere under the baton of Toscanini in February 1929. Roman Festivals starts with the ancient history of the Romans
- [My Favourite Piano Sonata](https://interlude.hk/my-favourite-piano-sonata/): Of all the piano sonatas to choose, from the wit of Haydn, the elegance and chiaroscuro of Mozart, the poignancy of Schubert, Chopin’s restless romanticism, Rachmaninoff’s Russian heart, the biting narrative of Prokofiev’s War Sonatas, and many, many more which
- [The Sorcerer's Apprentice <br/>Leopold Auer and Jascha Heifetz et al.](https://interlude.hk/the-sorcerers-apprenticeleopold-auer-and-jascha-heifetz-et-al/): Here comes a little musical quiz question. What do Mischa Elman, Efrem Zimbalist, Nathan Milstein and Jascha Heifetz have in common? They are all famous violinists, I hear you say. And while that is certainly a correct answer, I was
- [Composers in the Court Room<br/>Beethoven versus Beethoven](https://interlude.hk/composers-in-the-court-roombeethoven-versus-beethoven/): On occasion, it’s rather difficult trying to get along with your siblings in law. Just ask Ludwig van Beethoven, who was involved in a bitter custody battle with his brother Carl’s widow, Johanna. It all kicked off in 1815, and
- [Dancing the Exotic South: Tchaikovsky’s Spanish Dance in <em>Swan Lake</em>](https://interlude.hk/dancing-the-exotic-south-tchaikovskys-spanish-dance-in-swan-lake/): In two different ballets, Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky added in a set of national ballets. In The Nutcracker (1892), part of Clara’s entertainments in the Land of Sweets at the Palace were a set of national dances depicting where sweets came
- [Nikolai Kapustin – “Classical Jazz”](https://interlude.hk/nikolai-kapustin-classical-jazz/): The passing of Nikolai Kapustin is undoubtedly a great loss to the classical music world. He had remained largely obscure until the recent decades, thanks to Steven Osborne and Marc-André Hamelin’s recordings on Hyperion in the early 2000s. Since then,
- [Playing Badly Alone](https://interlude.hk/playing-badly-alone/): I love to be able to play badly alone – pianist Mitsuko Uchida (from an interview with journalist Joshua Barone) Schubert: Piano Sonata No. 21 in B-Flat Major, D. 960 – IV. Allegro ma non troppo (Mitsuko Uchida, piano) Confined
- [The Music of Poetry<br/>Charles Baudelaire in “foreign” tongues](https://interlude.hk/the-music-of-poetrycharles-baudelaire-in-foreign-tongues/): In 1936, Edna St. Vincent Millay and George Dillon published a translation of Baudelaire’s “The Flowers of Evil. ” Trying to infuse the publication with a sense of authority, they asked the French poet, essayist, and philosopher Paul Valéry for an
- [How to Talk So Colleagues Will Listen<br/><em>Golden Rules for Chamber Music Playing</em>](https://interlude.hk/how-to-talk-so-colleagues-will-listengolden-rules-for-chamber-music-playing/): Playing chamber music has always been a great joy. Now more than ever, chamber music has become the essential genre for musicians. During these challenging times, while we avoid large gatherings, musicians have realized we must re-imagine concerts and performing.
- [Trees of History<br/>Respighi: Pini di Roma](https://interlude.hk/trees-of-historyrespighi-pini-di-roma/): Ottorino Respighi (1879-1936) continued his tour of Rome with his 1924 work Pini di Roma (Pines of Rome). Just as in Fontane di Roma (1916), he looked at the trees in various parts of the city at different times of
- [Making a New Box<br/>An Interview with Dean Anthony](https://interlude.hk/making-a-new-boxan-interview-with-dean-anthony/): Every opera company and university opera center knows the current problem – no way to get on stage, no way to do productions, no way to reach your audience, and an unending number of Zoom meetings. For Dean Anthony of
- [Composers of the Zodiac<br/>The Tropic of Leo](https://interlude.hk/composers-of-the-zodiacthe-tropic-of-leo/): People born under the sign of Leo are natural born leaders, with the astrological symbol of the Lion going back to Greek mythology. The constellation Leo contains many bright stars, and it is associated with the Lion that Heracles overcame
- [Playing Second Fiddle (Ahem, Clarinet)](https://interlude.hk/playing-second-fiddle-ahem-clarinet/): My work in Britten Sinfonia frequently involves playing second clarinet parts, yet elsewhere (like many wind players) I move between second and principal positions. I get asked if I enjoy one more than the other, and the honest truth is
- [Beethoven’s Lairs<br/>“Kothgasse 60”](https://interlude.hk/beethovens-lairskothgasse-60/): Louis Schlösser was a young violinist from Darmstadt. In the spring of 1822 he took leave from his post in order to travel and broaden his knowledge by studying with foreign artists. When he arrived in Vienna, he unsuccessfully tried
- [Awake all Night: Malipiero’s <em>Serenata mattutina</em>](https://interlude.hk/awake-all-night-malipieros-serenata-mattutina/): Is it night or is it day? A serenade is a song sung at night, generally in the open air below the window of your beloved. But what does it mean when Malipiero calls this 1959 work a ‘serenata mattutina’,
- [What’s the Rush?](https://interlude.hk/whats-the-rush-musical-prodigy-vs-late-bloomer/): Would you rather spend a lifetime in front or behind creative peak? There seems to be two types of creative characters: the early-bloomers and the late-bloomers. The early-bloomers often considered prodigies, while the late-bloomers often displaying a diversity of training,
- [The Composer’s Intentions?](https://interlude.hk/the-composers-intentions/): Such is the canonisation of classical music and the veneration of those who wrote, and write it, that the “composer’s intentions” are generally regarded as sacrosanct. Look at the value placed on “urtext” and autograph scores as receptacles of the
- [The Music of Poetry<br/>Charles Baudelaire “La Vie Antérieure”](https://interlude.hk/the-music-of-poetrycharles-baudelaire-la-vie-anterieure/): “La vie antérieure” (A former life) originates in Baudelaire’s Les Fleurs du Mal first published in 1857. The collection was reissued in 1861 and published for the final time in 1868 after Baudelaire died. Baudelaire is generally considered to be
- [Composers in the Court Room<br/>Ravel’s <em>Bolero</em>](https://interlude.hk/composers-in-the-court-roomravels-bolero/): It has been said that a performance of Ravel’s Bolero begins every 10 minutes somewhere in the world. The Russian dancer Ida Rubinstein, a close friend and financial supporter of Ravel, commissioned the piece. Originally, it was part of a
- [Showing a City Through Its Waters<br/>Respighi: Fontane di Roma](https://interlude.hk/showing-a-city-through-its-watersrespighi-fontane-di-roma/): Ottorino Respighi (1879-1936) is best known for his works about the city of Rome: The Pines of Rome, Roman Festivals, and, first of all, The Fountains of Rome. Respighi, who came from Bologna, was at first intimidated by the ancient
- [The Meta-Opera [Composer] of Modern Life<br/>A Conversation with Michael Ching](https://interlude.hk/the-meta-opera-composer-of-modern-lifea-conversation-with-michael-ching/): “It’s a great time to be an opera composer! ” That’s the word from Michael Ching, who’s certainly in a position to know. Composer of some 15 operas to date, and with more underway, Ching comes to opera from the administration
- [The Russian Violin Concerto<br/>Inspired and Dedicated to Leopold Auer](https://interlude.hk/the-russian-violin-concertoinspired-and-dedicated-to-leopold-auer/): The history of the violin concerto in Russia is inextricably linked to the incredible performing career of Leopold Auer (1845-1930). Spanning two centuries, Auer’s playing was polished and elegant, and although it supposedly lacked fire, “he made up for it
- [My Beethoven by Eliza](https://interlude.hk/my-beethoven-by-eliza/): Introducing Beethoven’s Symphonies to Toddler Yes! There is a long list of classical music specially composed for children. Over the years, Saint-Saëns’ The Carnival of the Animals, Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf, and Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker helped create some of
- [In Memoriam: Nikolai Kapustin (1937-2020)](https://interlude.hk/in-memoriam-nikolai-kapustin-1937-2020/): Until very recently, the music of Russian composer and pianist Nikolai Kapustin (1937-2020) was virtually unknown to Western audiences. Although he has authored more than 150 works—among them several piano concertos and chamber compositions—Kapustin has been stubbornly unwilling to participate
- [The Mutiny before the Fall: Gossec’s <em>Marche lugubre</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-mutiny-before-the-fall-gossecs-marche-lugubre/): The long slow fall of the French monarchy during the French Revolution had several highlights, starting with the Storming of the Bastille. Next the French Guards mutinied, and the royal family was forcibly moved from the palace at Versailles to
- [Franz Schubert – Composer for Our Corona Times](https://interlude.hk/franz-schubert-composer-for-our-corona-times/): Schubert... . . makes tears catch at the edge of my eyes; such fragile hope, such powerful emotions. Ian McMillan, poet (via Twitter) I was reminded of Ian McMillan’s quote while listening to the final lunchtime lockdown concert from London’s Wigmore Hall, a
- [The Music of Poetry<br/>Cinq Poèmes de Baudelaire](https://interlude.hk/the-music-of-poetrycinq-poemes-de-baudelaire/): Setting the poetry of Baudelaire to music is a highly complex undertaking. His poems have a complexity of thought and a richness of verbal music that almost defy the composer to add anything. Francis Poulenc, who devoured Baudelaire’s verse avidly
- [In Praise of “Safe” Programmes](https://interlude.hk/in-praise-of-safe-programmes/): Should Organizers Focus on Popular Classical Repertoire During the Time of Corona? As concert venues, their managers, promoters and artists begin to emerge from lockdown and survey the devastation wrought on the industry by the coronavirus pandemic and governments’ responses
- [In Memoriam: Ennio Morricone (1928-2020)](https://interlude.hk/in-memoriam-ennio-morricone-1928-2020/): Interlude is sad to announce the passing of probably the most famous film composer of the 20th century. Ennio Morricone (1928-2020) scored more than 500 films over several decades in almost every imaginable musical style and for almost every imaginable
- [Exile Music—Even When the Body Is Quelled the Human Spirit Soars](https://interlude.hk/exile-music-even-when-the-body-is-quelled-the-human-spirit-soars/): Even under the worst of circumstances, when one group of people brutalizes another, despite oppression, the drive to make and create music cannot be suppressed. Research has shown that during the Holocaust, in the most heinous of conditions, the prisoners
- [Music as Art](https://interlude.hk/music-as-art/): How I find a musical voice from artworks Music in all its varied forms is the most accessible and affordable form of art we have today. The popularity of music as a recreational and active form of art participation for
- [In Memoriam: Ida Haendel (1928-2020)](https://interlude.hk/in-memoriam-ida-haendel-1928-2020/): Hailed as one of the great violinists of the 20th century, Ida Haendel (1928-2020) “enthralled audiences around the world with a combination of classical rigor and romantic warmth—a mind-blowing mix of fire and ice. ” Known for her gracious yet uninhibited
- [Meet James Anagnoson - Dean of The Glenn Gould School](https://interlude.hk/meet-james-anagnoson-dean-of-the-glenn-gould-school/): James Anagnoson (Jim), one of Canada’s most esteemed pianists and pedagogues, is originally from Boston, but relocated in 1976 to Toronto, where he collaborated with Canadian pianist Leslie Kinton to form the “Anagnoson & Kinton” piano duo. Jim joined the
- [What Happens Next: Ching’s <em>Buoso’s Ghost</em>](https://interlude.hk/what-happens-next-chings-buosos-ghost/): In a sense, at the end of the opera, we’ve received closure for the story at hand (they marry, they die, they get their revenge, etc. ) but sometimes there’s a large story that we are locked out of. Modern composers
- [Leopold Auer](https://interlude.hk/leopold-auer/): “Art begins where technique ends” The Hungarian-born violinist, conductor and educator Leopold Auer (1845-1930) counted Jascha Heifetz, Nathan Milstein, Mischa Elman, Efrem Zimbalist, and numerous other great musicians as his students. In fact, he is rightfully referred to as the
- [Beethoven’s Lairs<br/>“Sailerstätte 1055/6”](https://interlude.hk/beethovens-lairssailerstatte-1055-6/): Between 1815 and 24 April 1817, Ludwig van Beethoven resided at quarters in Sailerstätte No. 1055/6. It was a lofty and narrow house, and Beethoven had an apartment on the 3rd flood. Some of his rooms were positioned towards the
- [From Voice to Violin: Paul Huang](https://interlude.hk/from-voice-to-violin-paul-huang/): We often regard vocal music and instrumental music as quite separate. We know the limitations of the voice, such as a limited range, and we know the freedom of an instrumental performance, which can cover a range of sound music
- [Why Bach Wrote the Rules and Debussy Broke Them All](https://interlude.hk/why-bach-wrote-the-rules-and-debussy-broke-them-all/): Bach is often considered as the father of Western classical (and popular) music. His influence is great and still resonates today. Through a vast creative output Bach consolidated the rules of rhythm, melody and harmony, as well as improvisation and
- [Fauré and the French Harp](https://interlude.hk/faure-and-the-french-harp/): The harp as an instrument came to its greatest development in Paris in the 20th century with the development of the chromatic harp by Pleyel. The chromatic harp (also known as cross-strung harp) was the first to have all 12
- [The Role of Audiences](https://interlude.hk/the-role-of-audiences/): A Response to Sir András Schiff’s Comment About Modern Audiences The attitude and behaviour of classical music audiences has been in the British news (not for the first time! ) thanks to an article about Hungarian pianist Sir András Schiff in
- [The Music of Poetry<br/>Charles Baudelaire: “L’invitation au Voyage”](https://interlude.hk/the-music-of-poetrycharles-baudelaire-linvitation-au-voyage/): When Charles Baudelaire published his collection of poems entitled Les Fleurs du Mal (The Flowers of Evil) in 1857, he shocked an entire generation. “Candor and goodness are disgusting,” he wrote in the epilogue, describing his masterpiece instead as a
- [13 Facts You Didn’t Know About Fanny Mendelssohn](https://interlude.hk/13-facts-you-didnt-know-about-fanny-mendelssohn/): Most musicians don’t know a lot about Fanny Mendelssohn besides the fact that she was Felix’s uber-talented older sister. But she was a hugely important musical figure in her own right. We look at thirteen facts you (probably) didn’t know
- [The Freeing Disciple: Mime and Music](https://interlude.hk/the-freeing-disciple-mime-and-music/): What can a musician learn from a mime’s art and training? We were speaking the other day with Valérie Aimard, cellist with Cello Kids and learned that some 15 years ago, she’d taken up another discipline: Mime. As she said
- [Opera for Everyone: In Memory of Carl Reiner (1922-2020)](https://interlude.hk/opera-for-everyone-in-memory-of-carl-reiner-1922-2020/): First broadcast on Caesar’s Hour on 19 October 1955 on NBC television, we have a version of Pagliacci that everyone will understand, even if they can’t understand Italian... . and especially if they can’t understand Italian. In Sid Caesar’s inimitable pseudo-Italian, we
- [Sustainability and Classical Music<br/>How the Metropolitan Opera “Recycles” an Opera in a Good Way](https://interlude.hk/sustainability-and-classical-music/): I was asked the other day for some ideas for sustainability and classical music. Hmmm. Not a topic I’ve heard much on. In doing research on sustainability and music, two non-classical topics turn up: how to make rock festivals (think
- [Nathalie Stutzmann](https://interlude.hk/nathalie-stutzmann/): On Conducting: “I am risky, but not insecure” Not only is Nathalie Stutzmann one of the most renowned contraltos in the world, she is also highly in demand as a conductor, having worked with groups including the Los Angeles Philharmonic,
- [“32 Masterpieces” – Complete Beethoven Piano Sonatas<br/>Jonathan Biss, Piano](https://interlude.hk/32-masterpieces-complete-beethoven-piano-sonatasjonathan-biss-piano/): the intensity of my current immersion with his music has become one of the most profound experiences of my life. Jonathan Biss For American pianist Jonathan Biss, Beethoven has been a near-constant companion for almost his entire life. He has been
- [Renaissance Duets: Pietrobono and His Tenorista](https://interlude.hk/renaissance-duets-pietrobono-and-his-tenorista/): Our image of the Renaissance lutenist is of the musician bending over his lute, generally surrounded by his music books. But we know from contemporary sources, that 15th-century lutenists made their art in company. The Ferrarese virtuoso lutenist Pietrobono (c.
- [The Madras Musical Association Through the Ages](https://interlude.hk/the-madras-musical-association-through-the-ages/): Hailed as India’s longest-running music society, the Madras Musical Association (MMA) celebrated its 125th anniversary in 2018 with a series of concerts and tours illustrating its diverse musical repertoire and expanding membership and popularity. This year, the MMA embarked on
- [The Complete Pianist <br/>From Healthy Technique to Natural Artistry - Penelope Roskell](https://interlude.hk/the-complete-pianist-from-healthy-technique-to-natural-artistry-penelope-roskell/): The Complete Pianist is exactly that: a comprehensive, generous guide to playing and teaching the piano, and one of the most significant volumes on piano technique to appear in recent decades, written by renowned pedagogue and British concert pianist Penelope
- [The Music of Poetry<br/>Charles Baudelaire: “Harmonie du Soir”](https://interlude.hk/the-music-of-poetrycharles-baudelaire-harmonie-du-soir/): Charles Baudelaire (1821-1867), according to TS Eliot was the first modern poet, “the greatest exemplar in modern poetry in any language. ” He produced unprecedented expressions of a complex sensibility and of modern themes within structures of classical rigor and technical
- [Le Mozart Noir<br/>Joseph Boulogne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges (1748-1799)](https://interlude.hk/le-mozart-noirjoseph-boulogne-chevalier-de-saint-georges-1748-1799/): Joseph Boulogne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges (1748-1799) was the darling of French Society, and he was one of the most accomplished men of his age. Born in St. Dominique—now Haiti—to a wealthy plantation owner and his black Senegalese slave Nanon, “said
- [Always Wanted to Learn How to Read Musical Rhythms? Some Fun Hints](https://interlude.hk/always-wanted-to-learn-how-to-read-musical-rhythms-some-fun-hints/): We recently explored how to learn to read the notes of a piece of music. But that’s only half the battle! We can’t read music until we learn the rhythms too. Counting involves mathematics... not always everyone’s favorite subject. As a
- [The Breadth of the 20th Century: A Conversation With Dmytro Choni](https://interlude.hk/the-breadth-of-the-20th-century-a-conversation-with-dmytro-choni/): In his debut album, winner of the 2018 Paloma O’Shea Santander International Piano Competition, Ukrainian pianist Dmytro Choni, has chosen a recital of Debussy, Ginastera, Ligeti and Prokofiev. This wide-ranging repertoire is seen by him as all having different characters
- [A Musical Awakening: Summer at Ladevie](https://interlude.hk/a-musical-awakening-summer-at-ladevie/): The titles in italics throughout refer to pieces by Claude Debussy. ‘Valse mélancolique et langoureux vertige’ (‘Melancholy waltz and languorous vertigo’) (Charles Baudelaire, Harmonie du Soir) From my seat on the grassy terrace outside Treowen Manor in the Wye, I
- [Expert Examples: Cello Kids](https://interlude.hk/expert-examples-cello-kids/): If you’re a cellist, and particularly if you’re early in your cello education, the thing you need most is an example. Actually seeing how a cellist plays the instrument, how she moves her bow, and what her fingers do is
- [Black Performers Matter](https://interlude.hk/black-performers-matter/): Jessye Norman Any catalogue of the most spectacular black performers in the world of classical music has to begin with Jessye Norman (1945-2019). She possessed one of the world’s most beautiful and powerful voices with a glorious rich middle and
- [Beethoven’s Lairs<br/>“Krugerstraße 10”](https://interlude.hk/beethovens-lairskrugerstrase-10/): Beethoven’s earliest documented contact with the Countess Anna Maria Erdödy dates from the year 1808, however, it is almost certain that he had become acquainted with her much earlier. The Countess was a competent pianist who had been living in
- [The Sound of the Night: Chopin’s Nocturne, Op. 9, No.2](https://interlude.hk/the-sound-of-the-night-chopins-nocturne-op-9-no-2/): Best-Known Chopin Music: Nocturnes for the Piano At age 20, Frédéric Chopin composed one of his best-known nocturnes for the piano, the iconic Chopin music. Nocturnes were brief piano works that were inspired by the night. It was Chopin who
- [Contemporary Music for Film: Three Great Soundtracks](https://interlude.hk/contemporary-music-for-film-three-great-soundtracks/): I am not always convinced about soundtracks. On the one hand, I regret music being composed, recorded and produced for the sole purpose of being an accompanying sound to a busy image. On the other hand, when developed rightly there
- [Everything Is Connected: Body Mapping for Musicians](https://interlude.hk/everything-is-connected-body-mapping-for-musicians/): Most people, including musicians, don’t really take any notice of their bodies until they feel pain or are injured. Athletes on the other hand tend to have a far greater awareness of the body, in tune with its mechanisms and
- [Composers of the Zodiac<br/>The Tropic of Cancer](https://interlude.hk/composers-of-the-zodiacthe-tropic-of-cancer/): Apologies to author Henry Miller for lifting the title of his novel, but for countless centuries people have gazed at the stars and studied the movements and positions of celestial objects. This particular study is currently known as astrology, and
- [Always Wanted to Learn How to Read Music but No Time to Try? Some Fun Hints](https://interlude.hk/always-wanted-to-learn-how-to-read-music-but-no-time-to-try-some-fun-hints/): I started the piano when I was five. My parents, both musicians, sensed I had talent because after my mother taught a piano lesson I would pick out the tunes with my pudgy little hands. But my first lessons were
- [Discovering Rubinstein](https://interlude.hk/discovering-rubinstein/): My first approach to Anton Rubinstein’s music came around 2013/14 when I was still a protégé of pianist Leslie Howard. He himself was indeed the first to rediscover and record the 4 Piano Sonatas and other pieces such as the
- [Black Composers Matter](https://interlude.hk/black-composers-matter/): Protesters across the United States have taken to the streets in the wake of George Floyd’s death demanding an end to police brutality and systemic racism. And as the international human rights movement “Black Lives Matter,” that protest has resonated
- [Playing with Dolls: The Theremin Reborn](https://interlude.hk/playing-with-dolls-the-theremin-reborn/): They sit in rows, earphones on, doll in hand, and hand poised. A sound emerges, as much like singing as you can imagine. It’s a matryomin ensemble. Invented in 2003 by Japanese theremin player Masami Takeuchi, the matryomin combines two
- [Antoine Reicha (1770-1836): A forgotten visionary](https://interlude.hk/antoine-reicha-1770-1836-a-forgotten-visionary/): “Music is as much a science and craft as it is an art” In his unpublished autobiography, probably dictated to his wife Virginie Enaust, Antoine Reicha summarizes his aesthetic outlook on music. He writes, “As I was both composer and
- [My Beethoven by Doug](https://interlude.hk/my-beethoven-by-doug/): Discovering Beethoven: A Visual Introduction Beethoven is well-known by all. However, to some this knowledge is often peripheral — just as one would not recognise an obscure Van Gogh when facing it, some average listener could struggle in identifying some
- [Finishing the Series: Maxwell Davies’ Tenth Naxos Quartet](https://interlude.hk/finishing-the-series-maxwell-davies-tenth-naxos-quartet/): In 2001, the first of English composer Peter Maxwell Davies’ Naxos Quartets was completed. A set of ten quartets had been commissioned by Naxos Records and he took the opportunity to examine the string quartet as a whole and to
- [Clare College Choir: Arvo Pärt and ClareCast](https://interlude.hk/clare-college-choir-arvo-part-and-clarecast/): Hot off the heels of the release of their latest album Stabat, I chat to Graham Ross, Director of Music at Clare College, Cambridge about their newest release, featuring the music of Arvo Pärt alongside works by Pēteris Vasks and
- [<em>Caprice Brillant</em>: Building a Collection of Caprices](https://interlude.hk/caprice-brillant-building-a-collection-of-caprices/): My new album, ‘Caprice Brillant’ comprises a study of caprices, both well-known and unfamiliar, by Bach, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Jaëll, Liszt, Moszkowski, Clementi, Kapustin and Godowsky. The inspiration to build a collection of caprices grew out of one particular piece of
- [Should You Charge Less for Online Lessons?](https://interlude.hk/should-you-charge-less-for-online-lessons/): With the coronavirus and the attendant need for social distancing likely to last for months, many teachers have moved online in order to continue teaching, using applications such as Zoom, Skype and Facetime. This has forced a rapid embrace and
- [Franz Schubert’s “Swansong”](https://interlude.hk/franz-schuberts-swansong/): We still don’t know exactly where the idiom “Swansong” actually originated, but presently we use it to mean a last effort or final production coming from someone in a respective field before retirement, or sometimes, death. It is probably most
- [13 Facts You Didn’t Know About Clara Schumann](https://interlude.hk/13-facts-you-didnt-know-about-clara-schumann/): Many music lovers only know a few things about Clara Wieck Schumann: that her father forbade her from marrying Robert Schumann, for instance, or that Brahms fell in love with her. But she was more than just a daughter, wife,
- [Recording Bach's Three-Part Inventions at Home](https://interlude.hk/recording-bachs-three-part-inventions-at-home/): Boris Giltburg reflects on the process of playing and recording Bach’s Three-Part Inventions alone, at home. Plus, enjoy the full video of the performances... This was supposed to be a fun project. Honestly. There was something exciting, even romantic in
- [On My Music Desk……<br/>Cheryl Frances-Hoad – Song Without Words](https://interlude.hk/on-my-music-desksong-without-words-by-cheryl-frances-hoad/): When I was planning the programme for my final performance diploma, I needed a short introductory piece that would either contrast with or complement the main work in the programme, Schubert’s monumental Sonata in A, D959. I was keen to
- [Antoine Reicha and Ludwig van Beethoven<br/>“We Could Not Stay Apart in Our Youth”](https://interlude.hk/antoine-reicha-and-ludwig-van-beethoven-we-could-not-stay-apart-in-our-youth/): There are a variety of reasons why the exceptional composer and theorist Antoine Reicha (1770-1836) has been confined to the dusty pages of music history. For one, he brusquely turned his back on the performance and publication of his own
- [Beethoven and Film](https://interlude.hk/beethoven-and-film/): All kinds of Beethoven’s music have been used in films – nothing quite says culture like our heroine sitting down at the piano and rippling a few tender tunes with her delicate fingers. The familiar sound of the Bagatelle No.
- [Patrons: Music as a Market](https://interlude.hk/patrons-music-as-a-market/): A patron — in French mécène, from Gaius Mæcenas, first Roman ”patron of arts” — supports artists by providing them with financial, promotional or material contributions (that sometimes extends to a place to work and/or live), and through commissioning them
- [The Noise of War: Smetana’s <em>Wallenstein's Camp</em>, Op. 141](https://interlude.hk/the-noise-of-war-smetanas-wallensteins-camp-op-141/): Bedřich Smetana (1824-1884) synthesized his native Czech music with the larger Classical tradition. He’s best known today for his opera The Bartered Bride and his massive 6-part symphonic poem Má vlast. Smetana was the 11th child of a brewer who
- [Teaching Online Is the Way Forward for the Foreseeable Future](https://interlude.hk/teaching-online-is-the-way-forward-for-the-foreseeable-future/): It seems as if almost our entire world has moved online in response to the coronavirus. “Online” is our means to work and to play, and musicians have embraced it fully, from livestreamed concerts from their living rooms to ensemble
- [The Therapeutic Power of Music](https://interlude.hk/the-therapeutic-power-of-music/): Comforting Stories of Persevering Classical Musicians Despite Hardship and Struggles The common image of the struggling artist started with Mr. Ludwig van B. We all know the story of him overcoming his disability to create some of the most uplifting
- [Musicians and Artists: Johannes Brahms and Max Klinger](https://interlude.hk/music-and-art-johannes-brahms-and-max-klinger/): The German symbolist artist Max Klinger (1857-1920) took inspiration from Brahms to create his Brahmsphantasie, a book of music and images that took Brahms’ music to a level never before seen. In his Brahmsphantasie, Klinger divided the work into 3
- [Mood Music](https://interlude.hk/mood-music/): What on earth is mood music? As a composer, I write music to offer or extract a certain feeling from a listener, but do I intentionally create music to suit a mood or a place? Not that I’m aware of.
- [A Remarkable, Bittersweet Return to Live Music at London’s Wigmore Hall](https://interlude.hk/a-remarkable-bittersweet-return-to-live-music-at-londons-wigmore-hall/): Wigmore Hall BBC Radio 3 Special Broadcasts SeriesStephen Hough: JS Bach & Schumann Rarely has a live concert series been so eagerly anticipated. Twenty lunchtime recitals at London’s pre-eminent chamber music venue featuring such luminaries of the classical music world
- [Walter Ponce’s The Tyranny of Tradition in Piano Teaching](https://interlude.hk/walter-ponces-the-tyranny-of-tradition-in-piano-teaching/): This is a sharp, humorous critique of book tradition of piano instruction and the current music education system, particularly in the United States. Author, Walter Ponce, is an internationally acclaimed pianist, pedagogue, and Professor Emeritus at the State University of
- [Anton (Antoine) Reicha](https://interlude.hk/anton-antoine-reicha/): “Ideas came to me with such rapidity” You most likely have come across the composer Anton (Antoine) Reicha (1770-1836) in a footnote in a book on Beethoven. They were teenage buddies in Bonn, and even played in the same orchestra.
- [Beethoven’s Lairs <br/>“Unter-Döbling”](https://interlude.hk/beethovens-lairs-unter-dobling/): In the summer of 1800, Beethoven took quarters for himself and a servant in a house in the village of Unter-Döbling, about one hour walk from Vienna City Center. Beethoven habitually escaped the oppressive heat of the inner city during
- [Challenging the Pianist: Alkan’s <em>Ouverture</em>](https://interlude.hk/challenging-the-pianist-alkans-ouverture/): Parisian composer and virtuoso pianist Charles-Valentin Alkan (1813-1888) wrote some of the most fiendishly difficult piano music of his time. He entered the Paris Conservatoire at age six and had a long public career. After 1848, however, he became quite
- [Pablo Heras-Casado](https://interlude.hk/pablo-heras-casado/): ‘Be Instinctive, Reactive, Part of the Dialogue’ Spanish conductor Pablo Heras-Casado is renowned for a career that encompasses a wide range of repertoire and styles with orchestras all over the world. He has appeared with orchestras including the Philharmonia and
- [Live Music Returns to London’s Wigmore Hall](https://interlude.hk/live-music-returns-to-londons-wigmore-hall/): John Gilhooly, Director of London’s prestigious Wigmore Hall, has announced a new series of lunchtime concerts at the Hall, starting on 1 June. This is, sadly, not a return to “normal” for classical music – far from it – but
- [Remote Teaching: Lessons From a Pupil](https://interlude.hk/remote-teaching-lessons-from-a-pupil/): During this extraordinary period of one’s musical career – at the height of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic – every teaching musician affected by lockdown has a single professional goal: instrumental lessons must be kept safe, personal and inspirational, and pupils’
- [Lieder ohne Worte III<br/>Composer’s Fancy and Player’s Delight](https://interlude.hk/lieder-ohne-worte-iiicomposers-fancy-and-players-delight/): Because of its brevity and seeming simplicity, the “Lied ohne Worte” became a musical and technical test bed for a good many aspiring composers. In addition, it could deliberately, or as was the case with Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, inadvertently express
- [Friedrich Hölderlin (1770–1843): Expressing the Content in Music](https://interlude.hk/friedrich-holderlin-1770-1843-expressing-the-content-in-music/): “For Our Generation Walks as in Hades, Without the Divine” German idealist poets and thinkers working in the late 18th and early 19th centuries were primarily concerned with the descent of the French revolution into Bonapartism, noting Germany’s failure to
- [The Rhythmic Voice in Music](https://interlude.hk/the-rhythmic-voice-in-music/): Rhythm begins in the womb with the heartbeats of the mother and the child. The synchronisation of the heartbeats of a mother and her foetus does actually occur at times, this shows us how important that rhythm is to us
- [Train-Spotting Composers](https://interlude.hk/train-spotting-composers/): Can you imagine naming a whole class of trains after composers? That’s what British Rail did with its Class 92 electric locomotives. From Beethoven to Wagner (or, so cite British composers, from Britten to Sullivan), the names of composers from
- [Exotic Dancing with Jean Françaix](https://interlude.hk/exotic-dancing-with-jean-francaix/): When Francis Poulenc described the musical scene in wartime Paris to musicologist André Schaeffner, he singled out two composers who took notice of modern trends. One was unsurprisingly Olivier Messiaen, who was forging ahead with a “synthetic modal techniques within
- [Looking at Beethoven: After His Death](https://interlude.hk/looking-at-beethoven-after-his-death/): The first image we have of Beethoven after his death is his death mask. It was common to take a death mask of famous people, either to serve as a memory or as a basis for portraits. The method was
- [The Bright Spark of a Brief Life: Boulanger’s <em>Du fond de l’abîme</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-bright-spark-of-a-brief-life-boulangers-du-fond-de-labime/): French composer Lili Boulanger (1893-1918), younger sister to the famous composer and teacher Nadia Boulanger (1887-1979), was ill most of her short life, but at her death, age 24, she had achieved much that would change modern French and international
- [Celebrating Celia](https://interlude.hk/celebrating-celia/): “I always sang. Both my father (Edwin) and his sister, Muriel were gifted singers, but Edwin was streets ahead because he was also a brilliant pianist and, from my very youngest years, I had the pleasure and honour of listening
- [Will Coronavirus Cause a Rethink in Attitudes and Habits of Musicians and Audiences?](https://interlude.hk/will-coronavirus-cause-a-rethink-in-attitudes-and-habits-of-musicians-and-audiences/): There is no question that the coronavirus pandemic has had a profound effect on our daily lives, and its effect and after-effects will continue to be felt for many months and possibly years to come. For musicians, the effect of
- [Friedrich Hölderlin (1770–1843)<br/> “We Are Nothing; What We Search for Is Everything”](https://interlude.hk/friedrich-holderlin-1770-1843-we-are-nothing-what-we-search-for-is-everything/): Today, as we celebrate the 250th birthday of Friedrich Hölderlin (1770–1843), we consider him among the greatest of German lyric poets. During his lifetime, however, Hölderlin gained little recognition—he was a colleague of Hegel and Schelling—and he was almost totally
- [Women Conductors Breaking Through the Glass Ceiling<br/>Xian Zhang](https://interlude.hk/women-conductors-breaking-through-the-glass-ceilingxian-zhang/): Conductor Xian Zhang has perhaps had a more difficult road than many conductors. She was born in Dandong, China, in 1973 just after the Cultural Revolution during which western music was forbidden. Named Xian, which means ‘string’—of a stringed instrument—her
- [Babe Magnet Gabriel Fauré<br/>Emma Bardac & Cie.](https://interlude.hk/babe-magnet-gabriel-faureemma-bardac-cie/): Biographers have suggested that Gabriel Fauré “always retained a great affection for his wife Marie Frémiet. ” She did have, it was said, a withdrawn, bitter and difficult character. Combined with Fauré’s keen sensuality and desire to please, it possibly helps
- [A Short Image of a Musical Ekphrasis](https://interlude.hk/a-short-image-of-a-musical-ekphrasis/): The ancient Greeks used Ekphrasis as a method for training students to describe a visual object. Ekphrasis is a verbal or written description of a visual object. Down through history it has been used by artists to relate to other
- [Unusual Instruments: Arnold’s <em>Grand Grand Festival Overture</em>](https://interlude.hk/unusual-instruments-arnolds-grand-grand-festival-overture/): One of the delights of the 2003 movie Les Triplettes de Belleville was the nightclub scene where the triplets, who had been stars of the French music halls in the 1930s, take the stage in their very old age with
- [Painted and Musical Portraits of Children<br/>Auguste Renoir and Jean Françaix](https://interlude.hk/painted-and-musical-portraits-of-childrenauguste-renoir-and-jean-francaix/): Auguste Renoir (1841–1919) started his career as a porcelain painter. However, the young man had clearly grander ambitions, and he soon found himself in the company of the academic artist Charles Gleyre, Claude Monet, Frédéric Bazille, and Alfred Sisley. The
- [My Beethoven by Maureen](https://interlude.hk/my-beethoven-by-maureen/): One of the things that we are often unaware of is how much our first hearing of a work can influence our thoughts on that work. I don’t think I really paid attention to the music around me unless I
- [In the Virtuoso Spirit: Paul Huang](https://interlude.hk/in-the-virtuoso-spirit-paul-huang/): The violin virtuosos of the 19th century were the rock stars of their day – they commanded the audiences, their latest appearances were awaited on with bated breath, and their wild playing inspired their audiences to awe. A modern virtuoso
- [Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924) <br/> “I'm Not in the Habit of Attracting Crowds”](https://interlude.hk/gabriel-faure-1845-1924-im-not-in-the-habit-of-attracting-crowds/): A good many commentators consider Gabriel Fauré the “greatest master of French song. ” He composed stylish and elegant melodies, etched with sleight-of hand urbanity. His music flows effortlessly, “magically combining Monet’s liquid cool with the warmth of a Pisarro landscape. ”
- [The Music of Poetry<br/>Walt Whitman “When Lilacs Last in the Door-Yard Bloom'd”](https://interlude.hk/the-music-of-poetrywalt-whitman-when-lilacs-last-in-the-door-yard-bloomd/): When Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) was elected President in 1860, seven slave states left the Union to form the Confederate States of America, and four more joined when hostilities began between the North and South. The American Civil War lasted for
- [Finding Inspiration in Isolation](https://interlude.hk/finding-inspiration-in-isolation/): The arts don’t exist in isolation. David Byrne, musician Musicians, like writers and artists, need quiet time and solitude to pursue their work. The desire to withdraw, often for hours on end, is not necessarily a sign of unsociability nor introvertedness
- [Playing With Musical Terms](https://interlude.hk/playing-with-musical-terms/): Why are there so many words when it comes to music? And in so many languages, like Italian, German, French, and even English! Often, one has to decipher obscure words to read the score and the musical directions, which include
- [Lieder ohne Worte II<br/>Composer’s Fancy and Player’s Delight](https://interlude.hk/lieder-ohne-worte-iicomposers-fancy-and-players-delight/): It is probably not common knowledge that the composer Charles Gounod and Fanny Hensel—sister of Felix Mendelssohn—met in Rome in 1839. Gounod had just been awarded the Prix de Rome and a scholarship to spend 12 months in the Eternal
- [All Music Is Dance Music](https://interlude.hk/all-music-is-dance-music/): I have always thought that the music I create could never be used as dance music. I hear certain slow pieces on the radio and think that there is no way anyone could choreograph movement to this near static music.
- [Dragging It Out to the Bitter End](https://interlude.hk/dragging-it-out-to-the-bitter-end/): What do old opera singers do when they age out? The early 20th-century soprano Nellie Melba did a farewell tour and then another one and then another one, so much that Webster’s dictionary made a verb of it. ‘To do
- [Babe Magnet Gabriel Fauré<br/>Marianne Viardot and Marie Frémiet](https://interlude.hk/babe-magnet-gabriel-fauremarianne-viardot-and-marie-fremiet/): Contemporary accounts all agree that Gabriel Fauré was extraordinarily attractive. “He had a dark complexion, a somewhat distant expression of the eyes, a soft voice and gentle manner of speech that retained the rolled provincial ‘r’, and a simple and
- [Beethoven the Tax Cheat](https://interlude.hk/beethoven-the-tax-cheat/): On 5 March 1825, Ludwig van Beethoven once again received a little friendly reminder from the local tax authorities. This time, however, the reminder was not friendly at all. Titled “Third Reminder,” the curt message reads, “Ludwig v. Beethoven is
- [Musical Schizophrenia: Mr. Jekyll & Dr. Hyde](https://interlude.hk/musical-schizophrenia-mr-jekyll-dr-hyde/): I have observed a bipolarity in my musical self that reflects through my two main musical activities; improvising and composing. Both completing each other — not through their similarities towards a creative goal but rather through their differences of qualities
- [Ernesto Lecuona (1895-1963): The Ambassador of Cuban Music](https://interlude.hk/ernesto-lecuona-1895-1963-the-ambassador-of-cuban-music/): The above picture was taken backstage after a performance at Hollywood Bowl in 1931. Ernesto Lecuona, far left, played George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue at the concert. Known as “The Cuban Gershwin,” Lecuona brought popular music onto the prestigious concert
- [The Music of Poetry<br/>Walt Whitman “Leaves of Grass”](https://interlude.hk/the-music-of-poetrywalt-whitman-leaves-of-grass/): Walt Whitman (1819-1892) has been called “America’s poet,” and he is considered the father—not the inventor—of free verse. One of the most influential bards, he produced literature of timelessness that appealed to the American idea of democracy and equality. Believing
- [Concerts and Concert-Going in the Time of Pandemic](https://interlude.hk/concerts-and-concert-going-in-the-time-of-pandemic/): As nations begin to tentatively emerge from lockdown in response to the coronavirus crisis, conversations are already taking place about how gatherings of people will be managed at a time when social distancing has become the norm to protect people
- [A Love Letter: Kernis’ <em>Air</em>](https://interlude.hk/a-love-letter-kernis-air/): Composer Aaron Jay Kernis (b. 1960) is a rare winner of both the Pulitzer Prize (for his 1997 string quartet Musica Instrumentalis) and Grammy Awards for contemporary classical composition and classical instrumental solo (for his 2019 Violin Concerto). Originally written
- [For the Love of Musical PUNS](https://interlude.hk/for-the-love-of-musical-puns/): A 2017 post by the radio station Classic FM, sited a conversation by Reddit user r3mus3, full of puns using the names of composers, which began due to a misspelled note from his father, “The Handel is broken. ” I thought,
- [Lieder ohne Worte<br/>Composer’s Fancy and Player’s Delight](https://interlude.hk/lieder-ohne-wortecomposers-fancy-and-players-delight/): How many composers can rightfully claim to have single-handedly invented a genre? Not that many, in fact, but Felix Mendelssohn would certainly be a strong candidate with his “Songs without Words. ” Although Mendelssohn relied on an existing tradition of writing
- [Nine Outstanding Australian Composers Part II](https://interlude.hk/nine-outstanding-australian-composers-part-ii/): In Part I of this article we looked at the Australian composers, Deborah Cheetham, Calvin Bowman, Katia Beaugeais, Richard Charlton, and Moya Henderson. In this part, we examine four more exceptional living Australian Composers. Cyrus Meurant Composer, violinist and keyboardist,
- [Dining with Ravel – The Ceramics of Clarice Cliff](https://interlude.hk/dining-with-ravel-the-ceramics-of-clarice-cliff/): When we think of composers as creative inspirations, we don’t often think of them appearing as coffee cups. The English ceramic artist, Clarice Cliff (1899-1972), started working in the pottery business when she was just 13 and became one of
- [Gabriel Fauré](https://interlude.hk/gabriel-faure/): “Music Exists to Elevate Us Above Everyday Existence” In 2020 we celebrate the 175th birthday of Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924). Rightfully considered the most advanced French composer of his generation, his highly personalized musical style, reflected in soulful modal melodies and
- [Beethoven’s Lairs<br/>“Alstergasse 45”](https://interlude.hk/beethovens-lairsalstergasse-45/): Ludwig van Beethoven’s first task after he had arrived in Vienna was to establish himself as a pianist and composer. And we know that this is something he achieved both rapidly and with remarkable success. For one, Beethoven had strong
- [Lynn Harrell Gentle Giant and Virtuoso Cellist](https://interlude.hk/lynn-harrell-gentle-giant-and-virtuoso-cellist/): (January 30, 1944 – April 28, 2020) The music world has lost one of the finest artists of our generation, cellist Lynn Harrell, a towering figure in more ways than one. At 6 feet 3 inches, (1. 9 meters) and 250
- [The Everyday Extraordinariness of Musicians](https://interlude.hk/the-everyday-extraordinariness-of-musicians/): It can come as quite a shock to encounter a professional musician outside of their natural home of the concert hall. Generally, our only contact with them, as audience members, may be a brief conversation in the green room after
- [The Trigger of Serendipity<br/>How Inspiration Arises](https://interlude.hk/the-trigger-of-serendipityhow-inspiration-arises/): The story of how I came to create and record one of my most recent pieces — entitled Chapel of Silence — sprung to me as being a great illustration of how inspiration arises. Doug Thomas: Chapel of Silence I
- [The Music of Poetry<br/>Paul Verlaine: <em>Sagesse</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-music-of-poetrypaul-verlaine-sagesse/): While sitting in his prison cell in Mons city jail, Verlaine drew sketches and composed what many literary critics consider to be his finest poetry. Incarcerated for shooting his fellow poet and lover Arthur Rimbaud, his time in jail isolated
- [Capturing the Wild Spirit of the Violin: Paul Huang](https://interlude.hk/capturing-the-wild-spirit-of-the-violin-paul-huang/): We regard the violin as the captive of the orchestra: the source of the brilliant melodies, the bright sparkle in the air, and the leader of the rest. Yet, as a solo instrument, in the hands of the right player,
- [Guy’s 10 All-Time Favourite Music Pieces](https://interlude.hk/guys-10-all-time-favourite-music-pieces/): Music is all in the mind, sharing the same subjective space as good films, memorable books and cherished works of art. How else could we access “Happy Birthday”, the National Anthem or the Hallelujah Chorus at a moment’s notice? However,
- [Nine Outstanding Australian Composers Part I](https://interlude.hk/nine-outstanding-australian-composers-part-i/): The music from living Australian composers is fresh and alive with the sounds of this vast country and the inventive ideas of its many composers. The music and culture of the Aboriginal people from Australia is one of the oldest
- [La Symphonie de Poche](https://interlude.hk/la-symphonie-de-poche/): Directed by Nicolas Simon, La Symphonie de Poche (‘Pocket Symphony’) is a unique collective of musicians dedicated to presenting new arrangements of familiar works, often in unfamiliar settings. The lineup, including harp, marimba, clarinet and baritone saxhorn (a cousin of
- [Composers on Other Planets – Mercury](https://interlude.hk/composers-on-other-planets-mercury/): The planet Mercury has just under 400 craters. The wonderful part is that most of them are named for famous people in the arts: writers, artists and composers. The rule for inclusion is that “all new craters must be named
- [Jean Françaix: A Funky Promenade of Musical Styles](https://interlude.hk/jean-francaix-a-funky-promenade-of-musical-styles/): Jean Françaix (1912-1997) was a prodigious musical talent. He received his first lessons in harmony and counterpoint from Nadia Boulanger at the age of 10! Maurice Ravel was mightily impressed, and wrote to Jean’s father, “Among the child’s gifts I
- [Looking at Beethoven: In His Life](https://interlude.hk/looking-at-beethoven-in-his-life/): We’re so familiar with the images of Beethoven in his mature years – the glower, the intense look, the solitary figure – but when we go back in time, we can see just how his contemporaries viewed him. The very
- [Libertango Fun With My Daughters During Lockdown](https://interlude.hk/libertango-fun-with-my-daughters-during-lockdown/): Like the rest of the world, we felt deeply affected by the coronavirus crisis and when my youngest daughter started taping tissue paper as masks for her toys, I thought of doing a family project involving music, as a sort
- [Nicolas-Charles Bochsa (1789-1856) <br/>First-Rate Harpist and Scoundrel](https://interlude.hk/nicolas-charles-bochsa-1789-1856-first-rate-harpist-and-scoundrel/): He was a forger, bigamist, and womanizer whom Fétis called “as distinguished an artist as he was a miserable man. ” His name was Nicolas-Charles Bochsa (1789-1856), and we must count him among the greatest harpists of the 19th century. Born
- [Tradition](https://interlude.hk/tradition/): Peer pressure from dead people or following in the footsteps of greatness? Classical music is swathed in tradition and culturally conditioned thinking. The traditions of concert-going, for example, are well-known (don’t applaud between movements, listen in reverential silence), and show
- [The Music of Poetry<br/>Paul Verlaine: <em>La Bonne Chanson</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-music-of-poetrypaul-verlaine-la-bonne-chanson/): The twenty-one poems published in La Bonne Chanson by Paul Verlaine are addressed to sixteen-year-old Mathilde Mauté de Fleurville. She came from a respectably bourgeois background, and the family had somehow amassed a fortune. They owned a small hotel and
- [Music as the Refugee: Işıl Bengi and Vasilije Mokranjac’s <em>Six Dances</em>](https://interlude.hk/music-as-the-refugee-isil-bengi-and-vasilije-mokranjacs-six-dances/): The late 20th century and early 21st century were times of upheaval – whole populations on the move to escape war, to escape famine, to escape persecution, to just escape from the crumbled world that surrounded them. For the more
- [Meditation on Silence: Suggestions to Combat Isolation](https://interlude.hk/meditation-on-silence-suggestions-to-combat-isolation/): As a young cellist, one of the first things I learned was that a page of music waits, quietly. A musical score, says pianist Jeremy Denk, is “at once a book and a book waiting to be written. ” The act
- [Women Conductors Breaking Through the Glass Ceiling<br/>Marin Alsop](https://interlude.hk/women-conductors-breaking-through-the-glass-ceilingmarin-alsop/): Marin Alsop, perhaps one of the best-known women conductors, has broken through the glass ceiling decisively. She was the first woman to be appointed as music director of a major American orchestra in 2007, and has led the Baltimore Symphony
- [Music Under Quarantine<br/>Bon Voyage From Your Sofa](https://interlude.hk/music-under-quarantinebon-voyage-from-your-sofa/): Judging from the number of articles floating around these days, if you’d ask people what they miss most during this quarantine, the majority would probably answer “the ability to travel. ” We’ve become incredibly mobile in the 21st century, and a
- [Eight Outstanding Australian Music Ensembles](https://interlude.hk/eight-outstanding-australian-music-ensembles/): Australia is blessed with oodles of outstanding music groups that play across styles and genres. Many go hand-in-hand with the fresh and lively music that Australian composers create. These eight ensembles highlight what is best about Australia and its diverse
- [Khachaturian - Piano Works / Iyad Sughayer](https://interlude.hk/khachaturian-piano-works-iyad-sughayer/): The young Jordanian-Palestinian pianist Iyad Sughayer makes an excellent case for the piano music of Aram Khachaturian in this impressive debut album. His interest in this music developed at a young age – he played the Toccata when he was
- [Reeds - What’s All the Fuss About?](https://interlude.hk/reeds-whats-all-the-fuss-about/): Fewer words strike equal amounts of fear and frustration into the heart of wind players than the word ‘reed’. This seemingly simple piece of cane we attach to our mouthpiece can be the make or break between a beautiful sound
- [Henry Vieuxtemps (1820-1881)<br/>Virtuoso and Pedagogue](https://interlude.hk/henry-vieuxtemps-1820-1881virtuoso-and-pedagogue/): The 19th century saw the emergence of a new kind of democratic society, and musical life began to center on the public concert hall. Whereas previously the musician had functioned under a system of aristocratic patronage, they now were supported
- [Music Under Quarantine<br/>Feeding the Imagination](https://interlude.hk/music-under-quarantinefeeding-the-imagination/): If being locked up under quarantine is getting on your nerves, just imagine how your children feel? In times of uncertainty, the experts suggest that children and young people need as much stability as possible. They look to us on
- [My Beethoven by Frances](https://interlude.hk/my-beethoven-by-frances/): I can’t remember how old I was when I first encountered the music of Ludwig van Beethoven, but I probably first heard his music on the record player in my paternal grandfather’s front room, a space which was used only
- [Live-Streaming: The Bastard Child of Live & Recorded Performance](https://interlude.hk/live-streaming-the-bastard-child-of-live-recorded-performance/): My mother is a phenomenally smart woman – virtually everything she says is correct. Sadly, even after 31 years of listening to her sage advice (read: nagging), I still find myself occasionally having to admit that, yet again, I was
- [Is There a Keith Jarrett Blueprint?](https://interlude.hk/is-there-a-keith-jarrett-blueprint/): The following article is a rewrite and condensation of a university dissertation written in 2015. Approached quite ingenuously at the time, I later came to realise that this writing had prematurely exposed what is to become my primary approach to
- [THE EXHALE<br/>A Holistic Approach to Inspiring Musicians’ Well-Being](https://interlude.hk/the-exhalea-holistic-approach-to-inspiring-musicians-well-being/): Founded by renowned violinist Gwendolyn Masin, The Exhale is a series of online holistic music masterclasses bringing together a faculty of world-class artists and practitioners. Created for professional musicians, string students who wish to pursue a professional career, players in
- [Whole Body Learning](https://interlude.hk/whole-body-learning/): A Complete Approach to Learning Music Whole Body Learning (WBL) or kinaesthetic learning is a way of teaching and learning music which engages body, mind and emotions, drawing on the principles and approaches of early 20th-century educators such as Orff,
- [The Music of Poetry<br/>Paul Verlaine: “Mandoline”](https://interlude.hk/the-music-of-poetrypaul-verlaine-mandoline/): When Paul Verlaine’s Fêtes galantes was published in 1869, Théodore de Banville penned the following critique in Le National of 19 April. “There are art-crazed minds, enamored of poetry more than of nature, who want Amintes and Cydalises deftly coiffed
- [Virtual Music or Live Concert Hall Music? What Do You Want?](https://interlude.hk/virtual-music-or-live-concert-hall-music-what-do-you-want/): Could virtual concerts become the norm following the COVID-19 outbreak? With economies, companies and groups around the world taking a major financial hit due to lockdown restrictions, some orchestras and ensembles might have to rely upon the virtual world to
- [Summer Fun: Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s <em>Scherzino</em>](https://interlude.hk/summer-fun-castelnuovo-tedescos-scherzino/): After a long hard winter there’s nothing like the gentle arrival of spring and after a wet spring, we welcome summer with relief. In the 13th century, a lovely rota, or round, was written that celebrated the summer’s arrival, ‘Sumer
- [Music Under Quarantine<br/>Nose to the Grindstone](https://interlude.hk/music-under-quarantinenose-to-the-grindstone/): There are always two sides to everything, and that includes working from home. Some people greatly prefer a 40-hour week in the office, while others believe they are happier and more productive at home. Ever-evolving technologies have made it possible
- [Stuck at Home With Your Kids, and Losing Your Mind?<br/>Music-Making Ideas During COVID-19](https://interlude.hk/stuck-at-home-with-your-kids-and-losing-your-mindmusic-making-ideas-during-covid-19/): With our kids at home, many of us are at a loss as to how to continue their music education while also finding time to practice or get other work done ourselves! There are certain prerequisites before beginning music lessons.
- [Orchestral Hints - Parts and Marking Up](https://interlude.hk/orchestral-hints-parts-and-marking-up/): It may sound strange if I told you I get warned on a regular basis at work – but it might not be for the reasons you would think. I’m talking about the world of orchestral parts; often well-used, dog-eared
- [What’s the Point of Talking About Music?](https://interlude.hk/whats-the-point-of-talking-about-music/): As a composer and concert reviewer, I sit in a unique position of being someone who creates music and then has to write about it. Leonard Bernstein was a composer, conductor and educator like few others. Here Leonard Bernstein discusses
- [Writing the National Music History<br/>Rimsky-Korsakov’s <em>Russian Easter Festival</em>](https://interlude.hk/writing-the-national-music-historyrimsky-korsakovs-russian-easter-festival/): The Russian composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908) was unusual in that he combined his music career with his professional career in the Russian Navy, first as an officer in the Navy and then as inspector of the Naval Bands. His musical
- [On Isolation](https://interlude.hk/on-isolation/): The current world situation and the spread of the biggest pandemic of the century — resulting in quarantine and isolation —has brought many people in front of one of their scariest fear: solitude. Contradictorily, for the artists it is a
- [Henry Vieuxtemps and Josephine Eder](https://interlude.hk/henry-vieuxtemps-and-josephine-eder/): “Harmony cannot fail to rule over their household. ” On 19 April 1833 the musical magazine Bohemia published the following review of pianist Josephine Eder (1815-1868): “She treats the light and difficult parts with the same certainty, combines taste and delicacy,
- [Music Under Quarantine<br/>Feel the Burn](https://interlude.hk/music-under-quarantinefeel-the-burn/): Best Classical Music to Workout to Even When You Are at Home Recently I read that an enthusiastic chap completed a marathon run inside his apartment. That’s right, unable to train in the outside world because of the Covid-19 lockdown,
- [Beethoven and Money](https://interlude.hk/beethoven-and-money/): For much of his career and life, Beethoven was struggling financially. He would on occasion make a shedload of money, which he tended to invest in bank shares. However, the severe depreciation of the Austrian currency as a result of
- [Music Under Quarantine<br/> Counting Sheep](https://interlude.hk/music-under-quarantine-counting-sheep/): In times of medical quarantine and government lockdowns, our stress levels can go through the roof. And that’s a particularly nasty problem when it comes to falling and/or staying asleep. We’ve all spent nights of restless tossing and turning with
- [The Different Voices of Spring](https://interlude.hk/the-different-voices-of-spring/): What does Spring mean to you – a season of soft breezes? A season of soft mud? The return of the birds? The return of liquid water? The return of the green trees? Flowers pushing up through the snow? Or
- [Staying Healthy: Mental Health With Help Musicians](https://interlude.hk/staying-healthy-mental-health-with-help-musicians/): Life as a musician brings with it its own unique set of problems and challenges, and in my previous article I talked about how I try to stay healthy and happy while away from home. Perhaps even more pressing than
- [Understanding Performance Anxiety II](https://interlude.hk/understanding-performance-anxiety-ii/): Managing the physical symptoms “Each time, before I went on stage, I began to think, ‘How can I go on playing the piano, if this is what it’s going to be like? ’” – Steven Osborne, concert pianist The physical symptoms
- [The Music of Poetry<br/>Paul Verlaine: “En Sourdine”](https://interlude.hk/the-music-of-poetrypaul-verlaine-en-sourdine/): Paul Verlaine (1844-1896) has been called “one of the most purely lyrical of French poets... an initiator of the modern word-music that marks a transition between the Romantic poets and the Symbolists. ” His best poetry declared that the French language could
- [Three Dances in One: Sullivan’s <em>Overture di Ballo</em>](https://interlude.hk/three-dances-in-one-sullivans-overture-di-ballo/): The same year composer Arthur Sullivan (1842-1900) met dramatist W. S. Gilbert (1836-1911), he wrote his Overture di Ballo, which, as one scholar suggested, might be better titled A Dance Overture. Before his famous collaboration with Gilbert, Sullivan was an up-and-coming
- [Naughty Musicians<br/>Crazy Stunts, Jokes, and Toilet Paper Playing During Covid-19](https://interlude.hk/naughty-musicianscrazy-stunts-jokes-and-toilet-paper-playing-during-covid-19/): Times are tough. We all need a laugh and many musicians are among those who are lightening the mood with crazy jokes, and stunts. For eons viola players have been the brunt of classical music jokes. Here’s one—Why do violists
- [Raphael (1483-1520) <br/>Seraphic Renaissance Genius](https://interlude.hk/raphael-1483-1520-seraphic-renaissance-genius/): 500 years ago, on 6 April 1520, one of the greatest painters and architects of the High Renaissance died suddenly at the age of 37. Raffaello Santi, better known simply as Raphael, hailed from the Italian town of Urbino, a
- [The Self-Isolating Musician](https://interlude.hk/the-self-isolating-musician/): The coronavirus is forcing us to practice social distancing and self-isolation. As I joked on Twitter the other day, musicians, and especially pianists, have been self-isolating for years! The musician’s life is, by necessity, lonely for in that sequestered time
- [Doctors’ Orchestras](https://interlude.hk/doctors-orchestras/): In a previous article on Medical Musicians, I looked at the question of why people in the medical fraternity are drawn to making music in groups much more than other professional bodies. This article highlights many of the doctors’ orchestras
- [The World of Fabergé<br/>Imperial Easter Eggs](https://interlude.hk/the-world-of-fabergeimperial-easter-eggs/): In pre-Christian celebrations of spring, the egg was seen as a symbol of rebirth. Symbolizing the resurrection of Jesus, it was subsequently defined as an Easter egg by early Christians, “likening the egg symbol to the tomb from which Christ
- [Ole Bull’s Desperate Gamble](https://interlude.hk/ole-bulls-desperate-gamble/): If we can trust Robert Schumann’s assessment, the Norwegian violin virtuoso Ole Bull (1810-1880) was an “equal to Paganini for the speed and the clarity of his playing. ” However, Bull’s path to fame and fortune was not an easy one.
- [Music Under Quarantine<br/>Lower Your Cortisol](https://interlude.hk/music-under-quarantinelower-your-cortisol/): “Music for a little while, shall all your cares beguile,” wrote the English playwright Nathaniel Lee at the end of the 17th century. As we all know, music has the power to lift your mood, combat depression, improve blood flow
- [Henry Vieuxtemps](https://interlude.hk/henry-vieuxtemps/): “Not runs for the sake of runs” Henry Vieuxtemps (1820-1881) was undoubtedly one of the greatest violinists of his time, combining superb technical command with a deep musical understanding. As a performer he was praised for his “flawless and expressive
- [The Place Where God Resides: Danielpour’s <em>The Passion of Yeshua</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-place-where-god-resides-danielpours-the-passion-of-yeshua/): The problem with Passion oratorios is that so many of them were written not from a sense of awe, but a sense of getting back at the bad guys. Many of the usual Passion texts have an anti-Semitic flavour that
- [Concerts in the Time of Coronavirus](https://interlude.hk/concerts-in-the-time-of-coronavirus/): Concert– a performance by musicians or singers for an audience The word “concert” conjures up an image of a beautiful hall, an orchestra or soloists on stage and an appreciative audience listening intently. From the grand old halls such as
- [Beethoven’s Lairs<br/>“Tiefer Graben 10”](https://interlude.hk/beethovens-lairstiefer-graben-10/): It comes as no surprise that Beethoven moved dozens of times during his time in Vienna. Never a homeowner, he did not have much furniture to carry around, and finding lodgings was somewhat easier than it is now. However, he
- [Chris’ 10 All-Time Favourite Music Pieces](https://interlude.hk/chris-10-all-time-favourite-music-pieces/): Top 10 lists are hard, especially when your limitations are ‘the last four hundred or so years of classical music in any form’. But then again, they’re also quite fun and require a bit of thought, so here goes –
- [Music and the Plague and Other Dilemmas](https://interlude.hk/music-and-the-plague-and-other-dilemmas/): The Plague was the Medieval world’s pandemic. The 20th and 21st century pandemic is the flu. No black swellings of the lymph nodes for the modern patient, we get lung problems with fever. St. Sebastian, he of the arrows, was
- [The Music of Poetry<br/>Paul Verlaine: “Clair de lune”](https://interlude.hk/the-music-of-poetrypaul-verlaine-clair-de-lune/): In 1911 Claude Debussy was questioned in the journal “Musica” on the ideal text to set to music. Having skeptically illustrated a number of possibilities, the composer declared his preference for rhythmic prose, adding that the composer himself should write
- [Understanding Performance Anxiety](https://interlude.hk/understanding-performance-anxiety/): In this, the first of a series of articles, I will look at the origins and causes of Performance Anxiety. Subsequent articles will offer strategies for managing anxiety. For many musicians, “stage fright” or Performance Anxiety is the fear which
- [Picturing Home: Braga Santos’ <em>Lisboa</em> Overture](https://interlude.hk/picturing-home-braga-santos-lisboa-overture/): Joly Braga Santos (1924-1988) brought Portugal into the full orchestral world of the 20th century. A student of Luís de Freitas Branco, he used his teacher’s symphonies as the springboard for his own orchestral explorations. As he looked at modern
- [Musicians for Troubling Times<br/>QuaranStreaming](https://interlude.hk/musicians-for-troubling-timesquaranstreaming/): Music and artists to the rescue. As we are quarantining, as perhaps never before, we are experiencing the value of music and the arts. We’re finding ways to collectively enjoy it virtually, by QuaraStreaming concerts, opera, chamber music, and individuals
- [Music Under Quarantine<br/>A Dash of Flavor](https://interlude.hk/music-under-quarantinea-dash-of-flavor/): Being stuck at home during this Coronavirus Pandemic is not all bad. For one, it is returning something the modern world has brutally stolen from us; time! We finally have enough time to leisurely read a book, watch a movie
- [Medical Musicians](https://interlude.hk/medical-musicians/): With the medical world up to their necks in the COVID-19 virus outbreak, medical people will not be getting much rest. But when things do get back to normal, they will be turning back to one of their greatest loves,
- [In Memoriam: Krzysztof Penderecki (1933-2020)<br/>Music in the Nuclear Age](https://interlude.hk/in-memoriam-krzystof-penderecki-1933-2020music-in-the-nuclear-age/): Throughout his life and career, Krzysztof Penderecki (1933-2020) considered music a fundamental and essential part of the human condition. He started composing when he was six, and his whole life as an artist has been a never-ending search for self-expression.
- [Modern American Influence: Bermel’s <em>A Shout, A Whisper, and A Trace</em>](https://interlude.hk/modern-american-influence-bermels-a-shout-a-whisper-and-a-trace/): America is a land of immigrants and this is just as true of its classical music as its cities. Clarinetist and composer Derek Bermel opens his mind to the musical influences in the world around him and his ears to
- [#LiveFromHome With the VOCES8 Foundation](https://interlude.hk/livefromhome-with-the-voces8-foundation/): The Coronavirus chaos has seen many arts organisations and individuals take to the online world in creative and engaging ways to keep on reaching out to their audiences, the vast majority of whom will be on lockdown for the foreseeable
- [Benjamin Bernheim](https://interlude.hk/benjamin-berheim/): French tenor Benjamin Berheim talks to me from Zurich, where the COVID-19 outbreak is confining him for the immediate future. Previous to his confinement he was in Paris, performing Le chevalier des Grieux in Manon, a run that got cut
- [Music Under Quarantine <br/>Love in Times of Coronavirus](https://interlude.hk/music-under-quarantine-love-in-times-of-coronavirus/): With the coronavirus spreading across the world, we’ve had to dramatically change our daily lives. Closure of bars, restaurants, gyms, and theaters will slow the spread of the virus, but many of the primary avenues for meeting and engaging with
- [Music Under Quarantine<br/>Release Your Mojo](https://interlude.hk/music-under-quarantinerelease-your-mojo/): Don’t you just hate what this quarantine is doing to our feelings and our minds? Our thoughts are becoming like hungry vultures circling in ever-tighter spirals above the same depressing thoughts and disheartening feelings. It’s enough to drive you bonkers.
- [Haydn and the Annoying English Student](https://interlude.hk/haydn-and-the-annoying-english-student/): Joseph Haydn paid two extended visits to the city of London, in 1791-2 and again in 1794-5. As one of Europe’s most famous composers and musicians he enjoyed an exceedingly warm reception. The music historian and critic Charles Burney recalls
- [Music Under Quarantine<br/>Quickie Pick-Me-Ups](https://interlude.hk/music-under-quarantinequickie-pick-me-ups/): Sitting at home 24 hours a day is seriously getting on my nerves. And in turn, I get on the nerves of everybody else in the house. Just this morning, I barked at the dog! Instinctively we know that staying
- [Musicians and Artists: Julian Schnabel and Maria Callas](https://interlude.hk/art-and-music-julian-schnabel-and-maria-callas/): In 1982, American artist Julian Schnabel mixed what we might consider high and low culture in his four Maria Callas paintings. These highly abstract works, entitled Maria Callas #1, #2, #3, and #4, were painted on a beautiful dark red/purple
- [Capturing the ‘Sonorous Airs’ – Writing About Music](https://interlude.hk/capturing-the-sonorous-airs-writing-about-music/): Writing about music is like dancing about architecture Oft quoted, frequently mis-attributed, this statement brilliantly captures the difficulty of writing about something abstract, what Ferruccio Busoni called ‘sonorous airs’ – the music itself. There’s an over-abundance of writing about music
- [The Unheard Serenade: Wolf’s <em>Sérénade italienne</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-unheard-serenade-wolfs-serenade-italienne/): The Austrian composer Hugo Wolf (1860-1903) was a superb song composer, bringing the late Romantic lied into the modern age and, with it, imbuing the lied with a new conciseness that was more a hallmark of Schoenberg’s Second Viennese School.
- [Musicians for Troubling Times<br/>#PandemicSurvivalPlans, Resources, and Hilarity](https://interlude.hk/musicians-for-troubling-timespandemicsurvivalplans-resources-and-hilarity/): During social distancing, musicians and arts organizations are coming up with ways to continue to reach our audiences and our students. We also always resort to some silly games. Here are a few that my colleagues and I are engaging
- [The Composer](https://interlude.hk/the-composer/): How does a person become a composer? What are the attributes you need to write music? Can music composition be taught, and perhaps more importantly, can it be learned? As many universities and schools around the world already teach music
- [Creating Anew for the World We Want<br/> An Interview with Işıl Bengi](https://interlude.hk/creating-anew-for-the-world-we-want-an-interview-with-isil-bengi/): Pianist Işıl Bengi left her home country of Turkey to attend conservatory in Belgium. As an ex-pat, she’s faced the problem of longing for home, but knowing that she must stay where she’s successful. To honor this dilemma, her new
- [The Traveling Quartet – Chiayu’s <em>Journey to the West</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-traveling-quartet-chiayus-journey-to-the-west/): One of the greatest stories of ancient times is the tale of how the Buddhist scriptures came to China. Immortalized in Journey to the West, in a 16th-century text attributed to Wu Cheng’en, the mighty foursome of The Monkey King
- [The Future is Live(streaming)](https://interlude.hk/the-future-is-livestreaming/): Today is March 26th, 2020, the 15th day of a first self-imposed, and now state-imposed isolation period. And I’m already sick of the live-streaming pandemic that has hit us. Don’t get me wrong – I enjoy solidarity as much as
- [Global Brands Go Greek](https://interlude.hk/global-brands-go-greek/): In the universe of global consumerism, branding is everything. Establishing a brand strategy and logo lets potential customers know what your company is all about, and what people perceive it to be. Whether it is Apple, Google, Amazon or Coca-Cola,
- [My Beethoven by Philip](https://interlude.hk/my-beethoven-by-philip/): My Beethoven Moment came by way of a Wagnerian dramatic soprano. The municipal theatre of the small town where I grew up – Bern, Switzerland – offered a rather limited operatic program. But they tried. When the Stadttheater Bern put
- [Escaping COVID-19<br/>Feel-Good Music III](https://interlude.hk/escaping-covid-19feel-good-music-iii/): Viruses have apparently plagued the Earth for several billion years. According to some virologists “Viruses are as old as life itself, if not older. ” For some reason, however, COVID-19 seems to be the most dangerous virus to date. This has
- [In Touch With Wasfi Kani, Founder of Grange Park Opera](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-wasfi-kani-founder-of-grange-park-opera/): Tell us a little about your background and how your interest in music and specifically opera developed. I was born in 1956 in Cable Street in London’s East End, and I am the only opera impresario who spent their childhood
- [Gloomy Melancholy and Mocking Laughter: Debussy and Poe](https://interlude.hk/gloomy-melancholy-and-mocking-laughter-debussy-and-poe/): Claude Debussy (1862-1918) is famous for his one opera, Pelléas et Mélisande, an opera of seduction and loss. But this was not his only assay into opera. He started work after work, leaving them incomplete: Hélène (1881), Diane au bois
- [Nothing is Wasted](https://interlude.hk/nothing-is-wasted/): One of my best friends is a published author. With two popular and successful books under her belt, she gave up her day job to write full time and now her imagination and creativity seem to know no bounds. When
- [Further Study: Saint-Saëns’ <em>Étude en forme de valse</em>](https://interlude.hk/further-study-saint-saens-etude-en-forme-de-valse/): Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921) made his piano recital debut at age 10, audaciously telling the audience that he would perform any one of Beethoven’s 32 piano sonatas as an encore. Liszt considered him as the greatest organist on earth. Over some
- [Oh, Those Naughty Musicians! Backstage Puns](https://interlude.hk/oh-those-naughty-musicians-backstage-puns/): Musicians are very creative people. So creative, that when we get bored backstage, when we are waiting on tour for a bus or plane, when we pause while a conductor decides if he or she wants it louder or softer,
- [Welcoming Spring in Song<br/>Delius: Four Old English Lyrics](https://interlude.hk/welcoming-spring-in-songdelius-four-old-english-lyrics/): One of the wonderful signs of spring are the flowers that appear everywhere, sometimes under our feet, forgotten through the long cold winter. Frederick Delius (1862-1934) took four 16th and 17th century texts and created his small collection of Four
- [Pocket Symphonies](https://interlude.hk/pocket-symphonies/): You’ve heard of pocketbooks, pocket watches, pocket battleships and pocket money, but what about pocket symphonies? According to Wikipedia, “a pocket symphony is a song with extended form. The term was popularized by English journalist Derek Taylor, who used it
- [Playing With the Mirror<br/>Strauss’ <em>Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche</em>](https://interlude.hk/playing-with-the-mirrorstrauss-till-eulenspiegels-lustige-streiche/): Who is this rascal Till Owl Mirror? First appearing in a German book published in 1515, he comes straight out of folklore and tales of the practical jokester. In the 1515 book, Till was born near Brunswick around 1300. His
- [Orpheus: The First Superstar Musician](https://interlude.hk/orpheus-the-first-superstar-musician/): Orpheus was not only a legendary hero of Greek mythology; he was also the first superstar musician. But more than that, he was the Mozart, Shakespeare, Pavarotti, and Lady Gaga all rolled into one. His singing and playing moved even
- [Returning Cycles – Beethoven’s “32”](https://interlude.hk/returning-cycles-beethovens-32/): intense, immersive, impassioned, hugely demanding and hugely enrichingJonathan Biss, pianist It’s the single most humane music imaginableIgor Levit, pianist Somewhere in the world right now, as I write, a pianist is performing or recording the Beethoven Piano Sonatas, maybe just
- [Review on Berlin Phil’s Online Concert](https://interlude.hk/review-on-berlin-phils-online-concert/): Due to the current COVID-19 outbreak, the Philharmonie Berlin has been closed down till April to curb the spread of virus; yet the orchestra decided to give the concert conducted by Sir Simon Rattle as planned without real audience, with
- [Escaping COVID-19<br/>Feel-Good Music II](https://interlude.hk/escaping-covid-19feel-good-music-ii/): We hope that our initial musical “Escaping COVID-19” has brought some joy into your life. So we’ve put together another episode of feel-good music, starting with Italian instrumental music by Michele Mascitti (1664-1760). Mascitti was at the forefront of music
- [Musicians’ Responses to the Coronavirus Woes<br/>Some Smiles and Suggestions](https://interlude.hk/musicians-responses-to-the-coronavirus-woessome-smiles-and-suggestions/): You can always count on musicians for a much-needed smile and some solutions, even during this global pandemic. The Coronavirus Etude—For Piano and Disinfecting Wipe is a must for all piano teachers. To be played Molto RUB-ato, and Molto Detergere.
- [The Music of Poetry <br/>Johann Wolfgang von Goethe: “Nur Wer Die Sehnsucht Kennt”](https://interlude.hk/the-music-of-poetry-johann-wolfgang-von-goethe-nur-wer-die-sehnsucht-kennt/): “Nur wer die Sehnsucht kennt” (Only he who knows longing) is one of four Mignon songs in Goethe’s Wilhelm Meister written in 1795. These songs are symbolic, because they are sung and not recited by the main characters. The episode
- [The Music I Haven’t Played yet…](https://interlude.hk/the-music-i-havent-played-yet/): The author Umberto Eco has a library of an astonishing 30,000+ books, most of which he has not, and probably never will read. Nassim Nicholas Talib (author of The Black Swan) calls this an “anti-library” and believes it represents an
- [New from Old: Taneyev’s Prelude and Fugue, Op. 29](https://interlude.hk/new-from-old-taneyevs-prelude-and-fugue-op-29/): When we think of the pairing of ‘Prelude and Fugue’ our mind first casts itself back to the early 18th century and Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier. What if it’s 200 years later? It’s the Post-Romantic early 20th century and you can’t
- [Women Conductors Breaking Through the Glass Ceiling<br/>JoAnn Falletta](https://interlude.hk/women-conductors-breaking-through-the-glass-ceilingjoann-falletta/): Celebrating her 20th season at the helm of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra this year, JoAnn Falletta is the first woman conductor to be appointed music director of a major American orchestra. At a time when women conductors had to overcome
- [Doug’s 10 All-Time Favourite Music Pieces](https://interlude.hk/dougs-10-all-time-favourite-music-pieces-a-moderated-compendium-of-influences/): A Moderated Compendium of Influences One of the most laborious tasks for an artist; listing, comparing and rating other artists or their works. Deciding which to prefer and which to reject, which is more important and which is less. There
- [The Psychology in Film Music III](https://interlude.hk/the-psychology-in-film-music-iii/): Musical gestures in some films are all about mirroring or inferring movement. But, as we see in certain movies like Hitchcock’s Vertigo, the music suggests the mental condition of the lead character, Jimmy Stewart, who suffers from vertigo. This spinning
- [Prolonging the Pain – Jost’s <em>Dichterliebe</em>](https://interlude.hk/prolonging-the-pain-josts-dichterliebe/): How do you modernize a classic? In the summer of 2015, composer Christian Jost wanted to recompose Schumann’s Dichterliebe for a particular voice, but the singer, his wife mezzo-soprano Stella Doufexis, died before he could even write one note. The
- [Alexander Serov and Valentina Bergman <br/>“Too Bad, You’re Not a Boy”](https://interlude.hk/alexander-serov-and-valentina-bergman-too-bad-youre-not-a-boy/): Valentina Semyonovna Bergman (1846-1924) was born into a Russian merchant family of German-Jewish descent. Her parents converted to Lutheranism before she was born, and they operated a successful shop specializing in colonial wares. Valentina showed great musical promise from an
- [Beethoven’s Lairs <br/>“Probusgasse 6, Heiligenstadt”](https://interlude.hk/beethovens-lairs-probusgasse-6-heiligenstadt/): In October 1802, Beethoven moved into a roughly 40 square meter apartment at Probusgasse 6 in the trendy spa town of Heiligenstadt. In his day, it would have been a substantial journey from the Vienna city center, and when Beethoven
- [Escaping COVID-19<br/>Feel-Good Music I](https://interlude.hk/escaping-covid-19feel-good-music-i/): It’s difficult to escape COVID-19 these days. With new cases and emerging hot zones identified nearly every day—not to mention the rising death count of those who have succumbed to the virus—this outbreak is starting to frustrate medical practitioners, health
- [Interview With Pianist Andrew Garrido <br/>“I Always Look for Something That Will Push Me Towards Greater Playing”](https://interlude.hk/interview-with-pianist-andrew-garrido-i-always-look-for-something-that-will-push-me-towards-greater-playing/): Young British pianist Andrew Garrido taught himself how to play the piano using a homemade paper keyboard because his mother couldn’t afford piano lessons for him. Now he is studying at London’s Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and performs
- [The Music of Poetry <br/>Johann Wolfgang Goethe “Heidenröslein”](https://interlude.hk/the-music-of-poetry-johann-wolfgang-goethe-heidenroslein/): Goethe’s most famous lyric with refrain is undoubtedly “Heidenröslein” (Heath Rose). The poem is a sustained metaphor for the deflowering of a maiden, and it possibly originated during Goethe’s stay in Strasbourg. During his two-year stay, the 21-year-old poet fell
- [The Bright Southern Lands: Mendelssohn’s <em>Italian Symphony</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-bright-southern-lands-mendelssohns-italian-symphony/): There is something so undeniably cheerful about the first movement of Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 4. It just sweeps you up and makes you look around and admire the glory and beauty of Italy. For Germans from the cold north, and,
- [Cats and Dogs in Concerts—Oh My!](https://interlude.hk/cats-and-dogs-in-concerts-oh-my/): When I was a student at The Aspen Music Festival and School, the conductor and music director at the time, Jorge Mester, brought his fluffy English Sheepdog to rehearsals. The enormous dog loved to stretch out on the podium while
- [The Psychology in Film Music II](https://interlude.hk/the-psychology-in-film-music-ii/): In part I of this series, we heard several examples of how film music is designed to affect us psychologically. In this part, we look closer at why movie makers need to include music that pulls our psychological strings. In
- [Nicolette’s 10 All-Time Favourite Music Pieces](https://interlude.hk/nicolettes-10-all-time-favourite-music-pieces/): Call me fickle, but as with food, I go through phases in terms of what I like to listen to and what I enjoy playing. However, I do have some favourites and they are mostly from the piano repertoire. Some
- [The Nature of the Elements<br/> Bruce’s <em>The North Wind Was a Woman</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-nature-of-the-elements-bruces-the-north-wind-was-a-woman/): What if we go back in time to when the world around us was made of personified elements? In Baroque opera, ideas were often personified, as in Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo, Music herself gives us the Prologue. In Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas,
- [Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy <br/>The Virulent Cow](https://interlude.hk/bovine-spongiform-encephalopathy-the-virulent-cow/): Watching cattle graze in their natural environment is one of life’s bucolic pleasures. As natural herbivores, they eat a lot of grasses and hay. Yet in commercial farming, various feeds are used, which may contain ingredients such as antibiotics, hormones,
- [Alexander Serov](https://interlude.hk/alexander-serov/): Practice what you Preach The Russian composer and critic Alexander Serov (1820-1871) never held an official position, he never taught a student, and he never belonged to any organized group or faction. Regardless, he was one of the most significant
- [Ludwig van B. <br/>A Universe of Dedications III](https://interlude.hk/ludwig-van-b-a-universe-of-dedications-iii/): Count Ferdinand Ernst Gabriel von Waldstein (1762-1823) was Beethoven’s first great patron in Bonn. Originally he hailed from Vienna, and after receiving the knighthood of the Order by its Grand Master Archduke Maximilian Francis of Austria, he was sent on
- [Hamish Milne Remembered](https://interlude.hk/hamish-milne-remembered/): The British pianist Hamish Milne passed away on February 12 at the age of 80. Milne perhaps isn’t a household name for a pianist. His recording legacy was also far from prolific. Yet he shall always be remembered as the
- [A Heavyweight Musical Boxing Match <br/>Franz Liszt vs. Felix Mendelssohn](https://interlude.hk/a-heavyweight-musical-boxing-match-franz-liszt-vs-felix-mendelssohn/): It might not be a complete surprise, but Franz Liszt and Felix Mendelssohn really didn’t like each other! Mendelssohn first heard a Liszt performance at a concert in Paris in 1825. In his opinion “Liszt had many fingers but few
- [Bach to Choir: Bringing Bach Into a New Century](https://interlude.hk/bach-to-choir-bringing-bach-into-a-new-century/): Cellist Sophie Webber had a long-standing idea that Bach’s Cello Suites could be made more accessible. In many ways, they stand as these beautiful and isolated jewels, created through a relationship of a player and her cello and the music
- [Cyril Scott: the English Debussy](https://interlude.hk/cyril-scott-the-english-debussy/): For many pianists, our first encounter with the music of Cyril Scott is through his exotic, languorous piece Lotus Land. This was also Georgian pianist Nino Gvetadze’s first introduction to Scott’s piano music, through one of her teachers at Tbilisi
- [Víkingur Ólafsson](https://interlude.hk/vikingur-olafsson/): I talk to Icelandic pianist Víkingur Ólafsson about Beethoven, personal growth and problems facing young pianists ahead of his debut appearance in Hong Kong in March. Hot off the heels of the French Premiere of John Adams’ Piano Concerto in
- [The Weeping Mother – Boccherini’s <em>Stabat Mater</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-weeping-mother-boccherinis-stabat-mater/): Jacopo da Todi’s meditation on the emotions of Mary at the crucifixion of her son have inspired composers for centuries. The Stabat Mater, written in the 13th century, has been set by composers from the 15th century to the 21st,
- [Women Conductors Breaking Through the Glass Ceiling <br/>Tania León](https://interlude.hk/women-conductors-breaking-through-the-glass-ceiling-tania-leon/): Cuban conductor, pianist, composer, and educator, Tania León, is another woman who deserves the honorific ‘Grande Dame’ for her outstanding talents and remarkable career. You may not know she became the New York Philharmonic’s new-music advisor in the 1990s. This
- [Oliver’s 10 All-Time Favourite Music Pieces](https://interlude.hk/olivers-10-all-time-favourite-music-pieces/): There are many pieces of wonderful music that I’ve had the fortune to encounter, and still even more I’ve yet to come across. Making a list of ten of my favourites was nigh-on impossible, not least because the list would
- [The Psychology in Film Music I](https://interlude.hk/the-psychology-in-film-music-i/): After finishing my three-part series on the philosophy in music, the inquiry into the psychology in music was something I thought that needed to be further fleshed out, also as a three-part series. What I’ve always known is that if
- [Mixing Genres: Tsintsadze’s <em>24 Preludes for Piano</em>](https://interlude.hk/mixing-genres-tsintsadzes-24-preludes-for-piano/): Georgian composer Sulkhan Tsintsadze (1925–1991) started his music studies in Tbilisi, the capital city of Georgia, studying the cello with a private tutor and then continued onto the Tbilisi State Conservatory. He completed his studies in Moscow at the Moscow
- [Human Immunodeficiency Virus <br/>The Virulent Simian](https://interlude.hk/human-immunodeficiency-virus-the-virulent-simian/): A common nature drama in the equatorial region of Africa, possibly in what is now known as the Democratic Republic of Congo, unleashed a global pandemic that is still one of the world’s most serious public health challenges. A troop
- [Invisible and Visible: An Interview With Roger Vignoles](https://interlude.hk/invisible-and-visible-an-interview-with-roger-vignoles/): We spoke with pianist Roger Vignoles, one of today’s leading accompanists, about the dual role of the accompanist in music: invisible in the background and yet a visible and audible part of the music. On an upcoming concert in Hong
- [The Range of Song – An Interview With Christoph Prégardien](https://interlude.hk/the-range-of-song-an-interview-with-christoph-pregardien/): The first question we asked German tenor Christoph Prégardien was how he rehearsed with his accompanist, since Mr. Prégardien lived in Berlin and his accompanist for his upcoming March concert in Hong Kong lived in London and they both had
- [My Beethoven by Janet](https://interlude.hk/my-beethoven-by-janet/): Beethoven: Cello Sonata No. 3 in A major, Op. 69 – I. Allegro ma non tanto (Janet Horvath, cello; Arthur Rowe, piano) I grew up with Beethoven. From my earliest years I remember the scowling white plaster bust on our
- [Harlem Quartet / London Music Masters](https://interlude.hk/harlem-quartet-london-music-masters/): From having performed at the White House to Barack Obama, to appearing on the Today Show, having collaborated with artists including Chick Corea and Itzhak Perlman, Harlem Quartet’s CV is not to be sniffed at. The internationally-renowned ensemble was formed
- [Do We Still Need Music Critics?](https://interlude.hk/do-we-still-need-music-critics/): Criticone who engages often professionally in the analysis, evaluation, or appreciation of works of art or artistic performances The debate about the value music criticism and those who write it is nothing new, and is one that is likely to
- [Music of Poetry <br/>Johann Wolfgang von Goethe “Über Allen Gipfeln”](https://interlude.hk/music-of-poetry-johann-wolfgang-von-goethe-uber-allen-gipfeln/): Goethe’s Wandrers Nachtlied II (Über allen Gipfeln) is considered by many to be the most perfect lyric in the German language. The poet is supposed to have written the poem on the evening of 6 September 1780 onto the wall
- [Watching the Caravan: Borodin’s In the Steppes of Central Asia](https://interlude.hk/watching-the-caravan-borodines-in-the-steppes-of-central-asia/): Alexander Borodin (1833-1887) followed Balakirev and became a member of The Five, that group of up- and-coming young composers who set out to create a true Russian music. Holding down a day job as professor of chemistry, he was a
- [Staying Healthy: On Tour](https://interlude.hk/staying-healthy-on-tour/): Touring is almost an inevitable aspect of many freelance musicians’ lives. Whether it’s a long or short trip away, time spent away from home can quickly take its toll. Lots of short journeys away make home seem like a pit
- [More Concert Capers](https://interlude.hk/more-concert-capers/): When the conductor walks on stage everyone has to be tuned and poised for the downbeat. It can come unpredictably fast. You never know if the Maestro will milk the applause for all it’s worth as they step onto the
- [Inclusive Music](https://interlude.hk/inclusive-music/): Music does not speak of position or place. It can be heard as English, French or German and it might sound like it comes from the voice of other countries, but music is also a language unto itself, and it
- [Mirella Freni: Remembering the Perfect Mimi](https://interlude.hk/mirella-freni-remembering-the-perfect-mimi/): To fully experience the artistry of Italian soprano Mirella Freni, who died in February at age 84, one must only listen to her rendition of Mimi on Herbert von Karajan’s seminal recording of La Bohème from 1972. Freni’s voice is
- [On the Cutting Edge of Technology <br/>Schumann’s Concertstück, Op. 86](https://interlude.hk/on-the-cutting-edge-of-technology-schumanns-concertstuck-op-86/): The horn has a long history, dating from the first time one of our ancestors took a cow horn and, holding it to his lips, found it could make a sound. Moving on from the simple cow horn to the
- [Swine Flu H1N1<br/>The Virulent Pig](https://interlude.hk/swine-flu-h1n1the-virulent-pig/): Science tells us, that we all got a lot of common with pigs. Since we are both mammals, we certainly share a good amount of genetic material, and we are both susceptible to catch the flu. Pigs are unusual in
- [Frances’ 10 All-Time Favourite Music Pieces](https://interlude.hk/frances-10-all-time-favourite-music-pieces/): For someone whose musical tastes change fairly regularly, it’s rather unfair to be asked to choose just ten, but there are certain pieces which remain long-time favourites. Mozart: Clarinet Quintet, K581 – II. Larghetto My father was a fine amateur
- [Beethoven’s Quartets: The Complete Recording<br/>25 Years in the Life of a String Quartet](https://interlude.hk/beethovens-quartets-the-complete-recording25-years-in-the-life-of-a-string-quartet/): Jean de Spengler interviewed by Alexis Galpérine 1 The Stanislas Quartet celebrated its thirty-fifth anniversary in 2019 ... Yes indeed, about one year after I became principal cellist in 1983, I realized my dream of founding a string quartet with
- [Music to Soothe the Mad King](https://interlude.hk/music-to-soothe-the-mad-king/): King Philip V ruled Spain from 1 November 1700 until his son Ferdinand VI eventually succeeded him in 1746. Historians have not been kind to his legacy, suggesting that he only marginally advanced the government of his predecessors and that
- [Nello Santi: Traditionalist Operatic Giant](https://interlude.hk/nello-santi-traditionalist-operatic-giant/): Nello Santi, who died on 6 February 2020 in Switzerland, was neither a superstar conductor nor a household name beyond opera lovers. But he was possibly the most consistent, widely cast, and most resolutely traditional opera conductors of his generation.
- [The Prodigal Pianist](https://interlude.hk/the-prodigal-pianist/): The adult ‘returner’ pianist I’m a returner pianist – and maybe, if you’re reading this article, you are too and therefore what follows will resonate with you. Or perhaps you are thinking of taking up the piano again after a
- [The Music of Poetry <br/>Johann Wolfgang von Goethe “Das Veilchen”](https://interlude.hk/the-music-of-poetry-johann-wolfgang-von-goethe-das-veilchen/): Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) wrote his famous poem “Das Veilchen” (The Violet) in 1774 as an allegorical song for his theatrical play with songs Erwin and Elmire. He reworked it during his Italian journey in 1787/88, and this second
- [The Temperate Virtuoso – Wieniawski’s <em>Polonaise Brillante No. 2</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-temperate-virtuoso-wieniawskis-polonaise-brillante-no-2/): Polish-born composer and virtuoso violist Henryk Wieniawski (1835-1880) made his name early as a violinist and was an exceptional student at the Paris Conservatoire for two reasons. The first is that he wasn’t French and the second was that he
- [Women Conductors Breaking Through the Glass Ceiling<br/>Jane Glover](https://interlude.hk/women-conductors-breaking-through-the-glass-ceilingjane-glover/): Without experience in front of an orchestra, without opportunities to learn the craft, women conductors have had little hope of being hired until very recently. Today conservatories, colleges, and festivals include conducting curriculums, and more women are being accepted into
- [Anson’s 10 All-Time Favourite Music Pieces](https://interlude.hk/ansons-10-all-time-favourite-music-pieces/): I am often asked “who’s your favourite composer” and “what’s your favourite piece of music”, and my answer is always — I don’t know, as it is constantly changing. So, the idea of coming up with my 10 all-time favourite
- [The Philosophy in Music III](https://interlude.hk/the-philosophy-in-music-iii/): Leonardo da Vinci often spoke of the connection between painting, poetry, music, philosophy and science. He called poetry a moral philosophy and music the sister of painting. Inevitably, the arts and sciences all affect one another through their connection. Philosophy
- [At The Beginning: Mahler’s Symphony No. 1](https://interlude.hk/at-the-beginning-mahlers-symphony-no-1/): For every composer, the first work of a series is a serious undertaking. For the composers who followed Beethoven, the symphony was a particularly daunting mountain. Gone were the days of a composer writing hundreds of symphonies: Haydn wrote 106,
- [Coronavirus MERS-CoV<br/>The Virulent Camel](https://interlude.hk/coronavirus-mers-covthe-virulent-camel/): In September 2012, health officials in Saudi Arabia reported a mystery illness. Patients developed severe respiratory illness with symptoms of fever, cough and shortness of breath. Alarmingly, 3 to 4 out of every 10 patients died. It was originally assumed
- [The Monk, the Cardinal, and the Devil<br/>Giuseppe Tartini and Elisabetta Premazore](https://interlude.hk/the-monk-the-cardinal-and-the-devilgiuseppe-tartini-and-elisabetta-premazore/): I don’t understand why a good many people think that classical music is deadly dull and boring. Many of the stories and anecdotes surrounding these exceptional expressions of human creativity could easily become box office hits at your local cinema.
- [In Memoriam <br/>Peter Serkin (1947-2020)](https://interlude.hk/in-memoriam-peter-serkin-1947-2020/): The musical world is deeply saddened by the loss of Peter Serkin (1947-2020), who died after a long struggle with pancreatic cancer at the age of 72. Described as “a brilliant, resourceful instrumentalist, a sensitive, original interpreter and a performer
- [Beethoven’s Lairs <br/>“Theater an der Wien”](https://interlude.hk/beethovens-lairs-theater-an-der-wien/): We primarily remember the Viennese theatrical impresario Emanuel Schikaneder as collaborator and librettist on Mozart’s Magic Flute. However, Schikaneder was also directly responsible for several compositions by Ludwig van Beethoven. You see, Schikaneder and his troupe of performers appeared in
- [A Supreme Act of Kindness <br/>Henriette Sontag](https://interlude.hk/a-supreme-act-of-kindness-henriette-sontag/): Henriette Sontag (1806-1854) was an operatic soprano of international renown. No other than Hector Berlioz wrote the following glowing critique, “She unites all the qualities we like to find in an artist: sweetness never surpassed, agility almost fabulous, expression, and
- [An Interview with Jessica Zhou, Boston Symphony Orchestra](https://interlude.hk/an-interview-with-jessica-zhou-boston-symphony-orchestra/): Harpist Jessica Zhou left her studies at the Beijing Conservatory at age 13 and came to the US. At Beijing, she’d been at boarding school at the Conservatory so her introduction to American Society via a public school in California
- [Who Made Classical Music ‘Elitist’?](https://interlude.hk/who-made-classical-music-elitist/): It’s the 21st century, yet still, still there is this perception that classical music is for a certain demographic that is predominantly white, middle class, monied, cultured and educated (but first and foremost, monied). It’s easy to “prove” this by
- [The Music of Poetry <br/>Johann Wolfgang von Goethe “Mignon”](https://interlude.hk/the-music-of-poetry-johann-wolfgang-von-goethe-mignon/): With the possible exception of William Shakespeare, no other poet had such a profound influence on song as Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832). For Germany’s greatest poet, music was an essential part of life, and it brought solace and redemption.
- [Tower of Destruction - Balakirev’s <em>Tamara</em>](https://interlude.hk/tower-of-destruction-balakirevs-tamara/): The Russian composer Mily Balakirev (1837-1910) had a fundamental place in changing Russian music from being too emulative of German music and making a strong case for it being Russian. Working first through the idea of nationalism, he instilled in
- [Women Conductors Breaking Through the Glass Ceiling <br/>Simone Young](https://interlude.hk/women-conductors-breaking-through-the-glass-ceiling-simone-young/): Conductor Simone Young, the soon to be first female music director of the Sydney Symphony, and currently the orchestra’s Chief Conductor designate, has been in the news recently. On March 1st, she will lead London’s best Australian musicians to raise
- [The Philosophy in Music II](https://interlude.hk/the-philosophy-in-music-ii/): The reason there is so little discussion around the philosophy in music is due to music being a non-verbal medium. Instrumental music is abstract because it does not use words to say what it means. However, there are many papers,
- [Avian Influenza H5N1<br/>The Virulent Chicken](https://interlude.hk/avian-influenza-h5n1the-virulent-chicken/): Just when we thought that the virus news from China could not get much worse, comes a report from Wuhan province that a deadly strain of Bird flu has been detected on the southern border of Hubei province. The good
- [Bowing to History – Casadesus’ Homage à Chausson](https://interlude.hk/bowing-to-history-casadesus-homage-a-chausson/): Robert Casadesus (1899-1972) was far better known as a pianist than as a composer, but in his compositions, we find an interesting side view on this most French of French pianists. In his 1954 work, Homage à Chausson, Casadesus paid
- [Giuseppe Tartini](https://interlude.hk/giuseppe-tartini/): “One night I dreamed I had made a pact with the devil” His playing was renowned for its combination of technical and poetic qualities, and Italians proclaimed him “the finest musician in the world. ” He also made a pact with
- [In Memoriam: Barry Tuckwell (1931-2020)](https://interlude.hk/in-memoriam-barry-tuckwell-1931-2020/): Barry Tuckwell (1931-2020), widely acclaimed as the preeminent horn player of his generation, has died on 16 January 2020 at a hospital in Melbourne. I still remember seeing and hearing him perform at a concert in Amsterdam, and like the
- [Ludwig van B. <br/>A Universe of Dedications II](https://interlude.hk/ludwig-van-b-a-universe-of-dedications-ii/): As a freelance musician, Ludwig van B. was always looking for ways to make money. The dedication of works to nobility and/or friends, although a rather uncertain source of income, was one possible revenue stream. However, much depended on the
- [Coronavirus nCoV-2019 <br/>The Virulent Bat](https://interlude.hk/coronavirus-ncov-2019-the-virulent-bat/): As soon as you start trading wildlife for food, scary things can, and will happen. The newest virus capturing the world’s attention is a bug belonging to the coronavirus family that originated in a live-animal market in Wuhan, in Hubei
- [The Marsalis Brothers and Other Siblings in Classical Music](https://interlude.hk/the-marsalis-brothers-and-other-siblings-in-classical-music/): Music is decidedly part of the Marsalis family DNA. Wynton is a virtuoso trumpeter, composer and artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center, while Branford is a virtuoso saxophonist, composer and bandleader. Their father Ellis Marsalis Jr. is a world-renowned
- [The Music of Poetry <br/> Heinrich Heine “I Bear No Grudge”](https://interlude.hk/the-music-of-poetry-heinrich-heine-i-bear-no-grudge/): Irony is frequently considered an intellectual literary device that should by its nature be unsuitable for music. Yet, as music and literature unite in the art song, irony becomes a matter of importance in music as well. And that’s especially
- [Practice Like an Olympian](https://interlude.hk/practice-like-an-olympian/): 2021 is the year of the Tokyo Olympics, that wonderful international celebration of sporting success which can provide inspiration to us all, musicians included. Of course, Olympic triumphs do not come easily, and every medal winning athlete, indeed every participating
- [Beatrice and Her Brothers <br/> Schumann’s <em>Die Braut von Messina</em>](https://interlude.hk/beatrice-and-her-brothers-schumanns-die-braut-von-messina/): In their attempts to get beyond the symphony as defined by Beethoven, composers came up with new one-movement genres such as the concert overture. Sometimes regarded as a work in search of an opera, the concert overture gave composers the
- [Women Conductors Breaking Through the Glass Ceiling](https://interlude.hk/women-conductors-breaking-through-the-glass-ceiling/): Once the entire symphony orchestra has tuned and is seated, we anticipate the conductor, his arm extended, his greying hair smoothed to a sheen. Pompously, he crosses the stage and leaps onto a red-carpeted podium. Exuding unquestionable authority and power,
- [Alban Gerhardt](https://interlude.hk/alban-gerhardt-artist-of-the-month/): German cellist Alban Gerhardt has played as a soloist with nearly every major orchestra out there. Rising to fame after his win at several competitions and his debut with the Berlin Philharmonic and Semyon Bychkov in 1991, he shows no
- [Georg’s 10 All-Time Favourite Music Pieces](https://interlude.hk/georgs-10-all-time-favorite-music-pieces/): Putting together a personal list of all-time favorites is harder than you think. Although it is the product of my personal taste, education, cultural influences and life experiences, human creativity tends to respond to stimuli as diverse as the universe
- [Stretching Time, Stretching Meaning – Viderunt Omnes](https://interlude.hk/stretching-time-stretching-meaning-viderunt-omnes/): One of the most groundbreaking musical happenings of the late 12th century was Pérotin Magnus (Master Pérotin) and his setting of the ‘Viderunt omnes’ text. This 6-line text speaks of God’s relation to the Earth and how all have seen
- [Reina Sofia School of Music](https://interlude.hk/reina-sofia-school-of-music/): The Reina Sofia School of Music is located in the heart of Madrid, next to the Royal Palace and the Royal Opera House. Now almost 20 years old, it has established itself as a centre of excellence for aspiring professional
- [My Beethoven by Oliver](https://interlude.hk/my-beethoven-by-oliver/): Unlike many of my colleagues who grew up around Beethoven, either by hearing him in the home or studying his piano music, I managed to (unintentionally) avoid him for a long time, only really discovering Beethoven as I embarked on
- [Forgotten Musical Siblings](https://interlude.hk/forgotten-musical-siblings/): The off-Broadway solo play “The Other Mozart” has been traveling the globe asking the question whether Maria Anna Mozart was the real genius in the family. To be sure, Maria Anna Walpurga Ignatia Mozart, commonly known under her nickname “Nannerl,”
- [Seeking Diversity in Exam Syllabuses and Student Anthologies](https://interlude.hk/seeking-diversity-in-exam-syllabuses-and-student-anthologies/): We are very lucky as pianists/piano teachers to have such a wide repertoire, and one which is constantly being expanded as composers continue to write for the piano – which is why I find it rather disconcerting when new anthologies
- [The Music of Poetry <br/>Heinrich Heine “A Fir Tree Stands Lonely”](https://interlude.hk/the-music-of-poetry-heinrich-heine-a-fir-tree-stands-lonely/): Although Franz Liszt and Heinrich Heine had a massive falling-out, the composer and pianist could still recognize the musical invitation to music in Heine’s unique poetic voice. In fact, Liszt would create two versions of “Ein Fichtenbaum steht einsam” (A
- [Chinese New Year and Chiayu’s <em>Rat</em>](https://interlude.hk/chinese-new-year-and-chiayus-rat/): The Chinese Zodiac uses a 12-year cycle and assigns an animal to each year. In 2020, the 12-year cycle starts again with the Year of the Rat. In addition, each animal is assigned one of the five elements (Wood, Fire,
- [Year of the Golden Rat<br/>Gong Hei Fat Choy 2020](https://interlude.hk/year-of-the-golden-ratgong-hei-fat-choy-2020/): In many parts of the world rats are met with revulsion. Western associations are generally negative, and the animals are seen as vicious, unclean, parasitic and the carriers of unspeakable diseases. Calling someone a rat is a grave insult and
- [Rob’s 10 All-Time Favourite Music Pieces](https://interlude.hk/robs-10-all-time-favourite-music-pieces/): Everyone has their favourite pieces of music, and usually, their choices cross genres. We all have our hidden gems that we think no one else knows; I’m no different in this case. While classical music plays the strongest part in
- [Cooking with Leonard](https://interlude.hk/cooking-with-leonard/): Inspired, as always, by the things around him, Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990) took a cookbook off the shelf and created a set of 4 humorous songs. Émile Dumont’s La Bonne Cuisine Française (Tout ce qui a rapport à la table, manuel-guide
- [Bringing Children to Music <br/>Haw Par Music in Hong Kong](https://interlude.hk/bringing-children-to-music-haw-par-music-in-hong-kong/): Music is seen largely as a private matter – the hours spent alone practicing, the emphasis on the personal interpretation, the solo spotlight. However, at the same time, music is a social activity: the number of composers and performers who
- [Beethoven and Minona](https://interlude.hk/beethoven-and-minona/): In 2020, the world will celebrate Beethoven‘s 250th anniversary. Official events start on December 16, 2019, and run until December 17, 2020. The main events are concentrated around Beethoven’s birthplace in Bonn, Germany. In Bonn, Beethoven’s home has been reopened
- [A Europe of Music](https://interlude.hk/a-europe-of-music/): Europe is well known for being the birthplace of classical music. With major cities such as Berlin, London, Milan, Paris, Prague, Saint-Petersburg or Vienna, and an endless list of musicians and composers from Bach, Mozart and Chopin to Debussy, Stravinsky
- [The Music of Poetry<br/> Heinrich Heine “Softly Flow Through My Soul”](https://interlude.hk/the-music-of-poetry-heinrich-heine-softly-flow-through-my-soul/): Heinrich Heine’s poem “Leise zieht durch mein Gemüht” (Softly flow through my soul) inspired 250 composers to fashion musical settings. This poem contains none of Heine’s famous irony or his love of paradoxes. Instead it is the purest lyrical rejoicing
- [How to Practice](https://interlude.hk/how-to-practice/): A follow-up to my earlier article What Is Practice? Debussy: 12 Etudes – No. 1. Pour les cinq doigts (For the five fingers) (Joseph Moog, piano) No. 11. Pour les arpèges composés (For written arpeggios) (Joseph Moog, piano) “Practice Makes
- [A Woman’s Emotional World – Björk’s Opera <em>Vespertine</em>](https://interlude.hk/a-womans-emotional-world-bjorks-opera-vespertine/): Think back to the turn of the millennium – pop music was focused on getting that drum and bass just right and party music. And then came the events of 2001 and the world changed – 2 towers came down
- [Multi-Tasking Conductors—Commendable or Ineffective?](https://interlude.hk/multi-tasking-conductors-commendable-or-ineffective/): The headline tantalized— “OSM guest conductor Schiff ‘flies off the handle’ in rehearsals, musicians say. ‘The concertmaster of the Montreal Symphony, Richard Roberts, asserted, ‘I don’t think he is a professional conductor. ’” Apparently, Schiff accused the musicians
- [The King of Instruments](https://interlude.hk/the-king-of-instruments/): For an instrument that is said to rule over all the other family members in the vast empire of musical instruments, the organ does not get much prominence or recognition. Outside popular pieces like the Toccata and Fugue in D
- [Gregory Kunde: Taking His Time to Triumph](https://interlude.hk/gregory-kunde-taking-his-time-to-triumph/): Gregory Kunde shines in Giuseppe Verdi’s Otello at the Royal Opera House, a revival of the 2017 production (originally reviewed for Interlude). From the victorious opening exclamation “Esulatate! ” (Rejoice! ) that rings all the way up to the rafters, to the
- [Christoph Friedrich Bach and Lucia Elisabeth Münchausen](https://interlude.hk/christoph-friedrich-bach-and-lucia-elisabeth-munchausen/): Christoph Friedrich Bach was only 17 when he was unexpectedly offered the position of harpsichordist at the Court of Schaumburg-Lippe in Bückeburg. He hadn’t yet finished his musical or general education, and it took the permission of his father to
- [Beethoven’s Lairs <br/>“Pasqualatihaus”](https://interlude.hk/beethovens-lairs-pasqualatihaus/): Did you know that during his time in Vienna, Ludwig van Beethoven lived in 36 different houses or apartments? We all know that Beethoven was a rather restless soul, but on average, he moved living quarters more than once a
- [“Fantasy on a Chinese Poem”](https://interlude.hk/fantasy-on-a-chinese-poem/): The economic rise of China in the last quarter of the 20th century has spawned renewed artistic interest in the vast and fascinating history of this ancient country. It certainly served as the inspiration for Icelandic composer Áskell Másson. Born
- [The Music of Poetry <br/>Heinrich Heine “In the Wonderful Month of May”](https://interlude.hk/the-music-of-poetry-heinrich-heine-in-the-wonderful-month-of-may/): Heinrich Heine’s famous “Lyrisches Intermezzo” contains sixty-six songs and a prologue. In that prologue we meet a dreamy poet called a knight: Once upon a time there was a melancholy knight,With haggard, snow-white cheeks;He staggered and stumbled and lumbered around,Obsessed
- [Saved by the Statue – Hérold’s <em>Zampa</em>](https://interlude.hk/saved-by-the-statue-herolds-zampa/): As a welcome relief to the seemingly unending lines of poor operatic heroines who are victims of poor choices in lovers, relatives (fathers, brothers) who want to marry them off to inappropriate old men, etc. , we have Camille and Alice,
- [Janet’s 10 All-Time Favourite Music Pieces](https://interlude.hk/janets-10-all-time-favorite-music-pieces/): Musicians are often asked “what’s your favorite piece? ” With the vast array of stunning music, it’s impossible to answer. Although there are many pieces of music I enjoy listening to I’ve tried to narrow my favorites to the mainly orchestral
- [A Personalised Sheet Music App for the Amateur Pianist](https://interlude.hk/a-personalised-sheet-music-app-for-the-amateur-pianist/): There are any number of apps and online courses to support and inspire the amateur pianist, from simple score readers which enable the user to read music from an iPad or tablet to more involved applications which offer an immersive
- [The Philosophy in Music I](https://interlude.hk/the-philosophy-in-music/): The philosophy of music is taught in some schools and universities. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy has a wonderful resource on The Philosophy of Music. Philosophy is closely linked to religion; however, I’ve never found music religious, not even religious music.
- [An Unexpected Rossini](https://interlude.hk/an-unexpected-rossini/): When we think of Gioachino Rossini, we think of his operas, his big works, however, there are a set of little-known early works that show us a very different side of the composer. Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868) started his life in
- [Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach](https://interlude.hk/johann-christoph-friedrich-bach/): “Bückeburg Bach” An early 20th century dictionary entry on Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach (1732-1795) considered him “an industrious composer whose work reflects no discredit on the family name. ” Carrying and doing justice to the Bach family name was no easy
- [Ludwig van B. <br/>A Universe of Dedications I](https://interlude.hk/ludwig-van-b-a-universe-of-dedications/): Beethoven’s friendship with Stephan von Breuning (1774-1827) lasted a lifetime. We will meet him in more detail in another episode. For now it suffices to say that Beethoven’s Violin Concerto was dedicated to him. Concurrently, Beethoven fashioned a piano transcription,
- [In Memoriam <br/>Peter Schreier (1935-2019)](https://interlude.hk/in-memoriam-peter-schreier-1935-2019/): The singer and conductor Peter Schreier, one of the leading lyric tenors of the 20th Century, has died in Dresden at the age of 84. As one of the most highly esteemed tenors of the century, Schreier hit his mark
- [Play What You Play Best](https://interlude.hk/play-what-you-play-best/): “The key is trying to limit yourself to perform only the pieces that will be best for you and the audience. Otherwise, you’re doing everyone—yourself, the composer, and the audience, a huge disservice. ” – Richard Goode, concert pianist I’m sure
- [The Music of Poetry <br/>Heinrich Heine “You Are so Like a Flower”](https://interlude.hk/the-music-of-poetry-heinrich-heine-you-are-so-like-a-flower/): Music played an important role in the life of Heinrich Heine. He did more than just write brilliant reviews of music and operas. For Heine, music was a great vital force that occupied an important place in the content sphere
- [Ghosn Is Gone <br/> “The Gregorian Escape”](https://interlude.hk/ghosn-is-gone-the-gregorian-escape/): The legendary entertainer and illusionist Harry Houdini exasperated his audiences with sensational escapes and vanishing acts. One of his most notable vanishing acts featured the disappearance of a fully-grown elephant from the stage. Of course, people have always found imaginative
- [Charismatic Composer Chen Yi](https://interlude.hk/charismatic-composer-chen-yi/): An engaging young woman strode onto the stage. Chen Yi took the microphone from its stand and spoke enthusiastically to the audience about Sound of The Five for Solo Cello and String Quartet which was about to be performed by
- [Music for the New Year in a Big Space](https://interlude.hk/music-for-the-new-year-in-a-big-space/): In December 1983, organist Harry Huff was scheduled to play the New Year’s Eve service at the world’s largest (or second-largest) Anglican Cathedral, New York’s St. John the Divine, located by Columbia University in Morningside Heights in Manhattan. First discussion
- [Can Music Be Unmusical?](https://interlude.hk/can-music-be-unmusical/): The term unmusical might apply to a person. It can also pertain to a sound deficient in melody, harmony, rhythm or agreeable tone. It may also apply to music that one feels is imperfect, inadequate or even lacking in emotion.
- [Stepping Stones to Bach](https://interlude.hk/stepping-stones-to-bach/): American pianist and teacher Eleonor Bindman is, by her own admission, devoted to the music of J S Bach. She has been praised for her performances and recordings of Bach’s keyboard music and has made a transcription for piano 4-hands
- [Pavel Kolesnikov](https://interlude.hk/pavel-kolesnikov/): Born in Siberia, young Russian pianist Pavel Kolesnikov – now based in London – is wowing audiences all over the world with his blend of effortless technique and unique musical voice. I talk to him ahead of his upcoming concerts
- [Happy New Year 2020 <br/>“Life and Hangovers Are Better With Music”](https://interlude.hk/happy-new-year-2020-life-and-hangovers-are-better-with-music/): Celebrations for the 2020 New Year are already shifting into high gear, and a good many of us will be generously partaking in various delicious alcoholic refreshments. Around this time of year it is rather all too easy to get
- [Here's to a 2020 filled with Music and Harmony!](https://interlude.hk/heres-to-a-2020-filled-with-music-and-harmony/)
- [2019’s Great Concerts in China](https://interlude.hk/2019s-great-concerts-in-china/): My first concert experience in 2019 began in Hangzhou, the provincial capital of Zhejiang province. There, at the crescent-shaped Hangzhou Grand Theatre by the Qiantang River, I celebrated the New Year’s Eve bells on December 31st, while attending the theatre’s
- [You Don’t Need “the Knowledge” to Enjoy Classical Music](https://interlude.hk/you-dont-need-the-knowledge-to-enjoy-classical-music/): It always frustrates me to hear people say that they don’t go to concerts because they don’t know enough about classical music. I think my friend Olli Mustonen had the answer to that: “It’s like saying that you won’t walk
- [Musical Puzzles by Women Composers](https://interlude.hk/musical-puzzles-by-women-composers/): Composing and solving musical riddles and puzzles has long been a popular brainy workout for composers and audiences alike. Amongst numerous others, Johann Sebastian Bach, Franz Joseph Haydn, Ludwig van Beethoven and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart composed some of the most
- [The Wren, the Wren, The King of All Birds](https://interlude.hk/the-wren-the-wren-the-king-of-all-birds/): That wonderful week between the festivities of Christmas and New Year is used by several countries in different ways. For many of us, it’s a quiet time to play with our new presents, visit old friends, get up-to-date on everything
- [Saving the Symphony Orchestra](https://interlude.hk/saving-the-symphony-orchestra/): Perhaps you too have seen several articles of late about “Saving the Symphony Orchestra”. The demise of classical music has been a viewpoint touted for decades, but it seems to be a worthy conversation today. Audiences are dwindling, music education
- [Emotional Music](https://interlude.hk/emotional-music/): What is emotional music? But maybe first, I should ask, what is an emotion? And, are all emotions universal? Are your experiences of grief, remorse, shame and heartbreak the same as mine? I’d guess no; I don’t see how they
- [Messiaen’s Cathedrals of Sound](https://interlude.hk/messiaens-cathedrals-of-sound/): Thoughts on listening to Vingt Regards sur l’enfant-Jésus Olivier Messiaen builds cathedrals in sound. From a single candle gently flickering in a quiet side chapel to the glorious fan traceries of the main transept, the private place for solitary prayer
- [In Touch With Olivier Latry <br/>Organist at Notre-Dame de Paris](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-olivier-latry-organist-at-notre-dame-de-paris/): An organist, unlike other instrumentalists, is tied to the space where the organ is located. It is in knowing that space and the properties of the instrument that the performer can optimize even the greatest organ’s sound. And, Mr. Latry
- [Christmas in America](https://interlude.hk/christmas-in-america/): American Christmas celebration range from small town exhibits to world-famous events and sights. From light displays and firework shows, to month-long holiday markets and snowy train rides, these festivities have been shaped by a multitude of different cultures. Traditionally, however,
- [Rebranding Classical Music for the 21st Century](https://interlude.hk/rebranding-classical-music-for-the-21st-century/): The numbers are in, and they’re looking good. For an industry whose identity seems to be based on a constant struggle against popularity, classical music is doing alright. Whilst constantly obsessed with our impending demise, the doom-obsessed factions within classical
- [Mastery and the ‘Near Win’](https://interlude.hk/mastery-and-the-near-win/): I admit it – I watched Rugby World Cup final. After their coruscating performance in the semi-finals against the All Blacks, hopes were high for England, but these were dashed by a South African squad who were, on the day,
- [The Twelve Days of Christmas <br/>Musicological Journey through the Holidays](https://interlude.hk/the-twelve-days-of-christmas-musicological-journey-through-the-holidays/): It’s been called the “world’s most annoying” Christmas carol. “The Twelve Days of Christmas” is a cumulative song, with each verse building on top of the previous verses. True to its name, there are twelve verses representing the twelve days
- [Sounds of the Season<br/>Goldstein’s ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas](https://interlude.hk/sounds-of-the-seasongoldsteins-twas-the-night-before-christmas/): It isn’t often that an extended poem gets taken on a modern spin, but Clement Clarke Moore’s 1823 poem, “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas,” beloved of children of all ages, has been set by composer William Goldstein against an orchestral
- [Some Advice to Young Musicians](https://interlude.hk/some-advice-to-young-musicians/): One of my adult students, who happens to be a heart surgeon, came to a lesson last week with an idea. For his upcoming birthday, during the gathering at his home, he’s thinking he’d like to perform three or four
- [What Is Music Saying?](https://interlude.hk/what-is-music-saying/): I have battled with the idea of what music is saying for most of my life. While I still have not drawn a final conclusion, I think I’m getting closer. As much as I and others (like Plato) say that
- [Great Performers: Daniil Trifonov](https://interlude.hk/great-performers-daniil-trifonov/): He looks like he should still be at school, yet he plays with the commanding presence, exceptional technical facility and deep commitment a professional artist thrice his years would envy. He’s floppy haired, slightly built, yet he can bring power
- [Sibling Harmony in Classical Music](https://interlude.hk/sibling-harmony-in-classical-music/): Music, like many other trades, tends to run in families. Likely a combination of genetics and environment, the shared activity of music making may even pass down through multiple generations. And as we well know, not all members of a
- [Ludwig van Beethoven](https://interlude.hk/ludwig-van-beethoven/): The German composer Ludwig van Beethoven was probably the first truly bad boy of music. He showed utter distain for discipline and authority and brusquely dismissed the conventions of aristocratic society. The formal court etiquette was particularly irksome to him,
- [Christmas in France](https://interlude.hk/christmas-in-france/): A cruise on the Seine, a climb on the Eiffel Tower or the Arc de Triomphe, a visit to the Musée du Louvre and the Palace of Versailles, and a stroll on the Champs-Élysées in the City of Lights. Maybe
- [Creating the Beethoven Anniversary – An Interview With Nike Wagner](https://interlude.hk/creating-the-beethoven-anniversary-an-interview-with-nike-wagner/): The year 2020 is going to be a Beethoven year without a doubt. Leading the international examination of the master’s works will be his native city of Bonn and the Beethovenfest Bonn 2020. Nike Wagner started leading the Beethovenfest Bonn
- [Wearing Wagner](https://interlude.hk/wearing-wagner/): We were visiting the Richmond Museum of Fine Arts the other week and noticed two wonderful pieces of particular musical interest. In the Museum’s extensive holdings of silver items, we found two pieces commemorating operas by Richard Wagner. A sterling
- [Repertoire Relationships](https://interlude.hk/repertoire-relationships/): “Bach’s Goldberg Variations caused me misery – but I still can’t get enough”– Jeremy Denk, pianist Our relationship with our repertoire is personal and often long-standing. Connections with certain pieces and composers may be forged in our early days of
- [Masterclasses and Lessons](https://interlude.hk/masterclasses-and-lessons/): What’s the Difference? Here’s My Approach Last month I gave a masterclass at George Mason University School of Music in Fairfax, Virginia, the largest 4-year public university in Virginia. I heard four young cellists, and later addressed the full University
- [Brother Devil – Auber’s Fra Diavolo](https://interlude.hk/brother-devil-aubers-fra-diavolo/): The bandit leader Michele Pezza (1771-1806) defended his native Naples against the invading French using his native knowledge of the territory and his inadvertent army duty. Pezza, who had received the moniker of ‘Fra Diavolo’ as a child because he
- [The Unorthodox Music of Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber](https://interlude.hk/the-unorthodox-music-of-heinrich-ignaz-franz-biber/): When it comes to unconventional classical music, there are several composers that can be singled out. Some who would fit the bill are Philip Glass, Erik Satie, Stravinsky, Schoenberg and my favourite unorthodox composer, Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber. Born in
- [Great Performers: Marc-André Hamelin](https://interlude.hk/great-performers-marc-andre-hamelin/): Canadian pianist Marc-André Hamelin can play anything just about better than anyone else on the current international piano circuit. Or so it would appear from his fascinating recitals whose diverse and ambitious programmes range from Alkan to Ives, Liszt to
- [George Eliot: The Woman Who Became Famous as a Man](https://interlude.hk/george-eliot-the-woman-who-became-famous-as-a-man/): “It is always fatal to have music or poetry interrupted” During her lifetime, she was as famous as Charles Dickens. Her novels, which appeared in rapid succession from 1859, held Victorian readership spellbound for decades. Most of her fiction dealt
- [Christmas in Germany](https://interlude.hk/christmas-in-germany/): You might be surprised of just how many unique Christmas traditions you can experience in Germany. A big part of the Christmas season starts at the end of November or early December with Advent celebrations in preparations for the arrival
- [Architect of Sounds](https://interlude.hk/architect-of-sounds/): “To create architecture is to put in order. Put what in order? Function and objects. ” When Le Corbusier said that sentence about architecture, he could have been talking just as much about music. While the architect practices the art of
- [“You Haven’t <em>Really</em> Heard It Until You’ve Heard It Live!”](https://interlude.hk/you-havent-really-heard-it-until-youve-heard-it-live/): This catchy little phrase is part of the current classical music marketing for London’s Southbank Centre (which includes the Royal Festival Hall). It’s a great statement because it’s true: nothing beats the experience of live music. A recording is a
- [Sean Shepherd <br/>Creating an Abstract Sound](https://interlude.hk/sean-shepherd-creating-an-abstract-sound/): The very idea of making music inspired by the art form known as Abstract Expressionism seems an anathema. How do you pin down the undefinable? The music style that might match the art form of expressionism has come and gone
- [What to Do When Screw-Ups Happen](https://interlude.hk/what-to-do-when-screw-ups-happen/): After many decades of performing, one would think everything that could possibly go wrong has... Wrong! Or am I a magnet for snafus? Last month, my pianist and I drove the two hours to a University in a nearby town.
- [Nature at Night – Marx’s <em>Symphonische Nachtmusik</em>](https://interlude.hk/nature-at-night-marxs-symphonische-nachtmusik/): The Austrian composer Joseph Marx (1882-1964) led Austrian musical culture and after his death, seemed to vanish completely from the musical scene. Born in Graz, he studied philosophy, art history, German studies, and music at the University of Graz. In
- [The Slow Movement in Classical Music](https://interlude.hk/the-slow-movement/): Long before the recent cultural revolution that wants us to slow down the pace of our lives known as the Slow Movement, we had the slow movement in music. Composers have always known that to balance their music, there needed
- [Die Ägyptische Helena](https://interlude.hk/die-agyptische-helena/): Richard Strauss (1864 –1949) was the major German opera composer of the late 19th to the mid-20th century. His life and music were controversial during his lifetime and remained so after his death. One can argue about his music, his
- [Napoleon Bonaparte and Giuseppina Grassini](https://interlude.hk/napoleon-bonaparte-and-giuseppina-grassini/): “Love Is the Idler’s Occupation, the Warrior’s Relaxation, and the Sovereign’s Ruination” At the height of his powers, Napoleon Bonaparte had established an empire that dominated much of continental Europe at the beginning of the 19th century. He was, and
- [Christmas in Russia](https://interlude.hk/christmas-in-russia/): If you enjoy snow-covered endless plains, quaint traditional villages or splendidly illuminated cities, the ringing of church bells, hearty foods and a swift sleigh ride, you might enjoy spending your Christmas season in Russia. But you better get the timing
- [Rafał Blechacz Saves His Forte for Last](https://interlude.hk/rafal-blechacz-saves-his-forte-for-last/): Polish pianist Rafał Blechacz, laureate of all the five first prizes in Chopin piano competition in 2005 at the age of 20, gave a compelling recital in Taipei with a programme of Mozart, Beethoven, Schumann and Chopin. Blechacz’s Mozart Rondo
- [What’s With the Concerti in Concerts?](https://interlude.hk/opinions-whats-with-the-concerti-in-concerts/): The Instrumental Concerto: pinnacle of music creation – for a soloist and conductor, the ultimate achievement on stage. The convergence of multiple elements in a perfect marriage of complexity, virtuosity, communication, and connection. Except for those times it ends up
- [Andrew Ling](https://interlude.hk/andrew-ling/): ‘Serve the Music With Your Technique’ Hong Kong-born violist Andrew Ling didn’t reach the viola until relatively late in his musical life. He started the piano aged four, and then the violin aged six. After high school, he moved to
- [It’s Never Too Late……](https://interlude.hk/its-never-too-late/): “I wish I’d kept up my piano lessons! ” How many people do you meet who express this regret, that they’d continued childhood piano lessons into adulthood? At my piano club, there are people who have played all their life; others
- [Consorting With the Nobles – Ferrabosco II’s <em>Four-Note Pavan</em>](https://interlude.hk/consorting-with-the-nobles-ferrabosco-iis-four-note-pavan/): Alfonso Ferrabosco the Elder (1543-1588) was an Italian composer who came to England around 1562 where he was nearly the only Italian in the country. A composer and son of Domenico Ferrabosco, he worked for Queen Elizabeth I, some say
- [Pure Beethoven – An Interview With Tabea Zimmermann](https://interlude.hk/pure-beethoven-an-interview-with-tabea-zimmermann/): As we celebrate the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth in 2020, for many of us it’s going to be all Beethoven, all the time. However, starting off the new year in a small way, the Beethoven-Haus Bonn, in their Chamber
- [The Merging of Classical and Electronic Music](https://interlude.hk/the-merging-of-classical-and-electronic-music/): Does your music collection have a cross-section of classical and electronic music? If not, it should. Because classical and electronic music share many sonic similarities. The number of contemporary pop, rock, electronic, and alternate music groups and composers who have
- [Great Performers: Alfred Brendel](https://interlude.hk/great-performers-alfred-brendel/): Alfred Brendel is one of the reasons why I play the piano. My mother was a great fan of Brendel, and my love of Schubert’s piano music, especially the Impromptus and Moments Musicaux, is the direct result of my mother
- [Napoleon Bonaparte and the runaway Prima Donna](https://interlude.hk/napoleon-bonaparte-and-the-runaway-prima-donna/): Rather surprisingly Napoleon Bonaparte occasionally revealed more knowledge of music and poetry that one would have suspected in a man generally considered to be indifferent to the fine arts. In a letter to Désirée Clary, his lover at the time,
- [Christmas in Italy](https://interlude.hk/christmas-in-italy/): Christmas is celebrated in many parts of the globe, but Christmas in Italy is special. Italy has had a long Roman Catholic tradition, so it is hardly surprising that the holiday takes on a special flare. From vibrant light displays,
- [The Art of Mistakes](https://interlude.hk/the-art-of-mistakes/): Albert Einstein is famous for having said that making mistakes is natural to seeking novelty. The musician is by nature inclined to progress, and is constantly seeking for musical improvement and development. This process is closely tied with the art
- [Satie’s Gnossiennes](https://interlude.hk/saties-gnossiennes/): French composer Erik Satie was a curious, eccentric man. He had a penchant for grey corduroy suits (he had seven identical ones) and umbrellas, and apparently only ate white food. His response to a critic who said his music lacked
- [A Hong Kong Tragedy](https://interlude.hk/a-hong-kong-tragedy/): High in the skyscrapers of Hong Kong, a tragedy is being played out involving the father, the mother, the child, and between them all is the domestic helper, Mila. She’s the observer of the family dynamics and how the father
- [Breaking into a New World: Price’s Symphony No. 1](https://interlude.hk/breaking-into-a-new-world-prices-symphony-no-1/): When we look at Dvořák’s ninth symphony, From the New World, we often think that it exists in this peculiar Czecho-American bubble. Written when Dvořák was resident in the US as head of the National Conservatory, the work is much
- [Challenges for the Aging Musician](https://interlude.hk/challenges-for-the-aging-musician/): Playing a musical instrument is an amazing endeavor. It’s thrilling when a performance is everything we want it to be and the audience erupts in applause. If we’ve conveyed the beauty, meaning, and emotion of the music, and not the
- [Music Can Heal You](https://interlude.hk/music-can-heal-you/): Music fulfils a variety of functions today. It is used to communicate with and entertain audiences across the world. It is used as a means of social interaction, an instrument of instruction, artists use it to build inspiration for other
- [Art in the Embattled City](https://interlude.hk/art-in-the-embattled-city/): The international news is full of reports of the battle of Hong Kong – students battling the government, destroying facilities, battling police, taking control of the streets – and yet, at the same time there’s another side. The streets may
- [András Schiff – More of a Pianist Than a Conductor](https://interlude.hk/andras-schiff-more-of-a-pianist-than-a-conductor/): Sir András Schiff returned to Hong Kong after 11 years, this time with his “family”, Cappella Andrea Barca, and performed Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 2 and Mozart’s Symphony No. 39 for the first half of the programme, and Beethoven’s Piano Concerto
- [Napoleon Bonaparte: “Do Not Shriek Like You Usually Do”](https://interlude.hk/napoleon-bonaparte-do-not-shriek-like-you-usually-do/): The French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte was a brilliant military strategist, but the ability to hold a tune eluded him completely. Betsy Balcombe, a friend during his exile at Saint Helena writes in her Recollections. “In fact, Napoleon’s voice was most
- [Expanding Hong Kong’s Musical Possibilities<br/>An Interview With Rumiko Hasegawa](https://interlude.hk/expanding-hong-kongs-musical-possibilitiesan-interview-with-rumiko-hasegawa/): After first shaking up our entire concept of opera by taking the audience out of its comfortable chairs and putting on a La Traviata that was more like modern life, Rumiko Hasegawa and More than Musical are looking to improving
- [Reich/Richter](https://interlude.hk/reich-richter/): As far as living legends of music go, for me, Steve Reich is pretty up there. A pioneer of minimalism, this New Yorker’s hypnotically enthralling music has been captivating people since his early days in the 1960s, and he shows
- [The Poetic Universe of Hafez III](https://interlude.hk/the-poetic-universe-of-hafez-iii/): Composers know only too well the difficulty of maintaining the highest quality of craftsmanship and expression across genres. Beethoven wrote some real clunkers, as did Schumann and Rachmaninoff. Because Brahms very carefully controlled his output—we know that he mercilessly burned
- [‘Sleep Practicing’ and Practicing Away From the Instrument](https://interlude.hk/sleep-practicing-and-practicing-away-from-the-instrument/): Do you ever think you might be practicing in your sleep? Yesterday I went to practice Debussy‘s prelude La cathédrale engloutie, which I’m preparing for a performance later in the year. The second section, when the waves start to roll
- [A Violinist’s Love Song - Chausson – <em>Poème</em>](https://interlude.hk/a-violinists-love-song-chausson-poeme/): Ernest Chausson (1865-1899) studied under César Franck and Jules Massenet at the Paris Conservatoire. Sole living child of an affluent building contractor who had made his fortune in the redevelopment of Paris in the 1850s under Baron Haussmann, Chausson dabbled
- [“BTHVN2020”<br/>A Talk With Malte Boecker](https://interlude.hk/bthvn2020a-talk-with-malte-boecker/): 2020 is a momentous year for all lovers of music as we celebrate the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth. And to get us in the mood for this significant occasion, Interlude spoke with Malte Boecker, director of the Beethoven-Haus in
- [New Classical Music](https://interlude.hk/new-classical-music/): Before you run screaming into the night, stop. New classical music has changed, it’s now listenable, and not just squawky. Cynics will be in a rage if I tell them that old classical music is just a bunch of stuff
- [Great Performers: Yuja Wang](https://interlude.hk/great-performers-yuja-wang/): She’s stood in for Martha Argerich, Evgeny Kissin, Radu Lupu and Murray Perahia, and performs with some of the greatest orchestras and conductors, who praise her playfulness and unpretentiousness, coupled with artistic maturity, commitment, excellent preparation and professionalism. Ravel: Piano
- [Writing for the Right Audience <br/>An Interview With Stuart Hancock](https://interlude.hk/writing-for-the-right-audience-an-interview-with-stuart-hancock/): His music is everywhere – but you’ve never thought of the composer when you’ve heard it. He’s persuaded you to buy peas or beer or go to Legoland or Harvey Nicks. Highly successful commercial composer Stuart Hancock has written the
- [Mieczysław Weinberg (1919-1996)](https://interlude.hk/mieczyslaw-weinberg-1919-1996-my-moral-duty-is-to-write-about-the-horrors-that-befell-mankind-in-our-century/): “My Moral Duty Is to Write About the Horrors That Befell Mankind in Our Century” Mieczysław Weinberg, variously spelled Wajnberg, Vaynberg or Vainberg, encountered almost unbearable obstacles and suffering during his life. As a result he composed music with profound
- [Musical Meditations](https://interlude.hk/musical-meditations/): The power of music extends to the capability of opening the wise musician to reflective states and philosophical meditations. In the following ones, I reflect on the virtues that the musician applies to his own life. He is in constant
- ["The Instrument Is a Piece of Furniture Without the Pianist"](https://interlude.hk/the-instrument-is-a-piece-of-furniture-without-the-pianist/): J. S. Bach: Goldberg Variations (Glenn Gould) Piano a large keyboard musical instrument with a wooden case enclosing a soundboard and metal strings, which are struck by hammers when the keys are depressed The pianist Ivo Pogorelich is right: the piano
- [The Poetic Universe of Hafez II](https://interlude.hk/the-poetic-universe-of-hafez-ii/): William Jones first translated Hafez into English in 1771. It quickly fired the imagination of writers and poets such as Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson, who referred to him as “a poet’s poet. ” Friedrich Engels, who together with Karl Marx
- [The Modern Recorder - Sierra’s Prelude, Habanera and Perpetual Motion](https://interlude.hk/the-modern-recorder-sierras-prelude-habanera-and-perpetual-motion/): Recorder performer Michala Petri lifted the recorder out of the hands of the Baroque performers and has placed it firmly in the modern age. Despite those who sought to get her to play a “real” instrument, she saw the possibilities
- [Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821)<br/>“Music Tells Us That the Human Race Is Greater Than We Realize”](https://interlude.hk/napoleon-bonaparte-1769-1821music-tells-us-that-the-human-race-is-greater-than-we-realize/): Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) was passionate about music. Like his contemporaries, he attended the opera whenever possible, and it is reported that he saw 163 different operas and watched 319 performances in total. Napoleon had received some rudimentary musical instructions in
- [10 Things You May Not Know About Sergei Prokofiev](https://interlude.hk/10-things-you-may-not-know-about-sergei-prokofiev/): You know that Prokofiev wrote some of the greatest music ever. You know that his ballet scores have become some of the most performed dance music ever; on and off stage. You know that he was a child prodigy. You
- [Great Performers: Martha Argerich](https://interlude.hk/great-performers-martha-argerich/): Argentine-born Pianist Martha Argerich Liszt: Funerailles I’ve been fortunate to hear Argentine-born pianist Martha Argerich live in concert in London twice in recent years, first in Prokofiev’s Third Piano Concerto and then in Schumann’s Piano Concerto. On both occasions I
- [“Humpty Dumpty” <br/>More Nursery Rhymes in Urban Legend and Music](https://interlude.hk/humpty-dumpty-more-nursery-rhymes-in-urban-legend-and-music/): The first printed version of the charming children’s book Mother Goose’s Melody was published in London around 1765. It contained several nursery rhymes that have not stood the test of time, but many others are still familiar such as “Rock-a-bye
- [Mieczysław Weinberg](https://interlude.hk/mieczyslaw-weinberg/): “It was as if I had been born anew” Prokofiev and Shostakovich are household names in 20th century Russian music, but until recently hardly anybody recognized the name Mieczysław Weinberg (1919-1996). Born in Poland but forced to flee his homeland
- [Twinkle Twinkle](https://interlude.hk/twinkle-twinkle/): What links Pergolesi, Humperdinck, Weill, and Monteverdi? The same thing that links Pavarotti, Alagna, and Caruso. They are part of a list of some 100 composers, conductors, opera singers, and others who have had minor planets named after them. We’ll
- [A Classical Cuban Journey With the King of Pianists](https://interlude.hk/a-classical-cuban-journey-with-the-king-of-pianists/): Louis Gottschalk & Cuba by Antonio Iturrioz “Give me your hand, my child; I predict that you will become the king of pianists. ” So said Frédéric Chopin to American pianist and composer Louis Moreau Gottschalk, after hearing him perform at
- [The Poetic Universe of Hafez](https://interlude.hk/the-poetic-universe-of-hafez/): It has been said that every Iranian household contains two books, the Koran and Hafez. And a little saying suggests, “While one is read, the other is not. ” More than 600 years after his death, the 14th-century poet Hafez of
- [In the Harmonic Labyrinth – Locatelli’s Capriccio No. 23](https://interlude.hk/in-the-harmonic-labyrinth-locatellis-capriccio-no-23/): What is a capriccio? It has its roots in late 16th-century Italy, where it was used to describe a set of madrigals by Jacquet de Berchem in 1561. According to Furetière in his Dictionnaire universel (1690), ‘Capriccios are pieces of
- [The Mozart Concerto Formerly Known as “Jeunehomme”](https://interlude.hk/the-mozart-concerto-formerly-known-as-jeunehomme/): For well over one hundred years, Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 9, K271, carried the mysterious nickname “Jeunehomme. ” That nickname turned out to be the invention of the art and music critic Théodore de Wyzewa and the Mozart specialist Georges de
- [Alexandra Dovgan](https://interlude.hk/alexandra-dovgan/): I talk to my youngest ever Artist of the Month, 12 year-old Russian pianist Alexandra Dovgan. Winning her first competition just aged 7, Alexandra has scooped first prize at numerous other events, and currently studies at the Moscow Central Music
- [Great Performers: Mitsuko Uchida](https://interlude.hk/great-performersmitsuko-uchida/): “Every day of my life that I am allowed to play Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert and the music of our own time too... ... this, to me, is a gift from somewhere. If heaven existed, it’s heaven. ” – Mitsuko Uchida Slightly built and
- [“London Bridge is Falling Down”<br/>All About Nursery Rhymes and Not BREXIT](https://interlude.hk/london-bridge-is-falling-downall-about-nursery-rhymes-and-not-brexit/): Nursery Rhymes have always been popular with children and adults alike. These rhymes come from a variety of sources, including traditional riddles, proverbs, ballads, drinking songs and historical events. There has been much debate whether these innocent sounding rhymes have
- [Bringing Chamber Music to the World<br/>An Interview With Matthew Tommasini](https://interlude.hk/bringing-chamber-music-to-the-worldan-interview-with-matthew-tommasini/): In a new venture in Asia, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center (CMS) will be appearing on Hong Kong airways. An addition to the programming on RTHK Radio 4, Hong Kong’s classical music radio channel, is a new 14-episode
- [On Indie Classical](https://interlude.hk/on-indie-classical/): Indie classical—as I define it—is a sub-genre of contemporary classical music. Born in the early 2010s, it is slowly evolving from a niche genre to a contemporary musical trend. Its unofficial founders—including the German composer and pianist Nils Frahm—have gone
- [Those Who Can, Teach](https://interlude.hk/those-who-can-teach/): The expression “those who can, do; those who can’t, teach” does a great disservice to teachers everywhere. In the sphere of music, teaching is often regarded as a “second best” option for those who have trained as performers, yet for
- [Musicians and Artists: Bermel and Lawrence](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-bermel-and-lawrence/): In recent years, migration has meant the vast movement of peoples across West Asia and Europe and the Americas, seeking shelter from military action or economic inaction. At the turn of the 20th century, in America there was also a
- [Left on a Train – Howell’s Third String Quartet](https://interlude.hk/left-on-a-train-howells-third-string-quartet/): The amount of music that has been lost and found again or sometimes lost and not found again seems to be a continuing thread through the centuries. Scores are used to start the fires by ungrateful spouses or inattentive domestic
- [Pianist Jon Kimura Parker, a Modern-day Musical Maverick](https://interlude.hk/pianist-jon-kimura-parker-a-modern-day-musical-maverick/): The diabolical pianist—that’s what I called Jon Kimura Parker in 2013. During the last six years Parker has become a force in many genres of music, and, as an entrepreneur, he has blossomed into what one can only call a
- [Are Hip Hop and Classical Music Similar?](https://interlude.hk/are-hip-hop-and-classical-music-similar/): You might think that this is a crazy question. To quote Wikipedia, Hip Hop is a “stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted”. That doesn’t sound like classical music does it? Of
- [Great Performers: Maria João Pires](https://interlude.hk/great-performersmaria-joao-pires/): “what I feel is very deep. I need to have a total connection with the music” – Maria João Pires One of the finest musicians of her generation, pianist Maria João Pires brings exquisite refinement, profound emotional depth, and intellectual
- [“Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary” <br/>Nursery Rhymes in Urban Legend and Music](https://interlude.hk/mary-mary-quite-contrary-nursery-rhymes-in-urban-legend-and-music/): A good many nursery rhymes have acquired various historical explanations. Although it is much debated whether such explanations are grounded in fact or simply a matter of urban lore, it is clear that these innocent sounding rhymes support multiple levels
- [The Announcement of Death](https://interlude.hk/the-announcement-of-death/): One of the most dramatic scenes in an opera is the announcement of the hero or heroine’s death. It’s a striking point where histrionics come to the fore and emotions run rampant. These scenes were present even in the earliest
- [Bohuslav Martinů’s Moon Prosody](https://interlude.hk/bohuslav-martinus-moon-prosody/): Escaping Nazi oppression, Bohuslav Martinů and his wife Charlotte arrived in Lisbon on 11 January 1942. Roughly two months later they boarded S. S. Exeter with destination Hoboken, New Jersey. As with other artists who arrived in similar circumstances, life in
- [Musicians and Artists: William Grant Still and Sculpture](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-william-grant-still-and-sculpture/): In 1943, William Grant Still wrote his Suite for Violin and Piano, which took as its inspiration three sculptures: Richmond Barthé’s African Dancer, Sargent Johnson’s Mother and Child, and Augusta Savage’s Gamin. Each of these works was created in the
- [Cultural Gatekeeping and the Maverick Musician](https://interlude.hk/cultural-gatekeeping-and-the-maverick-musician/): Ravel: Gaspard de la Nuit (Ivo Pogorelich) I will never forget the first time I heard Croatian concert pianist Ivo Pogorelich live in concert at London’s Royal Festival Hall. The concert, in 2015, had been heavily trailed, hinting that this
- [A New Idea in Music – Liszt’s <em>Les Préludes</em>](https://interlude.hk/a-new-idea-in-music-liszts-les-preludes/): The problem for Liszt was how to expand the orchestral genre into something less confining than the symphony – 4 movements, alternating slow and fast, contrasting triple section. Sigh. It’s all so old. Ok, we have the concert overture, but
- [Lucas Debargue: When I Play Scarlatti, I Join Scarlatti’s Time](https://interlude.hk/lucas-debargue-when-i-play-scarlatti-i-join-scarlattis-time/): Four years have passed since the music world discovered Lucas Debargue at the 15th Tchaikovsky Competition. His peculiar path to music has created a new, different perspective on piano art. The conversation took place at the Riga Jurmala Music Festival,
- [The String Quartet](https://interlude.hk/the-string-quartet/): The longer I live, and the more music I hear, I become further convinced that the string quartet offers the greatest musical experience. This year, I have been lucky enough to see and hear perhaps the best two string quartets
- [Defining Greatness](https://interlude.hk/defining-greatness/): Classical Music is obsessed with greatness, especially amongst critics, audiences, and pedagogues who constantly seek to define “greatness” in musicians and composers, and there are innumerable lists, rankings and recordings of great composers and artists, concertos, symphonies et al. Schumann:
- [Joaquín Rodrigo and Victoria Kamhi Arditti <br/> “The Light of my Eyes”](https://interlude.hk/joaquin-rodrigo-and-victoria-kamhi-arditti-the-light-of-my-eyes/): On 14 March 1928 a concert honoring Manuel de Falla’s admittance to the French Légion d’Honneur took place in Paris. Falla insisted that music by some of his young Spanish colleagues should be heard as well, and Joaquin Rodrigo stole
- [Jules Massenet’s Werther at the Royal Opera House](https://interlude.hk/jules-massenets-werther-at-the-royal-opera-house/): French director Benoît Jacquot’s production (Revival Director Andrew Sinclair) dates back to 2004, and has had at least two revivals at the Royal Opera House. It remains as insipid and drab as at its first showing and it is hard
- [The Kitchen & The Pit](https://interlude.hk/the-kitchen-the-pit/): In the path of Ives, Johns and Kaftka, I alternate my life between music and hospitality; prevention being better than cure. I decided a couple of years ago to pick-up a day job and start a parallel career in hospitality—allowing
- [Musicians and Artists: Brahms’ Farewell to Feuerbach](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-brahms-farewell-to-feuerbach/): The classicist painter Anselm Feuerbach was one of the artists who formed a close friendship with Brahms, and who was often compared to him. He sought in his art to both follow a stringent aesthetic and a Classical restraint, while
- [Make Friends With the Music](https://interlude.hk/make-friends-with-the-music/): Too often it seems that we view learning, studying, practising and performing music as a kind of fight. People talk about “doing battle with Beethoven” or “fighting the fear” (of performing) as if one must take up arms against unseen,
- [New York Craziness – Quayle’s String Quartet No. 2](https://interlude.hk/new-york-craziness-quayles-string-quartet-no-2/): Matthew Quayle (b. 1976) took up what’s considered the ultimate classical genre, the string quartet and brought it fully into the 21st century. The original conversational / confrontational discussion between 2 violins, a viola, and a cello the discourse was
- [Morton Gould Goes to China](https://interlude.hk/morton-gould-goes-to-china/): Morton Gould (1913-1996) was never afraid to mingle popular and classical styles. Equally at home with a symphony orchestra, musical comedy, film music, jazz and popular music, musical eclecticism became a hallmark of his compositional style. He once said, “I
- [How Not to Be a Musician](https://interlude.hk/how-not-to-be-a-musician/): What do your dreams look like? Fame, stardom, success and riches? We all have dreams, but do you know how to achieve them? I can start by telling you what not to do, and you can take it from there.
- [Preview of Dartington International Summer School 2020](https://interlude.hk/preview-of-dartington-international-summer-school-2020/): Incoming Artistic Director sees Dartington International Summer School as a “laboratory” for musicians and composers to experiment and explore Since its foundation in 1947, Dartington International Summer School (DISS) has been a place where musicians, professional and amateur, come together
- [Joaquin Rodrigo](https://interlude.hk/joaquin-rodrigo/): “In Heaven We Will All Be Sounds” The Spanish composer Joaquin Rodrigo (1901-1999) might not be a household name, but he undoubtedly wrote the most successful concerto for any instrument in the 20th century. Conceirto de Aranjuez, originally written for
- [Leonardo Vinci: Death by Hot Chocolate](https://interlude.hk/leonardo-vinci-death-by-hot-chocolate/): Not to be confused with Leonardo da Vinci, Leonardo Vinci (1690-1730) was an influential Italian composer, best known for his operas. In fact, his music had a direct influence on a number of composers of the next generation, most notably
- [Jessye Norman (1945-2019)<br/>“I Am Grateful That My Horizons Were Not Narrowed at the Outset”](https://interlude.hk/jessye-norman-1945-2019i-am-grateful-that-my-horizons-were-not-narrowed-at-the-outset/): There can be no doubt that Jessye Norman (1945-2019) had one of the world’s most beautiful and powerful voices. Described as a “grand mansion of sound... that opens onto unexpected vistas,” Norman was a phenomenon that possessed a glorious rich middle
- [<em>Pietà</em> by Richard Blackford <br/> A Stabat Mater for Our Troubled Times](https://interlude.hk/pieta-by-richard-blackford-a-stabat-mater-for-our-troubled-times/): The Stabat Mater, a Medieval hymn which portrays Mary’s suffering as Christ’s mother during his Crucifixion, has been set to music by numerous composers, most notably Pergolesi, Schubert, Dvořák, Arvo Pärt and James Macmillan. In Pietà, a new setting by
- [Musicians and Artists: Morton Feldman and Mark Rothko](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-morton-feldman-and-mark-rothko/): In the middle of Houston, Texas, lies a point of solitude. Given the title of a chapel, it’s a place for spiritual matters, but at the same time, it’s a gathering place for world leaders seeking solutions that will culminate
- [Bringing Back the Baroque – Soler’s Keyboard Sonatas](https://interlude.hk/bringing-back-the-baroque-solers-keyboard-sonatas/): The Spanish-Catalan Baroque composer Antonio Soler (1729-1783), usually known as Padre Soler for his religious appointment, started his music study at age 6 at the school of the Monastery of Montserrat. By 1744 (age 15) was organist in La Seu
- [Paul Badura-Skoda (1927-2019)<br/> “Mozart Writes the Most Perfect, the Most Beautiful Music”](https://interlude.hk/paul-badura-skoda-1927-2019-mozart-writes-the-most-perfect-the-most-beautiful-music/): When I was a young and aspiring piano student I once asked my teacher if she would teach me a Mozart sonata. “No,” she said brusquely, “Mozart is too easy. ” Even then, this struck me as somewhat odd, because when
- [Art and Life Are Not Two Separate Things](https://interlude.hk/art-and-life-are-not-two-separate-things/): The statement in the title of this article was made by Felix Mendelssohn. In his short life of just 38 years, Mendelssohn left his mark on the art world with compositions that are still highly popular today. His music was
- [The Difficulty With Mozart](https://interlude.hk/the-difficulty-with-mozart/): “The sonatas of Mozart are unique; they are too easy for children, and too difficult for artists. ” ― Artur Schnabel Artur Schnabel Plays Mozart’s Piano sonata K. 333 On the page the piano music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart looks simple (but
- [Revisiting the Past <br/>Benjamin Britten : A Simple Symphony](https://interlude.hk/revisiting-the-past-benjamin-britten-a-simple-symphony/): As a composer, Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) showed his skills early, composing his first works at age 5. He started piano lessons 2 years later and the viola when he was 10. In his prep school, South Lodge, Lowestoft, he wrote
- [Regula Mühlemann](https://interlude.hk/regula-muhlemann-artist-of-the-month/): Opera and Song I meet Swiss soprano Regula Mühlemann over lunch the day before her Wigmore Hall debut, singing Mozart arias with The Mozartists, and talk to her about her outlook on performance, opera, and life in general. This season
- [A Guide to Music Appreciation](https://interlude.hk/a-guide-to-music-appreciation/): This article has been written in reaction to hearing “I don’t like this ” too often. As a composer, diversity in music is equal to the painter’s, who constantly seeks for new colours, or the chef’s
- [Finding Meaning in Music](https://interlude.hk/finding-meaning-in-music/): Meaning in music is elusive — in fact, there are those who have said that music has no meaningAlan Gilbert, conductor Must we always find “meaning” in music? Why can’t our listening experience simply be one of absorbing the sounds
- [Musicians and Artists: Poulenc, Éluard and Their Friends](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-poulenc-eluard-and-their-friends/): Francis Poulenc knew all the best poets, setting the works of Apollinaire and Éluard again and again. He set the poets to opera (Les Mamelles de Tiresias), for a cappella choir, for voice and piano, in a secular cantata (Figure
- [The Whistler’s Waltz – Ziehrer’s <em>Weaner Mad’ln</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-whistlers-waltz-ziehrers-weaner-madln/): When we think of Austria and the Waltz, we think of the Strauss family (Johann, Johann II, Josef, and Eduard) but they didn’t hold the monopoly on waltz music in Vienna. Karl Michael Ziehrer (1843-1922) was one of their primary
- [Guy Mintus <br/>Electrifying Israeli Jazz Pianist, Composer, and Vocalist](https://interlude.hk/guy-mintus-electrifying-israeli-jazz-pianist-composer-and-vocalist/): Last year, I was invited to perform during a special week of commemoration and celebration upon the 100th birthday of Leonard Bernstein, and the 70th anniversary of his appearance at the Displaced Persons camp in Landsberg, Germany. It’s a picturesque,
- [How Good is the Harpsichord?](https://interlude.hk/how-good-is-the-harpsichord/): Jean Rondeau records ‘Vertigo’ for harpsichord Asking whether the harpsichord is the greatest instrument ever, is like asking can fish swim? Now that I’ve answered my own question, here are 10 reasons why the harpsichord is the greatest instrument ever.
- [Mysterious Mountains and Visionary Landscapes <br/>The Music of Alan Hovhaness](https://interlude.hk/mysterious-mountains-and-visionary-landscapes-the-music-of-alan-hovhaness/): “I’ve always listened to my own voice. I was discontented with the kind of music that everyone said I should write – all clever and dissonant, intellectualised. I wanted to write music that was deeply felt, music that would move
- [Civil Disobedience in Music](https://interlude.hk/civil-disobedience-in-music/): A lonely and brave act of civil disobedience can have momentous consequences. In 1955, the seamstress Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat in a Montgomery, Alabama, city bus to a white man. Parks remembered, “Two policemen came on
- [Clara Wieck-Schumann (1819-1896) <br/>“A Woman’s Voice”](https://interlude.hk/clara-wieck-schumann-1819-1896-a-womans-voice/): All too frequently, women composers in history have been made invisible by societal conventions and by unspoken gender bias. Barred from key opportunities and educational chances, female composers have firmly remained in the shadows of their male counterparts. In the
- [Cultural Development for the International Stage – An Interview with Benedikt Fohr](https://interlude.hk/cultural-development-for-the-international-stage-an-interview-with-benedikt-fohr/): Benedikt Fohr joined the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra (HK Phil) after 12 years at the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbrücken Kaiserslautern, the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra, Camerata Salzburg, and Ensemble Research Freiburg. Since 2015, he has also been the Artistic Director (Classical)
- [Classical Music Myth-Busting](https://interlude.hk/classical-music-myth-busting/): There are many myths and preconceptions surrounding classical music, many of which are either inaccurate or just plain wrong... Classical Music is only for old peopleClassical music is for anyone of any age You have to wear special clothes for
- [Musicians and Artists: Jommelli, C.P.E. Bach and Lavater](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-artists-jommelli-c-p-e-bach-and-lavater/): In his ground-breaking book on physiognomy, the Swiss writer Johan Kaspar Lavater (1741-1801) sought to find the face of God in the men around him. Taking literally the notion that God created man in his own image, Lavater, sought to
- [How Your Community Can Help with Music Education](https://interlude.hk/how-your-community-can-help-with-music-education/): During my sophomore year in high school I waited breathlessly for our cue. It was the opening night of the charming opera in one act Amahl and the Night Visitors by Gian Carlo Menotti. Students were waiting in the wings
- [Singing the Songs of Spain – Albéniz’ <em>Cantos de España</em>](https://interlude.hk/singing-the-songs-of-spain-albeniz-cantos-de-espana/): Isaac Albéniz (1860-1909) joined with Enrique Granados and Manuel de Falla to bring Spain back into the international musical spotlight. The Spanish style they created came to define Spanish music – even being imitated by more than one French composer
- [The Memory of Music](https://interlude.hk/the-memory-of-music/): Do you dream about music? I do. I hear music in my sleep. Sometimes it wakes me, and I get up to write it down. There has been quite a bit written about exposing babies in the womb to classical
- [Schubert’s Moments Musicaux <br/>A Distinct Soundworld in Microcosm](https://interlude.hk/schuberts-moments-musicaux-a-distinct-soundworld-in-microcosm/): Published in 1828, the year Schubert died, and written between 1823 and 1828, the six Moments Musicaux (literally “musical moments”) are amongst Schubert’s best-loved works for piano and are as accessible to the competent amateur pianist as they are to
- [We the People <br/>Revolutions and Music](https://interlude.hk/we-the-people-revolutions-and-music/): Revolutions have always been part of human history, and they certainly have been central to the formation of the modern world. We frequently use the word “Revolution” in generic ways to describe various phenomena like the “industrial revolution” or the
- [Clara Wieck-Schumann (1819-1896) <br/> “Composing Gives Me Great Pleasure”](https://interlude.hk/clara-wieck-schumann-1819-1896-composing-gives-me-great-pleasure/): Clara Wieck-Schumann (1819-1896) is considered one of the most talented and distinguished composer-pianists of the 19th Century. In an era when women, apart from singers, almost never performed in public or composed music, Clara did both. Although blessed with outstanding
- [Baroquism](https://interlude.hk/baroquism/): Over the years, I have come to realise that somehow my tastes in classical music often balanced between baroque and minimalism. For some reason, each period seemed to refer to the other—the latter more than the former. I felt like
- [The Concert Programme as Menu](https://interlude.hk/concert-programme-menu/): Composing a concert is like composing a menu... . If you start with light pieces and play a 45-minute sonata after the interlude, it’s like starting dinner with hors d’oeuvres and dessert and finishing with a Châteaubriand and vegetables. – Arthur
- [Presaging the Future of Opera? Thomson and Stein’s Four Saints in Three Acts](https://interlude.hk/presaging-future-opera-thomson-steins-four-saints-three-acts/): In 1926, the American composer Virgil Thomson went to the fabled address of 27 Rue de Fleurus, where the American poet and writer Gertrude Stein lived with her companion, Alice B. Toklas. Thomson was familiar with Stein’s writings and spoke
- [Weber: <em>Aufforderung zum Tanz</em>](https://interlude.hk/weber-aufforderung-zum-tanz/): Watching the Dancers In 1819 Carl Maria von Weber wrote a little not-dance piece, Aufforderung zum Tanz, for his bride Caroline. This work was important because it was the first work considered a concert-waltz, i. e. , a waltz, but not one
- [Connecting the Dots—When Piano Rolls Were the Rage](https://interlude.hk/connecting-the-dots-when-piano-rolls-were-the-rage/): A few days ago, we were invited to an historic home on a nearby lake, a rambling manor that had been in one family for generations. Inside we encountered sensory overload—antiques, and collectibles, decades-old toys, hundreds of books, silver sets,
- [Love Is in the Music](https://interlude.hk/love-is-in-the-music/): Love has been an unfailing interest of mankind and an indispensable element of human lives. Love is much more than superficial attraction: at its best, love displays trust, commitment, longing, making sacrifices for the greater good. Yet on the flip
- [By the Light of the Silvery Moon](https://interlude.hk/by-the-light-of-the-silvery-moon/): The turn of the 20th century saw a surprising number of Moon songs. It also saw the first amusement park devoted to the moon: Luna Park in Coney Island, New York. That original Luna Park, which opened in 1905, was
- [How the Classical Music Experience Is Changing](https://interlude.hk/how-the-classical-music-experience-is-changing/): Many modern orchestras are focusing on the audience experience today. In the United States and several other countries, you can go to a concert hall to hear a symphony orchestra and they will encourage you to clap between movements if
- [Upset by Einaudi?](https://interlude.hk/upset-by-einaudi/): What is it about Ludovico Einaudi and his music which provokes such strong reactions from so-called “serious” classical music people? His music is regularly criticized by these people for being “bland”, “unchallenging”, “unsophisticated”, or simply “bad”... Einaudi’s musical language is
- [The Dark Trip – d’Indy’s <em>Tableaux du voyage</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-dark-trip-dindys-tableaux-du-voyage/): Vincent d’Indy (1851-1931) was considered by Gabriel Fauré as ‘The Samson of Music,’ not only for his work as a composer and conductor but also for his work as an educator and propagandist for French music. He followed his teacher
- [Creatures of the Parisian Salon<br/>Ruggero Leoncavallo and Berthe Rambaud](https://interlude.hk/creatures-parisian-salonruggero-leoncavallo-berthe-rambaud/): Destitute and on the verge of starving, Ruggero Leoncavallo (1857-1919) arrived in Paris. He found work as an accompanist at various café-concerts, and eventually attracted attention. Colloquially known as the “great little Italian,” he gradually gained entry into the various
- [Clara Wieck-Schumann](https://interlude.hk/clara-wieck-schumann-composer-of-the-month/): “I once believed that I possessed creative talent” Clara Schumann née Wieck, (1819-1896) was born in Leipzig, daughter of Marianne and Friedrich Wieck. Friedrich established a successful music business, and Marianne was a gifted musician appearing as a piano and
- [Defining Artistry](https://interlude.hk/defining-artistry/): The miracle of an aristocratic performance lies in its capacity to vaporize everything that surrounds it... Mark Mitchell, ‘Virtuosi’ (Indiana University Press, 2000) Earlier this year I was privileged to hear two performers who are the living embodiment of superlatives like
- [Musicians and Artists : Virgil Thomson and Maurice Grosser](https://interlude.hk/musicians-artists-virgil-thomson-maurice-grosser/): The American composer and critic Virgil Thomson (1896-1989) believed in the ‘discipline of spontaneity. ’ His music aimed at a clarity and simplicity that was unusual in 20th century composers. One of the outcomes of this search for spontaneity was his
- [A Cutting-Edge Artist: Hilary Hahn—<em>#100DaysofPractice and Other Ventures</em>](https://interlude.hk/a-cutting-edge-artist-hilary-hahn-100daysofpractice-and-other-ventures/): Social media has become a necessary way of reaching audiences. Today’s artists have to make the decision to ‘beat them or join them’ and take on Instagram and Facebook pages, Twitter accounts, and blogs, and choose whether to manage them
- [Don’t Be Scared, It’s Only Music](https://interlude.hk/dont-be-scared-its-only-music/): If you don’t live in a museum and you love music, you may have heard of the music of Danish composer Hans Abrahamsen – born 1952. If you do live in Bach’s time and only ever expose your ears to
- [Gaspard De La Nuit: Ravel’s Dark Fantasy](https://interlude.hk/gaspard-de-la-nuit-ravels-dark-fantasy/): “Gaspard has been a devil in coming, but that is only logical since it was he who is the author of the poems. ” – Maurice Ravel Considered to be one of the most fearsomely difficult pieces in the pianist’s repertoire
- [The Scottish Inspiration <br/>Sir Walter Scott](https://interlude.hk/scottish-inspiration-sir-walter-scott/): The Scottish author Sir Walter Scott is second only to Shakespeare for the number of musical pieces that his works, both plays and poetry, have inspired. Some of the operas he inspired are still standard on the opera stage today
- [Svendsen: Fête Polonaise](https://interlude.hk/svendsen-fete-polonaise/): Dancing for the King The late-nineteenth century saw a rise in Scandinavian nationalism and with that a growing importance in local composers. Prior to that, music training took place in Germany and the German style was prevalent. With an increasing
- [Art Imitating Life <br/> Ruggero Leoncavallo: <em>Pagliacci</em>](https://interlude.hk/art-imitating-life-ruggero-leoncavallo-pagliacci/): A fair number of composers are primarily known for only one piece of music. And such is certainly the case with the Italian opera composer and librettist Ruggero Leoncavallo (1857-1919). His single lasting contribution, Pagliacci (Clowns), is still one of
- [Stefan Jackiw](https://interlude.hk/stefan-jackiw-artist-of-the-month/): American violinist Stefan Jackiw catches up with me after a whirlwind summer of music festivals, with some rare downtime in New York before his next set of travels around the US, Slovenia and Helsinki. You’ve played in three different continents
- [Piano Olympics](https://interlude.hk/piano-olympics/): In our celebrity-obsessed, ‘image is everything’ times, it seems that the fledgling concert pianist’s path to the modern concert arena – the ‘Three C’s’ of Conservatoire, Competition and Concerto – has turned professional piano playing into a kind of Olympian
- [Musicians and Artists: J. C. Bach, Carl Abel, and Thomas Gainsborough](https://interlude.hk/musicians-artists-j-c-bach-carl-abel-thomas-gainsborough/): Johann Christian Bach (1735-1782) was the youngest of J. S. Bach’s eleven sons and made his career in London, where he was called the “English Bach. ” Born when his father was 50 years old, he lived with his older half-brother C. P. E.
- [Is Playing in an Ensemble Your Dream? 12 Pointers for the Novice](https://interlude.hk/playing-ensemble-dream-12-pointers-novice/): Some of the greatest gems of music are written for small ensemble. But in chamber music you don’t have a conductor to tell you what to do, nor are you entirely on your own to make musical decisions. How does
- [Eisler: Ernste Gesänge, Lieder with Piano](https://interlude.hk/eisler-ernste-gesange-lieder-with-piano/): Serious Songs 5 : XX Party From Eisler: Ernste Gesänge, Lieder with Piano (2013) Released by Harmonia Mundi Eisler: Serious Songs 5 : XX PartyFrom the Twenties and the Berlin of the Weimar Republic until his emigration to the United
- [Could Music Disappear One Day?](https://interlude.hk/music-disappear-one-day/): This is the Italian composer Giovanni Sollima playing one of his creations. What is it about music that moves us so? Where else can you see a person react to anything like this, except through music? Look at how this
- [Schumann’s Final Piece: The ‘Ghost’ Variations](https://interlude.hk/schumanns-final-piece-ghost-variations/): There’s a special poignancy to Schumann’s Geistervariationen (“Ghost Variations”). Dedicated to his beloved wife Clara, they were written just a few weeks before he was committed to a lunatic asylum at Endenich, and were the last piece of music he
- [More Whale Stories <br/>Herman Melville and Moby Dick](https://interlude.hk/whale-stories-herman-melville-moby-dick/): Hollywood has always been eager to bring epic novels to the silver screen. And such was the case when they took on Moby Dick in 1956. Ray Bradbury, who confessed to director John Huston that he had “never been able
- [My Two Encounters with Pianist Jörg Demus](https://interlude.hk/two-encounters-pianist-jorg-demus/): It was on a day in April—it was actually the 17th of April—when someone told me that Jörg Demus had passed away. In the Internet era, news spreads like wildfire. But the source of all this commotion came from Wikipedia,
- [“Flower of Jasmine, so fair!”](https://interlude.hk/flower-jasmine-fair/): Anton Arensky (1861-1906) could not be considered a musical rebel by any stretch of the imagination. Perceived to lack a distinctive personal style, Rimsky-Korsakov famously said, “in his youth Arensky did not escape some influence from me; later the influence
- [Pianists Behaving Badly](https://interlude.hk/pianists-behaving-badly/): ‘From the outset all manner of unacceptable behaviour, whether manifesting itself emotionally in false rapture or facial grimace, the stamping of feet to mark the rhythm, accompanied by an all-embracing unsightly body movement, the shaking and nodding of the head
- [Musicians and Artists: Marie Fel and Maurice Quentin La Tour](https://interlude.hk/musicians-artists-marie-fel-maurice-quentin-la-tour/): The French pastillist Maurice Quentin de La Tour (1704-1788) is known for his portraits of the most famous men and women of his time, including Voltaire, Rousseau, Louis XV and Madame de Pompadour. He also captured some of the most
- [Playing Music Is It for Everyone?](https://interlude.hk/playing-music-everyone/): People are exquisitely attuned to sound from our very beginnings, through our mother’s soft cooing voice, which leads to language. Music has had a special place in the hearts and minds of virtually all cultures across time. The discovery of
- [Theodor Wiesengrund Adorno (1903-1969) <br/> “Behind Every Work of Art Lies an Uncommitted Crime”](https://interlude.hk/theodor-wiesengrund-adorno-1903-1969-behind-every-work-art-lies-uncommitted-crime/): Some consider him one of the most important philosophers and social critics in Germany after World War II, while others declare him to be “preposterously over-rated. ” Whatever the case may be, Theodor Wiesengrund Adorno (1903-1969) was a leading member of
- [Silvestrov Piano Works](https://interlude.hk/silvestrov-piano-works/): Naive Music no. 7 Waltz Elisaveta Blumina From Silvestrov Piano Works (2013) Released by Grand Piano Silvestrov: Naive Music – no. 7 WaltzAbout Valentin Silvestrov (b. 1937) This recording is devoted to piano works, by the Ukrainian composer Valentin Silvestrov,
- [Music’s Dark Side](https://interlude.hk/musics-dark-side/): Are you threatened by the music you like? We’ve seen it all too often, a composer or popular musician is found out to have a dark side. Does this change how much their music once meant to you? For most
- [Liszt’s Ultimate Masterpiece – the B Minor Piano Sonata](https://interlude.hk/liszts-ultimate-masterpiece-b-minor-piano-sonata/): Liszt’s B-minor piano sonata is regarded by many as his ultimate masterpiece and it ranks alongside other “greats” in the pantheon of piano repertoire. This was not always the case, however, and in the nineteenth century it was met with
- [The Maharaja of Music](https://interlude.hk/maharaja-music/): Nikhil Sardana explores the strangely uncelebrated story of an Indian maharaja’s invaluable contribution to Western classical music. The year was 1948. Europe was limping back to normalcy after seven terrible years of a world war. Richard Strauss had managed to
- [Médée in Salzburg: When Visuals Devour Their Musical Children](https://interlude.hk/medee-salzburg-visuals-devour-musical-children/): Luigi Cherubini’s Medea is nothing if not firmly and consistently associated with Maria Callas. The Greek American soprano revived this masterpiece from relative obscurity, and committed it to stage, disc, film, but most importantly to legend. Any Medea needs to
- [A Whale of a Story <br/> Herman Melville and Moby Dick](https://interlude.hk/whale-story-herman-melville-moby-dick/): On 1 August we celebrate the 200th birthday of Herman Melville (1819-1891), the author of one of the greatest novels in the English language. But Moby Dick, the epic tale of the voyage of the whaling ship “Pequod” and its
- [Musicians and Artists: Faustina Bordoni and Rosalba Carriera](https://interlude.hk/musicians-artists-faustina-bordoni-rosalba-carriera/): The painter Rosalba Carriera (ca. 1673-1757) was born in Venice and made her name in portrait miniatures. Her work in pastels made her popular and she chose to show this in her own self-portrait where her self-portait was in pastels
- [Advice to Myself: Never Play Through Pain](https://interlude.hk/advice-never-play-pain/): I should have known better than to attempt the fast octaves at the beginning of Schubert‘s first Klavierstück, D946, with incorrect (or rather non-existent) technique (this was some years after I had returned to the piano seriously after an absence
- [CASTELNUOVO-TEDESCO, M.: Violin Concerto No. 3 / String Trio / Sonata for Violin and Cello](https://interlude.hk/castelnuovo-tedesco-m-violin-concerto-3-string-trio-sonata-violin-cello/): Violin Concerto No. 3, Op. 102 – I. Drammatico From CASTELNUOVO-TEDESCO, M. : Violin Concerto No. 3 / String Trio / Sonata for Violin and Cello (2018) Released by Naxos Castelnuovo-Tedesco: Violin Concerto No. 3, Op. 102 – I. DrammaticoThe three
- [The Frogs Croak and Music Smokes at Franklin Pond](https://interlude.hk/frogs-croak-music-smokes-franklin-pond/): You’d never suspect that in a lovely suburb in Atlanta, in a home surrounded by statuesque trees and a pond full of raucous frogs, young people ages 8-18 are playing chamber music at an amazing level. Founded by long-time Atlanta
- [The World’s Most Amazing Musical Instruments](https://interlude.hk/worlds-amazing-musical-instruments/): Humans have been inventing musical instruments since day two: day one we were busy toiling. A lot of these musical inventions are crossovers, like the Harp-Guitar, but some are straight out of the weirdest and wackiest imaginations on earth —
- [Interview with Masato Suzuki <br/>Principal Conductor of Bach Collegium Japan](https://interlude.hk/interview-masato-suziki-principal-conductor-bach-collegium-japan/): “Every day presents new and exciting challenges that I look forward to tackling” Bach: Concerto for 2 Keyboards in C Minor, BWV 1062 Your father, Masaaki Suzuki, must have had a major impact on your musical development as a child.
- [Salzburg Festival 2019: Mozart’s Idomeneo](https://interlude.hk/salzburg-festival-2019-mozarts-idomeneo/): Salzburg generally does Mozart exceptionally well. But this year Salzburg did very little well, including Mozart. The Salzburg native’s seminal work is difficult to perform at the best of times. The story set in Crete after the Trojan War poses
- [Danielpour’s <em>Talking with Aphrodite</em> and other works](https://interlude.hk/danielpours-talking-aphrodite-works/): In Erica Jong’s 2003 novel Sappho’s Leap, Sappho stands on the edge of the cliff, but now, instead of taking the fatal leap because of her unrequited love for the boatman Phaon, she confronts the Goddess of Love, Aphrodite, and
- [Louis Moreau Gottschalk <br/>Dangerous Side Effects of Fame](https://interlude.hk/louis-moreau-gottschalk-dangerous-side-effects-fame/): The teenage American sensation Louis Moreau Gottschalk (1829-1869) played his name into the hearts of Parisian society. Paris was full with youthful geniuses, but one from America attracted special attention. His earliest music published in France in his name tellingly
- [Daughterly Muse <br/>Marcel and Marguerite Tollet-Dupré](https://interlude.hk/daughterly-muse-marcel-marguerite-tollet-dupre/): Inspiration can strike anyone, anywhere, anytime. And while some artists find inspiration in nature, psychology, religion or political convictions, there is a source that’s much closer to home; their own children! It goes without saying that all parents want what’s
- [Must We Have Music With Everything?](https://interlude.hk/must-music-everything/): Music seems to be everywhere these days, from cafés, bars and restaurants to shops, hotels, stations and airports, leaking out of other people’s headphones and earbuds, and more recently in banks and even the waiting room of my doctors’ surgery.
- [Musicians and Artists: Farinelli and Amigoni](https://interlude.hk/musicians-artists-farinelli-amigoni/): The Italian soprano castrato singer Carlo Borschi, better known simply as Farinelli, studied in Naples under the most famous teacher of singing of the day, Nicola Porpora. Porpora, a successful opera composer, had his student debut in his work Angelica
- [D'Or, Yaniv / Ensemble NAYA: Exaltation](https://interlude.hk/dor-yaniv-ensemble-naya-exaltation/): Exaltation (arr. Ensemble NAYA) From D’Or, Yaniv / Ensemble NAYA: Exaltation (2018) Released by Naxos D’Or: Exaltation (arr. Ensemble NAYA)A follow-up to Latino Ladino (8. 573566), which focuses on music of the Sephardic diaspora after the 1492 expulsion of Jews and
- [Aaron Rosand: Last of a Generation](https://interlude.hk/aaron-rosand-last-generation/): Recently, we lost a virtuoso violinist, Aaron Rosand—one of the last of a generation of exceptional violinists, which included Jascha Heifetz, Nathan Milstein, Yehudi Menuhin, Isaac Stern, David Oistrakh, Ida Haendel and others. Rosand had a brilliant performing career, which
- [Is Music a Valueless Product?](https://interlude.hk/music-valueless-product/): As someone who has spent most of his life inside music, I value what music has taught me. The things music has given me and the beauty and pleasure I get from listening to and creating music are beyond almost
- [Stephen Hough’s Rough Ideas](https://interlude.hk/stephen-houghs-rough-ideas/): The title is a play on his name and the collection of essays in this satisfyingly chunky volume were often “roughed out” by Stephen Hough while travelling between concert engagements, If you think the life of the international concert pianist
- [Two Female Composers Whose Music Deserves to Be Better Known](https://interlude.hk/two-female-composers-whose-music-deserves-better-known/): Born within a year of one another, female composers Dora Pejačević (1885-1923) and Rebecca Clarke (1886-1979) gained little recognition during their own lifetimes and it has only been in recent years that their music has become better known, and deservedly
- [Louis Moreau Gottschalk](https://interlude.hk/louis-moreau-gottschalk-composer-of-the-month/): Chopin of the Créoles Louisiana-born Louis Moreau Gottschalk (1829-1869) spent most of his life as a touring concert pianist. Son of a Jewish businessman and a Créole mother, the boy was quickly recognized as a musical prodigy and departed for
- [João Gilberto (1931-2019)<br/> “Father of Bossa Nova”](https://interlude.hk/joao-gilberto-1931-2019-father-bossa-nova/): When the legendary Brazilian musician João Gilberto (1931-2019) released his first record, Chega de Saudade, nobody could foresee that it would become one of the most influential events in modern Brazilian music. Gilberto had created a unique romantic and reflective
- [Are Classical Musicians “Stuffy”?](https://interlude.hk/classical-musicians-stuffy/): Many people, who are not “in the know” – and even some who are! – regard classical music as elitist and its practitioners as either formal and old-fashioned or pretentious so-and-so’s who have set themselves up as demi-gods, garnering praise
- [Musicians and Artists: Gottschalk and Art](https://interlude.hk/musicians-artists-gottschalk-art/): Louis Moreau Gottschalk was the original 19th-century musical rebel. Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1829, he was a music prodigy, making his public debut at age 11. When he was 13, he went to Paris with his father and
- [WIRÉN, D.: String Quartets Nos. 2-5](https://interlude.hk/wiren-d-string-quartets-nos-2-5/): String Quartet No. 2, Op. 9 – I. Theme and variations From WIRÉN, D. : String Quartets Nos. 2-5 (2018) Released by Naxos Wirén: String Quartet No. 2, Op. 9 – I. Theme and variationsThe tapestry of drama, refinement and expressive
- [Long Yu: Guardian of the Orchestral Galaxy](https://interlude.hk/long-yu-guardian-orchestral-galaxy/): For any music journalist, to nail down an interview with Long Yu would be mission impossible. Not only because the man has an endless line-up of meetings, auditions to attend, rehearsals, concerts to lead who spends his day by minute,
- [The Beautiful Sound of the Recorder – Really!](https://interlude.hk/beautiful-sound-recorder-really/): In the mid-1980s one of my music teachers was the composer and recorder player Ian Shanahan. I once asked him why he loved and played the recorder? His reply still rings true today. “No one ever told me that the
- [Sabine Devieilhe](https://interlude.hk/sabine-devieilhe-artist-of-the-month/): ‘Humanity in Every Note’ I catch up with French coloratura soprano Sabine Devieilhe in London, in between her performances of Donizetti’s La Fille du Régiment at Covent Garden’s Royal Opera House. After winning a unanimous First Prize at the Paris
- [Three French Female Composers Whose Music You Should Explore <br/>Louise Farrenc, Cecile Chaminade and Germaine Tailleferre](https://interlude.hk/three-french-female-composers-whose-music-explore/): She took piano lessons with Ignaz Moscheles and Johann Nepomuk Hummel, studied composition with Anton Reicha, a friend of Beethoven’s, and renowned violinist Joseph Joachim performed in the premiere of her nonet for wind and strings. During her lifetime, Louise
- [She's Just a Little Mad, My Head Is on Straight <br/>Kurt Weill’s 7 Deadly Sins](https://interlude.hk/shes-just-little-mad-head-straight-kurt-weills-7-deadly-sins/): In 1932, Kurt Weill was commissioned to write a ballet. But, this was a ballet with a difference. Commissioned by the Englishman Edward James for his ballerina wife, Tilly Losch, James specified that Lotte Lenya would sing it and his
- [Music Versus Noise – A Response to Rob J Kennedy](https://interlude.hk/music-versus-noise-response-rob-j-kennedy/): What is music? And what is noise? These questions have always been lingering in my mind – without any absolute solution. As one of our contributors, Rob, eloquently discussed, there is no consensual agreement on a singular definition of music.
- [The Immersive Choir <br/>An Interview with Paul Smith of VOCES8](https://interlude.hk/immersive-choir-interview-paul-smith-voces8/): For his first album as a composer and solo artist, Paul Smith, co-founder with his brother of the a capella group VOCES8, brought together VOCES8, his other group Apollo5, and 2,500 more singers. Simple. Not so simple. The 2,500 singers
- [Learning Side by Side](https://interlude.hk/learning-side-side/): Most students probably expect their teacher to be able to play anything, and indeed the best teachers will have a comprehensive repertoire coupled with extensive knowledge. One need not have played all the Beethoven Piano Sonatas or Chopin’s Etudes in
- [Musicians and Artists: Ortiz and Veronese](https://interlude.hk/musicians-artists-ortiz-veronese/): In his monumental painting, The Wedding at Cana (1563), the Italian painter Paolo Veronese (1528-1588) portrayed the biblical story of the marriage at Cana (John 2:1-11) where Jesus saves the celebration by his miraculous conversion of water into wine. The
- [BENNETT, W.S.: Piano Sextet / Chamber Trio / String Quartet](https://interlude.hk/bennett-w-s-piano-sextet-chamber-trio-string-quartet/): Piano Sextet in F-Sharp Minor, Op. 8 – I. Allegro moderato ma con passione From BENNETT, W. S. : Piano Sextet / Chamber Trio / String Quartet (2018) Released by Naxos Bennett: Piano Sextet in F-Sharp Minor, Op. 8 – I. Allegro
- [The Tchaikovsky Competition XVI <br/>Brilliant But Not Without Snafus](https://interlude.hk/tchaikovsky-competition-xvi-brilliant-without-snafus/): Finals with Zlatomir Fung The Tchaikovsky Competition, the Olympics of music held every four years, is arguably the most important competition for young musicians between the ages of 16 and 32. The major monetary prizes are but a small part.
- [The Voice of Vibrato](https://interlude.hk/the-voice-of-vibrato/): Vibrato can make you feel more than what is intended. String instruments pronounce it, woodwinds make it felt, brass, well maybe it only slightly works for them, but the human voice excels with applied vibrato. Select and functional vibrato can
- [Piano Competitions <br/> Olympics for Pianists or an Important Part of a Young Musician’s Development?](https://interlude.hk/piano-competitions-olympics-pianists-important-part-young-musicians-development/): The 16th edition of the Tchaikovsky International Competition has finished (and not without controversy, but that’s another story... . ) and another crop of prize winners have been crowned and launched onto the international music scene. French pianist Alexandre Kantorow was awarded
- [Iván Erőd (1936-2019) <br/> “Art is Communication”](https://interlude.hk/ivan-erod-1936-2019-art-communication/): Iván Erőd was born the son of a businessman in Budapest in 1936 amidst the brewing catastrophe of World War II. In fact, his brother and his grandparents were murdered in Buchenwald and Auschwitz in 1944, and his parents barely
- [Pianola Museum](https://interlude.hk/pianola-museum/): Museums aren’t always interesting or exciting places to visit. Some are boring, some are too informative, some simply don’t appeal to us. Stepping into the Pianola Museum in Amsterdam with an exceptionally ordinary entrance, I didn’t expect much, but it
- [Thou Shall Not Steal](https://interlude.hk/thou-shall-steal/): “Good artists copy; great artists steal. ” The more I compose and create, the more I agree with this well-known Picasso quote—or Stravinsky for the same matter, as the ambiguity on the ownership persists. Actually, thanks to Cage and his writings,
- [The Hardest Piece?](https://interlude.hk/hardest-piece/): Piano playing shouldn’t be a competitive activity, yet players are regularly pitted against one another in international music competitions. Alongside this is an ongoing argument about what are the hardest pieces in the pianist’s repertoire.
- [Is Classical Music ‘Elitist’? No, But You Might Be!](https://interlude.hk/classical-music-elitist-might/): Classical music has an image problem. Depending on where you hail from in the western world, society as a generalised group will probably have a fairly stark concept of this artistic medium we all hold dear.
- [JIMÉNEZ, G.: Piano Solo Works / Cello and Piano Works - En los ojos de las llamas / 3 Pieces / La luz de enero / Mediterráneo](https://interlude.hk/jimenez-g-piano-solo-works-cello-piano-works-en-los-ojos-de-las-llamas-3-pieces-la-luz-de-enero-mediterraneo/): La luz de enero (version for cello and piano) – No. 1. Soneto de la guirnalda de rosas From JIMÉNEZ, G. : Piano Solo Works / Cello and Piano Works – En los ojos de las llamas / 3 Pieces /
- [A Trip to the Moon <br/>Apollo 11, 20 July 1969](https://interlude.hk/trip-moon-apollo-11-20-july-1969/): The moon is always there, hanging over the sleepy earth or visible in a blue sky, just to remind us of its presence, even during the day. The 21st century fashion for looking at the Supermoon or whatever this month’s
- [Making It in the Music World II](https://interlude.hk/making-music-world-ii/): The key point raised in part-one of this article for musicians wanting to make it in the music worlds is to never give up. Many other salient points can be added to your list of requirements to maintain a lifelong
- [Percy Grainger – the Eccentric Piano Wizard](https://interlude.hk/percy-grainger-eccentric-piano-wizard/): “amazing skill, personality and vigor” – Harold C Schonberg Percy Grainger (1882-1961), Australian pianist, composer and noted eccentric, is most famous for ‘Country Gardens’, his transcription of an English folksong, with its frolicking rustic lilt. But Grainger was much more
- [Who Actually Won @ the 16th Tchaikovsky Competition?](https://interlude.hk/actually-won-16th-tchaikovsky-competition/): Eleven days (June 17th to 27th) of complete immersion in the 2019 International Tchaikovsky Competition, enduring palm-sweating, heart-racing, and adrenalin-pumping conditions, while witnessing an array of ultra demanding repertoire mastered by especially fine musicians all day – that is my
- [Stravinsky Meets Modern](https://interlude.hk/stravinsky-meets-modern/): We associate ragtime music with performers and composers such as Scott Joplin, confined by their poverty and marginality to the US. What we may not realize is how international this turn of the 20th century-style was and how influential it
- [The Pop Classical](https://interlude.hk/pop-classical/): In a sense, the thing furthest away from Classical music is pop music. But, in another sense, the two kinds of music are far closer than you think!
- [A Sense of Ownership](https://interlude.hk/sense-ownership/): My version of Bach’s C major Prelude will not be the same as yours. Sure, we’ve been working from the same score, processing the same notes, we may even play the piece on the same instrument, but it won’t be
- [Musicians and Artists: Virtuosos and Ingres](https://interlude.hk/musicians-artists-virtuosos-ingres/): The French neo-classical painter Jean-Auguste-Domique Ingres (1780-1867) was very much a student of the academic painter Jacques-Louis David and brought David’s classical and restrained model into the nineteenth century. In addition to his considerable painting skills, he was also a
- [RAFF, J.: Piano and Orchestra Works - Piano Concerto / Ode au Printemps](https://interlude.hk/raff-j-piano-orchestra-works-piano-concerto-ode-au-printemps/): Ode au Printemps, Op. 76 From RAFF, J. : Piano and Orchestra Works – Piano Concerto / Ode au Printemps (2017) Released by Grand Piano Raff: Ode au Printemps, Op. 76Of Raff’s nine works for solo instrument and orchestra three are
- [My Arizona Bow](https://interlude.hk/arizona-bow/): Vacations can pose dilemmas for musicians. Travelling with instruments and our children in tow has its challenges. Carrying a cello is hard enough without having to watch one’s child in crowded airports. On one of my trips to Toronto to
- [Making It in the Music World I](https://interlude.hk/making-music-world/): If you have been playing and practicing music for most of your life, you probably see those who have made it in concert halls and onto the world stage as amazing beings that transcend most mortal humans. You may be
- [Romanticism Reincarnated: Bill Evans’ ‘Peace Piece’](https://interlude.hk/romanticism-reincarnated-bill-evans-peace-piece/): A peaceful ostinato figure, grounded and tranquil, opens the work. After a few bars, a serenely beautiful yet simple melody is heard in the treble which melts into a series of increasingly complex variations, the initial theme dissolving into trills
- [The Little Festival That Could: Verdi’s Falstaff at The Grange Festival](https://interlude.hk/little-festival-verdis-falstaff-grange-festival/): The Grange Festival has dramatically risen from operatic ashes after the previous management team marched off in 2016 with the chairs, lighting, database and many of the all-important sponsors. The backers of the glorious but dilapidated venue in Hampshire quickly
- [Prokofiev’s <em>Visions Fugitives</em>: Little Impressionist Worlds](https://interlude.hk/little-impressionist-worlds-prokofievs-visions-fugitives/): Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953) started experimenting with a number of short piano works in 1915, completed them in 1917, and gave them their first public performance on 15 April 1918 in Petrograd/St. Petersburg. At a private performance some months before, the
- [What’s with Bach](https://interlude.hk/whats-bach/): For over three centuries, Bach’s music has fascinated both musicians, composers and performers, and listeners. It seems like his music never ages and finds context in each century, generation after generation. Musicians from all genres—from classical to popular music—learn from
- [Mozart’s Musical Journey <br/>7 July 1791: “Even my work gives me no pleasure”](https://interlude.hk/mozarts-musical-journey-7-july-1791-even-work-gives-pleasure/): To prepare for the birth of her sixth child, Constanze Mozart visited a local spa in 1791. Located near Vienna, the small town of Baden had since medieval times provided relaxation and cures for Austria’s ruling families. Constanze certainly needed
- [Unwritten Things - Going Beyond the Notes](https://interlude.hk/unwritten-things-going-beyond-notes/): The music is behind those dots. You search for it... I play, so to speak, from the other side of the printed score, looking backVladimir Horowitz The notated musical score is a wonderful thing. Contained within it are myriad markings, signs,
- [KERTSMAN, M.: Concertos / Chamber Symphony No. 2, "New York of 50 Doors"](https://interlude.hk/kertsman-m-concertos-chamber-symphony-2-new-york-50-doors/): Concerto Brasileiro – III. Repentes, Baião, Xaxado con brio From KERTSMAN, M. : Concertos / Chamber Symphony No. 2, “New York of 50 Doors” (2018) Released by Naxos Kertsman: Concerto Brasileiro – III. Repentes, Baião, Xaxado con brioBrazilian-American composer, Miguel Kertsman,
- [Pregnancy, Motherhood, and Playing Music](https://interlude.hk/pregnancy-motherhood-playing-music/): Mahler: Symphony No. 1, Titan When I began playing in an orchestra I found it quite challenging, even though I had grown up hearing my father practice and racing with his cello to engagements. (My father played in the Toronto Symphony
- [The Sound of 78s](https://interlude.hk/sound-78s/): I remember growing up listening to my grandmother’s gramophone. As a child, the sound always enthralled me, it still does.
- [“The Fantastic Whirl of Destiny” <br/>Ravel’s La Valse](https://interlude.hk/fantastic-whirl-destiny-ravels-la-valse/): What is Ravel’s La Valse about? Is it a portrait of the disintegration of decadent pre-First War Europe, the dying embers of the Belle Epoque? Or simply a rollicking dance, a sensuous hommage to the Viennese Waltz?
- [Mozart’s Musical Journey <br/>3 July 1778: “Mum is dying”](https://interlude.hk/mozarts-musical-journey-3-july-1778-mum-dying/): Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart could not have known that his time in Paris in 1778 was about to take a tragic turn. He reports to his father “my dearest mother is very ill. ” Suffering from shivering and feverishness, diarrhea and headache,
- [Alexander Dreyschock](https://interlude.hk/alexander-dreyschock/): “The Pianistic God of Thunder” Countless highly talented individuals populate the musical universe, but very few get immortalized in poetry. But that’s exactly what happened to the Czech pianist and composer Alexander Dreyschock (1818-1869). The prolific Danish author Hans Christian
- [Alondra de la Parra](https://interlude.hk/alondra-de-la-parra-artist-of-the-month/): ‘Variation and Contrast’ Mexican conductor Alondra de la Parra has made waves as the first ever Music Director of the Queensland Symphony Orchestra. Born in New York, she has worked with orchestras all over the globe, including the Berlin Radio
- [Mozart’s Musical Journey <br/>30 June 1770: “I shall describe my unfortunate accident”](https://interlude.hk/mozarts-musical-journeys-30-june-1770-shall-describe-unfortunate-accident/): We all know that Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart did a lot of traveling. In fact, it has been calculated that he spent over 10 years, roughly one third of his short life on the road. Mozart visited ten countries and more
- [On Being a Pianist](https://interlude.hk/on-being-a-pianist/): What does it mean to be “a pianist”? Pianists do not devote their lives to their instrument simply because they like music... . there has to be a genuine love simply of the mechanics and difficulties of playing, a physical need for
- [MAYER, E.: Symphony No. 4 / Piano Concerto / String Quartet](https://interlude.hk/mayer-e-symphony-4-piano-concerto-string-quartet/): String Quartet in G Minor, Op. 14 – I. Allegro appassionato From MAYER, E. : Symphony No. 4 / Piano Concerto / String Quartet (2018) Released by Capriccio Mayer: String Quartet in G Minor, Op. 14 – I. Allegro appassionatoIn the
- [The Dangers of Speaking to the Press](https://interlude.hk/dangers-speaking-press/): The opera Pagliacci (Clowns) made Ruggero Leoncavallo (1857-1919) a household name, and it remains one of the most popular works in the repertory. After it premiered in 1892, this dramatic tale of love, betrayal and eventual murder enthused audiences the
- [Is Some Music Just Noise?](https://interlude.hk/music-just-noise/): Music has directed me since the age of five. As a composer, if I am not pulled towards music it always finds me. No matter what music I hear, I discover something in it that moves me or makes me
- [Poised on the Cusp of Romanticism<br/>Mozart’s Fantasy in D minor K 397](https://interlude.hk/poised-cusp-romanticismmozarts-fantasy-d-minor-k-397/): Familiar to performers, piano students and audiences alike, Mozart’s Fantasy in D minor is one of his most popular and much-loved works, and it offers intriguing insights not only into his piano music but also his compositional output in general.
- [Cyril Scott’s Oriental Fantasies](https://interlude.hk/cyril-scotts-oriental-fantasies/): Known as the “English Debussy” Cyril Meir Scott (1879-1970) tellingly remarked, “That I should appeal to Eastern taste is curious because I have never been to the East, nor have I heard much Eastern music. I can, therefore, only account
- [The Fun of Variations](https://interlude.hk/fun-variations/): One of the most interesting of the small forms is the variation. Typically, a theme is presented so that the audience is on the same footing at the composer. Then, the composer shows off by taking the original theme and
- [Frédéric Chopin and Maria Wodzińska <br/>Funeral March for the Heart](https://interlude.hk/frederic-chopin-maria-wodzinska-funeral-march-heart/): Frédéric Chopin had turned twenty-five when he fell passionately and hopelessly in love with sixteen-year old Maria Wodzińska. He had known her as a child, and “used to chase her through the rooms at Pszenny. ” She in turn greatly “annoyed
- [Grigory Sokolov in Wuppertal](https://interlude.hk/grigory-sokolov-wuppertal/): Grigory Sokolov, regarded as one of the best pianists alive, delivered an exceptionally refined and sublime recital at Historische Stadthalle Wuppertal as part of the Klavier-Festival Ruhr 2019, with a programme consisting of Beethoven and Brahms. On a side note,
- [Queen Victoria’s Gilded Piano graces the 2019 Proms](https://interlude.hk/queen-victorias-gilded-piano-graces-2019-proms/): To coincide with the bicentenary of Queen Victoria’s birth, this year’s BBC Proms, the world’s largest classical music festival, will include a performance on a beautifully decorated gilded Erard piano. Many illustrious pianists played Erard instruments, including Chopin, Liszt, Mendelssohn
- [Musicians and Artists: Ethel Waters and Beauford Delaney](https://interlude.hk/musicians-artists-ethel-waters-beauford-delaney/): The American artist Beauford Delaney was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, in 1901 and showed skill in drawing from an early age. His activities in New York City during the Harlem Renaissance as a pastel portraitist brought him into conjunction with
- [ SCHREKER, F.: Geburtstag der Infantin Suite / Vorspiel zu einem Drama / Romantische Suite](https://interlude.hk/schreker-f-geburtstag-der-infantin-suite-vorspiel-zu-einem-drama-romantische-suite/): Romantische Suite, Op. 14 – I. Idylle From SCHREKER, F. : Geburtstag der Infantin Suite / Vorspiel zu einem Drama / Romantische Suite (2018) Released by Naxos Schreker: Romantische Suite, Op. 14 – I. IdylleFranz Schreker was a prominent figure in
- [An International Career Cut Short <br/>A Brief life of Richard Farrell](https://interlude.hk/international-career-cut-short-brief-life-richard-farrell/): Richard Farrell (1926-1958) was, literally, one of those musical geniuses who came out of nowhere. Well, not really nowhere, but certainly far away from the usual centers of musical supply. Born in Auckland, New Zealand, and spending most of his
- [Music and Nature <br/>Seasons: Summer](https://interlude.hk/music-nature-seasons-summer/): What kind of summer do you have? The burning summer of the Middle East? The humid summers of the Far East and the American Midwest? The ideal summers of sunny days and picnics, tennis and a hike? Or just the
- [Maestro Vänskä’s Finnish Adventure](https://interlude.hk/maestro-vanskas-finnish-adventure/): Here is an conversation with Osmo Vänskä prior to his 2019 performances with the Hong Kong Philharmonic.
- [Music: An Unspoken Philosophy](https://interlude.hk/music-unspoken-philosophy/): Philosophy is the study of the fundamental nature of existence and how we human beings behave. It also helps to prepare us for the end of our lives. Music can also offer us an understanding similar to what the study
- [Anticipating the XVI International Tchaikovsky Competition](https://interlude.hk/anticipating-xvi-international-tchaikovsky-competition/): As I am writing this, the eagerly anticipated 16th International Tchaikovsky Competition is taking place right around the corner, from June 17th to 29th, 2019. Thanks to medici. tv‘s commitment to live stream the competition in its entirety, I will be
- [To Macy](https://interlude.hk/to-macy/): My beloved Macy, I have been so fortunate to have you as part of my life. Thank you so much for accompanying me for almost fifteen years. I still vividly remember our first encounter fifteen years ago when I was
- [Mozart’s Musical Journey<br/>18 June 1783: “Congratulations, you are a grandpapa!”](https://interlude.hk/mozarts-musical-journeys-18-june-1783-congratulations-grandpapa/): Between June 1783 and July 1791, Wolfgang and Constanze Mozart had six children, but only two survived infancy. Their first child was conceived shortly after their wedding on 4 August 1782, and Raimund Leopold was born and baptized on 17
- ["Vinum Regum, Rex Vinorum" <br/>(Wine of Kings, King of Wines)](https://interlude.hk/vinum-regum-rex-vinorum-wine-kings-king-wines/): I am sure you are all familiar with the gothic tale Dracula. Written by the Irish author Bram Stoker in 1897, the novel tells the story of Count Dracula’s move from Transylvania to England to spread the undead curse, and
- [Seeking Truth: The Musician’s Authenticity](https://interlude.hk/seeking-truth-musicians-authenticity/): The word “Authenticity” has a number of meanings and connotations in relation to music and musicians. Since the latter part of the twentieth century, it has been associated with performances using “period” instruments, which attempt to recreate period performance practices
- [Composers and their Poets: Strauss Gets Married](https://interlude.hk/composers-poets-strauss-gets-married/): Richard Strauss used the world of literature in his song settings, from sixteenth-century poems by Shakespeare to the poems of his contemporaries such as Richard Dehmel. His experience in writing operas also developed his song-writing abilities. His first song, “Weihnachtslied’
- [KABALEVSKY, D.B.: Pathétique Overture / Violin Concerto, Op. 48 / Vesna / Colas Breugnon](https://interlude.hk/kabalevsky-d-b-pathetique-overture-violin-concerto-op-48-vesna-colas-breugnon/): Violin Concerto in C Major, Op. 48 – II. Andante cantabile From KABALEVSKY, D. B. : Pathétique Overture / Violin Concerto, Op. 48 / Vesna / Colas Breugnon (2018) Released by Capriccio Kabalevsky: Violin Concerto in C Major, Op. 48 – II.
- [How to Write a Perfect Biography…?](https://interlude.hk/write-perfect-biography/): As listeners, we’re pretty lucky these days: it seems like every second pianist is ‘one of the best pianists of their generation’! That is, according to their biographies.
- [Music is Supernatural](https://interlude.hk/music-supernatural/): When I was researching this article I thought of titling it, Is Music Supernatural? But I’ve always known inside me that music is mystical; my research just confirmed it. One of the problems in talking about music as being supernatural
- [A Pianist of the Golden Era: Nelly Akopian-Tamarina](https://interlude.hk/pianist-golden-era-nelly-akopian-tamarina/): Born in Moscow, the Russian pianist Nelly Akopian-Tamarina carries on an illustrious line of Russian Romanticism going back to Anton Rubinstein and Franz Liszt. A connoisseurs’ artist, she excels in repertory for which she has received the highest international recognition.
- [Mozart’s Musical Journey <br/>12 June 1784: “Menzl is, and always will be, an ass”](https://interlude.hk/mozarts-musical-journeys-12-june-1784-menzl-always-will-ass/): When Mozart returned to Vienna in late November 1783, he entered into the busiest and most successful years of his life. He performed and conducted a substantial number of his own compositions, and in addition to public performances he was
- [“Hérminie was right again” <br/>Jacques Offenbach and Hérminie d’Alcain](https://interlude.hk/herminie-right-jacques-offenbach-herminie-dalcain/): After Jacques Offenbach abruptly discontinued his studies at the Paris Conservatoire he gradually built a reputation composing for and performing in the fashionable salons of Paris. And at one of these cultured gatherings, his eyes fell upon a young Spanish
- [Film Music and Concertos – Eleven Eleven by Danny Elfman](https://interlude.hk/film-music-concertos-eleven-eleven-danny-elfman/): Composer Danny Elfman is best known for his film music – having produced music for well over a hundred films, he’s the modern film composer best known to most. His collaboration with Tim Burton is his longest-standing one, including writing
- [The Core Canon](https://interlude.hk/core-canon/): Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major, K. 467 (Murray Perahia) The notion of the “canon” of classical music developed about 200 years ago, when the patronage of composers and music by the aristocracy lost its stranglehold on what
- [Musicians and Artists: Pasqualini and Sacchi](https://interlude.hk/musicians-artists-pasqualini-sacchi/): The signs of greatness can include many things, but being crowned by Apollo, the god of music and the arts (among many other attributes), is a definite signal. Marc’Antonio Pasqualini (1614-1691) was a celebrated male soprano from Rome, first singing
- [BRUNEAU, A.: Attaque du Moulin Suite / Naïs Micoulin: Prelude / Messidor (excerpts)](https://interlude.hk/bruneau-attaque-du-moulin-suite-nais-micoulin-prelude-messidor-excerpts/): L’Attaque du Moulin Suite – I. Prélude et Lied From BRUNEAU, A. : Attaque du Moulin Suite / Naïs Micoulin: Prelude / Messidor (excerpts) (2018) Released by Naxos Bruneau: L’Attaque du Moulin Suite – I. Prélude et Lied A composition pupil
- [Classical Music at Hong Kong International Airport](https://interlude.hk/classical-music-hong-kong-international-airport/): I’ve been traveling extensively throughout the world, and for me personally, Hong Kong International Airport still ranks as one of the best such facilities in the world! Built on a large artificial island, it replaced the old Kai Tak Airport
- [Music is History](https://interlude.hk/music-history/): No — music is not finished, but when you listen to a piece of music, you are hearing the history of music and the people who have lived and created it. The importance of music cannot be overstated. Yehudi Menuhin
- [The Piano Sonata IV](https://interlude.hk/piano-sonata-iv/): The Form is Alive and Well Given the myriad explorations and experiments in musical form and structure in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, it is perhaps surprising that the Piano Sonata has endured. While many of the most important composers
- [Brahms and His Late Piano Works<br/>Klavierstücke Op.119](https://interlude.hk/brahms-late-piano-worksklavierstucke-op-119/): Concluding this series on Brahms’ late piano works, we have reached the last composition for solo piano by Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) – Klavierstücke Op. 119. It was written together with Op. 118 during his stay in Bad Ischl in 1893. Consistent with
- [Jacques Offenbach](https://interlude.hk/jacques-offenbach-composer-of-the-month/): “The Mozart of the Champs-Élysées” Jacques Offenbach (1819-1880) was of outstanding significance in popular music of the 19th century. He composed some of the catchiest tunes and melodies ever written, and he exerted a powerful influence on subsequent composers for
- [The Writing on the Cards – The Tarot Suite of Victoria Bond](https://interlude.hk/writing-cards-tarot-suite-victoria-bond/): American composer Victoria Bond (b. 1945) took three cards from a tarot deck and wove a work for small ensemble and dancers around it. Commissioned by Kathryne Pirtle and the Orion Ensemble in collaboration with choreographer Daniel Duell, artistic director
- [What is Practice?](https://interlude.hk/what-is-practice/): Practice and practising is what musicians do. It’s the bulk of their “work” and must be undertaken with an almost clockwork regularity in order to learn new music, hone skills and keep existing repertoire going. The traditional view is of
- [Mozart’s Musical Journey <br/>2 June 1763: “The boy alone took up most of the concert”](https://interlude.hk/mozarts-musical-journeys-2-june-1763-boy-alone-took-concert/): Every year millions of visitors to the city of Salzburg eagerly make their way to Getreidegasse No. 9. Leopold Mozart and his family lived at that address for 17 years, and famously Wolfgang Amadeus and his sister Nannerl were born
- [Music to Save Your Life <br/>An Interview with Jeanne Kelly of Encore Chorale](https://interlude.hk/music-save-life-interview-jeanne-kelly-encore-chorale/): In America, we tend to think of music as something done by children, or professionals, or, perhaps done by adults who are still channeling their inner child (a nod to Mr. Jagger, now hitting a youthful 75). In other countries,
- [FUCHS, K.: Piano Concerto, "Spiritualist" / Poems of Life / Glacier / Rush](https://interlude.hk/fuchs-k-piano-concerto-spiritualist-poems-life-glacier-rush/): Rush – I. Evening From FUCHS, K. : Piano Concerto, “Spiritualist” / Poems of Life / Glacier / Rush (2018) Released by Naxos Fuchs: Rush – I. EveningKenneth Fuchs is one of America’s leading composers. He celebrates his unique fifteen-year recording
- [Pablo Ferrández](https://interlude.hk/pablo-ferrandez-artist-of-the-month/): Pablo Ferrández, Berlin-based Spanish cellist and Instagram superstar, makes his Hong Kong debut this month with the Hong Kong Sinfonietta, playing Dvořák’s Cello Concerto.
- [J.S. Bach and J.J. Bach: Departure and Farewell](https://interlude.hk/j-s-bach-j-j-bach-departure-farewell/): We always think of J. S. Bach as a thoroughly German composer and always in terms of his own family – who he married, how many children he had, what those children did – but we rarely think of him in
- [The Ferment of Life: Schubert’s Last Piano Sonatas II](https://interlude.hk/ferment-life-schuberts-last-piano-sonatas-ii/): Alfred Brendel describes Schubert as “a sleepwalker”, yet in his final three sonatas, we see Schubert’s innate sense of musical geometry and his bold treatment of traditional sonata form. These are tightly-organised woks with almost perfectly-balanced structures, perhaps most obviously
- [Equal Sides of the Musical Triangle <br/>David Ludwig about IC2019](https://interlude.hk/equal-sides-musical-triangle-david-ludwig-ic2019/): When we last spoke with David Ludwig, he was about to head off for Hong Kong to participate in the 2019 Intimacy of Creativity – The Bright Sheng Partnership: Composers Meet Performers in Hong Kong (IC) festival held by the
- [Cooking with the Classics](https://interlude.hk/cooking-classics/): I was in a shop recently and found BeepEgg, an egg timer that goes into the water with your eggs and lets you know when they’re done. I bought the one with Classical Music themes, called BeepEgg Nori, decorated with
- [Theodor Leschetizky: For the Love of 4 Students](https://interlude.hk/theodor-leschetizky-love-4-students/): Theodor Leschetizky’s (1830-1915) unbelievable teaching career lasted the better part of 75 years! It is said that in excess of 1200 eager piano students passed through his studio, and that included piano superstars Schnabel, Gabrilovich, Friedman, Moiseiwitch, Yesipova, Vengerova, and
- [The Weight of History](https://interlude.hk/weight-history/): Politicians in particular talk a lot about the “weight of history” or of feeling “the hand of history on our shoulders”, especially when faced with a serious national crisis or significant policy decision.
- [Musicians and Artists: Berlin, Whiteman, Dove and others](https://interlude.hk/musicians-artists-berlin-whiteman-dove-others/): As part of his six 1927 music paintings, Arthur Dove did three on George Gershwin’s music and one on Irving Berlin’s music. The link between Dove and these six paintings was Paul Whiteman and his Experiments in Modern Music concert
- [BRAGA SANTOS, J.: Piano Concerto / Symphonic Overtures Nos. 1 and 2](https://interlude.hk/braga-santos-j-piano-concerto-symphonic-overtures-nos-1-2/): Symphonic Overture No. 2, Op. 8, “Lisboa” From BRAGA SANTOS, J. : Piano Concerto / Symphonic Overtures Nos. 1 and 2 (2018) Released by Naxos Braga Santos: Symphonic Overture No. 2, Op. 8, “Lisboa”Joly Braga Santos was Portugal’s greatest orchestral composer,
- [Mozart’s Musical Journey <br/>25 May 1782: “Concert at the Augarten”](https://interlude.hk/mozarts-musical-journeys-25-may-1782-concert-augarten/): Mozart was incredibly successful in his appearances as a virtuoso at concerts in Vienna. Concerts were traditionally held during Lent, as all the theatres were closed. They were primarily held in private houses belonging to the aristocracy with invitations usually
- [The Jigsaw Puzzle of Music](https://interlude.hk/jigsaw-puzzle-music/): Musicians and composers should be good at puzzles, because music is like an enigma.
- [The Ferment of Life: Schubert’s Last Piano Sonatas](https://interlude.hk/ferment-life-schuberts-last-piano-sonatas/): Ignored for years, their composer regarded as Beethoven‘s poor relation, Schubert‘s last three piano sonatas now enjoy a special place in the piano repertoire, ranking alongside Beethoven’s final three piano sonatas, and they hold a particular fascination for pianists, audiences,
- [Music for the Royal Babies](https://interlude.hk/music-royal-babies/): Fans of the Royal Family were once again over the moon in May 2019. Enthusiasts around the world celebrated the birth of the newest Royal Baby named Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor. The son of Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and
- [Carl Loewe: Impressions from the Orient](https://interlude.hk/carl-loewe-impressions-orient/): Carl Loewe was strongly attracted to poetry reflecting an oriental influence. And he took a particular liking to a collection of books by the German writer Heinrich Wilhelm Stieglitz (1801-1849). The son of a wealthy Jewish merchant, Stieglitz had published
- [Dorothy Taubman <br/>Helping Pianists Play with Ease and Freedom](https://interlude.hk/dorothy-taubman-helping-pianists-play-ease-freedom/): The “no pain no gain” attitude persists amongst musicians as well as sportspeople, yet playing with pain, and through pain, can be potentially very harmful to the musician’s body. In the pursuit of artistry, we often forget the significant role
- [Mozart’s Musical Journey <br/> 19 May 1789: “Spanking on your little kissable arse”](https://interlude.hk/mozarts-musical-journeys-19-may-1789-spanking-little-kissable-arse/): Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart married Constanze Weber on 4 August 1782. Their courtship had not been smooth, as the couple briefly broke up in April 1782. Apparently, Constanze had permitted a young man to measure her calves in a parlor game,
- [In the Ear of the Beholder: Music Composed by Artificial Intelligence](https://interlude.hk/ear-beholder-music-composed-artificial-intelligence/): Music composed by Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) is enjoying a resurgence of interest, in part due to the completion of Schubert’s ‘Unfinished’ Symphony by Chinese tech firm Huawei. The international harpsichordist Mahan Esfahani has also performed music
- [SPOHR, L.: Violin Duets](https://interlude.hk/spohr-l-violin-duets/): Duo for 2 Violins in A Minor, Op. 67, No. 1 – I. Allegro From SPOHR, L. : Violin Duets (2018) Released by Naxos Spohr: Duo for 2 Violins in A Minor, Op. 67, No. 1 – I. AllegroOne of the
- [What Else Do You Do?](https://interlude.hk/else/): People often ask me what an average day is like. For those who have more regular jobs, what we musicians do from day to day can often be a mystery – especially since they know we give concerts in the
- [The Magic of Music](https://interlude.hk/magic-music/): Music may not be the oldest profession in the world, but it still hasn’t lost its magic. At five I received a fife as a birthday present. I thought it was a flute, it sounded like one. It gave me
- [The Piano Sonata III](https://interlude.hk/piano-sonata-iii/): The Romantic Piano Sonata – Innovation within the Classical Form If Beethoven was the bridge from the Classical to the Romantic era in richly expressive piano sonatas like the Moonlight, the Appassionata, the Hammerklavier and the final three, Franz Schubert
- [Chloe Flower <br/>From Bach to Cardi B](https://interlude.hk/chloe-flower-bach-cardi-b/): Glenn Gould catapulted to international stardom and iconic fame with his inventive and energetic interpretations of Bach But when he did his Beethoven crossovers, his idiosyncratic and sometimes outlandish interpretations were considered “questionable. ” For Gould, “Beethoven always sounded like the
- [Carl Loewe: Songs of Longing <br/>Julie von Jacob and Auguste Lange](https://interlude.hk/carl-loewe-songs-longing-julie-von-jacob-auguste-lange/): When Carl Loewe (1796-1869) moved to Halle to further his musical education, he quickly became involved in the local “Singakademie. ” Founded by Johann Friedrich Naue—a student of Carl Friedrich Zelter—in 1814, this large choral society was established to study and
- [Superstar of the Italian Renaissance <br/>Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)](https://interlude.hk/superstar-italian-renaissance-leonardo-da-vinci-1452-1519/): What is there to say about Leonardo da Vinci that hasn’t been said over the last 500 years? Well, let’s start with some superlatives before placing the man within the context of the Italian Renaissance.
- [Pedagogues and Demi-Gods](https://interlude.hk/pedagogues-demi-gods/): “... . never had I had a piano teacher so demanding and tyrannical” – Leonard Bernstein on Isabelle Vengerova The composer Philip Glass described her as somewhere “between intimidating and terrifying” whose lessons invariably left students “shaken and silent”, while Virgil Thomson
- [Mozart’s Musical Journey <br/>12 May 1781:  “Injustice and incessant abuse”](https://interlude.hk/mozarts-musical-journey-12-may-1781-injustice-incessant-abuse/): During Mozart’s time—and some would say it is still true today—Salzburg was a small provincial town. Mozart was working for the Archbishop Hieronymus von Colloredo as a musical servant, and he had nothing good to say about his hometown. “I
- [LIPIŃSKI, K.: Trios for 2 Violins and Cello, Opp. 8 and 12](https://interlude.hk/lipinski-k-trios-2-violins-cello-opp-8-12/): Trio for 2 Violins and Cello in G Minor, Op. 8 – I. Moderato From LIPIŃSKI, K. : Trios for 2 Violins and Cello, Opp. 8 and 12 (2018) Released by Naxos Lipiński: Trio for 2 Violins and Cello in G
- [How Musical Imagery, the Art of Interpretation, and Google DeepDream Interact](https://interlude.hk/musical-imagery-art-interpretation-google-deepdream-interact/): When musicians first encounter a piece of music, they begin by learning the notes and rhythm, perfecting the dynamics, and studying the instructions from the composer. These might be sparse and involve merely tempo indications and subtle markings. What then?
- [Is There a Language in Music?](https://interlude.hk/language-music/): The language of music is vast, however, just like the many spoken languages of the world, not all music will speak a dialect you can easily understand. What is in the music that you and I love that speaks so
- [The Piano Sonata II](https://interlude.hk/piano-sonata-ii/): In Beethoven’s hands the Classical piano sonata reaches its apotheosis. A fine virtuoso pianist himself, he had a lasting influence on the genre, and the design of the piano, and his piano sonatas reveal the demands he placed on pianist
- [A Tour of Spain: Albéniz’ <em>Suite Española</em>](https://interlude.hk/tour-spain-albeniz-suite-espanola/): In 1887, Spanish composer Isaac Albéniz brought together a number of works for solo piano that he’d written the previous year and created his Suite Española No. 1, Op. 47. The works take the entire country for their inspiration, with
- [Carl Loewe](https://interlude.hk/carl-loewe/): The North German Schubert Carl Loewe (1796–1869) might no longer be a household name. However, in his time, he was a close friend of Schumann, Weber and Mendelssohn. In fact, he conducted the first performance of Mendelssohn’s Midsummer Night’s Dream
- [Three Dynasties Make One Orchestra](https://interlude.hk/three-dynasties-make-one-orchestra/): On April 24 2019, Xavier Bouvier visited Shanghai and made headlines. A professor of composition at the Haute École de Musique de Genève, he donated a sketch to the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra. He’d purchased the sketch at an auction in
- [Musicians and Artists: Gershwin and Dove](https://interlude.hk/musicians-artists-gershwin-dove/): George Gershwin started on Broadway and finished on the opera stage. Along the way, he wrote the music that seemed to define the spark and light of the early American 20th century. The roaring 20s and Gershwin’s magic were brought
- [Use the Difficulty](https://interlude.hk/use-difficulty/): The title of this post is a quote from the British actor Michael Caine‘s memoirs which he read on BBC Radio 4’s Book of the Week. The phrase was first mentioned when he was describing setbacks in his early career
- [CLEMENTI, M.: Keyboard Sonatas, Op. 25, Nos. 1 and 3, Op. 33, Nos. 2 and 3, Op. 46](https://interlude.hk/clementi-m-keyboard-sonatas-op-25-nos-1-3-op-33-nos-2-3-op-46/): Keyboard Sonata in F Major, Op. 33, No. 2, – I. Adagio – II. Allegro con fuoco From CLEMENTI, M. : Keyboard Sonatas, Op. 25, Nos. 1 and 3, Op. 33, Nos. 2 and 3, Op. 46 (2018) Released by Naxos
- [How Inspiration Strikes](https://interlude.hk/inspiration-strikes/): Composers tend to be a peculiar lot, particularly as it pertains to the best and most conducive circumstances in which they compose their best music. Of course, reports of that nature tend to be highly anecdotal, but more often then
- [Music is the Rule](https://interlude.hk/music-rule/): Something that music teachers and composers could learn from people who mix and master music for a living is that music is the rule. Knowing the rules of music is as equally important as knowing the feel of music. Fine
- [The Piano Sonata I](https://interlude.hk/piano-sonata/): The Evolution of the Classical Piano Sonata Say “Piano Sonata” and most people will think of Beethoven’s ‘Moonlight’ Sonata (Op. 27/2), a work which bears what is generally considered to be the standard structure of a sonata – a work
- [Force of Star Power: Forza del Destino at the Royal Opera House](https://interlude.hk/force-star-power-forza-del-destino-royal-opera-house/): Giuseppe Verdi’s La Forza del Destino at the Royal Opera House was all about star appeal. With the irresistible double bill of Anna Netrebko and Jonas Kaufmann, the early performances were all hopelessly sold out, with tickets reportedly trading on
- [Mozart’s Musical Journey <br/>1 May 1778:  “Paris is a real dump”](https://interlude.hk/mozarts-musical-journey-1-may-1778-paris-real-dump/): Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and his mother arrived in Paris in April 1778. As he quickly reports to his father, he wasn’t particularly impressed by the city of lights. In fact, he considered Paris to be a real dump! He complains
- [Ying Fang](https://interlude.hk/ying-fang/): Making her Hong Kong debut this month is Chinese soprano Ying Fang, singing in Mahler’s Second Symphony with the HK Phil. Now based in the USA, Ying is a principal soprano of the Metropolitan Opera, and also travels frequently for
- [The Horror Movie Track of Aaron Copland](https://interlude.hk/horror-movie-track-aaron-copland/): When you think of the music of Aaron Copland, you think of light. Open vistas. Cowboys. Cowgirls. Pure Americanisms. But in the early 1920s, Copland was in Paris, starting to write his first orchestral music. He and his roommate, the
- [Alexander Tcherepnin and Lee Hsien Ming <br/>Chinese Etudes](https://interlude.hk/alexander-tcherepnin-lee-hsien-ming-chinese-etudes/): The Russian composer Alexander Tcherepnin (1899-1977) launched his international career as a pianist and composer from Paris. He won a number of prizes and embarked on yearly concert tours to the United States, yet he was restlessly searching for a
- [Mozart’s Musical Journey <br/>28 April 1781: <em>Rondo for Violin and Orchestra</em>, K. 373](https://interlude.hk/mozart-diaries-28-april-1781-rondo-violin-orchestra-k-373/): Mozart indignantly writes to his father from Vienna: “You are looking forward to seeing me again, my dearest father! That alone can persuade me to leave Vienna... We had a grand concert here yesterday—probably the last. It was a great success,
- [Musical Memories and the Pleasure of Programmes](https://interlude.hk/musical-memories-pleasure-programmes/): While clearing out my piano room ahead of a house move last year, I came upon a box of old concert programmes, some dating back twenty-odd years. Some were dog-eared and scuffed, or covered in scribbled notes from when I
- [RACHMANINOV, S.: Piano Concerto No. 3 / Variations on a Theme of Corelli](https://interlude.hk/rachmaninov-s-piano-concerto-3-variations-theme-corelli/): Piano Concerto No. 3 in D Minor, Op. 30 – I. Allegro ma non tanto From RACHMANINOV, S. : Piano Concerto No. 3 / Variations on a Theme of Corelli (2018) Released by Naxos Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 3 in D
- [How a Musician Lands a Position in a Major Orchestra](https://interlude.hk/musician-lands-position-major-orchestra/): Once a musician feels ready he or she might attempt to land a position in one of the major orchestras—Royal Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Berlin Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic, London Symphony, Bavarian Radio Symphony, Dresden Staatskapelle, Liepzig Gewandhaus, Leningrad Philharmonic, Czech Philharmonic;
- [If It Sounds Good, It Is Good](https://interlude.hk/sounds-good-good/): A lot of odd things have been said about classical music. I was at a round table of concert reviewers a while back and someone made the comment about a concert they had reviewed. The person said the playing was
- [What is Musicology](https://interlude.hk/musicology/): For some people, the word ‘Musicology’ is that recording by Prince that came out in 2004, with a first track of the same title, a James Brown–style homage to funk.
- [Jian Wang @ 50](https://interlude.hk/jian-wang-50/): “Music is only alive when you understand humanity, which is the real source of it. ” Jian Wang – February 5th, 2019 I have followed Jian Wang‘s career development for over four decades. He is one of two celebrated cellists whose music affected me most profoundly – via his courage...
- [Jacques Loussier (1934-2019) <br/> “Combining jazz and classical music creates a new kind of energy”](https://interlude.hk/jacques-loussier-1934-2019-combining-jazz-classical-music-creates-new-kind-energy/): If you are ever looking for a refined and sophisticated synthesis of jazz and classical music born from improvisation one name immediately comes to mind—Jacques Loussier (1934-2019). A conservatoire-trained pianist, Loussier created a veritable sensation in 1959 by establishing a
- [Heinrich Heine’s Favorite Song Composer](https://interlude.hk/heinrich-heines-favorite-song-composer/): Musical settings of Heinrich Heine’s poetry must number in the thousands! An intricate response to the charged political environment of his day, not to mention his own turbulent life, Heine was able to create distinct emotions in his poetry. As
- [Simulating Performance](https://interlude.hk/simulating-performance/): As every performing musician will tell you, there’s a world of difference between playing in the privacy of one’s home or rehearsal room and performing in public.
- [Musicians and Artists: Mendelssohn and Wilhelm Hensel](https://interlude.hk/musicians-artists-mendelssohn-wilhelm-hensel/): When you see ‘Mendelssohn,’ your first thought might be of Felix, but this is about Fanny Mendelssohn, Felix’s older sister.
- [CZERNY, C.: 2 Trios Brillants, Op. 211 / 3 Sonatinas for Piano Trio, Op. 104](https://interlude.hk/czerny-c-2-trios-brillants-op-211-3-sonatinas-piano-trio-op-104/): Trio Brillant in A Major for Violin, Cello and Piano, Op. 211, No. 2 – III. Bolero. Rondo: Allegro vivo From CZERNY, C. : 2 Trios Brillants, Op. 211 / 3 Sonatinas for Piano Trio, Op. 104 (2018) Released by Naxos
- [Mozart’s Musical Journey <br/> 20 April 1782: <em>Fantasy and Fugue</em>, K. 394](https://interlude.hk/mozart-diaries-20-april-1782-fantasy-fugue-k-394/): Mozart writes to his sister in April 1782: “My darling Constanze has at last summoned up courage to follow the impulse of her kind heart, and to write to you. If you are so good, dear sister, as to answer
- [The Mysteries of the Creative Process—An Inside Look](https://interlude.hk/mysteries-creative-process-inside-look/): A recent article in the Chicago Tribune titled, Please Don’t Tell me CSO Musicians Have It Easy, by Howard Reich, begins, “Ahh, what a soft and easy life the striking Chicago Symphony Orchestra musicians lead! They show up for a
- [Understanding Cultures through Classical Music](https://interlude.hk/understanding-cultures-classical-music/): The divide between cultures is as wide as it has ever been today. However, there is a bridge that links us all. Our spoken languages and lifestyles have and always will be different, and vive la différence I say. These
- [Padmâvatî: The Legendary Queen of Chittor](https://interlude.hk/padmavati-legendary-queen-chittor/): During his honeymoon journey to India, Albert Roussel visited the ruined city of Chittor in Rajputana, currently located in Rajasthan. That city had a very colorful and long history, and once he returned home to Paris he approached his friend
- [Notre Dame de Paris <br/>The Birthplace of Modern Music](https://interlude.hk/notre-dame-de-paris-birthplace-modern-music/): By now we have all seen the shocking images of the horrific fire engulfing Notre-Dame de Paris, the most famous Gothic Cathedral of the Middle Ages. For over 800 years, it has stood as an icon and symbol of Western
- [“Heaven on Earth for Pianists” <br/>Summer Piano Courses in France with James Lisney](https://interlude.hk/heaven-earth-pianists-summer-piano-courses-france-james-lisney/): The piano summer school is now an established part of the year for many adult amateur pianists, eagerly anticipated and prepared for with great care. Much more than a “piano holiday”, the piano summer school is an opportunity to study
- [Learning from All Directions – An Interview with Jennifer Higdon](https://interlude.hk/learning-directions-interview-jennifer-higdon/): There are few American composers with Jennifer Higdon’s credentials: Pulitzer Prize winning, Grammy Award winning (twice), and, most recently, winner of the Nemmers Prize for Composition, which brought in US$100,000 and a work to be performed by the Chicago Symphony
- [Learning from Others – An Interview with David Ludwig](https://interlude.hk/learning-others-interview-david-ludwig/): One of the composer-faculty members for this year’s Intimacy of Creativity (IC) will be Philadelphia composer David Ludwig. He’s bringing the Curtis 20/21 Ensemble for Hong Kong University of Science and Tech (HKUST) Music Department’s live workshop for composers and
- [Musicians and Artists: Schoenberg and Kandinsky](https://interlude.hk/musicians-artists-schoenberg-kandinsky/): When you get two modern artists together, something special happens. In this case we have a composer/painter in Arnold Schoenberg and the Russian painter Wassily Kandinsky. As the story goes, in early January 1911, Kandinsky, who was in Munich, went
- [Mozart’s Musical Journey <br/> 14 April 1770: <em>Contredance in B-flat major</em>, K. 123](https://interlude.hk/mozart-diaries-14-april-1770-contredance-b-flat-major-k-123/): Leopold Mozart writes to his wife from Rome, “We arrive here safely on the 11th at noon. I could have been more easily persuaded to return to Salzburg than to proceed to Rome, for we had to travel for five
- [Clarinet and Piano Recital: Bosi, Sergio / Bartoli, Riccardo - GAGLIANO, G. / BUSONI, Ferruccio and Ferdinando](https://interlude.hk/clarinet-piano-recital-bosi-sergio-bartoli-riccardo-gagliano-g-busoni-ferruccio-ferdinando/): 12 Variazioni sopra un tema di Schubert, Op. 19 (version for clarinet and piano) From Clarinet and Piano Recital: Bosi, Sergio / Bartoli, Riccardo – GAGLIANO, G. / BUSONI, Ferruccio and Ferdinando (2018) Released by Naxos Sinigaglia: 12 Variazioni sopra
- [Classical Musicians & Jazz: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly!](https://interlude.hk/classical-musicians-jazz-good-bad-ugly/): “Love and Marriage,” according to Frank Sinatra go “together like a horse and carriage. ” I’ve been wondering if that’s also true about the relationship between classical musicians & Jazz? In musical terms, “genre” has decidedly become a dirty word. It
- [The Fig and Classical Music](https://interlude.hk/fig-classical-music/): I’ve been trying to get my partner to like the fig. I strove to convince her of the pleasure, the beauty, the sheer sensual delight of the fig. But, she resists. I went on to tell her she didn’t know
- [Four American Minimalists](https://interlude.hk/four-american-minimalists/): Minimalism as a musical genre originated in the USA in the 1960s. It involves stripping music down to its bare essentials, to focus on pure sonic power, pulse and the internal processes of the music, without narrative or a defined
- [The Winner by Technical Knockout <br/>Ignacy Paderewski](https://interlude.hk/winner-technical-knockout-ignacy-paderewski/): Ignacy Paderewski (1860-1941) was one of the most striking musical celebrities of his time. He combined beautiful and elegant pianism with a magnetic personality and was called “A resurrected Chopin” soon after his debut in Paris. Women were crazy about
- [Interview with Pianist Yoonie Han](https://interlude.hk/interview-pianist-yoonie-han/): Who or what inspired you to pursue a career in music? My parents inspired and encouraged me. They are not musicians, but they love romantic piano music. I grew up listening to Chopin and Liszt on the radio at home.
- [Albert Roussel and Blanche Preisach <br/> Exotic Honeymoon](https://interlude.hk/albert-roussel-blanche-preisach-exotic-honeymoon/): It has been said that there is no better way to celebrate your nuptials than going to an exotic honeymoon destination with your spouse and making it a magical and memorable event. I suppose, that’s exactly what Albert Roussel and
- [The Musician’s Mentors](https://interlude.hk/musicians-mentors/): Mentor – an experienced and trusted adviser (Oxford English Dictionary) A mentor is not necessarily a teacher. The musician’s journey is a complex one, requiring many years of highly rigorous, focused training, and a consistent routine of work (practising) and
- [Musicians and Artists: Apostel and Kokoschka](https://interlude.hk/musicians-artists-apostel-kokoschka/): The Viennese art historian Karl Swoboda (1889-1977) sponsored concerts at his home in 1920. One of those present was the artist Oskar Kokoschka. As he listened, he drew 20 chalk portraits of two women in the audience, one of whom
- [ZÁDOR, E.: Plains of Hungary (The) / Fantasia Hungarica / Variations on a Merry Theme](https://interlude.hk/zador-e-plains-hungary-fantasia-hungarica-variations-merry-theme/): Rhapsody for Orchestra From ZÁDOR, E. : Plains of Hungary (The) / Fantasia Hungarica / Variations on a Merry Theme (2018) Released by Naxos Zádor: Rhapsody for OrchestraIn the last two decades of his career Eugene Zádor, whose music fused Classicism
- [What’s in Music?](https://interlude.hk/whats-music/): What sort of things go into making a piece of music? There are many ways to hear a composition. From a composer’s point of view, you could come up with a concept or idea about your piece. That could come
- [The Alchemy of a Symphony Orchestra](https://interlude.hk/alchemy-symphony-orchestra/): What alchemy produces the unique sounds of a symphony orchestra? When approximately 100 musicians play together the resultant fusion reverberates into our souls.
- [Mozart’s Musical Journey <br/>5 April 1778: <em>Sinfonia Concertante</em>, K. 297b](https://interlude.hk/mozart-diaries-5-april-1778-sinfonia-concertante-k-297b/): Wolfgang writes to his father from Paris on 5 April 1778. “I MUST now explain more, clearly what mamma alludes to, as she has written rather obscurely. Capellmeister Holzbauer has sent a “Miserere” here, but as the choruses at Mannheim
- [Why Solo Cellist Li-Wei Qin is Partial to Russian Music?](https://interlude.hk/solo-cellist-li-wei-qin-partial-russian-music/): Cellist Li-Wei Qin has just released a recording on Naxos, of Russian Cello Concertos including Tchaikovsky Rococo Variations, and not well-known but lovely works—Rimsky-Korsakov’s Serenade, Glazunov’s Concerto Ballata, and other short pieces. Born in Shanghai, his early music training was
- [Albert Roussel](https://interlude.hk/albert-roussel/): “I sought only to serve my art” In 2019 we celebrate the 150th birthday of Albert Roussel (1869-1937), a French composer who turned to music only as an adult. His childhood was overshadowed by the death of both parents and
- [Directing on the Global Stage <br/>An Interview with Leonard Slatkin](https://interlude.hk/directing-global-stage-interview-leonard-slatkin/): At the end of his Asia tour, conductor Leonard Slatkin is coming to Hong Kong to conduct a century’s worth of music: from a work that will be receiving its Southeast Asian premiere to a late 19th-century warhorse. The first
- [Scenes from Oriental Life <br/> Louis Étienne Ernest Reyer](https://interlude.hk/scenes-oriental-life-louis-etienne-ernest-reyer/): In the preface of his 1829 collection of poems entitled “Les Orientales” Victor Hugo wrote, “in the age of Louis XIV one was a Hellenist, nowadays one has to be an orientalist. ” French intelligentsia in the 19th century was clearly
- [Paul Huang](https://interlude.hk/paul-huang/): ‘Music Communicates Without Words’ Taiwanese-born violinist Paul Huang is now based in New York, having moved there aged 12 to study at the Juilliard School’s pre-college programme. Now at the age of 28, having picked up awards including an Avery
- [Berg: <em>Altenberg Lieder</em> <br/>Premiered Today in 1913](https://interlude.hk/berg-altenberg-lieder-premiered-today-1913/): Date: 31 March 1913Venue: Great Hall of the Vienna Concert SocietyPurpose: Concert of Modern MusicOutcome: Riot, Fistfights and Lawsuits Arnold Schoenberg had put together a concert program that included works by Anton von Webern, Alexander von Zemlinsky, Alban Berg, Gustav
- [The Musician’s Journey](https://interlude.hk/musicians-journey/): The metaphor of The Hero’s Journey, a pattern of narrative identified by the American scholar Joseph Campbell that appears in drama, storytelling, myth, religious ritual, and psychological development, can help understand the development and challenges of the musician’s life and
- [RODE, P.: Violin Concertos Nos. 11 and 12](https://interlude.hk/rode-p-violin-concertos-nos-11-12/): Violin Concerto No. 11 in D Major, Op. 23 III. Rondo allegretto From RODE, P. : Violin Concertos Nos. 11 and 12 (2018) Released by Naxos Rode: Violin Concerto No. 11 in D Major, Op. 23 – III. Rondo allegrettoAs a
- [Who’s Afraid of Béla Bartók?](https://interlude.hk/whos-afraid-bela-bartok/): One of my favorite pieces to perform is Hungarian composer Béla Bartók’s Romanian Folk Dances. It is full of infectious rhythms, melancholy melodies, and subtle effects. János Starker performs it in the cello rendition.
- [Mozart’s Musical Journey <br/>29 March 1783: <em>Piano Concerto in C major No. 13</em>, K. 415](https://interlude.hk/mozart-diaries-29-march-1783-piano-concerto-c-major-13-k-415/): As always, Mozart provides his father Leopold with a detailed report of his concert activities at the Vienna Augarten. He writes on 29 March 1783: “I need not tell you much about the success of my concert, for no doubt
- [Millie and Christine McCoy <br/> The Two-Headed Nightingale](https://interlude.hk/millie-christine-mccoy-two-headed-nightingale/): When the singing sensation Jenny Lind disembarked from the steamship “Atlantic” to begin her American tour on 1 September 1850, roughly 30,000 onlookers had gathered around the waterfront to catch a glimpse of the Swedish opera star. Her American promoter
- [Joan Tower: Paying Homage With a Unique Statement](https://interlude.hk/joan-tower-paying-homage-unique-statement/): The American composer Joan Tower has made her reputation as not only a composer but also as a pianist and conductor. Her works are bright and reflect her international upbringing, as well as her classical training.
- [Ignace Tiegerman: The Lost Legend of Cairo](https://interlude.hk/ignace-tiegerman-lost-legend-cairo/): Vladimir Horowitz identified him as the only rival he ever feared, and Ignaz Friedman called him “the greatest talent I ever worked with. ” Not to be outdone, the author and literary scholar Edward Said privately suggested, “Despite later music studies
- [Dvořák: <em>Symphony No. 6</em> <br/>Premiered Today in 1881](https://interlude.hk/dvorak-symphony-6-premiered-today-1881/): Antonin Dvořák composed his Sixth Symphony explicitly for the Vienna Philharmonic and its chief conductor Hans Richter in a matter of months. After a number of postponements, the work finally premiered with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra on March 25, 1881,
- [The Nancy Storace Project](https://interlude.hk/nancy-storace-project/): We all have heard stories of how much Salieri and Mozart hated each other. Well, they really didn’t! Clearly they were competitors in the high-pressure, high-reward musical environment of Vienna with Salieri holding all the important government positions, but there
- [Beautiful and Unusual Pianos](https://interlude.hk/beautiful-unusual-pianos/): The piano has undergone all sorts of innovations and embellishments since its invention by Bartolomeo Cristofori in the early 1700s. The most significant advances in the piano’s design were in response to demands from pianists and composers for a sturdier
- [Musicians and Artists: Chopin and Delacroix](https://interlude.hk/musicians-artists-chopin-delacroix/): In a sense, Chopin (1810-1849) occupied two worlds. In Poland, he was Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin of Warsaw. And, after age 21, when he had settled in Paris, he was Frédéric François Chopin. This Polish/European duality drove his life.
- [SOLER, A.: Keyboard Sonatas Nos. 75-86](https://interlude.hk/soler-keyboard-sonatas-nos-75-86/): Keyboard Sonata No. 77 in F sharp Minor From SOLER, A. : Keyboard Sonatas Nos. 75-86 (2018) Released by Naxos Soler: Keyboard Sonata No. 77 in F sharp MinorFor the last 25 years of his life Antonio Soler occupied the distinguished
- [Tchaikovsky: <em>Manfred Symphony</em> <br/>Premiered Today in 1886](https://interlude.hk/tchaikovsky-manfred-symphony-premiered-today-1886/): The premiere performance of Tchaikovsky’s Manfred Symphony on 23 March 1886 immediately brought forth strong opinions on both sides of the critical divide. Somewhat surprisingly, the fierce and feared critic César Cui liked the work, and favorably commented on the
- [Music for Your Child and You—Some of My Favorites](https://interlude.hk/music-child-favorites/): We are exquisitely attuned to sound from our very beginnings. In the womb, a baby eavesdrops on their mother’s soft cooing voice. When she starts singing lullabies, sound leads us to language, and when she rhythmically rocks her child it
- [Brahms and His Late Piano Works <br/>Klavierstücke Op.118](https://interlude.hk/brahms-late-piano-works-klavierstucke-op-118/): Dedicated to Clara Schumann, Brahms’ Klavierstücke Op. 118 were written in 1893 again at Bad Ischl during his summer sojourn and are probably his most well-known opus nowadays. Julius August Philipp Spitta, a German musicologist, wrote to Brahms after receiving the
- [Music and Nature <br/>Seasons: Spring](https://interlude.hk/music-nature-seasons-spring/): We start the year with Spring, even though any year starts in the throes of Winter, be it the frosty Winter of the Northern Hemisphere, or the burning Winter of the Southern Hemisphere. Spring is awakening, is renewal, is a
- [Mozart’s Musical Journey <br/>20 March 1784: <em>Piano Concerto No. 14</em>, K. 449](https://interlude.hk/mozart-diaries-20-march-1784-piano-concerto-14-k-449/): On 20 March 1784, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart sent his father the famous list of subscribers who paid an entrance fee of six gulden for three concerts at the Trattnerhof. “Here you have the list of all my subscribers,” he writes,
- [Tcherepnin: <em>Symphony No. 2</em> <br/>Premiered Today in 1952](https://interlude.hk/tcherepnin-symphony-2-premiered-today-1952/): Commissioned by the Associated Music Publishers in New York, Alexander Tcherepnin premiered his second symphony in Chicago on 20 March 1952. It took Tcherepnin a long while to finish the composition, as he labored on the orchestration for the better
- [Hector Berlioz: Enfant Terrible!](https://interlude.hk/hector-berlioz-enfant-terrible/): Whether we like it or not, Hector Berlioz is primarily associated with a single composition. Everybody knows his Symphonie Fantastique, but his religious works, the dramatic legends, his songs and even his operas are rarely scheduled for performance, and they
- [At the Center of the Musical Universe <br/>Antonio Salieri](https://interlude.hk/center-musical-universe-antonio-salieri/): Ever since Antonio Salieri (1750-1825) fictionally poisoned Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, he has gotten some seriously bad press. But as we know all too well, factual information and historical fact have never stood in the way of Hollywood telling a good
- [Musicians and Artists: Burney and Reynolds](https://interlude.hk/musicians-artists-burney-reynolds/): Charles Burney (1726-1814) took on the three roles of music historian, composer, and musician. His first music books, The Present State of Music in France and Italy... (London, 1771) and The Present State of Music in Germany, the Netherlands, and
- [The Salon Concert](https://interlude.hk/salon-concert/): We are so used to attending concerts in specially-designed large halls that it is easy to forget that until about 1850, most music was experienced in people’s homes, churches, small intimate venues or ‘salons’. The Salon Concert was particularly popular
- [LANGGAARD, R.: Symphonies Nos. 2, "Vaarbrud" and 6, "Det himmelrivende" / GADE, J.: Tango Jalousie](https://interlude.hk/langgaard-r-symphonies-nos-2-vaarbrud-6-det-himmelrivende-gade-j-tango-jalousie/): Symphony No. 2, BVN 53, “Vaarbrud” (Awakening of Spring) II. Lento religioso quasi adagio From LANGGAARD, R. : Symphonies Nos. 2, “Vaarbrud” and 6, “Det himmelrivende” / GADE, J. : Tango Jalousie (2018) Released by Dacapo Langgaard: Symphony No. 2, BVN 53,
- [Martinů: <em>Julietta</em> <br/>Premiered Today in 1938](https://interlude.hk/martinu-julietta-premiered-today-1938/): Haunted by the memory of Julietta, a girl he once spied singing from her window in a seaside holiday town, the Parisian bookseller Michel searches for her in his dreams. He meets a number of characters in increasingly bizarre encounters
- [The Sonic Splendor of Pera (Istanbul)](https://interlude.hk/sonic-splendor-pera-istanbul/): Situated on a hill across the Gold Horn from the old city of Istanbul, the Levantine neighborhood of Pera—today known as Beyoğlu/Taksim —transformed into a remarkable cultural district in the second half of the 19th century. Called the crossroads of
- [Ravel: <em>Rhapsodie Espagnole</em> <br/>Premiered Today in 1908](https://interlude.hk/ravel-rhapsodie-espagnole-premiered-today-1908/): Maurice Ravel hailed from the French Pyrenees, and he was born merely a couple of miles from the Spanish border. Growing up in Madrid, he had a natural fascination with Spain and one of his earliest pieces, written after he
- [Holy Minimalism](https://interlude.hk/holy-minimalism/): Minimalism, a musical style which developed in the US in 1960s, was a revolt against the all-pervasive atonality and fashionable “crazy creepy music” (Philip Glass) of the avant-garde, which, in its myriad forms and sub-genres, had dominated classical music since
- [Hector Berlioz and Harriet Smithson <br/>50 Shades of Obsession](https://interlude.hk/hector-berlioz-harriet-smithson-50-shades-obsession/): When Hector Berlioz went to see a production of Shakespeare’s Hamlet in Paris in 1827, he could hardly have guessed that it would turn into a life-changing experience!
- [Mozart’s Musical Journey <br/>12 March 1785: <em>Violin Sonata No. 32</em>, K. 454](https://interlude.hk/mozart-diaries-12-march-1785-violin-sonata-32-k-454/): In March of 1785 Leopold Mozart was visiting his son in Vienna, and he reports to his daughter Nannerl, “Your brother recently made 559 gulden at his concert, which was unexpected, because he is simultaneously giving his six subscription concerts
- [Verdi: <em>Rigoletto</em> <br/>Premiered Today in 1851](https://interlude.hk/verdi-rigoletto-premiered-today-1851/): A tragic story of jealousy, vengeance and sacrifice, Rigoletto is one of Verdi’s most popular operas. In fact, when it premiered in Venice at La Fenice on 11 March 1851 to a full house, the aria “La donna è mobile”
- [At the Center of the Musical Universe <br/>Giovanni Paisiello II](https://interlude.hk/center-musical-universe-giovanni-paisiello-ii/): Giovanni Paisiello clearly had the Midas touch! Everything he touched turned to gold, or better yet, into regularly and well-paid employment. He also made an absolute fortune from public performances of his operas, and publishers would pay exorbitant prices to
- [Play It Again… and Again and Again](https://interlude.hk/play/): In praise of street pianos A piano asks to be played and is a wonderful reminder of the nature of play and the pleasure of making music, regardless of genre. Most people passing by a piano can’t help but strike
- [Musicians and Artists: Fauré and John Singer Sargent](https://interlude.hk/musicians-artists-faure-john-singer-sargent/): French composer Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924) had his musical talent recognized early and went on to become one of the most advanced and influential composers of his time. He held a number of church position as organist, and in 1871, he
- [Lost Saxophone Concertos - CRAGUN, J.B. / GUNAROPULOS, Y. / LINDORFF-LARSEN, E. / PALS, L. van der / TATE, P.](https://interlude.hk/lost-saxophone-concertos-cragun-j-b-gunaropulos-y-lindorff-larsen-e-pals-l-van-der-tate-p/): Saxophone Concerto in E-Flat Major II. Romanza From Lost Saxophone Concertos – CRAGUN, J. B. / GUNAROPULOS, Y. / LINDORFF-LARSEN, E. / PALS, L. van der / TATE, P. (2018) Released by Naxos Cragun: Saxophone Concerto in E-Flat Major – II.
- [Hector Berlioz Plays a Trick on Music Critics](https://interlude.hk/hector-berlioz-plays-trick-music-critics/): Hector Berlioz was particularly fond of poking fun at so-called musical critics who had neither the education nor the natural ability to pass judgment on a composition. Of course, he had been mercilessly criticized for “his strange composition consisting of
- [André Previn and the Democratisation of Classical Music](https://interlude.hk/andre-previn-democratisation-classical-music/): André Previn, the remarkably versatile German-American pianist, composer, conductor, jazz musician and presenter, who died on 28 February 2019 at the age of 89, was an iconic figure in the national consciousness, and significant to me personally in my own
- [Song as the Great Leveler <br/> An Interview With Sam of Choir With No Name](https://interlude.hk/song-great-leveler-interview-sam-choir-name/): We often talk of charities that speak for those who have no voice. In this case, we have a charity that gives the homeless a voice – an organized voice in a choir. Founded in 2008 with a mere 4
- [Strauss: <em>Don Quixote</em><br/>Premiered Today in 1898](https://interlude.hk/strauss-don-quixotepremiered-today-1898/): Richard Strauss’ tone poem Don Quixote, subtitled “Fantastic Variations on a Theme of Knightly Character,” was premiered in Cologne on 8 March 1898. It musically dramatizes Miguel de Cervantes’ famous novel of 1605, describing the adventures of the anti-hero Don
- [Brahms and His Late Piano Works <br/>Intermezzi Op.117](https://interlude.hk/brahms-late-piano-works-intermezzi-op-117/): As our journey continues, let us explore Brahms’ (1833-1897) Three Intermezzi, Op. 117. Written together with Fantasien Op. 116 during a short stay at Bad Ischl, this set is even more introspective compared to the previous opus. When Brahms sent this set
- [Mozart’s Musical Journey <br/>7 March 1778: “Basta vincesti… Ah, non lasciarmi,” K. 486a](https://interlude.hk/mozart-diaries-7-march-1778-basta-vincesti-ah-non-lasciarmi-k-486a/): Wolfgang writes to his father from Mannheim, “I have received your letter on the 26th February, and am much obliged to you for all the trouble you have taken about the arias, which are quite accurate in every respect. Next
- [Beethoven: <em>String Quartet</em> Op. 127 <br/>Premiered Today in 1825](https://interlude.hk/beethoven-string-quartet-op-127-premiered-today-1825/): Beethoven had started to work on his String Quartet Op. 127 in 1822, but it was not premiered until 6 March 1825. Tickets for a first hearing had actually been sold for the end of February, but the quartet wasn’t
- [Bohemian and Other Rhapsodies](https://interlude.hk/bohemian-rhapsodies/): The 2018 film Bohemian Rhapsody is a foot-stomping celebration of the British rock band Queen, and their extraordinary lead singer Freddie Mercury. While its portrayals of Mercury’s life and sexuality and of the other band members were criticized, actor Rami
- [Hector Berlioz](https://interlude.hk/hector-berlioz-composer-of-the-month/): The Hopeless Romantic On 8 March 1869, Hector Berlioz (1803-1869) died in his house in the Rue de Calais in Paris. To commemorate the 150th year of his passing, we pay homage to the writer, conductor, traveler, lover, cynic and
- [At the Center of the Musical Universe <br/>Giovanni Paisiello](https://interlude.hk/center-musical-universe-giovanni-paisiello/): Let’s start this episode of our musical universe series with a trick question. Who was the most famous and most successful opera composer during Mozart’s time? And while it would be tempting to think that Wolfie had his hand in
- [My Own Private Concert Hall](https://interlude.hk/private-concert-hall/): The pleasures and rituals of home listening There is nothing quite like the excitement and atmosphere of hearing music performed live in a concert hall, but immense pleasure can be gained from listening at home, in the privacy of one’s
- [Bizet: <em>Carmen</em><br/>Premiered Today in 1875](https://interlude.hk/bizet-carmenpremiered-today-1875/): George Bizet (1838-1875) was greatly optimistic about the premiere performance of his opera Carmen on 3 March 1875 at the “Opéra Comique” in Paris. Final rehearsals had gone very well, and on the very same day Bizet was appointed as
- [CZERNY, C.: Piano Concerto in D Minor (1812) / Introduction, Variations and Rondo, Op. 60](https://interlude.hk/czerny-c-piano-concerto-d-minor-1812-introduction-variations-rondo-op-60/): Introduzione e Rondo Brillant in B – Flat Major, Op. 233 From CZERNY, C. : Piano Concerto in D Minor (1812) / Introduction, Variations and Rondo, Op. 60 (2017) Released by Naxos Czerny: Introduzione e Rondo Brillant in B – Flat
- [When the Winter Wreaks Havoc on Your Instrument (and You!)](https://interlude.hk/winter-wreaks-havoc-instrument/): What a winter! —record-breaking snowfalls, gargantuan icicles, and freezing temperatures. Musicians go to great lengths to protect their instruments from the elements and winter does wreak havoc on them. Irwin Schulhoff: Five Pieces for String Quartet (Aviv Quartet) Just this
- [Beauty and Sadness <br/>An Interview with Elena Langer](https://interlude.hk/beauty-sadness-interview-elena-langer/): Opera composer Elena Langer started her music education in Russia at the Gnessin College of Music before going on to the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatoire. She completed her studies in London at the Royal College of Music and the Royal Academy
- [Li Biao Percussion Group](https://interlude.hk/li-biao-percussion-group/): A musical journey across the ages awaits listeners at Li Biao’s concert in Hong Kong on 15 March. Performing arrangements on only percussion instruments, Li Biao and his ensemble will span almost 300 years of music in just one evening.
- [Mozart’s Musical Journey <br/>28 February 1778: “Non so d’onde viene,” K. 294](https://interlude.hk/mozart-diaries-28-february-1778-non-donde-viene-k-294/): “I have also, for practice,” Wolfgang Amadeus writes to his father from Mannheim, “arranged the air ‘Non so d’onde viene’ which has been so charmingly composed by Bach. Just because I know that of Bach so well, and it pleases
- [Meyerbeer: <em>Les Huguenots</em> <br/>Premiered Today in 1836](https://interlude.hk/meyerbeer-les-huguenots-premiered-today-1836/): What do you call the massacre of thousands of Huguenot Protestants by Catholic forces on St. Bartholomew’s Day, 1572? In artistic terms, you’d have to call it the most successful opera of the 19th century. When Meyerbeer’s Les Huguenots premiered
- [A Love Letter in Music <br/>Schumann’s Fantasie in C, Op. 17](https://interlude.hk/love-letter-music-schumanns-fantasie-c-op-17/): “perhaps the most impassioned music I have ever written. ”Robert Schumann writing to Clara Wieck, March 1838 Never one for disguising his emotions, Robert Schumann wore his heart on his sleeve and his music reflects his joy at being alive –
- [Remembering Denis Matthews](https://interlude.hk/remembering-denis-matthews/): “There isn’t a day when I sit down to play the piano that I don’t think of him, in my mind hearing what he said when I played certain pieces” – Sarah Beth Briggs, British concert pianist
- [The Beauty of the Instrument <br/>An Interview With Riyehee Hong](https://interlude.hk/beauty-instrument-interview-riyehee-hong/): Making her first appearance at the Hong Kong Arts Festival in March, organist Riyehee Hong is looking forward to bringing a wealth of Spanish and European organ music to a new audience. The appearance of an organist in a general
- [Music in Baroque Spain <br/>An Interview With Rupert Damerell of Quondam](https://interlude.hk/music-baroque-spain-interview-rupert-damerell-quondam/): Spanish composers didn’t have what other European countries had: a central court. They did have the Holy Roman Emperor, in the form of Charles V and later, his son, Philip II, but those rulers preferred to hire musicians from the
- [At the Center of the Musical Universe <br/>Carl Maria von Weber II](https://interlude.hk/center-musical-universe-carl-maria-von-weber-ii/): Although Carl Maria von Weber’s opera Der Freischütz is frequently portrayed as the liberation of German cultures from foreign influences, we should not forget that a “veritable Freischütz mania flooded all England. ” Productions of the opera opened in London in
- [Moved to Tears](https://interlude.hk/moved-tears/): Music has the power to tug at the heartstrings, and evoking emotion is the main purpose of music – whether it’s joy or sadness, excitement or meditation. A certain melody or line of a song, a falling phrase, the delayed
- [Musicians and Artists: Chabrier and Friends](https://interlude.hk/musicians-artists-chabrier-friends/): If you hang around in the arts, then you hang around with lots of kinds of artists – musicians don’t just pal around with other musicians but add all kinds of artists into their circles. Some of these circles, such
- [RIES, F.: Cello Works (Complete), Vol. 1 - Cello Sonatas, Op. 20, 21, 125](https://interlude.hk/ries-f-cello-works-complete-vol-1-cello-sonatas-op-20-21-125/): Cello Sonata in C Major, Op. 20 III. Polonaise: Allegretto moderato From RIES, F. : Cello Works (Complete), Vol. 1 – Cello Sonatas, Opp. 20, 21, 125 (2018) Released by Naxos Ries: Cello Sonata in C Major, Op. 20 – III.
- [Liszt: <em>Les Préludes</em> <br/>Premiered Today in 1854](https://interlude.hk/liszt-les-preludes-premiered-today-1854/): Franz Liszt’s flamboyant personality and colorful pianistic mannerisms frequently detract from the fact that he was a highly gifted composer. What’s more, he was instrumental in establishing the intellectual foundations for a musical form that derives its movement and its
- [In Classical Music Performances, Do Appearances Matter?](https://interlude.hk/classical-music-performances-appearances-matter/): Anyone in the field of the performing arts knows that first impressions are important. After all, as soon as performers walk onstage, even before the performance begins, audiences are bound to form some opinion on how likeable they are. Dancers
- [Franz Liszt Arrested in Istanbul](https://interlude.hk/franz-liszt-arrested-istanbul/): A number of historical documents preserve an amusing little anecdote about Franz Liszt’s visit to the Ottoman Empire in 1847. It basically reads as follows: “After a 54-hour long trip from Galatz, Liszt had at last reached Constantinople. Here, he
- [The Curious Soundworld of Alexander Scriabin](https://interlude.hk/curious-soundworld-alexander-scriabin/): The music of Alexander Scriabin inhabits a distinctive, personal soundworld which is hard to define. It is the music of excess, ecstasy, tumult and passion. It is excessive, overripe, decadent, heavily perfumed, sensuous and frenzied, lacking in structure and sometimes
- [Mozart’s Musical Journey <br/> 20 February 1771: <em>Ascanio in Alba</em>](https://interlude.hk/mozart-diaries-20-february-1771-ascanio-alba/): From his extended Italian journey, and after having dodged a serious flu epidemic, Wolfgang Amadeus writes to his sister. “I am still well, and, thank God, in the land of the living. Tell Herr Johannes Hagenauer that the Berlein family
- [Rossini: <em>The Barber of Seville</em><br/>Premiered Today in 1816](https://interlude.hk/rossini-barber-sevillepremiered-today-1816/): The premiere of Gioachino Rossini’s opera buffa The Barber of Seville on 20 February 1816 at the Teatro Argentina in Rome was a verifiable disaster! It probably had very little to do with how the music was performed that evening.
- [The Inspiration of Imagination – 1001 Nights](https://interlude.hk/inspiration-imagination-1001-nights/): When the British explorer extraordinaire Richard Francis Burton published his translation of the traditional Middle Eastern stories in The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night in 1885, he brought the extraordinary wealth of Arabic storytelling to the West.
- [La Traviata](https://interlude.hk/la-traviata-la-fenice/): La Fenice Theatre, Venezia, 13 January 2019 Have you ever been to Venice? Well you must... . It is one of the 7 wonders of the world and if it is not listed as such it certainly should be. The Frecciarossa,
- [At the Center of the Musical Universe <br/> Carl Maria von Weber](https://interlude.hk/center-musical-universe-carl-maria-von-weber/): When Carl Maria von Weber’s Der Freischütz (The Marksman) was first produced at the Schauspielhaus in Berlin in June 1821, the musical world was stunned. Setting his career as a pianist and critic aside, Weber had created a work that
- [Brahms: <em>Ein Deutsches Requiem</em> <br/>Premiered Today in 1869](https://interlude.hk/brahms-ein-deutsches-requiem-premiered-today-1869/): For Johannes Brahms, the composition and performance of the German Requiem was a highly personal undertaking. Brahms had been highly distressed by the breakup of his parents. Tension over money, exacerbated by the great difference in age—his mother was 17
- [Puccini: <em>Madama Butterfly</em> <br/>Premiered Today in 1904](https://interlude.hk/puccini-madama-butterfly-premiered-today-1904/): When the original two-act version of Madama Butterfly premiered in Milan on 17 February 1904, the audience was not impressed. Puccini had struggled to complete the score, and there simply wasn’t enough time for proper rehearsals. Despite notable singers Rosina
- [I Just Don’t “Get” Classical Music](https://interlude.hk/just-dont-get-classical-music/): I keep meeting people who tell me they “just don’t get” classical music. Or that they “don’t understand” classical music and therefore cannot appreciate or enjoy it (an attitude which I think is inculcated early on in school and does
- [BEETHOVEN, L. van: Flute Works, Vol. 2](https://interlude.hk/beethoven-l-van-flute-works-vol-2/): Piano Trio in G Major, WoO 37 III. Thema andante con variazioni From BEETHOVEN, L. van: Flute Works, Vol. 2 (2018) Released by Naxos Beethoven: Piano Trio in G Major, WoO 37 – III. Thema andante con variazioniBeethoven’s mastery in
- [Brahms and His Late Piano Works <br/>Fantasien Op.116](https://interlude.hk/brahms-and-his-late-piano-works-fantasien-op-116/): Johannes Brahms’ (1833-1897) intricate late piano works, from Op. 116 to Op. 119, were composed from 1892 to 1893 and have been known for their reflective nature, amalgamated with lyricism, desolation and heart-warming moments. The probable dedicatee of these works,
- [A Life in Music — Is Playing Well, Enough?](https://interlude.hk/life-music-playing-well-enough/): When I was a young student I sought out the best teachers, practiced many hours, and performed a great deal of repertoire with the ambition to land a position in a major orchestra. I thought playing well would be enough
- [Korngold: <em>Violin Concerto</em><br/>Premiered Today in 1947](https://interlude.hk/korngold-violin-concertopremiered-today-1947/): The exceptional Polish violinist Bronisław Huberman never tired of asking Erich Korngold for a violin concerto. Huberman had been an old family friend from their days in Vienna, but having been forced into exile to Southern California, Korngold was determined
- [Franz Liszt in Istanbul](https://interlude.hk/franz-liszt-istanbul/): Towards the end of his long performance career, Franz Liszt finally managed to visit the Ottoman Empire in 1847. Liszt had wanted to visit Istanbul as early as 1838, and wrote to a friend, “... desire and
- [Schubert: The Grazer and The Wanderer](https://interlude.hk/schubert-grazer-wanderer/): The musical Fantasy (or Fantasia or Fantasie) has its roots in improvisation and rarely follows a strict musical structure (such as Sonata or Ternary form). In this respect the Fantasy is related to the Impromptu (a genre favoured by Schubert).
- [Mozart’s Musical Journey <br/>13 February 1782: <em>Piano Concerto No. 5</em>, K. 175 with new Finale K. 382](https://interlude.hk/mozart-diaries-13-february-1782-piano-concerto-5-k-175-new-finale-k-382/): Trying to establish himself in Vienna, Wolfgang Amadeus was incredibly busy as he writes to his sister. “You must not suppose, from my not answering you, that you and your letters are troublesome. I shall always, dearest sister, with the
- [Louis Marchand and Marie Angélique Denis <br/>A Toxic Affair](https://interlude.hk/louis-marchand-marie-angelique-denis-toxic-affair/): Louis Marchand (1669-1732) had an extremely colorful and unpredictable personality. While he was lavishly praised for his prodigious keyboard talents and skills, his reputation was not founded on musical abilities alone. In one famous, and documented instance, soon after his
- [At the Center of the Musical Universe <br/>Franz Schubert V](https://interlude.hk/center-musical-universe-franz-schubert-v/): Franz Schubert composed his set of six German Dances in October 1824 for his piano student Countess Caroline Esterházy. Everybody knew that Schubert was deeply in love with his 18-year old student, and a number of compositions were the direct
- [Celebrating Collaboration <br/>The Piano Accompanist](https://interlude.hk/celebrating-collaboration-piano-accompanist/): Piano accompanists are, rather like page turners, the unsung heroes and heroines of the music world, often receiving smaller concert fees and less prominent billing than the singers and instrumentalists with whom they work. Often unfairly regarded as “failed soloists”,
- [Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4 <br/> Premiered Today in 1878](https://interlude.hk/tchaikovsky-symphony-4-premiered-today-1878/): When Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky‘s Symphony No. 4 in F minor premiered at a Russian Musical Society concert in Moscow on 10 February 1878, it represented a veritable breakthrough in terms of emotional depth and complexity. This symphonic hybrid, which subsequently
- [Alexander Scriabin: Preludes, Etudes & Sonates nos. 4 & 5](https://interlude.hk/alexander-scriabin-preludes-etudes-sonates-nos-4-5/): Poeme tragique Op. 34 From Alexander Scriabin: Preludes, Etudes & Sonates nos. 4 & 5 (2018) Released by Harmonia Mundi Scriabin: Poeme tragique Op. 34Scriabin occupies a place apart in the history of Russian music: refusing influences from the folkloric tradition, his
- [How Embarrassing—I Have a Dust Bunny in My Instrument!](https://interlude.hk/embarrassing-dust-bunny-instrument/): I’d never had one... until today. A dense, dark grey ball the size of a quarter, rolling around inside my cello. I had been practicing the Spanish piece by Gaspar Cassadó Requiebros full of passion and fervor. While wailing on the
- [Bartók: <em>Piano Concerto No. 3</em> <br/>Premiered Today in 1946](https://interlude.hk/bartok-piano-concerto-3-premiered-today-1946/): Béla Bartók did not see the premiere of his 3rd Piano Concerto. After completing the score—he wrote the Hungarian words “the end” after the last measures of this concerto—Bartók was transferred to a West Side hospital where he died four
- [Pigs in and around Music](https://interlude.hk/pigs-around-music/): With the zodiac of the Pig taking center stage in the Chinese calendar in 2019, I decided to go on the hunt for “pig music” in the Western musical context. We all know about the Carnival of the Animals, Peter
- [Music in Words: The Kreutzer Sonata](https://interlude.hk/music-words-kreutzer-sonata/): “Music carries me immediately and directly into the mental condition in which the man was who composed it. My soul merges with his and together with him I pass from one condition into another, but why this happens I don’t
- [The Inspiration of Imagination – The Comics](https://interlude.hk/inspiration-imagination-comics/): Maybe they’re your secret reading. Maybe they’re your guide to life in general or your source of the perfect wry joke. As much as they inspire you, they’ve inspired composers as well. On Broadway, we’ve had musicals such as Li’l
- [Mozart’s Musical Journey <br/> 5 February 1783: <em>Symphony No. 35</em> (Haffner)](https://interlude.hk/mozart-diaries-5-february-1783-symphony-35-haffner/): Increasingly rushed for time, Wolfgang Amadeus writes to his father on 5 February 1783, “I have received your last letter, and hope you have also gotten mine. With regard to the symphonies, especially the last, pray let me have them
- [“My Experiences as a Cellist are Central to Everything I Do” - Interview with Joy Lisney](https://interlude.hk/experiences-cellist-central-everything-interview-joy-lisney/): British cellist Joy Lisney is one of the most exciting string players to emerge in recent years and the model of a modern musician with a strong advocacy for contemporary music. Yet in her varied musical activities she also harks
- [At the Center of the Musical Universe <br/> Franz Schubert IV](https://interlude.hk/center-musical-universe-franz-schubert-iv/): Nobody composed variations like Austrian composer Franz Schubert! An undisputed master of the genre, his variations on his own melodies became a fascinating combination of formal innovation and musical poetics. Peeling away layer upon layer of significance and meaning, Schubert
- [An Admission of Failure?](https://interlude.hk/admission-failure/): Why would a talented leading British composer include a document called a Failure CV on her website, alongside details of her extensive oeuvre and the many plaudits for her work?
- [On This Day <br/>3 February: Hector Berlioz's Overture to <em>Le Carnaval Romain</em>, Op. 9 Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/berlioz-overture-le-carnaval-romain-op-9-premiered-today-1844/): Hector Berlioz published his famous handbook on the art of orchestration, his Traîté d’instrumentation, in January 1844. It remains, even today, a landmark in the history of the symphony orchestra. It is a concise and brilliant historical document that details
- [MAYR, J.S.: Motets, Vol. 1 - Venetian Solo Motets](https://interlude.hk/mayr-j-s-motets-vol-1-venetian-solo-motets/): Salve Regina in B – Flat Major From MAYR, J. S. : Motets, Vol. 1 – Venetian Solo Motets (2018) Released by Naxos Mayr: Salve Regina in B – Flat MajorJohann Simon Mayr became one of the most popular opera composers in
- [Dvořák: <em>Symphony No. 8</em> <br/>Premiered Today in 1890](https://interlude.hk/dvorak-symphony-8-premiered-today-1890/): Antonín Dvořák celebrated his election to the Bohemian Academy of Science, Literature and Arts by composing a symphony. He worked on his 8th Symphony for almost 3 months at his summer resort in Bohemia, and he conducted the premiere in
- [Louis Marchand](https://interlude.hk/louis-marchand-composer-of-the-month/): The Belligerent Virtuoso Our birthday boy this month is Louis Marchand (1669-1732), born 350 years ago in Lyons on 2 February 1669. By all accounts, he was a rather strange and disturbed character. Described as restless, cumbersome, self-conceited, and ambitious
- [Welcome to the Year of the Earth Pig!](https://interlude.hk/welcome-year-earth-pig/): On 5 February 2019, we say goodbye to the Earth Dog, and welcome the year of the Earth Pig. Since it takes 60 years to scroll through every animal sign and element in both yin and yang aspects, this closes
- [Sergei Nakariakov](https://interlude.hk/sergei-nakariakov-artist-of-the-month/): ‘Absorb as much as possible from life around you’ Russian-Israeli trumpeter Sergei Nakariakov performs in Hong Kong on 16 February with the Hong Kong Sinfonietta, playing works by Mozart and Jörg Widmann.
- [Signor Alberti’s Moving Bass Line](https://interlude.hk/signor-albertis-moving-bass-line/): Not invented by, but rather named for Domenico Alberti, who used this device extensively in his own keyboard sonatas, the Alberti Bass is a moving figure in the bass or left hand of keyboard music, derived from a three-note chord.
- [The Inspiration of Imagination – Dracula](https://interlude.hk/inspiration-imagination-dracula/): There, in the shadows, a figure moves. Clothed in black, with a face seemingly drained of all life and colour, with long fingernails the better to catch you, it’s Count Dracula.
- [Mahler: <em>Kindertotenlieder</em> <br/>Premiered Today in 1905](https://interlude.hk/mahler-kindertotenlieder-premiered-today-1905/): Alma Mahler severely took her husband Gustav to task for composing a series of orchestral songs on texts dealing with the death of children. Merely two weeks after the birth of their second child, Alma found it incomprehensible and feared
- [The Organist and the Poetess <br/>Joseph Gabriel Rheinberger and Franziska von Hoffnaaß ](https://interlude.hk/organist-poetess-joseph-gabriel-rheinberger-franziska-von-hoffnaas/): He was the “Wunderkind” from Lichtenstein, and she a poetess of distinction. They got married in 1867, and although the union remained childless, their marriage was a happy one. One might actually consider it the perfect relationship; she supplied the
- [At the Center of the Musical Universe <br/>Franz Schubert III](https://interlude.hk/center-musical-universe-franz-schubert-iii/): In all, the remarkable collection of Schubert’s Lieder transcriptions by Franz Liszt totaled 58 songs. Liszt first handed twelve of these piano transcriptions to a Viennese publisher in 1838 and his concluding efforts emerged 10 years later in 1848.
- [Reverence](https://interlude.hk/reverence/): Tradition is not the worship of ashes, but the preservation of fire ― Gustav Mahler A sense of reverence seems to haunt every corner of Classical Music. The artform is considered the very pinnacle of man’s artistic, intellectual and spiritual
- [A Performance in the Making <br/> Jean de SPENGLER <br/>Speaks about the <em>Cello Suites</em> by Bach](https://interlude.hk/performance-making-jean-de-spengler-speaks-cello-suites-bach/): Cellists and Bach’s Cello Suites Alexis Galpérine: My first question will not come as a surprise to you – why Bach’s Cello Suites yet again? Jean de Spengler: As I am sure you already know, Bach’s Suites are the breviary
- [DEVIENNE, F.: Flute Concertos, Vol. 4 - No. 13 / Sinfonies concertantes, Opp. 76, 25](https://interlude.hk/devienne-f-flute-concertos-vol-4-13-sinfonies-concertantes-opp-76-25/): Sinfonia concertante in G Major, Op. 76 I. Allegro From DEVIENNE, F. : Flute Concertos, Vol. 4 – No. 13 / Sinfonies concertantes, Opp. 76, 25 (2018) Released by Naxos Devienne: Sinfonia concertante in G Major, Op. 76 – I. AllegroFrançois
- [Mozart’s Musical Journey <br/> 26 January 1770: “Misero tu non sei”](https://interlude.hk/mozart-diaries-26-january-1770-misero-tu-non-sei/): From the city of Milan, Wolfgang Amadeus wrote to his sister on 26 January 1770, “I rejoice in my heart that you were so well amused at the sledging party you write to me about, and I wish you a
- [Strauss: <em>Der Rosenkavalier</em> <br/>Premiered Today in 1911](https://interlude.hk/strauss-der-rosenkavalier-premiered-today-1911/): On 26 January 1911, Richard Strauss’ new creation Der Rosenkavalier exploded onto the world stage in the packed Semper Opera in Dresden. It caused nothing short of a sensation! One of the most anticipated musical and cultural events in the
- [Rossini: <em>La Cenerentola</em> <br/>Premiered Today in 1817](https://interlude.hk/rossini-la-cenerentola-premiered-today-1817/): Rossini’s La Cenerentola (Cinderella) premiered at the Teatro Valle in Rome on 25 January 1817. Press reports were generally favorable, but the singers took a beating. Some critics even spoke of a “fiasco” because there was no applause during the
- [String Quartets at War: George Crumb and Ge Gan-Ru](https://interlude.hk/string-quartets-war-george-crumb-ge-gan-ru/): In 1970, American composer George Crumb completed his work for electric string quartet: Black Angels: Thirteen Images from the Dark Land.
- [Nielsen: <em>Symphony No. 5</em> <br/> Premiered Today in 1922](https://interlude.hk/nielsen-symphony-5-premiered-today-1922/): Carl Nielsen’s Symphony No. 5, Op. 50 premiered in Copenhagen on 24 January 1922. When a reporter asked him on the day of the premiere about the subject or title of the work, Nielsen replied, “It is nameless... The only
- [Love Amongst the Keys <br/>William Howard’s Love Songs Project](https://interlude.hk/love-amongst-keys-william-howards-love-songs-project/): Love songs can be found in music across the world and across the centuries– William Howard, pianist Love in its infinite variety has been a major focus for British pianist William Howard whose Love Songs project began in June 2016
- [The Inspiration of Imagination – Fairy Tales](https://interlude.hk/inspiration-imagination-fairy-tales/): They are so familiar, the characters in the fairy tales and we know of their attributes: the loneliness of Cinderella before her triumphal return, the bravery of Little Red Riding Hood, the cleverness of Hansel and Gretel, and so many
- [Weill: <em>Lady in the Dark</em> <br/>Premiered Today in 1941](https://interlude.hk/weill-lady-dark-premiered-today-1941/): Liza Elliot (mezzo-soprano) is a successful editor of a popular fashion magazine. Nevertheless, she is highly uncomfortable with the success-oriented and male-dominated society. Liza is also conflicted about the love interests in her life, and she can’t decide between her
- [Extreme Danger! There is an Opera in Town](https://interlude.hk/extreme-danger-opera-town/): Fromental Halévy (1799-1862) composed roughly forty works for the Parisian state. And while La Juive of 1835 turned out to be his most successful work, Charles VI might be the most dangerous opera in the repertoire. Composed in 1843, it
- [At the Center of the Musical Universe <br/> Franz Schubert II](https://interlude.hk/center-musical-universe-franz-schubert-ii/): Greatness will invariably recognize greatness! And Franz Liszt’s efforts and commitment on behalf of forgotten masterpieces set a powerful trend in the 19th century. As such it is hardly surprising that Franz Schubert occupied a central place in Liszt’s transcriptions
- [The Organist and the “Virgin Queen”](https://interlude.hk/organist-virgin-queen/): She was the daughter of Henry VIII and his second wife, Anne Boleyn, and everybody knew her as the “Virgin Queen. ” Elizabeth I (1533-1603) had various suitors, but in the end she was never swept away by her emotions that
- [Music. And Silence](https://interlude.hk/music-silence/): “Music is the silence between the notes” Attributed to Debussy and also Mozart “... . . the pauses between the notes – ah, that is where the art resides” Artur Schnabel “Music starts in the silence” Stephen Hough, pianist
- [KLENGEL, J.: Cello Concertinos (Complete) / Concert Piece in D Minor](https://interlude.hk/klengel-j-cello-concertinos-complete-concert-piece-d-minor/): Concert Piece in D Minor, Op. 10 From KLENGEL, J. : Cello Concertinos (Complete) / Concert Piece in D Minor (2017) Released by Naxos Klengel: Concert Piece in D Minor, Op. 10Based in Leipzig with a lengthy career as principal cellist
- [Mozart: “Prague” Symphony KV 504 <br/> Premiered Today in 1787](https://interlude.hk/mozart-prague-symphony-kv-504-premiered-today-1787/): Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart had contemplated a journey to London in the autumn of 1786. However, his father Leopold strongly objected, and he even refused to look after Mozart’s children. As such, instead of going to London, Mozart accepted an invitation
- [Chinoiserie in Motion: Chao Kang ](https://interlude.hk/chinoiserie-motion-chao-kang/): Louis Henry (1784-1836) was an exceptional French dancer, choreographer and ballet master. Born in Versailles, he started his career at the Paris Opera in 1803 but quickly got into heated competition with Louis Duport and Auguste Vestris. Vicious infighting forced
- [A Grand Work of Art Explores Cross-Cultural Currents <br/>Michael Parekowhai’s 'Maori' Steinway](https://interlude.hk/grand-work-art-explores-cross-cultural-currents-michael-parekowhais-maori-steinway/): Recently I had the opportunity to play a rather special Steinway grand piano as part of the fascinating ‘Oceania’ exhibition at London’s Royal Academy of Arts.
- [Mozart’s Musical Journey <br/> 17 January 1778: Piano Sonata No. 9](https://interlude.hk/mozart-diaries-17-january-1778-piano-sonata-9/): On 17 January 1778, Mozart wrote to his father “Now for another subject. Last Wednesday there was a great feast to which I was also invited. There were fifteen guests, and the young lady of the house was to play
- [The Inspiration of Imagination – Frodo & Bilbo](https://interlude.hk/inspiration-imagination-frodo-bilbo/): J. R. R. Tolkien created an entire world of high fantasy in his work The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Creating the world of Middle Earth beginning with The Hobbit in 1937, he fleshed it out in the three volumes
- [Pulling out all the Stops <br/> Celebrated Organ Concertos IV](https://interlude.hk/pulling-stops-celebrated-organ-concertos-iv/): Princesse Edmond de Polignac, synonymous with the heiress to the Singer sewing machine fortune Winnaretta Singer holds the distinction of commissioning the most frequently performed organ concerto not written in the Baroque period. The Princess envisioned a work for chamber
- [On This Day <br/>14 January: Ravel's Piano Concerto in G major Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/ravel-piano-concerto-g-majorpremiered-today-1932/): After months of careful planning, Maurice Ravel embarked on a 4-month tour of North America in 1928. In all, he visited 25 cities coast-to-coast, and performed and conducted the leading orchestras of Canada and the Unites States. Ravel also made
- [Mozart’s Musical Journey <br/> 14 January 1775: La Finta Giardiniera](https://interlude.hk/mozart-diaries-14-january-1775-la-finta-giardiniera/): Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart wrote to his mother on 14 January 1775, “God be praised! My opera was given yesterday, the 13th, and proved so successful that I cannot possibly describe all the tumult. In the first place, the whole theatre
- [Prodigy Problems](https://interlude.hk/prodigy-problems/): prodigy ˈprɒdɪdʒi/ noun noun: prodigy; plural noun: prodigies 1. a young person with exceptional qualities or abilities. “a Russian pianist who was a child prodigy in his day” synonyms: child genius, genius, wonder child, wunderkind
- [From Mozart to Monk – Murakami’s <em>Killing Commendatore</em>](https://interlude.hk/mozart-monk-murakamis-killing-commendatore/): In Haruki Murakami’s many novels, there are always a number of references that will appear: Cats, Ears, Hokkaido, Wells or Deep Holes, Jazz, Classical Music, and so on. In his latest novel, Killing Commendatore, we have music in the very
- [ ROSSINI, G.: Piano Music, Vol. 8](https://interlude.hk/rossini-g-piano-music-vol-8/): Péchés de vieillesse, Vol. 8: Album de château: No. 9. Tarantelle pur sang avec Traversée de la procession (version for choir, harmonium, piano and clochette) From ROSSINI, G. : Piano Music, Vol. 8 (2018) Released by Naxos Rossini: Péchés de vieillesse,
- [Being a Musician Can Be a Pain in the Neck](https://interlude.hk/musician-can-pain-neck/): After three decades of music making, teaching, and advocating for the arts, my career has been an inspirational calling. As a young musician, I understood the hard work and dedication, which would be required, but I wish someone had prepared
- [Gioacchino Rossini: “La Cenerentola”](https://interlude.hk/gioacchino-rossini-la-cenerentola/): Why go to Padua in the heart of the winter, travelling five hours by train, and looking at a sad barren landscape of the Veneto to listen to an opera?
- [Aleksandr Sergeyevich Dargomïzhsky](https://interlude.hk/aleksandr-sergeyevich-dargomizhsky/): “Great teacher of musical truth” On 17 January 2019 we commemorate the 150th anniversary of the death of Russian composer Aleksandr Sergeyevich Dargomïzhsky (1813-1869). Born in the Tula district on 14 February 1813, Dargomïzhsky was a popular and highly skilled
- [A Pianist Reflects on Life and Death <br/>Igor Levit’s ‘Life’](https://interlude.hk/pianist-reflects-life-death-igor-levits-life/): The German-Russian pianist Igor Levit has plenty to say – at the piano and via his social media network and interviews in which his forthright views, musical and political, are often given voice. His choice of repertoire, and his performances
- [Mendelssohn: <em>The Hebrides Overture</em> <br/>Premiered Today in 1833](https://interlude.hk/mendelssohn-hebrides-overture-premiered-today-1833/): Described as one of the natural wonders of Scotland, Fingal’s Cave is located on the uninhabited island of Staffa, in the Inner Hebrides. Formed from hexagonally jointed basalt columns it became known as “Fingal’s Cave” after the hero of an epic poem by the Scottish historian James Macpherson. It was...
- [The Inspiration of Imagination – Alice](https://interlude.hk/inspiration-imagination-alice/): Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, the genre-changing 1865 novel by Lewis Carroll, takes us to a world populated by talking animals who pose questions of logic and behave in ways that make 7-year-old Alice question the sanity of it all. Characters
- [Pulling out all the Stops <br/>Celebrated Organ Concertos III](https://interlude.hk/pulling-stops-celebrated-organ-concertos-iii/): During the second half of the 19th century it was common for young talented American composers to finish their musical education in Europe. New England born Horatio Parker (1863-1919) initially studied composition in Boston with George Chadwick, and in 1882
- [At the Center of the Musical Universe <br/>Franz Schubert](https://interlude.hk/center-musical-universe-franz-schubert/): In my humble opinion, the richness and subtlety of Franz Schubert’s (1797-1828) melodic and harmonic language is unequaled in the world of classical music. For one reason or another, we are led to believe that Schubert’s music was not popular
- [Liszt: Piano Concerto No. 2 <br/>Premiered Today in 1857](https://interlude.hk/liszt-piano-concerto-2-premiered-today-1857/): In the world of classical music, Franz Liszt (1811-1886) was the perfect storm! Handsome and fiery, Liszt quickly realized that a musical performance was much more than merely pressing down the correct keys in the correct order. That meant paying
- [The Piano Concerto <br/>Part 4 - Women Composers and More](https://interlude.hk/piano-concerto-part-4-women-composers/): “A woman must not wish to compose” – Clara Schumann Clara Schumann (then Clara Wieck, 1819-1896) began her Piano Concerto in A minor at the age of 13 and premièred it three years later at the Leipzig Gewandhaus under the
- [Scheherazade for all Ages and Tastes](https://interlude.hk/scheherazade-ages-tastes/): The emergence of the new media of television, cinema and radio in the 20th century brought Scheherazade into the mainstream of popular culture. Hollywood went into overdrive, and The Adventures of Prince Achmed of 1926, is the oldest surviving feature-length
- [HÄSSLER, J.W.: 360 Preludes in All Major and Minor Keys / Fantaisie et Sonate, Op. 4 / Grande Sonate, Op. 26 ](https://interlude.hk/hassler-j-w-360-preludes-major-minor-keys-fantaisie-et-sonate-op-4-grande-sonate-op-26/): Grande Sonate in E-Flat Major, Op. 26 I. Moderato From HÄSSLER, J. W. : 360 Preludes in All Major and Minor Keys / Fantaisie et Sonate, Op. 4 / Grande Sonate, Op. 26 (2017) Released by Grand Piano Hässler: Grande Sonate in
- [Paralyzed by Imposter Syndrome? —When Will I Be Good enough?](https://interlude.hk/paralyzed-imposter-syndrome-will-good-enough/): No-one said becoming a musician is easy. It takes years of practice, discipline, and a unique personality—of humility, to convey the composer’s intention as best we can, and self-confidence, to walk onto the stage and play with panache. But no
- [Picture studies: Rachmaninoff’s <em>Études-Tableaux</em> Op. 33](https://interlude.hk/picture-studies-rachmaninoffs-etudes-tableaux-op-33/): Rachmaninoff composed his Opus 33 Études-Tableaux between August and September of 1911, the year after he completed his Opus 32 Preludes, and while the Opus 33 shares some stylistic points with the Preludes, the pieces are very unlike them. Rachmaninoff
- [Mozart’s Musical Journey <br/>3 January 1781: Idomeneo](https://interlude.hk/mozart-diaries-3-january-1781-idomeneo/): On 3 January 1781, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart wrote his father from Munich, “My head and my hands are so fully occupied with my third act, that it would not be wonderful if I turned into a third act myself, for
- [Wagner: <em>The Flying Dutchman</em> <br/>Premiered Today in 1843](https://interlude.hk/wagner-flying-dutchman-premiered-today-1843/): Richard Wagner (1813-1883), not for the first or last time in his life, had to flee his creditors in 1839. His employment in Riga had left him and his wife Minna heavily in debt, and police officials had even impounded
- [The Inspiration of Imagination – Fictional Characters in Music](https://interlude.hk/inspiration-imagination-fictional-characters-music/): Composers are inspired by the world, by their experiences, and by others’ imaginations. Novels and stories have been set by composers as everything from little piano pieces (here, Debussy was inspired by the Golliwog character in children’s book by Florence
- [Pulling out all the Stops <br/> Celebrated Organ Concertos II](https://interlude.hk/pulling-stops-celebrated-organ-concertos-ii/): If you are appointed as organist at a major church at the age of 7, and you compose a three-part mass with organ accompaniment shortly thereafter, you’ll probably have some kind of professional musical career ahead of you. And that’s
- [Haochen Zhang](https://interlude.hk/haochen-zhang-artist/): ‘Breathe More andante Enjoy Life’ Haochen Zhang on Oxygen in Performance Chinese pianist Haochen Zhang performs Rachmaninov’s First Piano Concerto on 18 and 19 January with the Hong Kong Philharmonic. Between concerts in the USA and China he takes a
- [Happy New Year 2019 <br/> “Auld Lang Syne”](https://interlude.hk/happy-new-year-2019-auld-lang-syne/): In much of the English-speaking world, a traditional folk song set to the words of a Scots poem is used to bid farewell to the old year at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve. “Auld Lang Syne,” probably
- [1,001(Arabian) Nights III <br/>Folk Tales in Music](https://interlude.hk/1001arabian-nights-iii-folk-tales-music/): Maurice Ravel wrote two works with Shéhérazade, the heroine and narrator of The Arabian Nights as the title. One of his earliest surviving orchestral pieces, the “Ouverture de Shéhérazade” makes use of a Persian melody, but it was not well
- [The Piano Concerto <br/> Part 3 - The Lesser-Known and Rarely-Performed](https://interlude.hk/piano-concerto-part-3-lesser-known-rarely-performed/): Since the invention of the piano in the 18th century, composers have placed the instrument centre stage, pitting it against the might of an orchestra to create music which ranks amongst the greatest in the repertoire.
- [Bach: Goldberg Variationen – Diego Ares](https://interlude.hk/bach-goldberg-variationen-diego-ares/): Goldberg Variations Aria From Bach: Goldberg Variationen – Diego Ares (2018) Released by Harmonia Mundi Bach: Goldberg Variations – AriaIn the thirty-two movements that make up the Goldberg Variations, Bach offers us a perfect equilibrium between structure, proportion, counterpoint and
- [Consider This Before You Date a Musician](https://interlude.hk/consider-date-musician/): Musicians are a rare breed. I’m the first to admit life with me might be a bit challenging. Being a professional musician isn’t all fun and games. It’s not an avocation, nor a vocation it’s our way of life, our
- [The Beauty of Counterpoint](https://interlude.hk/beauty-counterpoint/): Often, the point of interest in the music isn’t the melody but what’s going on underneath. I recently attended a performance of Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker, but without the dancers, i. e. , a full ballet with the orchestra only. It gave an
- [Preserving the Joy](https://interlude.hk/preserving-joy/): For those of us who engage in music, as performers and teachers, the classical canon offers an endless source of excitement, thrilling stories and fantasies, portrayed in myriad colours, moods and styles. The desire to play this music and revel
- [Bach: Christmas Oratorio (Annunciation to the Shepherds) <br/> Premiered Today in 1734](https://interlude.hk/bach-christmas-oratorio-annunciation-shepherds-premiered-today-1734/): One of the episodes in the Nativity of Jesus describes the annunciation to the shepherds, in which an angel tells a group of shepherds about the birth of Jesus. Initially, this was part of the broader Nativity scene, which also
- [Franz Schubert and the Countess](https://interlude.hk/franz-schubert-countess/): The memoirs of Franz Schubert’s friends are full of references to Caroline Esterházy. In fact, Eduard von Bauernfeld wrote in February 1828. “Schubert was, in fact, head over ears in love with one of his pupils, a young Countess Esterházy,
- [Wagner: <em>Siegfried Idyll</em> <br/>Premiered Today in 1870](https://interlude.hk/wagner-siegfried-idyll-premiered-today-1870/): Birthday presents come in all forms, shapes and sizes. When Cosima Wagner awoke on 25 December 1870 to celebrate her 33rd birthday, a group of 17 musicians had assembled on the stairs leading to her bedroom. With Richard Wagner conducting,
- [Pulling Out All the Stops <br/> Celebrated Organ Concertos](https://interlude.hk/pulling-stops-celebrated-organ-concertos/): “In my eyes and ears,” wrote Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, “the organ will forever be the King of Instruments. ” And Ludwig van Beethoven apparently considered organists superior musicians “because of their improvisatory skills and multi-limbed virtuosity. ”
- [On This Day <br/>24 December: Giuseppe Verdi's <em>Aida</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/verdi-aida-premiered-today-1871/): One of the most endearing myths in Classical Music states that Giuseppe Verdi wrote his opera Aida in celebration for the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869. It is a great headline, but it’s not even remotely true. To
- [X-mas Disguised Once More](https://interlude.hk/x-mas-disguised/): A good many carols associated with X-mas were composed between the 14th and 17th century in England, Italy, France, Germany, Spain and elsewhere. However, it took the scholarly efforts of the 19th century for these old songs to be collected
- [1,001(Arabian) Nights II <br/> Folk Tales in Music](https://interlude.hk/1001arabian-nights-ii-folk-tales-music/): When John Adams visited an exhibition at the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris detailing the history of the “Arabian Nights,” he was struck by how the archetypal story of Scheherazade has evolved over the centuries. “The casual brutality toward
- [The Piano Concerto <br/>Part 2 – More “Greats” of the Genre](https://interlude.hk/piano-concerto-part-2-greats-genre/): A selection of the great piano concertos will always be subjective, but the following choices are based on conversations with concert pianists and listeners, and represent both the concertos which make regular appearances in concert halls, and those which pianists
- [DIAMOND, D.: Symphony No. 6 / Rounds / Music for Romeo and Juliet](https://interlude.hk/diamond-d-symphony-6-rounds-music-romeo-juliet/): Music for Romeo and Juliet II. Balcony Scene From DIAMOND, D. : Symphony No. 6 / Rounds / Music for Romeo and Juliet (2018) Released by Naxos David Diamond: Music for Romeo and Juliet – II. Balcony SceneThe three works on
- [Music and Nature <br/> Seasons: Winter](https://interlude.hk/music-nature-seasons-winter/): What’s your vision of winter? Cold, snow everywhere, or simply a more temperate time of year? Is it crisp days that make your nose crinkle or soft sunshine and no air-conditioning? No matter what kind of winter you have, there’s
- [Beethoven: <em>Symphony No. 5</em> <br/> Premiered Today in 1808](https://interlude.hk/beethoven-symphony-5-premiered-today-1808/): The famous “short-short-short-long” motive that initiates the opening of Beethoven’s 5th Symphony has become the most compact and commanding gesture in all of symphonic literature. Powerfully introduced by the whole orchestra in the minor mode, the module is ambiguous in
- [The Haydn “Miracle” Symphony](https://interlude.hk/haydn-miracle-symphony/): It was one of those memorable evenings in the history of music. Joseph Haydn had come to London at the age of 62 on a second concert tour arranged by the impresario Johann Peter Salomon. And on 2 February 1795,
- [Concert Conversations](https://interlude.hk/concert-conversations/): Concert going is a social as well as a cultural activity and one of the great pleasures is the after-concert discussion with friends – and occasionally strangers who linger in the auditorium or foyer – keen to share their thoughts
- [Rush Hour in Hong Kong](https://interlude.hk/rush-hour-hong-kong/): Romantic artists have long been fascinated with the Orient. Paradoxically, this attraction became even more powerful because it concerned essentially unknown territory. Guided by a more or less imagined Orient, a good deal of music was motivated by the picturesque.
- [Tchaikovsky: <em>Nutcracker</em><br/>Premiered Today in 1892](https://interlude.hk/tchaikovsky-nutcrackerpremiered-today-1892/): For much of the Western world and beyond, Christmas without the Nutcracker just wouldn’t be Christmas! To me, this has always been somewhat surprising as there is absolutely nothing in the ballet that connects it with the story of the
- [Bartók and Nature](https://interlude.hk/bartok-nature/): Béla Bartók’s first ballet, The Wooden Prince (1916) takes us to the story land of princes and princesses, and, of course, evil fairies. But, to get it on stage, Bartók had to contend first with the evil management of the
- [Schubert: “Unfinished Symphony” <br/>Premiered Today in 1865](https://interlude.hk/schubert-unfinished-symphony-premiered-today-1865/): One of the biggest and most exciting mysteries in classical music is the question why Franz Schubert never completed his “Unfinished Symphony. ” We do know that the Music Society in Graz bestowed upon Franz Schubert an honorary diploma in 1823.
- [X-mas in Disguise](https://interlude.hk/x-mas-disguise/): Christmas has long attracted musical contributions from composers in various vocal and choral genres. In purely instrumental terms, however, the subject of Christmas appears limited to a concerto grosso by Corelli and some pastoral symphonies in Handel’s Messiah and Bach’s
- [The Piano Concerto <br/> Part 1 – The “Greats” and the “Must Learns”](https://interlude.hk/piano-concerto-part-1-greats-must-learns/): The concerto is one of the greatest corners of the pianist’s repertoire. A showcase for performer and instrument, it’s an opportunity for the composer to capitalise on the combined forces of soloist and orchestra, with thrilling and highly expressive results.
- [1,001(Arabian) Nights <br/>Folk Tales in Music](https://interlude.hk/1001arabian-nights-folk-tales-music/): Growing up, I still vividly remember standing in front of what seemed like an endless collection of Middle Eastern folk tales in the public library of my hometown. Compiled into a multi-volume work under the title “One Thousand and One
- [O lux beata Trinitas](https://interlude.hk/o-lux-beata-trinitas/): Duo Seraphim From O lux beata Trinitas (2018) Released by Harmonia Mundi Graham Ross: Duo SeraphimGraham Ross concludes his exploration of music for the liturgical calendar with a programme focusing on the Holy Trinity, as reflected in music of the
- [Violins of Hope](https://interlude.hk/violins-hope/): Music has long stirred the spirit. Since time immemorial it has allowed us to soar to other realms mitigating heartbreak, offering solace, and encouraging optimism. But can the musical instruments themselves bear witness? Imbue future generations with sentiments from a
- [Beethoven and the “Maiden in Love”](https://interlude.hk/beethoven-maiden-love/): To her close friends she was simply known as “Babette,” but everybody else referred to her as Princess Anna Louise Barbara Odescalchi. That, of course, was her married name as she had wed Prince Innocenz Odescalchi in Pressburg, currently called
- [Talismans and Tokens: Rituals of Performance](https://interlude.hk/talismans-tokens-rituals-performance/): Performance itself is a ritual – it happens in a special place, at a special time, for which the performer wears special clothing to distinguish him or herself from the audience, and the audience observes particular customs during the entirety
- [Gershwin: <em>An American in Paris</em><br/>Premiered Today in 1928](https://interlude.hk/gershwin-american-parispremiered-today-1928/): When George Gershwin made his way to Paris in 1926 he was looking to expand his musical horizon by taking lessons with Maurice Ravel. Ravel excused himself under the pretense of not “wanting to spoil Gershwin’s musical voice,” and he
- [The Pure Blood, or an Opera of Extreme Sensitivity](https://interlude.hk/pure-blood-opera-extreme-sensitivity/): In his 1853 collection of stories for children, Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen told the story of the Princess and the Pea, or, as in his title, The Princess ON the Pea. He had first told the fairy tale, which
- [Inside the Jury Room](https://interlude.hk/inside-jury-room/): In November this year, the first Birmingham International Piano Chamber Music Festival took place at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. In my role as founder and artistic director this involved months of planning, complex preparations and a few deep breaths too.
- [“Giulio Caccini’s Women” <br/> Lucia, Francesca, Settimia, and Margherita](https://interlude.hk/giulio-caccinis-women-lucia-francesca-settimia-margherita/): Professionally, Giulio Caccini (1551-1618) was known as an accomplished singer and the inventor of a new musical style that had the power to “move the affections of the soul. ” Privately, he seemed to have been a difficult and proud man,
- [Camille Saint-Saëns: <em>Hail, California</em>](https://interlude.hk/camille-saint-saens-hail-california/): Approaching his 80th birthday, Camille Saint-Saëns was appointed by the French government as “First Delegate to the Franco-American Commission for the Development of Political, Economic, Literary, and Artistic Relations” for the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition in San Francisco. Organized to commemorate
- [Puccini: <em>La Fanciulla del West</em> <br/>Premiered Today in 1910](https://interlude.hk/puccini-la-fanciulla-del-west-premiered-today-1910/): Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924) called his opera La fanciulla del West (The Girl of the West) his “greatest work. ” Puccini must certainly have felt a sense of accomplishment as the opera was seven years in the making, and originated during a
- [The Musician as Curator](https://interlude.hk/musician-curator/): When we consider the role musician as “curator”, we tend to think of someone who organizes a concert series or music festival, much in the same way as a museum curator organizes exhibitions.
- [The Louisiana Connection <br/> Father and Son Win the Prix de Rome](https://interlude.hk/louisiana-connection-father-son-win-prix-de-rome/): The Louisiana territory was a huge tract of land in North America, stretching from the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan all the way to the mouth of the Mississippi River and the city of New Orleans. From 1699 until
- [Strauss: <em>Salome</em> <br/>Premiered Today in 1905](https://interlude.hk/strauss-salome-premiered-today-1905/): Erotic, murderous and biblical themes combine in the opera Salome by Richard Strauss (1864-1949). And as you surely know, it all climaxes in Salome’s declaration of love and kiss for the severed head of John the Baptist. Based on a
- [BROUWER, L: Book of Signs (The) / BELLINATI, P.: Concerto Caboclo](https://interlude.hk/brouwer-l-book-signs-bellinati-p-concerto-caboclo/): The Book of Signs II. Variaciones sobre un tema sentimental From BROUWER, L: Book of Signs (The) / BELLINATI, P. : Concerto Caboclo (2018) Released by Naxos Brouwer: The Book of Signs – II. Variaciones sobre un tema sentimentalThese two concertos
- [Crème de la Crème Soloists <br/>The Schubert Club International Artist Series](https://interlude.hk/creme-de-la-creme-soloists-schubert-club-international-artist-series/): Major international cities are not the only places to hear high-quality music and stellar artists. The Schubert Club International Artist Series features the most thrilling artists on the planet, here in Saint Paul, Minnesota. For 136 years the Schubert Club
- [Mefistofele at the mighty Met](https://interlude.hk/mefistofele-mighty-met/): A standard evening at New York’s Metropolitan Opera is a healthy reminder why this opera house is casually referred to as the “Mighty Met”. The reprise of this Mefistofele production by Robert Carsen, last seen nearly twenty years ago, was
- [Ukiyo-e and the Western Musical Imagination II](https://interlude.hk/ukiyo-e-western-musical-imagination-ii/): Katsushika Hokusai once wrote, “When I was 50 I had published a universe of designs, but all I have done before the age of 70 is not worth bothering with. At 75, I’ll have learned something of the pattern of
- [Technique Without Tears](https://interlude.hk/technique-without-tears/): technique |tekˈnēk| noun a way of carrying out a particular task, esp. the execution or performance of an artistic work or a scientific procedure. • skill or ability in a particular field • a skillful or efficient way of doing
- [Cradle Songs](https://interlude.hk/cradle-songs/): Although rocking cradles are a rarity these days, cradle songs remain a favorite for getting the little one to sleep, and calming the air in general.
- [Giulio Romano Caccini](https://interlude.hk/giulio-romano-caccini/): “Music is text and rhythm, and sound last of all” 400 years ago, the Italian composer, singer, teacher and instrumentalist Giulio Romano Caccini (1551-1618) passed away in Florence. He wasn’t a particularly pleasant individual, and frequently guided by envy and
- [Camille Saint-Saëns: Partsongs and Mélodies](https://interlude.hk/camille-saint-saens-partsongs-melodies/): The French choral movement known as the orphéons originated during the French Revolution. Within 15 years, the initiative was so popular that it led to the creation of the Paris Orphéon choral society, an organization eventually directed by Charles Gounod.
- [Who Are You? <br/>Thoughts on Artistic Identity](https://interlude.hk/thoughts-artistic-identity/): I bet you could easily name a handful of classical musicians who have distinct identities. From vertiginous heels to extravagant physical gestures, hair tossing or audible muttering or humming, these individuals’ public artistic identities are evident whenever and wherever they
- [The Sisters of the Prix de Rome <br/>Nadia and Lili Boulanger](https://interlude.hk/sisters-prix-de-rome/): For the longest time, the Prix de Rome competition was a “good ole boys” affair. After a century of the compositional Prix de Rome being closed to women, the Education Minister Joseph Chaumié made the surprise announcement at a press
- [Igor Levit, Pianist— Introspective and Transporting](https://interlude.hk/igor-levit-pianist-introspective-transporting/): Igor Levit the fascinating German-Russian pianist was featured on the Schubert Club’s International Artists Series here in Saint Paul, Minnesota recently. The highly anticipated program had us on tenterhooks as the lone piano stood on the empty stage. Then out
- [Debussy - Ravel / String Quartets](https://interlude.hk/debussy-ravel-string-quartets/): String Quartet Op. 10 in G minor II. Assez vif et bien rythmé From Debussy – Ravel / String Quartets (2018) Released by Harmonia Mundi Debussy: String Quartet Op. 10 in G minor – II. Assez vif et bien rythméA
- [Bartók: <em>Concerto for Orchestra</em> <br/>Premiered Today in 1944](https://interlude.hk/bartok-concerto-orchestra-premiered-today-1944/): Béla Bartók (1881-1945) spent the last five years of his life in the United States. Economic hardship, cultural dislocation, and very little artistic acknowledgement and satisfaction plunged the composer into a state of bitter depression. This depression was compounded by
- [Nicolas Altstaedt](https://interlude.hk/nicolas-altstaedt-artist-of-the-month/): ‘We’re all on the same side’ German-French cellist Nicolas Altstaedt plays Dutilleux’s Tout un monde lointain with the Hong Kong Sinfonietta on 1 December. It’s not his first visit to Hong Kong – he was in Hong Kong previously for
- [Ukiyo-e and the Western Musical Imagination](https://interlude.hk/ukiyo-e-western-musical-imagination/): The Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849) is best known as the author of a woodblock print series entitled “Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji. ” That series contains probably the most iconic print image associated with Japan, “The Great Wave off Kanagawa. ”
- [Sooner or Later? The Art of Rubato](https://interlude.hk/sooner-later-art-rubato/): Tempo rubato (literally “stolen time” in Italian) is perhaps most closely associated with the music of Fryderyk Chopin, his friend and fellow composer Franz Liszt, and other composers of the Romantic period. But it is possible to achieve rubato effectively
- [Satie: <em>Relâche</em> <br/>Scheduled for Performance Today in 1924](https://interlude.hk/satie-relache-scheduled-performance-today-1924/): Multimedia was alive and well in 1924, and with the title Relâche—loosely translated into “No Performance today,” or “Theatre Closed”—everybody automatically knew that the ballet collaboration between Francis Picabia and Erik Satie was in the firm grip of Dadaism.
- [Norwegian Influences](https://interlude.hk/norwegian-influences/): English composer Frederick Delius (1862-1934) first went to Scandinavia as a young man working for his father. He went first to Sweden and then, in his off hours, went to Norway and began a lifelong fascination with the country, its
- [Henryk Wieniawski: <em>Violin Concerto</em> No. 2 <br/> Background and History](https://interlude.hk/wieniawski-violin-concerto-2-premiered-today-1862/): Anton Rubinstein called Henryk Wieniawski (1835-1880) “the greatest violinist of his time. ” A combination of French schooling and Slavonic temperament, Wieniawski had impeccable technique and produced a wonderfully warm and rich tone. As such, he made light work of technical
- [The Iron Hand Gripping His Heart](https://interlude.hk/iron-hand-gripping-heart/): In 1827, Hector Berlioz went to a play and came away transformed. At the Odéon Theatre in Paris, a performance of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet took his heart. Everything about the play and the performance affected him – the raging
- [Conceptual Concerts with MusicArt](https://interlude.hk/conceptual-concerts-musicart/): Hong Kong-born and now based in London, pianist Annie Yim is the creator of MusicArt London, a conceptual concert series which combines music with poetry and visual arts, creating interesting and unexpected dialogues and connections between the works in the
- [Camille Saint-Saëns: The Atheist in the Choir Loft](https://interlude.hk/camille-saint-saens-atheist-choir-loft/): Camille Saint-Saëns was not a deeply religious man, and he certainly had “a repugnance for religious ceremonies. ” On one occasion he even made arrangements for someone else to represent him at a baptism service where he was to become a
- [Famous Non-Winners of the Prix de Rome](https://interlude.hk/famous-non-winners-prix-de-rome/): Bela Bartók once famously said, “Competitions are for horses, not artists. ” Bartók’s quip draws attention to the fact that judging music competitions in artistic performance and composition are fundamentally, and unavoidably an inexact science. Judged by experts with different tastes,
- [Slow Piano](https://interlude.hk/slow-piano/): Today we seem to spend far too much of our daily lives trying to do things at high speed or in a hurry, without allowing ourselves time to stand still and think, or to look up occasionally to admire a
- [PALOMO, L.: Arabescos / Caribiana / Humoresca](https://interlude.hk/palomo-l-arabescos-caribiana-humoresca/): Arabescos From PALOMO, L. : Arabescos / Caribiana / Humoresca (2018) Released by Naxos Palomo: Arabescos Lorenzo Palomo has long established himself as one of Spain’s greatest contemporary composers, and these three recent works reveal the vivid themes and colours of
- [Your Guide to Adoring Classical Music <br/>Works for Small Ensemble](https://interlude.hk/guide-adoring-classical-music-works-small-ensemble/): Classical music has transformative power, as perhaps you’ve noted in the previous article, which features large symphonic works. A piece of music can transport you to a different time and place and the collective response for and from the audience,
- [What Does Nothing Sound Like in Music? <br/> Haydn’s Representation of Chaos](https://interlude.hk/nothing-sound-like-music-haydns-representation-chaos/): What does nothing sound like in music? Silence would be a good starting point, but then it wouldn’t be music. Amazingly, Haydn’s oratorio The Creation “opens with nothing short of a musical impossibility, the sound of infinite nothingness. ” A contemporary
- [Breathing Space](https://interlude.hk/breathing-space/): “Never play faster than you can think” This well-known maxim by pianist, teacher and composer Tobias Matthay has a relevance both in day-to-day practice, and also in performance. When we practice, in our eagerness to move on to a new
- [In Touch with Annie Yim, Pianist](https://interlude.hk/touch-annie-yim-pianist/): Annie Yim is a pianist who creates intriguing “conceptual concerts” of classical and contemporary music in collaboration with other artists. Her innovative concerts multiply artistic roles and dissolve boundaries across artistic disciplines and media. Her latest project, ‘Conceptual Concert in
- [Saving Polyphonic Church Music](https://interlude.hk/saving-polyphonic-church-music/): Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (1525/26-1594) may have been born in the city of Palestrina, as indicated by his name, or may have been born in Rome, where his father may be the ‘Santo de Prenestino’ on the 1525 census. In
- [Mahler: <em>Lied von der Erde</em> <br/>Premiered Today in 1911](https://interlude.hk/mahler-lied-von-der-erde-premiered-today-1911/): In the summer 1907, Gustav Mahler’s mother in law suffered a mild heart attack. When the district physician was called to examine her, Gustav Mahler invited the physician to also take a look at him. To everyone’s surprise, Mahler was
- [Giaochino Rossini and Olympe Pélissier <br/>“Eating, loving, singing, and digesting are the four acts of the comic opera known as life”](https://interlude.hk/giaochino-rossini-olympe-pelissier-eating-loving-singing-digesting-four-acts-comic-opera-known-life/): It is not clear when Giaochino Rossini and Olympe Pélissier first met, but by 1832 they were undoubtedly in a relationship. He had departed for Paris in 1830 and had left his wife Isabella Colbran unceremoniously behind. She was an
- [When Western Choirs Sing Indian Music – Part III](https://interlude.hk/western-choirs-sing-indian-music-part-iii/): The most common form of popular music in India is film music – songs from the movies, and Sperry has not shied away from adapting this form for choirs. Popular Music in Choral Format As mentioned in Part I of
- [The Three H’s of Practicing](https://interlude.hk/three-hs-practicing/): On the most basic level, we practice to get better, to become proficient, to ensure we never play a wrong note. However, productive practising should never just be mindless “note bashing”. As pianist and renowned teacher Seymour Bernstein says in
- [Famous Winners of the Prix de Rome and the Winning Compositions](https://interlude.hk/famous-winners-prix-de-rome/): The Most Famous Competition for French Arts Students There can be no doubt that the most famous competition for French arts students, offering winners a funded period of study in Rome, was the “Grand Prix de Rome”. Established in 1663
- [Schubert: Octet D. 803](https://interlude.hk/schubert-octet-d-803/): Octet in F Major, op. 166, D. 803 for clarinet, horn, bassoon, 2 violins, viola, cello and double bass From Schubert: Octet D. 803 (2018) Released by Harmonia Mundi Schubert: Octet in F Major, op. 166, D. 803A mysterious beauty
- [Schubert: String Quintet Op. 163, D 956 <br/> Premiered Today in 1850](https://interlude.hk/schubert-string-quintet-op-163-d-956-premiered-today-1850/): In late September or early October 1828—two months before his death—Franz Schubert completed his C-major string quintet. He passed the work to his Leipzig publisher Heinrich Albert Probst on 2 October 1828, writing in the accompanying letter, “Among other things,
- [Your Guide to Adoring Classical Music <br/>Works for Large Ensemble](https://interlude.hk/guide-adoring-classical-music-works-large-ensemble/): What is classical music and why does it make some people tremble in their boots? “Do you like classical music? ” I ask. Responses range from, “I don’t know anything about it! ”, “I can’t sit still for that long... ” and “I
- [Fauré: <em>Suite Bergamasques</em> <br/> Premiered Today in 1919](https://interlude.hk/faure-suite-bergamasques-premiered-today-1919/): Towards the end of his life, Gabriel Fauré struggled with increasing frailty and deafness. In fact, sounds had become seriously distorted, with high and low notes “sounding painfully out of tune. ” When Prince Albert I of Monaco approached Fauré in
- [International Inspiration: Grieg, Grainger, and Delius](https://interlude.hk/international-inspiration-grieg-grainger-delius/): We often forget the connections between composers. When you start to look at who knew who, particularly in the 20th century, connections are not only local but also international. The Australian composer Percy Grainger (1882-1961) knew the piano works of
- [Holst: <em>The Planets</em> <br/> Premiered Today in 1920](https://interlude.hk/holst-planets-premiered-today-1920/): The Planets, a set of seven self-contained orchestral “mood pictures” portraying Earth’s neighbors in the solar system, propelled Gustav Holst to international prominence. However, this sudden fame came with a hefty price tag. Holst had always wanted to be just
- [Moderato](https://interlude.hk/moderato/): Moderato (It. ) ‘Moderate’, ‘restrained’, e. g. allegro moderato (‘a little slower than allegro ’). adv. & adj. Music (Abbr. mod. ) In moderate tempo... ... . Used chiefly as a direction. ‘Moderato’ is one of those rather ambiguous musical terms, like andante (“at a
- [Nightmare Premiere! <br/>Beethoven’s 4th Piano Concerto](https://interlude.hk/nightmare-premiere-beethovens-4th-piano-concerto/): Introducing new and unknown pieces of music to a wider public audience is always a special occasion. Ludwig van Beethoven scheduled such a concert full of premieres at the Theater an der Wien on 22 December 1808. Of course, Beethoven
- [A Convivial Celebration of Piano Chamber Music in Birmingham](https://interlude.hk/convivial-celebration-piano-chamber-music-birmingham/): The first Birmingham International Piano Chamber Music Festival takes place next week, 20th – 23rd November, at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. The result of months of planning, incorporating a competition for young chamber ensembles, this promises to be one of
- [Super Couple <br/>Giaochino Rossini and Isabella Colbran](https://interlude.hk/super-couple-giaochino-rossini-isabella-colbran/): They probably first met in Bologna around 1815, and the union between Giaochino Rossini and Isabella Colbran was to become one of the most successful artistic alliances in the history of music. Rossini was a rising star when he was
- [When Western Choirs Sing Indian Music – Part II](https://interlude.hk/western-choirs-sing-indian-music-part-ii/): “One reason I love performing non-Western music is because I don’t find non-Western ideas in the music. I find basic human emotions and experiences that I have, I share, and I understand. ” That outlook helps Ethan Sperry take on the
- [Adventures in Interpretation](https://interlude.hk/adventures-interpretation/): There is so much in music that is subjective and open to personal taste and interpretation. In order for us to play convincingly, we have to develop an interpretation that is meaningful TO US vivid in all its details. Unless
- [Music and Nature <br/>Time of Day: Evening](https://interlude.hk/music-nature-time-day-evening/): Evening music sets us up for relaxing, slowing down the day, or does it? Some composers see the evening as a time for quiet time and others note that not every evening ends quietly.
- [SAINT-SAËNS, C.: Cello and Orchestra Works - Cello Concertos Nos. 1, 2 / Suite in D Minor / Romance](https://interlude.hk/saint-saens-c-cello-orchestra-works-cello-concertos-nos-1-2-suite-d-minor-romance/): Suite in D Minor, Op. 16bis IV. Romance From SAINT-SAËNS, C. : Cello and Orchestra Works – Cello Concertos Nos. 1, 2 / Suite in D Minor / Romance (2017) Released by Naxos Saint-Saëns: Suite in D Minor, Op. 16bis –
- [Verdi: <em>La Forza del Destino</em><br/> Premiered Today in 1862](https://interlude.hk/verdi-la-forza-del-destino-premiered-today-1862/): Around the middle of the 19th century, Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) commanded the Italian opera scene. As one of the most celebrated composers in history, opera companies from all corners of the globe were asking for new works, or at least
- [When Cellists Rush Their Cellos to Intensive Care](https://interlude.hk/cellists-rush-cellos-intensive-care/): Accidents happen. If I trip while carrying my cello I make a split-second decision—save the cello, never mind breaking an arm! Sometimes, no matter what we do, our precious stringed instruments are damaged and we rush, heartbroken, to expert cello
- [Brahms: <em>Vier Ernste Gesänge</em>, Op. 121 <br/> Premiered Today in 1896](https://interlude.hk/brahms-vier-ernste-gesange-op-121-premiered-today-1896/): On 7 May 1896, Johannes Brahms celebrated his 63rd birthday. His friends had organized a little party, and Brahms announced, “I gave this to myself as a gift today. Yes, to myself! If you read the text, you shall grasp
- [Georg Solti Accademia Di Bel Canto At Castiglione Della Pescaia, Italy](https://interlude.hk/georg-solti-accademia-di-bel-canto-castiglione-della-pescaia-italy/): I had just completed my final set of opera scenes for the academic year at the Royal Academy of Music and was absolutely looking forward to visiting Italy for a good long month to be a part of the incredible
- [The Power of Silence in Takemitsu’s Rain Tree Sketch II](https://interlude.hk/power-silence-takemitsus-rain-tree-sketch-ii/): Tōru Takemitsu was a composer, but he was also a writer on aesthetics and musical theory. His music is delicate and refined, as beautiful as Hokusai print or a carved jade netsuke. Largely self-taught, his music combines elements of Japanese
- [Schumann-Liszt Widmung](https://interlude.hk/schumann-liszt-widmung/): Marked by its technical bravura, Widmung (or Dedication in English) has remained one of the most popular encore pieces in piano recital, allowing pianists to display their virtuosity. However, Widmung is much more than a mere showpiece – containing probably
- [Gioachino Rossini](https://interlude.hk/gioachino-rossini/): “Give me a laundry bill and I will set it to music” When Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868) spontaneously decided to retire in 1829, he was universally considered the most popular opera composer in history. No other composer enjoyed his prestige, popular
- [Beethoven: <em>String Quartet</em> No. 15, Op. 132 <br/> Premiered Today in 1825](https://interlude.hk/beethoven-string-quartet-15-op-132-premiered-today-1825/): Beethoven was starting to have some serious health problems when Prince Nikolai Galitzine—an amateur cellist in St. Petersburg and great admirer of Beethoven’s music—wrote to him on 9 November 1822. “May I ask,” the Prince inquired “for one, two, or
- [When Western Choirs Sing Indian Music – Part I](https://interlude.hk/western-choirs-sing-indian-music-part/): The United States of America (the India that Christopher Columbus thought he reached) and the real India lie on diametrically opposite sides of the globe; noon here, midnight there. The two lands only had sporadic contact in the distant past.
- [Communication](https://interlude.hk/communication/): How Do Musicians Express Their Emotions through Music? Music is a powerful means of communication, by which people share emotions, intentions, and meanings, and our personal engagement with music, whether in a live concert, listening to a CD or via
- [Mozart: <em>Symphony in C major</em>, K. 425 (Linz) <br/> Premiered Today in 1783](https://interlude.hk/mozart-symphony-c-major-k-425-linz-premiered-today-1783/): Freshly married, Mr. and Mrs. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart visited Salzburg from the end of July to October 1783. For one, Wolfie wanted to introduce Constanze to his family and smooth things over with his father, who had been adamant that
- [Music and Nature <br/> Time of Day: Morning](https://interlude.hk/music-nature-time-day-morning/): It’s interesting how some music is just perfect in the morning and other music is better for later in the day. Perhaps it’s the mix of light woodwinds in the morning and then the heavier brass at night. The interesting
- [VIARDOT, P. / VIARDOT-GARCIA, P.: Violin and Piano Works](https://interlude.hk/viardot-p-viardot-garcia-p-violin-piano-works/): Introduction et Caprice From VIARDOT, P. / VIARDOT-GARCIA, P. : Violin and Piano Works (2018) Released by Naxos Paul Viardot: Introduction et Caprice Pauline and Paul Viardot were members of the famous García family, Pauline’s father the world renowned operatic tenor
- [Musicians’ Worst Nightmares](https://interlude.hk/musicians-worst-nightmares/): A musician’s pre-concert anxieties often show up in our worst nightmares—you are on stage and have no idea what piece you are playing, or you show up for the concert and you are the piano soloist (you don’t play the
- [Justin Doyle: A Serious Talent @ Verbier](https://interlude.hk/justin-doyle-serious-talent-verbier/): Once in a while, an entrancing concert would ooze “wow factors” that grip the audience’s attention, but, unleashed in a subtle and discreet manner, could render the impact all the more powerful. At the recent Verbier Festival, I came across
- [István Várdai](https://interlude.hk/istvan-vardai-artist-of-the-month/): Planting and Harvesting I chat with István Várdai when he is in Helsinki, after a long tour of concerts across China and Europe. He continues his travels to Hong Kong on 5 November, playing a recital with pianist Sunwook Kim.
- [A Piano Teacher Reflects…](https://interlude.hk/piano-teacher-reflects/): I never intended to be a piano teacher. I worked for ten years in art and academic publishing after leaving university and I continued to freelance in this sector when I stopped full-time work to have my son. But as
- [Brahms: <em>String Quartet</em> Op. 67 <br/>Premiered Today in 1876](https://interlude.hk/brahms-string-quartet-op-67-premiered-today-1876/): The residential district of “Ziegelhausen” is situated at the eastern perimeter of the city of Heidelberg, Germany. Picturesquely located on the banks of the Neckar River it idyllically stretches into the “Odenwald Forest. ” Dotted by charming bed and breakfast establishments,
- [The Birds Singing in Catalonia and Memories of Home](https://interlude.hk/birds-singing-catalonia-memories-home/): After his self-imposed exile from Spain with the defeat of the Republican government, cellist Pablo Casals started his concerts with a traditional Catalan Christmas song, El Cant dels Ocells (The Song of the Birds). The lyrics describe the joy of
- [Mozart: <em>Don Giovanni</em> <br/>Premiered Today in 1787](https://interlude.hk/mozart-don-giovanni-premiered-today-1787/): For a good many music lovers, Mozart’s Don Giovanni might well be the finest opera ever composed. The composer described it as a comedy, but the comic elements are basically driven by Giovanni’s devious schemes. Nevertheless, through Da Ponte’s libretto
- [Camille Saint-Saëns’ Chamber Music <br/> “A Conversation Between Friends”](https://interlude.hk/camille-saint-saens-chamber-music-conversation-friends/): Going against the grain of French musical life in the mid-19th century, Camille Saint-Saëns’ main love was instrumental music. Extraordinarily active in the field of chamber music, not only as a composer but also as a performer, he might rightfully
- [Orchestral Pipe Dreams <br/> Symphonic Works with Organ III](https://interlude.hk/orchestral-pipe-dreams-symphonic-works-organ-iii/): Musicians and composers in the 19th century clearly understood that the orchestral tone color could be significantly enhanced by the sometimes subtle, sometimes seismic impact of the pipe organ’s commanding voice. In his famous treatise on orchestration, Hector Berlioz wrote,
- [Ways of Listening](https://interlude.hk/ways-listening/): How we consume and listen to music has been transformed by digital technology. Where once recorded music was available only on the radio and vinyl LPs, reel-to-reel tape (and later tape cassettes) and CDs, it is now possible to access
- [CASTELNUOVO-TEDESCO, M.: Cello Concerto / Transcriptions](https://interlude.hk/castelnuovo-tedesco-m-cello-concerto-transcriptions/): Cello Concerto, Op. 72 I. Sostenuto ed appassionato From CASTELNUOVO-TEDESCO, M. : Cello Concerto / Transcriptions (2018) Released by Naxos Castelnuovo-Tedesco: Cello Concerto, Op. 72 – I. Sostenuto ed appassionato Inspired by the personality, prodigious technique and musicality of the cellist
- [The Sorrows of Angelica Catalani](https://interlude.hk/sorrows-angelica-catalani/): For almost 3 decades, Angelica Catalani (1780-1849) commanded the operatic stages of Europe. Her powerful soprano voice nearly covered three octaves in range, and it has been suggested “no singer ever surpassed her in chromatic scales, whether in velocity or
- [Bruckner: <em>Symphony No. 2</em> in C minor <br/> Premiered Today in 1873](https://interlude.hk/bruckner-symphony-2-c-minor-premiered-today-1873/): Plagued by crippling insecurities, Anton Bruckner endlessly revised his musical scores, and seemingly allowed outside influences to shape the content of his music. Untangling the relative merits of Bruckner’s various versions and finding a definitive musical text has been a
- [Becoming a Musical Citizen of the World <br/> An Interview With Tanya Bannister](https://interlude.hk/becoming-musical-citizen-world-interview-tanya-bannister/): Pianist Tanya Bannister had her career in order – international performer, outstanding reviews of her recordings, leadership of the innovative Roadmaps Festival – and then Concert Artists Guild (CAG) asked her to consider becoming their President. She was familiar with
- [Strauss: <em>Ariadne Auf Naxos</em> (First Version) <br/>Premiered Today in 1912](https://interlude.hk/strauss-ariadne-auf-naxos-first-version-premiered-today-1912/): Written immediately after the enormous success of Der Rosenkavalier, Ariadne auf Naxos was the third collaboration between Richard Strauss and Hugo von Hofmannsthal. The hilarious plot looks closely at the tension between high and popular culture, by presenting an opera
- [The Programming Game: The Nash Equilibrium and New Classical Music](https://interlude.hk/programming-game-nash-equilibrium-new-classical-music/): American mathematician John Nash gained recognition as a Nobel laureate but became really famous when he was portrayed by Russell Crowe in the hit film ‘A Beautiful Mind’.
- [Twistin’ the Turk – Igudesman and  Joo Move Mozart to Another Part of Asia](https://interlude.hk/twistin-turk-igudesman-joo-move-mozart-another-part-asia/): The piano and violin duo Aleksey Igudesman and Hyung-ki Joo have given any number of audience members a new way to hear music that could, perhaps, be too familiar.
- [Tchaikovsky's Romantic Music Dedicated to Mezzo-Soprano Désirée Artôt](https://interlude.hk/mission-impossible-pyotr-ilyich-tchaikovsky-desiree-artot/): The Belgian mezzo-soprano Désirée Artôt (1835-1907) studied with Pauline Viardot and Francesco Lamperti in London and in Paris. She started her career at the Paris Opera in 1858 when Giacomo Meyerbeer engaged her to sing in his Le prophète. Berlioz,
- [Camille Saint-Saëns at the Piano](https://interlude.hk/camille-saint-saens-piano/): For a variety of extra-musical reasons, Camille Saint-Saëns has never been taken seriously as one of the great French composers of the late 19th-century. Historically informed, widely read in the French classics, religion, Latin, Greek, and acquiring a taste for
- [The Pianist’s Mystique](https://interlude.hk/pianists-mystique/): The concert pianist cuts a romantic, almost mysterious image: alone on the stage with only a shiny black minotaur of a concert grand for company, the pianist exists in a place other than ours, elevated – both physically and metaphorically
- [Orchestral Pipe Dreams <br/>Symphonic Works with Organ II](https://interlude.hk/orchestral-pipe-dreams-symphonic-works-organ-ii/): Félix-Alexandre Guilmant (1837–1911) was one of the first performers and composers in a long line of French organists who took advantage of the versatility of the symphonic pipe organ. Devoted to the organ from an early age, he went to
- [CPE Bach – Concertos for Cello & Symphony H. 648](https://interlude.hk/cpe-bach-concertos-cello-symphony-h-648/): Concerto for violoncello, strings and basso continuo H. 432 (Wq 170) A minor III. Allegro assai From CPE Bach – Concertos for Cello & Symphony H. 648 (2018) Released by Harmonia Mundi C. P. E. Bach: Concerto for violoncello, strings and basso
- [When Touring Orchestras Face Travel Hell](https://interlude.hk/touring-orchestras-face-travel-hell/): Picture this: A touring orchestra in Travel Hell: one-hundred musicians, a team of staff, a cargo plane full of instruments, sheet music and equipment, unexpectedly brought to a halt. The performance, scheduled years in advance, in a famous concert hall,
- [Sibelius: <em>Violin Concerto</em> (revised version) <br/> Premiered Today in 1905](https://interlude.hk/sibelius-violin-concerto-revised-version-premiered-today-1905/): The violin concerto by Jean Sibelius is, without doubt, one of the most frequently recorded and performed concertos. However, things did not look all that promising after the first public performance in Helsinki on 8 February 1904. Originally, Willy Burmester
- [La scala di seta (Farsa Comica)](https://interlude.hk/la-scala-di-seta-farsa-comica/): Teatro “Cesare Caporali” sits in Panicale Umbria. Panicale is a jewel of a historic town as so many are in Umbria. You’ve never heard of it just as I’ve never heard of it either until 4 years ago, in spite
- [Concerts: A Social Affair](https://interlude.hk/concerts-social-affair/): We go to concerts for a variety of reasons: to be moved emotionally, to be entertained, and as a social event. There was a time, prior to the nineteenth century, when engaging with what is now generally called “classical music”
- [The Concert Preacher: Music in the Service of Politics?](https://interlude.hk/concert-preacher-music-service-politics/): When Polish pianist Krystian Zimerman told American audiences during his debut recital at Disney Hall in Los Angeles “Get your hands off my country,” he stirred up the seemingly endless debate whether classical music and political advocacy can or should
- [Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) <br/> “Music Is Heaven's Gift to Humanity”](https://interlude.hk/pyotr-ilyich-tchaikovsky-1840-1893-music-heavens-gift-humanity/): Boris Asafyev, one of the founders of Soviet musicology, wrote the following summary assessment regarding Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, “He was the first composer of a new Russian type... in a deeply original, personal and national style he united the symphonic
- [Britten: <em>The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra</em><br/> Premiered Today in 1946](https://interlude.hk/britten-young-persons-guide-orchestra-premiered-today-1946/): Benjamin Britten once described the process of putting music on paper in the following way, “Composing is like driving down a foggy road toward a house. Slowly you see more details of the house—the colours of the slates and bricks,
- [Composers and Their Poets: George Crumb](https://interlude.hk/composers-poets-george-crumb/): One of the most striking of George Crumb’s compositions is his 1970 song cycle Ancient Voices of Children. Based on fragments of poetry by Federico García Lorca, this work challenges the singer to extremes of vocalizations, set against an ensemble
- [Discovering New Repertoire](https://interlude.hk/discovering-new-repertoire/): One of the greatest joys (and frustrations! ) of being a pianist is the vast and myriad repertoire available for our instrument, from early Baroque wonders to brand-new contemporary fancies. One could spend a lifetime learning only the works of Chopin
- [Dvořák: <em>Violin Concerto</em> <br/>Premiered Today in 1883](https://interlude.hk/dvorak-violin-concerto-premiered-today-1883/): Writing a dedicated composition for a famous soloist can sometimes be a trying process. In 1879, Dvořák’s publisher Simrock commissioned the composer to write a violin concerto. Giving Dvořák free reign in artistic matters, the publisher did specify that the
- [Orchestral Pipe Dreams <br/> Symphonic Works with Organ](https://interlude.hk/orchestral-pipe-dreams-symphonic-works-organ/): Magnificent pipe organs of various sizes and innovative designs are an integral architectural and musical part of most dedicated concert halls. Freed from its customary sacred and/or liturgical functions, the instrument is capable of taking on a number of exciting
- [BERSA, B.: Piano Works (Complete), Vol. 1](https://interlude.hk/bersa-b-piano-works-complete-vol-1/): Piano Sonata No. 2 in F Minor, Op. 20 From BERSA, B. : Piano Works (Complete), Vol. 1 (2018) Released by Grand Piano Bersa: Piano Sonata No. 2 in F Minor, Op. 20In his orchestral music, Croatian composer Blagoje Bersa absorbed
- [Cello Concerto Overview: The Ought to Haves Part II](https://interlude.hk/cello-concerto-overview-haves-part-ii-3/): The great cellist Mstislav Rostropovich was committed to the composers of our time. Any composer who hoped to write for the cello in the 20th century fantasized about Rostropovich playing their work. As astonishing as it sounds, he performed 105
- [Classical Music for All](https://interlude.hk/classical-music/): With the maturation of recording and streaming technologies, it is now possible to listen to the best of classical music in the comfort of our own places. This tremendous change, from having to dress up decently for “physical” concerts to
- [Les Huguenots at Bastille Opera](https://interlude.hk/les-huguenots-bastille-opera/): Paris does glamour better than anyone. But clearly not at the opera. The Opéra National de Paris at the Bastille still looks like a second-tier suburban cinemaplex and the audience looks accordingly. Opening night has no dress code, no glamour,
- [Prokofiev: Symphony No. 7 <br/> Premiered Today in 1952](https://interlude.hk/prokofiev-symphony-7-premiered-today-1952/): In 1952, one year before his death, Sergei Prokofiev was financially broke. The Soviet government had condemned his Symphony No. 6 a couple of years earlier, and the composer was stripped of his reputation and of his state pension. Trying
- [Feeding the Muse](https://interlude.hk/feeding-muse/): “Ideas lie everywhere like apples fallen and melting in the grass for lack of wayfaring strangers with an eye and a tongue for beauty, whether absurd, horrific, or genteel. ” – Ray Bradbury, writer
- [Blending Countries and Continents – the Prisms of Tanya Ekanayaka](https://interlude.hk/blending-countries-continents-prisms-tanya-ekanayaka/): Sri Lankan composer Tanya Ekanayaka (b. 1977) started as a pianist, making her debut with the Symphony Orchestra of Sri Lanka at age 16. All of her university work has been based around linguistics, concluding with a Ph. D. in Linguistics
- [Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) <br/> “Truly There Would Be Reason to Go Mad Were It Not for Music.”](https://interlude.hk/pyotr-ilyich-tchaikovsky-1840-1893-truly-reason-go-mad-music/): Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was, and still is, an international musical superstar. However, the first professional composer of consequence in Russia was an elusive man who simultaneously craved and loathed fame. In a letter to his music publisher, he writes, “I
- [Music and Nature: Bugs](https://interlude.hk/music-nature-bugs/): Bugs and music – hmm, not as common as birds, but then when you start to think about it, they start to creep up on you. Probably the first piece of bug music you might have learned was Frank Loesser’s
- [Classical Music and Wine <br/> “Either Give Me More Wine or Leave Me Alone”](https://interlude.hk/classical-music-wine-either-give-wine-leave-alone/): In Greek mythology, Dionysus was the god of the grape harvest, winemaking and wine. The god is usually depicted riding in a chariot leading a procession of exotic beasts, wild female followers and bearded satyrs. Dionysus also functions as the
- [Fluent Fingers](https://interlude.hk/fluent-fingers/): “Today, much more than in the past, no one can hope to play well who does not use his fingers correctly,”C. P. E. Bach. From our earliest time at the piano, we are taught a “5-finger position”, which follows the
- [Rimsky-Korsakov: <em>The Golden Cockerel</em><br/> Premiered Today in 1909](https://interlude.hk/rimsky-korsakov-golden-cockerel-premiered-today-1909/): Russian folklore and literature is incredibly rich in colorful tales of supernatural magic with decidedly down to earth morals. And the fairy tale of the “Golden Cockerel,” written by the great Alexander Pushkin in 1834 is no exception. For Rimsky-Korsakov,
- [BEETHOVEN, L. van: Flute Works, Vol. 1 ](https://interlude.hk/beethoven-l-van-flute-works-vol-1/): 3 Duets, WoO 27: No. 1 in C Major (arr. Kazunori Seo for flute and bassoon) I. Allegro commodo From BEETHOVEN, L. van: Flute Works, Vol. 1 (2018) Released by Naxos Beethoven: 3 Duets, WoO 27: No. 1 in C
- [Cello Concerto Overview: The Ought to Haves Part I](https://interlude.hk/cello-concerto-overview-ought-haves-part-1/): Musicians through the ages have had a keen sense of responsibility to the music of composers of their time. We are fortunate there were cellists who inspired composers to write new works for the instrument, (Rostropovich inspired both Prokofiev and
- [On This Day <br/>6 October: Szymanowski's <em>Violin Concerto No. 2</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/szymanowski-violin-concerto-2-premiered-today-1933/): The legendary violinist Paweł Kochański maintained a lifelong personal friendship and working relationship with the composer Karol Szymanowski. Both were active in a movement known as “Young Poland,” which sought to promote modernist attitudes in Warsaw. Originating during a period
- [The Toccata in the 20th Century](https://interlude.hk/toccata-20th-century/): Ottorino Respighi was a master of looking to the past for inspiration while, at the same time, producing music that was truly modern. We would expect a work entitled Toccata to be like the toccatas we know from the past:
- [Music Through Words <br/>The Concert Pianist by Conrad Williams](https://interlude.hk/music-words-concert-pianist-conrad-williams/): Philip Morahan is a British concert pianist. A once-great pianist, lauded by critics and adored by audiences, at 52 he can no longer play the piano. Marooned by performance anxiety, it seems that the sacrifices he has made in the
- [At the Center of the Musical Universe <br/> Giacomo Meyerbeer II](https://interlude.hk/center-musical-universe-giacomo-meyerbeer-ii/): Giacomo Meyerbeer completed his opera Le Prophète in 1849. Based on the Anabaptist seizure of power in the 16th century, it details the elevation of John of Leyden as “the Prophet,” and culminates in a final cataclysm when John and
- [Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky](https://interlude.hk/pyotr-ilyich-tchaikovsky/): “Inspiration does not willingly visit the lazy” Ten days after the successful premiere of his Sixth Symphony in 1893, a raging cholera epidemic claimed the life of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893), one of Russia’s most famous composers. His music appealed
- [Ivan Krpan](https://interlude.hk/ivan-krpan/): Something Beautiful and Something Natural 21 year-old Croatian pianist Ivan Krpan makes his Hong Kong debut this October, playing a programme of Beethoven, Busoni, and Liszt. Before Hong Kong, Ivan travels to Venice and Milan, playing some of the repertoire
- [Music and Nature: Birds](https://interlude.hk/music-nature-birds/): For music and nature, birds are the natural – they sing! Or, rather, we hear their communication as singing. A friend in Hong Kong trains birds to sing, playing them beautiful songs from model birds to learn. The ones with
- [The Virtuoso Parent](https://interlude.hk/virtuoso-parent/): Following my earlier article about respect between the teacher, student and parent of the student, I would now like to celebrate the “virtuoso parent”.
- [Classical Music and Wine <br/>"In Wine, There’s Truth"](https://interlude.hk/classical-music-wine-wine-theres-truth/): When Beethoven was on his deathbed, his publisher supposedly sent him a case of red wine. According to eyewitnesses, Beethoven weakly muttered, “Pity, pity, too late! ” Dr. Wawruch, the physician in attendance throughout Beethoven’s final illness, opened his medical report
- [RANZATO, V.: Violin and Piano Music - Romanza senza parole / Danse Espagnole / Berceuse / Meditation / Galopade / Serenata](https://interlude.hk/ranzato-v-violin-piano-music-romanza-senza-parole-danse-espagnole-berceuse-meditation-galopade-serenata/): La preghiera della sera From RANZATO, V. : Violin and Piano Music – Romanza senza parole / Danse Espagnole / Berceuse / Meditation / Galopade / Serenata (2018) Released by Tactus Ranzato: La preghiera della seraThe fame enjoyed by Virgilio Ranzato,
- [On This Day <br/>29 September: Shostakovich's <em>Symphony No. 14, Op. 135</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/shostakovich-symphony-14-op-135-premiered-today-1969/): In his memoirs—supposedly related to Solomon Volkov—Dmitri Shostakovich suggests, “Fear of death may be the most intense emotion of all. I sometimes think that there is no deeper feeling. The irony lies in the fact that under the influence of
- [On the Occasion of the Death of Montserrat Caballé - Spanish Singing School](https://interlude.hk/great-voices-20th-century-spanish-singing-school/): The 1970s were not short of operatic talent. The Met and Covent Garden regularly boasted extraordinary singers such as Luciano Pavarotti, Carlo Bergonzi, Renata Scotto; even Birgit Nilsson was still active. But then Spain exported a string of singers of
- [Stravinsky: <em>L’Histoire du Soldat</em> <br/>Premiered Today in 1918](https://interlude.hk/stravinsky-lhistoire-du-soldat-premiered-today-1918/): Dwindling economic resources and the unprecedented sufferings inflicted by the “Great War” forced composers to search for new avenues of artistic and musical expression. Taking refuge in Switzerland, the young Swiss conductor Ernest Ansermet introduced Stravinsky to the author Charles-Ferdinand
- [Bringing Indigenous Sounds to the Symphony](https://interlude.hk/bringing-indigenous-sounds-symphony/): In 1935-36, the Mexican composer and conductor Carlos Chávez brought out his second symphony, the Sinfonía India. Written in 1935 while he was in New York, the symphony received its premiere in a radio broadcast with the Columbia Symphony Orchestra
- [Creating a Musical ‘Scrapbook’](https://interlude.hk/creating-musical-scrapbook/): When I was preparing for my performance Diplomas – and indeed whenever I start working on new music – I put together a ‘scrapbook’ of music and other materials (articles, interviews, pictures etc), in effect for reference to help with
- [Bernstein: <em>West Side Story</em><br/> Premiered Today in 1957](https://interlude.hk/bernstein-west-side-story-premiered-today-1957/): On 26 September 1957, the Winter Garden Theatre—one of the Broadway theatres located between 50th and 51st Streets in midtown Manhattan—opened with a musical inspired by William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. With a libretto by Arthur Laurents, lyrics by Stephen
- [At the Center of the Musical Universe <br/> Giacomo Meyerbeer](https://interlude.hk/center-musical-universe-giacomo-meyerbeer/): Giacomo Meyerbeer’s five-act opera Robert le diable premiered at the Paris Opera on 21 November 1831. It was the first of four works for which Meyerbeer was to become one of the most prominent composers of opera at the time.
- [Michael Balfe: Grandma in the Closet](https://interlude.hk/michael-balfe-grandma-closet/): Musicians always had rather hectic traveling and work schedules, with appearances frequently organized along incredibly tight timetables and in far-flung locations. And the Irish composer and conductor Michael William Balfe (1808-1870) was no exception. He started his career as a
- [The Exotic Egyptian Girl](https://interlude.hk/exotic-egyptian-girl/): The song Misirlou first hit the airways in 1927 and went on to capture an international audience. From this recording, which found its popularity in the US in the Greek/Armenian diaspora of the 1920s, started to appear in recordings of
- [Respect](https://interlude.hk/respect-music-teacher-student-and-parent/): Respect is a crucial part of teaching – mutual respect between teacher and pupil, and also between teacher and parent/the person paying the teacher’s fees. From my side of the bargain, respect towards my students and their parents includes:
- [Music and Nature <br/> Seasons: Autumn](https://interlude.hk/music-nature-seasons-autumn/): Autumn is crisp, it can be cold, it can be many things, but it’s the last signal of life before winter shuts everything down. Georgy Sviridov’s Otchalivshaya Rus‘ (Russia Adrift) is a 1977 setting of the poetry of Sergey Yesenin,
- [STEPHENSON, J.: Clarinet Music - Liquid Melancholy / Colors / Clarinet Sonata](https://interlude.hk/stephenson-j-clarinet-music-liquid-melancholy-colors-clarinet-sonata/): Fantasie From STEPHENSON, J. : Clarinet Music – Liquid Melancholy / Colors / Clarinet Sonata (2018) Released by Cedille Stephenson: FantasieJames M. Stephenson came late to his full-time composing career, having performed 17 seasons as a trumpeter in the Naples Philharmonic
- [Cello Concerto Overview: The Could Haves Part II](https://interlude.hk/cello-concerto-overview-haves-part-ii-2/): The four cello concertos of Karl Davidov are remarkable and should be included in our list of concertos which deserve to be played. The Davidov Concerto No. 1 in B minor is on the shorter side at twenty minutes, but
- [Mendelssohn: <em>Piano Concerto No. 2</em><br/> Premiered Today in 1837](https://interlude.hk/mendelssohn-piano-concerto-2-premiered-today-1837/): By all accounts, March of 1837 was a great month for Felix Mendelssohn! His oratorio St. Paul received enormously successful performances in Leipzig and Boston, and on the 28th of the month he married Cécile Jeanrenaud in the French Reformed
- [William Crotch: The Spoiled Wunderkind ](https://interlude.hk/william-crotch-spoiled-wunderkind/): It might well be that William Crotch (1775-1847) was the most precocious musical talent of all times. Son of a humble carpenter, young William showed great enjoyment of music, and before his 2nd birthday was able to play a number
- [Speaking the Piano <br/>Reflections on Learning and Teaching: Susan Tomes](https://interlude.hk/speaking-piano-reflections-learning-teaching-susan-tomes/): This is the fifth book by acclaimed Scottish pianist Susan Tomes, and unlike her previous books whose primary focus is on the exigencies of life as a professional musician – from ensemble playing and touring, coughers in the audience to
- [Mahler: <em>Symphony 7</em> <br/>Premiered Today in 1908](https://interlude.hk/mahler-symphony-7-premiered-today-1908/): While putting the finishing touches on the menacing finale of his Sixth Symphony in the summer of 1904, Gustav Mahler (1860-1911) also drafted two central “Nachtmusiken” (Music of the Night) that would eventually become the second and fourth movements of
- [The West’s Fascination With the East](https://interlude.hk/wests-fascination-east/): Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Mikado (1886) wasn’t the first sign of the West’s fascination with the exotic East. The Paris Exposition of 1867 brought Japanese art to the world in its first national pavilion and artists including Vincent van Gogh
- [Musical Selfies and Snapshots Part II <br/>François Couperin](https://interlude.hk/musical-selfies-snapshots-part-ii-francois-couperin/): Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, better known under his stage name “Molière,” is widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the French language. He spent 13 years as an itinerant actor before he started to write his own plays. Combining elements
- [Music and Nature: Animals](https://interlude.hk/music-nature-animals/): Animals in music occur in everything from children’s pieces to great serious works. Their rhythm in the world is something that a composer can take up and develop and also their aspect: fierce or calming.
- [Oblique Strategies in Practice](https://interlude.hk/oblique-strategies-practice/): Oblique Strategies (subtitled Over One Hundred Worthwhile Dilemmas) is a deck of 7 by 9 centimetres (2. 8 in × 3. 5 in) printed cards in a black container box, created by Brian Eno and Peter Schmidt and first published in 1975.
- [Classical Music and Wine <br/>"Where There Is No Wine There Is No Love"](https://interlude.hk/classical-music-wine-wine-love/): Ernest Hemingway never met a drink he didn’t like! In fact, he had a rather tumultuous lifelong affair with alcohol. Given such expertise, we should probably pay close attention to what this great novelist and journalist had to say about
- [ARNESEN, K.A.: Infinity / Choral Works](https://interlude.hk/arnesen-k-infinity-choral-works/): The gift I’ll leave you From ARNESEN, K. A. : Infinity / Choral Works (2018) Released by Naxos Arnesen: The gift I’ll leave youKim André Arnesen is one of Norway’s most frequently performed contemporary composers. International recognition of his music includes a
- [Cello Concerto Overview: The Could Haves Part I](https://interlude.hk/cello-concerto-overview-could-haves-part-1/): You may be surprised to learn how many cello concertos there are, more than most people think, from several eras, and they deserve to be heard. Of course, it’s a matter of taste, and one could include Lalo, Haydn C
- [James Baillieu: Facilitating Greatness @ Verbier](https://interlude.hk/james-baillieu-facilitating-greatness-verbier/): “A glamorous pianist in an unglamorous role as an accompanist! ” That was my first consuming thought when James Baillieu garnered a vast amount of attention in 2013, at the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World in Wales as the accompanist
- [Living With the Music](https://interlude.hk/living-music/): A busy professional pianist will need to have several programmes of music “in the fingers” at any given time, which can be made ready for some kind of performance at any given time. Alongside that there is new repertoire to
- [Villa-Lobos: <em>Bachiana Brasileira No. 1</em> <br/>Premiered Today in 1932](https://interlude.hk/villa-lobos-bachiana-brasileira-1-premiered-today-1932/): Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887-1959) has been described as “the single most significant creative figure in 20th century Brazilian art music. ” His quest to develop musical compositions using indigenous Brazilian elements fueled a number of ethno-musicological excursions into the northeastern states of
- [In Memoriam <br/>Claudio Scimone (1934-2018)](https://interlude.hk/memoriam-claudio-scimone-1934-2018/): On 6 September 2018, we sadly lost another pioneer of the early music movement. Claudio Scimone, a student of Dimitri Mitropoulos and Franco Ferrara, was primarily known as the founder of the string ensemble “I Solisti Veneti. ” Together with Neville
- [Musical Selfies and Snapshots Part I <br/>François Couperin](https://interlude.hk/musical-selfies-snapshots-part-francois-couperin/): Representing his crowning achievements as a composer, Couperin published four harpsichord books, containing roughly 220 pieces. In the preface to his 1713 collection he wrote, “In composing these pieces, I have always had an object in view, furnished by various
- [Berlioz: <em>Benvenuto Cellini</em> <br/>Premiered Today in 1838](https://interlude.hk/berlioz-benvenuto-cellini-premiered-today-1838/): For all his dislike of Italian music, Hector Berlioz (1803-1869) kept returning to Italian subjects. We only need to think of Romeo and Juliette, Harold in Italy, and the opera loosely adapted from the memoirs of the 16th century Florentine
- [Music in the Air and on the Street](https://interlude.hk/music-air-street/): They all seem to start the same way – a public location – a mall, a public square, an airport, a few people wandering through with purpose, and then it all snaps into focus. The music starts, or the bass
- [Chets: Inside Europe’s Biggest Summer School for Pianists](https://interlude.hk/chets-inside-europes-biggest-summer-school-pianists/): A shiny black Schimmel grand piano is stretched across the corner of a classroom normally reserved for French lessons. A small group of people sit in a semi-circle around the piano, some with musical scores opened on their laps, others
- [China and Opera: Discovery and Sublimation](https://interlude.hk/china-opera-discovery-sublimation/): Before the harpsichord was introduced into China in 1601 by Matteo Ricci (1552-1610), during the Ming Dynasty, no Chinese had heard Western music. We could say that Matteo Ricci and his successors drew royal attention merely by using these Western
- [JIA, Daqun: Percussion Works ](https://interlude.hk/jia-daqun-percussion-works/): The Song without Words – II. Arias of Gong and Vibraphone From JIA, Daqun: Percussion Works (2018) Released by Naxos Jia: The Song without Words – II. Arias of Gong and VibraphoneJia Daqun is one of his country’s most internationally
- [Cello Concerto Overview: The Should Haves Part II](https://interlude.hk/cello-concerto-overview-haves-part-ii/): Here are six more cello concertos a cellist should have in their repertoire. Robert Schumann studied the cello as a youngster and although he was unable to continue due to an injury to his right hand he developed a deep
- [Schubert: <em>Mass in C major</em>, D. 452 <br/>Premiered Today in 1825](https://interlude.hk/schubert-mass-c-major-d-452-premiered-today-1825/): Ferdinand Lukas Schubert (1794-1859)—older brother of Franz Schubert—was a schoolteacher, organist, and composer. He had some compositional talent, but frequently asked for his brother’s help in his daily work. On occasion, he appropriated his brother’s compositions and passed them off
- [The Benefits of Music](https://interlude.hk/benefits-music/): I was looking at a listing on Buzzfeed, that news-site famous for its viral lists, on ’25 Cheat Sheets for Taking Care of Yourself Like an... Adult’ and noticed a recurring theme:
- [Mozart: <em>La clemenza di Tito</em><br/> Premiered Today in 1791](https://interlude.hk/mozart-la-clemenza-di-tito-premiered-today-1791/): The majority of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s (1756-1791) serious operas were composed for occasions connected to the Austrian ruling house of Habsburg. At the tender age of fourteen, Mozart composed Mitridate, re di Ponto for Milan, a city governed by the
- [Carmen La Cubana](https://interlude.hk/carmen-la-cubana/): Entire academic careers have been built on situating the fictional character of Carmen—the heroine in Bizet’s opera—within a feminist context. The battlefield in this war between the sexes is Carmen’s body, and it is fought over by male roles attempting
- [Filming Rachmaninov's Études-Tableaux All Night](https://interlude.hk/filming-rachmaninovs-etudes-tableaux-night/): Boris Giltburg spent all night playing Rachmaninov for a very special film, revealed here! It’s the dead of night, probably around 3am. Outside, on the main street, cars are still whooshing by. Inside, it’s mostly dark, apart from two spotlights
- [François Couperin](https://interlude.hk/francois-couperin/): “I esteem what deserves esteem” In 2018 we celebrate the 350th birthday of François Couperin (1668-1733), a composer described as “the epitome of French music” by both Debussy and Ravel. Couperin was undoubtedly the most famous member of a family
- [Schoenberg: <em>Five Pieces for Orchestra</em><br/> Premiered Today in 1912](https://interlude.hk/schoenberg-five-pieces-orchestra-premiered-today-1912/): There is considerable debate across the entire scholarly and social spectrum as to what composer was most influential in the field of Western Classical music. It may, or may not surprise you to learn that Glenn Gould considered Arnold Schoenberg
- [Meet Violinist Augustin Hadelich ](https://interlude.hk/meet-violinist-augustin-hadelich/): Violinist Augustin Hadelich recently performed a gorgeous rendition of the Beethoven Violin Concerto here in Minneapolis, with the Minnesota Orchestra. I was fortunate that he was able to spare the time to speak with me.
- [When you don’t feel like practising......](https://interlude.hk/dont-feel-like-practising/): Practising is a habit. If we are serious about our music, our progress with our repertoire and our technical and artistic development, we need to establish good and regular practising habits, as regular as cleaning one’s teeth. No one, not
- [In Touch With Greatness @ Verbier](https://interlude.hk/touch-greatness-verbier/): Picture this :- Eighteen days and nights of glorious music offered by a parade of world-class artists, talented Academy musicians and three Verbier Festival orchestras under the direction of renowned conductors; multiple masterclasses from 9:30am every day, held all day
- [PALMERI, M.: Misa a Buenos Aires / PIAZZOLLA, A.: Oblivion](https://interlude.hk/palmeri-m-misa-buenos-aires-piazzolla-oblivion/): Misa a Buenos Aires, “Misatango” – Credo From PALMERI, M. : Misa a Buenos Aires / PIAZZOLLA, A. : Oblivion (2018) Released by Capriccio Palmeri: Misa a Buenos Aires, “Misatango” – CredoMany works by the Argentinian composer Martín Palmeri owe their inspiration
- [Cello Concerto Overview: The Should Haves Part I](https://interlude.hk/cello-concerto-overview-haves-part/): Concert Favorites: Cello Concertos That You Should Learn My teacher János Starker used to say that cellist soloists have to be ready to play a greater number of concertos than our more brilliant sister, the violinist, who can play an
- [Schaghajegh Nosrati](https://interlude.hk/schaghajegh-nosrati/): ‘Stay in Touch with the World’ ‘Part of being a musician is not just practice. There are so many people who spend so many hours in the practice room, their minds don’t grow, and that’s really sad. You really need
- [Liszt: <em>Missa Solemnis</em><br/>Premiered Today in 1856](https://interlude.hk/liszt-missa-solemnispremiered-today-1856/): Picturesquely located on the banks of the Danube River, the ecclesiastic basilica at Esztergom is Hungary’s largest church. Stephen I of Hungary erected the foundation of the present building between 1001 and 1010. Various fires and destructions by foreign powers
- [Music and Emotions <br/>Mourning: Astor Piazzolla and <em>Adíos Nonino </em>](https://interlude.hk/music-emotions-mourning-astor-piazzolla-adios-nonino/): In the last article in this series, we looked at how Tan Dun turned to his roots for inspiration when composing his first composition. In the same manner – though around four decades earlier – the Argentinean composer Astor Piazzolla
- [Late Style](https://interlude.hk/late-style/): The accepted notion is that age confers a spirit of reconciliation and serenity on late works– Edward Said, ‘On Late Style’ What is ‘Late Style’? It’s a question that has preoccupied writers and thinkers, from Theodor Adorno, who coined the
- [The Musical Knife](https://interlude.hk/musical-knife/): I trust you have previously enjoyed reading about the “Musical Bed” and the “Musical Bike”. Now, here comes a real musical curiosity in the form of a double-bladed musical knife! It is a rare treasure indeed, as only three of
- [Haydn: <em>L’Incontro Improvviso</em> <br/>Premiered Today in 1775](https://interlude.hk/haydn-lincontro-improvviso-premiered-today-1775/): Visitations by foreign heads of state can be rather lavish affairs. And that was certainly the case when Archduke Ferdinand and Maria Beatrice d’Este, alongside a retinue of well over one hundred servants, visited the former hunting lodge of Prince
- [Rhythm on the brain, and why we can’t stop dancing](https://interlude.hk/rhythm-brain-cant-stop-dancing/): Music and dance are far from idle pastimes. They are universal forms of expression and deeply rewarding activities that fulfil diverse social functions. Both feature in all the world’s cultures and throughout history. A common feature of music and dance
- [Copland: <em>El Salon Mexico</em><br/> Premiered Today in 1937](https://interlude.hk/copland-el-salon-mexico-premiered-today-1937/): An old proverb states, “Traveling leaves you speechless, and then turns you into a storyteller. And that’s what happened to Aaron Copland after his first visit to Mexico City in 1932. His friend Carlos Chávez took him to a colorful
- [Im Klang – In the Middle of the Sound](https://interlude.hk/im-klang-middle-sound/): The name ‘Im Klang’ says it all. The audience is seated ‘in the middle of the sound’. The players of the Wiener Symphoniker take leave of their traditional places on the concert platform and spread themselves widely throughout the empty
- ["You can’t be a storyteller if you have no stories to tell"](https://interlude.hk/cant-storyteller-stories-tell/): The title of this post is a quote from an interview with pianist Gabriela Montero. Story-telling is about conveying a message and music is of course all about conveying messages, telling stories and stimulating the imagination, of listener and performer.
- [Mendelssohn: <em>Elijah</em> <br/>Premiered Today in 1846](https://interlude.hk/mendelssohn-elijah-premiered-today-1846/): The Birmingham Music Festival was founded in 1768 as a charitable event to raise funds for the city’s recently founded General Hospital. Renamed the “Birmingham Triennial Music Festival” in 1784, it subsequently commissioned works by Arthur Sullivan, Max Bruch, Charles
- [Making Music for Good](https://interlude.hk/making-music-good/): Everyone’s agreed that bringing music into education is a benefit to students. What happens, though, when the price of a music education is beyond the means of the family? Five years ago, Hong Kong’s Music Children Foundation (MCF) started to
- [TAFRESHIPOUR, A.M.: Persian Echoes / Lucid Dreams / Yearning in C](https://interlude.hk/tafreshipour-m-persian-echoes-lucid-dreams-yearning-c/): Persian Echoes – I. Andante, Allegro From TAFRESHIPOUR, A. M. : Persian Echoes / Lucid Dreams / Yearning in C (2018) Released by Naxos Tafreshipour: Persian Echoes – I. Andante, AllegroAmir Mahyar Tafreshipour is a leading composer from Iran whose music reaches
- [Schools of Cello Playing: Russia and Armenia](https://interlude.hk/schools-cello-playing-russia-armenia/): Another important school of cello playing was developed in Russia, founded by the brilliant cellist and composer Karl Davidov. Named the “Czar of Cellists” by none other than the composer Tchaikovsky, Davidov was born in Russia, (now Latvia), in 1838.
- [Music and Emotions <br/>Homesickness: Tan Dun and his <em>Eight Memories in Watercolour</em>](https://interlude.hk/music-emotions-homesickness-tan-dun-eight-memories-watercolour/): Music is a universal language. It is a powerful tool for communication that withstands language barriers and generation gaps. It transverses time, and it unites and brings hope to people regardless of their race and religion. 1 Music is also a
- [Piano Songs](https://interlude.hk/piano-songs/): The ‘Song Without Words’, a work for solo piano with a distinctive lyrical or songful melody line, is most usually associated with the composer Felix Mendelssohn, who wrote over 50 Songs Without Words at various points throughout his life. These
- [Presidential Music <br/>Thomas Jefferson and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://interlude.hk/presidential-music-thomas-jefferson-wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/): Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) was the principal author of the Declaration of Independence, and he later served as the 3rd president of the United States. However, he was not only a politician but also a planter, lawyer, and architect with wide-ranging interests in surveying, mathematics, horticulture and mechanics. And did I...
- [When girls are in the audience, choir boys sing for attention](https://interlude.hk/girls-audience-choir-boys-sing-attention/): The St. Thomas Choir is an internationally renowned boys choir from Leipzig in Germany. Singing in the choir is a selfless pursuit requiring artistry and discipline. Or is it? New research suggests all it takes to elicit surreptitious attention-seeking vocal
- [At the Center of the Musical Universe <br/>Christoph Willibald Gluck (1714-1787)](https://interlude.hk/center-musical-universe-christoph-willibald-gluck-1714-1787/): Christoph Willibald Gluck was a true visionary! Working at the Habsburg court in Vienna and at the Parisian stage, he completely reformed operatic traditions. Basically, he was sick and tired of singers dominating the operatic stage. Vocal acrobatics were the
- [The Componium of Dietrich Nikolaus Winkel](https://interlude.hk/componium-dietrich-nikolaus-winkel/): Reporting from a scientific exhibition in Paris, a musical journal in 1824 wrote, “the astonishment of the hearers was at its height when, after having executed a march with variations by Moscheles, the instrument was left to follow its own
- [The Musician’s Vulnerability](https://interlude.hk/musicians-vulnerability/): Please don’t shoot at the pianist; he’s doing his best(attributed to Oscar Wilde) I sometimes get the feeling people think musicians are invincible... We engage in a highly complex, technical and artistic activity which requires huge physical and mental agility
- [A Salome to flummox the Salzburg glitterati](https://interlude.hk/salome-flummox-salzburg-glitterati/): This summer’s Salzburg Festival chatter was dominated by the enthusiastic reviews of the new production of Richard Strauss’ Salome and its new star soprano Asmik Grigorian.
- [ KODÁLY, Z.: Concerto for Orchestra / Dances of Galánta / Dances of Marosszék / The Peacock Variations ](https://interlude.hk/kodaly-z-concerto-orchestra-dances-galanta-dances-marosszek-peacock-variations/): Galántai táncok (Dances of Galánta) From KODÁLY, Z. : Concerto for Orchestra / Dances of Galánta / Dances of Marosszék / The Peacock Variations (2018) Released by Naxos Kodaly: Dances of GalántaZoltán Kodály, like his compatriot Béla Bartók, wrote major orchestral
- [Franz Schreker: <em>Der Ferne Klang</em> (The Distant Sound) <br/> Premiered Today in 1912](https://interlude.hk/schreker-der-ferne-klang-distant-sound-premiered-today-1912/): Franz Schreker (1878-1934) is largely forgotten today, but in his time he was Richard Strauss’ main rival for the title of Germany’s leading composer of opera. Schreker wrote complex harmonic scores using advanced chromatic harmonies and large orchestras, yet his
- [Schools of Cello Playing: France](https://interlude.hk/schools-cello-playing-france/): Like the German school of cello playing, the French School had a centuries-long impact, which continues today. When we think of French playing, refinement, finesse, and elegance come to mind, but during the 18th Century in Northern Europe the cello
- [Familiar but Different – Opera in Other Languages](https://interlude.hk/familiar-different-opera-languages/): We are so used to the sound of opera aria sung in their native language that when we run across translated versions, we’re often stopped in our tracks. English National Opera in London is (in)famous for its presentation of all
- [Tributes and Piano Transcriptions by Franz Liszt](https://interlude.hk/tributes-transcriptions/): In the nineteenth century Franz Liszt probably did more than any other composer for the genre of the piano transcription. His transcriptions and paraphrases made an important contribution to the development of piano music, with their technical challenges, innovative notation,
- [The Silver Voice on the Silver Screen <br/>An Interview with Grace Davidson](https://interlude.hk/silver-voice-silver-screen-interview-grace-davidson/): You’ve heard her voice but never seen her perform, she’s been in all of your favourite movies but you won’t recognize her. She’s been in Thor: Ragnarok, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, The Hobbit films 2 and 3,
- [Rarities of Piano Music](https://interlude.hk/rarities-piano-music/): Every summer a rather special piano festival takes place at Schloss vor Husum in the remote North German seaside town of Husum in Schleswig-Holstein. It is not a festival which parades its star performers. Rather, its very remoteness and its
- [The World Captured in Music](https://interlude.hk/world-captured-music/): Swiss composer Arthur Honegger wrote three ‘symphonic movements,’ as he called them. The first, Pacific 231, written in 1923, brought the world of a great train to the concert stage.
- [Mapping the Musical Genome <br/>The Wagner Family](https://interlude.hk/mapping-musical-genome-wagner-family/): Richard Wagner (1813-1883) was the manliest man in a manly world of manly composers! Creator of theatrical and musical dramas lasting the better part of eternity, his works are perpetually in danger of drowning in gigantic puddles of testosterone. As
- [What old pianos teach us](https://interlude.hk/old-pianos-teach-us/): Why play an early or “period” piano? An instrument which may have significant limitations compared to a precisely made and carefully calibrated modern instrument, and surely “better” and infinitely more sturdy and reliable than an old piano?
- [The Melotype by Gustave Rundstatler](https://interlude.hk/melotype-gustave-rundstatler/): Last time, I introduced you to the Columbia Music Typewriter. And rightfully, you must have thought that it really doesn’t look anything like a conventional typewriter or a machine operated via a keyboard. And it certainly looked rather cumbersome to
- [BELLS OF DAWN](https://interlude.hk/bells-dawn/): Hear My Prayer (Da ispravitsya molitva moya) From BELLS OF DAWN (2014) Released by Ondine Chesnokov: Hear My PrayerOndine’s third release with the star baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky is devoted to sacred works by Russian composers and to Russian folk songs.
- [Schools of Cello Playing: Germany](https://interlude.hk/schools-cello-playing-germany/): Tracing one’s roots is a popular pastime today. In music, the schools of cello playing can be traced genealogically through the connection we have with our teachers, and their teachers. Just as with piano teaching traditions, the Russian school of
- [Richard Strauss: <em>Horn Concerto No. 2</em><br/>Premiered Today in 1943](https://interlude.hk/strauss-horn-concerto-2premiered-today-1943/): In his day, Franz Strauss was recognized as an important artistic personality. Foremost, he was a celebrated horn virtuoso, “breathing soul into the unthankful instrument. ” Even Richard Wagner, against whom the musically conservative Strauss took literally every opportunity to make
- [Enabling the Creative Process <br/>Franz Berwald and Mathilde Scherer](https://interlude.hk/enabling-creative-process-franz-berwald-mathilde-scherer/): Franz Berwald just couldn’t wait to leave provincial Stockholm behind. With a number of compositions in his back pocket, he departed for Berlin in 1829 to follow his musical calling. He had some distant relatives in that city, and alongside
- [Encouraging evaluation, reflection and self-critique in practicing](https://interlude.hk/encouraging-evaluation-reflection-self-critique-practicing/): Play always as if the presence of a master– Robert Schumann The ability to self-critique, evaluate and reflect on one’s playing during practicing is a crucial skill for musicians, and is a component of the skillset of “deliberate practice”, which
- [Françaix: <em>Symphony in G major</em><br/>Premiered Today in 1953](https://interlude.hk/francaix-symphony-g-majorpremiered-today-1953/): “I wish to be honest,” wrote Jean Françaix (1912-1997), “When I am composing, the finest theories are the last things that come to mind. My interest is not primarily attracted by the motorways of thought, but more the paths through
- [Godowsky: <em>Java Suite</em>](https://interlude.hk/godowsky-java-suite/): The legendary pianist, composer, and pedagogue Leopold Godowsky was a world traveler. He considered “travel not only a way of lifting the creative intellect, but also a philosophical, spiritual enterprise, a way of advancing one’s journey of self-discovery. ” Drawing inspiration
- [Test your Grade 5 Theory ](https://interlude.hk/test-grade-5-theory/)
- [Prokofiev: <em>Piano Concerto No. 1</em><br/>Premiered Today in 1912](https://interlude.hk/prokofiev-piano-concerto-1premiered-today-1912/): Sergei Prokofiev was still a student at the St. Petersburg Conservatory when he took the stage on 7 August 1912 to premier his 1st Piano Concerto. Since it was his first appearance with an orchestra, and expecting a rather large
- [Mapping the Musical Genome <br/>The Merikanto Family](https://interlude.hk/mapping-musical-genome-merikanto-family/): When a professional musician from Helsinki toured the Finnish countryside in the last years of the 19th century, a member of the audience asked him, “Are there other great composers in Helsinki besides Merikanto? ” This delightful anecdote certainly tells us
- [Why Perform?](https://interlude.hk/perform/): The psychological and emotional reasons why musicians perform and why we feel a need to connect and communicate with audiences is a broad and complex subject. For many musicians, performing is their raison d’être – the need, the will to
- [The Music Typewriter of Charles Spiro](https://interlude.hk/music-typewriter-charles-spiro/): When Joseph Haydn was putting the finishing touches on a symphony during the later stages of his career, he dejectedly wrote. “The piece on which I am now working would have been already finished if it were not that my
- [DAUGHERTY, M.: Dreamachine / Trail of Tears / Reflections on the Mississippi](https://interlude.hk/daugherty-m-dreamachine-trail-tears-reflections-mississippi/): Trail of Tears – I. Where the wind blew free From DAUGHERTY, M. : Dreamachine / Trail of Tears / Reflections on the Mississippi (2018) Released by Naxos Daugherty: Trail of Tears – I. Where the wind blew freeGRAMMY® Award-winning composer
- [He Had the Kind of Male Beauty That Could Cause Havoc – Albert Einstein](https://interlude.hk/kind-male-beauty-cause-havoc-albert-einstein/): We’ve seen him with this tongue sticking out... we’ve seen him concerned with the implications of nuclear energy... and we’ve seen him behind the bow on the violin. But, as an inspiration, we have to take the words of one
- [Osvaldo Golijov: <em>Azul</em><br/>Premiered Today in 2006](https://interlude.hk/golijov-azulpremiered-today-2006/): What do you get if one of classical music’s most beloved performers teams up with one of today’s most popular composers? It really is a no brainer, as Azul (the title means blue in Spanish) combines the collective imagination of
- [Rossini: <em>Guillaume Tell</em><br/>Premiered Today in 1829](https://interlude.hk/rossini-guillaume-tellpremiered-today-1829/): Rossini’s last opera, the four-act Guillaume Tell, with a composite French libretto based on Schiller’s play Wilhelm Tell, was produced at the Paris Opéra on 3 August 1829. However, within three performances the opera’s length of roughly four hours and
- [Franz Berwald](https://interlude.hk/franz-berwald/): Violinist, Composer and Orthopedic Surgeon When the Swedish composer and violinist Franz Berwald (1796-1868) died 150 years ago in Stockholm, hardly anybody noticed. At times he had made a living as an orthopedic surgeon and later as a manager of
- [A special relationship: pianists and their composers](https://interlude.hk/special-relationship-pianists-composers/): Say “Glenn Gould”, and most people will respond with “Bach”, such is the late great Canadian pianist’s special relationship with the music of J S Bach, and specifically the Goldberg Variations, which Gould recorded at the beginning and the end
- [Collegium 1704 & Collegium Vocale 1704](https://interlude.hk/collegium-1704-collegium-vocale-1704/): ‘A Perfect Balance’ The Czech ensemble Collegium 1704 is one of the most renowned baroque ensembles around today. Along with its choral partner, Collegium Vocale 1704, the ensemble sprang up in 2005 in a quest to revive the music of
- [Music as Communication Across All Levels – An Interview with Peter Keller](https://interlude.hk/music-communication-across-levels-interview-peter-keller/): When playing in an ensemble, are you in a world of your own or do you create strong perceptive links with your fellow players? It is this world of the imperceptible that Professor Peter Keller of the Western Sydney University
- [Music of Evaporation—Love of Consequence <br/>Federico Mompou and Carmen Bravo](https://interlude.hk/music-evaporation-love-consequence-federico-mompou-carmen-bravo/): Never underestimate the power of laughter! When Catalan pianist Carmen Bravo was asked what made her fall in love with Federico Mompou (1893-1987), she quietly confessed, “He made me laugh. ” Mompou was quiet, shy and introverted, and Bravo extroverted, outgoing
- [Why should I review this concert?](https://interlude.hk/review-concert/): I’m very fortunate, living in London, to have access to a wealth of live classical music, and I could be at a concert every night of the week if I wished. I am also lucky enough to be able to
- [The Musical Bicycle of Samuel Goss](https://interlude.hk/musical-bicycle-samuel-goss/): For a great many people, the car is a fantastic place to enjoy music. And predictably this pleasure manifests itself in a variety of musical and cultural practices. It ranges from background eavesdropping during a long commute to turning vehicles
- [SHOSTAKOVICH, D.: Jazz Suites Nos. 1 and 2 / The Bolt Suite / Tahiti Trot ](https://interlude.hk/shostakovich-d-jazz-suites-nos-1-2-bolt-suite-tahiti-trot/): Jazz Suite no. 1 III. Foxtrot (Blues) From SHOSTAKOVICH, D. : Jazz Suites Nos. 1 and 2 / The Bolt Suite / Tahiti Trot (2002) Released by Naxos Shostakovich: Jazz Suite no. 1 – III. Foxtrot (Blues)Shostakovich was most definitely a light-and-shade composer.
- [Berlioz: <em>Symphonie Funebre</em> <br/>Premiered Today in 1840](https://interlude.hk/berlioz-symphonie-funebre-premiered-today-1840/): The “Grande Symphonie funèbre et triomphale,” to use its full title, was Hector Berlioz’s fourth and last symphony. Commissioned by the Minister of the Interior for the commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the three-day revolution of July 1830, the
- [Music and Nature: Flowers](https://interlude.hk/music-nature-flowers/): Flowers show us the invisible world – they pop up to show us Spring, they dance in the wind, they bring happiness, and can mark occasions of solemnity. Composers, accordingly, use music to show us flowers – dancing, or something
- [Musicians’ All-Year Survival Guide](https://interlude.hk/musicians-year-survival-guide/): Whether we’re a student musician, or an amateur or professional musician, we are passionate about our music-making—Brahms, Beethoven, Chopin, Stravinsky? Bring it on... I’ll just practice more! Want it faster and louder? Sure... But wait. This attitude has caused many a
- [Early Works](https://interlude.hk/early-works/): The other day I was looking through the earliest articles written for my blog. Some of my early writing is horribly self-conscious, and evidently written with little expectation of anyone actually reading it. But however much this “juvenilia” may make
- [Wagner: <em>Parsifal</em><br/>Premiered Today in 1882](https://interlude.hk/wagner-parsifalpremiered-today-1882/): Hoping to gain financial independence, Richard Wagner was eager to establish an annual music festival that would realize his particular vision of music and theatre. Initially he contemplated Munich, but his extravagant and scandalous behavior in that city caused him
- [Competing In a New World – An Interview with Samantha Crawford](https://interlude.hk/competing-new-world-interview-samantha-crawford/): Soprano Samantha Crawford was recently a finalist at the Hong Kong International Operatic Singing Competition (HKIOSC) and spoke with us about the competition and her thoughts on the whole competition process.
- [Penderecki: <em>Viola Concerto</em><br/>Premiered Today in 1983](https://interlude.hk/penderecki-viola-concertopremiered-today-1983/): 24 July 1983 marked the 200th birthday of Simón Bolívar, known around South America as “El Libertador. ” The Venezuelan military and political leader played a significant role in the establishment of Venezuela, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Panama as sovereign
- [Making Percussion a True Soloist – John Corigliano’s <em>The Conjurer</em>](https://interlude.hk/making-percussion-true-soloist-john-coriglianos-conjurer/): Percussion can be anything from the lowly triangle to the majestic piano and all struck things between. In his recent work Conjurer, John Corigliano took on the difficult task of writing a percussion concerto. In his own words, he said
- [Mozart and <em>The Deluded Bridegroom</em>](https://interlude.hk/mozart-deluded-bridegroom/): In a letter to his father, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart made a reference to a seven-member Italian opera troupe visiting Vienna. That troupe arrived in the Austrian capital during Lent 1783, and first performed on 22 April 1783 in Antonio Salieri’s
- [A more than luxuriously cast Lucia di Lammermoor: Teatro Real Madrid](https://interlude.hk/luxuriously-cast-lucia-di-lammermoor-teatro-real-madrid/): Madrid pulled together an absolute dream production of Gaetano Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor, with a cast few houses could even think about. This production by David Alden, first commissioned for the English National Opera in 2008, sets the scene in
- [“I Played It Better at Home!”](https://interlude.hk/played-better-home/): If I had a pound for every time a student said this in a lesson, I’d be a rich woman by now! We’ve all heard it, and I know I’ve been guilty of saying it myself occasionally at piano lessons
- [Brahms: <em>Piano Quintet</em> in F minor, Op. 34 <br/>Premiered Today in 1864](https://interlude.hk/brahms-piano-quintet-f-minor-op-34-premiered-today-1864/): On 22 July 1864 Clara Schumann and conductor Hermann Levi played through a piano sonata for two pianos by Johannes Brahms. Clara was overwhelmed by the music’s grandeur, and wrote to the composer. “The work is splendid, but it cannot
- [The Musical Bed of Sadiq Muhammad Khan IV](https://interlude.hk/musical-bed-sadiq-muhammad-khan-iv/): We’ve all heard of musical chairs, a game of elimination involving players, chairs, and music. With one fewer chair than players, when the music stops the player who fails to sit on a chair is eliminated. A chair is then
- [KARAYEV, K.: Symphony No. 1 / Violin Concerto](https://interlude.hk/karayev-k-symphony-1-violin-concerto/): Symphony No. 1 in B Minor I. Molto sostenuto – Allegro From KARAYEV, K. : Symphony No. 1 / Violin Concerto (2018) Released by Naxos Karayev: Symphony No. 1 in B Minor – I. Molto sostenuto – AllegroKara Karayev was one
- [Music and Nature: Water](https://interlude.hk/music-nature-water/): Water, in music, is more than just a drop in the ocean. Composers imagine water in rivers, water falling from the sky, water jetting up to the sky, water as a single raindrop, or as the entire sea. Water creatures,
- [La Gioconda in Berlin: Party like it’s 1974](https://interlude.hk/la-gioconda-berlin-party-like-1974/): Berlin’s Deutsche Oper, the opera company based in the Western section of the formerly divided city, put on grand opera at its most opulent with Amilcare Ponchielli’s La Gioconda. Rarely performed these days due to the work’s staggering length, large
- [Musicians’ Summer Festival Survival Guide](https://interlude.hk/musicians-summer-festival-survival-guide/): Music students, amateurs, and professionals, love to attend summer festivals. We look forward all year to the challenging and diverse repertoire, playing with different colleagues, for new teachers, or playing chamber music, in picturesque settings. Think Verbier, Aspen, Tanglewood, Ljubljana.
- [Bernstein at Ely – An Interview with Humphrey Burton](https://interlude.hk/bernstein-ely-interview-humphrey-burton/): Humphrey Burton made his first connection with Leonard Bernstein when Bernstein came over to London for the premiere of Candide. It had opened to disappointing reviews in New York three years earlier and the only part of the work that
- [Music Through Words <br/>On Chesil Beach](https://interlude.hk/music-words-chesil-beach/): Set in 1962, when England was on the cusp of the Swinging Sixties, ‘On Chesil Beach’ by British author Ian McEwan examines the tension between the modern (represented by the male character Edward) and an earlier, more sexually repressed age
- [The Final Piece of the Jigsaw - Sir Mark Elder on Donizetti’s <em>L’Ange de Nisida</em>](https://interlude.hk/final-piece-jigsaw-sir-mark-elder-donizettis-lange-de-nisida/): On 18 and 21 July, Sir Mark Elder conducts concert performances of the world premiere of an opera that was previously thought to have been consigned to oblivion: Donizetti’s L’Ange de Nisida.
- [An orchestra from Lang Lang's hometown](https://interlude.hk/orchestra-lang-langs-hometown/): In spite of their huge age gap, Chinese pianist Lang Lang and Japanese conductor Seiji Ozawa share one thing in common — they were both born in Shenyang, China. Maestro Ozawa was born in September 1935, his parents being merchants
- [Ginastera: <em>Concierto Argentino</em> <br/>Premiered Today in 1941](https://interlude.hk/ginastera-concierto-argentino-premiered-today-1941/): In the wide world of music, it is not always easy to determine what actually constitutes the premier performance. The process of introducing works to a wider audience is by definition a complicated one, and rather frequently a composition disappears
- [Stephen Hough's Dream album](https://interlude.hk/stephen-houghs-dream-album/): A few years ago, I heard Stephen Hough in concert in a programme of “serious” music: the premiere of his ‘Trinity’ Piano Sonata III alongside Cèsar Franck’s mighty Prelude, Chorale & Fugue, plus works by Liszt and Schubert. And the
- [Angela Gheorghiu and Teodor Ilincăi – Las Voces del Real at Teatro Real Madrid](https://interlude.hk/angela-gheorghiu-teodor-ilincai-las-voces-del-real-teatro-real-madrid/): In the late summer of their careers, divas like to stake out some territory that ensures their legacy. Maria Callas championed bel canto rarities, Cecilia Bartoli reinvigorated baroque treasures, Joyce di Donato promotes contemporary American Jake Heggie. A cursory overview
- [Mozart: <em>Die Entführung aus dem Serail</em> K. 384 <br/>Premiered Today in 1782](https://interlude.hk/mozart-die-entfuhrung-aus-dem-serail-k-384-premiered-today-1782/): Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Die Entführung aus dem Serail (The Abduction from the Seraglio) premiered at the Burgtheater in Vienna on 16 July 1782. The Austrian Emperor Joseph II was in the audience and famously said, “Too many notes my dear
- [Music for the Eyes <br/>From the Music Catalogue of Auguste Durand](https://interlude.hk/music-eyes-music-catalogue-auguste-durand/): Music publishing in France is intricately and unbreakably linked with the name Durand! It all started with Marie-Auguste Massacrié-Durand (1830-1909), a capable composer and organist. In fact, he studied at the Paris Conservatoire and was a classmate of César Franck
- [Returning to the studio](https://interlude.hk/returning-studio/): The late great Canadian pianist Glenn Gould made two significant and highly-acclaimed recordings of Bach’s Goldberg Variations, the first in 1955 when he was just 22, the second a quarter of a century later in 1981 when he was nearing
- [At the Center of the Musical Universe <br/>Gaetano Donizetti II](https://interlude.hk/center-musical-universe-gaetano-donizetti-ii/): Gaetano Donizetti followed the resounding success of Anna Bolena with two additional serious operas, Lucrezia Borgia of 1833, and Lucia di Lammermoor of 1835. Rossini regarded Lucia as Donizetti’s supreme operatic achievement. It epitomized the Italian Romantic spirit of the
- [SAINT-SAËNS, C.: Violin and Orchestra Works](https://interlude.hk/saint-saens-c-violin-orchestra-works/): La Muse et le Poète, Op. 132 From SAINT-SAËNS, C. : Violin and Orchestra Works (2017) Released by Naxos Saint-Saëns: La Muse et le Poète, Op. 132 Tianwa Yang is ‘an artist of exceptional technique and musicianship’ (BBC Music Magazine) and
- [Beautiful Song Beautifully Sung <br/> An Interview with Kenneth E. Querns Langley](https://interlude.hk/beautiful-song-beautifully-sung-interview-kenneth-e-querns-langley/): Three years ago, bel canto scholar and tenor Kenneth Querns Langley started working on the idea of a Bel Canto Festival and it came to fruition last year. This year will be the second Festival, built around the participation of
- [Swanning around: Richard Wagner’s Lohengrin at the Royal Opera House](https://interlude.hk/swanning-around-richard-wagners-lohengrin-royal-opera-house/): The new Lohengrin at the Royal Opera House, a co-production with Opera Vlaanderen, is musically a very fine production. What it lacks, however, is a unifying concept. Neither direction (David Alden), stage set (Paul Steinberg) nor costumes (Gideon Davey) came
- [Music and Nature: Trees](https://interlude.hk/music-nature-trees/): When we’re young and in dance class, we’re told to imitate trees – swaying in the wind, bowing down in a torrent of rain or just standing tall in the cold winter sun. Composers are equally inspired; they see trees
- [Khachaturian: <em>Piano Concerto</em> in d-flat major, Op. 38 <br/> Premiered Today in 1937](https://interlude.hk/khachaturian-piano-concerto-d-flat-major-op-38-premiered-today-1937/): Aram Khachaturian might easily be considered the poster child of Soviet realism in music. Joseph Stalin decreed that a composer in Soviet society had to be “an engineer of the human soul by writing music that communicates directly with the
- [A Favourite Album: <br/>«Résonance de l'Originaire»](https://interlude.hk/favourite-album-resonance-de-loriginaire/): Schubert works for piano duet and piano soloMaria João Pires & Ricardo CastroDeutsch Grammophon 2004 I was given this album by a friend for my 40th birthday in autumn 2006. I thought turning 40 would be easy: I told myself
- [Ditters von Dittersdorf: <em>Doktor und Apotheker</em> (The Pharmacist and the Doctor) <br/>	Premiered Today in 1786](https://interlude.hk/ditters-von-dittersdorf-doktor-und-apotheker-pharmacist-doctor-premiered-today-1786/): Premiered at the Vienna Burgtheater on 11 July 1786, Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf’s comic opera Doktor und Apotheker (The Pharmacist and the Doctor) was a resounding success. The contemporary press declared it “the one work among all new German operas
- [The Artist as a Human Being](https://interlude.hk/artist-human/): Kilian Chan of Andante Musica looked at the music business and saw something that others had missed: young Asian musicians needed a niche. In addition, he was struck by the fact that for most of Asia, the foreign musician is
- [George Rochberg <br/> “No artist ever arrives”](https://interlude.hk/george-rochberg-artist-ever-arrives/): By the late 1950’s George Rochberg was celebrated as America’s first and foremost master of composition in a serial language. One of the great leaders of the American avant-garde, Rochberg’s journey to a newly found language based on the tonal
- [Music for the Eyes <br/> <em>Éditions Russes de Musique</em>](https://interlude.hk/music-eyes-editions-russes-de-musique/): The great conductor and champion of contemporary music Serge Koussevitzky (1874-1951) certainly knew the value of a good marriage. Musically talented, he initially studied double bass and eventually joined the Bolshoi Theater Orchestra in 1894. He toured extensively with the
- [At the Center of the Musical Universe <br/>Gaetano Donizetti](https://interlude.hk/center-musical-universe-gaetano-donizetti/): One of the most prolific Italian composers in the second quarter of the 19th Century, Gaetano Donizetti’s (1797-1848) reputation invariably stands or falls with his 70 works for the operatic stage. Robert Schumann spitefully called Donizetti “a composer of music
- [Synergy](https://interlude.hk/synergy/): synergy syn·er·gy (sĭn’ər-jē) n. The interaction of two or more agents or forces so that their combined effect is greater than the sum of their individual effects. “those three minutes of perfection – when time stands still and the music
- [WOLF-FERRARI, E.: Talitha Kumi / La Passione / 8 Cori](https://interlude.hk/wolf-ferrari-e-talitha-kumi-la-passione-8-cori/): Talitha Kumi (La figlia di Giairo, Die Tochter des Jairus), Op. 3 Part I: Et cum transcendisset Jesus From WOLF-FERRARI, E. : Talitha Kumi / La Passione / 8 Cori (2018) Released by Naxos Wolf-Ferrari: Talitha Kumi (La figlia di Giairo,
- [Haydn: <em>Symphony Nr. 92</em> in G major “Oxford” <br/> Premiered Today in 1791](https://interlude.hk/haydn-symphony-nr-92-g-major-oxford-premiered-today-1791/): By the mid-1780s Joseph Haydn was the most famous composer in Europe. Although he had worked in relative obscurity in the service of the Esterházy family for many decades, his reputation had spread far and wide. And when Johann Peter
- [Ole Bull and the American Senator’s daughter](https://interlude.hk/ole-bull-american-senators-daughter/): He was one of the greatest performing artists of the 19th century! Ole Bull (1810-1880) was a child prodigy, and he gave his public debut as a soloist at age 9. Although intending to study theology and/or law, he decided
- [Saying Goodbye for a While: Schubert to Walcher](https://interlude.hk/saying-goodbye-schubert-walcher/): In the month before his friend Ferdinand Walcher quit Vienna for a posting in Venice, Schubert had been a torchbearer at Beethoven’s funeral. The death of his greatest inspiration, whom he had only been able to meet days before Beethoven’s
- [The Ochydactyl](https://interlude.hk/ochydactyl/): Please let me introduce you to probably the most horrendous musical torture device ever invented. It might reasonably have been used to extract confessions during the Spanish Inquisition, but in reality, it was a patented apparatus that was to increase
- [Child’s Play <br/>Piano Music For and About Children](https://interlude.hk/childs-play-piano-music-children/): Music for children has inspired composers from J S Bach to the present day. Bach’s Twelve Little Preludes were included in Wilhelm Friedemann Bach’s Klavierbüchlein, a collection of short pieces for one of Bach’s sons, and intended to help the
- [George Rochberg](https://interlude.hk/george-rochberg-composer/): “Five Lines, Four Spaces” As a composer and teacher George Rochberg (1918-2005) strongly believed that “music should express the passions of the human heart. ” A robust proponent of serial techniques in the mid-1960s, Rochberg eventually sought new expressions by returning
- [J.S. Bach: Cantata <em>Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben</em>, BWV 147 <br/> Premiered Today in 1723](https://interlude.hk/j-s-bach-cantata-herz-und-mund-und-tat-und-leben-bwv-147-premiered-today-1723/): Say what you want, but Johann Sebastian Bach certainly knew a good tune when he heard one! And he certainly was not shy reusing his own tunes when time was of the essence. Bach took up the position of Thomaskantor,
- [Luca Bianchini & Anna Trombetta: Fall of the Gods <br/>The Making of the Mozart Legend](https://interlude.hk/luca-bianchini-anna-trombetta-fall-gods-making-mozart-legend/): In a number of recent publications, musicologists Luca Bianchini and Anna Trombetta have investigated the countless myths and legends that elevated Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart into a singular musical genius. Attempting to set the record straight, the first part of our
- [Thomas Guggeis](https://interlude.hk/thomas-guggeis-artist-of-the-month/): Berlin to Stuttgart I speak to young German conductor Thomas Guggeis on the eve of his first day as First Kappellmeister at Staatsoper Stuttgart. He is in Berlin for some concerts before moving to Stuttgart, having recently finished studying in
- [No Ordinary Competition <br/>The 33rd Irving Klein International String Competition](https://interlude.hk/ordinary-competition-33rd-irving-klein-international-string-competition/): If you hope to have a career in music sooner or later you’ll have to participate in some sort of competition. Although they can be life-changing for a young person’s career, the preparation is arduous, and an audition or contest
- [The Adult Learner](https://interlude.hk/adult-learner/): It’s always pleasing to meet people who play the piano as adults (I am of course referring to amateur pianists as opposed to professionals who play for a living). Some have played all their life; some return to the piano
- [Violin Concertos (British) - PATTERSON, P. / LEIGHTON, K. / JACOB, G.](https://interlude.hk/violin-concertos-british-patterson-p-leighton-k-jacob-g/): Violin Concerto – II. Andante espressivo From Violin Concertos (British) – PATTERSON, P. / LEIGHTON, K. / JACOB, G. (2017) Released by Naxos Gordon Jacob: Violin Concerto – II. Andante espressivo Written for soloist and string orchestra, the Concerto by
- [“The Family is Excellent” <br/> Charles Gounod and Anna Zimmerman](https://interlude.hk/family-excellent-charles-gounod-anna-zimmerman/): Pierre-Joseph Zimmerman was well established on the Parisian musical scene as a retired Conservatoire piano professor with many accomplished students to his credit. Together with his beautiful wife Hortense and their four daughters, the family entertained a lively salon that
- [Wagner: <em>Die Feen</em> (The Fairies) <br/>Premiered Today in 1888](https://interlude.hk/wagner-die-feen-fairies-premiered-today-1888/): When Richard Wagner died on 23 February 1883, his first complete opera Die Feen (The Fairies) had still not been performed in public. That premier had to wait until 29 June 1888, yet regardless, the work never established itself in
- [<em>LA GIOCONDA</em><br/>Teatro Valli, Reggio Emilia, 8 April 2018](https://interlude.hk/la-giocondateatro-valli-reggio-emilia-8-april-2018/): P: “May I get a ticket for Emilia-Romagna? ” CASHIER: “Emilia-Romagna? Which city? ” P: “The city of Emilia-Romagna. ” CASHIER: “Signore, Emilia-Romagna is not a city! It’s a region! ! ” P: “Wow! Really? ” Briefly, I refocused. CASHIER: “Milano? Bologna? Reggio Emilia? P: “Ah!
- [When Boys are Girls](https://interlude.hk/boys-girls/): We looked last time at the role women could play in taking over voice types that don’t exist anymore – with the demise of the castrato and the changing taste in opera, women had more opportunities on the stage. However,
- [The Chirogymnast](https://interlude.hk/chirogymnast/): The importance attached to virtuosity at the beginning of the 19th century is evidenced by the publication of an enormous number of new methods for piano. The great majority was directed towards the acquisition of practical and technical perfection in
- [Janáček: <em>Sinfonietta</em> <br/> Premiered Today in 1926](https://interlude.hk/janacek-sinfonietta-premiered-today-1926/): Leoš Janáček (1854-1928) was a married man of 63 and Kamila Stösslová a married woman of 25 when they met in a Moravian spa in the summer of 1917. What might have turned into an innocent and transient infatuation became
- [The Hong Kong International Operatic Singing Competition 2018](https://interlude.hk/hong-kong-international-operatic-singing-competition-2018/): The Hong Kong International Operatic Singing Competition 2018 starts on 29 June, after more than two years spent in establishing this new competition. It began with an idea from the offices of Musica Viva, a Hong Kong-based music institution better
- [Luca Bianchini & Anna Trombetta: Fall of the Gods <br/>Engaging the Mozart Myth](https://interlude.hk/luca-bianchini-anna-trombetta-fall-gods-engaging-mozart-myth/): In the historiography of Western Classical music, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is commonly considered an exceptional and singular musical genius. This glowing assessment is partially based on countless myths and legends that have, for a variety of reasons, resisted critical and
- [Strauss: <em>Die Schweigsame Frau</em> (The Silent Woman) <br/>Premiered Today in 1935](https://interlude.hk/strauss-die-schweigsame-frau-silent-woman-premiered-today-1935/): Richard Strauss’ Die Schweigsame Frau (The Silent Woman) might be the only opera in the entire oeuvre with a central character who dislikes music. Sir Morosus, a retired British naval officer is allergic to noise of any kind. He disinherits
- [When a performance goes well](https://interlude.hk/performance-goes-well/): Most of us tend to focus on the things that didn’t go so well in a performance – the misplaced notes, the smudged runs, the memory slips. Analysing why these things happened and exploring solutions to problems or finding ways
- [Anne Hunter: Haydn’s English Muse](https://interlude.hk/anne-hunter-haydns-english-muse/): When Joseph Haydn arrived in England in January 1791, he found lodgings with the impresario Salomon in Great Pulteney Street, opposite the pianoforte shop of John Broadwood. At that time, Haydn was the most famous composer in Europe, and London
- [DYSON, G.: Choral Symphony / St Paul's Voyage to Melita](https://interlude.hk/dyson-g-choral-symphony-st-pauls-voyage-melita/): Choral Symphony – Largo From DYSON, G. : Choral Symphony / St Paul’s Voyage to Melita (2017) Released by Naxos Dyson: Choral Symphony – LargoBorn into a working-class family, George Dyson became one of the most important musicians and composers of
- [Casanova – A Life in Music](https://interlude.hk/casanova-life-music/): Giacomo Casanova (1725-1798) is still known to this day for his ‘complicated and elaborate affairs with women’ – not bad for someone nearly 300 years old. He ran in the highest social circles in Europe, and in addition to the
- [Grigory Sokolov in Helsinki](https://interlude.hk/grigory-sokolov-helsinki/): Hailed as one of the best living pianists in the world, Grigory Sokolov offered a magically sublime and absorbing concert experience to the 1,700 audience in Helsinki Music Centre (Musiikkitalo) on 14 June 2018, with a programme of Haydn and
- [“Musical ideas sprang to my mind like Butterflies” <br/> Charles Gounod (1818-1893)](https://interlude.hk/musical-ideas-sprang-mind-like-butterflies-charles-gounod-1818-1893/): The historiography of music primarily remembers Charles Gounod as the composer of Faust, Mireille and Roméo et Juliette. However, in his 12 total works for the operatic stage Gounod engages with the entire range of operatic types available in the
- [Classical Music for Alien Civilizations](https://interlude.hk/classical-music-alien-civilizations/): NASA launched the twin spacecraft Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 in the summer of 1977. The primary mission was the exploration of the planets Jupiter and Saturn, and since everything went splendidly well, included extended visits to Uranus, Neptune and
- [The Dactylion](https://interlude.hk/dactylion/): The opening decade of the 21st century is once more gripped by a passion for musical virtuosity. Countless young and aspiring musicians—frequently supported and driven by overzealous parents—are vying to study at the most prestigious conservatories and with the most
- [In Memoriam: Gennady Rozhdestvensky (1931-2018)](https://interlude.hk/memoriam-gennady-rozhdestvensky-1931-2018/): Working as an artist within the Soviet political and cultural system was always a tightrope act. Gennady Rozhdestvensky (1931-2018), one of the great conductors of the last half-century explains, “I lived with communism for more than 50 years, and I
- [When Girls are Boys](https://interlude.hk/girls-boys/): We’ve all been to the opera when they cast young men with unchanged voices in operatic roles and, well, they may not just have, let’s say, the vocal maturity to carry this off. Time for the women to take charge!
- [Mozart: <em>Symphony in D major</em>, KV 297 (Paris) <br/> Premiered Today in 1778](https://interlude.hk/mozart-symphony-d-major-kv-297-paris-premiered-today-1778/): In the spring of 1778, the 22-year old Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart returned to the city of Paris. This time he was chaperoned by his mother—who would tragically fall ill and die—with father Leopold staying put in Salzburg to appease their
- [Music for the Eyes <br/>From the Music Catalogue of Breitkopf & Härtel](https://interlude.hk/music-eyes-music-catalogue-breitkopf-hartel/): No other invention had a greater impact on how music found its way from the composer to the public than the printing of music. After Ottaviano Petrucci published the first edition of the famous Harmonice Musices Odhecaton A in Venice
- [Finding His Own Way – An Interview with Stephan Moore](https://interlude.hk/finding-way-interview-stephan-moore/): His is the art you hear but don’t see; he’s the invisible performer behind the sound. Stephan Moore is your man of all audio skills: he’s a sound artist who invents his own speakers, he’s a musician who’s created multichannel
- [Should I be applauding now?](https://interlude.hk/applauding-now/): Every year, around the time of the start of the BBC Proms, that wonderful 2-month long festival of music, the thorny issue of when to applaud rears its head. In fact, the debate over the appropriateness of applause is ongoing,
- [PALOMO, L.: Sinfonía Córdoba / Fulgores](https://interlude.hk/palomo-l-sinfonia-cordoba-fulgores/): Fulgores From PALOMO, L. : Sinfonía Córdoba / Fulgores (2018) Released by Naxos Palomo: Fulgores One of Spain’s most internationally admired living composers, Lorenzo Palomo is the natural successor to Joaquín Turina. His orchestral music shares a sense of rhapsodic freedom
- [Bruckner: <em>Mass Nr. 3</em> in F minor <br/>Premiered Today in 1872](https://interlude.hk/bruckner-mass-nr-3-f-minor-premiered-today-1872/): Nothing came easy for Anton Bruckner, and habitually plagued by debilitating periods of low self-esteem, he was an easy target for music critics, journalists and composers alike. A particularly vicious critic accused him of “composing like a drunkard. ” Given such
- [Bach Makes a Joke: The Peasant Cantata](https://interlude.hk/bach-makes-joke-peasant-cantata/): In 1742, Bach, late in his career, took a long look back at the music of his day and made such a thorough-going parody of it that we’re still not sure if he was making a social commentary or a
- [The <em>Sapho</em> Affair!<br/>Charles Gounod and Pauline Viardot](https://interlude.hk/sapho-affaircharles-gounod-pauline-viardot/): Charles Gounod unabashedly referred to Pauline Viardot as “The godmother of my career. ” He first met her around a rather difficult time in his life. His brother Urbain had unexpectedly passed away, leaving behind a two-year-old child and a widow
- [Queen and Writer: Elisabeth of Wied and Carmen Sylva](https://interlude.hk/queen-writer-elisabeth-wied-carmen-sylva/): Pauline Elisabeth Ottilie Luise zu Wied (1843– 1916), the Queen of Romania as the wife of King Carol I of Romania, led her literary life as the author Carmen Sylva. She wrote across a wide number of genres, including poems,
- [Stravinsky: <em>Petrushka</em><br/>Premiered Today in 1911](https://interlude.hk/stravinsky-petrushkapremiered-today-1911/): The appeal of Serge Diaghilev’s productions for the Ballets Russes is based on the novelty of Russian dance, and on its penchant for exotic subjects, many of them folkloric in nature. Igor Stravinsky scored a Parisian triumph for Diaghilev‘s troupe
- [Casanova the Violinist](https://interlude.hk/casanova-violinist/): Popular culture has always been mesmerized by the exploits of the Venetian adventurer and author Giacomo Girolamo Casanova (1725-1798). Primarily remembered for his countless affairs with women and a handful of men, he was also a scam artist who made
- [Mikhail Glinka and Maria Petrovna <br/>“Marriage is like Counterpoint—Opposition and Contrary Motion”](https://interlude.hk/mikhail-glinka-maria-petrovna-marriage-like-counterpoint-opposition-contrary-motion/): Upon departing from Italy, Mikhail Glinka stopped in Berlin and took some counterpoint lessons from Siegfried Dehn. The study of counterpoint fueled his desire to write a national opera, as he wrote to a friend, “I have a project in
- [Britten: <em>A Midsummer Night’s Dream</em>](https://interlude.hk/britten-midsummer-nights-dream/): In August 1959, Jubilee Hall in Aldeburgh was undergoing a complete refurbishment, and to celebrate the reopening a year later, a new opera was definitely required. Since Benjamin Britten already was the artistic director of the Aldeburgh Festival at that
- [“The Pleasure of Love”](https://interlude.hk/pleasure-love/): On a list of the most popular love songs in classical music, Plaisir d’amour (The pleasure of love) would undoubtedly rank supremely high. Originally composed in 1784, Hector Berlioz arranged the tune for orchestra, and various pop-music settings include the
- [‘Small is beautiful’ - Petworth Festival turns 40](https://interlude.hk/small-beautiful-petworth-festival-turns-40/): This coming July sees one of the UK’s most stylish ‘small is beautiful’ annual festivals celebrating a ‘significant’ year – the 2018 Petworth Festival is the 40th such event. Founded jointly by Lord Egremont and Robert Walker, the well-known composer
- [Mozart and the Cairo Goose](https://interlude.hk/mozart-cairo-goose/): Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart scored a resounding triumph with The Abduction from the Seraglio in 1782. Impatient to write for the stage again he made two abortive attempts at opera buffa. Initially, Mozart requested a libretto from the Salzburg court chaplain
- [Brahms on the Road <br/>A Trip to Transylvania with Piano and Violin III](https://interlude.hk/brahms-road-trip-transylvania-piano-violin-iii/): After their mountainous trip of over 760 km between Arad, Sighişoara, Braşov, and Sibui, Brahms and Joachim closed the tour in Cluj (now Clug-Napoca). Their final concert, in Cluj, was an outstanding success. Their arrival was attended by a distinguished
- [On This Day <br/>9 Jun: Schumann's Cello Concerto</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/schumann-cello-concertopremiered-today-1860/): With Robert Schumann teetering on the verge of yet another breakdown, his wife Clara sincerely welcomed her husband’s cello concerto. She confided in her diary, “I have played Robert’s violoncello concerto through again, thus giving myself a truly musical and
- [RACHMANINOV, S.: Piano Concerto No. 2 / Études-tableaux, Op. 33](https://interlude.hk/rachmaninov-s-piano-concerto-2-etudes-tableaux-op-33/): Études-tableaux, Op. 33: No. 3 in C Minor: Grave From RACHMANINOV, S. : Piano Concerto No. 2 / Études-tableaux, Op. 33 (2017) Released by Naxos Rachmaninov: Études-tableaux, Op. 33: No. 3 in C Minor: GraveRachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 2 is one
- [The Roman Holiday <br/>Charles Gounod and Fanny Hensel](https://interlude.hk/roman-holiday-charles-gounod-fanny-hensel/): The most prestigious artistic scholarship in France, the “Prix de Rome,” was created in 1663. It originally was awarded in painting, sculpting and architecture, with music and engraving added in 1803 and 1804, respectively. The fortunate recipients, selected via a
- [Weill: <em>Seven Deadly Sins</em><br/>Premiered Today in 1933](https://interlude.hk/weill-seven-deadly-sinspremiered-today-1933/): The Seven Deadly Sins was the final collaboration between two of the most revolutionary artists of Weimar Germany, Kurt Weill and Bertold Brecht. Premiered on 7 June 1933 in the Théatre des Champs-Elysées, Weill watched the declining German political and
- [The Beautiful Cat and the Elegant Fowl](https://interlude.hk/beautiful-cat-elegant-fowl/): How do different composers approach the same text? In a recent review of a new biography of the poet and landscape artist Edward Lear, there was extensive discussion of the great love story Lear put into poetry. In its extensive
- [Prague Summer Nights and Me](https://interlude.hk/prague-summer-nights/): In the summer of 2017, I had the uniquely rewarding experience of attending the Prague Summer Nights: Young Artists Music Festival (PSN). Produced by Classical Movements—the premier concert tour company for the world’s great orchestras and choirs—Prague Summer Nights is
- [Dancers in Training in 1589](https://interlude.hk/dancers-training-1589/): In 1589, the French cleric Jehan Tabourot published a manual in the form of a dialogue between himself (in the guise of Thoinot Arbeau, an anagram of his real name) and a lawyer named Capriol. Capriol wanted to learn to
- [Mikhail Glinka and the Physician’s Daughter <br/><em>Grand Sextet in E-flat Major</em>](https://interlude.hk/mikhail-glinka-physicians-daughter-grand-sextet-e-flat-major/): Mikhail Glinka (1804-1857), often called the “Father of Russian music,” was a bit of a delicate flower. Because his older brother had died in infancy, his grandmother lavished great care on his physical wellbeing. Glinka remembers, “Soon after my birth
- [Anne Queffélec in London](https://interlude.hk/anne-queffelec-london/): French pianist Anne Queffélec graduated from the Paris Conservatoire and then extended her studies in Vienna under teachers Paul Badura-Skoda, Jörg Demus and Alfred Brendel. She went on to win the Munich and Leeds piano competitions. You heard her in
- [The Memory Game](https://interlude.hk/memory-game/): It’s one of the great romantic images, isn’t it? The solo performer, alone on an empty stage, faced with that huge black beast of a full-size concert grand piano, armed with nothing but his or her memory and willing, well-trained
- [Charles Gounod](https://interlude.hk/charles-gounod-1818-1893-mozart-musical-ambition-turns-despair/): “Before Mozart, all musical ambition turns to despair” Charles Gounod was born 200 years ago, on 17 June 1818 in Paris. Today we primarily remember him as the composer of the opera Faust and an Ave Maria descant to the
- [SVIRIDOV, G.V.: Russia Adrift / Snow is Falling / Music for Chamber Orchestra](https://interlude.hk/sviridov-g-v-russia-adrift-snow-falling-music-chamber-orchestra/): Sneg idyot (Snow is Falling) Soul From SVIRIDOV, G. V. : Russia Adrift / Snow is Falling / Music for Chamber Orchestra (2017) Released by Naxos Sviridov: Sneg idyot (Snow is Falling) – SoulGeorgy Sviridov was a celebrated figure whose vocal works,
- [Brahms on the Road <br/>A Trip to Transylvania with Piano and Violin II](https://interlude.hk/brahms-road-trip-transylvania-piano-violin-ii/): In their September 1879 trip, Johannes Brahms, pianist, and Joseph Joachim, violinist, ventured into what was, to them, the furthest corners of civilization for these two Viennese-based musicians. The first part of their trip, Budapest to Arad to Timişoara covered
- [Milhaud: <em>David</em><br/>Premiered Today in 1954](https://interlude.hk/milhaud-davidpremiered-today-1954/): David, first premiered in a concert version on 1 June 1954 in Jerusalem, is Darius Milhaud’s longest and most extensive work. The opera was composed at the suggestion of conductor Sergei Koussevitzky who was organizing a Festival to mark the
- [Variations on a Theme](https://interlude.hk/variations-theme/): Think of a series of riffs on an idea, in a variety of styles, moods, rhythm and tempi, and you have the basic framework for a Theme and Variations. As the initial theme is presented in a different way, so
- [Stockhausen: <em>Gesang der Jünglinge</em><br/> Premiered Today in 1956](https://interlude.hk/stockhausen-gesang-der-junglinge-premiered-today-1956/): For a number of scholars, Karlheinz Stockhausen’s Gesang der Jünglinge (Song of the Youths) is “the first masterpiece of electronic music. ” It was premiered in the large auditorium of Cologne’s Westdeutscher Rundfunk on 30 May 1956. The subject of the
- [Simple and Plain](https://interlude.hk/simple-plain/): Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) started composing as a child and, unlike most children, kept careful track of his writings. His early works are the expected piano pieces and songs but also chamber and orchestral attempts. His first major work took those
- [Adrien La Marca](https://interlude.hk/adrien-la-marca/): ‘Something Beyond Understanding’ I begin my interview with Adrien La Marca with a discussion not about music, but of food. Ahead of his performance of the Walton Viola Concerto in Hong Kong on 2 June, we talk about where to
- [Mapping the Musical Genome <br/>The Scarlatti Family](https://interlude.hk/mapping-musical-genome-scarlatti-family/): The Scarlatti family name—in various spellings—was common in Sicily, with several branches of additional Scarlatti families residing in Rome and northern Italy. Alessandro Scarlatti (1660-1725) was the musical bedrock of the family, and he became the most important opera composer
- [Stimulating the Imagination](https://interlude.hk/stimulating-imagination/): As musicians we can and should call upon our imaginations to enable us to create the myriad sounds we desire from our instrument, and to communicate the story or image of the music to the audience. The first teacher I
- [Rachmaninoff Resurrected](https://interlude.hk/rachmaninoff-resurrected/): Tension was high in Philadelphia, USA, on 18 March 1927. Leopold Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra had invited Sergei Rachmaninoff as the soloist in premiere of the composer’s 4th piano concerto in G minor. Rachmaninoff had come to the United
- [Four Pianos, Four Pièces](https://interlude.hk/four-pianos-four-pieces/): Schubert: Wanderer-Fantasie D. 760, op. 15 – I. Allegro con fuoco ma non troppo From Four Pianos, Four Pièces (2018) Released by Harmonia Mundi Schubert: Wanderer-Fantasie D. 760, op. 15 – I. Allegro con fuoco ma non troppoAlexander Melnikov imagined this programme
- [Brahms on the Road <br/>A Trip to Transylvania with Piano and Violin I](https://interlude.hk/brahms-road-trip-transylvania-piano-violin/): In 1879, Brahms wrote to the librarian at the Gesesllschaft der Musikfreunde that he and the violinist Joseph Joachim were planning a tour to the extremes of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Could he please send him, with the greatest urgency, some
- [Delibes: <em>Coppélia</em><br/>Premiered Today in 1870](https://interlude.hk/delibes-coppeliapremiered-today-1870/): When Léo Delibes (1836-1891) was asked by the head of the Paris Opéra to compose a 90-minute ballet score, he leapt at the opportunity. For Coppélia, premiered on 25 May 1870 at the Théâtre Impérial l’Opéra in Paris, Delibes crafted
- [Bartók: <em>Duke Bluebeard’s Castle</em><br/>Premiered Today in 1918](https://interlude.hk/bartok-duke-bluebeards-castlepremiered-today-1918/): With Europe spiraling towards a massive war that would eventually devastate the continent, Béla Bartók gave voice to the general sense of anxiety and foreboding by starting work on his only opera in 1911. The libretto for the one-act Duke
- [Contemporary Music in Hong Kong](https://interlude.hk/contemporary-music-hong-kong/): As a concertgoer in Hong Kong and avid listener of contemporary music, I am sometimes disappointed with the programmes of orchestras in Hong Kong. Mahler, Strauss, Wagner... These names, which are part of the so-called “core repertoire” of orchestras, can
- [The Early Years](https://interlude.hk/early-years/): It all started with a workshop. My then teacher, Mr Pulinkala told me about an Italian conductor who was in Delhi to conduct a workshop concerning opera. Being skeptical as most 14-15 year olds would be, I went there imagining
- [Strauss: <em>Four Last Songs</em><br/>Premiered Today in 1950](https://interlude.hk/strauss-four-last-songspremiered-today-1950/): Richard Strauss had reached the ripe old age of 84 when he decided to compose his musical last will and testament. Setting poetry by Joseph von Eichendorff and Hermann Hesse, the Four Last Songs emerged individually. When Strauss died on
- [A Joseph Joachim Rediscovery <br/><em>Scottish (Irish) Fantasy</em>](https://interlude.hk/joseph-joachim-rediscovery-scottish-irish-fantasy/): On 31 May 1852, at the Philharmonic society of London, Joseph Joachim gave the first performance of his Fantasia on Scottish Airs. That concert also included Mendelssohn’s violin concerto, but the reviewer wasn’t impressed, “Herr Joachim’s playing of Mendelssohn’s concerto,
- [Audience Watching](https://interlude.hk/audience-watching/): One of the secondary pleasures of going to live music in concert is “audience watching”. Different artists and repertoire attract different audiences, and I love observing audience behaviour before, during and after a concert. The ritual of concert going and
- [The Opera Scene in China](https://interlude.hk/opera-scene-china/): On a cold windy night of December 2017, I travelled from Shanghai to Nanjing on a secret mission. I was invited by an anonymous patron who would like me to pay a visit to the just inaugurated Jiangsu Centre for
- [SIBELIUS, J.: Tapiola / En Saga / Songs (arr. A. Sallinen for voice and orchestra)](https://interlude.hk/sibelius-j-tapiola-en-saga-songs-arr-sallinen-voice-orchestra/): 7 Songs, Op. 13 (arr. A. Sallinen for voice and orchestra) – No. 1. Under strandens granar (‘Neath the Fir Trees) From SIBELIUS, J. : Tapiola / En Saga / Songs (arr. A. Sallinen for voice and orchestra) (2017) Released by
- [Cellists Klengel and Becker: Towering Figures of the 19th Century](https://interlude.hk/cellists-klengel-becker-towering-figures-19th-century/): Like many other young cellists, I encountered Julius Klengel through his books of Technical Exercises in All Keys and his Daily Exercises. I wanted to play concertos not hours fixated on scales, arpeggios, and bowing exercises. But my father insisted,
- [Meet the Artist – François-Frédéric Guy](https://interlude.hk/meet-artist-francois-frederic-guy/): “Playing a concerto with orchestra is the utmost gift a pianist can receive! ” Ahead of his Hong Kong Sinfonietta début under Gabor Kali in Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No 3, French pianist François-Frédéric Guy talks to Frances Wilson about influences and
- [Mascagni: <em>Cavalleria Rusticana</em><br/>Premiered Today in 1890](https://interlude.hk/mascagni-cavalleria-rusticanapremiered-today-1890/): What do you get when you mix religiosity with sexual passion? Audiences got the answer on 17 May 1890 at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome. It was on that date that Pietro Mascagni’s one-act melodrama Cavalleria Rusticana saw its official
- [Polish Sensibility: the Mazurkas of Chopin and Szymanowski](https://interlude.hk/polish-sensibility-mazurkas-chopin-szymanowski/): Say ‘Mazurka’ and most people will reply ‘Chopin’. Fryderyk Chopin wrote at least 69 pieces in this form: 45 published during his lifetime, 13 published posthumously, and a further 11, which are known but where the manuscripts are in private
- [Gershwin’s Preludes](https://interlude.hk/gershwins-preludes/): From Bach onward, the idea of a cycle of preludes has intrigued composer. George Gershwin (1898-1937) took up the task of writing an intended 24, only completed 6 and only published 3.
- [Mapping the Musical Genome <br/>The Mason Family](https://interlude.hk/mapping-musical-genome-mason-family/): It’s not an exaggeration to declare that the Mason family decidedly and uniquely contributed to American music during the 19th and early 20th centuries. The patriarch Lowell Mason (1792-1872) was a significant composer of church music, including many original hymns.
- [The piano tuner: the pianist’s best friend](https://interlude.hk/piano-tuner-pianists-best-friend/): Just as pianists develop a strong attachment to the instrument they play most regularly so they can also form a very special relationship with the person who looks after that instrument – the piano tuner / technician.
- [Saint-Saëns: <em>Piano Concerto No 2</em> <br/> Premiered Today in 1868](https://interlude.hk/saint-saens-piano-concerto-2-premiered-today-1868/): Have you ever thought about writing a full-fledged piano concerto in a little less than 3 week? For most of us, this seems an almost impossible task, but it was not a problem for Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921). You see, Anton
- [CHILCOTT, B.: Choral Music](https://interlude.hk/chilcott-b-choral-music/): Nidaros Jazz Mass (version for choir, double bass, drums and piano) – Agnus Dei From CHILCOTT, B. : Choral Music (2017) Released by Naxos Bob Chilcott: Nidaros Jazz Mass (version for choir, double bass, drums and piano) – Agnus DeiBob Chilcott
- [Are you Practicing Your Études?](https://interlude.hk/practicing-etudes/): “She plays duets instead of Grützmacher,” my father grumbled. “Janet, practice your études! ” My father, trained in the European tradition, knew the benefits, and difficulties, of the strict methods of Dotzauer, Piatti, Klengel, Duport, and Becker, all brilliant cellists and
- [The Met gives Tosca the McVicar treatment](https://interlude.hk/met-gives-tosca-mcvicar-treatment/): When the mighty Met does something well, it truly excels. The new production by Sir David McVicar was near perfection. Replacing the unmissed Luc Bondy production, McVicar delivered what seemed like a fresher version of a Zeffirelli view of the
- [Chausson and a Symphonic Love Story](https://interlude.hk/chausson-symphonic-love-story/): Another composer who gave up his father’s dream that he become a lawyer, the French composer Ernest Chausson (1855-1899) completed his studies, was admitted to the bar, but found writing, drawing, and especially composition much more to his liking. In
- [Jacques Arcadelt](https://interlude.hk/jacques-arcadelt-composer/): “The Divine Arcadelt” Jacques Arcadelt (1507-1568) was one of the most famous of the early composers of madrigals. The Venetian printer Antonio Gardano issued his Primo libro in 1538, but no copy of this edition is known to survive. Apparently,
- [Music and Technology <br/>Flying Machines](https://interlude.hk/music-technology-flying-machines/): A 2014 report shows that 37. 4 million commercial passenger flights had been scheduled in that year. That means that an average of 102,465 daily flights departed and landed in all corners of the globe. We have certainly come a long
- [For Children and for Everyone: Fauré’s <em>Dolly</em> Suite](https://interlude.hk/children-everyone-faures-dolly-suite/): Gabriel Fauré didn’t like giving his works revealing names. He once said that he’d rather name every work ‘Piano Piece No... . ’ than commit to a name. Commercialization in the person of his publisher defeated him and so we have
- [Stravinsky: <em>Dumbarton Oaks</em><br/>Premiered Today in 1938](https://interlude.hk/stravinsky-dumbarton-oakspremiered-today-1938/): In 1920, Mildred Barnes and Robert Woods Bliss acquired a historic estate in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D. C. , which they eventually named Dumbarton Oaks. They engaged an architect to renovate and enlarge the house, and designed a series of
- [On This Day <br/>7 May: Beethoven's 9th Symphony Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/beethoven-9th-symphony-premiered-today-1824/): The Premiere of Beethoven’s Last Symphony During the final stages of putting the finishing touches on his 9th symphony (which was also Beethoven’s last symphony), Beethoven was adamant that it should be premiered in Berlin. For years, Beethoven had lamented
- [Dedication and passion: the inspiring world of the adult amateur pianist](https://interlude.hk/dedication-passion-inspiring-world-adult-amateur-pianist/): Amateurs have nothing to lose by being musically true to themselves... ... professionals are sometimes too intimidated to display their individuality– Daniel Martyn Lewis, concert pianist
- [Salon Culture in St. Petersburg III <br/>The Belyayev Circle](https://interlude.hk/salon-culture-st-petersburg-iii-belyayev-circle/): Mitrofan Petrovich Belyayev (1836-1904) was the son of a highly affluent timber merchant. Educated at the German-speaking Reform School in St. Petersburg, he took lessons in piano, violin and viol. At the age of 15, Belyayev joined his father’s booming
- [Latin American Flute Music - LEÓN, T. / ÁGUILA, M. del / TORRES, N. / HERNÁNDEZ, R.](https://interlude.hk/latin-american-flute-music-leon-t-aguila-m-del-torres-n-hernandez-r/): Néstor Torres: Marta y María, Op. 4 From Latin American Flute Music – LEÓN, T. / ÁGUILA, M. del / TORRES, N. / HERNÁNDEZ, R. (2017) Released by Naxos Néstor Torres: Marta y María, Op. 4Composer and Latin GRAMMY®-winning flautist
- [Forgotten Cellists: May Mukle](https://interlude.hk/forgotten-cellists-may-mukle/): In 1909, May Mukle, one of the first female British cellists to achieve international acclaim, received rave reviews for her playing of the Viktor Herbert Concerto at the promenade concerts in London, “Her splendid command of technique and her complete
- [Making the Notes Sing and Dance](https://interlude.hk/making-notes-sing-dance/): Steven Malinowski got frustrated at reading a complicated score and decided to animate it, and thus, the Music Animation Machine was born. Its first life was last century – way back in the mid-1970s... a time before personal computers, before
- [Poulenc: <em>Concert champêtre</em><br/>Premiered Today in 1929](https://interlude.hk/poulenc-concert-champetrepremiered-today-1929/): Francis Poulenc first met Wanda Landowska at a private performance of Falla’s El Retablo de Maese Pedro in June 1923. On that occasion, Landowska requested concertos from both composers, and Falla’s effort premiered on 5 November 1926 in Barcelona. Poulenc,
- [Writer and Pianist, or is that Pianist and Writer – an interview with Jeremy Denk](https://interlude.hk/writer-pianist-pianist-writer-interview-jeremy-denk/): Jeremy Denk made one name as a thoughtful and imaginative pianist. He made another name in 2013 when he wrote a piece for The New Yorker on learning to be pianist and his relationship with his most influential teacher, György
- [Stretching the Etude: Alkan’s Remarkable Op. 39](https://interlude.hk/stretching-etude-alkans-remarkable-op-39/): The trouble is that what most people know about the composer Charles-Valentin Alkan (1813-1888) is about how he died, rather much about his music. And even the story about his death isn’t true.
- [Mozart: <em>Le nozze di Figaro</em><br/>Premiered Today in 1786](https://interlude.hk/mozart-le-nozze-di-figaropremiered-today-1786/): Empress Maria Theresa of Austria founded the “Burgtheater” in Vienna in 1741. In time, it became one of the most important German language theatres in the world, and it saw the premiere of three Mozart operas! On 1 May 1786,
- [Bomsori Kim](https://interlude.hk/bomsori-kim/): Currently based in New York, Korean violinist Bomsori Kim plays with Pallavi Mahidhara in Hong Kong this month, with a programme of Ysaÿe, Sibelius, Debussy and Kreisler.
- [Chilling With Chopin in the Tokyo Metro](https://interlude.hk/chilling-chopin-tokyo-metro/): Trying to catch a train at Tokyo’s Shinjuku Station during rush hours is not a pleasant task. As a main connecting hub for rail traffic throughout greater Tokyo, it handles an average of 3. 64 million people per day! And that
- [Berlioz: <em>Te Deum</em><br/> Premiered Today in 1855](https://interlude.hk/berlioz-te-deum-premiered-today-1855/): On 30 April 1855, an ensemble of 950 performers piled into the Church of Saint-Eustache, in Paris. They were getting ready to finally premier a Berlioz work that had been specifically composed for the coronation of Louis Napoleon Bonaparte in
- [Schools of Influence](https://interlude.hk/schools-influence/): What is the Russian sound, or French style in piano playing? What differentiates a pianist who was taught in the English piano tradition from one who studied in Germany? The history of piano playing is built from a large network
- [Salon Culture in St. Petersburg II <br/>From Glinka to Anton Rubinstein](https://interlude.hk/salon-culture-st-petersburg-ii-glinka-anton-rubinstein/): The orientalist and journalist Osip Senkovsky (1800-1858) prolifically published articles on topics ranging from Chinese, Mongolian and Tibetan languages, to mathematics and medicine. Under the pen name “Baron Brambeus” he issued a series of fantastic voyages, including one to the
- [Schubert: Die Winterreise](https://interlude.hk/schubert-die-winterreise/): Winterreise, D. 911 – 1. Gute Nacht From Schubert: Die Winterreise (2018) Released by Harmonia Mundi Schubert: Winterreise, D. 911 – 1. Gute NachtWinterreise is at once the peak of the lieder repertory and Schubert’s testament. It guides the listener to distant
- [Forgotten Cellists: Bernard Greenhouse](https://interlude.hk/forgotten-cellists-xvii-bernard-greenhouse/): The acclaimed Beaux Arts Trio toured worldwide for nearly five decades, but you may not know their founding member, the magnificent cellist Bernard Greenhouse. I first heard him play in a performance with the Bach Aria Group. His luscious sound
- [Clarinet Trios – The Voice of the Wind](https://interlude.hk/clarinet-trios-voice-wind/): The clarinet as an instrument was born in the ancient past but came into its own at the time of Mozart. With the assistance of two virtuoso brothers, Anton and Johann Stadler, the clarinet took its place first in chamber
- [Stravinsky: <em>Apollon Musagète</em> <br/>Premiered Today in 1928](https://interlude.hk/stravinsky-apollon-musagetepremiered-today-1928/): He was born Giorgi Melitonovitch Balandchivadze in Saint Petersburg in 1904, and he danced his way into the State Theater of Opera and Ballet, better known as the Mariinsky Ballet. After fleeing to Paris and westernizing his name to George
- [The Genius of Claude Debussy](https://interlude.hk/genius-claude-debussy/): Debussy at the piano! One had to have seen it to appreciate its magic. No words could describe the mysterious enchantment of his playing... – Jacques-Emile Blanche, 1932 2018 marks the centenary of the death of French composer Achille-Claude Debussy (he
- [Souvenir de Tchaikovsky <br/>Chamber Music for Body and Soul](https://interlude.hk/souvenir-de-tchaikovsky-chamber-music-body-soul/): Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) was trained within a conservatory tradition that emphasized Western compositional techniques and expressions. As such, we would expect to find a multitude of intimate works for small ensembles. In reality, however, his published chamber output is
- [Puccini: <em>Turandot</em><br/> Premiered Today in 1926](https://interlude.hk/puccini-turandot-premiered-today-1926/): When Arturo Toscanini raised his arms at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan on 25 April 1926, he was getting ready for the premier of an unfinished opera. Turandot, the operatic adaptation of an originally 12th-century Persian epic filtered through
- [Marguerite Dufay – Trombonist](https://interlude.hk/marguerite-dufay-trombonist/): It was always easier to laugh at women instrumentalists than to take them seriously. Entertainer Marguerite Dufay played in the Parisian music cafés in the late 19th century, classified as a ‘comique excentrique. ’ A comic eccentric was a performer in
- [Haydn: <em>The Seasons</em><br/> Premiered Today in 1801](https://interlude.hk/haydn-seasons-premiered-today-1801/): The Swedish diplomat Fredrick Silverstolpe wrote in May 1800, “Haydn is writing with new zeal since he has had the good fortune to lose his nasty wife. ” By most accounts, Frau Haydn was not a particularly pleasant woman, and her
- [Musical Hunts II](https://interlude.hk/musical-hunts-ii/): The hunting profession—something we call “Wildlife management” in the 21st century—has long helped to maintain a population of healthy animals within an environment’s ecological capacity. Controlling the wildlife and predator population was of particular importance in the densely forested regions
- [Forgotten Quartets: The Galimir String Quartet of Vienna (1927-36)](https://interlude.hk/forgotten-quartets-galimir-string-quartet-vienna-1927-36/): Civilization survived the exuberant nationalism of World War I (1914-1918), bruised but still intact. Weapons technology did not yet match military ambition, and civilians were spared.
- [Salon Culture in St. Petersburg <br/> God Save the Tsar](https://interlude.hk/salon-culture-st-petersburg-god-save-tsar/): The city of St. Petersburg, also known as Petrograd, Peterburg and Leningrad stood at the forefront of Russian musical culture. Established in 1703, the city flourished under Peter the Great, and the role of art and music assumed national significance.
- [Dvořák: <em>Symphony No. 7</em><br/> Premiered Today in 1885](https://interlude.hk/dvorak-symphony-7-premiered-today-1885/): Czech music critics mercilessly criticized Antonin Dvořák for his supposed cosmopolitan musical tendencies. And as a result, he was performed and published less in Bohemia than in foreign lands. In stark contrast, Dvořák gained a particularly loyal following in England,
- [Big Music for Small-Handed Pianists](https://interlude.hk/big-music-small-handed-pianists/): For years I told myself I couldn’t play Liszt – or Rachmaninoff for that matter – because of the relatively small size of my hands. I can stretch a ninth, just about. Any more and it’s painful – and a
- [Violin and Piano Recital: Howick, Clare / Ekins, John Paul - ELGAR, E. / BRIDGE, F. / DELIUS, F. / SCOTT, C. ](https://interlude.hk/violin-piano-recital-howick-clare-ekins-john-paul-elgar-e-bridge-f-delius-f-scott-c/): Romance: Une lamentation d’amour From Violin and Piano Recital: Howick, Clare / Ekins, John Paul – ELGAR, E. / BRIDGE, F. / DELIUS, F. / SCOTT, C. (2017) Released by Naxos Bridge: Romance: Une lamentation d’amourFramed by Edward Elgar’s deeply
- [Forgotten Cellists: Enrico Mainardi](https://interlude.hk/forgotten-cellists-xvi-enrico-mainardi/): Born in 1897 in Milan, the Italian cellist Enrico Mainardi had a small cello in his hands at the age of three. He astonished everyone by performing one of the Beethoven Cello Sonatas flawlessly just a few years later. Hailed
- [Puccini: <em>Edgar</em><br/> Premiered Today in 1889](https://interlude.hk/puccini-edgar-premiered-today-1889/): Here is the trivia question for today. Can you name the Puccini opera that the composer himself desperately wanted to forget? The answer is Edgar, and despite revising it repeatedly, Puccini eventually declared the work irredeemable. Edgar was Puccini’s second
- [Piano Trios – When Fame Brings Forth Art](https://interlude.hk/piano-trios-fame-brings-forth-art/): The idea of a trio is simple. Three people, three performers, and so on. But the musical trio is something special. We’ll start with the piano trio. At first piano trios were groups that got together and then just as
- [Ravel: <em>Ma mère l'Oye</em><br/> Premiered Today in 1910](https://interlude.hk/ravel-ma-mere-loye-premiered-today-1910/): Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) loved children. Although he was not married and did not have children of his own, he always seemed to spend more time with children than with adults. In fact, he never outgrew his ability to see the
- [Katharina Cibbini-Koželuch: Friends with Beethoven](https://interlude.hk/katharina-cibbini-kozeluch-friends-beethoven/): When Leopold Koželuch arrived in Vienna to follow his musical calling, he immediately understood that being a capable musician and composer was not enough to really get ahead.
- [Berg: <em>Violin Concerto</em><br/> Premiered Today in 1936](https://interlude.hk/berg-violin-concerto-premiered-today-1936/): When Alban Berg’s Violin Concerto premiered at the Palau de la Música Catalana, in Barcelona on 19 April 1936, the composer was no longer alive. Shortly after he had finished the composition he was stung by an insect at the
- [Mapping the Musical Genome <br/>The Stamitz Family](https://interlude.hk/mapping-musical-genome-stamitz-family/): When families migrate across linguistic borders, their names frequently undergo a number of significant changes. Just take the Stamitz family, an extended and highly active Bohemian group of musicians, as an example. The spelling of their family name in contemporary
- [A Riddle Motet or what was Ghiselin Danckerts up to?](https://interlude.hk/riddle-motet-ghiselin-danckerts/): We have a motet by the Dutch composer Ghiselin Danckerts (ca. 1510-1567) that has caused much puzzlement over the years. Originally published in 1535, but now lost, Danckerts’ motet Ave maris stella (Hail, star of the sea), was reprinted and
- [Musical Hunts](https://interlude.hk/musical-hunts/): For most of human history, hunting meant survival! As such, it’s hardly surprising that civilizations throughout the ages held gods and goddesses associated with the hunt in particularly high regard. Artemis, the daughter of Zeus was the Greek goddess of
- [Penderecki: <em>Polymorphia</em> <br/> Premiered Today in 1962](https://interlude.hk/penderecki-polymorphia-premiered-today-1962/): I don’t know if you agree, but The Exorcist (1973) and The Shining (1980) are two of the most iconic horror movies ever to flicker across the silver screen. These are all about scary imagery, ranging from a twisting and
- [Capture the Moment: Musicians In the Zone](https://interlude.hk/capture-moment/): How does it feel to play that passage of Liszt or that section of Schubert beautifully? Or the grandest measures of Bach? The tenderest Chopin? The most sensitive, haunting Debussy? To plumb the profoundest, most spiritual depths of Messiaen?
- [Handel: <em>Serse</em> <br/> Premiered Today in 1738](https://interlude.hk/handel-serse-premiered-today-1738/): There was great confusion at the premiere of Handel’s “Serse” at the King’s Theatre, Haymarket on 15 April 1738! I know you are asking yourself why that might have been the case? After all, Handel was setting the London stages
- [Forgotten Cellists: Laszlo Varga](https://interlude.hk/forgotten-cellists-xv-laszlo-varga/): Hungarian cellist Laszlo Varga escaped war-torn Budapest, and Nazi forced labor, to become principal cello of the New York Philharmonic, a recitalist, quartet player, and revered teacher. He was born in Budapest in 1924, surrounded by music—his father was an
- [Hans Gál: Chamber Music, Volume Three](https://interlude.hk/hans-gals-chamber-music-volume-three/): Piano Quartet in B flat major, Op. 13 – II Andante con moto From Hans Gál: Chamber Music, Volume Three (2018) Released by Toccata Classics Hans Gál: Piano Quartet in B flat major, Op. 13 – II Andante con motoHaving
- [Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances: A Dance for Death](https://interlude.hk/rachmaninoffs-symphonic-dances/): In the summer of 1939, Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943) left England for America to avoid the omnipresent threat of war. He had had a successful career in the US, touring as concert pianist, but now he was ill and tired. The
- [Leopold Koželuch (1747-1818): A Fortepiano Pioneer](https://interlude.hk/leopold-kozeluch-fortepiano-pioneer/): The great musicological explorer Dr. Charles Burney writes glowingly in his General History of Music of 1789; “An admirable young composer of Vienna, whose works were first made known in England by the neat and accurate execution of Mademoiselle Paradis
- [Full Steam Ahead <br/>Musical Train Journeys III](https://interlude.hk/full-steam-ahead-musical-train-journeys-iii/): Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887-1959) is rightfully credited with merging the music of his native Brazil with musical elements and stylistic features from a central-European classical tradition. Born in Rio de Janeiro but trained in the European Conservatory tradition, Villa-Lobos began to
- [Zodiac](https://interlude.hk/zodiac/): We know the animals and figures of the Zodiac, but how did composers take these on? Mystic composer John Tavener used the birth of his second daughter as inspiration for his work for solo piano, Zodiac (1997). The overtones of
- [Brahms: <em>German Requiem</em><br/> Premiered Today in 1868](https://interlude.hk/brahms-german-requiem/): Johannes Brahms was highly indifferent to organized religion. Although baptized and confirmed in the Lutheran faith, he considered the bible “a repository of experiences and wisdoms rather than a definition of Christian creed. ” It was the death of his beloved
- [Pursuing Protein in Classical Music](https://interlude.hk/pursuing-protein-classical-music/): Evolution has given human beings four types of teeth, each with a specific function. Incisors cut the food, canines tear the food and molar and premolars crush the food. Given that kind of evolutionary structure, it seems rather reasonable to
- [Dartington International Summer School at 70](https://interlude.hk/dartington-international-summer-school-70/): For musicians, professionals and amateurs alike, the name Dartington evokes magical memories of intense and inspirational music-making in a beautiful secluded enclave of Devon, UK.
- [Musical Migrations](https://interlude.hk/musical-migrations/): The art of music is inexorably linked to the dimension of time. As such it fundamentally mirrors the sense of movement or journey that is an essential element of the human condition. Humankind has migrated to every corner of the
- [RIES, F.: Violin Sonatas, Vol. 2](https://interlude.hk/ries-f-violin-sonatas-vol-2/): Violin Sonata in B-Flat Major, Op. 16, No. 2 I. Allegro From RIES, F. : Violin Sonatas, Vol. 2 (2017) Released by Naxos Ries: Violin Sonata in B-Flat Major, Op. 16, No. 2 – I. Allegro This second volume of Ferdinand
- [Forgotten Cellists: Eva Heinitz](https://interlude.hk/forgotten-cellists-xiv-eva-heinitz/): Eva Heinitz, cello soloist of international repute, who performed chamber music with violinists, Heifetz, Menuhin, Milstein, Szigeti, and Stern, was an exceptional teacher before she became known as “The Wanda Landowska of the Viola da Gamba. ”
- [On This Day<br/> 7 April: Bach's <em>St. John Passion</em> Was Premiered](https://interlude.hk/bach-st-john-passion-premiered-today-1724/): It never fails to amaze that Johann Sebastian Bach was practically unknown during his early days. It took almost a year of negotiation, and the refusal of Georg Friedrich Telemann and Christoph Graupner, before the Kantor position at St. Thomas
- [Destination Brazil](https://interlude.hk/destination-brazil/): Brazil and its main city, Rio de Janeiro, came to life for many people in the film that showed the many facets of the city: Black Orpheus (Orpheu Negro) and its retelling of the Orpheus myth through the medium of
- [Back to the roots <br/> Naples puts on Rossini’s <em>Mosè in Egitto</em> 200 years after its house debut](https://interlude.hk/back-roots-naples-puts-rossinis-mose-egitto-200-years-house-debut/): Quite possibly the Teatro San Carlo of Naples, Italy’s leading opera house in the early 19th century, has found its groove again. In spite of a middle-of-the-road production of Gioachino Rossini’s Mosè in Egitto (Moses in Egypt), the legendary San
- [Leopold Koželuch](https://interlude.hk/leopold-kozeluch-composer-of-the-month/): Vying with Mozart for the Viennese connoisseurs Working as a contemporary musician and composer alongside Mozart, Haydn, and Beethoven must have been a rather daunting task. Yet, a good number of critics and scholars considered Leopold Koželuch (1747-1818) the finer
- [Full Steam Ahead <br/>Musical Train Journeys II](https://interlude.hk/full-steam-ahead-musical-train-journeys-ii/): In his hometown of Copenhagen, Hans Christian Lumbye (1810-1874) was known as the “Strauss of the North. ” It all started when he heard a Viennese orchestra play music by Johann Strauss I, Fire and flame, Lumbye appeared at the head
- [Pop Goes the Orchestra](https://interlude.hk/pop-goes-orchestra/): In the US, it’s known as ‘Pops Music’ (not to be confused with Pop Music). It’s music for the lighter side of classical, music that the entire audience can just sink back and listen to, and, on occasion, sing along
- [At the Center of the Musical Universe <br/>Robert and Clara Schumann II](https://interlude.hk/center-musical-universe-robert-clara-schumann-ii/): Robert Schumann spent the last two-and-a-half years of his life in a private psychiatric hospital in Endenich. His medical records were discovered in 1991, and first published in 2006. They contain daily entries documenting treatment—including shielding from stimuli, physical procedures,
- [Live lessons – thoughts on performing](https://interlude.hk/live-lessons-thoughts-performing/): Performing can take many forms – from informal playing at home with friends to a recital at a world-renowned concert hall – and each performance presents its own difficulties, stresses, pleasures and revelations. I believe it is important to perform
- [Benjamin Appl](https://interlude.hk/benjamin-appl-artist-of-the-month/): Be stronger and more certain London-based baritone Benjamin Appl will perform in Hong Kong later this month; he talks to me about his journey from bank apprentice to world-renowned singer.
- [ WIDOR, Charles-Marie: Woodwind Works](https://interlude.hk/widor-charles-marie-woodwind-works/): Introduction et Rondo, Op. 72 From WIDOR, Charles-Marie: Woodwind Works (2017) Released by Naxos Widor: Introduction et Rondo, Op. 72Charles Widor’s musical life covered around 75 years of French cultural history. His organ symphonies helped to blow spectacular new life
- [Forgotten Cellists: Felix Salmond](https://interlude.hk/forgotten-cellists-xiii-felix-salmond/): Felix Salmond (1888-1952) was one of the most influential cello teachers in America. As a professor at the Juilliard School, and later the Curtis Institute of Music, his pupils include Leonard Rose, Samuel Mayes, Orlando Cole, Bernard Greenhouse, Frank Miller,
- [Destination Rome](https://interlude.hk/destination-rome/): The city of Rome is a city of ancient forums and modern traffic, fabulous fountains and busy markets, solemn churches and resonant spaces. It’s a walking city and all of history seems to have happened here.
- [In Touch with Gilad Hochman<br/>IC2018 Guest Artist](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-gilad-hochman-ic-guest-artist/): Gilad Hochman, one of Israel’s leading young composers, will be the guest composer for one week of Hong Kong University of Science and Technology’s annual Intimacy of Creativity festival. Intimacy of Creativity (IC), is where composers and performers meet for
- [Anatoly Lunacharsky：More than the saviour of Sergei Prokofiev](https://interlude.hk/anatoly-lunacharsky%ef%bc%9amore-saviour-sergei-prokofiev/): Sergei Prokofiev, one of the greatest composers of Russia, would never forget that day after the Revolution. He left Russia with the official blessing and warning of the Soviet Minister Anatoly Lunacharsky: “You are running away from events, and these
- [Cav and Pag in Calvin’s home city](https://interlude.hk/cav-pag-calvins-home-city/): Geneva is an unusual place. Set on a stunning lake at the Swiss-French border and surrounded by hulking dark mountains, its city center is dominated by banks and jewellers. Hotels and restaurants are notoriously overpriced, as is pretty much everything
- [Full Steam Ahead <br/>Musical Train Journeys](https://interlude.hk/full-steam-ahead-musical-train-journeys/): Life is a journey, and truth be told, when it comes to transportation I much prefer trains to airplanes.
- [Honey and Rue](https://interlude.hk/honey-rue/): The American soprano Kathleen Battle read the words of the poet Toni Morrison and commissioned Morrison and the composer André Previn for a song cycle. Seeing the names of those three people in one sentence tells you from the beginning
- [At the Center of the Musical Universe <br/>Robert and Clara Schumann](https://interlude.hk/center-musical-universe-robert-clara-schumann/): Robert Schumann, Clara Schumann, and Johannes Brahms are surely the most famous love triangle in the history of Western music. Details of the courtship, ensuing legal troubles and the eventual marriage between Robert and Clara are well known.
- [The Melodic Pleasures of Jacqueline Leung](https://interlude.hk/the-melodic-pleasures-of-jacqueline-leung/): A different kind of album came to our attention the other day – a new recording by Hong Kong pianist Jacqueline Leung, In Sunshine or In Shadow. Instead of the usual compilation of the usual stalwarts of the piano world,
- [Be More Amateur](https://interlude.hk/amateur-pianists/): The self-help/life coaching section of my local bookshop is full of books on how to learn from the professionals – think like a pro, act like a pro, be more pro. We are encouraged to draw inspiration from successful professionals
- [Flower Waltzes](https://interlude.hk/flower-waltzes/): Dancing and flowers seem to go together – the beautiful flowers moving gently in the breeze and the dancers weaving their way around the floor.
- [ONSLOW, G.: String Quintets, Vol. 2 - Nos. 10 and 22](https://interlude.hk/onslow-g-string-quintets-vol-2-nos-10-22/): String Quintet No. 10 in F Minor, Op. 32 II. Andante From ONSLOW, G. : String Quintets, Vol. 2 – Nos. 10 and 22 (2017) Released by Naxos Onslow: String Quintet No. 10 in F Minor, Op. 32 – II. Andante
- [Forgotten Cellists: Kermit Moore](https://interlude.hk/kermit-moore-forgotten-cellists-xii/): Although African-Americans have excelled in jazz, gospel, R & B, hip-hop and other genres of music, the many influential artists, composers, and performers of classical music in the twentieth century are relatively unknown. They include the cellist Kermit Moore who
- [Sounding Cosmology with Stephen Hawking (1942-2018)](https://interlude.hk/stephen-hawking-classical-music/): The British physicist and cosmologist Stephen Hawking published his Brief History of Time in 1988. Overnight, it turned him into a best-selling author, and into an unmistakable figure in pop culture. The reason he decided to put his groundbreaking research
- [Destination Cairo](https://interlude.hk/destination-cairo/): Cairo – the ancient and modern city. One side of the river are the modern buildings of today, and on the outskirts of town is the Giza plateau with the familiar pyramids and the sphinx. The city itself is a
- [Debussy's Wives: Rosalie Texier and Emma Bardac](https://interlude.hk/debussys-wives/): As far as women were concerned, Claude Debussy was a bastard! “There was a woman at each crossroad of Debussy’s life,” Marcel Dietschy writes. “Certainly women of all ages seemed fascinated by him, and they attached themselves to him like
- [WWI Composers: Elgar, Schoenberg and Holst](https://interlude.hk/wwi-composers-elgar-schoenberg-holst/): The First World War was not merely a global military conflict; it also had far reaching implications for civilian life. It called upon women to become a fundamental part of the war effort, carrying out domestic labor, waged industrial labor,
- [Busoni and the Clarinet](https://interlude.hk/busoni-clarinet/): When we speak of musicians, we often credit their parent or a likely aunt as their first influence at their instrument. For the Italian composer Ferruccio Busoni (1866-1924), we find his father, clarinettist Fernando Busoni (1834-1909), important to his development
- [Finding the Opera Inside <br/>An Interview with Davinia Rodríguez](https://interlude.hk/finding-opera-inside-interview-davinia-rodriguez/): Spanish soprano Davinia Rodríguez, from Gran Carania in the Canary Islands, is currently in Oman, singing Nedda in Pagliacci. It’s a rare production to have just the one opera, without its usual accompaniment of Cavalleria rusticana, but that means that
- [Mapping the Musical Genome <br/>The Waltzing Strauss Family](https://interlude.hk/mapping-musical-genome-waltzing-strauss-family/): The extraordinary dynasty of dance music composers and musicians named Strauss originated in the Hungarian town of Buda. Around 1750, Grandfather Johann moved to Vienna, and his son Franz Borgias operated a small tavern in the suburb of Leopoldstadt. That
- [Claude Debussy <br/>French Music without Sauerkraut](https://interlude.hk/claude-debussy-french-music-without-sauerkraut/): Claude Debussy’s friend Paul Dukas candidly wrote “the strongest influence to which Debussy submitted was that of the littérateurs, not that of the musician. ” And while most of us have no problems describing Debussy as an “Impressionist,” a term originating
- [No Introduction Needed?](https://interlude.hk/introduction-needed/): Thoughts on How to Introduce the Music Appropriately Before a Performance There is a growing trend amongst concert hosts and performers to introduce the music to be performed ahead of the concert, and on radio for presenters to describe the
- [CHILCOTT, B.: Choral Music (All Good Things) ](https://interlude.hk/chilcott-b-choral-music-good-things/): The Real of Heart From CHILCOTT, B. : Choral Music (All Good Things) (2017) Released by Naxos Chilcott: The Real of HeartBob Chilcott is one of Britain’s most popular and respected composers and his choral music is performed worldwide. He has
- [Forgotten Cellists: Lev Aronson](https://interlude.hk/forgotten-cellists-xi-lev-aronson/): No-one could have predicted that Lev Aronson, from an impoverished family, interned in concentration camps during World War II, who overcame horrific experiences as a slave laborer —would become principal cello of the Dallas Symphony, and beloved cello teacher. His
- [Idylls for String Quartet](https://interlude.hk/idylls-string-quartet/): When we think of an ‘idyll’ we think of a peaceful and happy time. In music this doesn’t all have to be set in the happy land of major, we need that darker minor side to set the major into
- [Nemorino in Tokyo – An Interview with Saimir Pirgu](https://interlude.hk/nemorino-tokyo-interview-saimir-pirgu/): In discussing the wide-range of characters he’s sung and his current role, lyric tenor Saimir Pirgu says he likes the roles where he doesn’t die at the end, contrasting his current role of Nemorino in L’elisir d’amore at the National
- [Claude Debussy: “I need something to love”](https://interlude.hk/claude-debussy-need-something-love/): The Scottish operatic soprano Mary Garden, who sung the part of “Mélisande” in the original production of Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande in 1902, was to later write about the composer, “I honestly don’t know if Debussy ever loved anybody really.
- [Musical Voices of WWI (1914-18) <br/>Kreisler, Caplet and Hindemith](https://interlude.hk/musical-voices-wwi-1914-18-kreisler-caplet-hindemith/): In 1910, Fritz Kreisler (1875-1962) was at the top of his game! He had just premiered the Elgar Violin Concerto under the composer’s direction at Queen’s Hall in London, and he was revered as one of the finest instrumentalists of
- [The Last Best Patron](https://interlude.hk/last-best-patron/): We think of patrons in music associated with the music of earlier times: Florentine lords and leaders, the Pope, or all those Russian princesses who propped up Russian composers. In America, though, it was the daughter of Chicago wholesaler who
- [At the Center of the Musical Universe <br/>Vincenzo Bellini III](https://interlude.hk/center-musical-universe-vincenzo-bellini-iii/): Here is what Robert Schumann had to say about Carl Czerny’s Fantasies Brillantes on Original Themes Op. 434, “A greater bankruptcy of imagination than that demonstrated in Mr. Czerny’s newest creation could hardly exist. One should force the esteemed composer
- [The Creativity Routine](https://interlude.hk/creativity-routine/): Where does inspiration come from, the spark to create? ... . even fairly mundane activities can feed in to the discovery of new insight, new knowledge and new means of expressing ideas in all sorts of ways – Professor John Rink
- [Achille-Claude Debussy](https://interlude.hk/claude-achille-debussy/): Sonic Explorer and Visionary On 25 March 1918, Achille-Claude Debussy (1862-1918) lost his battle with rectal cancer at his Paris home. Aged 55, Debussy was universally acknowledged as one of the most important musicians of his time. His harmonic innovations
- [ROGER-DUCASSE, J.: Piano Works](https://interlude.hk/roger-ducasse-j-piano-works/): Sonorités From ROGER-DUCASSE, J. : Piano Works (2017) Released by Grand Piano Roger-Ducasse: SonoritésJean Roger-Ducasse was a close friend of Debussy and a composer of considerable reputation in his day, one critic declaring that “all the best qualities of the French
- [Forgotten Cellists: Raya Garbousova](https://interlude.hk/forgotten-cellists-x-raya-garbousova/): The eminent cellist, Raya Garbousova, had it all—a gorgeous cello sound, formidable technique, boundless energy, and movie-star allure. Born in Tbilisi, the Capital of the country of Georgia, in 1909, (there are some disputes about her age. Some sources list
- [The Voice as Pure Instrument](https://interlude.hk/voice-pure-instrument/): If there are two words that you cannot imagine in a row, it’s ‘coloratura’ and ‘concerto,’ but Russian composer Reinhold Glière wrote such a piece: his 1942 Concerto for Coloratura Soprano and Orchestra in F Minor, Op. 82. This work
- [Life on the Road III](https://interlude.hk/life-road-iii/): Life on the road sometimes takes unexpected turns. As we left the first part of our tour diary, midway through our week of six concerts in six days in Scotland, our singer had just lost her voice. Rapid replanning of
- [Composers of the World](https://interlude.hk/composers-world/): In time for Women’s History Month, we should consider the women composers in our world. Hmmm. None come to mind? Expand your thoughts, think of bigger concepts. Think international. Chihchun Chi-sun Lee is a Taiwanese composer who studied in Taiwan
- [Musical Voices of WWI (1914-18) <br/>Vaughan-Williams, Stephan and Bliss](https://interlude.hk/musical-voices-wwi-1914-18-vaughan-williams-stephan-bliss/): Ralph Vaughan Williams was already an established composer at the onset of the First World War. By 1914, he had created a considerable body of works, including two symphonies and various works for orchestra, an opera and a number of
- [Placing Music in Context – An Interview with Ton Koopman](https://interlude.hk/placing-music-context-interview-ton-koopman/): Ton Koopman will be coming to China and Hong Kong in May for 4 concerts that reflect many aspects of his career. His first two concerts, 20 May in Guangzhou and 25 May in Shanghai, are solid 18th century masterpieces
- [At the Center of the Musical Universe <br/>Vincenzo Bellini II](https://interlude.hk/center-musical-universe-vincenzo-bellini-ii/): Clara Schumann wrote in her diary, “A woman is not expected to have any desire to compose. ” However, she clearly had the desire, and more importantly, the ability to do so. For a variety of reasons she decided to stop
- [The Myth of ‘Natural Talent’](https://interlude.hk/myth-natural-talent/): I watched with interest some of the Winter Olympics coverage from South Korea, in particular the snowboarding and skiing. It’s easy to spot the winners – people like Chloe Kim and Redmond Gerard (both from the US team): they display
- [In Awe of the Verbier Festival Orchestras](https://interlude.hk/awe-verbier-festival-orchestras/): “Listen to Awesomeness” is a contemporary jargon used to market products related to focused listening – from audiobooks to earphones to DJs streaming music online. Even though the expression rarely exists in the classical music arena, it aptly reflects my
- [Forgotten Cellists: Hideo Saito](https://interlude.hk/forgotten-cellists-ix-hideo-saito/): Western music flourishes in Japan in the early twentieth century, mainly due to the influence of Hideo Saito, who performed and conducted to the end of his days. Hideo Saito is considered one of Japan’s greatest music teachers.
- [ SOR, F.: Songs for Voice and Guitar ](https://interlude.hk/sor-f-songs-voice-guitar/): Laurette From SOR, F. : Songs for Voice and Guitar (2017) Released by Naxos Sor: Songs for Voice and GuitarFernando Sor was one of the greatest guitarists of his era and his works are still extremely popular today. His songs, however,
- [In Celebration of the Piano in Chamber Music <br/> A Brand New Festival and Competition in Birmingham, UK](https://interlude.hk/celebration-piano-chamber-music-brand-new-festival-competition-birmingham-uk/): Between 20th and 23rd November this year, the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire will be home to the first Birmingham International Piano Chamber Music Festival. Artists including the Gould Trio, London Bridge Trio, Katya Apekisheva, Christoph Richter, Esther Hoppe, Alice Neary, Robin
- [Women on the Podium](https://interlude.hk/women-podium/): Did the diarist Samuel Pepys alert us to women conductors in 17th century London? There we went and eat and drank and heard musique at the Globe, and saw the simple motion that is there of a woman with a
- [Denis Matsuev](https://interlude.hk/denis-matsuev-artist-of-the-month/): Finding new meanings and emotions Having performed in venues across the world, including the Royal Festival Hall, Concertgebouw, and Carnegie Hall, Russian pianist Denis Matsuev arrives in Hong Kong this month to perform a cycle of the Rachmaninov piano concerti.
- [Musical Voices of WWI (1914-18) <br/>Ravel, Berg, and Butterworth](https://interlude.hk/musical-voices-wwi-1914-18-ravel-berg-butterworth/): Trench warfare, which has since been described as “futility in conflict,” gained its horrifying notoriety on the Western Front in the First World War. By the time the dust and poisonous gas clouds had settled on the “war to end
- [Playing Together – Women’s Orchestras and Women in Orchestras](https://interlude.hk/playing-together-womens-orchestras-women-orchestras/): The late-19th and early 20th centuries saw a new phenomenon: all-women orchestras. Kept out of the traditional orchestras by reason of gender (it certainly wasn’t because of talent), women musicians came together to form their own orchestras.
- [At the Center of the Musical Universe <br/>Vincenzo Bellini](https://interlude.hk/center-musical-universe-vincenzo-bellini/): Princess Cristina Trivulzio Belgiojoso certainly had a flair for the dramatic! Married at the age of 16 she was considered the richest heiress in Italy, and after separating from her husband she set up her Paris salon. And on 31
- [Small Is Beautiful – the Piano Miniature](https://interlude.hk/small-beautiful-piano-miniature/): When considering the piano repertoire, and piano instrumental music, we tend to focus on the big works in the canon – the great concertos and piano sonatas, and large-scale works like the Goldberg, Diabelli or Handel Variations, or the Rhapsody
- [Escape with Sophie Webber](https://interlude.hk/escape-sophie-webber/): Cellist Sophie Webber’s new album carries the unusual title of Escape. No, this isn’t music of the balmy islands of the Caribbean; these are the Bach solo cello suites, which many would regard as emblematic of a more straitened outlook.
- [EŠENVALDS, Ē.: Choral Music (The Doors of Heaven)](https://interlude.hk/esenvalds-e-choral-music-doors-heaven/): The First Tears From EŠENVALDS, Ē. : Choral Music (The Doors of Heaven) (2017) Released by Naxos Ešenvalds: The First TearsThe Latvian composer Ēriks Ešenvalds has rapidly become one of the world’s most performed choral composers. His ability to bring a
- [Forgotten Cellists: Gaspar Cassadó](https://interlude.hk/forgotten-cellists-viii-gaspar-cassado/): Gaspar Cassadó was another distinguished virtuoso and composer of cello music. His Requiebros, and Dance of the Green Devil are two encore pieces we cellists love to play.
- [Destination Dublin](https://interlude.hk/destination-dublin/): We associate Dublin, and, perhaps, all of Ireland with folk music. Yet, it has a distinguished set of classical composers beginning early in the modern era. Composers such as John Field, Charles Villiers Stanford, and Hamilton Harty started in Dublin
- [The Festival of the Noise that Thinks <br/>An Interview with Ingmar Lazar](https://interlude.hk/festival-noise-thinks-interview-ingmar-lazar/): Starting in 2016, the ‘Festival du Bruit qui Pense’, founded by pianist Ingmar Lazar, started on its unique journey. Mr. Lazar’s vision rested on the communication between the arts. Over the three days of his upcoming festival (March 23-24-25), there
- [Paul Wittgenstein <br/>The Romantic Virtuoso](https://interlude.hk/paul-wittgenstein-romantic-virtuoso/): While Maurice Ravel and Richard Strauss have received the highest accolades in the historiography of classical music, the contemporary musical world of Paul Wittgenstein was numerously populated by a host of highly talented composers and performers. And a commission from
- [Hymns and Fuguing Tunes in a Modern Style](https://interlude.hk/hymns-fuguing-tunes-modern-style/): The American composer Henry Cowell took a mid-18th century musical style and brought it forward to the modern world in his set of 18 Hymn and Fuguing Tunes, written between 1943 and 1964. A fuguing tune (not to be confused
- [Life on the Road II](https://interlude.hk/life-road-ii/): Day 1 All ready to go! Heloise (singer) and I are meeting at Euston station to take the train to Glasgow, where we’ll be meeting Anne and Marianne (harp and double bass), who are driving from Reading with the big
- [At the Center of the Musical Universe <br/>Frédéric Chopin III](https://interlude.hk/center-musical-universe-frederic-chopin-iii/): The Polish pianist Theodore Leschetizky (1830-1915) gave his public debut at age 9. He performed a Concertino by Czerny in the city of Lemberg, with the orchestra directed by Franz Xaver Mozart, the youngest surviving son of Wolfgang Amadeus. After
- [How do Musicians Define Success?](https://interlude.hk/musicians-define-success/): In our commercially-driven modern times “success” tends to be measured in monetary terms, and those people who have achieved the dizzy heights of a very large salary and financial security long into the future are generally regarded as “successful”.
- [A Different Story than Film: Bruno Monsaingeon’s Books and Performances](https://interlude.hk/different-story-film-bruno-monsaingeons-books-performances/): Only two of Bruno Monsaingeon’s books came from his films, the 6 others are all independent productions. The two books, Mademoiselle and Richter, had very different sources of generation.
- [HARRISON, L.: Violin Concerto / Grand Duo / Double Music](https://interlude.hk/harrison-l-violin-concerto-grand-duo-double-music/): Violin Concerto III. Allegro – Vigoroso – Poco presto From HARRISON, L. : Violin Concerto / Grand Duo / Double Music (2017) Released by Naxos Harrison: Violin Concerto – III. Allegro – Vigoroso – Poco prestoLou Harrison was a composer far
- [Forgotten Cellists: Beatrice Harrison](https://interlude.hk/forgotten-cellists-vii-beatrice-harrison/): Beatrice Harrison (1892-1965), our next featured cellist, lived when the cello was beginning to flourish. Harrison was the leading British cellist of her day— the first woman cellist to play at Carnegie Hall, in 1913, the first woman soloist with
- [Destination Beijing](https://interlude.hk/destination-beijing/): The new city of the new century, Beijing has grasped the future and has taken its history with it. Its literary background, its Forbidden City, its love for its traditions, and its desire to lead the future give us a
- [When a factory becomes a concert hall](https://interlude.hk/factory-becomes-concert-hall/): A brand new concert hall built on a former industrial site reinvigorates the city and unveils a new chapter for its local orchestra. Sounds like an exemplary story from Hamburg. Well I am actually referring to Zürich in Switzerland.
- [César Cui](https://interlude.hk/cesar-cui-composer-of-the-month/): Spokesman of the “Mighty Handful” Antoine Queuille named his sons after great military men, and that included Alexander, Napoleon and César. He was an officer in the French Army who settled in Vilnius, Lithuania after Napoleon’s retreat from Moscow in
- [2018 <br/> The Year of the Earth Dog](https://interlude.hk/2018-year-earth-dog/): A long, long time ago, the Jade Emperor was looking for 12 animals to become designated as calendar signs. So he sent an immortal being into the world of man and announced that the first 12 animals to pass through
- [Paul Wittgenstein <br/>The Lefty Concertos](https://interlude.hk/paul-wittgenstein-lefty-concertos/): The undisputed masterwork to emerge from the Wittgenstein commissions was the Concerto pour la main gauche by Maurice Ravel. Yet the collaboration between composer and interpreter was decidedly acrimonious. Composed between 1929 and 1930, Ravel was intrigued by the challenge
- [Rubinstein and the Rocky Island](https://interlude.hk/rubinstein-rocky-island/): Starting in 1848, Anton Rubinstein was in great shape musically. He had an attentive patron in the Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna, sister-in-law to Tsar Nicholas I. In addition to his teaching and performing careers, he also composed 3 symphonies, 5
- [At the Center of the Musical Universe <br/>Frédéric Chopin II](https://interlude.hk/center-musical-universe-frederic-chopin-ii/): Completed in April 1893, the 18 Morceaux, Op. 72 were Tchaikovsky’s last works for solo piano. Putting together the relevant musical materials for a series of piano pieces he told his brother, “in order to earn some money, I will
- [My Films Should Outlast Me: Bruno Monsaingeon as Filmmaker](https://interlude.hk/films-outlast-bruno-monsaingeon-filmmaker/): Filmmaker Bruno Monsaingeon made his name with his very first film, on his teacher, Yehudi Menuhin and the violin in Eastern Europe. His fame was cemented with his second film, the first of many on the Canadian pianist Glenn Gould.
- [Relaxing Classical Music?](https://interlude.hk/relaxing-classical-music/): Is this the most “relaxing” piece of classical music? asks Radio Three of Arvo Pärt’s contemplative and spiritual ‘Spiegel im Spiegel’.
- [VIARDOT, Paul: Violin Sonatas Nos. 1-3 / VIARDOT, Pauline: Violin Sonatina](https://interlude.hk/viardot-paul-violin-sonatas-nos-1-3-viardot-pauline-violin-sonatina/): Violin Sonatina in A Minor I Adagio From VIARDOT, Paul: Violin Sonatas Nos. 1-3 / VIARDOT, Pauline: Violin Sonatina (2017) Released by Naxos Viardot: Violin Sonatina in A Minor – I AdagioPauline Viardot, daughter of the famous tenor, composer, operatic
- [Voices from the Verbier Festival Academy II](https://interlude.hk/voices-verbier-festival-academy-ii/): Further to my previous article – “Voices from the Verbier Festival Academy I”, here are more comments from the “2017 Musicians”.
- [Forgotten Cellists: Maurice Gendron](https://interlude.hk/forgotten-cellists-vi-maurice-gendron/): Frenchman Maurice Gendron (1920-1990) was known for his poise and elegant, pristine playing. If Daniil Shafran played with unconventional hand positions, Gendron’s are nearest to the ideal. His hands are cello perfect: rounded, relaxed, symmetrical, and produced a shimmering sound.
- [Voices from the Verbier Festival Academy I](https://interlude.hk/voices-verbier-festival-academy/): On 3rd December, 2017, a Verbier Festival Academy alumnus – 18 year old cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason from Nottingham, UK – made his debut in Vancouver, Canada, presented by the Vancouver Recital Society. He and his sister Isata (who accompanied him
- [Destination Hong Kong](https://interlude.hk/destination-hong-kong/): More so than any other city in China, Hong Kong has long been a symbol of the exotic other. As an English colony, it was a good place for the Westerner to visit because you knew that someone, somewhere would
- [Identity in the Details: An Interview with Dana Al Fardan](https://interlude.hk/identity-details-interview-dana-al-fardan/): One of the most widely heard composers from the Middle East is Dana Al Fardan. Every month, over 2 million people hear her music because, as Official Qatar Airways Composer, her music is played during the boarding and disembarking process
- [Life on the Road I](https://interlude.hk/life-road/): In my Artist of the Month interviews, I always ask my interviewee how they find the travel. These people travel for a living, often having five concerts in as many different countries, and all within a couple of weeks. No
- [Paul Wittgenstein <br/>All in One Hand](https://interlude.hk/paul-wittgenstein-one-hand/): When Ludwig Wittgenstein got word of his brother’s ordeal, he wrote in his diary “frightfully sad business. I keep having to think of poor Paul, who has so suddenly lost his career! How terrible. What philosophy is needed to get
- [Bears and Hens](https://interlude.hk/bears-hens/): Many of Franz Joseph Haydn’s symphonies have nicknames, sometimes for the circumstances, such as “The Miracle” in Symphony No. 96, where the audience, in moving forward to greet the great man in London wasn’t in their seats when the overhead
- [L’Elisir d’amore at Vancouver Opera](https://interlude.hk/lelisir-damore-vancouver-opera/): Vancouver Opera is the distinguished and well-liked company founded in 1958 by a group of visionary community leaders. They believed in the value of the performing arts in the life of a great city in Canada. Each year, it has
- [At the Center of the Musical Universe <br/>Frédéric Chopin](https://interlude.hk/center-musical-universe-frederic-chopin/): Chopin’s unique way of writing for the piano fundamentally changed how performers and composers thought about the instrument. His legacy was treasured in numerous compositions throughout the 19th century, and it remains colorfully vibrant in the concert repertoire of today.
- [The Pianist’s Presence](https://interlude.hk/pianists-presence/): The “concert pianist” is a relatively recent creation. In the middle of the nineteenth century, a time when the technology of piano manufacture allowed piano makers to build bigger, stronger instruments, the “concert pianist” as we understand the role today,
- [Why I Feel Compelled to Attend the 2018 Verbier Music Festival II<br/>In Search of Talent - Verbier Festival Academy](https://interlude.hk/feel-compelled-attend-2018-verbier-music-festival-iiin-search-talent-verbier-festival-academy/): Every year, the Verbier Festival Academy invites 50 exceptional music talents from around the world to congregate for 3 weeks in the scenic Swiss Alps, to be mentored by elite artists in preparation for careers as soloists, chamber musicians and
- [FRANÇAIX, J.: Clarinet Music](https://interlude.hk/francaix-j-clarinet-music/): Clarinet Concerto I. Allegro From FRANÇAIX, J. : Clarinet Music (2016) Released by Paladino Music Françaix: Clarinet Concerto – I. AllegroJean René Désiré Françaix was a French neoclassical composer, pianist, and orchestrator, known for his prolific output and vibrant style. Françaix’s
- [Forgotten Cellists: Daniil Shafran](https://interlude.hk/forgotten-cellists-v-daniil-shafran/): Our next featured cellist, Daniil Shafran, was born in 1923 in Petrograd, now Saint Petersburg, and came by his talent honestly. His father was the principal cellist of the Leningrad Philharmonic and his mother Frida Moiseyevna, was a pianist.
- [In Memoriam: Igor Zhukov (1936-2018)](https://interlude.hk/memoriam-igor-zhukov-1936-2018/): Truth be told, as a young aspiring pianist I could never get my head around the music of Alexander Scriabin! Despite the best intentions of my teacher, and supreme technical challenges aside, I simply did not understand his musical syntax.
- [Destination Athens](https://interlude.hk/destination-athens/): When Athens was at its height of development in the 2nd century BCE, the rest of Europe was nowhere. When Europe reached its height of development in the 19th century, Athens was nothing – a mere 100 houses huddling below
- [Sebastian Manz](https://interlude.hk/sebastian-manz-artist-of-the-month/): Don’t Be Afraid! Sebastian Manz achieved fame as the first person to win the top prize in the ARD clarinet competition in 40 years. Nowadays, in addition to his bustling solo career, he holds the position of principal clarinet with
- [Paul Wittgenstein <br/>The Travesty of War](https://interlude.hk/paul-wittgenstein-travesty-war/): During the golden days leading up to the “war to end all wars,” the Wittgenstein family stood at the forefront of the cultured bourgeoisie in Vienna. In imitation of aristocratic mannerisms, they freely dabbled in artistic patronage, financed by the
- [I Am the Very Model: Gilbert and Sullivan and Light Opera III](https://interlude.hk/model-gilbert-sullivan-light-opera-iii/): In their late years, Gilbert and Sullivan weren’t as successful as they had been in their early years. Yet, their legacy still lives on and even over a century later, their music keeps reappearing, often with new lyrics.
- [At the Center of the Musical Universe <br/>Gioachino Rossini II](https://interlude.hk/center-musical-universe-gioachino-rossini-ii/): In 1808 Sébastien Erard registered a patent that fundamentally changed piano construction forever. As hammers had become more massive, they produced a much heavier touch for the performer. As such, the ability to repeat notes was severely impacted and the
- [There is No Right Way](https://interlude.hk/right-way/): I’ve never felt drawn to the idea of the definitive performance. Music is a performing art which keeps on changing– Michael Tippett When I was learning the piano as a child and teenager, I was led to believe there was
- [Why I Feel Compelled to Attend the 2018 Verbier Festival I <br/>In Touch with Martin Engstroem](https://interlude.hk/feel-compelled-attend-2018-verbier-festival-touch-martin-engstroem/): The spectacular display of superstars in the 2018 Verbier Festival program completely dazzled me. The program comprised of a long list of celebrated “who’s who” in the music universe – András Schiff, Martha Argerich, Richard Goode, Evgeny Kissin, Grigory Sokolov,
- [SILVESTROV, V.: Moments of Memory II / Serenades / The Messenger - 1996](https://interlude.hk/silvestrov-v-moments-memory-ii-serenades-messenger-1996/): Silent Music II. Evening Serenade From SILVESTROV, V. : Moments of Memory II / Serenades / The Messenger – 1996 (2017) Released by Naxos Silvestrov: Silent Music – II. Evening SerenadeUkrainian composer Valentin Silvestrov has said that ‘I do not write
- [Forgotten Cellists: Guilhermina Suggia](https://interlude.hk/forgotten-cellists-iv-guilhermina-suggia/): Portuguese cellist Guilhermina Suggia (1885-1950) best-known for an iconic painting by Augustus John —a chestnut, luminescent cello, a beautiful woman in a dazzling, red gown, bow-arm outstretched, head upturned—was one of the first professional female solo cellists. The mystique surrounding
- [Destination Moscow](https://interlude.hk/destination-moscow/): The heart of Russia is its capital, Moscow. Home to some of the most important conservatories in the country, Moscow has been a musical inspiration to both orchestral and choral composers through the ages. As a musical center, it has
- [Forgotten Quartets <br/> Quatuor Calvet (1919-1939 & 1944-1950)](https://interlude.hk/forgotten-quartets-quatuor-calvet-1919-1939-1944-1950/): Before the age of recording, devotion to music was a full-time commitment. Composer Georges Bizet (1838-1875) would say: “Ah, Music! What a beautiful art – but what a wretched profession! ”
- [Piano Fantasies](https://interlude.hk/piano-fantasies/): The musical Fantasy (or Fantasia or Fantasie) has its roots in improvisation and rarely follows a strict musical structure (such as Sonata or Ternary form). In this respect the Fantasy is related to the Impromptu. The term was first applied
- [I Am the Very Model: Gilbert and Sullivan and Light Opera II](https://interlude.hk/model-gilbert-sullivan-light-opera-ii/): Gilbert and Sullivan’s next opera made its surprising debut in New York, rather than London, in an attempt to secure American copyright, which at that time was rather a pirate industry of itself. The Pirates of Penzance opened on New
- [Hong Kong Philharmonic’s Götterdämmerung: Dawn of a Wagnerian Orchestra](https://interlude.hk/hong-kong-philharmonics-gotterdammerung-dawn-wagnerian-orchestra/): The sense of achievement at this Götterdämmerung was palpable. The Hong Kong Philharmonic has now completed, over four years, a full Wagner Ring Cycle. It is fair to say that what started as a very competent sounding orchestra in 2015
- [At the Center of the Musical Universe <br/>Gioachino Rossini](https://interlude.hk/center-musical-universe-gioachino-rossini/): During the first half of the 19th century, Gioachino Rossini was recognized as the greatest Italian composer of his time. No other composer enjoyed his prestige, popular acclaim and artistic influence in the world of opera. And as we all
- [Opera gains a new fan](https://interlude.hk/opera-gains-new-fan/): more than entertainment. Opera offers an insight into the complexities of the human psyche – it is a metaphor for, or an exposition, even, of our own personal dreams and nightmares... – Kevin Volans, composer Last week my
- [Normalized Sexism in Music](https://interlude.hk/normalized-sexism-music/): In 2015, a student coming up to her A-level exams looked at the composers assigned for the music syllabus. 63 composers and all male. Jessy McCabe brought this to the attention of the Edexcel program and a month later, Ms.
- [ NOWAKOWSKI, M.: Blood, Forgotten / String Quartets Nos. 1 and 2 / A Uśnijże mi, uśnij](https://interlude.hk/nowakowski-m-blood-forgotten-string-quartets-nos-1-2-usnijze-mi-usnij/): String Quartet No. 1, “Songs of Forgiveness” I. Unmoved Movement From NOWAKOWSKI, M. : Blood, Forgotten / String Quartets Nos. 1 and 2 / A Uśnijże mi, uśnij (2017) Released by Naxos Nowakowski: String Quartet No. 1, “Songs of Forgiveness” –
- [Forgotten Cellists: Antonio Janigro](https://interlude.hk/forgotten-cellists-iii-antonio-janigro/): If you listen to the distinguished Italian cellist Antonio Janigro, and his pure, resonant sound in the Bach Suites, you’ll encounter a master of depth and perception. Such beautiful playing. One of the great artists of the twentieth century, cellist,
- [Destination Shanghai](https://interlude.hk/destination-shanghai/): Shanghai – the beautiful city on the Yangtze River – was one of the first major cities of China opened to the West in 1842 and seems to have always had one foot firmly in China while, at the same
- [The Voices of a Bass – An Interview with Valerian Ruminski](https://interlude.hk/voices-bass-interview-valerian-ruminski/): Bass Valerian Ruminski was recently in Hong Kong as Colline in a production of La bohème. Next, you might see him in Calgary in Eugene Onegin, or in Geneva as Dr Bartolo in the Barber of Seville. Or, you might
- [Daniil Trifonov and Sergei Babayan <br/>“His deep love of music sets him apart”](https://interlude.hk/daniil-trifonov-sergei-babayan-deep-love-music-sets-apart/): Under the guidance of his long-time teacher Tatiana Zelikman, Daniil Trifonov won a number of prizes at smaller competitions. Yet, Zelikman was careful not to push her young charge into a pianistic career. “She was afraid,” Trifonov explained, “that it
- [I Am the Very Model: Gilbert and Sullivan and Light Opera I](https://interlude.hk/model-gilbert-sullivan-light-opera/): It’s of some tribute to librettist W. S. Gilbert (1836-1911) and composer Arthur Sullivan (1842-1900) that 140 years after their first comic operas hit the stage, we can still find a great deal of humour in their works and many of
- [At the Center of the Musical Universe <br/>George Frideric Handel II](https://interlude.hk/center-musical-universe-george-frideric-handel-ii/): When Ludwig, or Louis Spohr (1784-1859) died at the age of 75, Johannes Brahms lamented that the last of the great masters had died. This seems high praise indeed for a composer whose posthumous neglect is shockingly at odds with
- [What do musicians do all day?](https://interlude.hk/musicians-day/): “What do you actually do? ” and “What is your day job? ” are all-too familiar questions to musicians. People are also endlessly fascinated about practising – “so how much practising do you actually do? ” – and imagine we spend most of
- [Turning the Tables](https://interlude.hk/turning-tables/): They all die at the end, those poor opera women. Madama Butterfly kills herself, Tosca dies off the parapet of the Castel Sant’Angelo, and Carmen has a face-off with her former soldier lover.
- [DVARIONAS, B.: Violin and Piano Works (Complete)](https://interlude.hk/dvarionas-b-violin-piano-works-complete/): Pezzo elegiac From DVARIONAS, B. : Violin and Piano Works (Complete) (2017) Released by Naxos Dvarionas: Pezzo elegiac One of the most gifted and prominent of all twentieth-century Lithuanian musicians, Balys Dvarionas was a musical polymath who excelled as a composer,
- [Forgotten Cellists: Elsa Hilger](https://interlude.hk/forgotten-cellists-ii-elsa-hilger/): Hilger was born in 1904 in the small town of Trauenau, Austro-Hungarian Empire, the youngest of eighteen children (only four survived. ) Elsa and her two sisters, Maria and Greta, were prodigiously gifted young musicians. After the family heard the news
- [Classical Music Apps (Part Two)](https://interlude.hk/classical-music-apps-part-two/): In this follow-up article about classical music apps, we turn to ones suitable for music-lovers and for those wishing to learn more about and listen to classical music.
- [Unravelling the influential Franco-Belgian violin and organ schools II](https://interlude.hk/unravelling-influential-franco-belgian-violin-organ-schools-ii/): The early core of the Paris Conservatoire violin faculty gradually came together between 1795-1802, as a result of spontaneous cooperation between Italian freemasons Giovanni Viotti and Luigi Cherubini (1760-1842), their French pupils, freemasons Pierre Baillot, Jean-François Tiby, and their friend
- [Daniil Trifonov and Tatiana Zelikman <br/>“Mozart and Chopin develop the soul of the musician”](https://interlude.hk/daniil-trifonov-tatiana-zelikman-mozart-chopin-develop-soul-musician/): In 2011 Martha Argerich famously said about Daniil Trifonov “What he does with his hands is technically incredible. It’s also his touch—he has tenderness and also the demonic element. I never heard anything like that. ” Possessing monstrous technique and lustrous
- [Friedrich Wilhelm Marpurg](https://interlude.hk/friedrich-wilhelm-marpurg/): “Contesting the rubbish of effeminate song” It might be difficult to believe, but at one time the art of counterpoint was considered “the child of ancient aberration. ” Bach’s Art of Fugue was seen as hopelessly out of date, with the
- [At the Center of the Musical Universe <br/>George Frideric Handel](https://interlude.hk/center-musical-universe-george-frideric-handel/): George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) is consistently acknowledged as one of the greatest composers of his age. He contributed to virtually every vocal and instrumental genre in his time, and decisively invented and shaped the evolution of the English oratorio. Handel
- [The Piano is for Playing](https://interlude.hk/piano-playing/): Returning to playing seriously after an absence, whether due to injury or stress, or simply a loss of interest in the instrument, can be tough. Lack of regular practise means fingers and limbs may be less than responsive, sluggish or
- [108 Desires of Purcell](https://interlude.hk/108-desires-purcell/): In his opera King Arthur, the third act starts with a dramatic scene – Emmeline meets Oswald, who is ardently wooing her, but she’s frozen IN terror. Oswald, showing off, whips out his magic wand changes the entirety of England
- [SORO, E.: Sinfonía romántica / Danza fantástica / 3 Aires chilenos / Andante appassionato](https://interlude.hk/soro-e-sinfonia-romantica-danza-fantastica-3-aires-chilenos-andante-appassionato/): Sinfonía romántica II. Adagio From SORO, E. : Sinfonía romántica / Danza fantástica / 3 Aires chilenos / Andante appassionato (2017) Released by Naxos Soro: Sinfonía romántica – II. Adagio Enrique Soro rose to great esteem not only as Chile’s leading
- [Forgotten Cellists: Leonard Rose](https://interlude.hk/forgotten-cellists-leonard-rose/): American cellist Leonard Rose, born in 1918, came by his talent honestly. His father was a cellist, as was his cousin Frank Miller, the legendary principal cello of the Chicago Symphony, with whom Rose studied before he attended Curtis Institute
- [Classical Music Apps (Part One)](https://interlude.hk/classical-music-apps-part-one/): There is a plethora of classical music applications or ‘apps’ (computer software that can be downloaded to your electronic device) for everyone nowadays, from students to professional musicians to music-lovers. In Part One of this series, we look at some
- [Music is What I Have to Do – An Interview with Ishay Shaer](https://interlude.hk/music-interview-ishay-shaer/): Israeli pianist Ishay Shaer discovered that he just couldn’t live without music. When he went off to university, dutifully putting music behind him to concentrate on computer studies, his days were filled with the minutiae of school: studies and papers
- [Lyricism and Percussionism](https://interlude.hk/lyricism-percussionism/): We associate John Cage with a number of different sound events – the percussion group that he took on tour around the West Coast in the late 1930s, random radio sounds from his work for 12 radios (Imaginary Landscape No.
- [Ring Bells! Sing Songs!: The Musical VI](https://interlude.hk/ring-bells-sing-songs-musical-vi/): Roaring onto the Broadway stage and changing the musical forever was Disney’s The Lion King, with music by Elton John. No musical had taken a children’s animation as its source and turning the fantasies of a cartoon into a performance
- [A Champagne Toast to 2018!](https://interlude.hk/champagne-toast-2018/): People across the globe celebrate the arrival of the New Year with a variety of delectable customs. In Spain, tradition dictates the eating of 12 grapes—washed down with a glass of Cava—with each stroke of the clock at midnight. In
- [Shenyang](https://interlude.hk/shenyang-artist-of-the-month/): ‘A Duty to the Music’ Based in Shanghai, Chinese bass-baritone Shenyang performs in Hong Kong with the Hong Kong Philharmonic this month. Although from a musical family (both his parents were singers too), Shenyang came relatively late to the world
- [The Success in Failure](https://interlude.hk/success-failure/): A new museum in Helsingborg, Sweden, celebrates failure. Yes, you read that correctly – it celebrates failure. The museum displays corporate products which flopped but which paved the way for greater innovation and extraordinary commercial success (for example, Apple’s Newton
- [A Musical New Year in Vienna](https://interlude.hk/musical-new-year-vienna/): The New Year’s concert by the Vienna Philharmonic is commonly regarded as the most important classical concert worldwide. Seen by an estimated audience of 1 billion viewers around the world, the concert always features works by the Viennese Strauss family,
- [Mozart: A Tribute to Janet](https://interlude.hk/mozart-tribute-janet/): Françaix: Quartet for English horn, violin, viola and cello II Andante Tranquillo From Mozart: A Tribute to Janet (2017) Released by Harmonia Mundi Françaix: Quartet for English horn, violin, viola and cello – II Andante TranquilloA Tribute to Janet. The
- [A Single-Malt and Vodka Toast to 2018!](https://interlude.hk/single-malt-vodka-toast-2018/): It’s truly a shame that I’ve never heard the live lecture by Daniel Barenboim on how whiskey and classical music resemble one another. In this 2006 talk entitled “Whisky is liquid music,” the pianist and conductor argues that “both experiences
- [Remedy, Unity, Salvation<br/>Rudolph Tang's Top Ten](https://interlude.hk/remedy-unity-salvationrudolph-tangs-top-ten/): As the year approaches its end, it’s customary for the press to list their most impressive musical moments of the year. An old cliché as it may seem, a round up nevertheless offers an insightful glimpse into the chaotic and
- [Making Fun of Wagner](https://interlude.hk/making-fun-wagner/): In 1879, the French composer Emmanuel Chabrier requested leave from his job at the French Ministry of the Interior so that he could travel to Munich, which was the only place in the world to hear Wagner’s opera Tristan und
- [Edouard Pécourt (1925-2008): Tango Obsession](https://interlude.hk/edouard-pecourt-1925-2008-tango-obsession/): Noah, the hero of the Bible’s Genesis flood narrative, was probably the most famous collector of all times. After all, he collected two of every living animal and housed them on his ark! However, from cocktail sticks to barbed wire,
- [Cultus interruptus: An unusual Rigoletto at Royal Opera House](https://interlude.hk/cultus-interruptus-unusual-rigoletto-royal-opera-house/): For many reasons this was an odd night at the Royal Opera House. For one, this was the sickest audience I’ve ever encountered. The coughing in the auditorium was so intense, it took on cacophonic dimensions during the scene changes.
- [Dmitry Kabalevsky: Classics for Kids](https://interlude.hk/dmitry-kabalevsky-classics-kids/): The composer and educator Dmitry Kabalevsky wrote, “We should never for an instant forget our main purpose, which is to interest our audience in music, to emotionally fascinate them, to infect them with our love of music. ” The composer’s interest
- [2017: The Year in Music <br/>Let's hear Women's Voices](https://interlude.hk/2017-year-music-lets-hear-womens-voices/): What an extraordinary year! Some of the well guarded secrets that have long been circulating in the shadow of the operatic spotlight as sheer “rumours” before, were revealed for the first time to the general public. It followed a Me
- [Ring Bells! Sing Songs!: The Musical V](https://interlude.hk/ring-bells-sing-songs-musical-v/): The 1970s brought us musicals based on contemporary society (Company), memories of the past (Follies, Gigi, Evita, Sweeney Todd, Cats), stories based on the Bible (Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat) and stories from French novels of a century earlier
- [At the Center of the Musical Universe <br/>Franz Joseph Haydn II](https://interlude.hk/center-musical-universe-franz-joseph-haydn-ii/): Over a period of 20 years, Johannes Brahms cautiously approached composition via different genres, carefully isolating the required musical elements. He experimented with orchestral colors in his Serenades, blended symphonic sketches with a sonata for two pianos to produce his
- [The Pianist’s Self-Compassion](https://interlude.hk/pianists-self-compassion/): The life of the pianist is, by necessity, solitary. For many of us, the solitude is not an issue: we crave a sense of apartness to enable us to do our work and to create special connections with audiences when
- [What’s Your Idea of an Instrument<br/>An Interview with Lapo Vettori](https://interlude.hk/whats-idea-instrumentan-interview-lapo-vettori/): We spoke recently with Florentine luthier Lapo Vettori, a third-generation string instrument maker. The Vettori family began instrument making in 1935 and continues today, making violins, violas (Lapo’s specialty) and violoncellos. Over the past 80-some years, the family has made
- [MAXWELL DAVIES, P.: Sonata for Violin Alone / The Two Fiddlers: Dances / Violin Sonata / A Voyage to Fair Isle](https://interlude.hk/maxwell-davies-p-sonata-violin-alone-two-fiddlers-dances-violin-sonata-voyage-fair-isle/): The Two Fiddlers: Dances (version for violin and piano) From MAXWELL DAVIES, P. : Sonata for Violin Alone / The Two Fiddlers: Dances / Violin Sonata / A Voyage to Fair Isle (2017) Released by Naxos Maxwell Davies: The Two Fiddlers:
- [Christmas at the Opera II](https://interlude.hk/christmas-opera-ii/): The American novelist and playwright Thornton Wilder penned his play The Long Christmas Dinner in 1931. This one-act drama focuses on the life of the Bayard family, somewhere in the American West. At the center of the play is a
- [The Dark Childhood of Joseph Haydn](https://interlude.hk/dark-childhood-joseph-haydn/): Joseph Haydn has entered music history as a jovial, grandfatherly figure with a reputation for a quick wit. Generations later, we still chuckle at the stories behind the Surprise Symphony or the Farewell Symphony. His famous good humor is all
- [Unravelling the influential Franco-Belgian violin and organ schools I](https://interlude.hk/unravelling-influential-franco-belgian-violin-organ-schools/): By 1918, the century-old Franco-Belgian traditions of violin and organ studies, developed at the Paris Conservatoire, had undergone modifications that helped consolidate their tenets, empower their disciples, and spread their influence worldwide, to this day.
- [Playing in the Band](https://interlude.hk/playing-band/): We saw a wonderful cartoon the other day and realized that we’d been in those practice rooms and we had heard music by those composers. You can hear some of this kind of playing by the fabled Portsmouth Sinfonia. This
- [Ring Bells! Sing Songs!: The Musical IV](https://interlude.hk/ring-bells-sing-songs-musical-iv/): The 1960s saw the continuing evolution of the musical. More and more it took looks at contemporary society, either in the wild world of Wall Street, as in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, or at today’s youth,
- [At the Center of the Musical Universe <br/>Franz Joseph Haydn](https://interlude.hk/center-musical-universe-franz-josef-haydn/): Franz Joseph Haydn is recognized today as the central figure in the creation and establishment of the Viennese Classical Style. Famous around the mid-1760s, by the 1780s he had become the most celebrated composer of his time. And from the
- [Agree to disagree](https://interlude.hk/agree-disagree/): On reading concert reviews What do you do when you read a concert review that you disagree with? Do you bristle with ripe indignation because the reviewer did not concur with your view of the concert and then fire off
- [Silly Symphonies, Loony Tunes, and Merrie Melodies <br/>Classical Music in Animation III](https://interlude.hk/silly-symphonies-loony-tunes-merrie-melodies-classical-music-animation-iii/): It’s a testimony to the public knowledge of classical music when we look at a couple of Bugs Bunny classics as part of the Merrie Melodies series. One of the first cartoons where Bugs takes on the classics is Long-Haired
- [ MOREL, J.: Guitar Music - Sonatina / Danza Brasilera / Pampero / Danza in E Minor / Giga Criolla](https://interlude.hk/morel-j-guitar-music-sonatina-danza-brasilera-pampero-danza-e-minor-giga-criolla/): Homage to Latin Music, Salsa From MOREL, J. : Guitar Music – Sonatina / Danza Brasilera / Pampero / Danza in E Minor / Giga Criolla (2016) Released by Naxos Morel: Homage to Latin Music, SalsaArgentinian guitarist and composer Jorge Morel’s
- [Christmas at the Opera I](https://interlude.hk/christmas-opera/): The story of Christmas has had a powerful hold on the imagination of writers around the world for centuries. Literary greats ranging from Charles Dickens to Kurt Vonnegut have referenced a variety of Christmas rituals, but the central drama of
- [Destination Madrid](https://interlude.hk/destination-madrid/): Madrid, the heart of Spain, is a city of both historical architecture and the latest of the modern. The classical sound in the city includes the guitar and the orchestra. At the center, the city visitor will find the Royal
- [A Kurt Weill Sensation <br/>“Song of the White Cheese”](https://interlude.hk/kurt-weill-sensation-song-white-cheese/): It’s exceedingly rare, but autograph musical scores by some of the great composers in the Western classical tradition are still being discovered! In 1999, a miniature Beethoven string quartet was rather accidentally found in a chest of papers in Cornwall.
- [How to recover gracefully](https://interlude.hk/recover-gracefully/): I was at a performance of Mahler’s Fourth Symphony the other night and when we came to the final movement, things were a bit odd. The soprano walked out while the orchestra was playing, sort of stood around for a
- [Ring Bells! Sing Songs!: The Musical III](https://interlude.hk/ring-bells-sing-songs-musical-iii/): The post WWII era saw more social topics being taken up in the musical such as social injustice, union-busting, and racism, it also saw the introduction of international settings that were normal rather than fantastical.
- [The Lighter Side of Music <br/> German Cabaret](https://interlude.hk/lighter-side-music-german-cabaret/): Around the turn of the 20th century, the French cabaret was a gathering place for the artistic and literary elite. It projected social and artistic ideals and was widely imitated through new establishments and touring performers. Among the traveling stars
- [Responsibilities <br/> Of audiences, performers and concert venues](https://interlude.hk/responsibilities-audiences-performers-concert-venues/): A concert is an occasion, an event, and as such has its own special etiquette and “rules of engagement”. As the audience we have certain responsibilities, including arriving on time, sitting quietly during the performance, showing our appreciation for the
- [Silly Symphonies, Loony Tunes, and Merrie Melodies <br/>Classical Music in Animation II](https://interlude.hk/silly-symphonies-loony-tunes-merrie-melodies-classical-music-animation-ii/): One of the wonders of animation in the 1930 and ‘40s was the breadth of classical music. Walt Disney took this seriously in Fantasia. Intended to be an ongoing series of settings of classical music, the feature-length cartoon (and some
- [Mapping the Musical Genome: <br/>The Lassus Family](https://interlude.hk/mapping-musical-genome-lassus-family/): According to popular legend, Orlande de Lassus, born in 1530 or 1532 in the Franco-Flemish province of Hainaut, was abducted three times because of the beauty of his voice! Probably pure fabrication, it nevertheless provides a fictional narrative that explains
- [LEVINA, Z.A.: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 2](https://interlude.hk/levina-z-piano-concertos-nos-1-2/): Piano Concerto No. 1 I. Allegro From LEVINA, Z. A. : Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 2 (2017) Released by Capriccio Levina: Piano Concerto No. 1 – I. AllegroZara Aleksandrovna Levina was a pianist and composer. She was from a Jewish family.
- [Destination Tokyo](https://interlude.hk/destination-tokyo/): You want to check out the city ahead of the crush of the 2020 Summer Olympics, here’s a bit of travel music to see the city. City sounds, traditional sounds, the modern and the antique are all part of Japanese
- [Dmitry Kabalevsky](https://interlude.hk/dmitry-kabalevsky/): “Music helps children to see the world” Dmitry Kabalevsky was destined for a career in mathematics and economics, but his fascination with the arts steered his career in entirely different directions. Hailed by Soviet authorities as the guiding light of
- [Preludes for Piano](https://interlude.hk/preludes-piano/): There is a great tradition of prelude writing which stretches back to J S Bach, and beyond to the Renaissance, when musicians would use an improvisatory Praeludium (Prelude) as an opportunity to warm up fingers and check the instrument’s tuning
- [Ring Bells! Sing Songs!: The Musical II](https://interlude.hk/ring-bells-sing-songs-musical-ii/): The musical changed during WWII – the themes were less fantastical, the stories were set in more realistic backgrounds, and the international exposure that so many people had during the war made its appearance on the stage.
- [The Lighter Side of Music<br/>French Cabaret](https://interlude.hk/lighter-side-musicfrench-cabaret/): If you were looking for dinner and a song during the Second Empire in France—basically during the reign of Napoleon III from 1852-1870—the Parisian café-concert was the place to be. Providing a combination of food and entertainment that included strolling
- [Changing the Vocabulary](https://interlude.hk/changing-vocabulary/): The way we interact with students, and the language we use with which to communicate with them, can have a profound effect on how our students react to our teaching and their own attitude to music making. Young people in
- [Silly Symphonies, Loony Tunes, and Merrie Melodies<br/>Classical Music in Animation I](https://interlude.hk/silly-symphonies-loony-tunes-merrie-melodiesclassical-music-animation/): Early in his animation career, Walt Disney discovered the importance of using music in his cartoons – his first animation with his new character, Mickey Mouse, was also the first animation to have synchronized sound. The steamboat chugs, Mickey sings,
- [Dmitri Hvorostovsky (1962-2017) <br/> Elvis of Opera](https://interlude.hk/dmitri-hvorostovsky-1962-2017-elvis-opera/): Affectionately known as “Dima” to his family and closest friends, Dmitri Hvorostovsky commanded the operatic stage with his smoldering good looks and one of the most distinctive voices of his time. His velvety yet dark-grained baritone timbre, seamless legato and
- [KAPRÁLOVÁ, V.: Piano Music](https://interlude.hk/kapralova-v-piano-music/): Sonata Appasionata, Op. 6 I. Maestoso. Appassionato From KAPRÁLOVÁ, V. : Piano Music (2017) Released by Grand Piano Kaprálová: Sonata Appasionata, Op. 6 – I. Maestoso. AppassionatoDespite her tragically brief life, Vítězslava Kaprálová is now considered the most important female Czech
- [Mapping the Musical Genome <br/>The Mozart Family](https://interlude.hk/mapping-musical-genome-mozart-family/): The name “Mozart” is almost universally associated with the musical genius of Wolfgang Amadeus. However, Wolfie was not the only Mozart with significant musical talent, just take a quick look at his father. Johann Georg Leopold Mozart (1719-1787) was a
- [Sasha Cooke](https://interlude.hk/sasha-cooke/): ‘Be open to those surprises’ Having just starred in the world premiere of Nico Mulhy’s new opera Marnie at English National Opera, American soprano Sasha Cooke speaks to me on one of her rare days off.
- [The Music of Angels: World Harp Congress](https://interlude.hk/music-angels-world-harp-congress/): What could be better than one harpist? —nine-hundred and fifty-seven harpists! Of all ages and backgrounds, they descended upon Hong Kong in July, to attend this years’ thirteenth World Harp Congress—the first time the congress has been held in Asia.
- [Contrasting Old and New: Vanessa Wagner on La Dolce Volta](https://interlude.hk/contrasting-old-new-vanessa-wagner-la-dolce-volta/): In her recent recording for La Dolce Volta, pianist Vanessa Wagner played a piano recital of the music of one 18th century and one early 19th century masters: W. A. Mozart (1756-1791) and Muzio Clementi (1752-1832). She played the recital on
- [Ring Bells! Sing Songs!: The Musical I](https://interlude.hk/ring-bells-sing-songs-musical/): The jubilant title of this series reflects so much of what we love about musicals: catchy songs, bright melodies, and great sounds all around. The history of the musical (musical comedy, musical play) begins with the first applications of music
- [At the Center of the Musical Universe <br/>Niccolò Paganini II](https://interlude.hk/center-musical-universe-niccolo-paganini-ii/): Niccolò Paganini had patiently confined his concert activities to Italy for almost 20 years before setting out to conquer various European capitals. Initially he appeared in Vienna and Franz Schubert excitedly reported, “We will never hear his like again! ” He
- [Give it a Rest <br/>On leaving and returning to familiar repertoire](https://interlude.hk/give-rest-leaving-returning-familiar-repertoire/): I’ve recommenced work on Schubert’s penultimate piano sonata (D 959 in A), following a few months’ hiatus due to family health issues, during which I was unable to give the music my full and proper attention. This sonata has become
- [Bach: Cantatas for bass](https://interlude.hk/bach-cantatas-bass/): Ich habe genug , BWV 82 III. Aria Schlummert ein, ihr matten Augen From Bach: Cantatas for bass (2017) Released by Harmonia Mundi Bach: Ich habe genug , BWV 82 – III. Aria Schlummert ein, ihr matten AugenIn composing his
- [“Sing heavenly Muse” <br/>Elisabeth von Herzogenberg and Johannes Brahms](https://interlude.hk/sing-heavenly-muse-elisabeth-von-herzogenberg-johannes-brahms/): Elisabeth von Stockhausen was born in Paris in 1847. Her father served as the Hanoverian ambassador, and had been a student of Chopin. In 1853 the family moved to Vienna, and Elisabeth took lessons from Julius Epstein, at that time
- [A passion for the piano: Alistair McGowan](https://interlude.hk/passion-piano-alistair-mcgowan/): Acclaimed British impressionist, comic, actor, Satie fan and keen amateur pianist, Alistair McGowan shares his passion for the piano and reveals how he prepared for his debut recording.
- [The Korngold <em>Suite</em> for Wittgenstein <br/>A Klimt in Music](https://interlude.hk/korngold-suite-wittgenstein-klimt-music/): After the rousing success of his opera Die tote Stadt, Erich Wolfgang Korngold was at the height of his European fame. With a libretto by his father Julius—penned under the name of Paul Schott—the opera dominated theatrical stages and became
- [The Life and Times of Falstaff](https://interlude.hk/life-times-falstaff/): You don’t often think of Edward Elgar and Richard Strauss in the same way, but they were connected through the idea of the symphonic poem. Strauss’ symphonic poems such as Till Eulenspiegel and Don Quixote are well known but Elgar’s
- [Helen Keller: A Great Lover of Music](https://interlude.hk/helen-keller-great-lover-music/): Helen Keller was born in Tuscumbria, Alabama, in the summer of 1880. Nineteen months later, she fell ill (likely with scarlet fever or meningitis) and became deaf and blind. As Helen grew up, she communicated in a rudimentary way with
- [At the Center of the Musical Universe <br/>Niccolò Paganini](https://interlude.hk/center-musical-universe-niccolo-paganini/): Niccolò Paganini (1782-1840) almost single-handedly established a new brand of performing musician, the touring virtuoso. In a brilliant strategy of self-promotion, he even circulated the rumor that he had sold his soul to the devil in exchange for his uncanny
- [Thinking Aloud](https://interlude.hk/thinking-aloud/): Much of my teaching is based on visualisation, a technique I learnt from my first teacher as an adult pianist and one which I use daily with my students and my own practising and playing as a way of engaging
- [A lusty and lugubrious Lucia di Lammermoor at Royal Opera House](https://interlude.hk/lusty-lugubrious-lucia-di-lammermoor-royal-opera-house/): When the Royal Opera House premièred Katie Mitchell’s production of Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor in spring 2016, the management posted numerous warnings about the on-stage sex and violence. Few contemporary directors, not even the provocative exponents of the more ambitious
- [In the valley, by the water, on the mountain](https://interlude.hk/valley-water-mountain/): The new trend of village festivals In the early 4th century, Wang Xizhi (王羲之), often hailed as the greatest calligrapher of all times and best known for his running style calligraphy, wrote Lanting Xu (蘭亭集序 Preface to the Orchid Pavilion)
- [STEPANIAN, H.: Preludes, Opp. 47, 48 and 63](https://interlude.hk/stepanian-h-preludes-opp-47-48-63/): Prelude No. 5 in B Minor, Op. 63 From STEPANIAN, H. : Preludes, Opp. 47, 48 and 63 (2017) Released by Grand Piano Stepanian: Prelude No. 5 in B Minor, Op. 63Described by Aram Khachaturian as “the greatest Soviet Armenian composer”,
- [Mapping the Musical Genome: The Gibbons Family](https://interlude.hk/mapping-musical-genome-gibbons-family/): Orlando Gibbons (1572-1625) was born in Oxford, son of a town wait—essentially a town musician whose duties included playing his instrument for the townsfolk, welcoming Royal visitors, and leading processions on civic occasions. William Gibbons moved back and forth between
- [Rock-A-Bye Baby II <br/>Crossing from Folk to Art](https://interlude.hk/rock-bye-baby-ii-crossing-folk-art/): The lullaby, a gentle song intended for lulling young and/or ailing children to sleep originated in various folk repertories. It easily crossed into art music not only as a song but also as a short instrumental piece, frequently scored for
- [Erich Korngold and Luzi Sonnenthal <br/>A Triumph of Love](https://interlude.hk/erich-korngold-luzi-sonnenthal-triumph-love/): Luise von Sonnenthal (1900-1962) was born into a dynasty of ennobled actors. Her grandfather Adolf Ritter von Sonnenthal was not only Vienna’s most popular classical actor and matinee idol at the Burgtheater, he was also one of the first Jewish
- [Copland’s Ballets: <em>Billy the Kid, Rodeo, Appalachian Spring</em>](https://interlude.hk/coplands-ballets-billy-kid-rodeo-appalachian-spring/): Aaron Copland, son of Polish and Lithuanian emigrants, was born in Brooklyn in 1900 and by the time he was 24, his compositions were already gaining interest. He was Nadia Boulanger’s first American pupil in Paris, laying the groundwork for
- [Works Disliked By Their Composers! Part II](https://interlude.hk/works-disliked-composers-part-ii/): What happens when a composer writes a piece of music... and then ends up not liking it? In Part I, we saw how Saint-Saëns, Ravel, and Sibelius dealt with the problem. Now we look at how three more composers did:
- [At the Center of the Musical Universe <br/>Ludwig van Beethoven](https://interlude.hk/center-musical-universe-ludwig-van-beethoven/): Whether we like it or not, Ludwig van Beethoven was one of the greatest disruptive forces in the history of music. He was a revolutionary man who lived and worked in revolutionary and tumultuous times, and his music exerted tremendous influence on composers and artists alike. Significantly, his music is...
- [Respecting the Music: An Interview with Riccardo Frizza](https://interlude.hk/respecting-music-interview-riccardo-frizza/): We caught up with Maestro Riccardo Frizza who is currently in Tokyo in rehearsals for La Traviata at the New National Theatre. The production, which opens on 16 November, is part of the 20th anniversary celebration of the house. This will be the Maestro’s 10th time in Tokyo and one...
- [A passionate pursuit: the musician’s mastery](https://interlude.hk/passionate-pursuit-musicians-mastery/): a psychological force that stimulates an individual to attempt independently, in a focused and persistent manner, to solve a problem or master a skill or task which is at least moderately challenging for him or her. Mastery Motivation: Definition and Measurement George A. Morgan, Robert J. Harmon & Christine A....
- [Martin Luther and the Impact of the Reformation on Architecture, Art and Music](https://interlude.hk/martin-luther-impact-reformation-architecture-art-music/): Five hundred years ago, on October 31, 1517 Martin Luther supposedly nailed his Ninety-five Theses to the doors of the Schlosskirche (Castle Church) in Wittenberg, railing against Catholic Church corruption (in particular against the ‘Sale of Indulgences’) dividing Christianity, and igniting the Protestant Reformation. Many fortuitous events, such as the...
- [BUCK, O.: Fiori di ghiaccio / A Tree / [Untitled] / Flower Ornament Music ](https://interlude.hk/buck-o-fiori-di-ghiaccio-tree-untitled-flower-ornament-music/): Fiori di ghiaccio From BUCK, O. : Fiori di ghiaccio / A Tree / / Flower Ornament Music (2016) Released by Dacapo Buck: Fiori di ghiaccioOle Buck is a Danish composer. He studied the piano from the age of twelve. He also made many early attempts at orchestral composition, eventually...
- [Mapping the Musical Genome: The Bach Family](https://interlude.hk/mapping-musical-genome-bach-family/): Johann Sebastian Bach was part of an extensive Saxon-Thuringian family that produced an unparalleled and almost incalculable number of musicians. From fiddlers and town musicians to organists, from Kantors, court musicians and Kapellmeisters, member of the Bach family extensively populated the musical landscape from the 16th to the 19th century....
- [Rock-A-Bye Baby I <br/>The Lullaby in Western Art Music](https://interlude.hk/rock-bye-baby-lullaby-western-art-music/): Medical research has clearly shown that infants are active listeners! Their attention is selectively drawn to particular musical genres, and to particular performing styles associated with maternal singing. Regardless of culture and living environment, infants reveal a clear preference for the universal musical form of the lullaby. Regional, stylistic or...
- [Erich Wolfgang Korngold](https://interlude.hk/erich-wolfgang-korngold/): “My music creed is the inspired idea” Erich Wolfgang Korngold (1897-1957) might have been the most phenomenal musical prodigy of all time! At the age of 9, he played his cantata Gold to Gustav Mahler, who pronounced him a genius. Merely two years later he composed the ballet Der Schneemann...
- [A Prophetic Cantata: Bartók’s Cantata Profana](https://interlude.hk/prophetic-cantata-bartoks-cantata-profana/): We are most familiar with a ‘cantata’ as a sacred work, usually on a subject from the Bible, that’s written for vocalists. For Béla Bartók to write a work entitled ‘Cantata Profana’ is to write an oxymoron. Yet, if we consider Bartók’s beliefs, we may get closer to his use...
- [Forgotten Quartets <br/>Quatuor Capet (1893-1928)](https://interlude.hk/forgotten-quartets-quatuor-capet-1893-1928/): The artistic destinies of those who lived through the cultural ferment in France between 1870-1939, form an interlocking web of cross- influences and political intrigue which can be difficult for the historian to unravel.
- [At the Center of the Musical Universe <br/>Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart II](https://interlude.hk/center-musical-universe-wolfgang-amadeus-mozart-ii/): When Frédéric Chopin graduated from High School his final report stated, “Chopin F. , third year student, exceptional talent, musical genius. ” His hometown of Warsaw, however, had long known about this gifted musical prodigy, who was dubbed “a second Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. ” In high demands at the salons...
- [Slowly, and with feeling](https://interlude.hk/slowly-feeling/): The opening track of pianist Lucas Debargue’s debut album is a fleeting sonata by Scarlatti (K 208). It’s a miniature miracle of control, voicing and expression, its emotional impact helped in no small part by the pianist’s choice of tempo and tasteful use of rubato. Here and there he lingers...
- [Princesse Edmond de Polignac <br/>The Queen of Paris’s Lesbian Community!](https://interlude.hk/princesse-edmond-de-polignac-queen-pariss-lesbian-community/): On her wedding night, the heiress to the Singer sewing machine fortune climbed atop an armoire armed with an umbrella and told the groom “I am going to kill you if you come near me! ” Winnaretta Singer had married Prince Louis de Scey-Montbéliard to gain access to Paris’s elite...
- [HIGDON, J.: All Things Majestic / Viola Concerto / Oboe Concerto](https://interlude.hk/higdon-j-things-majestic-viola-concerto-oboe-concerto/): Oboe Concerto From HIGDON, J. : All Things Majestic / Viola Concerto / Oboe Concerto (2017) Released by Naxos Higdon: Oboe Concerto Jennifer Higdon is one of the most distinguished composers working in America today, and her music is a perfect fit for the Nashville Symphony, which has long maintained...
- [The Bells of Zlonice](https://interlude.hk/bells-zlonice/): The market town of Zlonice in the Central Bohemian Region is currently home to a population of roughly 3000 people. And between 1853 and 1856 it was home to Antonín Dvořák. He arrived during the early autumn of 1853 to continue his musical education with the church choirmaster Joseph Toman...
- [The Art of the Piano Étude](https://interlude.hk/art-piano-etude/): The piano study or ‘Étude’ has long engaged and challenged pianists, and the practice of writing Études to provide practice material for perfecting a particular pianistic technique, such as playing octaves, thirds or rapid scalic passages, developed in the early 19th century alongside the growing popularity of the piano as...
- [Richard Lin](https://interlude.hk/richard-lin-artist-of-the-month/): ‘Just Enjoy the Moment’ Taiwanese American violinist Richard Lin is no stranger to Hong Kong, having performed at a fundraising event with the Hong Kong Sinfonietta in January this year. He returns this month to play Korngold’s violin Concerto with the Sinfonietta, a piece very close to his heart. The...
- [Music as a bridge: In Touch with Music in Offices](https://interlude.hk/music-bridge-touch-music-offices/): Singing is booming. More people than ever before are joining choirs, and the physical and mental health benefits of singing are becoming widely known. Fitting music around families and a job can be hard – but excitingly, some forward-looking businesses are becoming aware of the possible benefits of music-making in...
- [At the Center of the Musical Universe <br/>Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://interlude.hk/center-musical-universe-wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/): Albert Einstein once famously remarked “Mozart’s music is so pure that it seemed to have been ever-present in the universe, waiting to be discovered by the master. ” In the end, both Einstein and Mozart were successful in untangling the complexities of the universe and created works of luminous beauty....
- [How music is catalogued](https://interlude.hk/music-catalogued/): To help identify and organise pieces of music by a particular composer, individual compositions or sets of works are usually given an “Opus” number. The word “opus” is Latin and means “work” or “work of art”, often abbreviated as “Op. ”, or “Opp. ” in the plural. The practice of...
- [Music 33,000 Feet Above <br/>Aeroflot](https://interlude.hk/music-33000-feet-aeroflot/): How does one kill time on board a transcontinental flight? Some are determined to sleep over. Some keep watching movies until get tired and fall asleep. Those in the business or first class may lie down to have a decent rest. Some musicians study the score and prepare for upcoming...
- [MORENO TORROBA, F.: Guitar Concertos, Vol. 2 - Homenaje a la seguidilla / Tonada concertante](https://interlude.hk/moreno-torroba-f-guitar-concertos-vol-2-homenaje-la-seguidilla-tonada-concertante/): Concierto de Castilla – I. Adagio – Allegretto moderato From MORENO TORROBA, F. : Guitar Concertos, Vol. 2 – Homenaje a la seguidilla / Tonada concertante (2017) Released by Naxos Moreno Torroba: Concierto de Castilla – I. Adagio – Allegretto moderatoFederico Moreno Torroba composed about one hundred works for the...
- [Princesse de Polignac: Maurice Ravel’s Most Passionate Patron](https://interlude.hk/princesse-de-polignac-maurice-ravels-passionate-patron/): The initial meeting between Winnaretta Singer aka Princesse de Polignac and Maurice Ravel was described as “an audacious feat of social climbing” in 1899. The Prince and Princess de Polignac had established a salon in Paris, and the music room of their mansion in the XVI arrondissement quickly became renowned...
- [Franz Liszt: The Forgotten Romance](https://interlude.hk/franz-liszt-forgotten-romance/): Arnold Simon of Hamburg published a composition by Franz Liszt in 1881 with the title Romance oubliée. Interestingly, this little gem was published in four versions simultaneously, for piano solo, for violin and piano, for viola and piano, and for cello and piano. Subsequently a little explanatory foreword was added....
- [An Autumn Sonata – Schubert’s Piano Sonata in A, D959](https://interlude.hk/autumn-sonata-schuberts-piano-sonata-d959/): The Sonata in A, D959, is the middle panel of the triptych of Schubert’s final sonatas. Schubert completed his final three piano sonatas in September 1828, just a few months before his death at the age of 31. Schubert numbered the three sonatas sequentially, perhaps envisioning them as a cycle....
- [“Music is Life” <br/>Zuzana Růžičková (1927-2017)](https://interlude.hk/music-life-zuzana-ruzickova-1927-2017/): Zuzana Růžičková (1927-2017) experienced personal tragedy and suffering on an unimaginable scale! She was a happy but sickly child suffering from tuberculosis, who “was in love with music from the beginning. ” She asked her parents to buy her a piano and to find her a teacher, and after much...
- [Slave Pianist Sensation: “Blind Tom”](https://interlude.hk/slave-pianist-sensation-blind-tom/): “Blind Tom,” as he was generally known, was born into slavery in Columbus, Georgia in 1848. He was sold with his family during infancy to General James Neil Bethune, a country lawyer and newspaper publisher. The blind child was considered mentally impaired, but one day he crawled to the piano...
- [How Mozart Was Inspired by His Pet Starling](https://interlude.hk/mozart-inspired-pet-starling/): On 27 May 1784, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart bought a pet starling bird at a Viennese pet shop. Normally historians and musicologists don’t pay much attention to composers’ pets, but this starling wasn’t your average pet. Because when Mozart recorded the thirty-four kreutzer expense in his diary, he also transcribed a...
- [Sooner or Later? Tempo Rubato](https://interlude.hk/sooner-later-tempo-rubato/): What Is the Meaning and Use of Rubato? Tempo rubato in music – literally “robbed” or “stolen time” in Italian – refers to a subtle slowing or speeding up of tempo. It is most closely associated with the music of Frédéric Chopin, his friend and fellow composer Franz Liszt, and...
- [ROUSSEL, A.: Symphony No. 4 / Rapsodie Flamande / Petite Suite / Sinfonietta](https://interlude.hk/roussel-symphony-4-rapsodie-flamande-petite-suite-sinfonietta/): Symphony No. 4 in A Major, Op. 53 – I. Lento From ROUSSEL, A. : Symphony No. 4 / Rapsodie Flamande / Petite Suite / Sinfonietta (2010) Released by Naxos Roussel: Symphony No. 4 in A Major, Op. 53 – I. LentoFollowing a period of soul-searching during the mid-1920s, and...
- [Winnaretta Singer <br/>The Muse of Modern Music](https://interlude.hk/winnaretta-singer-muse-modern-music/): Her father was the American sewing-machine inventor Isaac Merritt Singer, and her mother the Parisian model Isabelle Boyer. Winnaretta was born in New York in 1865, and her 14th birthday present was a private performance of the Beethoven Op. 131 String Quartet. Her mother owned an octet of Stradivarius string...
- [Chopsticks Paraphrase](https://interlude.hk/chopsticks-paraphrase/): It all started pretty innocently. Gania, the young adopted daughter of Alexander Borodin asked her father to play a piano duet with her. Borodin objected by telling her that she did not know how to play. “But Daddy,” Gania replied, “I do know how to play the Cutlet Polka. ”...
- [Behind the Curtain <br/>Chopin’s Funeral Music](https://interlude.hk/behind-curtain-chopins-funeral-music/): A good many people decide to plan proceedings for their own funerals. Among the various options and choices there is always the question if music should be part of the service, and if so, what that music might be.
- [<em>Circus Polka</em>: For a Young Elephant](https://interlude.hk/circus-polka-young-elephant/): Do you know what happened when George Balanchine, tenderly referred to as the father of American ballet, teamed up with Igor Stravinsky? Unless you actually know the answer, this one is somewhat difficult to guess. Turns out, they were choreographing a performance for fifty elephants with fifty ballerinas on top...
- [4 hands 1 keyboard <br/>Music for piano duet](https://interlude.hk/4-hands-1-keyboard-music-piano-duet/): The piano duet – four hands sharing one keyboard – was once an important part of musical activity, to be enjoyed at home and in the cultural salons of Europe during the 19th and early 20th centuries, and in more modest times it was an acceptable way for young people,...
- [Zurab Sotkilava (1937-2017) <br/>Football or Musical Pitch?](https://interlude.hk/zurab-sotkilava-1937-2017-football-musical-pitch/): I wonder if you have ever seen the 1939 drama romance film titled Golden Boy? Directed by Rouben Mamoulian, it featured Barbara Stanwyck and the film debut of William Holden. In fact, it was the role in this movie that made Holden a superstar. Holden plays a highly talented and...
- [The Impartial Teacher](https://interlude.hk/impartial-teacher/): I believe that our personal musical tastes should not influence the way we teach, and that we should not impose our preferences or prejudices on our students. Our role as teachers should be encourage students to explore as wide a range of music as possible – whether it is purely...
- [NOVÁK, V.: In the Tatra Mountains / Lady Godiva / Eternal Longing](https://interlude.hk/novak-v-tatra-mountains-lady-godiva-eternal-longing/): V Tatrách (In the Tatra Mountains), Op. 26 From NOVÁK, V. : In the Tatra Mountains / Lady Godiva / Eternal Longing (2017) Released by Naxos Novak: V Tatrách (In the Tatra Mountains), Op. 26Emerging from the fertile background of Bohemian nationalism, Vitĕzslav Novak’s music achieved cult status in his...
- [Lure of the Siren <br/>Carl Maria von Weber and Gretchen Lang](https://interlude.hk/lure-siren-carl-maria-von-weber-gretchen-lang/): The soprano Margarethe Bernbrunn, née Lang, who frequently performed under the stage name “Adalbert Prix,” was described in the following terms. “Gretchen possessed a little plump seductive form, was about twenty years of age, and, in addition to her undoubted musical talent, was endowed with a fund of gay sprightly...
- [George Gershwin: Teach me your Art!](https://interlude.hk/george-gershwin-teach-art/): There are a number of celebrated anecdotes going around that George Gershwin habitually asked famous composers to give him lessons. Apparently he wanted composition lessons from Edgard Varèse, leader of the New York musical avant-garde. Although Varèse acknowledged Gershwin’s talent, he nevertheless turned him down as a student. “I can’t...
- [The magic of Karol Szymanowski](https://interlude.hk/magic-karol-szymanowski/): Karol Szymanowski (1882-1937) was supremely gifted, intellectually and musically. Even before reaching his teenage years, he spoke fluent French, German and Russian, and his interest in music and philosophy was insatiable. Receiving instructions from Gustav Neuhaus, Karol read Schopenhauer and Nietzsche, and got to know the music of Bach, Mozart,...
- [Farewell dear Brother! Capriccio BWV 992](https://interlude.hk/farewell-dear-brother-capriccio-bwv-992/): Johann Sebastian Bach and his older brother Johann Jacob shared a special bond. Their mother Elisabeth Bach died on 3 May 1694, and their father Ambrosius Bach followed her into the grave on 20 February 1695. Orphaned, both boys were placed under the guardianship of their eldest brother, 22-year old...
- [The pushy musical prodigy: Chloë Hanslip](https://interlude.hk/pushy-musical-prodigy-chloe-hanslip/): We have all seen children forced to endure endless piano and violin lessons by overbearing and pushy parents. Research has suggested, “Pushy parents who go to great lengths to make their children succeed are attempting to make up for their own failed dreams. ” But when it comes to genius...
- [The Beautiful Art – An Interview with Rumiko Hasegawa](https://interlude.hk/beautiful-art-interview-rumiko-hasegawa/): Rumiko Hasegawa listened all the comments she received from the people who had come to opera performances and had a bad experience: it’s so unfamiliar, it takes too long, the language is incomprehensible, the story is strange; I don’t know what to wear! As a former partner at Goldman Sachs,...
- [Ten things to say to a classical music snob](https://interlude.hk/ten-things-say-classical-music-snob/): Despite the best efforts of those of us within the profession, and many outside it too, classical music still suffers from an image problem. It is perceived by many as high-brow, exclusive and riven with snobbery, largely the result of misconceptions about concert etiquette (knowing when to clap, sitting in...
- [Stop Start](https://interlude.hk/stop-start/): During a conversation in a recent lesson with one of my students, she told me that her previous teacher would stop her every time she made a mistake and ask her to correct the error before continuing. She admitted to me that she found this habit irritating and I asked...
- [The Dangers of being a Musical Prodigy <br/>Vanessa Mae: Slapped around by Tiger Mum](https://interlude.hk/dangers-musical-prodigy-vanessa-mae-slapped-around-tiger-mum/): The “Tiger mom phenomenon,” a term coined by Yale law professor Amy Chua in 2011, describes an age-old system of strict authoritarian motherly control that is supposed to propel children towards excellence. Advocates suggest that it produces an exceptionally high proportion of top performers in a variety of academic and...
- [Franz Schubert: Fantasie in F Minor and other Piano Duets](https://interlude.hk/franz-schubert-fantasie-f-minor-piano-duets/): Polonaise op. 61 no. 1, D. 824 D minor From Franz Schubert: Fantasie in F Minor and other Piano Duets (2017) Released by Harmonia Mundi Schubert: Polonaise op. 61 no. 1, D. 824 D minorFour hands, one heart. ‘In Upper Austria, I find my compositions everywhere, especially in the monasteries...
- [Let’s Dance <br/>Operetta in Vienna](https://interlude.hk/lets-dance-operetta-vienna/): In December of 1857 Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria/Hungary magnanimously declared, “It is my will that the Vienna suburbs are to be connected to the center of imperial power. ” And so he had the old city fortifications torn down, and in a masterstroke of urban planning, replaced it with...
- [Scriabin’s Prometheus and his Religious & Artistic Beliefs](https://interlude.hk/scriabins-prometheus-religious-artistic-beliefs/): Alexander Scriabin (1872-1915) believed that art was separated from reality and existed as a pure form. Having deep faith in theosophy and perceiving himself as the Divine in the world, he was also influenced by Friedrich Nietzsche’s concept of Übermensch (Superhuman). He once said, “I am God! I am nothing,...
- [Karol Szymanowski](https://interlude.hk/karol-szymanowski-composer-of-the-month/): “I seek for love everywhere—ceaselessly” In 2017 we celebrate the 80th passing of Karol Szymanowski (1882-1937), one of the most unique musical voices of the 20th century. Born in the Ukraine into a family of landed gentry who settled there following the partition of Poland, Szymanowski had a serious accident...
- [Forgotten Pianists: Jean-Claude Englebert](https://interlude.hk/forgotten-pianists-jean-claude-englebert/): French pianist Jean-Claude Englebert (1923-2011) was born in Paris to a family of musicians. His father, Oscar, was a renowned violist and his mother, Suzanne, was a concert singer. He attended the Paris Conservatoire, taking the first prize in music theory in 1937 and the first prize in piano in...
- [The Sorcerer's Apprentice <br/>Alfred Brendel and Paul Lewis <br/>Playing Schubert with no Middleman](https://interlude.hk/sorcerers-apprentice-alfred-brendel-paul-lewis-playing-schubert-middleman/): Famously, Paul Lewis grew up in a home in Liverpool where the most sophisticated musical device was a small electronic organ. Both parents had little interest in music, only “occasionally, my dad would play one of his John Denver record. ” Yet surprisingly, Paul had a tremendous musical gift and...
- [10th Anniversary of Premiere Performances Hong Kong](https://interlude.hk/10th-anniversary-premiere-performances-hong-kong/): Hardly a month goes by without yet another international music festival rolling down the shutters and closing its doors forever. Festival d’Ile-de-France, City of London Festival or Lugano, the message is always the same. “Despite new directions and initiatives, the fundraising landscape has become ever more competitive, and it has...
- [Muses and Musings <br/>La Comtesse Greffulhe: Female Entrepreneurial Power](https://interlude.hk/muses-musings-la-comtesse-greffulhe-female-entrepreneurial-power/): She was described as “that beautiful and unchallenged sovereign of sophisticated Paris; a leader of the smart intelligentsia and unchallenged queen of the upper monde; the most distinguished lady in the whole of Parisian society. ” She was born Elisabeth de Caraman-Chimay in 1860. Her father was a Belgian prince...
- [Vivaldi’s Internationally Renowned Orphanage Orchestra](https://interlude.hk/vivaldis-internationally-renowned-orphanage-orchestra/): Imagine you’re a poor single woman in eighteenth century Venice. You have no family, no fortune, and your career options are – obviously – limited. Every year during Carnival, hundreds of wealthy men descend on Venice, busy taking their Grand Tours of the Continent, and you’re able to make some...
- [How to Listen to Music You Haven’t Heard](https://interlude.hk/listen-music-havent-heard/): Some years ago I read a fascinating book by French psychoanalyst and University of Paris literature professor Pierre Bayard, How to Talk About Books You Haven’t Read, in which the author makes a very good case for freeing ourselves from the conventions and obligations of being “well read”. Professor Bayard...
- [Andrew Tyson](https://interlude.hk/andrew-tyson-artist-of-the-month/): Learning from Other Genres Performing an eclectic mix of music in Hong Kong this month is young American pianist Andrew Tyson. Originally from North Carolina, he studied at the Curtis Institute and went on to New York’s prestigious Juilliard School. Andrew is now based in Philadelphia – ‘You have access...
- [WAGNER, S.: Lieder](https://interlude.hk/wagner-s-lieder/): Der Kobold (The Goblin), Op. 3, Act I: Vogellied (Bird Song) From WAGNER, S. : Lieder (2010) Released by Marco Polo Wagner: Der Kobold (The Goblin), Op. 3, Act I: Vogellied (Bird Song)Best known for his operas, several of which are available on Marco Polo, Siegfried Wagner’s songs only really...
- [Born in a Mental Institution <br/>The Operetta in France](https://interlude.hk/born-mental-institution-operetta-france/): After a hard day of coming to terms with personal demons and morbid obsessions in a mental institution, not everybody is in the mood to sit through a seemingly endless Wagnerian musical drama or the monumental theatricality of a Verdi opera. At least that’s what Florimond Ronger (1825-1892) also known...
- [Tangentenflügel <br/>Mozart’s favorite keyboard instrument (for a while)](https://interlude.hk/tangentenflugel-mozarts-favorite-keyboard-instrument/): Today I accidentally stumbled over another rarity from the vault of unusual and singular instruments! The instrument in question—variously called “Tangent piano” in English, “Tangentenflügel” in German, “cembalo angelico” in Italian, and “clavecin harmonieux et celeste” in French—sounds like a cross between a harpsichord and a fortepiano. The treble resembles...
- [A Monument of Twentieth-Century Pianism: <br/>Messiaen’s <em>Vingt Regards sur l'enfant Jésus</em>](https://interlude.hk/monumental-twentieth-century-pianismmessiaens-vingt-regards-sur-lenfant-jesus/): Olivier Messiaen’s monumental and profound work Vingt Regards sur l’enfant Jésus (Twenty Gazes on the Infant Jesus) surely ranks amongst the “greats” of the piano repertoire, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with such titans as Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier and Beethoven’s 32 Piano Sonatas in terms of its scale. It is one of the...
- [It’s All About the Character: An Interview with Riccardo Massi](https://interlude.hk/character-interview-riccardo-massi/): Tenor Riccardo Massi takes the world’s stages in the most heroic of roles: Radamès in Aida, Don José in Carmen, Calaf in Turandot, but for the years while he was studying voice, he took to the cinema screen in other kinds of roles. He had an early interest in medieval...
- [Forgotten Pianists: Monique Haas](https://interlude.hk/forgotten-pianists-monique-haas/): Monique Haas (1909-1987) received the Premier Prix in 1927 from the Paris Conservatoire before going on to study privately with Rudolf Serkin, Georges Enescu and Robert Casadesus. As was common with most French pianists of her generation, she was an active advocate of French composers, ranging from Baroque composers such...
- [The Sorcerer's Apprentice <br/>Alfred Brendel and Imogen Cooper <br/>Demonic Intensity](https://interlude.hk/sorcerers-apprentice-alfred-brendel-imogen-cooper-demonic-intensity/): Imogen Cooper proudly announced at the age of 5 that she wanted to be a pianist. Her father, the noted musicologist Martin Cooper, warned her about the perils of becoming a performing artist. “I had no idea what it all meant,” she explains, “but I just love the experience of...
- [Finding a New Light Source: Funding Lumen de Lumine](https://interlude.hk/finding-new-light-source-funding-lumen-de-lumine/): How do you get a record of new choral music made? In these days of austerity and penny-pinching, you need to be innovative. At the same time, in these days of social media and the power of networking, new avenues are opening.
- [Muses and Musings <br/>Bettina Brentano: Everybody’s Muse!](https://interlude.hk/muses-musings-bettina-brentano-everybodys-muse/): She aroused the curiosity of Napoleon Bonaparte and went for intimate walks with Karl Marx. She entertained a significant passion for Goethe, who deflected her craving into an extended correspondence and companionship, and she was Beethoven’s muse. Robert Schumann and Johannes Brahms dedicated songs to her, and the Grimm brothers...
- [Paintings in Sound: An Interview with Thomas Lennartz](https://interlude.hk/paintings-sound-interview-thomas-lennartz/): We first heard Thomas Lennartz at the helm of his old organ – the magnificent Silbermann organ (built ca 1750-51) in the Dresden Cathedral (Katholische Hofkirche). Old organ in two ways -one is its age, remembering that Silbermann had been a good friend of J. S. Bach, and old in...
- [Daniil Trifonov, Rafal Blechacz and Arthur Rubinstein](https://interlude.hk/daniil-trifonov-rafal-blechacz-arthur-rubinstein/): Two of the world’s most outstanding talents – Daniil Trifonov and Rafal Blechacz were featured earlier this month in the South China Morning Post. The article was meant to alert Hong Kong audience to their imminent recitals in late September and early October, outlining their accomplishments thus encouraging attendance. Unfortunately,...
- [Tingle Factor](https://interlude.hk/tingle-factor/): We gather music along the way and it forms a personal soundtrack to our lives, evoking memories of times past, and a few bars of a significant song or piece of music can create an instant reaction, a ‘tingle’.
- [The Joy of being a Musical Prodigy <br/>Alma Elizabeth Deutscher](https://interlude.hk/joy-musical-prodigy-alma-elizabeth-deutscher/): If you have been reading my miniseries on the shenanigans of abusive parents beating their children to musical stardom, this little story will probably restore your faith in humankind. I am talking about the pianist, violinist and composer Alma Elizabeth Deutscher, born in Oxford in 2005! She started playing the...
- [BÉRIOT, C.-A. de: Violin Concertos Nos. 4, 6, 7](https://interlude.hk/beriot-c-de-violin-concertos-nos-4-6-7/): Fantaisie, ou Scène de ballet, Op. 100 From BÉRIOT, C. -A. de: Violin Concertos Nos. 4, 6, 7 (2017) Released by Naxos Beriot: Fantaisie, ou Scène de ballet, Op. 100In 1896 The Strad described Charles Auguste de Bériot, whose playing created a sensation in London and Paris, as ‘the founder...
- [The Forgotten Voyager](https://interlude.hk/forgotten-voyager/): It is often a great mystery what people, works, and instruments remain in the minds of those who enjoy classical music. Even in the very small world of saxophonists, there are certain legends which take hold and others which fall by the wayside. Sometimes, though, there are flashes of incidents...
- [Is it time for nontraditional casting in Gershwin’s <em>Porgy and Bess</em>?](https://interlude.hk/time-nontraditional-casting-gershwins-porgy-bess/): However you’d like to look at it, George Gershwin was unique! Freely mixing and combining classical and popular music styles, his works have been heralded as representing “an exciting new American musical art. ” Yet when it came to Porgy and Bess, the racial aspects of the opera elicited rather...
- [Love on a cosmic scale <br/> Olivier Messiaen, Claire Delbos and Yvonne Loriod](https://interlude.hk/love-cosmic-scale-olivier-messiaen-claire-delbos-yyonne-loriod/): Claire Delbos was the daughter of a Sorbonne professor, a member of the prominent new music society “La Spirale,” and an accomplished violinist and composer. Predictably, she studied at the Paris Conservatory and quickly crossed paths with another highly talented student at that institution, Olivier Messiaen. He was drawn to...
- [Forgotten Pianists: Edwin Fischer](https://interlude.hk/forgotten-pianists-edwin-fischer/): Bringing Bach to the 20th century was the fame of Swiss pianist Edwin Fischer (1886-1960). After first studying music in Basel, Switzerland, he went on to attend the Stern Conservatory in Berlin, where he studied with Martin Krause, one of Liszt’s last students. He was known as a phenomenal teacher...
- [The Sorcerer's Apprentice <br/>He set the Piano Stool on Fire! <br/>Alfred Brendel and Kit Armstrong](https://interlude.hk/sorcerers-apprentice-set-piano-stool-fire-alfred-brendel-kit-armstrong/): On rare occasions, musical aptitude strikes without warning. I am pretty sure that’s what the British-Taiwanese parents of Kit Armstrong must have been thinking when their son, age 5, and without access to a piano, taught himself musical composition by reading an abridged encyclopedia. Recalling his musical beginnings, he says,...
- [Mechanical Haydn](https://interlude.hk/mechanical-haydn/): Nicholas I, Prince Eszterháza was crazy about the arts! He built a number of palaces and his taste for opera and other grand musical productions earned him the title “the Magnificent. ” He certainly was extravagant in his clothing budget, and famously wore a jacket studded with diamonds. Beyond the...
- [Works Disliked By Their Own Composers! Part I](https://interlude.hk/works-disliked-composers-part/): Imagine you spent dozens or hundreds of hours writing a piece of music, but for whatever reason, you’re not satisfied with it. What does it take for you to repress, ignore, or even destroy your own hard work? Here are how three great composers dealt with the problem:
- [Lessons in Making Music](https://interlude.hk/lessons-making-music/): Were Your Childhood Music Lessons Fun? If you, like me, had piano lessons as a child, I expect there were rather too many times when you sat at the piano and wondered what this thing called “music” was all about? The daily grind of practising, seemingly endless scales and arpeggios,...
- [The Dangers of being a Musical Prodigy <br/>Lang Guoren: Ordering his son to commit suicide](https://interlude.hk/dangers-musical-prodigy-lang-guoren-ordering-son-commit-suicide/): Lang Lang is arguably the most famous Chinese pianist of all time. He certainly is a cultural icon with the popularity and charisma of many leading rock musicians. Yet the path to this kind of superstardom came at a steep price. An insanely driven father, who at one point ordered...
- [Souvenirs d’Italie <br/>A memory box…](https://interlude.hk/souvenirs-ditalie-memory-box/): Giuseppe Sammartini Recorder Concerto, in F Major Allegro assai From Souvenirs d’Italie A memory box... (2016) Released by Harmonia Mundi Sammartini: Recorder Concerto, in F Major – Allegro assaiA memory box ... Charles de Brosses wrote that, in Naples, musical tastes change every ten years or so! That variety of...
- [ZANTA Pianoforti: Play with Design](https://interlude.hk/zanta-pianoforti-play-design/): For over twenty years, Silvano Zanta worked in the laboratories of major piano manufacturers such as Steinway & Sons, Yamaha and Bösendorfer. In 1979 he decided to become independent and founded ZANTA Pianoforti. His small company specialized in the restoration of pianos, believing that “every piano has its own story,...
- [From Stage to Film: The Many Lives of George Gershwin’s Work](https://interlude.hk/stage-film-many-lives-george-gershwins-work/): For many people, Vincent Minnelli’s film An American in Paris, presents a number of perfections: the perfect Paris, the perfect music, and the perfect lyrics. Starting with the program music of An American in Paris, the orchestra work, Alan Jay Lerner created a perfect post-war Paris that had more to...
- [Messiaen’s Preludes](https://interlude.hk/messiaens-preludes/): Olivier Messiaen’s eight Preludes for piano were published in 1929, the year he won the first prize for composition at the Paris Conservatoire. Debussy’s own Preludes were less than twenty years old at the time, and the influence of these works on the young Messiaen is clear. They have received...
- [Forgotten Pianists: Lucette Descaves](https://interlude.hk/forgotten-pianists-lucette-descaves/): Lucette Descaves (1906-1993) was a student of Marguerite Long’s at the Paris Conservatoire, her students, in turn, were equally distinguished, including the young Michel Legrand, and, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Pascal Rogé, and Katia and Marielle Labèque. After she retired from the Conservatoire in 1976, she continued to teach at the Rueil-Malmaison...
- [The Sorcerer's Apprentice <br/>Hu Weimin and Ning Feng <br/>Overcoming the “Pinkie” rejection](https://interlude.hk/sorcerers-apprentice-hu-weimin-ning-feng-overcoming-pinkie-rejection/): Audiences and critics are usually ecstatic when Ning Feng picks up the 1721 Stradivari violin known as “MacMillan. ” Born in Chengdu and currently residing in Berlin, Feng has “developed a reputation as an artist of great lyricism and emotional transparency, displaying tremendous bravura and awe-inspiring technical accomplishment. ” However,...
- [Edward Elgar: Dreaming of Blue Knickers](https://interlude.hk/edward-elgar-dreaming-blue-knickers/): It’s always been fashionable to emphasizing artistic greatness at the expense of some more down-to earth-human qualities. Mozart wrote exceptional music but he also wrote scatological letters to his cousin. Wagner gave us the Artwork of the Future and a number of anti-Semitic diatribes. Chopin dabbled in nocturnal moods and...
- [Choosing Between the Violin and Viola? Why Not Play Both?](https://interlude.hk/choosing-violin-viola-play/): I play both violin and viola, and I’d never have it any other way. Yes, remaining proficient on both takes more practice time, and yes, it’s more expensive to pay for upkeep on two instruments and bows... but it’s totally worth it! Here are the reasons why I’ll always have...
- [The Systematic Musician](https://interlude.hk/systematic-musician/): We are constantly being reminded of the importance of having “goals” in our lives in order to achieve certain things, from getting fit to winning a half-marathon or setting up a business. We believe that having goals motivates us to put in the training, go to the gym three times...
- [The Dangers of being a Musical Prodigy <br/>Antonio Paganini: Musical Father from Hell](https://interlude.hk/dangers-musical-prodigy-antonio-paganini-musical-father-hell/): Niccolò Paganini left an irrefutable mark on the history of instrumental music and 19th century social life. Born in Genoa on 27 October 1782 he was the third of six children of Antonio and Teresa Paganini. Antonio Paganini was a dockworker and day laborer, managing to supplement his meager income...
- [The Mozart “Adélaïde” Scam](https://interlude.hk/mozart-adelaide-scam/): It was advertised as the musical discovery of the century! In 1933, the Hungarian violinist Jelly d’Aranyi stepped onto the London stage and performed a preciously unknown violin concerto by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. That concerto had been published in 1933 in an edition by the French violinist Marius Casadesus, known...
- [WEINBERG, M.: Violin Sonatas](https://interlude.hk/weinberg-m-violin-sonatas/): Violin Sonata No. 5, Op. 53 I. Andante con moto From WEINBERG, M. : Violin Sonatas (2017) Released by Naxos Weinberg: Violin Sonata No. 5, Op. 53 – I. Andante con motoMieczysław Weinberg is now recognised as one of the outstanding Russian composers of the second half of the twentieth...
- [Destination Sydney](https://interlude.hk/destination-sydney/): Perhaps a trip to the antipodes is on your schedule. In many ways, it’s a trip to an older culture, both of the native peoples and of the western arrivals. And yet, at the same time, cut away from the direct influences of European culture, the city has been developing...
- [Olivier Messiaen](https://interlude.hk/olivier-messiaen-composer-of-the-month/): Spiritual Radiance in Music 25 years ago, on 27 April 1992, one of the most original and influential musical minds of the 20th century passed away in Paris. Olivier Messiaen (1908-1992) was the leading French composer of the generation after Debussy and Ravel, but from the very beginning developed a...
- [Forgotten Pianists: Gaby Casadesus](https://interlude.hk/forgotten-pianists-gaby-casadesus/): French pianist Gaby Casadesus (1901-1999), like her husband, Robert Casadesus, studied at the Paris Conservatoire with Marguerite Long and was awarded the first prize in piano at age 16. Also like her husband, she knew the best composers of the country: Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel, Gabriel Fauré, Florent Schmitt, and...
- [The Sorcerer's Apprentice <br/>Klara Berkovich and Hilary Hahn <br/>“Tell me and I forget, teach me and I will remember”](https://interlude.hk/sorcerers-apprentice-klara-berkovich-hilary-hahn-tell-forget-teach-will-remember/): Shinichi Suzuki believed that the ability to learn music parallels the acquisition of language. His famous “Suzuki Method” is based on creating a positive environment that fosters musical immersion at an early age. Suzuki strongly believed that “every child was capable of a high level of musical achievement. ” Hilary...
- [Poetic Muse <br/>Edward Elgar and Caroline Alice Roberts](https://interlude.hk/poetic-muse-edward-elgar-caroline-alice-roberts/): Rudyard Kipling wrote, “Pleasant the snaffle of Courtship, improving the manners and carriage; But the colt who is wise will abstain from the terrible thorn-bit of Marriage. ” The Irish poet Thomas Moore had a similar take on that mysterious and occasionally enchanting period in human interaction called courtship:
- [Vertical Theatricality](https://interlude.hk/vertical-theatricality/): The alpine “Julier Pass” also known as the “Pass dal Güglia” and “Passo del Giulia” is a mountain pass in Switzerland. It connects the Engadin valley with the province of Graubünden, and provides the watershed between the basins of the Rhine and Danube Rivers. At an altitude of 2284 meters,...
- [The Perfectionism Trap](https://interlude.hk/perfectionism-trap/): “Practise makes perfect” – that oft-quoted phrase beloved of instrumental teachers the world over... . It’s a neat little mantra, but one that can have serious and potentially long-lasting negative effects if taken too literally. Musicians have to practise. Repetitive, committed and quality practise trains the procedural memory (what musicians...
- [Andrei Gavrilov: “Playing the piano means sharing love”](https://interlude.hk/andrei-gavrilov-playing-piano-means-sharing-love/): Andrei Gavrilov was a teenage superstar of the Soviet Union! In 1974, aged 18, he won the prestigious Tchaikovsky piano competition, and in the same year made his triumphant international debut at the Salzburg Festival. A protégé of the extraordinary Russian pianist Sviatoslav Richter, Gavrilov had recording deals with Deutsche...
- [ TCHAIKOVSKY, P.I.: Piano Music - 12 Morceaux / Souvenir de Hapsal / Valse-Scherzos / Capriccio / Valse-caprice](https://interlude.hk/tchaikovsky-p-piano-music-12-morceaux-souvenir-de-hapsal-valse-scherzos-capriccio-valse-caprice/): 12 Morceaux, Op. 40 No. 9. Valse in F – Sharp Minor From TCHAIKOVSKY, P. I. : Piano Music – 12 Morceaux / Souvenir de Hapsal / Valse-Scherzos / Capriccio / Valse-caprice (2017) Released by Naxos Tchaikovsky: 12 Morceaux, Op. 40 – No. 9. Valse in F – Sharp MinorTchaikovsky...
- [The Dangers of being a Musical Prodigy <br/>Wolfie Mozart and Smallpox](https://interlude.hk/dangers-musical-prodigy-wolfie-mozart-smallpox/): Growing up a musical genius can be very dangerous! When Leopold Mozart realized that his son Wolfgang had a unique talent, he saw a great opportunity to make money. Shuffling his son and daughter around the courts and musical centers of Western Europe, Leopold was convinced that he was sitting...
- [Destination New York](https://interlude.hk/destination-new-york/): If you’ve ever visited the place that many people consider the centre of the known universe then you’re familiar with its vibrant downtown, its meditative Central Park, the way the city buzzles, and sizzles, and then sometime is the perfect place for a walk around the block. It’s New York,...
- [David Kadouch](https://interlude.hk/david-kadouch-artist-of-the-month/): Generosity, Openness, and Freedom Having just landed from a whirlwind trip to Aspen, David Kadouch grabs a couple of days of respite before heading to Hong Kong this month to perform Saint-Saëns’ second Piano Concerto with the Hong Kong Sinfonietta, and the Franck Piano Quintet with Luu Cheuk-yin Clement, Le...
- [Mechanical Beethoven](https://interlude.hk/mechanical-beethoven/): In a previous episode on the “Mechanical Mozart” I have introduced you to the mechanical instrument, most commonly associated with a clock, that plays music at regular time intervals. Unlike a conventional chiming clock, this device plays music selected automatically or manually from a repertory encoded on a variety of...
- [Forgotten Pianists: Jean Doyen](https://interlude.hk/forgotten-pianists-jean-doyen/): As with many pianists from France, Jean Doyen (1907-1982) attended the Paris Conservatoire, ending up as a student of Marguerite Long. He made his solo debut in 1924, but returned to the Conservatoire in 1926 for lessons in counterpoint and composition. From 1941-1977, he taught piano at the Conservatoire, taking...
- [The Sorcerer's Apprentice <br/>Pianistic Traditions and Contemporary Sensibility <br/> Gary Graffman and Yuja Wang](https://interlude.hk/sorcerers-apprentice-pianistic-traditions-contemporary-sensibility-gary-graffman-yuja-wang/): We all know that Yuja Wang was born in Beijing, but she is deliberately vague about her emergence as a prodigy. She always likes to tell interviewers that her mother wanted her to be a dancer, “but that she was lazy and chose the piano because she could sit down....
- [Muses and Musings <br/>Frédéric Chopin and the Divine Therese Apponyi](https://interlude.hk/muses-musings-frederic-chopin-divine-therese-apponyi/): On Sunday Afternoons between1833 and 1835, Frédéric Chopin frequently made his way to 107 rue Saint-Dominique in Paris. His destination was the Hotel de Monaco, sometimes called the Hôtel d’Eckmühl, which functioned as the home of the Austrian ambassador to Paris. He explicitly went there to visit the Countess Apponyi,...
- [Music and Madness](https://interlude.hk/music-madness/): Some of the most celebrated scenes depicting madness of the mind can be found in nineteenth century opera. For example, Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti’s depiction of psychosis in Anna Bolena and Lucia di Lammermoor are still considered to be some of opera’s most powerful and dramatic scenes.
- [Fits the bill: Constellation collocation in classical music](https://interlude.hk/fits-bill-constellation-collocation-classical-music/): As a young Chinese man, I have encountered many ancient superstitious beliefs, such as fortune-telling, Feng Shui and palmistry. The Chinese Zodiac assigns an animal to each birth year in a repeating twelve-year cycle, while in Western astrology, it’s based around the month of your birth.
- [The Idle Musician – escaping the ‘busy trap’](https://interlude.hk/idle-musician-escaping-busy-trap/): We are all so busy these days! Musicians, by necessity, tend to be busy people – busy practising, performing, creating performing opportunities, meeting and working with colleagues, applying for funding, teaching, preparing lesson plans, doing admin... . . The peripatetic nature of our working lives means that we are often...
- [Schubert: Piano Sonatas D. 960 & D. 664](https://interlude.hk/schubert-piano-sonatas-d-960-d-664/): Piano Sonata D. 664 II. Andante From Schubert: Piano Sonatas D. 960 & D. 664 (2017) Released by Harmonia Mundi Schubert: Piano Sonata D. 664 – II. AndanteThe Sonata D664? The fine craftsmanship of a composer still writing in the shadow of the giant Beethoven; nine years later, Schubert, just...
- [iDisorder in Opera: Poulenc “La Voix Humaine”](https://interlude.hk/idisorder-opera-poulenc-la-voix-humaine/): “iDisorder” is one of the latest terms used in the medical sciences. Apparently, it changes your brain’s ability to process information and the ability to relate to the world due to daily use of media and technology. “There is the very real possibility that all these personal mobile gadgets might...
- [Destination London](https://interlude.hk/destination-london/): London, London, London – which London do you mean? The London of the early 20th century of men in top hats and women in sweeping dresses? Or the London of the late 19th century of the demi-monde and the easily lost life? Or perhaps it’s military London with marching men...
- [Doing Opera at Home](https://interlude.hk/opera-home/): Until recordings became common in the latter part of the 20th century, the only way to hear some of the great works was to attend a performance or to have your own orchestra. For the rest of the music-loving world, however, the music of the great composers was available, but...
- [Forgotten Pianists: Jeanne-Marie Darré](https://interlude.hk/forgotten-pianists-jeanne-marie-darre/): French pianist Jeanne-Marie Darré (1905-1999) took the works of Chopin and Liszt as her hallmark, being known for her lyrical and elegant style. After first taking lessons from her mother, she studied at the Paris Conservatoire, first as a preparatory student of Marguerite Long and then with Isidore Philipp, and...
- [The Sorcerer's Apprentice <br/> Discovering the Musical Universe <br/> Gary Graffman and Lang Lang](https://interlude.hk/sorcerers-apprentice-discovering-musical-universe-gary-graffman-lang-lang/): Lang Lang! The two words in the classical music universe that say it all! China’s first crossover classical superstar pianist, he has played for presidents, on the Great Wall of China, at Buckingham Palace and in the White House. He performed to 2 billion television viewers during the 2008 Olympics...
- [The Henri Casadesus Viola Inventions](https://interlude.hk/henri-casadesus-viola-inventions/): The surname Casadesus identifies a prominent French artistic family. An integral part of the international classical music landscape, the Casadesus family remained artistically active for well over a century. Arguably, the most prominent member of the family was pianist Robert Casadesus, who famously collaborated with Maurice Ravel. During the war,...
- [Muses and Musings <br/>Beethoven and his “Klärchen”	<br/> Ludwig van Beethoven and Antonie Adamberger](https://interlude.hk/muses-musings-beethoven-klarchen-ludwig-van-beethoven-antonie-adamberger/): At the tender age of 16, Antonie Adamberger was already one of the biggest stars on the Viennese theatrical stage. Tall, slender, gorgeous, and certainly highly talented, she gave her debut on New Year’s Day 1807 at the Burgtheater, and was immediately engaged as a Court Actress. Highly acclaimed in...
- [Darwin Leonard Prakash: The Young Indian Opera Prodigy](https://interlude.hk/darwin-leonard-prakash-young-indian-opera-prodigy/): The Summer of 2014 proved to be a wholly exciting and life changing time for Darwin Leonard Prakash, a young Indian boy living in New Delhi who has a fascination with the human voice and the Western idiom of singing classical music as he heard from TV and radio.
- [Learning from Listening](https://interlude.hk/learning-listening/): There are many benefits in listening to the repertoire you are working on, on disc and in concert, as well as “listening around” the music – works from the same period by the same composer, and works by his/her contemporaries. Such listening gives us a clearer sense of the composer’s...
- [DEVIENNE, F.: Flute Concertos, Vol. 2 - Nos. 5-8](https://interlude.hk/devienne-f-flute-concertos-vol-2-nos-5-8/): Flute Concerto No. 6 in D Major I. Allegro From DEVIENNE, F. : Flute Concertos, Vol. 2 – Nos. 5-8 (2017) Released by Naxos Devienne: Flute Concerto No. 6 in D Major – I. AllegroFrench composer François Devienne enjoyed great esteem with his successful operas in the Revolutionary years of...
- [The 1749 Royal Bang!](https://interlude.hk/1749-royal-bang/): What do you get when you mix sulfur, charcoal and potassium nitrate? If you have taken rudimentary classes in chemistry, you know that it is the chemical formula for gunpowder, aka black powder. Although it was first described in an 11th century Song dynasty text, knowledge of this explosive compound...
- [Destination Paris](https://interlude.hk/destination-paris/): Paris, as well as being the City of Light, is, for some people, also the City of Dreams. In so many images, the city comes to life – the open vistas and city views from the Eiffel Tour, the magnificent fountains at Versailles, the way the traffic ceaselessly flows around...
- [Balancing Technique and Freedom <br/>In Touch with Rachel Cheung](https://interlude.hk/balancing-technique-freedom-touch-rachel-cheung/): Rachel Cheung, a young pianist who started her training at the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts (HKAPA) and continued at the Yale School of Music, put Hong Kong on the performing stage this year with her position as a finalist in the Van Cliburn Competition. She didn’t win the...
- [Forgotten Pianists: Robert Casadesus](https://interlude.hk/forgotten-pianists-robert-casadesus/): The Casadesus family produced a number of outstanding musicians: Henri (1879-1947), a violist and music publisher; Marius (1892-1981), a violinist and composer; Gaby (née Gabrielle L’Hôte, 1901-1999), pianist and teacher; and Jean (1927-1972), a pianist. The one we’re going to look at, however, stand in the middle, Robert Casadesus (1899-1972),...
- [The Sorcerer's Apprentice <br/>“I really should be practicing” <br/>Vladimir Horowitz and Gary Graffman](https://interlude.hk/sorcerers-apprentice-really-practicing-vladimir-horowitz-gary-graffman/): The exceptional pianist and educator Gary Graffman started his musical education at the tender age of 3! Initially, however, he did not play the piano but took violin lessons from his father Vladimir Graffman. Vladimir was a student of Leopold Auer, one of the greatest violin teachers in St. Petersburg,...
- [King Norodom Sihanouk <br/>The Royal Composer and Filmmaker of Cambodia](https://interlude.hk/king-norodom-sihanouk-royal-composer-filmmaker-cambodia/): Recently, I introduced you to the swinging king of Thailand! King Bhumibol the Great, who died in October of 2016, was an accomplished jazz saxophonist. He founded his own band, paired up with jazz great Benny Goodman, and over a period of five decades composed a total of 78 songs....
- [Alexander Calder: Hypermobility and Music](https://interlude.hk/alexander-calder-hypermobility-music/): The current exhibition ‘Calder: Hypermobility’ at the Whitney Museum in New York City raises interesting questions about Alexander Calder’s art and its relationship to 20th century music. In his youth, Calder had shown not only an interest in art, but also an interest in mechanical engineering and applied kinetics. Calder...
- ["Do that which can only be done by you" Johnnie Douglas-Pennant, Paul K Joyce, and Celestial](https://interlude.hk/can-done-johnnie-douglas-pennant-paul-k-joyce-celestial/): The sky it carries wonderful things Like the stars and the sun. It makes a place for the birds to fly free. And a place for us to gaze up at. I don’t know what we would have Done without the sky
- [Wigmore Hall: London’s Sacred Shoe-Box](https://interlude.hk/wigmore-hall-londons-sacred-shoe-box/): Opened on 31 May 1901, Wigmore Hall, nestling unobtrusively just a stone’s throw from the bustle and litter of Oxford Street in a row of tall Edwardian façades, is London’s pre-eminent venue for chamber music, song recitals and solo piano concerts. It was built to provide the city with a...
- [Behind the Curtain <br/> The BBC Music Prank](https://interlude.hk/behind-curtain-bbc-music-prank/): “Piotr Zak, who is of Polish extraction but lives in Germany, was born in 1939. His earliest works are conservative, but he has recently come under the influence of Stockhausen and John Cage. This work for tape and percussion was written between May and September of last year. Within the...
- [William Kentridge turns Salzburg's new Wozzeck into a Gesamtkunstwerk](https://interlude.hk/william-kentridge-turns-salzburgs-new-wozzeck-gesamtkunstwerk/): Salzburg doesn’t fear difficult opera. And Alban Berg’s Wozzeck certainly qualifies as one. Infrequently performed on more conventional stages because of the inaccessible music and distressing storyline, Salzburg embraced it wholeheartedly, both musically and visually.
- [Saint-Saëns: Cello Concerto no. 1. Sonatas nos. 2 & 3](https://interlude.hk/saint-saens-cello-concerto-1-sonatas-nos-2-3/): Sonata for Cello and Piano No. 2 in F Major, Op. 123 III. Romanza. Poco adagio – Agitato From Saint Saens: Cello Concerto no. 1. Sonatas nos. 2 & 3 (2017) Released by Harmonia Mundi Saint-Saëns: Sonata for Cello and Piano No. 2 in F Major, Op. 123 – III....
- [Alexandre Tansman: Around the World in 15 Piano Miniatures](https://interlude.hk/alexandre-tansman-around-world-15-piano-miniatures/): The French novelist, poet, and playwright Jules Gabriel Verne is frequently called the “Father of Science Fiction. ” Verne collaborated with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel and issued a widely popular series of adventure novels that included Journey to the Center of the Earth (1864), Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea...
- [Salzburg: Giuseppe Verdi's Aida by Shirin Neshat](https://interlude.hk/salzburg-giuseppe-verdis-aida-shirin-neshat/): The Salzburg music festival’s new director Markus Hinterhaeuser boldly outlined the motto of this year’s program as ‘power’: “strategies of power, its disgraces and horrors, but also with the ability to forgive. ” With this bold declaration Hinterhaeuser possibly tried to reposition Salzburg as a festival that not only produces...
- [Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767): From Hero to Zero](https://interlude.hk/georg-philipp-telemann-1681-1767-hero-zero/): It really is too bad that Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767) did not have a large social network following! Throughout his long and industrious career, he wrote well over 3000 works. It’s no surprise that 18th-century critics unanimously considered him among the best composers of his time. Leading theorists held up...
- [A Cultural Disneyland for Hong Kong!](https://interlude.hk/cultural-disneyland-hong-kong/): After nearly 20 years of dilly-dallying, Hong Kong finally got rid of a construction project it never understood nor wanted! I am talking, as you might have guessed, about a dedicated 21st century concert hall at the West Kowloon Cultural District. This development project, located on reclaimed land on the...
- [Muses and Musings <br/>Pauline Viardot and Frédéric Chopin](https://interlude.hk/muses-musings-pauline-viradot-frederic-chopin/): Located in the southern part of the historical province of Berry, south of the Loire Valley and west of Burgundy lies a region of gentle hills. And the village of Nohant, in the département of the Indre housed the family château of George Sand. For seven years, between 1839 and...
- [The Sorcerer's Apprentice <br/>Lured out of retirement by a Chinese genius<br/>Olivier Messiaen and Chen Qigang](https://interlude.hk/sorcerers-apprentice-lured-retirement-chinese-geniusolivier-messiaen-chen-qigang/): Olivier Messiaen was long retired when he was introduced to a young Chinese composition student. Chen Qigang was born in Shanghai and raised by a family of artists. He began his musical studies at a very early age and was quickly accepted at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing....
- [Happy 90th birthday Lollo!](https://interlude.hk/happy-90th-birthday-lollo/): The actor Humphrey Bogart described her as “the girl that makes Marilyn Monroe look like Shirley Temple,” and the photographer Philippe Halsman unabashedly claimed “she had the finest figure among all the actresses I have known. ” Dubbed “the most beautiful Woman in the Word,” Gina Lollobrigida embodied the prototype...
- [The Perils of Perfectionism](https://interlude.hk/perils-perfectionism/): “Practise makes perfect” – that oft-quoted phrase beloved of instrumental teachers the world over... It’s a neat little mantra, but one that can have serious and potentially long-lasting negative effects if taken too literally.
- [Musicians and Artists: Cy Twombly](https://interlude.hk/music-art-cy-twombly/): American painter Cy Twombly (1929-2011), a modernist with a strong calligraphic sense, moved from abstract art to ‘romantic symbolism. ’ The titles of the works are the key to their interpretation – visually, you may be seeing shapes, forms, and words and he wants you to use all three elements...
- [ERKİN, U.C.: Köçekçe / Violin Concerto / Symphony No. 2](https://interlude.hk/erkin-u-c-kocekce-violin-concerto-symphony-2-2/): Köçekçe From ERKİN, U. C. : Köçekçe / Violin Concerto / Symphony No. 2 (2016) Released by Naxos Erkin: KöçekçeUlvi Cemal Erkin was one of the ‘Turkish Five’, contemporaries who established the foundations of twentieth-century Turkish music by combining Western forms with their own folk traditions. His most performed work...
- [Behind the Curtain <br/>The Great Piano Scam](https://interlude.hk/behind-curtain-great-piano-scam/): She was described in the most glorious terms as “the greatest living pianist that almost no one has ever heard of. ” Joyce Hatto came to prominence a couple of years before her death, with her real talent only discovered when she was in her seventies. She never performed in...
- [Corporal Brahms <br/><em>Fest und Gedenksprüche</em>, Op. 109](https://interlude.hk/corporal-brahms-fest-und-gedenkspruche-op-109/): Born in Hamburg, Johannes Brahms was looking for a professional appointment in his native city early on. In fact, he applied for the directorship of the Hamburg Philharmonic Concerts in 1862 and again in 1867. The result was the same, as he was turned down in favor of Julius Stockhausen....
- [Georg Philipp Telemann](https://interlude.hk/georg-philipp-telemann-composer-of-the-month/): A self-taught musical genius! It seems hard to believe, but during the first quarter of the 18th century, Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767) was considered the greatest living composer besides George Friedrich Handel! While he was historically eclipsed by J. S. Bach, Telemann was the most prolific composer of his time....
- [Madness at the Lower Rhine Music Festival](https://interlude.hk/madness-lower-rhine-music-festival/): The “Lower Rhine Music Festival” was founded in 1818 as the immediate result of a prodigious passion for music by an increasingly affluent middle class. This large choral and orchestral festival took place annually on Pentecost Sunday, with the venue alternating between the cities of Düsseldorf, Cologne and Aachen. The...
- [Split Personality<br/>On Practising and Performing](https://interlude.hk/split-personalityon-practising-performing/): As performing musicians we have to develop a split personality. This somewhat schizophrenic state (or states) of being has to do with our need to understand and appreciate the difference between practising and performing. The most visible way in which we differentiate between practiser and performer is how we dress....
- [Mishka Rushdie-Momen](https://interlude.hk/mishka-rushdie-momen/): After eight years of study at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, young pianist Mishka Rushdie-Momen is establishing herself on the international scene. She has been mentored by András Schiff and has given a number of recitals in his series in Germany and the USA. For Mishka, any great...
- [Forgotten Pianists: Agnelle Bundervoët](https://interlude.hk/forgotten-pianists-agnelle-bundervoet/): French pianist Agnelle Bundervoët (1922-2015) started to learn the piano age age 4 and by age 7 was enrolled in the Conservatoire National de Marseille and by age 10 was at the leading school in France, the Paris Conservatoire. She couldn’t enrol as a full student until she was 13,...
- [Fritz Kreisler: King of the Violin](https://interlude.hk/fritz-kreisler-king-violin/): Violinist Fritz Kreisler was one of the great musical personalities of the early 20th century. An easy-going and charming personality combined with insightful interpretations and technical mastery to produce memorably recordings and live performances. Yet behind the immediate exterior of an amicable and seasoned performer hid a highly talented composer!...
- [Ali Ben Sou Alle: A 19th Century Frenchman in Mysore](https://interlude.hk/ali-ben-sou-alle-19th-century-frenchman-mysore/): In the mid-19th century, a great many French musicians were forced to leave their homeland and seek their fortunes elsewhere, sometimes far from Europe. Many of these were refugees from the events of the Third French Revolution of 1848, which ended the Restoration of the French Monarchy and began the...
- [Ernest Chausson Concert / César Franck Sonata for piano and violin](https://interlude.hk/ernest-chausson-concert-cesar-franck-sonata-piano-violin/): Concert for violin, piano and string quartet in D major Op. 21 II Sicilienne From Ernest Chausson Concert / César Franck Sonata for piano and violin (2017) Released by Harmonia Mundi Chausson: Concert for violin, piano and string quartet in D major Op. 21 – II SicilienneThanks to the combined...
- [Musical Rugby](https://interlude.hk/musical-rugby/): The game of Rugby was developed in English public schools in the 19th century, and none withstanding a number of regional variations, it involves running with an oval ball in hand. It is a contact team sport, and each team can carry, pass or kick the ball to the end...
- [Feather light and forgettable<br/> Mozart's Don Giovanni at the Aix-en-Provence Festival 2017](https://interlude.hk/feather-light-forgettable-mozarts-don-giovanni-aix-en-provence-festival-2017/): There was little to commend the new production of Mozart’s Don Giovanni at the Aix-en-Provence Festival 2017. The stage set lacked any recognizable theme, and the intermittently raised and dropped metallic curtains offered no discernible purpose. Ditto on the costumes that ranged from contemporary to period, to several that looked...
- [Four Pieces in Search of an Opera](https://interlude.hk/four-pieces-search-opera/): Benvenuto Cellini (1500-1571) lived a life of action, for a goldsmith, that is. His father was a Florentine musician and musical instrument maker and the young Benvenuto was, as a rarity, pushed towards music but persuaded his father to apprentice him to a goldsmith. Banished from Florence for 6 months,...
- [Looking Backward to Lament the Present](https://interlude.hk/looking-backward-lament-present/): In the early 19th century, composers and performers started to look again at the music of earlier times. Choral societies around Germany started to look at the music of the Renaissance and Baroque, such as compositions by Palestrina and Carissimi up to Bach and Handel. Mendelssohn did a revival of...
- [Making Fun of Fluff](https://interlude.hk/making-fun-fluff/): The composer and violinist Louis Spohr (1784-1859) is largely lost to us today but at his time, was as highly regarded a composer as Beethoven and, as a violinist, was compared to Paganini as a virtuoso.
- [Peaks and Plateaus](https://interlude.hk/peaks-plateaus/): Sometimes – often! – learning a new piece of music can feel like ascending a steep mountain. The first few weeks, when the piece is still very new, can be an uphill slog as you cope with note-reading and learning, understanding the structure and harmony, and trying to get a...
- [Forgotten Pianists: Henriette Faure](https://interlude.hk/forgotten-pianists-henriette-faure/): French pianist Henriette Faure (1907-1985) made the music of Maurice Ravel sing on the performing stage. One of the first to play his music in public, she made recordings of his works from the 1930s to 1950, but died before she was able to complete her projected recordings of the...
- [The Kreisler Scandal](https://interlude.hk/kreisler-scandal/): In the early part of the 20th century, Fritz Kreisler was considered one of the leading violinists of his time. Extraordinarily talented, he started his musical studies at age 4, and was admitted to the Vienna conservatory at age 7. He took violin lessons with Hellmesberger Jr. , studied theory...
- [Curse from the Gods](https://interlude.hk/curse-gods/): Despite the fact that epilepsy has appeared in medical history as early as 400 BC and an estimated 50 million people around the world are affected by it1, there are still many misconceptions that surround the condition.
- [BRAHMS, J.: Piano Quartet No. 2 / MAHLER, G.: Piano Quartet](https://interlude.hk/brahms-j-piano-quartet-2-mahler-g-piano-quartet/): Piano Quartet No. 2 in A Major, Op. 26 II. Poco adagio From BRAHMS, J. : Piano Quartet No. 2 / MAHLER, G. : Piano Quartet (2017) Released by Naxos Brahms: Piano Quartet No. 2 in A Major, Op. 26 – II. Poco adagio After a period as a court...
- [In Tennis, Love means Nothing!](https://interlude.hk/tennis-love-means-nothing/): Wilhelm Petersen-Berger (1867-1942) was a feared and controversial music critic for a Stockholm newspaper from 1896 to 1930. He hated the music of Arnold Schoenberg and his followers, and fought tooth and nail against the increasing influence of modernism in music.
- [The Sorcerer's Apprentice <br/>Cello Wizardry<sup>2</sup> : Leonard Rose and Yo-Yo Ma](https://interlude.hk/sorcerers-apprentice-cello-wizardry2-leonard-rose-yo-yo-ma/): Leonard Rose (1918-1984) was one of the greatest cellists of all time! He was a cellist’s cellist who is still considered the ultimate model of lush and gorgeous cello playing. Rose excelled in every aspect of his musical craft and had tremendous success as a soloist, orchestral cellist, chamber musician...
- [Tango Passion II<br/> Astor Piazzolla and Amelita Baltar](https://interlude.hk/tango-passion-ii-astor-piazzolla-amelita-baltar/): With his marriage to Dedé Wolff in serious trouble, Astor Piazzolla was finding solace in the arms of other women. “I am now seeing a youngish lass, divine,” he told a friend. The affair with the “youngish lass” was short-lived and Astor turned to the wife of a prominent Swiss...
- [Walking to Paradise](https://interlude.hk/walking-paradise/): Frederick Delius’ opera A Village Romeo and Juliet leaves in a puzzle with the title – is this a tragedy of young love like Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, or does the addition of ‘A Village’ make it something else?
- [Critiques & Endorsements](https://interlude.hk/critiques-endorsements/): “Wise artists seek out critical evaluations. ” –The Musician’s Way As musicians it is important for us to receive endorsement for our work. This may come from teachers and mentors, colleagues, friends and family, critics and audience members: whatever its source, it has value.
- [Forgotten Pianists: Gina Bachauer](https://interlude.hk/forgotten-pianists-gina-bachauer/): Greek pianist Gina Bachauer (1913-1976) started her studies at the Athens Conservatory before attending the Ecole Normale de Musique to study with Alfred Cortot. In Paris, she was also able to study with Rachmaninov. Her professional debut was made at age 25 with the Athens National Symphony Orchestra. With the...
- [Sing Like Everyone’s Watching](https://interlude.hk/sing-like-everyones-watching/): It’s a sunny afternoon in Delhi and I am wandering around the Qutub Minar with my cousin sister, who asks me about the origins of the minaret. Before I can answer, a confident voice pipes in and prattles off the relevant facts and figures. The origin of said voice is...
- [Tango Passion I <br/>Astor Piazzolla and Dedé Wolff](https://interlude.hk/tango-passion-astor-piazzolla-dede-wolff/): Odetta Maria Wolff, affectionately known as Dedé, first laid eyes on Astor Piazzolla at a tea party in September 1940. She was not impressed at all, and found him “a rather ugly boy, round faced, who paid more attention to her sister Liebe. ” Piazzolla on the other hand, was...
- [HALVORSEN, J.: Violin Concerto / NIELSEN, C.: Violin Concerto / SVENDSEN: Romance](https://interlude.hk/halvorsen-j-violin-concerto-nielsen-c-violin-concerto-svendsen-romance/): Violin Concerto, Op. 28 II. Andante sostenuto From HALVORSEN, J. : Violin Concerto / NIELSEN, C. : Violin Concerto / SVENDSEN: Romance (2017) Released by Naxos Halvorsen: Violin Concerto, Op. 28 – II. Andante sostenutoIn his day, Johan Halvorsen was one of Norway’s most talented violinists and an internationally renowned...
- [Lenny Longfingers](https://interlude.hk/lenny-longfingers/): Imagine going into a library in a foreign country and stumbling over a rare and mysterious book that endlessly fuels your imagination. Day after day you return to the reading room and try to decipher, understand and interpret what is written on the page. As you become more familiar with...
- [The Landscape of The Provence <br/>Inspiration to Writers, Artists And Musicians](https://interlude.hk/landscape-provence-inspiration-writers-artists-musicians/): On a recent trip through the Provence in France, through fields of lavender, sunflowers, vineyards and olive trees, I was reminded of the importance of landscapes, and that of the Provence in particular, as inspiration for many artists, including Frédéric Mistral, Marcel Pagnol, Paul Cézanne and Darius Milhaud – all...
- [The Sorcerer's Apprentice <br/>Mozart’s English Gentleman Student](https://interlude.hk/sorcerers-apprentice-mozarts-english-gentleman-student/): Teaching was part of Mozart’s life-style, and we have reports that it was not uncommon for him to offer instruction while playing billiards or at the bowling alley. Vocal and instrumental instruction was not treated as an isolated phenomenon but in conjunction with training in theory and composition. And as...
- [Music Lab at Wilton’s Music Hall](https://interlude.hk/music-lab-wiltons-music-hall/): The Hong Kong Music Series is part of a wider series of events marking the twentieth anniversary of the transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong from the United Kingdom to the People’s Republic of China. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) is organising a wide range of activities at...
- [Datong: The Chinese Utopia <br/>In touch with Tang Shu Wing](https://interlude.hk/datong-chinese-utopia-touch-tang-shu-wing/): This summer, as part of the Hong Kong Music Series in London, the European première of the chamber opera “Datong: The Chinese Utopia” will take place on 27 and 28 July at the Richmond Theatre. Presented by the Hong Kong Arts Development Council and produced by the Hong Kong Arts...
- [Pierre Henry (1927-2017) <br/> “The Father of Modern Music”](https://interlude.hk/pierre-henry-1927-2017-father-modern-music/): A substantial number of classical music lovers have probably never heard the term “musique concrète. ” It was coined by the French experimental musician and composer Pierre Schaeffer in 1948, and describes electroacoustic music that uses natural sounds—not electronically generated tones—as the raw material. The recorded natural sounds—anything ranging from...
- [Listening to the Past without A Record Player](https://interlude.hk/listening-past-without-record-player/): Before the advent of the phonograph in 1877, it wasn’t possible for people to play sound that had been recorded. The phonograph (a portmanteau word created from two Greek roots: (phone, “sound” or “voice” and graphē, “writing”) was preceded by devices such as the 1857 ‘phonautograph’ and the ‘paleophone. ’...
- [A special relationship <br/>Thoughts on teachers and pupils](https://interlude.hk/special-relationship-thoughts-teachers-pupils/): Music is the only field of study that requires regular and extended one-to-one interaction between student and teacher. The student-teacher relationship is a very special one, based on mutual trust and respect. Young students are often hungry for knowledge and experience: they turn to their teachers for support and advice,...
- [Forgotten Pianists: Magda Tagliaferro](https://interlude.hk/forgotten-pianists-magda-tagliaferro/): Magda Tagliaferro (1893-1986) was born in Brazil to French parents and learned piano from her father, who had studied at the Paris Conservatoire with Raoul Pugno. With the encouragement of Pablo Casals, Magda also attended the Paris Conservatoire, entering it at age 13. She won the highest examination prize for...
- [Astor Piazzolla](https://interlude.hk/astor-piazzolla-composer-of-the-month/): Tango Revolution Without the shadow of a doubt, Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992) is the single most important figure in the history of the tango! While Carlos Gardel and Ángel Villoldo are credited with creating the “tango canción”—a subgenre that realistically reflected the life of the lowest classes of society— Astor Piazzolla...
- [Moonlighting as Orchestral Conductor](https://interlude.hk/moonlighting-orchestral-conductor/): It’s relatively easy to moonlight as a burger flipper at your local fast food joint, or to deliver ready-made foods to hungry customers. But it gets somewhat more complicated when you supplement your income from regular employment by moonlighting as a performer in a professional symphony orchestra. It happens all...
- [The Road Home](https://interlude.hk/road-home/): I have performed in Asia many times with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra as well as with other orchestras. However, our CSO tour to China this past March was also a deeply meaningful personal journey for me. Our CSO tour lasted two weeks, followed by two weeks of vacation. I decided...
- [TANEYEV, S.I.: String Quartets, Vol. 5 - No. 8 / String Quintet No. 2](https://interlude.hk/taneyev-s-string-quartets-vol-5-8-string-quintet-2/): String Quintet No. 2 in C Major, Op. 16 II. Adagio espressivo From TANEYEV, S. I. : String Quartets, Vol. 5 – No. 8 / String Quintet No. 2 (2016) Released by Naxos Taneyev: String Quintet No. 2 in C Major, Op. 16 – II. Adagio espressivoThis is the fifth...
- [Muses and Musings <br/>Salon Pauline Viardot](https://interlude.hk/muses-musings-salon-pauline-viardot/): Pauline Viardot (1821-1910) was one of the most celebrated mezzo-sopranos of her time! During a remarkable career spanning almost a quarter of a century, she performed on the most prestigious stages around the world, and her distinguished interpretations decisively shaped the history of opera in France. At one point or...
- [Ending with a Crash and Series of Tinkles: Andy Akiho’s <em>Ricochet</em>](https://interlude.hk/ending-crash-series-tinkles-andy-akihos-ricochet/): Andy Akiho’s new concerto, Ricochet, takes the idea of rhythm and makes it the center point of his whole piece. The piece opens with an extensive violin solo, but not a cadenza in the way that we’ve come to expect from ground-breaking composers, but a solo on the fractured theme...
- [Dvořák’s Legacy <br/>Jiří Bělohlávek (1946-2017)](https://interlude.hk/dvoraks-legacy-jiri-belohlavek-1946-2017/): Acknowledged as “the most profound proponent of Czech orchestral music,” conductor Jiří Bělohlávek has died aged 71. He is best remembered for his radiant interpretations of Janáček and Martinů, two towering voices that forcefully carried the rich legacy of Czech music into the 20th century.
- [The Independent Journey of Joel Prieto](https://interlude.hk/independent-journey-joel-prieto/): Puerto Rican / Spanish tenor Joel Prieto began his professional career 11 years ago and has moved from triumph to triumph. Early videos show his 2013 recital at Wigmore Hall in London, his performance in Vienna for Christmas that same year, his appearance at the Edinburgh Festival last year, and...
- [Not your Grandma’s Harpsichord <br/>Elisabeth Chojnacka (1939-2017)](https://interlude.hk/grandmas-harpsichord-elisabeth-chojnacka-1939-2017/): I am sure you have seen popular culture caricatures of double-chinned, middle-aged chaps with fluffy powdered-wigs playing keyboard instruments producing a metallic sound? The instrument, of course, is the harpsichord and it has been around for a while. The earliest known reference dates back to the turn of the 15th...
- [Around Hong Kong in a Day…from London](https://interlude.hk/around-hong-kong-dayfrom-london/): Classical composer Fung Lam and jazz guitarist Teriver Cheung teamed up with architect Anthony Lai to give us Hong Kong Episodes. The original 12-episode version received its premiere in Hong Kong in October 2015. With the 12 episodes, each could cover 2 hours of a 24-hour day. Now, taking Hong...
- [Music Interflow – A Dialogue of Two Cultures](https://interlude.hk/music-interflow-dialogue-two-cultures/): Pianists Nancy Loo and Mary Wu will be collaborating as a duo alongside a stellar line-up of Hong Kong musicians for the first concert, ‘Musical Interflow’, of the Hong Kong Music Series in London. Interlude spoke to the two musicians about the concert and their love for music.
- [Please Stop the Music!](https://interlude.hk/please-stop-music/): Extraordinary, isn’t it? It’s a classical concert, so presumably the audience are there because they want to hear classical music – and yet the bar is playing “bad pop” (and those two words cover a multitude of sins! ).
- [Forgotten Pianists: Mieczysław Horszowski](https://interlude.hk/forgotten-pianists-mieczyslaw-horszowski/): At his death at age 100, just one month short of his 101st birthday, the Polish and later American pianist Mieczyslaw Horszowski (1892-1993) had one of the long-lasting careers in the performing arts. His age puts him with other pianists such as Alice Herz-Sommer (1903-2014) and Leo Ornstein (1893-2002), as...
- [True Multiculturalism <br/>In touch with Param Vir](https://interlude.hk/true-multiculturalism-touch-param-vir/): We spoke the other day with Indian composer Param Vir, whose recent work, Cave of Luminous Mind, takes the writings of the 11th century Tibetan saint and poet and has created a work about the state of enlightenment. Milarepa’s thoughts on the breath and creating a meditation technique based around...
- [Classical Movements II <br/> “Moving the Music; Changing the World”](https://interlude.hk/classical-movements-ii-moving-music-changing-world/): Through the efforts and vision of Neeta Helms, Classical Movements has become an organization of altruism. A large part of the profits, which the organization earns moving orchestras and choirs on their tours, are devoted to Neeta’s pursuit of global reconciliation. Lovers of classical music, her small staff of 15...
- [Reconciliation through Music: Childhood Comics Come to Life](https://interlude.hk/reconciliation-music-childhood-comics-come-life/): Ravi Shankar’s opera Sukanya receives its world premier with a four city UK tour in May 2017. The work is a collaboration between the Royal Opera House of Covent Garden and the London Philharmonic Orchestra. It takes as its subject a story from the Mahabharata which tells the tale of...
- [Bel Canto - The Voice of the Viola](https://interlude.hk/bel-canto-voice-viola/): Viola Sonata in B-flat Major, Op. 36 II. Barcarolla. Andante con moto From Bel Canto – The Voice of the Viola (2017) Released by Harmonia Mundi Vieuxtemps: Viola Sonata in B-flat Major, Op. 36 – II. Barcarolla. Andante con motoHere the diva is the viola! How did the viola move...
- [Leonardo Capalbo](https://interlude.hk/leonardo-capalbo-artist-of-the-month/): On ‘The Integrity and Quality of Each Individual Moment’ Italian American tenor Leonardo Capalbo chats to me on his day off in Warsaw, in the middle of a production of La Traviata at the Teatr Wielki. His hotel room faces Stalin’s toweringly oppressive Palace of Culture – the rest of...
- [Classical Movements I <br/> “Moving the Music; Changing the World”](https://interlude.hk/classical-movements-moving-music-changing-world/): Have you ever wondered how entire orchestras and their staff are seamlessly moved from country to country when they are on tour? Neeta Helms and Classical Movements are the behind-the-scenes wizards who organize 55-70 symphony and choral tours each year. This past March for example, Neeta’s company arranged eight tours...
- [Paris, Texas & Pearls<br/>Wim Wenders directs Bizet's Pearl Fishers in Berlin](https://interlude.hk/paris-texas-pearlswim-wenders-directs-bizets-pearl-fishers-berlin/): George Bizet’s The Pearl Fishers (Les Pȇcheurs de Perles) is a work of such notorious boredom that is it easy to understand the decision of the Berlin Staatsoper (still in its temporary home in the Schiller Theater) to spice it up with some star power.
- [Bibliographic Ghosts](https://interlude.hk/bibliographic-ghosts/): Have you ever come across the composers Gulielmo Baldini and Dag Henrik Esrum-Hellerup? Baldini hailed from the beautiful and ancient Italian city of Ferrara, and his most famous collection of madrigals for 5 and 6 voices was published in Venice in 1574. Dedicated to G. A. Faccinetti, who later became...
- [More Than Just A Minute](https://interlude.hk/just-minute/): Chopin’s ‘Minute’ Waltz has long fascinated the fleet of finger with its seeming titular challenge to a performance within the time indicated. The title, however, has long been deceptive – it’s generally read as a noun (as in ‘it will take a minute’) whereas it should be read as an...
- [Not the Copland You Know, But the Copland You Should Know](https://interlude.hk/copland-know-copland-know/): In 1967, Aaron Copland wrote a commissioned work for the New York Philharmonic’s 125th anniversary. The twelve-tone piece Inscape opens with a bang – with 11 of the 12 tones of the scale sounding at once.
- [Extraordinary splashes of colour <br/>Music and Synaesthesia](https://interlude.hk/extraordinary-splashes-colour-music-synaesthesia/): Synaesthesia is a physiological ‘condition’ which literally means “a fusion of the senses”. Its incidence is considered to be about one in every two thousand people, though it may be far commoner, and it is more common in women than in men.
- [Forgotten Pianists: Ely Ney](https://interlude.hk/forgotten-pianists-ely-ney/): Beethoven specialist Ely Ney (1882-1968) made her name largely in Germany. She began her piano studies with the encouragement of her grandmother, studying first in Cologne and then in Vienna. She had 2 lessons with Theodor Leschetizky and more with Emil von Sauer. After teaching at Cologne Conservatory for 3...
- [Take a ride on “Le Train Bleu”](https://interlude.hk/take-ride-le-train-bleu/): Between 1886 and 2003, the Calais-Mediterranée Express shuttled wealthy, beautiful and famous passengers between Calais and the French Riviera. Because of its dark blue sleeping cars, it was colloquially known as “Le Train Bleu,” or simply the “Blue Train” in English speaking areas. Always ready to poke fun at human...
- [Musical Giants of the 20th Century: Symphony Orchestra](https://interlude.hk/musical-giants-20th-century-symphony-orchestra/): It doesn’t matter how often I’ve been to concerts in the past. The incredible sounds and excitement of an orchestra plowing through the best and most beloved symphonies at full steam still sends shivers down my spine! The sheer range of musical colors and textures, huge dynamic contrasts ranging from...
- [Jonas Kaufmann's Otello at Royal Opera House](https://interlude.hk/jonas-kaufmanns-otello-royal-opera-house/): The hottest day in the United Kingdom in nearly 30 years. The day of the Queen’s Speech. And the hottest ticket in town was for opening night of the Royal Opera House’s new production of Giuseppe Verdi’s Otello, featuring German über-tenor Jonas Kaufmann.
- [SHOSTAKOVICH, D.: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 2 / String Quartet No. 8 (arr. for piano) ](https://interlude.hk/shostakovich-d-piano-concertos-nos-1-2-string-quartet-8-arr-piano/): Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Minor, Op. 35 II. Lento From SHOSTAKOVICH, D. : Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 2 / String Quartet No. 8 (arr. for piano) (2017) Released by Naxos Shostakovich: Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Minor, Op. 35 – II. LentoShostakovich’s two Piano Concertos span...
- [“Say Cheese!” Stanzi Mozart](https://interlude.hk/say-cheese-stanzi-mozart/): The supposed discovery of the only authentic photograph of Constanze Mozart caused considerable excitement in 2006. The media giants BBC and the New York Times reported that authorities in the German town of Altötting had found and authenticated a print made from a daguerreotype showing Constanze outside the home of...
- [The Sorcerer's Apprentice <br/>Johann Sebastian Bach and Johann Philipp Kirnberger](https://interlude.hk/sorcerers-apprentice-johann-sebastian-bach-johann-philipp-kirnberger/): “Johann Sebastian Bach’s method is the only one and the best one. It is regrettable that this great musician has written nothing theoretical about music, and that his teachings have been made available to posterity only through his pupils. ” We can easily understand Johann Philipp Kirnberger’s (1721-83) frustration, as...
- [Johann Stamitz: Fervent Genius from Bohemia](https://interlude.hk/johann-stamitz-fervent-genius-bohemia/): When the English music historian Charles Burney traveled to the continent to collect materials for his History of Music he predictably also visited the city of Mannheim. Burney was simply in awe of all the musical activities happening at the court of Prince Elector Carl Theodor, and he wrote “Music...
- [Rimsky-Korsakov Reaches for the Exotic: Antar](https://interlude.hk/rimsky-korsakov-reaches-exotic-antar/): Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844- 1908) started his career in the navy, entering the Naval Cadet College in St. Petersburg at age 14. It was a fortunate choice of city because it gave the nascent composer a chance to continue his piano lessons, as well as the opportunity to attend his first...
- [The Performing Teacher](https://interlude.hk/performing-teacher/): I meet many piano teachers, at courses, workshops and masterclasses. It is always good to meet other piano teachers, to exchange ideas, and to enjoy a collective grumble about the exigencies of the job. Many of the teachers whom I meet are also performing musicians, professional or otherwise, and many...
- [Meet the Artist…… Kajeng Wong, pianist](https://interlude.hk/meet-artist-kajeng-wong-pianist/): “I design my programmes according to what I want to say as a person” Ahead of the Hong Kong Music Series in London this July, Frances Wilson interviews maverick pianist and director of Music Lab, Kajeng Wong.
- [Beethoven in China: The Dark Years](https://interlude.hk/beethoven-china-dark-years/): The unprecedented suffering inflicted by the relentless and ruthless personality cult of Chairman Mao Zedong during the Cultural Revolution had a devastating effect on society and on music. Within China’s cultural and intellectual fabric Beethoven had become synonymous with everything the nation aspired to be. “He was the guiding spirit...
- [Hong Kong Music Series In London](https://interlude.hk/hong-kong-music-series-london/): In 2017, Hong Kong is celebrating the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administration Region. To commemorate the transfer of sovereignty from the United Kingdom to the People’s Republic of China, the HK Government is pulling out all the stops. 640 million HK dollars have been...
- [J.S. Bach: Complete Partitas BWV 825-830](https://interlude.hk/j-s-bach-complete-partitas-bwv-825-830/): Partita No. 1 in B-flat major, BWV 825 IV. Sarabande From J. S. Bach: Complete Partitas BWV 825-830 (2017) Released by Harmonia Mundi Bach: Partita No. 1 in B-flat major, BWV 825 – IV. SarabandeBach’s Opus 1Johann Sebastian Bach waited until he was over forty before publishing any of his...
- [Operatic Disasters III](https://interlude.hk/operatic-disasters-iii/): When the Teatro Real reopened on 11 October 1997, it quickly became an internationally acclaimed opera house and an important cultural institution in Spain. A leading venue in the field of music and performing arts, its artistic projects, ranging from the classics to contemporary avant-guard, have reignited operatic enthusiasm throughout...
- [The Sorcerer's Apprentice <br/>Friedrich Gulda and Martha Argerich](https://interlude.hk/sorcerers-apprentice-friedrich-gulda-martha-argerich/): Around Martha Argerich’s 5th birthday, her mother placed her under the pianistic tutelage of Vicente Scaramuzza. Even though Mr. Scaramuzza was considered a sadistic fanatic, he gave her a superb technical grounding and laid the foundations for her unique cantabile style. When Martha was asked at age 12 about her...
- [Scenes from Childhood: Gubaidulina’s <em>Musical Toys</em>](https://interlude.hk/scenes-childhood-gubaidulinas-musical-toys/): Musical Toys is a set of 14 short pieces by the Tatar composer Sofia Gubaidulina, which she herself described as ‘pictorial miniatures’ that she would have liked to play as a child. Though this set is subtitled ‘A Collection of Piano Pieces for Children’, its complex musical language and the...
- [Three Symphonies by a Modern American Master: Adolphus Hailstork](https://interlude.hk/three-symphonies-modern-american-master-adolphus-hailstork/): We often think of the symphonic form as being the province of the 19th century. Yet, the contributions by modern symphonists have permitted the orchestral form to develop and resonate with the new era. Adolphus Hailstork is professor of music and composer at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. As...
- [Writing the Piano](https://interlude.hk/writing-piano/): People have been writing about the piano for almost as long as the instrument has existed, from early treatises on technique to manuals of exercises, student guides, pianist autobiographies, pianists writing about other pianists or the great works of piano literature, and novels about pianists and piano playing. It’s a...
- [Forgotten Pianists: Ignace Tiegerman](https://interlude.hk/forgotten-pianists-ignace-tiegerman/): Driven from Europe not by politics but by his health, the Polish pianist Ignace Tiegerman (1893-1968) moved to Cairo in 1931 to help his asthma. He became the centre of piano education in Cairo for the next thirty years.
- [Henri Matisse and the Music of Color](https://interlude.hk/henri-matisse-music-color/): Music was always part of Henri Matisse’s (1869-1954) life. He played the violin on a daily basis, reflecting the rigorous structure and precise technique which corresponded to his artistic methods. It also provided him with an escape and source of inspiration. Some of the early paintings of his room at...
- [Game—Set—Match!<br/> Suzanne Lenglen and <em>Jeux</em>](https://interlude.hk/game-set-match-suzanne-lenglen-jeux/): Who really knows what inspires the creative mind? It might be a painting of a moonlit lake, a craggy alpine peak, or the ferocious ocean pounding the rocky shores of a remote island. Of course, there is the ever-popular poem and book, a discussion among friends, the portrait of a...
- [WIENIAWSKI, J.: Violin and Piano Music](https://interlude.hk/wieniawski-j-violin-piano-music/): Violin Sonata in D Minor, Op. 24 I. Allegro con anima From WIENIAWSKI, J. : Violin and Piano Music (2015) Released by Naxos Wieniawski: Violin Sonata in D Minor, Op. 24 – I. Allegro con anima The reputation of Polish pianist, composer, conductor and educator Józef Wieniawski has proved less...
- [Operatic Disasters II](https://interlude.hk/operatic-disasters-ii/): One of the biggest dangers to the wellbeing of operatic theatres throughout history has been fire! As one critic rightly said, “Scenery, stucco, seats and curtains were all highly inflammable. Add to those the wooden structure of the building and you have the perfect material for an inferno. ” And...
- [Musicians and Artists: Carlos Chávez and Diego Rivera](https://interlude.hk/music-art-carlos-chavez-diego-rivera/): Two of the greatest of Mexico’s artists, composer and pianist Carlos Chávez and painter and muralist Diego Rivera created a ballet on an unlikely subject: Caballos de vapor (Horsepower, or H. P. ). The subject however, was close to both artists’ hearts: It was an anti-imperialist ballet about the capitalistic...
- [Johann Wenzel Anton Stamitz](https://interlude.hk/johann-wenzel-anton-stamitz-composer-of-the-month/): 300th Birthday In June 1717, the Bohemian settlement of Německý Brod recorded the birth of Johann Wenzel Anton Stamitz (1717-57). Son of the town organist, Johann received his early education at a Jesuit grammar school—known for its excellence in music education—and subsequently enrolled in the Faculty of Philosophy at the...
- [The Operatic Rivals: Giulio Caccini vs Jacopo Peri](https://interlude.hk/recitative-squabble/): Count Giovanni de’Bardi was a seriously important man in Florentine society of the Renaissance. He studied Latin and Greek, took lessons in music composition, and as a soldier fought a number of successful wars. Yet he is primarily known for being host, patron, and inspiration to a group of composer,...
- [Sounds of Silence: thoughts on John Cage’s 4’33”](https://interlude.hk/sounds-silence-thoughts-john-cages-433/): The other day I was talking about John Cage’s infamous work 4’33” with one of my students, while giving the student an overview of music history. When we got to 20th century music, it was the student, not me, who offered Cage’s iconoclastic piece as an example of 20th century...
- [Forgotten Pianists: Arthur De Greef](https://interlude.hk/forgotten-pianists-arthur-de-greef/): Belgian composer and pianist Arthur De Greef (1862-1940) was a child prodigy, winning his first piano competiion at age 11, even if it was only a local one. This led him to the Brussels Conservatory where he continued in the line of great pianists as his teacher had been a...
- [Musical Giants of the 20th Century: Oboists](https://interlude.hk/musical-giants-20th-century-oboists/): One of the most influential oboists of the twentieth century was Marcel Tabuteau (1887-1966), originally from France, but settling in the USA in 1907, where he became a citizen in 1912. After studying at the Paris Conservatoire, Tabuteau became principal oboist of the Philadelphia Orchestra in 1915, where he stayed...
- [Beethoven in China: The Beginnings](https://interlude.hk/beethoven-china-beginnings/): The Chinese Buddhist monk Li Shutong—also known by a variety of other names—was a master painter, dramatist, calligrapher, poet, and musician. Born in Tianjin and educated in Shanghai, he went to Japan in 1905 and studied at the Tokyo School of Fine Arts. His area of special interest was Western...
- [LOURIÉ, A.: Piano Works (Complete), Vol. 1](https://interlude.hk/lourie-piano-works-complete-vol-1/): Masques No. 1. Nuagè, suave From LOURIÉ, A. : Piano Works (Complete), Vol. 1 (2016) Released by Grand Piano Lourié: Masques – No. 1. Nuagè, suaveThis first volume devoted to Arthur Vincent Lourié’s piano music traces his journey from the Debussian Impressionism of his youthful Cinq Préludes fragiles, Op. 1...
- [Operatic Disasters I](https://interlude.hk/operatic-disasters/): We all remember that horrible night in 1996, when the Venetian opera house “La Fenice” was destroyed and gutted by fire. What at first looked like an innocent accident soon turned out to be a mindless case of arson! Enrico Carella and Massimiliano Marchetti, two cousins had set fire to...
- [Composers and Their Poets: Edward MacDowell](https://interlude.hk/composers-poets-edward-macdowell/): The American composer and pianist Edward MacDowell (1860-1908) was one of the best-known American composers at the turn of the 20th century. He started studying piano early and by age 16, his mother had taken him to the Paris Conservatoire. After 2 years there, he went on to further study...
- [Jean-Guihen Queyras](https://interlude.hk/jean-guihen-queyras-artist-of-the-month/): ‘The relationship with the moment’ A stint concerts of improvisation with the Iranian zarb quickly precedes an evening of Bach Cello Suites and Haydn Concerti – this does not phase cellist Jean-Guihen Queyras, who is one of those people who just seems to be very good at everything.
- [The Maid of Orléans <br/>Arthur Honegger: <em>Jeanne d’Arc au bûcher</em>](https://interlude.hk/maid-orleans-arthur-honegger-jeanne-darc-au-bucher/): The Russian dancer, actress and art patron Ida Lvovna Rubinstein was born into one of Russia’s richest families. Receiving the best musical, dancing and theatrical education money can buy Ida eventually ended up in Paris and immediately made headlines for appearing nude in a single private performance of Oscar Wilde’s...
- [Mixing It All Up Together: The Music of Daryl Runswick](https://interlude.hk/mixing-together-music-daryl-runswick/): Composer and arranger Daryl Runswick has been involved in all manners of music from the mid-1960s until today. He’s been in jazz ensembles, played as a session musician, and has been a composer of film and TV music. He’s worked with Elton John and Cleo Laine, the London Sinfonietta and...
- [A Little Night Music – The Piano Nocturne](https://interlude.hk/little-night-music-piano-nocturne/): The Development of Piano Writing on Nocturnes Since John Field The term “Nocturne” or “Notturno” (Italian) was first applied in the eighteenth century to pieces written for string ensemble to be performed at an evening party and then put aside. At this time, it was not necessarily a piece evocative...
- [Forgotten Pianists: José Iturbi](https://interlude.hk/forgotten-pianists-jose-iturbi/): One of our few ‘Forgotten Pianists’ to have both a screen and stage career, Spanish conductor and pianist José Iturbi (1895-1980) had an international career from Spain to Paris, to Mexico and then Hollywood.
- [Musicologist to the Rescue!](https://interlude.hk/musicologist-rescue/): There are a handful of films featuring musicologists – those scholars of the history of music. Two recent ones have been Songcatcher (2000), where a musicologist finds ancient Scots-Irish ballads in Appalachia, and then there’s The Silent Touch (1992), where a musicologist brings a silenced composer back to music. But...
- [Johannes Brahms: Doctor of Philosophy (Hon. Causa)](https://interlude.hk/johannes-brahms-doctor-philosophy-hon-causa/): Johannes Brahms never formally went to university, and his engagement with higher education was rather peripheral. Around age 20, Joseph Joachim invited him to Göttingen, where the violinist was taking summer courses in philosophy and history. Brahms accepted the invite, and for two months he became part of the student...
- [Einsamkeit <br/>Schumann Lieder](https://interlude.hk/einsamkeit-schumann-lieder/): 6 Gesänge, Op. 89 II. Heimliches Verschwinden From Einsamkeit Schumann Lieder (2017) Released by Harmonia Mundi Schumann: 6 Gesänge, Op. 89 – II. Heimliches VerschwindenFollowing a Schubertian venture that has revealed, over the past few years, his immense stature as an interpreter of the lied, Matthias Goerne has now selected...
- [Ondes Martenot: Mystical Waves](https://interlude.hk/ondes-martenot-mystical-waves/): The history of early electronic musical instruments is filled with evocative and colorful names. We find the Telharmonium (1897), Theremin (1919), Spharophon (1924), Electronde (1933), Trautonium (1930), Mellertion (1933), and the Ondes Martenot (1928). All these early synthesizers make use of vacuum tubes for the generation and amplification of electrical...
- [Debussy: Préludes Book II](https://interlude.hk/debussy-preludes-book-ii/): An Exploration of Debussy’s Piano Music — Preludes After a two-year break, Debussy continued his work on the Préludes for piano, writing another 12 and again showing influences of all areas of popular and ancient culture and from artists, writers, and poets. Just as we had the mysterious Voiles in...
- [Mixing Bach and Liszt: The Unfinished Fugue and the <em>Fantasia contrappuntistica</em>](https://interlude.hk/mixing-bach-liszt-unfinished-fugue-fantasia-contrappuntistica/): The regularized austerity of J. S. Bach’s music, in particular The Art of Fugue, has fascinated many composers. Bach’s work was left unfinished, with the final quadruple fugue (Contrapunctus XIV) started but not completed before Bach’s death. J. S. Bach: Die Kunst der Fuge: Fuga a 3 Soggetti (Contrapunctus XIV)...
- [An arranged and happy marriage <br/>Claudio Monteverdi and Claudia Cattaneo](https://interlude.hk/arranged-happy-marriage-claudio-monteverdi-claudia-cattaneo/): Claudio Monteverdi was a precocious musical talent who published his first collection of madrigals at age 15. Ambitious and highly confident he was hired as a singer and instrumentalist by Vincenzo Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua in 1590. Mantua and nearby Ferrara were highly important and influential artistic centers, and at...
- [Try a little mindfulness……](https://interlude.hk/try-little-mindfulness/): It isn’t easy being a musician. Aside from the daily practising routine, usually done alone and in isolation, one can suffer from confidence and self-esteem issues, and crippling self-doubt, often the result of looking at what others are doing and thinking “should I be doing that? ”, “am I doing...
- [Forgotten Pianists: Guiomar Novaes](https://interlude.hk/forgotten-pianists-guiomar-novaes/): Brazilian pianist Guiomar Novaes (1895-1979) entered the Paris Conservatoire in 1909 at age 14 and instantly caught the attention of Debussy, who had been on her entrance jury. Even by that young age, she had already made fundamental decisions about musical interpretation. Her teacher at the Conservatoire, Isidor Philipp, found...
- [Musical Giants of the 20th Century: Flutists](https://interlude.hk/musical-giants-20th-century-flutists/): One of the first flute soloists to grace worldwide stages was Marcel Moyse (1889-1984), paving the way for many great flute players of the twentieth century. Born in the east of France at the turn of the century, he moved to Paris at a young age to live with his...
- [Cows – 8 Different Ones](https://interlude.hk/cows-8-different-ones/): When Darius Milhaud immortalized his favorite Brazilian tavern in a brilliant ballet work, Le Boeuf sur le toit, he was joining in a long line of composers who brought the common cow into music. To take a look at the cow in music over a range of years, we can...
- [WEINBERG, M.: Symphony No. 17 / Suite for Orchestra](https://interlude.hk/weinberg-m-symphony-17-suite-orchestra/): Suite for Orchestra Romance From WEINBERG, M. : Symphony No. 17 / Suite for Orchestra (2016) Released by Naxos Weinberg: Suite for Orchestra – RomanceWith its eloquent themes and ready climaxes, the Suite is one of Weinberg’s most intriguing scores to have survived the difficult early 1950s. This performance is...
- [Claudio Monteverdi: (1567-1643) <br/>“The modern composer builds upon the foundation of truth”](https://interlude.hk/claudio-monteverdi-1567-1643-modern-composer-builds-upon-foundation-truth/): When Claudio Monteverdi secured his first job at the ducal court in Mantua, he had to report to the maestro di cappella Giaches de Wert. A Franco-Flemish composer actively working in Italy, Wert was one of the leaders developing the style of the late Renaissance madrigal. Wert took the young...
- [Debussy: Préludes I](https://interlude.hk/debussy-preludes/): A Look at Debussy Piano Music — Preludes Following the model of Bach and his 24 Preludes and Fugues from 1722, Debussy also wrote his own set of Préludes for the piano. Debussy began Book 1 in December 1909, finishing it 2 months later in February 1910; Book 2 was...
- [Krzysztof Penderecki: <em>Symphony No. 7</em> “Seven Gates of Jerusalem”](https://interlude.hk/krzysztof-penderecki-symphony-7-seven-gates-jerusalem/): Prague Spring 2017 72nd International Music FestivalClosing Concert: 2 June 2017Krzysztof Penderecki & Prague Radio Symphony For Krzystof Penderecki, born on 23 November 1933 in Dębica, Poland, music is a fundamental and essential part of the human condition. He started writing music when he was six, and since then, his...
- [The Goblin of the Night](https://interlude.hk/goblin-night/): Maurice Ravel’s piano piece, Gaspard de la Nuit (1908), hides in its deceptively childlike title a radical piano work of great imagination. The pianist Alfred Cortot called it “one of the most astonishing examples of instrumental ingenuity ever contrived.
- [Why I Love My Instrument](https://interlude.hk/love-instrument/): My grandfather played the piano, mostly Methodist hymns and his favourite bits of Bach, Beethoven and Haydn. I suppose I was always aware of it and recall sitting next to him when he played when I was very small. It was an Edwardian upright in the front room (kept for...
- [The Limitless Harp: Anaïs Gaudemard ](https://interlude.hk/limitless-harp-anais-gaudemard/): French harpist Anaïs Gaudemard started to play at age 8. Actually, she started on the piano but shortly after starting on keyboards, she met a harp teacher and started to study both instruments. By age 21, she had been awarded first place at The International Harp Contest in Israel. In...
- [Forgotten Pianists: Morris Rosenthal](https://interlude.hk/forgotten-pianists-morris-rosenthal/): It’s always amazing how close the past can be. The Polish pianist Moriz Rosenthal (1862-1946) was one of the leading students of Franz Liszt, who we think of as the height of the Romantic era, and also saw some of the greatest composers of the late 19th and early 20th...
- [Leonard Bernstein and the Nixon Tapes](https://interlude.hk/leonard-bernstein-nixon-tapes/): Leonard Bernstein’s Mass was commissioned by Jacqueline Kennedy as part of the opening ceremony for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D. C. It premiered on 8 September 1971 and is based on the Roman Catholic liturgical sequence amplified by inserting “tropes” and “meditations” which...
- [A Symphony Orchestra in Bombay](https://interlude.hk/symphony-orchestra-bombay/): This September, the Symphony Orchestra of India, India’s only professional orchestra, is ten years old and will present a special anniversary season of canonic orchestral works at the orchestra’s home, the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) on the southern tip of Mumbai.
- [The Interplay of Art, Music and Dance](https://interlude.hk/interplay-art-music-dance/): “Painting can be a conversation with oneself and, at the same time, it can be a conversation with other paintings” (Jasper Johns, 1989) In this second of two articles I will briefly return to the relationship between Edvard Munch, the Norwegian Expressionist, and Jasper Johns, the American Abstract Expressionist, and...
- [HERRMANN, B.: Souvenirs de Voyage / DEL TREDICI, D.: Magyar Madness](https://interlude.hk/herrmann-b-souvenirs-de-voyage-del-tredici-d-magyar-madness/): Souvenirs de voyage II. Berceuse: Andante From HERRMANN, B. : Souvenirs de Voyage / DEL TREDICI, D. : Magyar Madness (2016) Released by Naxos Herrmann: Souvenirs de voyage – II. Berceuse: Andante“When I first became acquainted with the scores of Bernard Herrmann’s Souvenirs de voyage and David Del Tredici’s Magyar...
- [Les Apaches on the Loose!](https://interlude.hk/les-apaches-loose/): In Paris at the turn of the 20th century, a group of musicians, artists, and writers formed a group that took its name from a popular term for Parisian street criminals: “Les Apaches” (The Apaches). The Socété des Apaches formed around 1900 around the pianist Ricardo Viñes and included composers...
- [Composers and Their Poets: Ralph Vaughan Williams](https://interlude.hk/composers-poets-ralph-vaughan-williams/): Explore Vaughan Williams’ Song Cycles and English Song Settings The preeminent British composer Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) set the model for composers of British songs in the 20th century: he composed several song cycles, setting lyrics by great authors and those little known. The earliest song settings by Vaughan Williams...
- [In Touch with Anne Denholm](https://interlude.hk/touch-anne-denholm/): Anne Denholm is one of today’s outstanding young harpists. A recent graduate of the Royal Academy of Music, she’s making waves in the UK and abroad as a soloist, chamber musician and collaborator. There’s demand from high places, too – in 2015 she was appointed Official Harpist to His Royal...
- [Unsung Concertos <br/>Amy Beach: <em>Piano Concerto</em>, Op. 45](https://interlude.hk/unsung-concertos-amy-beach-piano-concerto-op-45/): Amy Beach (1867-1944) was an exceptional musical prodigy. Gifted with perfect pitch and impeccable memory she was able to accurately sing 40 songs by age one. She taught herself to read at age three, and composed a number of dances at age 5. She took formal piano lessons with her...
- [‘Composed’ a documentary film by John Beder](https://interlude.hk/composed-documentary-film-john-beder/): Performance Anxiety – for many musicians and performers it’s the fear which cannot, must not, speak its name, and together with injury and illness, it’s a major taboo. We don’t discuss anxiety because we’re not supposed to feel it. As highly trained individuals, musicians are supposed to sweep onto any...
- [Forgotten Pianists: Leopold Godowsky](https://interlude.hk/forgotten-pianists-leopold-godowsky/): Influential as a performer and teacher as well as a composer, the Polish pianist Leopold Godowsky (1870-1938) was given the nickname the “Buddah of the Piano. ” A rarity at a time of great piano tuition, Godowsky was almost entirely self-taught. His family says that he started playing the piano...
- [Cellos and Cellists Star IN the Movies](https://interlude.hk/cellos-cellists-star-movies/): When I mention that I play the cello, people say, “The cello is my favorite instrument. ” Hollywood has picked up on that sentiment. No longer merely the provider of soulful background music, although it is not yet an Oscar category, the cello or cellists play leading roles in several...
- [Musical Giants of the 20th Century: Classical Music Ensembles](https://interlude.hk/musical-giants-20th-century-classical-music-ensembles/): Musicians have long known that playing or singing in an ensemble can be one of the most rewarding and enjoyable musical experiences. The process of making music with friends or like-minded musicians provides the unique opportunity to discuss interpretative opinions, and just like a good marriage, it allows participants to...
- [COSTA, L.: Piano Trio / CARNEYRO, C.: Piano Trio / AZEVEDO, S.: Hukvaldy Trio](https://interlude.hk/costa-l-piano-trio-carneyro-c-piano-trio-azevedo-s-hukvaldy-trio/): Carneyro: Piano Trio, Op. 24, No. 1, I. Introducao: Moderato – Allegro vivo – Poco meno From COSTA, L. : Piano Trio / CARNEYRO, C. : Piano Trio / AZEVEDO, S. : Hukvaldy Trio (2016) Released by Naxos Carneyro: Piano Trio, Op. 24, No. 1, I. Introducao: Moderato – Allegro...
- [Mrs. President](https://interlude.hk/mrs-president/): Much of the political landscape in 2016 was dominated by Hillary Clinton’s attempt to become the first female President of the United States. In the end, as we all know, it didn’t quite work out. However, Hillary Clinton was by no means the first woman to seek the highest political...
- [Composers and their Poets: Ernest Chausson](https://interlude.hk/composers-poets-ernest-chausson/): French Chansons Composed by Ernest Chausson French composer Ernest Chausson’s early death in a bicycle accident cut short a career just as it was beginning to flourish. His position as secretary of the Société Nationale de Musique for 13 years put him at the centre of France’s active music networks....
- [Claudio Monteverdi](https://interlude.hk/claudio-monteverdi/): Creator of modern music In 2017 we celebrate the 450th birthday of Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643). He was the most important musician in late 16th and early 17th-century Italy, and the first great composer of opera. He developed powerful ways of expressing and structuring musical drama, and he is frequently hailed...
- [Unsung Concertos <br/>Mieczysław Karłowicz: <em>Violin Concerto in A Major</em>, Op. 8](https://interlude.hk/unsung-concertos-mieczyslaw-karlowicz-violin-concerto-major-op-8/): Mieczysław Karłowicz (1876-1909) met his end in a rather unusual way. An avid hiker, photographer and skier, he undertook long solitary mountain hikes in the Tatra Mountains. During one of his expeditions on 8 February 1909, a sudden avalanche buried him, and his broken body was only discovered after several...
- [Rewriting Artist Biographies](https://interlude.hk/rewriting-artist-biographies/): Another concert programme, another artist biography comprising a dry list of eminent teachers and mentors, concert halls performed in, orchestras and conductors worked with, recordings made and “forthcoming engagements include”. All standard information: exchange the names and the impersonal text could be used for any international virtuoso.
- [Ermonela Jaho](https://interlude.hk/ermonela-jaho-artist-of-the-month/): Truth, Openness and Honesty Just out of the window of the coffee shop where I meet Ermonela Jaho, I can see the towering pillars of the facade of the Royal Opera House, where a couple of nights ago she was singing the lead role in Puccini’s Madame Butterfly. One of...
- [Forgotten Pianists: Grigory Ginzburg](https://interlude.hk/forgotten-pianists-grigory-ginzburg/): Russian pianist Grigory Ginzburg (1904-1961) and his older brother were the first musicians in their family. His older brother had been studying piano and the young Grigory started by imitating him. At age six, his talent was recognized and in 1917, when he was 13, he became a student of...
- [What Siegfried Wagner found in Hong Kong!](https://interlude.hk/siegfried-wagner-found-hong-kong/): For countless decades, visitors have come to Hong Kong to experience the sights and sounds of a bustling metropolis where Chinese roots and colonial connections converge to shape a dynamic commercial and cultural landscape. Travelers during the later parts of the 19th century described Hong Kong “as a colony filled...
- [Bhumibol Adulyadej: Monarch of Swing](https://interlude.hk/bhumibol-adulyadej-monarch-swing/): Around Asia, Bhumibol Adulyadej was simply known as King Bhumibol the Great, ninth and longest-reigning monarch in Thai history. At the time of his death on 13 October 2016 he had been on the throne for over 70 years, and seen a total of 30 prime ministers under his rule....
- [ Violin Concertos (Polish) - BACEWICZ, G. / TANSMAN, A. / SPISAK, M. / PANUFNIK, A.](https://interlude.hk/violin-concertos-polish-bacewicz-g-tansman-spisak-m-panufnik/): Tansman: 5 Pieces, No. 2. Chanson et Boite à Musique From Violin Concertos (Polish) – BACEWICZ, G. / TANSMAN, A. / SPISAK, M. / PANUFNIK, A. (2016) Released by Naxos Tansman: 5 Pieces, No. 2. Chanson et Boite à MusiqueThe works on this recording were written by four roughly contemporary...
- [Music at the Nazi Games of 1936](https://interlude.hk/music-nazi-games-1936/): The association of the Berlin Games with the Third Reich severely tainted the Olympische Hymne by Richard Strauss, even though the commission for the hymn did not come from the National Socialists but from the International Olympic Committee.
- [Composers and their Poets: John Dowland](https://interlude.hk/composers-poets-john-dowland/): Many aspects about the life of John Dowland (1563-1626) remain a mystery – his biography is full of ‘it is generally thought... ’. It is generally thought he was born in London but one historian also claims an Irish source for him. It is generally thought that his conversion to...
- [How Amateur Orchestral Players Can Perform At Their Best](https://interlude.hk/amateur-orchestral-players-can-perform-best/): As amateur orchestral musicians, we deal with a lot: constant self-doubt – the gnawing knowledge that we’ll never sound as good as the big boys – balancing learning our music with our full-time day jobs – extremely tiny paychecks (if we get paychecks at all... some of us actually pay...
- [Unsung Concertos <br/>Franz Xaver Scharwenka: <em>Piano Concerto No. 1</em>, Op. 32](https://interlude.hk/unsung-concertos-franz-xaver-scharwenka-piano-concerto-1-op-32/): As far as composers go, Franz Xaver Scharwenka (1850-1924) is not necessarily a household name. Born in a small Polish town he took first piano lessons at the age of 3, and when his family moved to Berlin he became a student at the Theodor Kullak Academy. He soon toured...
- [Fidelity and interpretation](https://interlude.hk/fidelity-interpretation/): An urtext edition of a work of classical music is a printed version intended to reproduce the original intention of the composer as exactly as possible, without any added or changed material. (Wikipedia)
- [Forgotten Pianists: Emil Gilels](https://interlude.hk/forgotten-pianists-emil-gilels/): Russian pianist Emil Gilels (1916-1985) was famous for his perfect pitch. He started his piano lessons at age 5 and a half, soon graduating to Clementi and Mozart sonatinas. He was matched by his sister Elizabeth Gilels (1919-2008), who made her reputation as a violinist. She took third at the...
- [When Music meets Business: Leadership and Communication with Marc-Antoine Hamet](https://interlude.hk/new-perspectives-touch-marc-antoine-hamet-synthesis-parisbeijing/): The worlds of business and arts rarely meet. But both worlds have things to teach the other, and in recent years there’s been a growing trend for collaboration and discussion about aspects of life and work common to people working in offices and in concert halls – teamwork, leadership, communication...
- [Miami Sets a Precedent with New World Symphony](https://interlude.hk/miami-sets-precedent-new-world-symphony/): Miami, Florida conjures pristine beaches, blue skies, steamy air, trendsetting nightlife and Cuban food. But there is more to Miami than that—classical music! Take in high-quality performances by The New World Symphony at their stunning concert venue New World Center designed by world-renown architect Frank Gehry. The New World Symphony...
- [Olympic Silver Medal in Musical Composition <br/> Josef Suk: <em>Into a New Life</em>](https://interlude.hk/olympic-silver-medal-musical-composition-josef-suk-new-life/): When the young French baron Pierre de Coubertin first proposed a major international competition to revive the ancient Greek Olympic Games, reaction was decidedly mixed. Yet he stubbornly persisted and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) organized the first modern Olympic Games in Athens, in 1896. King Georgius I of Greece...
- [ CZERNY, C.: Grand Piano Concerto / Grand Nocturne Brillant / Variations de Concert sur la Marche des Grecs ](https://interlude.hk/czerny-c-grand-piano-concerto-grand-nocturne-brillant-variations-de-concert-sur-la-marche-des-grecs/): Grand Nocturne Brillant, Op. 95 From CZERNY, C. : Grand Piano Concerto / Grand Nocturne Brillant / Variations de Concert sur la Marche des Grecs (2016) Released by Naxos Czerny: Grand Nocturne Brillant, Op. 95Carl Czerny, one of Vienna’s most illustrious musicians, was Beethoven’s student and devoted friend. Renowned today...
- [Thou Lovely Art: Stefan Zweig and Music](https://interlude.hk/thou-lovely-art-stefan-zweig-music/): The Austrian writer Stefan Zweig (1881-1942) was one of the most famous international authors in the 1920s and 1930s, but the advent of National Socialism in Germany caused the author to flee to New York and from there to Brazil, He and his wife committed suicide in 1942, despairing over...
- [Big Luciano and his Little Friend](https://interlude.hk/big-luciano-little-friend/): Luciano Pavarotti was well into middle age, enormous in circumference, and rich beyond comprehension. He certainly was famous the world over, and it came as no surprise that his passion for women—only rivaled by his love of food and money—would eventually get him into trouble. Throughout his life, it had...
- [Unsung Concertos <br/>Joachim Raff: <em>Cello Concerto No. 1</em>, Op. 193](https://interlude.hk/unsung-concertos-joachim-raff-cello-concerto-1-op-193/): Today, the German-Swiss composer Joachim Raff (1822-1882) is primarily remembered as an assistant to Franz Liszt in Weimar. In fact, he actually lived in the Villa Altenburg, Franz Liszt’s home in Weimar. He was Liszt’s secretary and copyist, and apparently also had a considerable hand in orchestrating Liszt’s work. He...
- [Picture This <br/>Using Visualisation Techniques in Playing, Performing and Teaching](https://interlude.hk/picture-using-visualisation-techniques-playing-performing-teaching/): What is Visualisation? Visualisation techniques have been used by sports people and sports psychologists for some time now to enable the tennis player or athlete, the golfer or cyclist to prepare for a match-winning shot or prize-winning sprint. The technique involves imagining an ideal scenario and positive outcome to achieve...
- [Forgotten Pianists: Artur Schnabel](https://interlude.hk/forgotten-pianists-artur-schnabel/): Austrian pianist Artur Schnabel (1882-1951) became so famous for his recording of the 32 Beethoven piano sonatas that critic Harold C. Schonberg always referred to him as ‘the man who invented Beethoven. ’ His performances of both Beethoven and Schubert had the effect of refocusing attention of all of Beethoven’s...
- [Musical Giants of the 20th Century: String Quartet](https://interlude.hk/musical-giants-20th-century-string-quartet/): A quick glance at a list of string quartet ensembles active during the 20th century will give you a serious headache! The sheer number and extraordinary quality of a seemingly endless variety of ensembles, repertoires and styles speaks to the continued—or better re-discovered—popularity of this kind of musical expression. And...
- [Critical Ear with Sharpened Pen <br/>‘Just Write. Write Anywhere.’ Norman Lebrecht](https://interlude.hk/critical-ear-sharpened-pen-just-write-write-anywhere-norman-lebrecht/): Norman Lebrecht Writer, broadcaster and blogger Norman Lebrecht draws an impressive 1. 5 million monthly readers to his blog Slipped Disc, well-known throughout the classical music world for being the first to report on the most recent goings on.
- [LALO, É.: Symphonie espagnole / MANÉN, J.: Violin Concerto No. 1](https://interlude.hk/lalo-e-symphonie-espagnole-manen-j-violin-concerto-1/): Violin Concerto No. 1, “Concierto español”, Op. A-7 I. Allegretto ben moderato From LALO, É. : Symphonie espagnole / MANÉN, J. : Violin Concerto No. 1 (2016) Released by Naxos Manen: Violin Concerto No. 1, “Concierto español”, Op. A-7 – I. Allegretto ben moderato Joan Manén, in his day almost...
- [How Amateur Orchestral Musicians Should Practice](https://interlude.hk/amateur-orchestral-musicians-practice/): The sheer prospect of my first orchestra rehearsal terrified me. To calm myself down, I asked a violinist friend for advice. I thought she’d share something about how to play. Instead she said: Pretend you know what you’re doing. You’ll learn as you go along, and you’ll be fine! It...
- [Composers and their Poets: Ravel II](https://interlude.hk/composers-poets-ravel-ii/): Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) set a distinctive poem by Paul Verlaine (1844-1896) in 1895, but it didn’t appear in print until 1953, some 16 years after his death. Un grand sommeil noir from Verlaine’s collection Sagesse, is a remarkably morbid poem about the end of life being compared to a cradle...
- [The Day After the Concert…](https://interlude.hk/day-concert/): I don’t perform that frequently – maybe four or five times a year (excluding informal performances and “house concerts” at home) – but I understand the “process” of performing and the necessary and special preparation which goes into a public performance, not only the learning and refining of all those...
- [Ikutaro Kakehashi (1930-2017)	 <br/> “Originality and Creativity in the Digital World”](https://interlude.hk/ikutaro-kakehashi-1930-2017-originality-creativity-digital-world/): Does the name Ikutaro Kakehashi ring a bell? Well, he was a self-made Japanese engineer who survived malnutrition, tuberculosis and the firebombing of Osaka. A digital music pioneer, he created the Midi (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) technical standard, which describes a protocol, digital interface and connectors to allow an endless...
- [Unsung Concertos <br/>Ernst Sachse: <em>Concerto in F Major for Bass Trombone </em>](https://interlude.hk/unsung-concertos-ernst-sachse-concerto-f-major-bass-trombone/): The modern era of the trombone as a solo instrument began on 6 April 1815, when Friedrich August Belcke performed a potpourri with obbligato trombone by Carl Heinrich Meyer with the Gewandhaus orchestra in Leipzig. A critic for the Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung wrote “Finally, Mr. Belcke, a young man of...
- [Stingy Olympic Judges](https://interlude.hk/stingy-olympic-judges/): Baron Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the modern Olympic Games, was raised and educated in the classical tradition. “He was particularly impressed with the idea of what it meant to be a true Olympian, someone who was not only athletic, but skilled in music and literature. ” At the turn...
- [Forgotten Pianists: Ignaz Friedman](https://interlude.hk/forgotten-pianists-ignaz-friedman/): The Polish pianist Ignaz Friedman (1882-1948) was considered not just the one of the top but one of the supreme piano virtuosos of his time. As were so many of his contemporaries, he was a child prodigy and he left his home in Krakow, Poland, to study at the Leipzig...
- [Music Icons of Minnesota: Prince and Paulus](https://interlude.hk/music-icons-minnesota-prince-paulus/): Nestled in the middle of the country, the state of Minnesota conjures bitterly cold temperatures and towers of snow; hooded parkas and polar snow boots. But the icy squalls generate a spawning ground for artists. Hailing from Minnesota are authors F. Scott Fitzgerald and Sinclair Lewis, singer, songwriter Bob Dylan,...
- ["Sex is more fun than cars but cars refuel quicker than men" <br/>Germaine Tailleferre and Ralph Waldo Emerson Barton](https://interlude.hk/sex-fun-cars-cars-refuel-quicker-men-germaine-tailleferre-ralph-waldo-emerson-barton/): It started like a fairy tale, as it often does. In 1925, she was the hottest French musical ticket in New York City. Germaine Tailleferre had just arrived on a huge wave of personal and artistic success stemming from her association with “Les Six. ” Leopold Stokowski and pianist Alfred...
- [The Man of Many Firsts: William Grant Still](https://interlude.hk/man-many-firsts-william-grant-still/): William Grant Still (1895-1978) is called ‘the dean of African-American composers’ and throughout his life, worked in all genres of music, from jazz, where he was an arranger for both W. C. Handy and Artie Shaw, to Broadway, where he played in some of the pit orchestras, to modern music,...
- [KAZHLAEV, M.: Piano Music - Romantic Sonatina / Dagestan Album / 6 Preludes / Picture Pieces](https://interlude.hk/kazhlaev-m-piano-music-romantic-sonatina-dagestan-album-6-preludes-picture-pieces/): Romantic Sonatina: II. Andante sostenuto, rubato, espressivo, quasi improvvisato From KAZHLAEV, M. : Piano Music – Romantic Sonatina / Dagestan Album / 6 Preludes / Picture Pieces (2016) Released by Grand Piano Kazhlaev: Romantic Sonatina: II. Andante sostenuto, rubato, espressivo, quasi improvvisatoThis recording charts a two-decade period in the musical...
- [Composers and their Poets: Ravel I](https://interlude.hk/composers-poets-ravel/): Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) was regarded in the early 20th century as France’s greatest living composer. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire but his time there ended badly. He entered as a piano student at age 14 but by age 18, had been dismissed from the conservatoire. After that, he focused...
- [Second Time Around <br/>Repeats in Schubert's last piano sonata](https://interlude.hk/second-time-around-repeats-schuberts-last-piano-sonata/): Whether or not to meticulously observe the exposition repeat in Schubert’s final piano sonata No, 21 in B-flat major, D960, is a question which continues to trouble pianists, musicologists and listeners alike. The debate concerns aspects such as authenticity, personal taste, prevailing musical fashion, and timing. When I first started...
- [Knowing the Score](https://interlude.hk/knowing-score/): Pange lingua (Alice Halstead, soprano; Clare College Choir, Cambridge; Graham Ross, cond. ) A recent article in The Guardian which asserts that musical notation (i. e. the dots, lines, squiggles and marks on a written or printed page) is “a cryptic, tricky language (... ) that can only be read...
- [Unsung Concertos <br/>Julius Klengel: <em>Concerto for 2 Cellos</em>, Op. 45](https://interlude.hk/unsung-concertos-julius-klengel-concerto-2-cellos-op-45/): He was frequently compared to Paganini, and in central European cello circles, Julius Klengel (1859-1933) was even called an institution. A natural-born cellist, he stopped having formal instructions at the age of 14! At fifteen Klengel performed for the first time in the Gewandhaus Orchestra, and he celebrated his first...
- [Very Quiet Screeching Allowed](https://interlude.hk/quiet-screeching-allowed/): We were looking at a score by the Finnish composer Perrtu Haapanen and found his performance directions very interesting for his 2014 work Compulsion Island, commissioned by the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra. His instructions for the strings are very specific in terms of how sound is to be deadened (damping),...
- [Germaine Tailleferre](https://interlude.hk/germaine-tailleferre-composer-of-the-month/): “Perhaps women have always been in closer contact with reality than men” Germaine Tailleferre (1892-1983) was the sole female member of the intriguing group of young French composers eventually known as “Les Six. ” Her association with “Les nouveaux jeunes” aside, Tailleferre was a prominent and prolific composer writing in...
- [Forgotten Pianists: Theodor Leschetizky](https://interlude.hk/forgotten-pianists-theodore-leschetizky/): Theodor Leschetizky (1830 –1915) is a pianist who crosses wide musical and time scales. His father was a talented pianist and teacher; after his first lessons with his father, he was taken to Vienna to study with Carl Czerny. At age 11, he performed a Czerny piano concerto with Mozart’s...
- [Muses and Musings <br/>Salon Marie Trélat](https://interlude.hk/muses-musings-salon-marie-trelat/): Beginning in the late 18th century, something magical happened in Paris on Friday! As a contemporary observer wrote, “Friday is the day that was adopted by most artists as the day to entertain; on this day, everyone visits their painter. You can measure the importance of a painter by the...
- [Maria Milstein](https://interlude.hk/maria-milstein-artist-of-the-month/): Trios, Travelling and Teaching Moscow-born violinist Maria Milstein balances a successful solo career with the work of her chamber group the Van Baerle Trio. I speak to Maria in the days following a week with six concerts with the group, where she now has a bit of downtime before her...
- [Jeanne’s Fan](https://interlude.hk/jeannes-fan/): In France, the reaction against the excesses of Wagnerism in the late 19th century turned music toward the lighter side. Les Six collaborated with Jean Cocteau to create collaborative pieces such as Les mariés de la tour Eiffel (The Wedding Party on the Eiffel Tower), which holds an absurdist party...
- [GOETZ, H.: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 2 / Spring Overture](https://interlude.hk/goetz-h-piano-concertos-nos-1-2-spring-overture/): Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-Flat Major, Op. 18: III. Langsam – IV. Lebhaft From GOETZ, H. : Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 2 / Spring Overture (2016) Released by Naxos Goetz: Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-Flat Major, Op. 18: III. Langsam – IV. LebhaftHermann Goetz’s lifespan was no...
- [Composers and their Poets: Falla](https://interlude.hk/composers-poets-falla/): Manuel de Falla (1876-1946) set relatively little vocal music and the most well-known of his vocal setting is of a set of 7 anonymous popular songs from different regions of Spain: Murcia, Aragon, the north of Spain, the Moorish south, and Andalusia. The fiery Polo is to imitate the equally...
- [Vassyl Slipak: Great Baritone killed by Sniper](https://interlude.hk/vassyl-slipak-great-baritone-killed-sniper/): Opera singers die on stage almost every night! However, it’s somewhat rare for them to actually perish in real military engagements. But that’s exactly what happened to Ukrainian bass-baritone Vassyl Slipak on 29 June 2016. After singing at the Paris Opera for almost 20 years, Slipak joined the fight against...
- [Unsung Concertos <br/>Bohuslav Martinů: <em>Oboe Concerto</em> H.353](https://interlude.hk/unsung-concertos-bohuslav-martinu-oboe-concerto-h-353/): Bohuslav Martinů (1890-1959) always paid close attention to avant-garde cosmopolitan musical developments. Yet simultaneously he was acutely aware of his position as a composer of Czech national music. Ceaselessly working to “express the never-ending search for truth and the meaning of life,” Martinů composed in a variety of colorful styles...
- [Live life! It’s good for you and your music](https://interlude.hk/live-life-good-music/): I fell in love with the city of Vienna during my first visit in 2015, and that affection was sealed on my second visit in Spring 2016. At the risk of sounding bossy, if you are a musician you have to visit Vienna. It is the city of Mozart, Beethoven,...
- [Forgotten Pianists: Wanda Landowska](https://interlude.hk/forgotten-pianists-wanda-landowska/): We should actually entitle this one “Forgotten Keyboardists... ” because Wanda Landowska (1879-1959), actually did more for the harpsichord than for the piano. She began her piano study at age 4 and studied in Warsaw, Berlin, and Paris. By 1912, she was teaching harpsichord at the Berlin Hochschule für Musik.
- [Musical Giants of the 20th Century—All That Jazz!](https://interlude.hk/musical-giants-20th-century-jazz/): A discussion of Musical Giants would not be complete without naming the towering artists of twentieth century jazz: Clark Terry, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Dizzie Gillespie, Quincey Jones, Ella Fitzgerald, Benny Goodman, Louis Armstrong, Dave Brubeck, Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Thelonius Monk, Billie Holiday, Charlie Parker, Nat King Cole, Oscar...
- [And the Winner is……. <br/>Chamber and Solo Music Competition at the 1948 Olympics](https://interlude.hk/winner-chamber-solo-music-competition-1948-olympics/): The year was 1948, and athletes from around the world gathered in London to participate in the 14th Olympic Games in the modern era. Because of World War II, it had been 12 years since the last Olympic competition, and given the economic climate and post-war rationing, the 1948 London...
- [WALTER, B.: Violin Sonata / Piano Quintet](https://interlude.hk/walter-b-violin-sonata-piano-quintet/): Piano Quintet: II. Ruhig und heiter From WALTER, B. : Violin Sonata / Piano Quintet (2016) Released by Naxos Walter: Piano Quintet: II. Ruhig und heiterIn the early part of his musical career, before he became one of the most revered conductors of his time, Bruno Walter saw himself as...
- [What We Love About](https://interlude.hk/what-we-love-about/): There are certain things that catch our ear, catch our eye, and then become the focus for why we like things. What we love about: The clarinet: its warm tone
- [Composers and Their Poets: Loewe](https://interlude.hk/composers-poets-loewe/): For the singing German 19th century, we tend to focus these days on Schubert and Schumann. But there were many many other lied composers and for an example we can look at Carl Loewe (1796-1869).
- [Ten Tips For Playing Music In Nursing Homes](https://interlude.hk/ten-tips-playing-music-nursing-homes/): We all know that the world can be a dark and lonely place. But remember: as a musician, you have the power to shine light into dark corners. I belong to an adult amateur string orchestra, and every holiday season we get together and play our instruments at local nursing...
- [Unsung Concertos <br/>Louis Spohr: <em>Clarinet Concerto No. 1</em> in C minor, Op. 26](https://interlude.hk/unsung-concertos-louis-spohr-clarinet-concerto-1-c-minor-op-26/): Louis Spohr (1784-1859), actually born Ludwig Spohr in Braunschweig, was a German composer, violinist and conductor. Early violin studies secured employment with Duke Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand of Brunswick, and barely 16 years old, Spohr accompanied his teacher Franz Eck on a concert tour, which took him as far as Saint...
- [Musicians in the blogosphere](https://interlude.hk/musicians-blogosphere/): In recent years, the blog (a truncation of the expression ‘web log’) has become a popular means of sharing information and opinions, and there are thousands of blogs across the web on the myriad aspects of classical music and music education.
- [Forgotten Pianists: Walter Gieseking](https://interlude.hk/forgotten-pianists-walter-gieseking/): Walter Gieseking (1895-1956) had a family that travelled frequently and so his first performances at the piano were without formal training. It wasn’t until 1911 that he was able to start formal study at the Hanover Conservatory. His budding career was cut short by the First World War when he...
- [Musical Giants of the 20th Century: Trumpets](https://interlude.hk/musical-giants-20th-century-trumpets/): Maurice Murphy (1935-2010) was born in west London, but spent his childhood in Yorkshire, in the north of England. He grew up playing in local brass bands, and in 1956 became the principal cornet of the internationally renowned Black Dyke Mills Band.
- [The True Embodiment of the Olympic Spirit <br/>Micheline Ostermeyer](https://interlude.hk/true-embodiment-olympic-spirit-micheline-ostermeyer/): Pierre de Coubertin, father of the modern Olympic games strongly believed that sports and the arts had become artificially separated. As such, he looked to integrate music alongside other art forms in the Olympic competition itself. The first “pentathlon of the muses,” including music, literature, painting, sculpture and architecture was...
- [LE FLEM, P.: Piano Works](https://interlude.hk/le-flem-p-piano-works/): Mélancolie! From LE FLEM, P. : Piano Works (2016) Released by Grand Piano Le Flem: Mélancolie! Paul Le Flem belonged to the Parisian circle of Martinů, Tcherepnin and Tansman, summing up his own music as a fusion of three influences: his native Brittany, Debussy and D’Indy. His career was sadly...
- [The Devils Did It – II](https://interlude.hk/devils-ii/): After we’ve gotten Faust sorted with his devil problems, all sorts of other operas have them as well. In Dvořák’s opera Čert a Káča (Kate and the Devil), we open at a village dance. Jirka has to return to work and Kate, who wants to dance with him, vows to...
- [Nearly a Meisterstueck: Kaspar Holten's Meistersinger von Nuernberg](https://interlude.hk/nearly-meisterstueck-kaspar-holtens-meistersinger-von-nuernberg/): In his farewell production after a six year tenure as Director of Opera at Covent Garden, Kasper Holten managed a veritable hat trick. He turned Wagner’s notoriously overlong opera (at nearly five hours it is possibly the longest single opera) into a thrilling, thought-inspiring and stimulating evening. He completely dispatched...
- [Composers and Their Poets: Hahn](https://interlude.hk/composers-poets-hahn/): The composer Reynaldo Hahn (1874-1947) was active in many different aspects of French musical life: he was a singer and a director, a conductor and a critic, and last, but not least, a composer and an artist. He entered the Paris Conservatoire at age 10, having composed his first songs...
- [More please! The Art of the Piano Encore](https://interlude.hk/please-art-piano-encore/): The concert is complete, the applause is given generously. The performer bows, acknowledging the audience and their applause, and leaves the stage. The applause grows more enthusiastic and the performer returns once again to take a bow and thank the audience for their appreciation. As the performer leaves the stage...
- [Unsung Concertos <br/>Thomas Tellefsen: <em>Piano Concerto No. 2</em>](https://interlude.hk/unsung-concertos-thomas-tellefsen-piano-concerto-2/): Like many young and talented Nordic musicians, Thomas Dyke Acland Tellefsen (1823-1874) was drawn to the city of Paris. Born in Trondheim, Norway, Tellefsen moved to Paris in 1842 and studied piano with Scandinavian pianist Charlotte Thygeson, who was one of the star pupils of Friedrich Kalbrenner. And on 27...
- [A Love Letter from the Trenches <br/>Frederick Septimus Kelly and Jelly D’Aranyi](https://interlude.hk/love-letter-trenches-frederick-septimus-kelly-jelly-daranyi/): It all happened during the disastrous Gallipoli Campaign in World War I. With death and destruction all around, an Australian soldier sat in a trench and composed a violin sonata for a young woman far away. “He had a tiny little room the size of a bed, and he had...
- [Forgotten Pianists: Marguerite Long](https://interlude.hk/forgotten-pianists-marguerite-long/): When Ravel wrote his piano suite Le Tombeau de Couperin in memory of the soldiers of the Great War, the first performance in Paris in 1919 was given by the Marguerite Long, who was the widow of Joseph de Marliave, one of the musicians memorialized by Ravel. The final movement,...
- [Movers and Shakers of Music World <br/>Faustini Brothers: Operatic Mass Production](https://interlude.hk/movers-shakers-music-world-faustini-brothers-operatic-mass-production/): Opera as we know it today, gradually emerged from courtly entertainment. Yet, within the special social and economic environment of 17th century Venice, it escaped its regal preoccupation and was placed within reach of all but the poorest sectors of the Italian urban population. By the end of the century,...
- [Edvard Munch -- Henrik Ibsen -- Edvard Grieg](https://interlude.hk/edvard-munch-henrik-ibsen-edvard-grieg/): A recent exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond, Virginia ‘Jasper Johns and Edvard Munch: Love, Loss, and the Cycle of Life’ brought together works of the two painters, the Abstract Expressionist Jasper Johns (1930-) and the Norwegian Expressionist, Edvard Munch (1863-1944). Although artistically at seemingly opposite ends,...
- [ONSLOW, G.: String Quintets, Vol. 1 - Nos. 20 and 26](https://interlude.hk/onslow-g-string-quintets-vol-1-nos-20-26/): String Quintet No. 26 in C Minor, Op. 67 : IV. Finale: Allegretto quasi allegro From ONSLOW, G. : String Quintets, Vol. 1 – Nos. 20 and 26 (2016) Released by Naxos Onslow: String Quintet No. 26 in C Minor, Op. 67 : IV. Finale: Allegretto quasi allegroAn English aristocrat...
- [The Devils Did It - I](https://interlude.hk/devils/): If it’s not the jealous lover in opera, it’s the devil causing havoc. In many operas, the devil has a leading role and it’s usually up to our heroine (sometimes the hero) to making things right again.
- [Two Hearts, One Soul <br/>Zoltán Kodály and Emma Gruber](https://interlude.hk/two-hearts-one-soul-zoltan-kodaly-emma-gruber/): The most important and influential address for artistic matters at the turn of the 20th century Budapest was the salon of Emma Gruber. Mrs. Gruber was born Emma Schlesinger in the southern Hungarian town of Baja, daughter of wealthy merchants. To conceal their Jewish origins, the family changed their name...
- [Pioneers of the Japanese Art Song <br/> Hakushū Kitahara and Kosaku Yamada](https://interlude.hk/pioneers-japanese-art-song-hakushu-kitahara-kosaku-yamada/): Hakushū Kitahara (1885-1942) is widely regarded as one of the most popular and important poets in modern Japanese literature. Active during the Taishō and Shōwa periods, and founder of his own literary group that included painters, musicians and actors, he rose to instant fame in the early years of the...
- [The Three C’s: Confidence Commitment Concentration](https://interlude.hk/three-cs-confidence-commitment-concentration/): Sometimes, and more frequently that you might imagine, my husband’s world (mountain-biking) and mine (music) intersect, with interesting results. At first sight, our respective passions could not be more different: he likes to hurl himself and his bike down the side of mountains, riding rough-shod (literally) over rocks and gnarly...
- [Kurt Moll (1938-2017): “The Voice of God”](https://interlude.hk/kurt-moll-1938-2017-voice-god/): With the passing of Kurt Moll (1938-2017) the world has lost one of its greatest voices. Internationally renowned for his velvety and deeply moving voice, Moll was capable of reaching into the infra-bass range. Reaching to the glorious depths of the contrabassoon, Moll’s voice was capable of the most amazing...
- [Unsung Concertos <br/>Alexander Scriabin: <em>Piano Concerto in F-Sharp Minor</em>, Op. 20](https://interlude.hk/unsung-concertos-alexander-scriabin-piano-concerto-f-sharp-minor-op-20/): During his lifetime, Scriabin was primarily known as a pianist, with Igor Stravinsky marveling at his phenomenal playing. Yet Scriabin also had the uncanny talent of making enemies, including his composition teachers. Sergei Taneyev was not impressed, and Anton Arensky failed Scriabin in his examinations. And Rimsky Korsakov found Scriabin...
- [Shostakovich: <em>Cello Concerto No.1</em> in E-flat major, Op. 107](https://interlude.hk/45th-hong-kong-arts-festival-2017-shostakovich-cello-concerto-1-e-flat-major-op-107/): Together with Igor Stravinsky and Sergei Prokofiev, Dimitri Shostakovich (1906-1975) unquestionably represents the pinnacle of 20th-century Russian music. Contrary to his famous compatriots who sought employment in the West, Shostakovich was educated entirely under the Soviet system. Even at times of personal disfavor, his loyalty to country and government was...
- [Zoltán Kodály](https://interlude.hk/zoltan-kodaly-composer-of-the-month/): Composer and Educator Zoltán Kodály (1882-1967) is widely considered the perfect embodiement of the Hungarian spirit. His prolific scholarly research into Hungarian folk sources combined with a hightened interest in the education of the young. In the process, he created a new Hungarian-based art music that recognized the importance of...
- [Forgotten Pianists: Benno Moiseiwitsch](https://interlude.hk/forgotten-pianists-benno-moiseiwitsch/): Benno Moiseiwitsch (1890-1963) was another of the great pianists who came onto the international stage in the 1930s and who brought an elegance of performance matched with a relaxed virtuosic style.
- [Classical Music Moments in Movies II](https://interlude.hk/classical-music-moments-movies-ii/): The quirky science fiction blockbuster The Fifth Element is set in the 23rd century and features an intergalactic struggle for the survival of planet Earth. This task falls on Korben Dallas (Bruce Willis), a taxi driver and former Special Forces major, after a young woman (Milla Jovovich) accidentally stumbles into...
- [Movers and Shakers of the Music World <br/>Bartolomeo Merelli - Eagle of the Impresarios](https://interlude.hk/movers-shakers-music-world-bartolomeo-merelli-eagle-impresarios/): Bartolomeo Merelli (1794–1879) earned the sobriquet ‘Eagle of the Impresarios’ for his skill, vision and refined taste. Unlike his competitors, Merelli was an accomplished musical scholar and librettist, and his name is indelibly tied to that of the greatest Italian opera composer, Giuseppe Verdi.
- [Maurice Ravel's <em>Tzigane</em>: Inspired by Jelly d’Aranyi](https://interlude.hk/muses-musings-tzigane-maurice-jelly/): She was the great-niece of the influential violin virtuoso Joseph Joachim and had a decidedly psychic disposition! Her exotic and colorful name was Jelly d’Aranyi, and during a séance in 1933, Robert Schumann told her to premiere his “long-lost” violin concerto. She did perform the London premiere of the piece,...
- [DAUGHERTY, M.: Tales of Hemingway / American Gothic / Once Upon A Castle](https://interlude.hk/daugherty-m-tales-hemingway-american-gothic-upon-castle/): Tales of Hemingway: III. The Old Man and the Sea From DAUGHERTY, M. : Tales of Hemingway / American Gothic / Once Upon A Castle (2016) Released by Naxos Daugherty: Tales of Hemingway: III. The Old Man and the SeaGRAMMY® Award-winning composer Michael Daugherty creates colourful musical portraits in this...
- [Composers and Their Poets: Gerald Finzi](https://interlude.hk/composers-poets-gerald-finzi/): We generally don’t think of Thomas Hardy (1840-1928) as a source for song texts but rather as the man for tales of the realism and drama of the Victorian English countryside. Yet, when the 20th century hit, nearly all Hardy wrote were poems. His first book of poetry was published...
- [Note Bashing](https://interlude.hk/note-bashing/): I never thought I’d write an article on “note bashing”. In general it’s not something I advocate – mindless repetitive practise, thoughtlessly hammering away at the same phrase or group of notes. However, during my work on one of Schubert’s late piano sonatas I discovered that note bashing really does...
- [Unsung Concertos <br/>Jacques Ibert: <em>Flute Concerto</em>](https://interlude.hk/unsung-concertos-jacques-ibert-flute-concerto/): If you think that all classical music has to be deadly serious, let me introduce you to Jacques Ibert (1890-1962). Ibert was a graduate from the Paris Conservatoire who won the coveted Prix de Rome at his first attempt despite having his studies interrupted by World War I. He managed...
- [Valeriy Sokolov](https://interlude.hk/valeriy-sokolov-artist-of-the-month/): ‘Be True to Yourself’ A Bartok concerto in Kiel and Hamburg, a Prokofiev concerto in Hong Kong, a Brahms concerto a week later in Tokyo... 30 year-old Valeriy Sokolov thinks nothing of having these giants of the repertoire at such close quarters. He has performed across the world, in venues...
- [Playing for Progress: In Touch with Alyson Frazier](https://interlude.hk/playing-progress-touch-alyson-frazier/): 2016 has certainly seen more crises than most years. But while the attention of the general public and the media tends to move quickly from one disaster to the next, many of those crises remain far from resolved. One of the most severe is surely the migrant crisis. While major...
- [Forgotten Pianists: Egon Petri](https://interlude.hk/forgotten-pianists-egon-petri/): Pianist Egon Petri (1881-1962) was a Dutch citizen, born in Hannover, Germany, to Dutch parents. He first learned violin from his father, Henri Petri, who had been a student of Joseph Joachim, one of the most significant violinists of the 19th century. He started piano at age 7, and continued...
- [Charles-Marie Widor Beyond the Organ](https://interlude.hk/charles-marie-widor-beyond-organ/): Charles-Marie Widor’s 10 organ symphonies, inspired by the magnificent Cavaillé-Coll organ at Saint-Sulpice in Paris revolutionized the art of organ playing and composition in France. However, the composer also left behind a substantial number of meticulously crafted compositions for a variety of instrumental and vocal combinations. Charles-Marie Widor: Suite for...
- [Classical Music Moments in Movies I](https://interlude.hk/classical-music-moments-movies/): The combination of music and imagery—as we have known since antiquity—is one of the most powerful psychological agents acting directly on human emotions. And ever since sound was first coupled with images at the turn of the 20th century, classical music played an important role in the soundscapes of various...
- [SQUIRE, W.H.: Miniatures for Cello and Piano](https://interlude.hk/squire-w-h-miniatures-cello-piano/): Chansonnette, Op. 22 From SQUIRE, W. H. : Miniatures for Cello and Piano (2016) Released by Naxos Squire: Chansonnette, Op. 22 William Henry Squire was Britain’s leading cellist from the late 1890s to the late 1920s and a prolific artist in the early recording era. He composed a series of...
- [Inspired by a Certain Tristesse](https://interlude.hk/inspired-certain-tristesse/): When we think of the composer Bernard Herrmann, we think of his film music and how it could carry a scene. Think about it: after you see Psycho, with those, literally, slashing strings, did you ever take a shower with your eyes closed again? His music for The Magnificent Seven,...
- [Electrifying Versatility: Nicolai Gedda (1925-2017)](https://interlude.hk/electrifying-versatility-nicolai-gedda-1925-2017/): Nicolai Gedda (1925-2017) was one of the most versatile lyrical tenors of the 20th century. He was rightfully called the “poet among lyric tenors,” and Luciano Pavarotti suggested “there is no tenor with a greater ease in the upper register than Gedda. ” Over his career of more than 40...
- [Composers and Their Poets: Hector Berlioz](https://interlude.hk/composers-poets-hector-berlioz/): Hector Berlioz ((1803-1869) is known for his monumental orchestral works, for his utter command of orchestration, and for his gothic horror in the Symphonie fantastique. We often forget, however, that he was also known for his songs. In a rare case where the writing of the song was contemporary with...
- [Muses and Musings <br/> William Byrd: Tallis is dead, and Music dies!](https://interlude.hk/william-byrd-tallis-dead-music-dies/): Forget about unattainable lovers, idealized beauty or threatening nature! When it comes to artistic inspiration and musings, nothing has been more popular than death! Indeed, death is a cruel mistress to us all! Gruesome inevitability aside, death has inspired some of the most beautiful and most personal human artistic expressions....
- [Unsung Concertos <br/>Johann Matthias Sperger: <em>Horn Concerto in E flat</em>](https://interlude.hk/unsung-concertos-johann-matthias-sperger-horn-concerto-e-flat/): Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, the city of Vienna acted like a gigantic magnet for composers and musicians. Talented individuals from the surrounding areas and all parts of Europe streamed into the city hoping to make their mark in the musical profession. Among them was a certain Johannes Matthias...
- [The Writings on the Score](https://interlude.hk/writings-score/): As musicians our musical scores are very personal to us, and the markings and annotations we make on our scores can be deeply associated with memories – of significant teachers, special concerts and venues, colleagues and friends, and may even correspond to certain periods in our lives. Looking at another...
- [Forgotten Pianists: Josef Lhévinne](https://interlude.hk/forgotten-pianists-josef-lhevinne/): From his very first concerts at age 14, Josef Lhévinne (1874-1944) was recognized as a pianist with a brilliant future. He studied at the Moscow Conservatory from age 11 with Vasilly Safonov, who reformed the skills of the boy who has been playing the piano since age 3. He graduated...
- [Popularizing Music—Outstanding Classical Crossover Artists II](https://interlude.hk/popularizing-music-outstanding-classical-crossover-artists-ii/): All types of music are enhanced by the artistry, dazzling technique and emotional intensity of virtuosos. Yo Yo Ma, Joshua Bell, Itzhak Perlman, singers Renée Fleming, Kiri Te Kanawa and label-defying artists Audra MacDonald, Andrea Bocelli, and Bela Fleck have become celebrated for their genre crossing versatility.
- [The Power of a Hat](https://interlude.hk/power-hat/): Manuel de Falla (1876-1946) started with a story about a lecherous magistrate and his desire for the miller’s virtuous wife (El corregidor y la molinera) and revised it into The Three-Cornered Hat (El sombrero de tres picos, 1917). As a ballet, The Three-Cornered Hat, it was given its premiere in...
- [ ERKİN, U.C.: Köçekçe / Violin Concerto / Symphony No. 2](https://interlude.hk/erkin-u-c-kocekce-violin-concerto-symphony-2/): Symphony No 2: III. Allegro – Alla Köçekçe From ERKİN, U. C. : Köçekçe / Violin Concerto / Symphony No. 2 (2016) Released by Naxos Erkin: Symphony No 2: III. Allegro – Alla KöçekçeUlvi Cemal Erkin was one of the ‘Turkish Five’, contemporaries who established the foundations of twentieth-century Turkish...
- [Czech Rivers or Classical Composers?](https://interlude.hk/czech-rivers-classical-composers/): Brixi In Moravian folklore, the “Brixi” is not actually a river. Rather it describes a mythical creature that secretly rises from the Morava River during the summer solstice to take a long bath in the moonlight. According to local lore, only people with a clean conscience and pure heart will...
- [Composers and their Poets: Schoenberg III](https://interlude.hk/composers-poets-schoenberg-iii/): If Gurre-Lieder was a cantata and The Book of the Hanging Gardens a song cycle, then we must separate out one more large cycle for examination. It’s not song as we might recognize it from Schubert and Schumann, but rather a heightened speech, called “Sprechstimme. ” Sprechstimme (spoken voice) falls...
- [Pictures from the East: Schumann’s Bilder aus Osten, Op. 66](https://interlude.hk/pictures-east-schumanns-bilder-aus-osten-op-66/): Bilder aus Osten (Pictures from the East), 6 Impromptus for piano 4-hands, written 1848, came at a time in Schumann’s life when he was bothered by a number of problems. He had recurring bouts of tinnitus when all he could hear was the note ‘A’ in his ears, he had...
- [Unsung Concertos <br/>Alessandro Marcello: <em>Concerto for Oboe in D minor</em>](https://interlude.hk/unsung-concertos-alessandro-marcello-concerto-oboe-d-minor/): Alessandro Marcello (1673-1747) lived a rather charmed life! As the son of a senator and a member of Venetian nobility he presided—together with his more famous brother Benedetto—on the city high council. He studied law at the Collegio di S. Antonio, and joined the Venetian Arcadian Academy, a literary society,...
- [The Pianist’s Solitude](https://interlude.hk/pianists-solitude/): “The loneliness doesn’t worry me... ... I spend most of my life alone, even backstage... ... . I’m there completely alone. I like the time alone... . ” British pianist Stephen Hough, speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs programme
- [Forgotten Pianists: Wilhelm Backhaus](https://interlude.hk/forgotten-pianists-wilhelm-backhaus/): German-born pianist Wilhelm Backhaus (1884–1969) started studying the piano at age 4 with his mother and by 1891, was studying at the Leipzig Conservatory. His private study with Eugen d’Albert in Frankfort, a student of Franz Liszt, was crowned by being present at a concert where d’Albert performed Brahms’ two...
- [The Contemporaries of Orpheus](https://interlude.hk/contemporaries-orpheus/): In looking over Jules Verne’s masterpiece of the science-fiction submarine novel, 20,000 Leagues under the Sea, we came upon a passage that we didn’t remember. The Scientist, Professor Aronnax, is being shown around the Nautilus by Captain Nemo and after admiring the library, the natural history collection, the old master...
- [A Musical Call to Arms](https://interlude.hk/musical-call-arms/): The Staatskapelle Berlin orchestra recently performed a series of concerts at Carnegie Hall in New York City under the baton of Maestro Daniel Barenboim — nine programs devoted to the nine Bruckner symphonies, which on two evenings were preceded by a Mozart piano concerto with Maestro Barenboim playing and conducting...
- [ RODRIGO, J.: Chamber Music with Violin - Sonata pimpante / 7 Cançons valencianes / Capriccio / Serenata al alba del día](https://interlude.hk/rodrigo-j-chamber-music-violin-sonata-pimpante-7-cancons-valencianes-capriccio-serenata-al-alba-del-dia/): Sonata pimpante: II. Adagio – Allegro vivace – Adagio From RODRIGO, J. : Chamber Music with Violin – Sonata pimpante / 7 Cançons valencianes / Capriccio / Serenata al alba del día (2016) Released by Naxos Rodrigo: Sonata pimpante: II. Adagio – Allegro vivace – AdagioJoaquín Rodrigo is best known...
- [Maturity](https://interlude.hk/maturity/): I have a theory that we should spend at least a quarter of a century living with our music, studying it, absorbing it, and then only perform it when we are in our 40s or 50s. Unfortunately, this is not an ideal scenario in which to forge a career as...
- [Lucia in Tel Aviv](https://interlude.hk/lucia-tel-aviv/): Consider; opera based on text of XIX century with music of the same period produced and sang in Israel, a country reeling in inner battles; the ultra religious (haredim) against the institutions, the mitnahalim (settlers) against everybody, the right and far right, against the left and the hushed left.
- [Composers and their Poets: Schoenberg II](https://interlude.hk/composers-poets-schoenberg-ii/): The two big song cycles the Gurre-Lieder and the Book of the Hanging Gardens are actually even larger than normal. Gurre-Lieder is actually a cantata. The title means “Songs of Gurre,” referring to Gurre Castle in Denmark and the songs are about a king and his lover and the lover’s...
- [Sumi Jo banned from performing in China](https://interlude.hk/sumi-jo-banned-performing-china/): If you live and work in the Asia-Pacific region you surely are familiar with THAAD. The acronym actually stands for “Terminal High Altitude Area Defense,” and represents an anti-ballistic missile system designed to destroy incoming ballistic missiles. The missile carries no warhead, but relies on the kinetic energy of impact...
- [Siegfried: Year Three of a Musical Marathon](https://interlude.hk/siegfried-year-three-musical-marathon/): Successfully performing Siegfried, the third and least accessible opera of Richard Wagner’s Ring Cycle, cemented the growing reputation of the Hong Kong Philharmonic for this demanding material. The orchestra was in outstanding shape, comfortably cruising between the lyrically heart-wrenching passages and confidently rising to the bombastic finales. Jaap van Zweden,...
- [Unsung Concertos <br/>Darius Milhaud: <em>Concerto for Marimba and Vibraphone</em>](https://interlude.hk/unsung-concertos-darius-milhaud-concerto-marimba-vibraphone/): Darius Milhaud grew up in a Latin-Mediterranean cultural milieu that particularly valued Italian music. When a young man wrote to him about Wagner’s theories that all art “springs from suffering, unhappiness, and frustration,” he replied. “I am glad you decided to write me about your problem with Wagner’s theories; here...
- [The Door to the Future: An Interview with Louis Langrée](https://interlude.hk/door-future-interview-louis-langree/): We spoke recently with Louis Langrée, Music Director of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, about the CSO’s new recording, Concertos for Orchestra, modern and period orchestras, and the orchestra’s upcoming Asian tour.
- [Forgotten Pianists: Alfred Cortot](https://interlude.hk/forgotten-pianists-alfred-cortot/): Swiss pianist Alfred Cortot (1877¬-1962) began his piano study at the Paris Conservatoire at age 9, taking the premier prix in 1896. He started his concert career in 1897. His love for the music of Wagner led him to Bayreuth, where he was first the choral coach and then assistant...
- [Popularizing Music—Outstanding Classical Crossover Artists I](https://interlude.hk/popularizing-music-outstanding-classical-crossover-artists/): “Classical Crossover” is a relatively new term in music meant to describe musicians who are proficient in classical music but who also perform in other styles and genres. In the baroque and classical era improvisational skills were expected of a musician. In fact, cadenzas—the section where the soloist typically “shows...
- [Still too hot to handle! <br/>Daniel Auber: <em>La muette de Portici</em>!](https://interlude.hk/still-hot-handle-daniel-auber-la-muette-de-portici/): The Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels hosted a rather special performance on 25 August 1830. William I, Prince of Orange and King of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg was celebrating the 15th year of his reign, and the opera La muette de Portici (The Mute Girl of...
- [FIELD, J.: Piano Concerto No. 7 / Irish Concerto / Piano Sonata No. 4](https://interlude.hk/field-j-piano-concerto-7-irish-concerto-piano-sonata-4/): Piano Concerto No. 7 in C Minor, H. 58A: II. Rondo: Allegro moderato From FIELD, J. : Piano Concerto No. 7 / Irish Concerto / Piano Sonata No. 4 (2016) Released by Naxos Field: Piano Concerto No. 7 in C Minor, H. 58A: II. Rondo: Allegro moderatoDublin-born prodigy John Field...
- [Italian Dishes or Classical Composers?](https://interlude.hk/italian-dishes-classical-composers/): Italy, the veritable land of music and delicious food! Can you tell the difference between great Italian dishes and Italian composers? Cambini Although we might easily imagine Cambini to be a lightly sautéed seafood dish from the Tuscany region, it actually identifies the Italian composer and violinist Giuseppe Maria Cambini...
- [Composers and their Poets: Schoenberg I](https://interlude.hk/composers-poets-schoenberg/): We don’t generally think of Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951) as a song composer but he wrote them from his earliest days as a composer in the early 1890s until the early 1930s. The poets that he set were some of the best known, and sometime the most infamous, of his day....
- [Charles-Marie Widor](https://interlude.hk/charles-marie-widor-composer-of-the-month/): “A Vision of Eternity” Such was the enormous musical talent of Charles-Marie Widor (1844–1937) that he successfully competed for the job of organist at the lycée in his hometown of Lyons at the tender age of 11! Having received his initial musical instructions from his father—a well-known organ-builder and amateur...
- [Don Carlo at La Scala: Men in charge](https://interlude.hk/don-carlo-la-scala-men-charge/): The Peter Stein production of Verdi’s Don Carlo from the 2013 Salzburg Festival finally debuted this January at Teatro alla Scala of Milan. Somewhat controversially acquired by Alexander Pereira, formerly Artistic Director of Salzburg and now Sovrintendente of La Scala, the production remains as unloved and underwhelming as ever. The...
- [Guanqun Yu](https://interlude.hk/guanqun-yu-artist-of-the-month/): Mozart and the Met ‘My life is very simple,’ Guanqun Yu says. ‘I read the bible, and sometimes go to the cinema to see movies, and I like museums. It sounds like I’m a nerd! ,’ she exclaims. ‘I have a very boring life... apart from being an opera singer....
- [Unsung Concertos <br/>Reinhold Glière: <em>Concerto in F Minor for Coloratura Soprano and Orchestra</em>, Op. 82](https://interlude.hk/unsung-concertos-reinhold-gliere-concerto-f-minor-coloratura-soprano-orchestra-op-82/): In our series of unsung concertos, here comes a composition that is actually sung but the words are not articulated! As we all know, the human voice has long been considered the quintessential musical instrument. Capable of producing an intricate array of sounds over an extended vocal range, the tone...
- [“Less is More” - Marginal Gain Learning](https://interlude.hk/less-marginal-gain-learning/): “Marginal Gain Learning” (MGL) is a training concept employed by the British cycling team which has reaped brilliant rewards, as their success in both the London and Rio Olympics has demonstrated. The concept was developed by the team’s coach Dave Brailsford, who believes that by breaking down and analysing every...
- [Forgotten Pianists: Vladimir Sofronitsky](https://interlude.hk/forgotten-pianists-vladimir-sofronitsky/): Vladimir Sofronitsky (1901-1961) was a Russian pianist who made his name not playing the classical and romantic composers but in his performances of the works of Alexander Scriabin (1872-1915), his wife’s late father. Born in St. Petersburg, he studied at the then-Petrograd Conservatory, graduating in 1921. He gave his first...
- [Behind the Curtain <br/>Mademoiselle La Cachucha](https://interlude.hk/behind-curtain-mademoiselle-la-cachucha/): It all started with Hector Berlioz and his Evenings with the Orchestra! A group of bored musicians are stuck in a small town playing overrated operas. With nothing else to do, they tell tales, read stories and exchange gossip about the world of music and musicians. And that’s the idea...
- [Musical Giants of the 20th Century: Harpist, Mandolin and Banjo](https://interlude.hk/musical-giants-20th-century-harpist-mandolin-banjo/): Three legendary 20th century harpists stand out. British harpist Sidonie Goossens’s remarkable career extended just short of seven decades. A member of the BBC Symphony Orchestra from its founding in 1930 until 1980, she was known for her brilliant playing as well as her wit and charm.
- [CATOIRE, G.: Violin and Piano Works](https://interlude.hk/catoire-g-violin-piano-works/): Violin Sonata No. 1 in B Minor, Op. 15 – II. Barcarolle: Andante From CATOIRE, G. : Violin and Piano Works (2016) Released by Naxos Catoire: Violin Sonata No. 1 in B Minor, Op. 15 – II. Barcarolle: AndanteTchaikovsky encouraged Georgy L’vovich Catoire to pursue a musical career, remarking that...
- [Music, Medicine and Happiness](https://interlude.hk/music-medicine-happiness/): Did you ever wonder why the Chinese character for Music (“樂”) shares the exact same character for happiness (“樂”), and why the Chinese character for medicine (“藥”) is simply the same character with the symbol for plants placed on top? It seems that ancient Chinese had long recognised a connection...
- [Year of the Fire Rooster 2017](https://interlude.hk/year-fire-rooster-2017/): In the ancient system of Chinese astrology, the Lord Buddha summoned all the animals to wish him goodbye before he departed from Earth. Alas, only twelve animals came to bid him farewell. So he rewarded them by naming a year after each one in the order that they came to...
- [Composers and Their Poets: Debussy II](https://interlude.hk/composers-poets-debussy-ii/): In his delicately titled, Ariettes oubliées (Forgotten Little Songs), Claude Debussy (1862-1918) took the poetry of Paul Verlaine (1844-1896) and created a song cycle to match the stylistic subtleties of his poems. Debussy met the older poet via his mother-in-law. Verlaine’s wife, Mathilde Mauté de Fleureville’s mother, Antoinette-Flore Mauté de...
- [A Tune for My Tot! <br/>Claude Debussy: Children's Corner](https://interlude.hk/tune-tot/): As a new mother, I am always looking for things with which to entertain my ten-month-old. Because I’m a musician, the first thing I would turn to is music. Not impressed with the Mozart for Babies CDs, and bored of playing nursery rhymes and pieces from First Lessons in Bach,...
- [Unsung Concertos <br/>Carl Nielsen: <em>Flute Concerto</em>](https://interlude.hk/unsung-concertos-carl-nielsen-flute-concerto/): “The flute cannot deny its own nature, its home is in Arcadia and it prefers pastoral moods. Hence, the composer has to obey its gentle nature, unless he wants to be branded a barbarian. ” That’s how Carl Nielsen, one of the most important and productive Scandinavian composers of the...
- [Baltic Visions: Veljo Tormis (1930-2017)](https://interlude.hk/baltic-visions-veljo-tormis-1930-2017/): It is with great sadness that we report the passing of Estonian composer Veljo Tormis. Regarded as one of the most prolific and most innovative choral composers of the 20th century, he ceaselessly kept alive the memories of ancient peoples along the shores of the Baltic Sea whose cultures and...
- [The Musician as Entrepreneur](https://interlude.hk/musician-entrepreneur/): It’s very hard to carve a career as a musician, never more so in today’s fast-paced, highly competitive and image-driven world. The changes in the industry are unparalleled in history and therefore so are our roles. Today it’s not enough to aspire to be a virtuoso – it’s almost impossible...
- [Forgotten Pianists: Solomon](https://interlude.hk/forgotten-pianists-solomon/): British pianist Solomon Cutner (1902-1988) was known professionally solely by his first name, ‘Solomon. ’ He was born in London and his performing abilities were recognized by age 7. He gave his first concerts at age 10 and then, sensibly, retired five years later, only returned to the stage as...
- [Musical Giants of the 20th Century: Guitarists](https://interlude.hk/musical-giants-20th-century-guitarists/): One of the greatest guitarists of all time, considered the grandfather of the classical guitar, Andrés Segovia (1893-1987) hails from Spain, from a humble family that opposed his interest in a career in music, especially the guitar. Without Segovia the classical guitar would not be the admired instrument it is...
- [Like Mozart, but Different](https://interlude.hk/like-mozart-different/): One of the great joys of music from the Classical period is what other composers did with it. It was very common, even up through the 19th century, to take a theme from one composer’s work and do variation sets on it.
- [Elphie has landed in Hamburg!](https://interlude.hk/elphie-landed-hamburg/): The project was delayed by 7 years, and overran its projected budget by 700 Million Euros! But finally, the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg—tenderly referred to as “Elphie” has landed! Placing a wave of glass on top of several refurbished old harbor storage buildings, the architects Herzog & de Meuron have actually...
- [ PUTS, K.: Symphony No. 2 / Flute Concerto](https://interlude.hk/puts-k-symphony-2-flute-concerto/): Flute Concerto: I. With great sincerity and affection; flexible, with motion From PUTS, K. : Symphony No. 2 / Flute Concerto (2016) Released by Naxos Puts: Flute Concerto: I. With great sincerity and affection; flexible, with motionAwarded the Pulitzer Prize in 2012, Kevin Puts now stands in the forefront of...
- [French Geography or Classical Composers?](https://interlude.hk/french-geography-classical-composers/): Chédeville Picturesquely located on the banks of the Loire River, the settlement of Chédeville has been famous for its cultivation of wine since prehistoric times. Truth be told, however, it hasn’t, as a city by this name is only found in my personal and fictional travel guidebook! However, Nicolas Chédeville...
- [Composers and Their Poets: Debussy I](https://interlude.hk/composers-poets-debussy/): We associate the sound of Debussy with his ‘impressionist’ music of works such as Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune or his piano music. In some of his most important songs, however, we have more of a Germanic influence, i. e. , Wagner.
- [Niels Gade <br/>“A distinctive Nordic Voice”](https://interlude.hk/niels-gade-distinctive-nordic-voice/): Although the public reception of the works of Niels Wilhelm Gade (1817-1890) was left untouched by political and cultural censorship, he never quite achieved the fame of Felix Mendelssohn and Robert Schumann. Nevertheless, Gade is still regarded as one of the most important progenitors of an autonomous Danish music culture,...
- [Unsung Concertos <br/>Paul Hindemith: <em>Klaviermusik mit Orchester</em>, Op. 29](https://interlude.hk/unsung-concertos-paul-hindemith-klaviermusik-mit-orchester-op-29/): The pianist Paul Wittgenstein tragically lost his right arm in World War I. Nevertheless, Wittgenstein decided to continue his pianistic career by commissioning the leading composers of his day to write dedicated piano works for his left hand. Lured by Wittgenstein’s generous financial terms, composers ranging from Maurice Ravel to...
- [Mozartwoche Salzburg 2017 <br/>Vienna Philharmonic: Yannick Nézet-Séguin/Rolando Villazón](https://interlude.hk/mozartwoche-salzburg-2017-vienna-philharmonic-yannick-nezet-seguinrolando-villazon/): 1 February 2017Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Concert Arias for Tenor and Orchestra, KV 420, 431, 36, 21 The vast majority of Mozart’s independent arias is composed for the soprano voice. However, there are a handful of concert arias for the tenor voice that emerged, especially in the operatic domain, as the...
- [Forgotten Pianists: Josef Hofmann](https://interlude.hk/forgotten-pianists-josef-hofmann/): Pianist Josef Hofmann (1876-1957) was born outside Kraków, Poland, to music parents. His father was Kazimierz Hofmann, who was a noted composer, conductor of the Kraków theatre, and professor of piano and harmony at the Warsaw Conservatory; his mother was the singer Matylda Pindelska, who specialized in light opera. Young...
- [Musical Giants of the 20th Century: Double Bass Players](https://interlude.hk/musical-giants-20th-century-double-bass-players/): A conversation about giants could not leave out the double bass and we have three wonderful players to introduce you to, if you have not encountered them before. Born in Russia in 1874 Serge Koussevitzky was primarily known as the music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra from 1924 to...
- [Steady as a Rock <br/>Niels Gade, Sophie Hartmann, and Mathilde Staeger](https://interlude.hk/steady-rock-niels-gade-sophie-hartmann-mathilde-staeger/): As long as anybody could remember, Niels Gade had always been in love with music! He taught himself to play a variety of instruments, and started composing at a super early age. Once his musical education was formalized, he steadfastly devoted the rest of his life to his musical calling....
- [Picabia and Dada: Painting and Music](https://interlude.hk/picabia-dada-painting-music/): « Notre tête est ronde pour permettre à la pensée de changer de direction » (Our head is round to allow thoughts to change direction) – Francis Picabia A current exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York is a retrospective of the works of Francis Picadia and...
- [CHEN, Qigang: Enchantements oubliés / Er Huang / Un temps disparu](https://interlude.hk/chen-qigang-enchantements-oublies-er-huang-un-temps-disparu/): Er Huang From CHEN, Qigang: Enchantements oubliés / Er Huang / Un temps disparu (2016) Released by Naxos Qigang Chen: Er HuangQigang Chen is one of the most prominent Chinese composers working today, whose music has been commissioned and performed by leading orchestras and musicians around the world. Er Huang,...
- [Thoughts from a concert reviewer’s desk](https://interlude.hk/thoughts-concert-reviewers-desk/): There was a time, not so long ago and at least within my living memory, when critics were regarded as significant arbiters of taste and culture who could, seemingly, make or break a career with one well-aimed stroke of their incisive pen. But critics are not gods (and never have...
- [Composers and their Poets: Amy Beach](https://interlude.hk/composers-poets-amy-beach/): American composer Amy Beach (1867-1944) was both a composer and an accomplished pianist with an extensive international career. She wrote about 117 art songs, some of which she also wrote the words. She wrote in a very European idiom and used European composers as her models. Like Beethoven, she set...
- [“The Orchestra is my Instrument” <br/> Georges Prêtre (1924-2017)](https://interlude.hk/orchestra-instrument-georges-pretre-1924-2017/): He was described as a “sound wizard and a musician with an unparalleled intensity. ” And after seven decades of working with top orchestras, high-octane performers and cutting-edge composers, the French conductor Georges Prêtre has died at the age of 92. He gave his conducting debut at the Marseilles Opéra...
- [Niels Gade](https://interlude.hk/niels-gade-composer-of-the-month/): 200th Birthday Celebration In terms of Scandinavian musical superstars, Finland has Sibelius, Norway has Grieg, and Denmark has Carl Nielsen! However, the most important figure in nineteenth century Danish music was the composer, conductor, organist, violinist, teacher, and administrator Niels Gade (1817-1890)! And in 2017, we celebrate the 200th birthday...
- [Hong Kong Chamber Music Festival - Nicholas Canellakis](https://interlude.hk/hong-kong-chamber-music-festival-nicholas-canellakis/): Nicholas Canellakis makes his Hong Kong debut this month, performing Mendelssohn, Schumann, and Brett Dean. Ahead of his first concert, I catch up with him and learn about his childhood, teaching and the interplay of music and acting in his life.
- [Unsung Concertos <br/> Ralph Vaughan Williams: <em>Piano Concerto in C major</em>](https://interlude.hk/unsung-concertos-ralph-vaughan-williams-piano-concerto-c-major/): The reputation of Ralph Vaughan Williams as the most important English composer of his generation squarely rests on his compositions for the operatic stage and the Concert Hall. These theatrical dramas and orchestral essays characteristically reference the landscapes, myths and folklore of an extended English sensibility. Yet, within his extensive...
- [Manuscripts and Technology<br/>An Interview with Nicholas Kitchen of the Borromeo Quartet](https://interlude.hk/manuscripts-technology-interview-nicholas-kitchen-borromeo-quartet/): Founded in 1989 by students at the Curtis Institute for Music, the Borromeo Quartet has grown over the last decades into a quartet of power and assurance. Of interest in the past few years have been their explorations of the Beethoven string quartets, but, by coming at them with a...
- [Another Casualty of War <br/>Alexandrov Ensemble](https://interlude.hk/another-casualty-war-alexandrov-ensemble/): Flying is supposed to be the safest form of transportation; at least that’s what statistics will tell you. In very recent memory, a crash in South America has received lots of media coverage because it carried a first division Brazilian football team, including athletes, officials, journalists and other guests travelling...
- [Forgotten Pianists: Samuil Feinberg](https://interlude.hk/forgotten-pianists-samuil-feinberg/): The pianist Samuil Feinberg (1890-1962) was a contemporary of Heinrich Neuhaus and they both taught at the Moscow Conservatory. He’s now largely remembered for being the first pianist to play the complete Well-Tempered Clavier by J. S. Bach in Russia.
- [Seeing the Inner Person: The Art of Carl Köhler](https://interlude.hk/seeing-inner-person-art-carl-kohler/): Swedish artist Carl Köhler (1919-2006) has left a body of art in the neo-modernist style that was virtually ignored at the time of his death. His son, Henry, has taken up his father’s legacy and over the past decade has succeeded in getting exhibitions of the work across the world....
- [Musical Giants of the 20th Century: Spinto Tenor](https://interlude.hk/musical-giants-20th-century-spinto-tenor/): The spinto is a tenor with a larger, slightly pressed voice (from spingere, Italian for push). While it is distinctly different from a light lyric tenor in a standard Mozart opera (for example a Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni), a spinto can come quite close to a more dramatic tenor....
- [Sinfonia (1968)  <br/>Gustav MAHLER 10 Frühe Lieder (orch. Luciano BERIO)](https://interlude.hk/sinfonia-1968-gustav-mahler-10-fruhe-lieder-orch-luciano-berio/): Aus “Des Knaben Wunderhorn” Um schlimme Kinder artig zu machen From Sinfonia (1968) Gustav MAHLER 10 Frühe Lieder (orch. Luciano BERIO) (2016) Released by Harmonia Mundi Mahler: Aus “Des Knaben Wunderhorn” – Um schlimme Kinder artig zu machen ‘It seems to me that Mahler has the whole history of music...
- [Behind the Curtain <br/>Big Luciano](https://interlude.hk/behind-curtain-big-luciano/): It all started with Hector Berlioz and his Evenings with the Orchestra! A group of bored musicians is stuck in a small town playing overrated operas. With nothing else to do, they tell tales, read stories and exchange gossip about the world of music and musicians. And that’s the idea...
- [Composers and Their Poets: Wolf III](https://interlude.hk/composers-poets-wolf-iii/): In his great spate of lieder writing, the last great collection Hugo Wolf (1860-1903) took on was the Italienisches Liederbuch, translated by Heyse and Geibel, the same translators of the Spanisches Liederbuch. This collection of poetry is translations into German of texts from 11 different Italian sources dating from 1829-1860....
- [Claude Debussy: <em>La Flûte de Pan/ Syrinx</em> <br/>Melodrama and Flute Solo](https://interlude.hk/claude-debussy-la-flute-de-pan-syrinx-melodrama-flute-solo/): Claude Debussy composed very little music for the theatre. Although he conceived a substantial number of theatrical projects with the playwright, novelist, poet and translator Gabriel Mourey, they somehow never fully materialized. The notable exception is the three-act dramatic poem Psyché. In 1913, Debussy was asked to compose incidental music...
- [Unsung Concertos <br/>Francesco Petrini: <em>Harp Concerto No. 1</em>, Op. 25](https://interlude.hk/unsung-concertos-francesco-petrini-harp-concerto-1-op-25/): Before she ingloriously lost her head, Marie-Antoinette reigned over music in France in the Age of Enlightenment for nearly twenty years. She invited and actively supported foreign composers, and simultaneously fostered the great tragédie lyrique of Gluck alongside the opéa comique of Grétry and Monsigny. On a more personal level...
- [Rewiring turns “I Can’t” into “I Can”](https://interlude.hk/rewiring-turns-cant-can/): Whenever we have a thought or physical sensation thousands of neurons are triggered and get together to form a neural network in the brain. “Experience-dependent neuroplasticity” is the scientific term for this activity of continual creation and grouping of neuron connections in our brains which takes place as a result...
- [“The Miracle of Bach and Heinrich” <br/>Heinrich Schiff (1951-2016)](https://interlude.hk/miracle-bach-heinrich-heinrich-schiff-1951-2016/): When the cellist and conductor Heinrich Schiff suffered a devastating stroke in 2008, he was in serious danger of loosing all mobility on his left side. As soon as he got to the hospital he almost instinctively started to go through the fingerings of the Prelude of Bach’s first cello...
- [Forgotten Pianists: Heinrich Neuhaus](https://interlude.hk/forgotten-pianists-heinrich-neuhaus/): The noise of the new so often pushes the old out of our sight that often it’s a good idea to go back and see what we might have missed or forgotten. Today, we’re looking at the influential Heinrich Neuhaus.
- [Holiday Fun: Die Fledermaus](https://interlude.hk/holiday-fun-die-fledermaus/): A New Year’s Eve tradition in the opera world is Johann Strauss II’s operetta Die Fledermaus (The Bat). A year earlier, Eisenstein abandoned his friend Falke in center of town, drunken and dressed as a bat (hence the title), and this year, Falke wants to get his revenge. There’s a...
- [Musical Giants of the 20th Century: Organists](https://interlude.hk/musical-giants-20th-century-organists/): Although we primarily associate the pipe organ with liturgical and/or religious use, the “Queen of Instruments” was originally part of the gladiatorial games in Rome! Parades and subsequent gory events were often accompanied by music, featuring curved horns and organs. Ever since, the incredible variety of tone colors, sound combinations...
- [Alina Pogostkina](https://interlude.hk/alina-pogostkina/): ‘It is a huge privilege and luxury to be able to have this life’ January’s Artist of the Month is Alina Pogostkina, a Russian-born German violinist storming the international stage. 2016 saw her playing with groups including the Philharmonia, Brno Philharmonic, Finnish Radio Symphony, Prague Symphony, and WDR Symphony orchestras,...
- [Jean-Baptiste Krumpholtz:  La Harpe reine](https://interlude.hk/jean-baptiste-krumpholtz-la-harpe-reine/): Jean-Baptiste Krumpholtz III. Rondo – Allegro From Jean-Baptiste Krumpholtz: La Harpe reine (2016) Released by Harmonia Mundi Jean-Baptiste Krumpholtz: Concerto for Harp and Orchestra No. 5 in B-Flat Major, Op. 7 – III. Rondo – AllegroThe Triumph of the Harp! When the young Archduchess of Austria, Marie-Antoinette, arrived at the...
- [Holiday Fun: The Nutcracker](https://interlude.hk/holiday-fun-nutcracker/): From its first notes, Tchaikovsky’s ballet The Nutcracker takes us to someplace warm and magical. Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker, Op. 71: Overture (Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra; Simon Rattle, cond. ) The ballet originates in a story by E. T. A. Hoffmann, The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, where Marie is given a...
- [Happy New Year from Franz Schubert and the Nonsense Society](https://interlude.hk/happy-new-year-franz-schubert-nonsense-society/): In April 1817, a merry little band of artists decided to form a small private club called the “Unsinnsgesellschaft” (Nonsense Society). Based in Vienna, this congenial group of artistic friends published a weekly magazine, the “Archiv des menschlichen Unsinns” (Archive of Human Nonsense). The newspaper is full of allusions to...
- [Composers and Their Poets: Wolf II](https://interlude.hk/composers-poets-wolf-ii/): Wolf took up the poetry of Goethe and in his Goethe-Lieder collection, set 51 poems. They came from a variety of poetic sources, including the influential Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre (1795-96) and the wonderfully named West-östlicher Diwan (1819), as well as a large number of independent poems that didn’t appear in...
- [Holiday Fun: Hansel and Gretel](https://interlude.hk/holiday-fun-hansel-gretel/): The tale of the two children and how they fool the wicked witch who has captured them in her gingerbread house has become a holiday opera. The recasting of the Grimm Brother’s tale into something more family friendly was done by Adelheid Wette, sister of the composer, Engelbert Humperdinck.
- [Unsung Concertos <br/>Dmitri Kabalevsky: <em>Cello Concerto No. 1</em>, Op. 49](https://interlude.hk/unsung-concertos-dmitri-kabalevsky-cello-concerto-1-op-49/): For primarily political reasons, the music of Dmitri Kabalevsky never really enjoyed great popularity in the West. Despite writing in a readily accessible musical style that was primarily rooted in folk music, his name was listed in the infamous 1948 Party Decree authored by Zhdanov. The decree attacked many leading...
- [The New World of the New Composer: An Interview with William Cole](https://interlude.hk/new-world-new-composer-interview-william-cole/): William Cole is a recent graduate of Cambridge and a new student in the Masters in Composition and Conducting at the Royal Academy of Music in London. We spoke with him recently to talk about what a new composer does today.
- [Minors of the Majors <br/> Aram Khachaturian: <em>Othello Suite</em>](https://interlude.hk/minors-majors-aram-khachaturian-othello-suite/): “Minors of the Majors” invites you to discover compositions by the great classical composers that for one reason or another have not reached the musical mainstream. Please enjoy, and keep listening!
- [X'Mas with Felix Mendelssohn](https://interlude.hk/x-mas-felix-mendelssohn/): Everybody in the Mendelssohn Berlin household was interested in arts and humanities. The home served as a center for intellectual socializing, political discussions, but also for making music. Felix’s compositions were routinely performed during the “Sunday Music,” and it soon became the favorite meeting place for musicians and music lovers....
- [X'Mas with Johann Sebastian Bach](https://interlude.hk/xmas-johann-sebastian-bach/): He wrote some of the most beautiful and inspiring Christmas music ever! Yet as a practicing church musician Johann Sebastian Bach had very little time to celebrate the Christmas season. When Bach signed the contract for the post at St. Thomas on 5 May 1723, it included various teaching assignments...
- [The Heath Quartet <br/>Tchaikovsky: String Quartets No. 1 & No. 3](https://interlude.hk/heath-quartet-tchaikovsky-string-quartets-1-3/): String Quartet No. 1 in D major, Op. 11 (1871) II Andante cantabile From The Heath Quartet Tchaikovsky: String Quartets No. 1 & No. 3 (2016) Released by Harmonia Mundi Tchaikovsky: String Quartet No. 1 in D major, Op. 11 (1871) – II Andante cantabileThe Heath Quartet makes its harmonia...
- [X’Mas with Johannes Brahms](https://interlude.hk/xmas-johannes-brahms/): In his later years, Johannes Brahms looked like a veritable Santa Claus! With his flowing full beard and mischievous blue eyes, he’d be the star of any Christmas parade! With Christmas just around the corner, let’s have a look at how Brahms spent this special time of year. Brahms was...
- [Composers and Their Poets: Wolf I](https://interlude.hk/composers-poets-wolf/): If Schumann had his song year of 1840, then Hugo Wolf (1860-1903) had his song year of 1888. He had been a song composer long before this, and, as were most song composers in the years between 1855 and 1880, was very much in the mould of Schumann. He wrote...
- [V is for Virtuoso](https://interlude.hk/v-virtuoso/): Going beyond the notes ... a virtuoso was, originally, a highly accomplished musician, but by the nineteenth century the term had become restricted to performers, both vocal and instrumental, whose technical accomplishments were so pronounced as to dazzle the public. ‘Music in the Western civilization’ by Piero Weiss and Richard...
- [Unsung Concertos <br/>Robert Schumann: <em>Violin Concerto</em>, WoO 23](https://interlude.hk/unsung-concertos-robert-schumann-violin-concerto-woo-23/): One might reasonably assume that anything written by Robert Schumann for the concerto stage would be played the world over. But that simply is not the case, as onstage performances of his Violin Concerto remain a rarity. So, what actually happened to turn this work by a legacy composer into...
- [The <em>Taras Bulba</em> of the Pampas: Ginastera’s <em>Ollantay</em>](https://interlude.hk/taras-bulba-pampas-ginasteras-ollantay/): Alberto Ginastera (1916-1983) was born in Buenos Aires and studied at the conservatory there. One of his best known students is the tango composer Ástor Piazzola, who studied with him in 1941. Ginastera was inspired by the life of Argentina, and many of his works pay homage to the gauchos,...
- [Minors of the Majors <br/>Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov: <em>String Sextet in A Major</em>](https://interlude.hk/minors-majors-nikolai-rimsky-korsakov-string-sextet-major/): “Minors of the Majors” invites you to discover compositions by the great classical composers that for one reason or another have not reached the musical mainstream. Please enjoy, and keep listening!
- [Musical Giants of the 20th Century<br/>Historically Informed Performances](https://interlude.hk/musical-giants-20th-centuryhistorically-informed-performances/): What do you get when you enrich the subjectivity of artistic interpretation with the objectivity of scholarly study? In terms of terminology you get “historically informed performances. ” However, in philosophical terms you get one of the most contentious topics since the invention of processed cheese! I won’t bore you...
- [German Cities or Classical Composers?](https://interlude.hk/german-cities-classical-composers/): Theile The Baltic Sea is sometimes referred to as the “Mediterranean of the North. ” For centuries it has been a vital thoroughfare for trade and travel across ethnic and religious borders. And the cities of Lübeck, Rostock, Danzig, Copenhagen and Stockholm were vibrant centers of musical life. Not sure...
- [Couperin: Leçons de Ténèbres](https://interlude.hk/couperin-lecons-de-tenebres/): Troisième Leçon, à deux voix: I. Jod. Manum suam misit hostis From Couperin: Leçons de Ténèbres (2016) Released by Harmonia Mundi Couperin: Troisième Leçon, à deux voix: I. Jod. Manum suam misit hostisFrançois Couperin (1668-1733) served as harpsichordist to Louis XIV and was famed for reforming elegant chamber music of...
- [Behind the Curtain <br/>Glenn Gould Driving Under the Influence of Mahler](https://interlude.hk/behind-curtain-driving-influence-mahler/): It all started with Hector Berlioz and his Evenings with the Orchestra! A group of bored musicians are stuck in a small town playing overrated operas. With nothing else to do, they tell tales, read stories and exchange gossip about the world of music and musicians. And that’s the idea...
- [Composers and Their Poets: Schumann II](https://interlude.hk/composers-poets-schumann-ii/): After his phenomenal art song year of 1840, Schumann did not abandon lied but was much less focused in his production. In 1849, he produced his Spanisches Liederspiel (Spanish Song Game) This is not a book of song for one voice but also has music for duets and vocal quartets....
- [Moritz Moszkowski: <em>Suite for 2 Violins and Piano</em>, Op. 71](https://interlude.hk/moritz-moszkowski-suite-2-violins-piano-op-71/): Moritz Moszkowski was known the world over as the “Sunshine Composer. ” When he died in April 1925, a prominent musical journal reported, “Moszkowski dead! So painful an announcement has not stricken the entire musical word since the deaths of Chopin, Rubinstein, and Liszt, of whom he was a worthy...
- [Unsung Concertos <br/>Joseph Leopold Eybler: <em>Clarinet Concerto</em> (1798)](https://interlude.hk/unsung-concertos-joseph-leopold-eybler-clarinet-concerto-1798/): The comparatively late addition of the clarinet family to our modern catalogue of musical instruments at the turn of the 18th century immediately spawned countless generations of woodwind virtuosi. And the eccentric and not entirely reliable Anton Stadler quickly rose to superstardom. A Viennese critic wrote after hearing Stadler perform,...
- [Romantic Collaborators of Alberto Ginastera <br/>Mercedes de Toro and Aurora Natola](https://interlude.hk/romantic-collaborators-alberto-ginastera-mercedes-de-toro-aurora-natola/): All great composers have one! And legacy composers have several! I am talking about biographies, offering basic facts about education, work, relationships, and possibly, analysis of the composer’s personality. Any detailed, scholarly or interpretive study of music starts with solid biographical information! While politicians and celebrities regale in penning autobiographies,...
- [Minors of the Majors <br/>Antonín Dvořák: <em>Silhouettes</em>, Op. 8](https://interlude.hk/minors-majors-antonin-dvorak-silhouettes-op-8/): “Minors of the Majors” invites you to discover compositions by the great classical composers that for one reason or another have not reached the musical mainstream. Please enjoy, and keep listening!
- [Music and the Arts: Debussy’s Late Orchestral Works](https://interlude.hk/music-arts-debussys-late-orchestral-works/): “Je veux écrire mon songe musical... . . ” (I want to write my musical dream... . ) In three of my previous articles for Interlude (September 7, 2011, September 6, 2014 and December 13, 2015) I had concentrated on Debussy’s works related to the artistic currents of 19th century...
- [The Snake of Redemption](https://interlude.hk/snake-redemption/): The Mexican composer Silvestre Revueltas (1899-1940) studied at the National Conservatory of Music in Mexico City and completed his musical education with the greatest distinction at the Chicago College of Music. He was known for his conducting and composition skills and he used those to promote modern music in his...
- [Movers and Shakers of Music World<br/>Hallelujah! Orchestrating a Financial Portfolio](https://interlude.hk/movers-shakers-music-worldhallelujah-orchestrating-financial-portfolio/): We all know that George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) was one of the all-time great composers. But did you know that he was also a big-time impresario who took exceedingly high risks and was not afraid to put his own money on the line? More than once in his entrepreneurial adventuring...
- [ZEMLINSKY, A.: 7 Lieder von Nacht und Traum / Chamber Symphony](https://interlude.hk/zemlinsky-a-7-lieder-von-nacht-und-traum-chamber-symphony/): Lieder, Volume 1, Op. 2: No. 6. Um Mitternacht From ZEMLINSKY, A. : 7 Lieder von Nacht und Traum / Chamber Symphony (2016) Released by Ondine Zemlinsky: Lieder, Volume 1, Op. 2: No. 6. Um MitternachtIn 2013 composer Richard Dünser (b. 1959), pupil of Francis Burt and Hans Werner Henze,...
- [Composers and their Poets: Schumann I](https://interlude.hk/composers-poets-schumann/): Robert Schumann as a Song Composer In the generation following Schubert, his new model for lieder writing influences many composers. Robert Schumann (1810-1856) took his models to heart and in doing so, produced some of the best music of the next generation of song composers. Robert Schumann was famous for...
- [Alberto Ginastera](https://interlude.hk/alberto-ginastera-composer-of-the-month/): “The condensed voices of a whole country” In 2016 we celebrate the 100th birthday of Alberto Ginastera (1916-1983), considered one of the most important classical composers of the Americas! Continuously at odds with the repressive military dictatorship of his native Argentina, he successfully blended indigenous music rooted in the Argentinian...
- [Unsung Concertos <br/> Nikolaus Kraft: <em>Cello Concerto</em> No. 1 (1815)](https://interlude.hk/unsung-concertos-nikolaus-kraft-cello-concerto-1-1815/): Antonín Kraft was one of the earliest cello superstars! A close personal friend of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven he became a founding member of the Schuppanzigh Quartet and helped to establish the tradition of modern string quartet playing. Considered one of the greatest cellists of his time, both Haydn’s Cello...
- [Mysteries of the Sustain Pedal](https://interlude.hk/mysteries-sustain-pedal/): “The more I play, the more I am convinced the pedal is the soul of the pianoforte! ” Arthur Rubinstein “... . abusing the pedal is only a means of covering up a lack of technique, and that making a lot of noise is a way to drown the music...
- [Minors of the Majors <br/>Edvard Grieg: <em>25 Norwegian Folk Songs and Dances</em>, Op. 17](https://interlude.hk/minors-majors-edvard-grieg-25-norwegian-folk-songs-dances-op-17/): “Minors of the Majors” invites you to discover compositions by the great classical composers that for one reason or another have not reached the musical mainstream. Please enjoy, and keep listening!
- [Musical Giants of the 20th Century: The Art of Lieder (Female Interpreters)](https://interlude.hk/musical-giants-20th-century-art-lieder-female-interpreters/): When we talk about giants among the female Lieder interpreters of the 20th century, we really must start with the great Polish soprano Marcella Sembrich (1858-1935). Sembrich performed for Liszt, and after studying in Vienna and Milan, secured long-term contracts at Dresden and the Royal Opera House in London. She...
- [The Devil Takes a Wife](https://interlude.hk/devil-takes-wife/): In Ottorino Respighi’s 1923 comic opera Belfagor, the eponymous devil comes to a small village in Italy. This was Respighi’s fifth attempt at opera and we see him still struggling to get the correct coordination between the music and the libretto. His found earlier operas, the student work Re Enzo...
- [Hugo Wolf: Kennst du das Land?](https://interlude.hk/hugo-wolf-kennst-du-das-land/): Die Bekehrte (Goethe) From Hugo Wolf: Kennst du das Land? (2016) Released by Harmonia Mundi Wolf: Die Bekehrte (Goethe)Goethe ... Eichendorff ... Mörike ... These names resound in the ears of all who love German Romantic literature and are familiar with its transposition into the world of the lied. While...
- [A Girl’s Best Friend: Ethel Smyth and Marco](https://interlude.hk/girls-best-friend-ethel-smyth-marco/): Nowadays composer Ethel Smyth is known less as a composer and more as a memoirist. Her multiple autobiographies are colorful windows into the musical life of the late nineteenth century. In 1919 she published Impressions That Remained, a book in which she shared her memories of men like Tchaikovsky and...
- [Composers and their Poets: Beethoven II](https://interlude.hk/composers-poets-beethoven-ii/): Although he set the great poets such as Goethe, Beethoven set one poem by a German writer who was better known for his plays. In music, many of those plays were the basis for great operas: Wilhelm Tell became Rossini’s Guilllaume Tell, Don Carlos became Verdi’s Don Carlo and Don...
- [Sunwook Kim](https://interlude.hk/sunwook-kim-artist-of-the-month/): ‘The Quality of the Moment’ Sat in a Piccadilly coffee shop, I catch Sunwook Kim just before he heads off to Switzerland to play Beethoven’s first piano concerto with the Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana.
- [Unsung Concertos <br/>Sergei Bortkiewicz: <em>Piano Concerto</em> No. 1, Op. 16 (1913)](https://interlude.hk/unsung-concertos-sergei-bortkiewicz-piano-concerto-1-op-16-1913/): Sergei Bortkiewicz (1877-1952) described himself as a romantic and a melodist, and he had an emphatic aversion of what he called modern, atonal and cacophonous music. His musical style builds on the sounds and structures of Chopin, Liszt and the unmistakable influences of Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov and early Scriabin. Born in...
- [Gesture in Piano Playing, Part 2](https://interlude.hk/gesture-piano-playing-part-2/): In my previous article on gesture, I talked about the physical gestures we can employ to influence and enhance the quality of our sound and how we can create certain effects at the piano, such as staccato, a rich cantabile legato, drop slurs, and brightly accented notes and chords through...
- [Minors of the Majors <br/> Johannes Brahms: <em>Deutsche Volkslieder</em>](https://interlude.hk/minors-majors-johannes-brahms-deutsche-volkslieder/): “Minors of the Majors” invites you to discover compositions by the great classical composers that for one reason or another have not reached the musical mainstream. Please enjoy, and keep listening!
- [Mahler beyond the Couch](https://interlude.hk/mahler-beyond-couch/): The 2010 film “Mahler on the Couch” provided a fictional reconstruction—dressed up as a grand historical drama—of the famous therapy session involving Sigmund Freud and Gustav Mahler! We do know that the meeting actually did take place, but how did it all come about? Merely one month after his daughter...
- [Movers and Shakers of Music World <br/>The God among Impresarios: Alessandro Lanari (1787-1852)](https://interlude.hk/movers-shakers-music-world-god-among-impresarios-alessandro-lanari-1787-1852/): Of the three great impresarios of 19th century Italy (Domenico Barbaja, Alessandro Lanari, Bartolomeo Merelli), Lanari stands out as the one who commissioned the most operas that have lasted to this day: Gaetano Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor and L’Elisir d’Amore, Vincenzo Bellini’s Norma and Beatrice di Tenda and Giuseppe Verdi’s...
- [Remembrance](https://interlude.hk/remembrance/): Durufle: Requiem Op. 9 V. Pie Jesu From Remembrance (2016) Released by Harmonia Mundi Durufle: Requiem Op. 9 V. Pie JesuGraham Ross directs the Choir of Clare College, Cambridge in a wide-ranging and moving sequence of music for Remembrance, including John Tavener’s Song for Athene, settings of the text When...
- [Behind the Curtain <br/>Tea for Two, and Two for Tea?](https://interlude.hk/behind-curtain-tea-two-two-tea/): It all started with Hector Berlioz and his Evenings with the Orchestra! A group of bored musicians is stuck in a small town playing overrated operas. With nothing else to do, they tell tales, read stories and exchange gossip about the world of music and musicians. And that’s the idea...
- [Composers and their Poets: Beethoven I](https://interlude.hk/composers-poets-beethoven/): When we think of Beethoven (1770-1827), we think of his orchestral music – great symphonies that brought a century-old genre forward. By the end, it wasn’t enough to have a large orchestra, he also had to have a chorus as part of the symphony as well.
- [Orchestral Music in a New Tuning](https://interlude.hk/orchestral-music-new-tuning/): Norwegian composer Eivind Groven (1901-1977) came from the province of Telemark and his love for the province drove his artistic sensibilities. He was a self-taught composer, was a performer on the willow flute, and was a legendary fiddler. He collected more than a thousand folk-tunes and his own works have...
- [Unsung Concertos <br/>Moritz Moszkowski (1854-1925): <em>Piano Concerto</em> Op. 3](https://interlude.hk/unsung-concertos-moritz-moszkowski-1854-1925-piano-concerto-op-3/): Critical mass is a concept used in nuclear physics, group dynamics, politics, public opinion, medicine, and technology. Differences between disciplines none withstanding, it “identifies the minimum amount (of something) required to start or maintain a venture. ” In business, for example, critical mass is the point at which a growing...
- [Gesture in Piano Playing, Part 1](https://interlude.hk/gesture-piano-playing-part-1/): In the dimmed lights of the concert hall the pianist crouches, cat-like, over the piano. His hands swoop across the keyboard in a blur of movement, he sways maniacally from side to side before throwing back his head and raising his eyes to heaven. At the closing cadence of the...
- [Minors of the Majors <br/>Manuel de Falla: <em>Allegro de Concierto</em>](https://interlude.hk/minors-majors-manuel-de-falla-allegro-de-concierto/): “Minors of the Majors” invites you to discover compositions by the great classical composers that for one reason or another have not reached the musical mainstream. Please enjoy, and keep listening!
- [Figaro at La Scala](https://interlude.hk/figaro-la-scala/): The place : La Scala di Milano The Opera : Le nozze di Figaro Composer: Johannes Chrisostomus Wolfgang Gottlieb (Mozart! ) Script: Lorenzo da Ponte Inaugurated in 1778 La Scala was the heart of musical Milano for the last 200 years. A number of assoluta premiere of Rossini, Verdi, Donizzetti,...
- [Musical Giants of the 20th Century: Opera Voices](https://interlude.hk/musical-giants-20th-century-opera-voices/): Richard Tucker: First of the great American tenors For several generations of patrons of the Metropolitan Opera in New York, one tenor represented the absolute gold standard: Richard Tucker. It helped that he had immigrant Jewish background (he was born 1913 as Rivn Ticker in Brooklyn), working class upbringing, had...
- [The Boston Symphony at Tanglewood from the Manager’s Perspective: Mark Volpe Interview](https://interlude.hk/boston-symphony-tanglewood-managers-perspective-mark-volpe-interview/): In 1936, the Boston Symphony’s first program in the Berkshires took place under an enormous tent, with Maestro Serge Koussevitzky at the helm. Fifteen thousand people heard the venerable ensemble in the gorgeous setting but far from ideal venue. Koussevitzky’s dream of a summer home for the BSO soon would...
- [BRAUNFELS, W.: Grosse Messe](https://interlude.hk/braunfels-w-grosse-messe/): Grosse Messe, Op. 37: 1 Kyrie From BRAUNFELS, W. : Grosse Messe (2016) Released by Capriccio Braunfels: Grosse Messe, Op. 37: 1 KyrieBraunfels’ hand at drama and his careful consideration of the text betrays the opera composer, not only in the Te Deum, but also in the Great Mass which...
- [Muses and Musings <br/>Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: A Rondo for the Baroness Waldstädten](https://interlude.hk/muses-musings-wolfgang-amadeus-mozart-rondo-baroness-waldstadten/): Full of optimism, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart arrived in Vienna in 1781 ready to make his mark on the Viennese musical scene. By sheer coincidence he was introduced to the Baroness Martha Elisabeth von Waldstädten. She was thirty-seven at that time and estranged from her husband who owned a large estate...
- [Composers and Their Poets: Schubert VI](https://interlude.hk/composers-poets-schubert-vi/): Franz Grillparzer, Ignaz Castelli, and Eduard von Bauernfeld were all friends of Schubert and appear in the 1868 ‘Schubertiade’ drawing done by Moritz von Schwind, where they are standing behind the women on the right side of the picture.
- [Are concerts “too long”?](https://interlude.hk/concerts-long/): British pianist Stephen Hough sparked a lively debate recently by suggesting that classical concerts could be “shorter” to attract younger or new audiences, or to allow venues and musicians to offer two concerts in one evening. He also hinted that intervals could be dropped in favour of a performance lasting...
- [The First German Requiem](https://interlude.hk/first-german-requiem/): When Prince Heinrich II, Count of Reuss-Gera, died on 13 December 1635, he knew exactly what would happen at his funeral as he had designed it all himself. The texts, from scripture and from 16th century writers, such as Martin Luther, were chosen by Count Henry with the music commissioned...
- [Manuel de Falla](https://interlude.hk/manuel-de-falla-composer-of-the-month/): Nights in the Gardens of Spain The marriage of Napoleon III to Eugenie de Montijo in 1853 heralded a French artistic fascination with the Iberian peninsular. Some of the best Spanish music of the late 19th century, particularly in the hands of Georges Bizet, Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel, was...
- [Minors of the Majors <br/>Richard Strauss: <em>Macbeth</em>, Op. 23](https://interlude.hk/minors-majors-richard-strauss-macbeth-op-23/): “Minors of the Majors” invites you to discover compositions by the great classical composers that for one reason or another have not reached the musical mainstream. Please enjoy, and keep listening!
- [Exercises in Obsessive Love](https://interlude.hk/exercises-obsessive-love/): When I was a starving music student—how do you like that cliché—I variously performed in venues ranging from medieval churches to lusty palaces filled with debauchery and sin! But no matter where I played, there was one single constant; my almost obsessive love for the music of J. S. Bach....
- [Paul Klee --- Painting and Music](https://interlude.hk/paul-klee-painting-music/): “One day I must be able to improvise freely on the keyboard of colors: the row of watercolors in my paintbox” Paul Klee (1879-1940), son of a German music teacher and a Swiss mother, started studying violin as a child, and as a young adult, played in the Berne municipal...
- [Brahms: Vier ernste Gesänge op.121](https://interlude.hk/brahms-vier-ernste-gesange-op-121/): 9 Lieder und Gesänge Op. 32 IX. Wie bist du, meine Königin Adagio (E-flat major) From Brahms: Vier ernste Gesänge op. 121 (2016) Released by Harmonia Mundi Brahms: 9 Lieder und Gesänge Op. 32 – IX. Wie bist du, meine Königin – Adagio (E-flat major)Brahms wrote a vast number of...
- [Sir Neville Marriner: Reminiscences](https://interlude.hk/sir-neville-marriner-reminiscences/): The world recently lost Sir Neville Marriner, a man who had a worldwide impact on music and musicians. Those of us who were lucky to know him and work with him have been forever enriched.
- [Composers and Their Poets: Schubert V](https://interlude.hk/composers-poets-schubert-v/): One of the most enduring images of Schubert as a musician is an 1868 drawing of one of his musical evenings. The engraving by Moritz von Schwind.
- [“Through discipline comes freedom” (<em>Aristotle</em>)](https://interlude.hk/discipline-comes-freedom-aristotle/): The world of classical music is driven with conventions from the way we dress to the manner in which music is presented in public and when it is acceptable to applaud. Many of these customs developed in the second half of the nineteenth century when concertising became far more formalised....
- [Behind the Curtain <br/>Brawling Chicks](https://interlude.hk/behind-curtain-brawling-chicks/): It all started with Hector Berlioz and his Evenings with the Orchestra! A group of bored musicians is stuck in a small town playing overrated operas. With nothing else to do, they tell tales, read stories and exchange gossip about the world of music and musicians. And that’s the idea...
- [Arthur and the Lady Bliss <br/>Arthur Bliss and Trudy Hoffmann](https://interlude.hk/arthur-lady-bliss-arthur-bliss-trudy-hoffmann/): Although he was born in a suburb of London, Sir Arthur Bliss was half American. His father Francis Edward Bliss, a successful businessman from Massachusetts, had settled in England after marrying his second wife Agnes Kennard Davis. When Agnes died, Francis Bliss eventually remarried and decided to retire in California....
- [Minors of the Majors <br/>Gustav Holst: <em>Ave Maria</em>](https://interlude.hk/minors-majors-gustav-holst-ave-maria/): “Minors of the Majors” invites you to discover compositions by the great classical composers that for one reason or another have not reached the musical mainstream. Please enjoy, and keep listening!
- [Musical Giants of the 20th Century: Choirs](https://interlude.hk/musical-giants-20th-century-choirs/): Our Musical Giants of the 20th Century series have so far looked at some of history’s finest musicians – string players like Heifetz and Hubermann, pianists including Richter and Rubinstein and conductors from Kleiber to Karajan. We now turn our gaze to giants of the century’s choral world. In a...
- [Tango Beyond Piazzolla – III. Osvaldo Pugliese](https://interlude.hk/tango-beyond-piazzolla-ii-osvaldo-pugliese/): Lasting around forty years with the glorious peak in the 1940s, a Golden Age of tango music was born with the rise of the “big four” composers: Juan D’Arienzo, Aníbal Troilo, Carlo di Sarli, and Osvaldo Pugliese. While Juan D’ Arienzo was regarded as “The King of the Beat”, Osvaldo...
- [IRELAND, J.: String Orchestra Music ](https://interlude.hk/ireland-j-string-orchestra-music/): Sarnia: II. In a May Morning From IRELAND, J. : String Orchestra Music (2016) Released by Naxos Ireland: Sarnia: II. In a May MorningJohn Ireland’s music is often a response to landscape and romantic sensitivities. With its significant musical clues, broad, songlike melodies and turbulent finale, the Sonata in G...
- [A Week in The Life at the Tanglewood Music Festival](https://interlude.hk/week-life-tanglewood-music-festival/): The verdant hills of the Berkshires beckon not only for the exceptional scenery but also because of Tanglewood—the eight-week music festival and school, home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra from June through early August. I had the privilege of experiencing a week there this summer.
- [Composers and Their Poets: Schubert IV](https://interlude.hk/composers-poets-schubert-iv/): We’ve looked at Schubert’s song cycles, but that was only a small part of the enormous number of lieder he wrote. There were many other poets he set than just the majors we are so familiar with (Goethe, Schiller, and so on).
- [Mily Balakirev: <em>Islamey</em>, “Oriental fantasy for piano”](https://interlude.hk/milij-balakirev-islamey-oriental-fantasy-piano/): “It’s unplayable,” said the virtuoso pianist and composer Mily Balakirev, “there are passages in this work that I simply can’t manage. ” Alexander Scriabin seriously damaged his right hand frantically practicing this composition, and Maurice Ravel remarked that his goal in writing Gaspard de la nuit was to compose a...
- [Baby Mozart Series <br/>Fiddles and Trumpets](https://interlude.hk/baby-mozart-series-fiddles-trumpets/): Wolfie Mozart loved his little violin and hated trumpets! At least that’s what Andreas Schachtner tells us in a series of letters written to Constanze after the composer’s death.
- [Iskandar Widjaja](https://interlude.hk/iskandar-widjaja-artist-of-the-month/): No instant results – and ‘no shortcuts’ Iskandar Widjaja’s most recent visit to Hong Kong saw him performing Tchaikovsky in a shopping mall to a total of half a million people. This time, it’s a decidedly more intimate – yet incredibly varied – affair, giving a concert in the City...
- [Minors of the Majors <br/>Anton Bruckner: <em>Abendzauber</em> (Evening magic)](https://interlude.hk/minors-majors-anton-bruckner-abendzauber-evening-magic/): “Minors of the Majors” invites you to discover compositions by the great classical composers that for one reason or another have not reached the musical mainstream. Please enjoy, and keep listening!
- [The Pleasure of Making Things <br/>In Touch with Matthew Kaner](https://interlude.hk/pleasure-making-things-touch-matthew-kaner/): Matthew Kaner is one of a handful of young British composers who have passed through that country’s long list of development opportunities and begun to forge a distinctive musical voice. Like many composers of his generation you can hear idiomatic instrumental writing and finely wrought textures, perhaps inherited from composers...
- [An Artist at the Opera: Marc Chagall](https://interlude.hk/artist-opera-marc-chagall/): When we think of Marc Chagall and opera, we think first of the wonderful murals he created for the Metropolitan Opera in New York and the Paris Opera. Born in Russia in 1887, Chagall was largely self-taught due to the restrictions on Jewish education at the end of the 19th...
- [Unforgettable Wedding Performances!](https://interlude.hk/wedding-season-exposure/): A ‘destination’ wedding sounds like a terrific idea for romance and adventure but it can cause snafus for musicians! My friend Diane’s string quartet was booked to play at the historic lodge Stouts on an island in Wisconsin—a gorgeous location. The quartet negotiated their usual fee. Sadly a few essential...
- [GREGSON, Peter: Touch](https://interlude.hk/gregson-peter-touch/): Time From GREGSON, Peter: Touch (2015) Released by Dorian Sono Luminus Gregson: Time“TOUCH follows on from my previous album, Lights in the Sky. It comprises eight tracks for analogue synthesiser, cello, piano, and string orchestra. Where Lights in the Sky was saturated, sonically intense, almost ‘spoilt brat’-ish sound, Touch has...
- [The Lesbian Diva and Swordswoman! <br/>Julie d’Aubigny aka Mademoiselle Maupin](https://interlude.hk/lesbian-diva-swordswoman-julie-daubigny-aka-mademoiselle-maupin/): When Julie d’Aubigny, born around 1673, first started her singing career at the Marseille Opéra, she quickly fell in love with a young woman. As you might well imagine, the girl’s family was not particularly amused and shipped their daughter to a convent in Avignon. Julie, undeterred, followed her lover...
- [Composers and Their Poets: Schubert III](https://interlude.hk/composers-poets-schubert-iii/): We mentioned the collection Schwanengesang in our last Schubert article. The collection was put together posthumously by Schubert’s publisher without regard to Schubert’s usual practice or Schubert’s probable wishes. Schubert never mixed his poets and also had a firm regard for the order in which a poet’s works appeared.
- [Sir Arthur Bliss](https://interlude.hk/sir-arthur-bliss-composer-of-the-month/): Master of the Queen’s Music To commemorate the musical achievements of Sir Arthur Edward Drummond Bliss (1891-1975) a noted musicologist suggested, “Of the smaller stars that shone in the ample firmament of twentieth-century English music, the light that coruscated with the greatest brilliance was Sir Arthur Bliss. ” Born in...
- [From England to France via Spain: Debussy’s Images for Orchestra](https://interlude.hk/england-france-via-spain-debussys-images-orchestra/): After writing two sets of Images for piano, it seems that a third set was called for, but this time Debussy orchestrated it, and in doing so, broadened the timbre of his palate. The first Image, Gigues, originally had the title of Gigues tristes and we still hear that slightly...
- [Life Inside the Gilded Cage](https://interlude.hk/life-inside-gilded-cage/): An attitude still prevails today that classical musicians, and perhaps mostly especially pianists, exist in some kind of gilded cage or ivory tower, where, separated from the humdrum demands of everyday life, they hone their art and craft in glorious seclusion. For those looking in from the outside, the life...
- [Minors of the Majors <br/>Darius Milhaud: <em>Sonatina for clarinet and piano</em>, Op. 100](https://interlude.hk/minors-majors-darius-milhaud-sonatina-clarinet-piano-op-100/): “Minors of the Majors” invites you to discover compositions by the great classical composers that for one reason or another have not reached the musical mainstream. Please enjoy, and keep listening!
- [Musical Giants of the 20th Century: Violists](https://interlude.hk/musical-giants-20th-century-violists/): Sadly the viola has been unjustly maligned. The following five consummate violists have put the viola on the map as a solo instrument, and without them we wouldn’t have the outstanding world-renown players we hear today.
- [The whores—embraces—lust—my innocence saved! <br/>Robert Schumann and Christiane Apitzsch](https://interlude.hk/whores-embraces-lust-innocence-saved-robert-schumann-christiane-apitzsch/): In the summer of 1830, the 20-year-old Robert Schumann abruptly ended his law studies at Heidelberg University and decided to become a musician. His mother arranged a musical apprenticeship with Friedrich Wieck in Leipzig, and the 11-year-old Clara Wieck writes in her diary on 16 October, “Herr Schumann from Zwickau...
- [SIERRA, R.: Sinfonia No. 3, "La Salsa" / Beyond the Silence of Sorrow / Borikén / El Baile](https://interlude.hk/sierra-r-sinfonia-3-la-salsa-beyond-silence-sorrow-boriken-el-baile/): Sinfonia No. 3, “La Salsa”: III. Danzas From SIERRA, R. : Sinfonia No. 3, “La Salsa” / Beyond the Silence of Sorrow / Borikén / El Baile (2016) Released by Naxos Sierra: Sinfonia No. 3, “La Salsa”: III. DanzasThe sonic colour and distinctive rhythms enshrined in these four works provide...
- [The Figaro Line and Cherubino](https://interlude.hk/figaro-line-cherubino/): In Rossini’s The Barber of Seville, we are introduced to the ever-enterprising Figaro. He solves Count Almaviva’s courting problem with Rosina by thwarting her guardian’s marriage intentions. Count Almaviva and Rosina appear again with Figaro in The Marriage of Figaro, set in 1786 by Mozart. These two operas come from...
- [The Poet for the Modern Age](https://interlude.hk/poet-modern-age/): When the Nobel Prize for Literature was given out in 2016, music to everyone’s surprise, it went to a writer who was not only known all over the world but also was given to someone for whom almost everyone probably knew the words. Or, rather, the lyrics, for the Nobel...
- [Composers and their Poets: Schubert II](https://interlude.hk/composers-poets-schubert-ii/): After the simple joys and fatal ending of Die schöne Müllerin, the feeling of Winterreise comes as an interesting change. This time, Schubert set all 24 of the verses written by Wilhelm Müller. The cycle was first published in 1823 by Müller as part of his Gedichte aus den hinterlassenen...
- [Ancient Sounding Timbers <br/>Pianos by Stuart & Sons](https://interlude.hk/ancient-sounding-timbers-pianos-stuart-sons/): If you’ve been reading my column on instrument makers over the years, you certainly must have noticed that I am highly critical of the huge number of mass-produced and bland pianos that are being churned out by established brands every year. It’s really good for business, but it has done...
- [Pianos, old and new](https://interlude.hk/pianos-old-new/): Some years ago I heard two performances of Chopin’s Piano Sonata No. 3 in the same day: the first was on an 1848 Pleyel from the Cobbe Collection at Hatchlands, UK, a piano said to have been used by Chopin when he visited England in 1848. The second was at...
- [Steve Reich & Beryl Korot <br/>A Relationship of Shared Ideas](https://interlude.hk/steve-reich-beryl-korot-relationship-shared-ideas/): Working on tape-based techniques of looping and phasing by using recordings of fragments of speech, Steve Reich created a compositional process involving structures of minimalist art and musical technique. Simultaneously, Beryl Korot was working along very similar lines in the area of video art. As the editor of the journal...
- [Minors of the Majors <br/>Gabriel Fauré: <em>Cantique de Jean Racine</em>, Op. 11](https://interlude.hk/minors-majors-gabriel-faure-cantique-de-jean-racine-op-11/): “Minors of the Majors” invites you to discover compositions by the great classical composers that for one reason or another have not reached the musical mainstream. Please enjoy, and keep listening!
- [Avoiding Conscription <br/>Gaetano Donizetti and Marianna Pezzoli-Grattaroli](https://interlude.hk/avoiding-conscription-gaetano-donizetti-marianna-pezzoli-grattaroli/): In April 1818, the impresario of the Teatro San Luca in Venice accepted Enrico di Borgogna by the young and thoroughly ambitious Gaetano Donizetti. The opera met with little success, but it resulted in a further commission for Donizetti. Una follia was presented a month later, but failed to make...
- [Muses and Musings <br/>Fur Elise, Therese or Gigons?](https://interlude.hk/muses-musings-fur-elise-therese-gigons/): It’s probably one of the most instantly recognized ring tones on your mobile, and piano students are expressly forbidden to play it in piano showrooms! By now you must have guessed that I am talking about Beethoven’s Bagatelle Für Elise. Despite it’s almost universal musical appeal—or contempt depending on whom...
- [Mater Ora Filium <br/>Music for Epiphany](https://interlude.hk/mater-ora-filium-music-epiphany/): Mater ora filium From Mater Ora Filium Music for Epiphany (2016) Released by Harmonia Mundi Mater ora filium“With gold of obedience and incense of lowliness”. Graham Ross directs the Choir of Clare College, Cambridge in music from the sixteenth and twentieth centuries celebrating the feast of Epiphany and the journey...
- [Cutting through the crosses: Yoncheva brings London's Norma to life](https://interlude.hk/cutting-crosses-yoncheva-brings-londons-norma-life/): The Royal Opera House’s new production of Vincenzo Bellini’s Norma was one of the most anticipated performances of the season, principally due to the casting of Anna Netrebko in the title role. When the Russian diva pulled out shortly after Covent Garden announced their season’s line-up, the replacement became a...
- [The Bauhaus: Architecture, Art and Music II](https://interlude.hk/bauhaus-architecture-art-music-ii/): In my September Interlude article I focused on the close relationship between Bauhaus architecture, art and music. It is interesting to note, however, that the Bauhaus’ own teaching program consisted of studies in architecture, art and various crafts, whereas music composition, music theory, instrumental or vocal instruction were never taught...
- [Composers and their Poets: Schubert I](https://interlude.hk/composers-poets-schubert/): A Look at Schubert Vocal Works When we look at Franz Schubert’s song output, it is a truly amazing number. In just a few years, 11 to be exact, Schubert (1797-1828) wrote over 600 songs. The poets he set varied from the greatest poets of his time, or of history,...
- [Princess Edith of England](https://interlude.hk/princess-edith-england/): Ah, you thought you knew all the Princesses of England from Diana on out. Princess Edith comes from a considerably earlier time, being daughter of Edward the Peaceful (943-975) and Wulfthryth, nun at Wilton Abbey, who had been abducted by the King. Edith (or Eadgyth, Editha, or Ediva) was born...
- [Bringing the Orchestra Home](https://interlude.hk/bringing-orchestra-home/): Until recordings became common in the latter part of the 20th century, the only way to hear some of the great works was to attend a performance or to have your own orchestra. For the rest of the music-loving world, however, the music of the great composers was available, but...
- [Finding the links between music and memory: in touch with Roxana Haines](https://interlude.hk/finding-links-music-memory-touch-roxana-haines/): We live in a world with an ageing population. One of today’s most pressing issues is how best support, engage and care for the elderly, particularly those with physical and mental disabilities. And while debate usually revolves around political, social and medical concerns, there is also a growing community of...
- [Let’s celebrate the elite in classical music](https://interlude.hk/lets-celebrate-elite-classical-music/): elite noun a select group that is superior in terms of ability or qualities to the rest of a group or society The word “elite” has been frequently heard during the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Athletes and sportspeople at the top of their game are...
- [Minors of the Majors <br/>Michael Haydn: <em>Symphony No. 11</em> in B-flat major, Perger 9](https://interlude.hk/minors-majors-michael-haydn-symphony-11-b-flat-major-perger-9/): “Minors of the Majors” invites you to discover compositions by the great classical composers that for one reason or another have not reached the musical mainstream. Please enjoy, and keep listening!
- [Sir Neville Marriner (1924-2016) <br/>“I just wish I’d started conducting earlier”](https://interlude.hk/sir-neville-marriner-1924-2016-just-wish-id-started-conducting-earlier/): The soundtrack to the 1984 hit film “Amadeus” sold more than 6. 5 million copies, reached No. 1 on the Billboard classical albums chart and won a Grammy! Recorded by Sir Neville Marriner and his acclaimed chamber orchestra St. Martin in the Fields, it became one of the best-selling classical...
- [Musical Giants of the 20th Century: The Art of Lieder (Male Interpreters)](https://interlude.hk/musical-giants-20th-century-art-lieder-male-interpreters/): The Art Song, also known under the German title “Lied” refers to a musical setting of a poem for solo voice and piano. Significantly, the art of romantic song resides as much in poetry as it does in music. Almost always, composers of the nineteenth century chose preexistent poetry to...
- [Robert Schumann’s Advice to Young Musicians – revisited by Steven Isserlis](https://interlude.hk/robert-schumanns-advice-young-musicians-revisited-steven-isserlis/): Robert Schumann’s Advice to Young Musicians was originally written in 1848 to accompany his famous, and still very popular, Album for the Young, a suite of piano pieces for children and students. Schumann was a remarkable, forward-looking man, not least for his huge and varied oeuvre of miraculous music, but...
- [Movers and Shakers of Music World	<br/>Emanuel Schikaneder (1751-1812): The Original Papageno](https://interlude.hk/movers-shakers-music-worldemanuel-schikaneder-1751-1812-original-papageno/): He has been called “one of the most talented theatre men of his era,” and we primarily know him for writing the libretto of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s opera The Magic Flute. However, Emanuel Schikaneder was also an impresario, dramatist, actor, singer and composer who penned 56 libretti and 45 spoken-language...
- [PAULUS, S.: Three Places of Enlightenment / Veil of Tears / Grand Concerto](https://interlude.hk/paulus-s-three-places-enlightenment-veil-tears-grand-concerto/): To Be Certain of the Dawn: Part II: Remembrance: Interlude: Veil of Tears From PAULUS, S. : Three Places of Enlightenment / Veil of Tears / Grand Concerto (2014) Released by Naxos Paulus: To Be Certain of the Dawn: Part II: Remembrance: Interlude: Veil of TearsDescribing himself as ‘a composer...
- [Patriotism and Nationalism VII: Patriotic Songs but Not National Anthems](https://interlude.hk/patriotism-nationalism-vii-patriotic-songs-national-anthems/): Many countries have songs that are patriotic but that are not their national anthems. Sometimes these are known as the ‘unofficial national anthems’ and sometimes they’re just more familiar.
- [A War Mass](https://interlude.hk/war-mass/): Haydn’s Mass No. 10 has a nickname that’s understandable, the Paukenmesse (Timpani Mass) due to its use of the timpani. It also has a name written by Haydn into the manuscript, ‘Missa in tempore belli,’ i. e. , Mass in Time of War.
- [My Life as a Hero](https://interlude.hk/life-hero/): In 1897, Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904) wrote his last symphonic poem and, in contrast to the preceding four he’d just finished, The Water Goblin, The Noon Witch, The Golden Spinning Wheel, and The Wood Dove, this last work had no story line driving it. The earlier four works had been based...
- [Benjamin Britten: <em>A Midsummer Night’s Dream</em>](https://interlude.hk/benjamin-britten-midsummer-nights-dream/): In August 1959, Jubilee Hall in Aldeburgh was undergoing a complete refurbishment, and to celebrate its reopening a year later, a new opera was definitely required. Since Benjamin Britten already was the artistic director of the Festival at that time, he decided to take on the task and compose a...
- [Minors of the Majors <br/>George Gershwin: <em>Three Preludes</em>](https://interlude.hk/minors-majors-george-gershwin-three-preludes/): “Minors of the Majors” invites you to discover compositions by the great classical composers that for one reason or another have not reached the musical mainstream. Please enjoy, and keep listening!
- [Connecting with Proust:  A Conversation with Steven Isserlis](https://interlude.hk/connecting-proust-conversation-steven-isserlis/): Cellist Steven Isserlis will be in Hong Kong in October as part of his Asian tour through South Korea, China, and Japan. The entire Asian tour has been entitled ‘Proust and Music’ and in a recent conversation with the cellist, asked him more about this.
- [An Artist at the Opera: Ivan Bilibin](https://interlude.hk/artist-opera-ivan-bilibin/): The Russian illustrator Ivan Yakovlevich Bilibin took his love for Russian folklore into his designs for the stage, creating clear, finely edged sets. His first illustrations were commissioned by the Russian government for a series of Russian folk story books. His illustrations of Russian folk tales include many stories that...
- [Muses and Musings <br/>Therese or Heinrich? Franz Schubert and the Grob Children](https://interlude.hk/muses-musings-therese-heinrich-franz-schubert-grob-children/): Nothing stokes the fire of adolescence and the enormous physical and psychological changes that occur during the teenage years quite like the teenage girl and/or boy next door. Franz Schubert spent his formative years in Lichtental, the ninth district in Vienna, and the girl next door was Therese Grob. She...
- [Joseph Moog](https://interlude.hk/joseph-moog-artist-of-the-month/): On taking risks and the piano’s limits Performing the ‘Mount Everest of piano pieces’ (Brahms’ mighty Second Piano Concerto) in Hong Kong this October, Joseph Moog talks with me about lesser-known composers, and how far the piano repertoire can be pushed.
- [ITURRALDE, P.: Saxophone and Piano Music](https://interlude.hk/iturralde-p-saxophone-piano-music/): Hungarian Dance From ITURRALDE, P. : Saxophone and Piano Music (2016) Released by Naxos Iturralde: Hungarian DancePedro Iturralde is one of the most admired Spanish composer-performers of the last half-century. An important innovator in the fusion of jazz and flamenco styles, he has also enriched his music with folk and...
- [Patriotism and Nationalism VI: South Africa and Belgium](https://interlude.hk/patriotism-nationalism-vi-south-africa-belgium/): For many countries, their National Anthems are symbols of their place in the world. They may reflect many different aspects of a country, sometimes listing nature’s bountiful beauties, sometimes giving an encapsulated history of a country, or reflecting a particularly important time in the country’s history. Many also make religious...
- [Steve Reich](https://interlude.hk/steve-reich-composer-of-the-month/): “All great music is contemporary” On 18 January 1973, Michael Tilson Thomas introduced Four Organs, scored for four Hammond organs and maracas by aspiring composer Steve Reich to New York audiences. Scheduled alongside music by Mozart, Bartók and Liszt, audience reaction was swift and decisive. According to one critic, “there...
- [Love Songs for Claire](https://interlude.hk/love-songs-claire/): In the summer of 1936, the French composer Oliver Messiaen (1908-1992) was on holiday on the shores of Lac de Laffrey. He had a summer home here and it would be the place where he wrote the majority of his works, far from the noise of Paris.
- [Is My Team Ploughing?](https://interlude.hk/team-ploughing/): The English poet A. E. Housman (1859-1936) is best known for his collection of poems about the countryside: A Shropshire Lad (1896). Houseman’s poems sold slowly at first but after the Second Boer War (1899-1902), its poems about life in the countryside and its young men’s early deaths struck a...
- [Minors of the Majors <br/>Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns: <em>Cello Concerto</em> No. 2 in D minor, Op. 119](https://interlude.hk/minors-majors-charles-camille-saint-saens-cello-concerto-2-d-minor-op-119/): “Minors of the Majors” invites you to discover compositions by the great classical composers that for one reason or another have not reached the musical mainstream. Please enjoy, and keep listening!
- [Musical Giants of the 20th Century: Clarinettists](https://interlude.hk/musical-giants-20th-century-clarinettists/): It is not an enviable job to create a list of great players of an instrument that is so versatile, one that has changed so much even in the last 100 years. These Musical Giants of the clarinet have been chosen for their legacies, their impact and reputation, and, of...
- [Misplaced Musicians Part 2 – When an Opera Pit Musician Plays Onstage](https://interlude.hk/misplaced-musicians-part-2-opera-pit-musician-plays-onstage/): Opera and ballet pit musicians are accustomed to being heard and not seen. They are nestled in the sometimes cramped space in front of and below the stage and produce the glorious sounds, which waft upwards and accompany the drama. Some of the musicians prefer to be anonymous. Imagine when...
- [HILL, Alfred: String Quartets, Vol. 6 - Nos. 15-17](https://interlude.hk/hill-alfred-string-quartets-vol-6-nos-15-17/): String Quartet No. 17 in C Major I. Adagio – Allegro From HILL, Alfred: String Quartets, Vol. 6 – Nos. 15-17 (2015) Released by Naxos Alfred Hill: String Quartet No. 17 in C Major – I. Adagio – AllegroAlfred Hill was the leading Australian-born composer of the Late Romantic era....
- [Poetry in Music: Debussy’s Suite Bergamasque](https://interlude.hk/poetry-music-debussys-suite-bergamasque/): The Essential Debussy’s Piano Music As a composer in the late 19th century, Claude Debussy (1862-1918) worked on the cusp of the new directions taking place around him in France: salon music mixed with the new art styles of impressionism brought forth from him piano music that paints pictures. Not...
- [Patriotism and Nationalism V: Australia and Ireland](https://interlude.hk/patriotism-nationalism-v-australia-ireland/): For many countries, their National Anthems are symbols of their place in the world. They may reflect many different aspects of a country, sometimes listing nature’s bountiful beauties, sometimes giving an encapsulated history of a country, or reflecting a particularly important time in the country’s history. Many also make religious...
- [Carmen Goes to the Ballet](https://interlude.hk/carmen-goes-ballet/): In many ways, Bizet’s Carmen can be regarded as a perfect little opera. It’s a drama in a very economical package and with a perfectly balanced orchestra / vocal distribution. The orchestra has its own role but never fights the voices it’s supporting. In 1967, it was updated as a...
- [Attachment: pianists and their pianos](https://interlude.hk/attachment-pianists-pianos/): “Your wonderful Bechstein has afforded me great joy. ” Sviatoslav Richter Pianists have a curious relationship with pianos: unlike other musicians, who take their own instrument with them wherever they play, the pianist is expected to arrive at the venue and accept the instrument provided. In international venues such as...
- [The Concerto That’s Not Concerto-like](https://interlude.hk/concerto-thats-concerto-like/): Frederick Delius (1862-1934) was a rare English composer with an international outlook. Born in Bradford, England, to a family who had emigrated there from Germany, he spent 2 years in Florida in his early 20s, and shortly thereafter began composing. He studied composition formally in Germany and then settled in...
- [Minors of the Majors <br/>Max Bruch: <em>Concerto for Clarinet and Viola</em> in E minor, Op. 88](https://interlude.hk/minors-majors-max-bruch-concerto-clarinet-viola-e-minor-op-88/): “Minors of the Majors” invites you to discover compositions by the great classical composers that for one reason or another have not reached the musical mainstream. Please enjoy, and keep listening!
- ["If music be the food of love, play on." <br/>Shakespeare and Music X – Richard III](https://interlude.hk/music-food-love-play-shakespeare-music-x-richard-iii/): In 2012, against all odds, archeologists found the 500-year-old skeletal remains of Richard III buried under a parking lot. The controversy resurfaced surrounding Richard, the last medieval monarch of English history, the last king of the House of York and the Plantagenet dynasty. The skeleton was indeed severely deformed by...
- [Muse and Musings <br/>Inspired by the marvelous horse face!](https://interlude.hk/muse-musings-inspired-marvelous-horse-face/): Frequently, inspiration does not come from far-flung places or idealized personalities. It is naturally found within an extended social environment or even within one’s own family! During their childhood years, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and his sister Maria Anna Walburga Ignatia had a very close relationship! They traveled together, and billed...
- [WEN, Deqing: Shanghai Prelude / The Fantasia of Peony Pavilion / Variation of a Rose](https://interlude.hk/wen-deqing-shanghai-prelude-fantasia-peony-pavilion-variation-rose/): Shanghai Prelude From WEN, Deqing: Shanghai Prelude / The Fantasia of Peony Pavilion / Variation of a Rose (2016) Released by Naxos Deqing Wen: Shanghai PreludeDeeply influenced by Chinese traditional arts and philosophy, Deqing Wen composes in a style that is vivid, emotive and accessible. In the Cello Concerto Shanghai...
- [Critical Ear with Sharpened Pen <br/>Music Critics—Their Past and Future: An interview with Arthur Kaptainis](https://interlude.hk/critical-ear-sharpened-pen-music-critics-past-future-interview-arthur-kaptainis/): Growing up in Canada Arthur Kaptainis was held in awe in the music world. He has been the music critic of The Montreal Gazette since 1986 and served on the Gazette editorial board from 1991 to 1999 and 2003 to 2006, writing on local, national and international affairs. His arts...
- [Patriotism and Nationalism IV: Russia and China](https://interlude.hk/patriotism-nationalism-iv-russia-china/): For many countries, their National Anthems are symbols of their place in the world. They may reflect many different aspects of a country, sometimes listing nature’s bountiful beauties, sometimes giving an encapsulated history of a country, or reflecting a particularly important time in the country’s history. Many also make religious...
- [Playing the Beethoven Piano Sonatas](https://interlude.hk/playing-beethoven-piano-sonatas/): Frequently referred to as the ‘New Testament’ of piano music (Bach’s ‘Well-Tempered Clavier’ being the ‘Old Testament’), Beethoven’s 32 Piano Sonatas rank amongst the high Himalayan peaks of the pianist’s repertoire. The primary appeal of these pieces, aside from the sheer Herculean effort of learning and absorbing them, is that...
- [The Blind Virtuoso of the Renaissance <br/>Antonio de Cabezón (1510-1566)](https://interlude.hk/blind-virtuoso-renaissance-antonio-de-cabezon-1510-1566/): A serious infection robbed Antonio de Cabezón (1510-1566) of his eyesight at a very early age. Blindness, however, could not prevent him from becoming a master of keyboard performance during the Spanish Renaissance. In addition, Cabezón was a pivotal transitional composer who freed instrumental music from its vocal predecessors. Vocal...
- [Phoenix Carbiano Rising from the Ashes](https://interlude.hk/phoenix-carbiano-rising-ashes/): An airliner of the 21st century has relatively little in common with the pioneering efforts of the Wright brothers on a North Carolina beach. Although the basic principles of flight have not changed over the last century, the practical applications and implementations certainly have! And while we all accept—if not...
- [Minors of the Majors <br/>Dimitri Shostakovich: <em>Suite for Variety Orchestra</em>](https://interlude.hk/minors-majors-dimitri-shostakovich-suite-variety-orchestra/): “Minors of the Majors” invites you to discover compositions by the great classical composers that for one reason or another have not reached the musical mainstream. Please enjoy, and keep listening!
- [The Bauhaus: Architecture, Art and Music I](https://interlude.hk/bauhaus-architecture-art-music/): The recent article in the New York Times (August 10, 2016) titled “On the Bauhaus Trail in Germany” by Charly Wilder reminded me of the importance of the Bauhaus, and of my own travels to the region in which the movement had significant impact – Weimar, Dessau and Berlin. The...
- [Musical Giants of the 20th Century: Cellists](https://interlude.hk/musical-giants-20th-century-cellists/): As with the great violinists, it is difficult to choose just ten great cellists. But as a cellist myself here are my heroes. Pablo Casals, born on December 29, 1876 in the Catalonian region of Spain, can be credited with emancipating the cello. His revolutionary bowing technique enabled cellists to...
- [Vivaldi and Bach <br/>All musical thoughts are cumulative](https://interlude.hk/vivaldi-bach-musical-thought-cumulative/): Vivaldi and Bach never met! While the Italian master led the life of an international jetsetter, racing from one lucrative appointment to the next, Bach never strayed far away from home. Although Vivaldi came in contact with a variety of national musical styles, his music was little affected by his...
- [HERBERT, V.: Cello Concertos Nos. 1 and 2 / Irish Rhapsody](https://interlude.hk/herbert-cello-concertos-irish-rhapsody/): Cello Concerto No. 2 in E Minor, Op. 30 II. Lento – Andante tranquillo From HERBERT, V. : Cello Concertos Nos. 1 and 2 / Irish Rhapsody (2016) Released by Naxos Herbert: Cello Concerto No. 2 in E Minor, Op. 30 – II. Lento – Andante tranquillo Irish-born Victor Herbert...
- [Patriotism and Nationalism III: Italy and Spain](https://interlude.hk/patriotism-nationalism-iii-italy-spain/): For many countries, their National Anthems are symbols of their place in the world. They may reflect many different aspects of a country, sometimes listing nature’s bountiful beauties, sometimes giving an encapsulated history of a country, or reflecting a particularly important time in the country’s history. Many also make religious...
- [Morton Feldman (1926-1987) <br/>Music is built on primitive memory structures](https://interlude.hk/morton-feldman-1926-1987-music-built-primitive-memory-structures/): Morton Feldman had strong opinions on everything, and he certainly wasn’t shy of voicing them. “Because I’m Jewish,” he wrote, “I do not identify with Western civilization music. Polyphony sucks! Our moral in music is nineteenth-century German music, but I want to be the first great composer that is Jewish....
- [Pesaro 2016 - Living for and living off Rossini](https://interlude.hk/pesaro-2016-living-living-rossini/): It’s hard to justify the arduous trip to Pesaro. The unremarkable town on Italy’s Adriatic coast has poor train connections, it’s a dull two hour car ride from Bologna, and the nearest airport is Ancona Falconara, a run-down and inefficient terminal boasting Ryanair as the main international carrier. The situation...
- [Accentuate the Positive: Music and Neuro-Linguistic Programming](https://interlude.hk/accentuate-positive-music-neuro-linguistic-programming/): Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) was created in California in the 1970s by Richard Bandler and John Grinder. The name makes a connection between the neurological processes (“neuro”), language (“linguistic”), and behavioural patterns learned through experience (“programming”) which can be altered or harnessed to achieve specific goals in life. Popularly known as...
- [Minors of the Majors <br/>Johannes Brahms: <em>Piano Trio in A Major</em>, Op. posth.](https://interlude.hk/minors-majors-johannes-brahms-piano-trio-major-op-posth/): “Minors of the Majors” invites you to discover compositions by the great classical composers that for one reason or another have not reached the musical mainstream. Please enjoy, and keep listening!
- [Pytor Ilyich Tchaikovsky: <em>Symphony No. 5</em> in E minor, Op. 64](https://interlude.hk/pytor-ilyich-tchaikovsky-symphony-5-e-minor-op-64/): In 1876, Nadezhda von Meck—widow of a fabulously wealthy railroad proprietor—first encountered the music of Pyotr Illyich Tchaikovsky. This initial musical encounter quickly developed into a relationship of musical patronage that would last the better part of 14 years. Von Meck supplied the composer with a steady and substantial yearly...
- [Misplaced Musicians Part 1- When Orchestral Musicians play OFFstage](https://interlude.hk/misplaced-musicians-part-1-orchestral-musicians-play-offstage/): Orchestral musicians groom themselves to be heard and seen but sometimes composers ask musicians to perform from offstage. These composers want the effect of distance or an antiphonal effect in the music. Occasionally the backstage music might come from a lonely trumpet, sometimes an entire group, which then needs its...
- [Muses and Musings <br/>Sing me to sleep, Honey!<br/> Johannes Brahms and Bertha Porubsky](https://interlude.hk/muses-musings-sing-sleep-honey-johannes-brahms-bertha-porubsky/): Between 1859 and 1862, Johannes Brahms eagerly participated in the musical and social life of his native city of Hamburg. Clearly, he was looking to establish the foundations for what he hoped would be a lifelong career in his hometown. Thanks to the efforts of colleagues and friends, his music...
- [When I Went Down to the Shrovetide Fair](https://interlude.hk/went-shrovetide-fair/): Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971) wrote his ballet Petrushka as a classic love triangle, but told through the story of three puppets. Petrushka loves the Ballerina, the Ballerina loves the Moor, and the Moor hates Petrushka. The work uses the traditions of Russian puppet theatre but for a ballet.
- [WEINER, L.: Csongor és Tünde / Ballata ](https://interlude.hk/weiner-l-csongor-es-tunde-ballata-2/): Ballata, Op. 28 (version for viola and orchestra) From WEINER, L. : Csongor és Tünde / Ballata (2016) Released by Naxos Weiner: Ballata, Op. 28 (version for viola and orchestra) For over half a century at the Liszt Academy in Budapest, Leo Weiner taught successive generations of Hungary’s leading musicians,...
- [Patriotism and Nationalism II: US and Germany](https://interlude.hk/patriotism-nationalism-ii-us-germany/): For many countries, their National Anthems are symbols of their place in the world. They may reflect many different aspects of a country, sometimes listing nature’s bountiful beauties, sometimes giving an encapsulated history of a country, or reflecting a particularly important time in the country’s history. Many also make religious...
- [Daniel Müller-Schott](https://interlude.hk/daniel-muller-schott-artist-of-the-month/): ‘energy, acceptance, openness’ Having won the Tchaikovsky Competition for Young Musicians at age 15, and been the personal protégé of Rostropovich on recommendation of Anne-Sophie Mutter, one not need question Daniel Müller-Schott’s credentials. One of the most celebrated cellists around, he plays regularly with many of the major orchestras all...
- [Sofia Gubaidulina](https://interlude.hk/sofia-gubaidulina-composer-of-the-month/): An Uncompromising Vision Sofia Asgatovna Gubaidulina, born on 24 October 1931 in Tschistopol, a small town on the Volga in the Tartar Republic of the USSR, has never been in doubt about her personal and musical identity and convictions. “I am a religious Russian Orthodox person,” she writes, “and I...
- [The Best Classical Music To Listen To While Studying](https://interlude.hk/best-classical-music-listen-studying/): Whether you’re a newbie or a lifelong connoisseur, all classical music fans agree: some pieces work better as background music than others... especially when we’re studying! A Mahler symphony is powerful in the concert hall, but in the study hall, its grandiosity and mood changes might prove distracting. So that...
- [Building a Sound: An Interview with the Takács Quartet](https://interlude.hk/building-sound-interview-takacs-quartet/): Ahead of their appearance in Hong Kong, we caught up with the Takács Quartet and asked them a few questions about their long career and what they saw for the future. Takács Quartet is Edward Dusinberre, first violin; Károly Schranz, second violin; Geraldine Walther, viola; and András Fejér, cello. The...
- [Antonín Dvořák: <em>Concerto for Violoncello and Orchestra</em> in B minor, Op. 104, B. 191](https://interlude.hk/antonin-dvorak-concerto-violoncello-orchestra-b-minor-op-104-b-191/): With his Cello Concerto in B minor, Op. 104, Antonín Dvořák created one of the all-time greatest works in the genre. Yet curiously, Dvořák had written in 1865, “The cello is a beautiful instrument, but its place is in the orchestra and in chamber music. As a solo instrument it...
- [Minors of the Majors <br/>Frédéric Chopin: <em>Grand Duo Concertant</em>](https://interlude.hk/minors-majors-frederic-chopin-grand-duo-concertant/): “Minors of the Majors” invites you to discover compositions by the great classical composers that for one reason or another have not reached the musical mainstream. Please enjoy, and keep listening! Chopin arrived in Paris in the middle of September 1831, and quickly struck up a close friendship with the...
- [An Artist at the Opera: Maurice Sendak](https://interlude.hk/artist-opera-maurice-sendak/): We remember him for Little Max and the Wild Things, but artist and author Maurice Sendak (1928-2012) has shown us more than just Where the Wild Things Are. His stage works include both opera and ballet sets.
- [Musical Giants of the 20th Century: Violinists](https://interlude.hk/musical-giants-20th-century-violinists/): During the last century we have been blessed with many exceptional violinists. Ten violinists, musical giants of the 20th Century, truly changed the world of music. Bronislaw Huberman Legendary violinist Bronislaw Huberman was born in Poland in 1882. His extraordinary talent led to European tours as a prodigy and later...
- [GUAN, Xia: Symphony No. 2, "Hope" / Gazing at the Stars / Sorrowful Dawn ](https://interlude.hk/guan-xia-symphony-2-hope-gazing-stars-sorrowful-dawn/): Earth Requiem: I. Gazing at the Stars: Meditation (version for orchestra) From GUAN, Xia: Symphony No. 2, “Hope” / Gazing at the Stars / Sorrowful Dawn (2016) Released by Naxos Guan: Earth Requiem: I. Gazing at the Stars: Meditation (version for orchestra) The music of renowned Chinese composer Xia Guan...
- [Ravel’s Feline Family](https://interlude.hk/ravels-feline-family/): In 1921, Maurice Ravel moved to a tiny villa outside of Paris, close to both culture and countryside. He named his cramped cottage “Belvedere. ” It was his first house, and his dream house, and the last he ever had. Inside Belvedere, tiny rooms opened onto a long narrow corridor....
- [Patriotism and Nationalism I: France and the UK](https://interlude.hk/patriotism-nationalism-france-uk/): For many countries, their National Anthems are symbols of their place in the world. They may reflect many different aspects of a country, sometimes listing nature’s bountiful beauties, sometimes giving an encapsulated history of a country, or reflecting a particularly important time in the country’s history. Many also make religious...
- [The Many Mountain Kings <br/>Grieg's <em>Peer Gynt</em>](https://interlude.hk/many-mountain-kings/): In Act II of Edvard Grieg’s music of the play Peer Gynt, our eponymous hero enters the hall of the mountain king. As the scene’s introduction describes: “There is a great crowd of troll courtiers, gnomes and goblins. The Troll King sits on his throne, with crown and sceptre, surrounded...
- [Mannes School of Music](https://interlude.hk/mannes-school-music/): Part of the New School University, the Mannes School of Music resides in New York City, attracting students from all over the globe who dive headfirst into Manhattan and form part of one of the world’s most bustling cultural hubs.
- [Serenity, Melancholy, and Tragic Intensity: <br/>Mozart’s Rondo in A minor K511](https://interlude.hk/serenity-melancholy-tragic-intensity-mozarts-rondo-minor-k511/): I first heard this work live about ten years ago, at a concert given in London by the American pianist and noted Mozart scholar Robert Levin. Played on a fortepiano, whose relatively modest voice spoke so elegantly, from the opening measures I was completely entranced. It’s a piece that keeps...
- [Minors of the Majors <br/>Franz Peter Schubert: <em>Mass No. 1</em> in F Major, D.105](https://interlude.hk/minors-majors-franz-peter-schubert-mass-1-f-major-d-105/): “Minors of the Majors” invites you to discover compositions by the great classical composers that for one reason or another have not reached the musical mainstream. Please enjoy, and keep listening!
- ["If music be the food of love, play on." Shakespeare and Music IX – King Lear](https://interlude.hk/music-food-love-play-shakespeare-music-ix-king-lear/): You may be surprised how many quotes come from the 1606 play King Lear, perhaps William Shakespeare’s greatest of tragedies—a work, which continues to electrify and has stirred composers Debussy, Shostakovich, and Berlioz as well as some popular music. The play resonates with astute perspectives on the human condition—justice, the...
- [Movers and Shakers of Music World <br/>Paul Sacher: Plutocrat and Patron](https://interlude.hk/movers-shakers-music-world-paul-sacher-plutocrat-patron/): Without the extraordinary generosity of legendary conductor, patron, and impresario Paul Sacher, a myriad of masterworks by twentieth-century composers would simply not exist. An artist of unusual stature and one of the world’s richest men—he married the heiress of the pharmaceutical giant Hoffmann-La Roche—Sacher studied under Felix Weingartner and eventually...
- [ RUTTER, J.: Psalmfest / This is the Day / Lord, Thou hast been our refuge / Psalm 150](https://interlude.hk/rutter-j-psalmfest-day-lord-thou-hast-refuge-psalm-150/): Bible: Old Testament Psalmfest: II. I will lift up mine eyes (Psalm 121) From RUTTER, J. : Psalmfest / This is the Day / Lord, Thou hast been our refuge / Psalm 150 (2016) Released by Naxos Rutter: Bible: Old Testament – Psalmfest: II. I will lift up mine eyes...
- [Should certain repertoire be “off limits” to amateur pianists?](https://interlude.hk/certain-repertoire-limits-amateur-pianists/): Occasionally I come across the suggestion from other professional musicians and even some teachers that certain repertoire is the exclusive preserve of the professionals and should be left well alone by “amateurs”. This includes the final piano sonatas of Beethoven and Schubert, the Goldberg Variations, Chopin’s Piano Sonatas, Balakirev’s ‘Islamey’,...
- [Nobody Does It Better: An Interview with Graham Ross](https://interlude.hk/nobody-better-interview-graham-ross/): Although the title of this piece seems to reflect an overarching ego, viz James Bond, it’s meant more of a statement about the Choir of Clare College, Cambridge. Interlude spoke with the CCC’s Director of Music, Graham Ross, in a few minutes during his very busy summer touring schedule.
- [Music á la “Mode” <br/>Mixolydian Delight](https://interlude.hk/music-la-mode-mixolydian-delight/): The Mixolydian mode is somewhat of a paradox! Ancient tradition used it for lamentations, while modern authors ascribed erotic and joyous qualities to it. And to make it even more confusing, Plato entirely shunned the Mixolydian mode because he claimed it promoted sloth and drunkenness! In fact, he wrote, “we...
- [From Children’s Tales to Scenes from Childhood <br/>Robert Schumann: Kinderszenen](https://interlude.hk/childrens-tales-scenes-childhood/): Written about children, but not written for children, the collection of short piano pieces entitled Kinderszenen (Scenes from Childhood) by Robert Schumann was a gift to Clara Wieck in 1838, two years before they were finally married. The final 13 pieces were chosen from a set of 30 pieces, the...
- [Johann Sebastian Bach: <em>Laß Fürstin, laß noch einen Strahl</em>, BWV 198 (Ode of Mourning)](https://interlude.hk/johann-sebastian-bach-las-furstin-las-noch-einen-strahl-bwv-198-ode-mourning/): Christiane Eberhardine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth, Electress of Saxony and titular Queen of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, was a bit of a religious celebrity. For years she resisted the pressure of the court to embrace the Roman Catholic faith, which her husband had adopted in 1697. In order to become king of Poland,...
- [The Perfect Music for a Summer Night](https://interlude.hk/perfect-music-summer-night/): Beginning with a hushed sound, Nights in the Gardens of Spain by Manuel de Falla (1876 – 1946), immediately takes us into a hot, quiet garden in an exotic location. Originally designed as a set of nocturnes for solo piano, the work developed into a work in three movements for...
- [Minors of the Majors <br/>Robert Schumann: <br/><em>Introduction and Concert Allegro</em>, Op. 134](https://interlude.hk/minors-majors-robert-schumann-introduction-concert-allegro-op-134/): “Minors of the Majors” invites you to discover compositions by the great classical composers that for one reason or another have not reached the musical mainstream. Please enjoy, and keep listening!
- [Musical Giants of the 20th Century: Orchestra Conductors](https://interlude.hk/musical-giants-20th-century-orchestra-conductors/): They are among the most admired and revered, yet simultaneously most feared figures in classical music. And yes, you guessed correctly, I am talking about orchestra conductors! When we think of all the hugely talented and revolutionary conductors of the 20th century, it’s almost impossible to come up with an...
- [Misia Sert – Muse and Patron to Poets, Painters and Musicians III](https://interlude.hk/misia-sert-muse-patron-poets-painters-musicians-iii/): Misia Sert’s friendship and support for Diaghilev and Stravinsky continued unabated, and her financial support for both artists, particularly during the years of the Russian Revolution, saved both from financial ruin. Her role in Diaghilev’s production of the ballet Parade was instrumental. Already in 1914, she had arranged for Erik...
- [KAPUSTIN, N.: Cello Works](https://interlude.hk/kapustin-n-cello-works/): Cello Concerto No. 2, Op. 103 II. Lento From KAPUSTIN, N. : Cello Works (2016) Released by SWR Klassik Kapustin: Cello Concerto No. 2, Op. 103 – II. LentoIf one wanted to describe the essence of this recording of Nikolai Kapustin’s works for cello, the first words to spring to...
- [An Artist at the Opera: David Roberts](https://interlude.hk/artist-opera-david-roberts/): It’s often said of artists that they need a solid job they can go back to once that artist thing doesn’t work out. For painter and scenic designer David Roberts (1796-1864), that solid job he could go back to was, in fact, painting, but house-painting, not fine art painting.
- [The stymied adoption <br/>Alexander Grechaninov and Maria Grigorievna Sredin](https://interlude.hk/stymied-adoption-alexander-grechaninov-maria-grigorievna-sredin/): Simultaneously completing his compositional requirements at the St. Petersburg Conservatory and working as a freelance music teacher, Alexander Grechaninov and Vera Ivanovna Röhrberg had trouble making ends meet. Luckily, Vera received a small monthly allowance from her father so that the young couple was able to rent a small country...
- [Lawsuit to Heaven](https://interlude.hk/lawsuit-heaven/): And once again, two huge copyright lawsuits have jolted the world of popular music over the last couple of weeks. In one case, Ed Sheeran is being sued for 20 million dollars over his single “Photograph. ” It is claimed that the track has a similar structure to the song...
- [Jap Vaughan Zoolander](https://interlude.hk/jap-vaughan-zoolander/): For the majority of people in the known Universe, the name Aaron Gordon is not necessarily a household name. Yet, he makes roughly 4. 5 million US dollars a year chasing after an orange ball in the National Basketball association. No disrespect to Mr. Gordon, but in the NBA salary...
- [A Matter of Faith <br/>Alexander Grechaninov and Vera Ivanovna Röhrberg](https://interlude.hk/matter-faith-alexander-grechaninov-vera-ivanovna-rohrberg/): Although his father was set steadfastly against it, Alexander Grechaninov was determined to become a musician. He abruptly left High School and was accepted at the Moscow Conservatory on a partial scholarship. During his years of study he witnessed the historical concerts of Anton Rubinstein, and he shook hands with...
- [Musical Gesture and Musical Sound: An Interview with Eric Whitacre](https://interlude.hk/musical-gesture-musical-sound-interview-eric-whitacre/): Composer and conductor Eric Whitacre (b. 1970) has an international following and makes appearances around the world (and on the internet) conducting choirs and bringing the modern choral sound to people who didn’t know they liked choral music.
- [Minors of the Majors <br/>Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: <br/><em>Les petits riens</em> (The Small Things), K. 299b](https://interlude.hk/minors-majors-wolfgang-amadeus-mozart-les-petits-riens-small-things-k-299b/): “Minors of the Majors” invites you to discover compositions by the great classical composers that for one reason or another have not reached the musical mainstream. Please enjoy, and keep listening!
- [How Debussy changed a Scholar’s fate](https://interlude.hk/debussy-changed-scholars-fate/): Fifty years have passed since China’s Cultural Revolution, during which citizens were severely oppressed by restrictions on culture. Unbelievably, the incendiary spark of the Cultural Revolution was a critique titled “Notes on the New Historical Drama ‘Hai Rui Dismissed from Office’” published in the Wenhui Bao 文匯報, and later reprinted...
- [The Great Women Artists Who Shaped Music XX—Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge](https://interlude.hk/great-women-artists-shaped-music-xx-elizabeth-sprague-coolidge/): If you are passionate about the chamber music of the twentieth century, chances are that the works are due to Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge (1864-1953) — one of the most notable patrons of our time. Without her vision we would not have the numerous chamber music masterworks she commissioned or the...
- [RACHMANINOFF, S.: Etudes-tableaux, Op. 39 / Moments Musicaux](https://interlude.hk/rachmaninov-s-etudes-tableaux-op-39-moments-musicaux/): Etudes-tableaux, Op. 39 No. 2 in A Minor: Lento assai From RACHMANINOV, S. : Etudes-tableaux, Op. 39 / Moments Musicaux (2016) Released by Naxos Rachmaninov: Etudes-tableaux, Op. 39 – No. 2 in A Minor: Lento assaiPianist Boris Giltburg sees Rachmaninov’s Études-tableaux,Op. 39 as cinematic short stories or colourful tone paintings....
- [The Twentieth Century Mozart](https://interlude.hk/twentieth-century-mozart/): Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s parents named him after Mozart. Against all odds, Erich lived up to the hype by becoming one of the greatest prodigies in music history. The little boy was born in May 1897 in Brünn (now Brno in the Czech Republic). His mother was an amateur pianist and...
- [A Piece Whose Time Has Finally Come](https://interlude.hk/piece-whose-time-finally-come/): Pianist Sarah Beth Briggs was asked to play a piano reduction of Hans Gál’s Cello Concerto when her friend Antonio Meneses was working on it and was so impressed with Gál’s orchestral writing that she asked her producer, Simon Fox- Gál, if she could look at the score for his...
- [How You Should Feel in the Key of F minor](https://interlude.hk/feel-key-f-minor/): In our earlier series on C major and minor, G major and minor, and D major and minor, and A major and minor, E major and minor, B major and minor, F sharp major and minor, C sharp major and minor, A flat major and minor, E flat major and...
- [Ethel Smyth: <em>String Quartet in E minor</em>](https://interlude.hk/ethel-smyth-string-quartet-e-minor/): Ethel Smyth’s String Quartet in E minor has received considerable scholarly attention. Elizabeth Wood investigates the work as a representative of the struggle for women’s rights and Smyth’s involvement with the women’s suffrage movement. On the other hand, Jennifer Gwynn Hughes argues that the work represents Smyth’s discovery of her...
- [Alexander Grechaninov: A musical Dinosaur?](https://interlude.hk/alexander-grechaninov-musical-dinosaur/): Alexander Tikhonovich Grechaninov (1864-1956) wasn’t entirely happy to study at the Moscow Conservatory. Although he took composition lessons from Sergey Taneyev and sat in the counterpoint class with Arensky, his initial attempts at composition were judged to be a waste of time! Only when he received a scholarship to study...
- [Tobias Greenhalgh](https://interlude.hk/tobias-greenhalgh-singing-superheroes/): Singing and Superheroes About to embark upon a run of Die Fledermaus in the Lehár Festival at Austria’s Bad Ischl, baritone Tobias Greenhalgh talks about his travels to date, education, and work-life balance.
- [Minors of the Majors <br/>Sergei Rachmaninoff: <em>Suite in D minor</em>](https://interlude.hk/minors-majors-sergei-rachmaninoff-suite-d-minor/): “Minors of the Majors” invites you to discover compositions by the great classical composers that for one reason or another have not reached the musical mainstream. Please enjoy, and keep listening!
- [Bringing the Universe to the Concert Hall](https://interlude.hk/bringing-universe-concert-hall/): The death of Finnish composer Einojuhani Rautavaara, age 87, on 27 July 2016, brings to an end life of the most famous composer from Finland since Jean Sibelius (1865-1957). He studied at the Sibelius Academy and the Juilliard School before his graduation from the Sibelius Academy in 1957.
- [An Artist at the Opera: Erté](https://interlude.hk/artist-opera-erte/): The Russian-born designer Roman de Tirtoff, better known as Erté (from the French pronunciation of his initials R-T), is best known for his art deco fashion designs. He also designed shoes, jewelry, did interior design, and graphic arts.
- [Musical Giants of the 20th Century: Pianists](https://interlude.hk/musical-giants-20th-century-pianists/): Narrowing a list of “great pianists” down to 10 was not an easy task – there are so many who merit inclusion! And readers will inevitably have their own personal list of pianistic heroes and heroines. But I hope this selection will demonstrate the special qualities of each pianist chosen...
- [In the summer house <br/>Philip Glass, Nico Muhly](https://interlude.hk/summer-house-philip-glass-nico-muhly/): Four Studies Suspension From In the summer house Philip Glass, Nico Muhly (2016) Released by Harmonia Mundi Muhly: Four Studies – SuspensionA minimalist palette for maximum effect. This recital of music especially written or arranged for duo violinists Angela and Jennifer Chun highlights the personal and professional connections between Philip...
- [Muses and Musings <br/>Sisterly Muse : Felix and Fanny Mendelssohn](https://interlude.hk/muses-musings-sisterly-muse-felix-fanny-mendelssohn/): In his famous Tintern Abbey poem, the English Romantic poet William Wordsworth wrote of his sister Dorothy, Of this fair river; thou my dearest Friend, My dear, dear Friend; and in thy voice I catch The language of my former heart, and read My former pleasures in the shooting lights...
- [How You Should Feel in the Key of F major](https://interlude.hk/feel-key-f-major/): In our earlier series on C major and minor, G major and minor, and D major and minor, and A major and minor, E major and minor, B major and minor, F sharp major and minor, C sharp major and minor, A flat major and minor, E flat major and...
- [Alexander Tikhonovich Grechaninov](https://interlude.hk/alexander-tikhonovich-grechaninov/): The last link to traditional Russian music Alexander Tikhonovich Grechaninov (1864-1956) was a contemporary of Richard Strauss, and he lived to the ripe old age of 92. Born in Moscow, he became a U. S. citizen in 1949 and spent his final days in New York City. Unlike Richard Strauss,...
- [Teachers and Mentors](https://interlude.hk/teachers-mentors/): We all remember the teachers who have inspired us the most, and we may refer back to those teachers and mentors for advice and support long after we have ceased to have regular tuition. Many of the finest piano teachers active today were themselves taught by the great teachers and...
- [Cipriano de Rore (1516-1565): Proto-Madrigalist](https://interlude.hk/cipriano-de-rore-1516-1565-proto-madrigalist/): Over the centuries, the Italian peninsula has given rise to an extraordinary number of artistic and intellectual movements. Ranging from literature and painting to the visual arts, Italy has magnificently contributed to European intellectual and cultural development. And then there is music! The number of inventions—everything from musical instruments and...
- [Minors of the Majors <br/>Modest Mussorgsky: <em>Dawn on the Moscow River</em>](https://interlude.hk/minors-majors-modest-mussorgsky-dawn-moscow-river/): “Minors of the Majors” invites you to discover compositions by the great classical composers that for one reason or another have not reached the musical mainstream. Please enjoy, and keep listening!
- [“Good composers borrow, Great ones steal!”](https://interlude.hk/good-composers-borrow-great-ones-steal/): Not so long ago, it came to light that a high-profile administrator working in Hong Kong higher education had received his advanced degree not only from a Philippine Sari-Sari store masquerading as a University, but that he simply copied his Ph. D. thesis from somebody else’s work. After drawing a...
- [Critical Ear with Sharpened Pen <br/>Writing at the Heart of the Music: George Loomis](https://interlude.hk/critical-ear-sharpened-pen-writing-heart-music-george-loomis/): George Loomis writes about classical music for the International New York Times, Financial Times, Opera Magazine, Musical America, and many other publications. Work: Interlude: How did you start as a music critic?
- [Pachelbel: Un orage d’avril / April Storm](https://interlude.hk/pachelbel-un-orage-davril-april-storm/): Das Gewitter im Aprilen From Pachelbel: Un orage d’avril / April Storm (2016) Released by Harmonia Mundi Pachelbel: Das Gewitter im AprilenA festival of ‘musical delights’! Though the two bars of bass of a certain celebrated Canon have made Pachelbel probably the most widely performed composer in the streets of...
- [Competitions From the Inside <br/>Judging and Participating in the Irving Klein International String Competition](https://interlude.hk/competitions-inside-judging-participating-irving-klein-international-string-competition/): Competitions, a fact of life for musicians, can be the bane of our existence. They are demanding and arduous, taking months, or years, of disciplined preparation and nerves of steel. I was invited to serve on the jury of this year’s Klein International String Competition held June 2-3, 2016 in...
- [How You Should Feel in the Key of B flat minor](https://interlude.hk/feel-key-b-flat-minor/): In our earlier series on C major and minor, G major and minor, and D major and minor, and A major and minor, E major and minor, B major and minor, F sharp major and minor, C sharp major and minor, A flat major and minor, and E flat major...
- [Moods of the Sea – Moods of the Man](https://interlude.hk/moods-sea-moods-man/): English composer Benjamin Britten (1913 – 1976) took an 1810 book of poetry written by the Aldeburgh poet George Crabbe and used it as the basis for his opera Peter Grimes. The poetry itself was presented in the form of 24 letters written in heroic couplets and includes the story...
- [August Förster: Seducing the Ears](https://interlude.hk/august-forster-seducing-ears/): Quietly tucked away in a secluded corner of eastern Saxony sits the town of Löbau. Small in size—currently counting less than 15,000 inhabitants—this settlement was first mentioned in 1221. But what really put Löbau on the international radar was the cabinetmaker Friedrich August Förster. He had been repairing musical instruments...
- [Gustav Mahler: <em>Fünf Lieder nach Rückert</em> (Rückert Songs)](https://interlude.hk/gustav-mahler-funf-lieder-nach-ruckert-ruckert-songs/): Friedrich Rückert was professor of Oriental languages at the University of Erlangen and Berlin. A master of more than thirty languages, he principally made his name with a number of highly esteemed translations of Oriental poetry. However, he also started writing poems conceived in the spirit of the Oriental masters....
- [Minors of the Majors <br/>Jean Sibelius: <em>Ödlan</em> (The Lizard)](https://interlude.hk/minors-majors-jean-sibelius-odlan-lizard/): “Minors of the Majors” invites you to discover compositions by the great classical composers that for one reason or another have not reached the musical mainstream. Please enjoy, and keep listening!
- [Critical Ear with Sharpened Pen <br/>The Voice of Reason - Jessica Duchen](https://interlude.hk/critical-ear-sharpened-pen-voice-reason-jessica-duchen/): ‘What is the need for music criticism? ’ ‘Does writing for a blog differ from print? ’ ‘Where’s the future of writing about music? ’ These are just some of the questions whirling round my helmeted head as I cycle through Hyde Park to meet Jessica Duchen, someone who can...
- [Musical Giants of the 20th Century](https://interlude.hk/musical-giants-20th-century/): In 1968, humanity collectively experienced an “Aha Moment. ” And it was the photograph “Earthrise” that triggered this moment of realization, inspiration, insight, recognition and utter astonishment. One of the most influential photographs ever taken, it shows our “blue marble” gently rising against the barren and desolate surface of the...
- [REINECKE, C.H.C.: Ballade / Flute Concerto / Serenata](https://interlude.hk/reinecke-c-h-c-ballade-flute-concerto-serenata/): Serenade in G Minor, Op. 242 IV. Cavatina From REINECKE, C. H. C. : Ballade / Flute Concerto / Serenata (2015) Released by Dynamic Reinecke: Serenade in G Minor, Op. 242 IV. CavatinaNowadays Carl Reinecke is remembered in musical circles for his cadenzas to the concertos of Bach, Mozart and...
- [Why We Owe “The Flying Dutchman” To A Dog](https://interlude.hk/owe-flying-dutchman-dog/): Robber, the giant Newfoundland dog, took to the pit with his master, Richard Wagner. The twentysomething conductor and composer had recently won a job as music director of the Riga opera, and his dog Robber frequently joined his master at work. At one rehearsal, a bass player accidentally poked Robber...
- [How You Should Feel in the Key of B flat major](https://interlude.hk/feel-key-b-flat-major/): In our earlier series on C major and minor, G major and minor, and D major and minor, and A major and minor, E major and minor, B major and minor, F sharp major and minor, C sharp major and minor, A flat major and minor, and E flat major...
- [Old friends: reviving old repertoire](https://interlude.hk/old-friends-reviving-old-repertoire/): Revisiting music one learnt last month, last year, or 20 years ago can be a wonderful experience, like reacquainting oneself with an old friend, while also making a new friendship. Picking up a piece again after a long absence can be extremely satisfying and often offers new insights into that...
- [A Selected Reading List for Pianists](https://interlude.hk/selected-reading-list-pianists/): Non-fiction Sleeping in Temples Out of Silence – Pianist’s Yearbook Susan Tomes Scottish pianist and acclaimed chamber musician (a former member of Florestan Trio), Susan Tomes writes sensitively and honestly about the exigencies of life as a pianist and performer – from the benefits of daily practise, to the pros...
- [Enrique Granados: Transcending Nationalism](https://interlude.hk/enrique-granados-transcending-nationalism/): Composers working at the turn of the 20th-century are frequently categorized as nationalists. And Spain produced three prominent composers that seemingly fit this narrow description. Isaac Albéniz composed vibrant piano works of Lisztian difficulty and Iberian color, while Manuel de Falla’s gypsy dramas turned the piano or orchestra into a...
- [Minors of the Majors <br/>Claude Debussy: <em>L’enfant prodigue</em>](https://interlude.hk/minors-majors-claude-debussy-lenfant-prodigue/): “Minors of the Majors” invites you to discover compositions by the great classical composers that for one reason or another have not reached the musical mainstream. Please enjoy, and keep listening!
- [Misia Sert – Muse and Patron to Poets, Painters and Musicians (II)](https://interlude.hk/misia-sert-muse-patron-poets-painters-musicians-ii/): As Madame Alfred Edwards, Misia was showered with jewels by her husband, and lived in opulent surroundings served by butlers and footmen; at heart still a bohemian, she considered her new situation a ‘golden cage’. She was flattered by her new husband’s attention and money, but she was not really...
- [Critical Ear with Sharpened Pen <br/>Music Critics—Their Past and Future: An interview with John Terauds](https://interlude.hk/critical-ear-sharpened-pen-music-critics-past-future-interview-john-terauds/): Founder of the website “Musical Toronto”, whose motto is—If You Think Classical Music is Dead, You Are Dead Wrong, John Terauds is a renaissance man and a bubbling hub of information, opinion, and insights. As a long time classical music advocate, he is someone who is on the cusp of...
- [Alfred Schnittke<br/> Penitential Psalms](https://interlude.hk/alfred-schnittke-penitential-psalms/): Penitential Psalms Nr. 2. Es nimmt mich die Wüste auf wie die Mutter ihr Kind From Alfred Schnittke Penitential Psalms (2016) Released by Harmonia Mundi Alfred Schnittke: Penitential Psalms – Nr. 2. Es nimmt mich die Wüste auf wie die Mutter ihr KindA gift of incredible beauty. The Penitential Psalms,...
- [St. Peter: The oldest church in Salzburg](https://interlude.hk/st-peter-oldest-church-salzburg/): For countless visitors to the city of Salzburg, the Cathedral is one of the city’s major tourist attractions. The Frankish missionary Rupert founded the church in 774, and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart received his baptism there on 28 January 1756. However, the Cathedral is not Salzburg’s oldest church. That honor belongs...
- [How You Should Feel in the Key of E flat minor](https://interlude.hk/feel-key-e-flat-minor/): In our earlier series on C major and minor, G major and minor, and D major and minor, and A major and minor, E major and minor, B major and minor, F sharp major and minor, C sharp major and minor, and A flat major and minor, we listed Ernst...
- [Drowning in Passion <br/>Enrique Granados and Clotilde Godó Pelegrí](https://interlude.hk/drowning-passion-enrique-granados-clotilde-godo-pelegri/): On 28 July 1894, Amparo gave birth to the first of their six children. With his family rapidly expanding, Enrique was desperately trying to secure a steady source of income. Various applications to conservatories in Barcelona and Madrid came to naught, and these rejections plunged Enrique into a severe crisis...
- [Music à la “Mode” <br/>The Lydian Kingdom](https://interlude.hk/music-la-mode-lydian-kingdom/): Ancient Greek philosophy described the physical world in terms of four elements: earth, air, fire, and water. Health and spiritual wellbeing depended on a balance of four bodily fluids or temperaments. Phlegmatic temperament was associated with water, choleric with fire, sanguine with air and melancholic with earth. In some of...
- [Writing for An Angel](https://interlude.hk/writing-angel/): Right in the middle of writing his opera Lulu, Alban Berg (1885-1935) was also procrastinating on a commission from violinist Louis Krasner. Krasner was born in the Ukraine but moved to America at age 5 and graduated from the New England Conservatory at age 22. After continuing his studies in...
- [Minors of the Majors <br/>Maurice Ravel: <em>Trois Poèmes de Stéphane Mallarmé</em>](https://interlude.hk/minors-majors-maurice-ravel-trois-poemes-de-stephane-mallarme/): “Minors of the Majors” invites you to discover compositions by the great classical composers that for one reason or another have not reached the musical mainstream. Please enjoy, and keep listening!
- [Critical Ear with Sharpened Pen <br/> Bring the East to the West: An Interview with Ken Smith](https://interlude.hk/critical-ear-sharpened-pen-bring-east-west-interview-ken-smith/): Ken Smith is the Asian cultural critic for the Financial Times. He also covers opera in China for Opera magazine in London and opera in the West for OPERA magazine in Shanghai. A frequent arts commentator or RTHK Radio 4, he was for 15 years a North American critic and...
- [Wandering off the Map: An Interview with Richard Causton](https://interlude.hk/wandering-map-interview-richard-causton/): British composer Richard Causton takes an international view of contemporary music: his UK studies were at the University of York and the Royal College of Music, but it was his time in Italy that has most affected his work. He cites as his influences the great men of 20th century...
- [LEBERL, R.: Guitar Works](https://interlude.hk/leberl-r-guitar-works/): Charakterstucke (Character Pieces), Op. 90 No. 5. Erinnerung From LEBERL, R. : Guitar Works (2016) Released by Naxos Leberl: Charakterstucke (Character Pieces), Op. 90 No. 5. ErinnerungBorn in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Rudolf Leberl is one of the most undeservedly neglected of Bohemian composers. He wrote extensively for the guitar, drawing...
- [Behzod Abduraimov](https://interlude.hk/behzod-abduraimov-2/): Originally from Uzbekistan, pianist Behzod Abduraimov makes his second appearance with the Hong Kong Philharmonic this July, playing Prokofiev’s Third Concerto. ‘My first performance took place back in 2012 playing a recital and in January 2015 I had debuted with the HK Philharmonic. I’ve had very enjoyable experiences performing for...
- [How You Should Feel in the Key of E flat major](https://interlude.hk/feel-key-e-flat-major/): In our earlier series on C major and minor, G major and minor, and D major and minor, and A major and minor, E major and minor, B major and minor, F sharp major and minor, C sharp major and minor, and A flat major and minor, we listed Ernst...
- [Catalan Passion <br/>Enrique Granados and Maria de los Desamparados Gal y Lloveras](https://interlude.hk/catalan-passion-enrique-granados-maria-de-los-desamparados-gal-y-lloveras/): When pianist Enrique Granados (1867-1916) first appeared on stage on 20 April 1890, critics were simply ecstatic! “Granados will be one of the great artists who always seek applause in pure art, without flashiness and cheap concessions. ” Praising the young pianist for his delicate touch, full of delicious smoothness,...
- [Pleasure and Pain: On Being an Amateur Pianist](https://interlude.hk/pleasure-pain-amateur-pianist/): Practical Tips for Amateur Pianist Alan Rusbridger’s book ‘Play It Again’ (published in 2013) shone a delightful and inspirational light on the world of amateur pianism, but people have been playing music at home and with friends for almost as long as keyboard instruments have been in existence. In the...
- [Enrique Granados](https://interlude.hk/enrique-granados/): Chopin of Spain When Enrique Granados (1867–1916) drowned in the English Channel trying to save his wife 100 years ago, the musical world lost an extraordinary poet of the piano. “His hands stroke the keys with a delicacy, with a spirituality, of extraordinary uniqueness,” a critic wrote. “We witnessed him...
- [Minors of the Majors <br/>Anton Bruckner: <em>String Quintet in F Major</em>](https://interlude.hk/minors-majors-anton-bruckner-string-quintet-f-major/): “Minors of the Majors” invites you to discover compositions by the great classical composers that for one reason or another have not reached the musical mainstream. Please enjoy, and keep listening!
- [“Dying is just the way I composed it” <br/>Richard Strauss: <em>Four Last Songs</em>](https://interlude.hk/dying-just-way-composed-richard-strauss-four-last-songs/): Henry David Thoreau once wrote, “Most people go to the grave with a song still in them. ” A good number of famous composers throughout the ages have gone to their graves with a lot of songs in them! Take for example Giovanni Battista Pergolesi who did not see his...
- [Critical Ear with Sharpened Pen <br/>Meet the Critics](https://interlude.hk/meet-critics/): Everybody today seems to have an opinion, and, with the benefit of the web, many of more of us can know their opinions as well. Yet, what we value is not necessarily any opinion, but an informed opinion. Interlude will be starting a set of interviews with international music critics...
- [ GRIGORJEVA, G.: Svjatki / Salve Regina / Diptych / Lament / Nature Morte / In Paradisum ](https://interlude.hk/grigorjeva-g-svjatki-salve-regina-diptych-lament-nature-morte-paradisum/): Nature Morte – II The Butterfly From GRIGORJEVA, G. : Svjatki / Salve Regina / Diptych / Lament / Nature Morte / In Paradisum (2016) Released by Ondine Grigorjeva: Nature Morte – II The ButterflyThe output of Galina Grigorjeva has deserved appreciation for its remarkably subtle and animated melodic style....
- [Music à la “Mode” <br/>Phrygian Gates](https://interlude.hk/music-la-mode-phrygian-gates/): In the world of the ancient Greece philosophers, music could greatly affect the mood and character of an individual. In fact, this “ethos of music,” as it was called, even made a person more or less fit for a particular job. Soldiers, for example, should listen to music in Dorian...
- [How You Should Feel in the Key of A flat minor](https://interlude.hk/feel-key-flat-minor/): In our earlier series on C major and minor, G major and minor, and D major and minor, and A major and minor, E major and minor, B major and minor, F sharp major and minor, and C sharp major and minor, we listed Ernst Pauer’s suggestions from 1876 of...
- [Sibelius Academy](https://interlude.hk/sibelius-academy/): What springs to mind when you think of Europe’s great music colleges? Germany? Britain? Austria? Take a leap north-east, and you’ll come across Sibelius Academy, unassumingly nestled in Helsinki’s University of the Arts, ranking at number 7 in the QS World University Rankings by Subject. With the Academy offering an...
- [Celebrating Young Talent – the BBC Young Musician competition](https://interlude.hk/celebrating-young-talent-bbc-young-musician-competition/): Bartok may have declared that competitions were “for horses”, but this year’s prestigious BBC Young Musician competition, which has just reached its thrilling conclusion with the prize being awarded to cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason, proved above all that music brings joy and pleasure to those who play it, teach it, engage...
- [A Musical Language Beyond Words: An Interview with Anne Queffélec](https://interlude.hk/musical-language-beyond-words-interview-anne-queffelec/): Pianist Anne Queffélec (b. 1948) entered the Paris Conservatoire at age 16, winning the first prize for piano in 1965 and the first prize for chamber music in 1965, and those two fields have been the core of her performing career. She was awarded the first prize at the Munich...
- [A Symphony of Life, Love, and the World](https://interlude.hk/symphony-life-love-world/): Requiring a large orchestra and with 10 movements, the first symphony written by Olivier Messiaen (1908-1992) was a monumental achievement. Commissioned by Sergey Koussevitzky for the Boston Symphony Orchestra, it took Messiaen 2 years to write it, completing it in 1948.
- [Minors of the Majors <br/>Georges Bizet: <em>Chants du Rhin</em>](https://interlude.hk/minors-majors-georges-bizet-chants-du-rhin/): “Minors of the Majors” invites you to discover compositions by the great classical composers that for one reason or another have not reached the musical mainstream. Please enjoy, and keep listening!
- [An Artist at the Opera: David Hockney](https://interlude.hk/artist-opera-david-hockney/): In earlier articles we’ve looked at how art has inspired music. Now, we’re taking a look at the artists working within music. The English artist David Hockney (b. 1937) works in many different media as a painter, a draughtsman, printmaker, photographer, and stage designer. Considered one of most influential British...
- [REGER, M.: Violin Concerto in A Major, Op. 101 (arr. R. Kolisch for violin and chamber ensemble)](https://interlude.hk/reger-m-violin-concerto-major-op-101-arr-r-kolisch-violin-chamber-ensemble/): Violin Concerto in A Major I. Allegro moderato From REGER, M. : Violin Concerto in A Major, Op. 101 (arr. R. Kolisch for violin and chamber ensemble) (2015) Released by Capriccio Reger: Violin Concerto in A Major – I. Allegro moderato Reger enjoys a particularly high reputation among organists, to...
- [Where is the Common Man?](https://interlude.hk/common-man/): Beginning with a crash and a boom, Aaron Copland (1900-1990) beings his Fanfare for the Common Man. The work was inspired by a number of sources, both political and musical. On the political side, reference is made to a 1942 speech by Vice President Henry A. Wallace on the goals...
- [Movers and Shakers of Music World <br/>Sir Rudolf Bing](https://interlude.hk/movers-shakers-music-world-sir-rudolf-bing/): The opera stars of the1950s to 1970s have become household names: Maria Callas, Renata Tebaldi, Richard Tucker, Robert Merrill, Joan Sutherland and Franco Corelli. The names of the great impresarios of that time, however, remain largely in the dark. With one exception. Rudolf Bing. Correction, Sir Rudolf Bing.
- [How You Should Feel in the Key of A flat major](https://interlude.hk/feel-key-flat-major/): In our earlier series on C major and minor, G major and minor, and D major and minor, and A major and minor, E major and minor, B major and minor, F sharp major and minor, and C sharp major and minor, we listed Ernst Pauer’s suggestions from 1876 of...
- [Pearls of the Orient <br/>Pearl River Piano Company](https://interlude.hk/pearls-orient-pearl-river-piano-company/): In this week’s episode, I would like to introduce you to the largest piano manufacturer in the world! The Pearl River Piano Group was established in 1956 in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province in China, and it claims to produce the World’s best selling pianos. For all intents and purposes, this is...
- [Qigang Chen: <em>Concerto for Trumpet & Orchestra</em> “Joie Eternelle”](https://interlude.hk/qigang-chen-concerto-trumpet-orchestra-joie-eternelle/): Born in Shanghai in 1951, Chen Qigang is a leading Chinese composer who divides his working life between Beijing and Paris. He was, as you might well remember, appointed director of music for the Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremony in 2008. Most famously, perhaps, he was the last student of Olivier...
- [For the love of Bach: Márta and György Kurtág](https://interlude.hk/love-bach-marta-gyorgy-kurtag/): For the Hungarian composer György Kurtág, who celebrates his 90th birthday in 2016, two women have played a pivotal and decisive role in his personal and professional life. During his studies at the Ferenc Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest in 1946, he met the pianist Márta Kinsker. The couple...
- [Minors of the Majors <br/>Bedřich Smetana: <em>Dreams</em>](https://interlude.hk/minors-majors-bedrich-smetana-dreams/): “Minors of the Majors” invites you to discover compositions by the great classical composers that for one reason or another have not reached the musical mainstream. Please enjoy, and keep listening!
- [Misia Sert – Muse and Patron to Poets, Painters and Musicians I](https://interlude.hk/misia-sert-muse-patron-poets-painters-musicians/): One of the most extraordinary and colorful women in France at the turn of the 20th century was Misia Nathanson-Edwards-Sert, née Godebska — muse, inspiration and patron of the arts to many of the most prominent writers, painters and musicians. Born in 1872 in St. Petersburg, Russia, Marie Sophie Olga...
- [Movers and Shakers of Music World <br/>Johann Peter Salomon: “He brought Haydn to England”](https://interlude.hk/movers-shakers-music-world-johann-peter-salomon-brought-haydn-england/): King Edward the Confessor started to rebuild St. Peter’s Abbey—today known as Westminster Abbey—between 1042 and 1052 to provide himself with a royal burial church. And thus he started a tradition that saw most Kings and Queens of England, at least until 1760, buried there as well. In time, commoners...
- [Elena Langer: Landscape With Three People](https://interlude.hk/elena-langer-landscape-three-people/): Landscape with Three People Train Love Poem From Elena Langer: Landscape With Three People (2016) Released by Harmonia Mundi Elena Langer: Landscape with Three People – Train Love PoemA selection of chamber works by Elena Langer (b. 1974, Moscow), notable for their playful counterpoint and delicate textures. The London-based composer...
- [György Kurtág (1926- ) <br/>Making music out of almost nothing](https://interlude.hk/gyorgy-kurtag-1926-making-music-almost-nothing/): In 1926, the composer György Kurtág was born in the town of Lugoj, a Hungarian/German settlement that was ceded to Romania by the treaty of Versailles in 1919. Growing up at a cultural and linguistic crossroads, it’s hardly surprising that Kurtág speaks Romanian, Hungarian, German, French and English, and he...
- [How You Should Feel in the Key of C Sharp minor / D flat minor](https://interlude.hk/feel-key-c-sharp-minor-d-flat-minor/): In our earlier series on C major and minor, G major and minor, and D major and minor, and A major and minor, E major and minor, B major and minor, and F sharp major and minor, we listed Ernst Pauer’s suggestions from 1876 of pieces that fit the particular...
- [Always trust your Mother-in-Law! <br/>Max and Elsa Reger](https://interlude.hk/always-trust-mother-law-max-elsa-reger/): Throughout the turbulent and highly emotional times of courtship and early marriage, Max and Elsa Reger could steadfastly rely on the support of Auguste von Bagenski, Reger’s mother in law. Auguste had taken an immediate liking to Max, and even urged her daughter to accept Max’s marriage proposal. At the...
- [Time Tracker](https://interlude.hk/time-tracker/): In the quest for ever more precise measures of time, German inventor Johann Maelzel perfected an earlier invention and created the metronome, a machine with which musicians could regulate their speed. For composers, it meant that they could move away from traditional but undefined annotations such as “Allegro” or “Allegro...
- [Max Reger <br/>“In music, I owe everything to J.S. Bach”](https://interlude.hk/max-reger-music-owe-everything-j-s-bach/): Already a skilled pianist and organist, young Max Reger (1873-1916) saw performances of Meistersinger and Parsifal during his first Bayreuth pilgrimage. “When I heard Parsifal for the first time, as a fifteen-year-old, I cried for two weeks, and then I became a musician,” he later recalled. His teachers Adalbert Lindtner...
- [Minors of the Majors <br/>Giacomo Puccini: <em>Pezzo per pianoforte</em>](https://interlude.hk/minors-majors-giacomo-puccini-pezzo-per-pianoforte/): “Minors of the Majors” invites you to discover compositions by the great classical composers that for one reason or another have not reached the musical mainstream. Please enjoy, and keep listening!
- [Artists at the Opera & Ballet: Pablo Picasso](https://interlude.hk/artists-opera-ballet-pablo-picasso/): When you look at everything that the Spanish artist Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) was involved with, you have to cover most of the fine arts and then add a good slog of literature. He was a painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, and a poet and a playwright, as well as being a...
- [Muses and Musings <br/>Joseph Haydn and Marianne Genzinger](https://interlude.hk/muses-musings-joseph-haydn-marianne-genzinger/): Joseph Haydn was highly successful in his musical profession and the business aspects surrounding it. Yet, his personal life was somewhat of a mess. Under contract with Count Morzin, Haydn fell in love with Therese Keller. However, once he secured the Kapellmeister position he unexpectedly married her sister, Maria Anna...
- [PONCE, M.M.: Guitar Music, Vol. 4 - Sonatina Meridional / Thème varié et Finale](https://interlude.hk/ponce-m-m-guitar-music-vol-4-sonatina-meridional-theme-varie-et-finale/): Variaciones sobre un tema de A. Cabezon From PONCE, M. M. : Guitar Music, Vol. 4 – Sonatina Meridional / Thème varié et Finale (2016) Released by Naxos Ponce: Variaciones sobre un tema de A. CabezonConsidered by many to be the founding father of 20th-century Mexican music, Manuel Ponce dedicated...
- [A New Idea with New Music](https://interlude.hk/new-idea-new-music/): In the early 20th century, ballet impresario Sergei Diaghilev changed the way he put on ballets: he would now commission original scores. Not only that, but for one of his first ballet productions, it would be based on a new story.
- [How You Should Feel in the Key of C Sharp Major / D flat major](https://interlude.hk/feel-key-c-sharp-major-d-flat-major/): In our earlier series on C major and minor, G major and minor, and D major and minor, and A major and minor, E major and minor, B major and minor, and F sharp major and minor, we listed Ernst Pauer’s suggestions from 1876 of pieces that fit the particular...
- [A Date with “Schlamperl” <br/>Max Reger and Elsa von Bercken](https://interlude.hk/date-schlamperl-max-reger-elsa-von-bercken/): Love, it is said, knows no boundaries! Too bad somebody forgot to tell the Catholic and Protestant Churches! You see, the German composer Max Reger was Catholic and the light of his eyes, Elsa von Bercken, was not only divorced but also Protestant! When they decided to get married in...
- [Richard Galliano](https://interlude.hk/richard-galliano-artist-of-the-month/): Pioneering past and future Accordion legend Richard Galliano is appearing with the City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong in June. We take a moment to talk about his creation of new styles, and respect for the past.
- [Max Reger](https://interlude.hk/max-reger-composer-of-the-month/): “Giant in the Shadows” 100 years ago, Max Reger (1873-1916), one of the giants of music in Germany passed away prematurely at age 43. He was an exact contemporary of Rachmaninoff, one year younger than Scriabin, and one year older than Schoenberg and Ives. Initially, Reger rose to striking prominence...
- [Minors of the Majors <br/>Richard Wagner: <em>Piano Sonata in A Major</em>, Op. 4](https://interlude.hk/minors-majors-richard-wagner-piano-sonata-major-op-4/): “Minors of the Majors” invites you to discover compositions by the great classical composers that for one reason or another have not reached the musical mainstream. Please enjoy, and keep listening!
- [E.T.A. Hoffmann on Steroids! <br/>Edgar Allan Poe in Music](https://interlude.hk/e-t-hoffmann-steroids-edgar-allan-poe-music/): Reading American literature during my student days in Europe was a rather thankless and boring task. I simply had no connection to the naïve optimism of the American frontier mentality or the preachy virtues of the Puritan legacy. For me, the rhetorical majesty of Emerson was infinitely better expressed in...
- [Movers and Shakers of Music World <br/>Antonio Vivaldi: Produced by the Red Priest](https://interlude.hk/movers-shakers-music-world-antonio-vivaldi-produced-red-priest/): An impresario working in the late 17th century was solely responsible for running all the artistic and business matters of the theater. He rented the house, negotiated and signed contracts with everyone connected with productions. Singers, instrumentalists, technical staff and other support staff for the production had to be engaged...
- [MORAVEC, P.: Violin Concerto / Shakuhachi Quintet / Equilibrium](https://interlude.hk/moravec-p-violin-concerto-shakuhachi-quintet-equilibrium/): Violin Concerto II From MORAVEC, P. : Violin Concerto / Shakuhachi Quintet / Equilibrium (2016) Released by Naxos Moravec: Violin Concerto IIPaul Moravec is one of the most admired and acclaimed composers of our time, his music standing out for its melodic grace, lyrical intensity and rich harmonic language. The...
- [Beethoven at the Ballet](https://interlude.hk/beethoven-ballet/): We don’t often think of Beethoven as a composer for the ballet – as an original composer, that is, rather than having his music used in later times for ballet. In 1801, however, Salvatore Viganò (1769-1821) came to Vienna and asked Beethoven for music. Viganò came from Naples and had...
- [Making the Music Come Alive: <br/>An Interview with Anderson and Roe](https://interlude.hk/making-music-come-alive-interview-anderson-roe/): Duo pianists Greg Anderson and Elizabeth Joy Roe have been performing together since meeting at Juilliard in 2002. Their solo piano careers have been augmented by their duo piano careers and their international touring schedule has brought them worldwide recognition. In anticipation of their appearance in June in Hong Kong,...
- [How You Should Feel in the Key of F Sharp Minor](https://interlude.hk/feel-key-f-sharp-minor/): In our earlier series on C major and minor, G major and minor, and D major and minor, and A major and minor, E major and minor,and B major and minor, we listed Ernst Pauer’s suggestions from 1876 of pieces that fit the particular affect he assigned for a key....
- [Developing a Gregorian Idea](https://interlude.hk/developing-gregorian-idea/): Ottorino Respighi (1879-1936) started working on his Tre Preludi sopra melodie gregoriane (Three Preludes on Gregorian Melodies) in 1919, finishing them in 1921. His wife, Elisa Olivieri-Sangiacomo, had brought Gregorian chant to his attention.
- [Nielsen and the Four Temperaments](https://interlude.hk/nielsen-four-temperaments/): One of the fundamental beliefs of Greek medicine, and one that extended up to the 19th century and the beginnings of modern medicine, was that of the four humours that regulated the body. The four humours were the four liquids found in the human body: yellow bile, phlegm, black bile,...
- [Trouble in the Barnyard: Stravinsky and <em>Renard</em>](https://interlude.hk/trouble-barnyard-stravinsky-renard/): Renard, the Fox, is a long-established character in the folk tales of many countries. He’s reputed to be sly, be a creature cunning and trickery. Stravinsky took up the character in his comic masterpiece Renard, or, to give it its full original title, The Fable of the Vixen, the Cock,...
- [Minors of the Majors <br/>Niccolò Paganini: <em>Concertino for Horn, Bassoon and Orchestra</em>, MS 65](https://interlude.hk/minors-majors-niccolo-paganini-concertino-horn-bassoon-orchestra-ms-65/): “Minors of the Majors” invites you to discover compositions by the great classical composers that for one reason or another have not reached the musical mainstream. Please enjoy, and keep listening! Niccolò Paganini (1782-1840) is customarily credited with representing the pinnacle of violin technique. At a time when other violinists...
- [More Audience Antics:  Let’s Play Audience Disruption Bingo!](https://interlude.hk/audience-antics-lets-play-audience-disruption-bingo/): Attending a classical music concert still elicits visions of powdered wigs and stuffy concert halls, stiff collars and blue-haired ladies in mink stoles. Inaccessible, incomprehensible, controlled. One doesn’t know when to clap, what to wear, how to behave.
- [Music à la “Mode” <br/>Dorian Universe](https://interlude.hk/music-la-mode/): Pope Gregory I (540—604) was something of a religious superstar during his days. A talented administrator who initially served as a prefect of Rome, he eventually managed to establish papal supremacy. This doctrine assured supreme and universal power over the whole Church, and “universal power in the care of souls....
- [FAIROUZ, M.: Songs (No Orpheus) ](https://interlude.hk/fairouz-m-songs-orpheus/): Annabel Lee From FAIROUZ, M. : Songs (No Orpheus) (2016) Released by Naxos Fairouz: Annabel LeeMohammed Fairouz has rapidly become one of the most highly regarded composers of his generation, receiving wide acclaim for works such as Native Informant (Naxos 8. 559744) and his 4th symphony, In the Shadow of...
- [Théodore Dubois and the Hooligans](https://interlude.hk/theodore-dubois-hooligans/): During his early days as a composition student at the Paris Conservatoire, Maurice Ravel was called a “mediocrely gifted debutant, who will perhaps become something if not someone in a about ten years, if he works hard. ” Much of this resentment against Ravel was clearly a reaction against his...
- [How You Should Feel in the Key of F Sharp Major / G flat major](https://interlude.hk/feel-key-f-sharp-major-g-flat-major/): In our earlier series on C major and minor, G major and minor, and D major and minor, and A major and minor, E major and minor,and B major and minor, we listed Ernst Pauer’s suggestions from 1876 of pieces that fit the particular affect he assigned for a key....
- [The Explosion to End the World](https://interlude.hk/explosion-end-world/): One of the most prolific of modern composers, the American composer Alan Hovhaness (1911-2000) seems to figure rarely on the modern concert stage. He wrote some 70 symphonies, and his surviving works number over 500 pieces.
- [Christian August Sinding (1856-1941) <br/>The Forgotten Norwegian Composer](https://interlude.hk/christian-august-sinding-1856-1941-forgotten-norwegian-composer/): Ambitious amateur pianists primarily remember the Norwegian composer Christian August Sinding (1856-1941) for his Frühlingsrauschen (Rustle of Spring) Op. 32, No. 3. However, during his lifetime he was not only considered the musical heir to his compatriot Edvard Grieg, but also Norway’s most famous composer. His music was performed all...
- [Sir Donald Francis Tovey <br/>“All Art contains Conflict”](https://interlude.hk/sir-donald-francis-tovey-art-contains-conflict/): Throughout the 20th century, Donald Francis Tovey (1875-1940) was probably one of the most widely read music critics in English-speaking countries. He launched his career as a pianist, composer, and writer of music in London, and was immediately identified as a conservative. A critic from the Manchester Guardian snidely commented,...
- [Minors of the Majors <br/>George Gershwin: <em>Lullaby for Strings</em>](https://interlude.hk/minors-majors-george-gershwin-lullaby-strings/): “Minors of the Majors” invites you to discover compositions by the great classical composers that for one reason or another have not reached the musical mainstream. Please enjoy, and keep listening!
- [The Great Women Artists Who Shaped Music XIX: Winnaretta Singer, Princesse de Polignac](https://interlude.hk/great-women-artists-shaped-music-xix-winnaretta-singer-princess-de-polignac/): Without patrons of the arts many great masterworks of the 20th century would not be delighting us today. Exceptional benefactors shaped our culture by opening their homes and hearts, creating opportunities for composers and performers.
- [Movers and Shakers of Music World <br/>Domenico Barbaja - the first of the great opera impresarios](https://interlude.hk/movers-shakers-music-world-domenico-barbaja-first-great-opera-impresarios/): Only the most hard-boiled opera lovers could name the leading impresarios of today: Peter Gelb of the Metropolitan Opera in New York, Alexander Pereira of La Scala of Milan (formerly of Zurich Opera and the Salzburg Festival) and possibly Stéphane Lissner of the Paris Opera (formerly of La Scala). Some...
- [WEINER, L.: Csongor és Tünde / Ballata](https://interlude.hk/weiner-l-csongor-es-tunde-ballata/): Csongor es Tunde, Op. 10 (2nd version, 1959) Aranyalmafa – Tunderek kara (The Golden Apple Tree – The Choir of the Fairies) From WEINER, L. : Csongor és Tünde / Ballata (2016) Released by Naxos Weiner: Csongor es Tunde, Op. 10 (2nd version, 1959) – Aranyalmafa – Tunderek kara (The...
- [Music, Art and Nature](https://interlude.hk/music-art-nature/): Over the course of the last two centuries, there has been an interesting, changing relationship between music and the other arts, and concepts and depictions of nature. During the Classical period nature was represented as a backdrop in paintings for classical myths, as in The Arcadian Shepherds and Landscape with...
- [How You Should Feel in the Key of B minor](https://interlude.hk/feel-key-b-minor/): In our earlier series on C major and minor, G major and minor, and D major and minor, and A major and minor, E major and minor, we listed Ernst Pauer’s suggestions from 1876 of pieces that fit the particular affect he assigned for a key. For the rest of...
- [Macbeth in Ravenna](https://interlude.hk/macbeth-ravenna/): Not exactly seated in the center of the world you have to be curious about opera or love it to come to Ravenna for its opera season. Located about 10 km from the Adriatic sea, this city founded at least 2000 years ago has seen many ups and downs until...
- [Blüthner: The Piano with the Golden Tone](https://interlude.hk/bluthner-piano-golden-tone/): What do Queen Victoria, Franz Liszt, Johannes Brahms, Tsar Nicholas II, Sergei Rachmaninoff and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and numerous others have in common? They all purchased and played instruments produced by the Leipzig piano manufacturer Blüthner. Around 1900, Blüthner was the largest piano maker in Germany, with almost 5,000 instruments...
- [One heart and one soul! <br/>Ottorino Respighi and Elsa Olivieri Sangiacomo](https://interlude.hk/one-heart-one-soul-ottorino-respighi-elsa-olivieri-sangiacomo/): Tendonitis or related inflammations have ruined the aspiring careers of numerous young hopeful pianists. True to life, however, with one door of opportunity closing forever another door is just a likely to open up. Elsa Olivieri Sangiacomo grew up in Rome and Florence, and her proud parents quickly realized that...
- [Minors of the Majors <br/>Georg Philipp Telemann: <em>Overture</em> in A minor, TWV 55:a1](https://interlude.hk/minors-majors-georg-philipp-telemann-overture-minor-twv-55a1/): “Minors of the Majors” invites you to discover compositions by the great classical composers that for one reason or another have not reached the musical mainstream. Please enjoy, and keep listening!
- [Muses and Musings <br/>Oh! Susanna <br/>Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Nancy Storace](https://interlude.hk/muses-musings-oh-susanna-wolfgang-amadeus-mozart-nancy-storace/): The Austrian Emperor Joseph II was crazy about Italian opera buffa! And since he had the required resources and lots of taxpayer money, he simply went ahead and founded a new opera company in 1783. Since the Emperor took his entertainment very seriously, he was looking to recruit some top...
- [An Artist at the Opera: Cecil Beaton](https://interlude.hk/artist-opera-cecil-beaton/): When we think of the artist Cecil Beaton, we think, perhaps, of two things: his photographs and his designs for the Broadway and film productions of My Fair Lady.
- [Stravinsky and the Power of <em>Oedipus Rex</em>](https://interlude.hk/stravinsky-power-oedipus-rex/): Oedipus Rex, subtitled an “Opera-Oratorio after Sophocles,” has been recognized as one of the high points of Stravinsky’s work, yet is rarely performed today. Sophocles’ drama tells of an entire family’s attempts to avoid their fate, while at the same time they cannot avoid it.
- [CAMILLERI, C.: Piano Concerto No. 1, "Mediterranean" / Accordion Concerto / Malta Suite](https://interlude.hk/camilleri-c-piano-concerto-1-mediterranean-accordion-concerto-malta-suite/): Camilleri: Accordion Concerto, I. Andante moderato From CAMILLERI, C. : Piano Concerto No. 1, “Mediterranean” / Accordion Concerto / Malta Suite (2015) Released by Naxos Camilleri: Accordion Concerto, I. Andante moderatoThe three works on this recording come from the first phase in the musical development of Malta’s prolific composer Charles...
- [How You Should Feel in the Key of B major](https://interlude.hk/feel-key-b-major/): In our earlier series on C major and minor, G major and minor, and D major and minor, and A major and minor, E major and minor, we listed Ernst Pauer’s suggestions from 1876 of pieces that fit the particular affect he assigned for a key. For the rest of...
- [“Atonality, thank heaven, that’s done for!” <br/>Ottorino Respighi (1879-1936)](https://interlude.hk/atonality-thank-heaven-thats-done-ottorino-respighi-1879-1936/): During the Middle Ages, the Italian peninsula was home to a collection of smaller independent city-states and kingdoms. Only in 1861 did Italian nationalists and monarchists create a unified Kingdom of Italy. Characterized by severe economic hardship, particularly found in the agricultural southern region, this political unification saw mass emigrations...
- [The Life of the Vampire](https://interlude.hk/life-vampire/): The composer Heinrich Marschner made the most of the vampire craze that swept Europe in the early 19th century with his opera Der Vampyr. The craze had started with a short story abandoned by Byron that was picked up by his physician, John Poliori. Polidori’s The Vampyre made its appearance...
- [Ottorino Respighi](https://interlude.hk/ottorino-respighi-composer-of-the-month/): Pining for Rome 85 years ago, on 18 April 1936, Ottorino Respighi (1879-1936) died from an inflammation of the inner layer of the heart in Rome. Respighi lived and worked during tumultuous political times, and his historicist interest in Italian music and the arts made him and his music immediately...
- [Minors of the Majors <br/>Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: <em>String Quartet</em> No. 2, Op. 22](https://interlude.hk/minors-majors-pyotr-ilyich-tchaikovsky-string-quartet-2-op-22/): “Minors of the Majors” invites you to discover compositions by the great classical composers that for one reason or another have not reached the musical mainstream. Please enjoy, and keep listening!
- [Peter Warlock: In League with the Devil](https://interlude.hk/peter-warlock-league-devil/): Witches, Warlocks, and Wizards are said to possess magical powers and are able to command supernatural forces. They have played an active part in human history and the imagination since ancient times. At various times in history, witchcraft and wizardry was equated with devil worship, leading to gruesome mass executions....
- [Dashon Burton](https://interlude.hk/dashon-burton-artist-of-the-month/): Furnishing a Roomful of Teeth: Dashon Burton on Freelancing and the Next Generation of Musicians Bass-baritone Dashon Burton hails from the Bronx, New York. Studying at the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music, he was snapped up straight away post-graduation by Cantus, a Minneapolis-based male vocal ensemble. Nowadays, he enjoys a...
- [Rhinemaidens](https://interlude.hk/rhinemaidens/): Schubert: Lacrimosa son io D. 131b From Rhinemaidens (2016) Released by Harmonia Mundi Schubert: Lacrimosa son io D. 131b The Rhine hymned by women’s voices. A major source of inspiration for writers and painters (Hugo, Nerval, Heine, Eichendorff, Turner) and above all composers throughout Romantic Europe, the legends of the...
- [The Pits—Orchestra Pits That is!](https://interlude.hk/pits-orchestra-pits/): A good part of a musician’s career is spent in a pit, an orchestra pit that is—for opera, ballet and musical theater productions. The pit—an open space beneath and in front of the stage—varies in shape and size and can be cramped, loud, and dark, especially if it is very...
- [How You Should Feel in the Key of E minor](https://interlude.hk/feel-key-e-minor/): In our earlier series on C major and minor, G major and minor, and D major and minor, and A major and minor, we listed Ernst Pauer’s suggestions from 1876 of pieces that fit the particular affect he assigned for a key. For the rest of the major and minor...
- [The Water Spirits](https://interlude.hk/water-spirits/): The Oceanids are the water spirits, children of Oceanus, the Titan whose river encircles the world, and Tethys, his sister/wife who oversaw the rivers of the world. Oceanus and Tethys had 3,000 daughters and 3,000 sons. In Greek mythology, however, only about 100 of the Oceanids are actually named. Every...
- [Nikolai Medtner: <em>Sonata Reminiscenza</em>, Op. 38, No. 1](https://interlude.hk/nikolai-medtner-sonata-reminiscenza-op-38-1/): The Russian composer and pianist Nikolai Medtner (1880-1951) was utterly despised by the Russian community in Paris. Considered an old fart and hopelessly out of touch with modern times, he was even facetiously called the “Russian Brahms. ” Much of this comparison rests on a “strong vein of classicism in...
- [Dances of Memory](https://interlude.hk/dances-memory/): In 1933, to celebrate both the 80th anniversary of the Budapest Philharmonic Society and his memories of life in a remote town, Zoltán Kodály (1882-1967) wrote the Dances of Galánta. The town of Galánta is located about 50 km to the east of Bratislava and has been, over the centuries,...
- [Minors of the Majors <br/>Edward Elgar: Piano Quintet in A minor, Op. 84](https://interlude.hk/minors-majors-edward-elgar-piano-quintet-minor-op-84/): “Minors of the Majors” invites you to discover compositions by the great classical composers that for one reason or another have not reached the musical mainstream. Please enjoy, and keep listening!
- [Did Mozart Suffer From Any Neurobehavioural Disorder?](https://interlude.hk/kiss-ass/): Once hailed as Time magazine’s top ten cultural figures of the millennium, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) should perhaps also be known as one of the most foul-mouthed classical musicians of all time. Although the musical genius has passed away for more than 250 years, thanks to the preservation of Mozart’s...
- [Théodore Dubois: <em>Piano Trio No. 1</em> in C minor](https://interlude.hk/theodore-dubois-piano-trio-1-c-minor/): Institutions for secular education in musical performance, composition as well as academic and research fields are known under a variety of names. Originating in 16th-century Renaissance Italy, the term “conservatorio” designated a type of orphanage frequently attached to a hospital. Significantly, the foundlings—known as “conservati”—were given musical instruction at state...
- [MOZART, W.A.: Symphonies Nos. 35, 36, 41](https://interlude.hk/mozart-w-symphonies-nos-35-36-41/): Symphony No. 35 in D Major, K. 385, “Haffner” (arr. J. N. Hummel for flute, violin, cello and piano) I. Allegro con spirit From MOZART, W. A. : Symphonies Nos. 35, 36, 41 (2015) Released by Naxos Mozart: Symphony No. 35 in D Major, K. 385, “Haffner” (arr. J. N....
- [An Unfinished Mozart Opera](https://interlude.hk/unfinished-mozart-opera/): In 1780, in order to join the new opera company set up by Emperor Joseph II, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart started writing a new German opera on the then-popular theme of rescue of enslaved Europeans from Muslim pirates. Mozart wrote about two-thirds of an opera before abandoning it to go work...
- [How You Should Feel in the Key of E major](https://interlude.hk/feel-key-e-major/): In our earlier series on C major and minor, G major and minor, and D major and minor, and A major and minor, we listed Ernst Pauer’s suggestions from 1876 of pieces that fit the particular affect he assigned for a key. For the rest of the major and minor...
- [Playing it Safe?](https://interlude.hk/playing-safe/): Dmitri Shostakovich (1905-1975) had a hard and troubled career within the political machine that was the Soviet Union. At times the model composer and at others, the reviled modernist, he moved between the extremes of popularity and marginalization. His 11th symphony, written in 1957, was one of his most popular...
- [Behind the Curtain <br/>Philip Eisenbeiss: <em>Bel Canto Bully</em>. Haus Publishing Ltd. 2013](https://interlude.hk/behind-curtain-philip-eisenbeiss-bel-canto-bully-haus-publishing-ltd-2013/): He was a drunkard, a nearly illiterate loudmouth, and a serial womanizer with a natural gift for seemingly endless self-promotion. He strong-armed and bullied his way to personal fame and fortune by building a gaming syndicate, and intuitively and prosperously navigated the treacherous political and cultural landscape of his day....
- [Resistance is Futile <br/>Ferruccio Busoni and Gerda Sjöstrand II](https://interlude.hk/resistance-futile-ferruccio-busoni-gerda-sjostrand-ii/): It is rather commonplace for children, even after they have all grown up, to keep assorted secrets from their parents. As long as it concerns the acquisition of a pet or a new plant, no harm done. However, when things turn to matters of engagement and marriage, things tend to...
- [Minors of the Majors <br/>Francis Poulenc: <em>Sonata for Trumpet, Horn and Trombone</em>, Op.33](https://interlude.hk/minors-majors-francis-poulenc-sonata-trumpet-horn-trombone-op-33/): “Minors of the Majors” invites you to discover compositions by the great classical composers that for one reason or another have not reached the musical mainstream. Please enjoy, and keep listening! The French poet, novelist, dramatist, designer, boxing manager, playwright and filmmaker Jean Cocteau magnanimously announced in 1918, that his...
- [“We Were All of Us Whipped”: Rebecca Clarke](https://interlude.hk/us-whipped-rebecca-clarke/): “We were all of us whipped, sometimes really painfully,” Rebecca Clarke once wrote. The sentence is a tragic summation of her childhood. Despite the abuse she and her siblings endured at the hands of her father, Rebecca Clarke emerged into adulthood a professional viola player (no mean feat for a...
- [Intersections of Art and Music – Rothko and Pollock](https://interlude.hk/intersections-art-music-rothko-pollock/): Many 20th century and contemporary artists claim not only to have been inspired by music, but make a very compelling case for a close connection between a particular kind of music and their art.
- [Johannes Brahms: Piano Quartet](https://interlude.hk/johannes-brahms-piano-quartet/): Piano Trio No. 1 in B Major, Op. 8: II. Scherzo. Allegro molto – Trio. Più lento From Johannes Brahms: Piano Quartet (2016) Released by Harmonia Mundi Brahms: Piano Trio No. 1 in B Major, Op. 8: II – Scherzo. Allegro molto – Trio. Più lentoThe intimate BrahmsBrahms almost completely...
- [Sex and Music: The Renaissance and Early Baroque](https://interlude.hk/sex-music-renaissance-early-baroque/): The Renaissance – the sixteenth century time of rebirth was also a time for musical games. One of the greatest games of the day was sex. Musical references to sex were everywhere and especially in the madrigal. The madrigal was the secular song of the day – composers set both...
- [How You Should Feel in the Key of A minor](https://interlude.hk/feel-key-minor/): In our earlier series on C major and minor, G major and minor, and D major and minor, we listed Ernst Pauer’s suggestions from 1876 of pieces that fit the particular affect he assigned for a key. For the rest of the major and minor keys, he left us the...
- [A Talk with Grzegorz Kotów of the Szymanowski Quartet](https://interlude.hk/talk-grzegorz-kotow-szymanowski-quartet/): The Szymanowski Quartet was founded in 1995 and has become known as a sophisticated quartet that keeps a perfect balance between intellect and passion. The founding members, Grzegorz Kotów (violin), Vladimir (Volodia) Mykytka (viola), and Marcin Sieniawski (cello), were joined in 2014 by Agata Szymczewska on violin. She replaces Andrej...
- [Crazy Music <br/>Alexander Agricola (1446-1506)](https://interlude.hk/crazy-music-alexander-agricola-1446-1506/): On occasion, composers and artists have some very peculiar habits or eccentricities that border on insanity. Erik Satie ate only food that was white in color, Richard Wagner enjoyed cross-dressing and his daily enemas, Anton Bruckner had an obsession with counting objects, teenage girls and human skulls, and Arnold Schoenberg...
- [Redefining the piano summer school](https://interlude.hk/redefining-piano-summer-school/): Launched in 2015, La Balie, in the beautiful Lot-et-Garonne region of France, is the brain-child of Fiona Page, a high-flying former CEO and amateur pianist. After a busy and satisfying career in finance, Fiona felt the tug of a change of direction as she approached a significant birthday. Here she...
- [Ferruccio Busoni <br/>“Music is the art of sounds in the movement of time”](https://interlude.hk/ferruccio-busoni-music-art-sounds-movement-time/): Ferruccio Busoni was the only child of two professional musicians. His Italian father was an accomplished clarinetist and his German mother a capable pianist. Towards the end of his life Busoni declared, “I bless my father for having directed me to study Bach as a child. ” However, the essence...
- [Minors of the Majors <br/>Franz Liszt: <em>Cantantibus organis</em>](https://interlude.hk/minors-majors-franz-liszt-cantantibus-organis/): “Minors of the Majors” invites you to discover compositions by the great classical composers that for one reason or another have not reached the musical mainstream. Please enjoy, and keep listening! The 1860’s were not particularly kind to Franz Liszt. For one, the Tsar of Russia successfully blocked his long-awaited...
- [The Mermaid Singer and Her Song](https://interlude.hk/mermaid-singer-song/): The not-so-young composer was working on the next piece after the work that made him a national star. The singer was an up-and-coming contralto. At the 1899 Norwich Festival, Edward Elgar unveiled his new song cycle, Sea Pictures, with the 27-year old Clara Butt as singer. According to Elgar in...
- ["If music be the food of love, play on." <br/>Shakespeare and Music VIII – Othello](https://interlude.hk/music-food-love-play-shakespeare-music-viii-othello/): Othello has long been a seductive Shakespeare tragedy, adaptable to our present day life with its enduring leitmotifs—love, mistrust, duplicity, racism, retaliation and remorse.
- [MARTUCCI, G.: Piano Trios Nos. 1 and 2 (Trio Vega)](https://interlude.hk/martucci-g-piano-trios-nos-1-2-trio-vega/): Piano Trio no. 1 III. Andante con moto From MARTUCCI, G. : Piano Trios Nos. 1 and 2 (Trio Vega) (2015) Released by Naxos Martucci: Piano Trio no. 1 – III. Andante con moto The foremost Italian orchestral composer of the late-nineteenth century, as well as an accomplished pianist and...
- [The Angst and Agony of Young Love <br/> Ferruccio Busoni and Gerda Sjöstrand I](https://interlude.hk/angst-agony-young-love-ferruccio-busoni-gerda-sjostrand/): At age 22, Ferruccio Busoni (1866-1924) was appointed piano teacher at the conservatory of Helsingfors, then part of the Russian Empire, today known as the Finnish capital Helsinki. Stable employment and income aside, Busoni could not speak a word of Finnish, Swedish or Russian, and he progressively became lonelier, confused...
- [How You Should Feel in the Key of A major](https://interlude.hk/feel-key-major/): In our earlier series on C major and minor, G major and minor, and D major and minor, we listed Ernst Pauer’s suggestions from 1876 of pieces that fit the particular affect he assigned for a key. For the rest of the major and minor keys, he left us the...
- [Cosplay at the Philharmonic](https://interlude.hk/cosplay-philharmonic/): I went to a concert the other night – dynamic conductor, electrifying soloist, enthusiastic audience that cheered as each piece was announced and often sang along with the melodies – and yet the programme consisted of music that you hear, but don’t really listen to.
- [Ferruccio Busoni](https://interlude.hk/ferruccio-busoni/): Music is the gate between the earthly and eternal world In 2016 we celebrate the 150th birthday of Ferruccio Dante Michelangiolo Benvenuto Busoni (1866-1924), one of the most talented and controversial piano virtuosos active during the second half of the 19th and early years of the 20th century. Busoni was...
- [Irish Mist <br/>John Field and Adelaide Victoria Percheron](https://interlude.hk/irish-mist-john-field-adelaide-victoria-percheron/): She was described as “a tiny little person, perfectly proportioned and extremely graceful, with lively expression and half-closed eyes, which suggested the wit and malice of a ‘petit diable bleu... She also possessed a coquettish magnetism, which attracted men towards her. ” Her name was Adelaide Victoria Percheron, born in...
- [Minors of the Majors <br/>Gustav Mahler: <em>Piano Quartet in A Minor</em>](https://interlude.hk/minors-majors-gustav-mahler-piano-quartet-minor/): “Minors of the Majors” invites you to discover compositions by the great classical composers that for one reason or another have not reached the musical mainstream. Please enjoy, and keep listening!
- [Diabelli’s Other Variations](https://interlude.hk/diabellis-variations/): It’s one of those things – you come up with a great project, you get a lot of people involved, they give you brilliant stuff and then one person comes along and trumps everything. And so it was with Anton Diabelli. In 1819, he decided to publish a set of...
- [Rachmaninoff and the All-Night Vigil](https://interlude.hk/rachmaninoff-night-vigil/): At the 2016 Grammy® Awards, the winner for Choral Performance was for a work that was written a mere century ago. Rachmaninoff’s All-Night Vigil, written in January and February 1915, received its premiere on 10 March 1915. When you consider the wealth and breadth of Rachmaninoff’s compositional expression, a work...
- [Concert Going in the Age of High-Quality Recordings](https://interlude.hk/concert-going-age-high-quality-recordings/): “The paradox of recording is that it can preserve forever those disappearing moments of sound but never the spark of humanity that generates them” (Alex Ross)
- [AUBERT, L.: Sillages / Violin Sonata / Habanera / Feuille d'Images](https://interlude.hk/aubert-l-sillages-violin-sonata-habanera-feuille-dimages/): Sillages Op. 27 No. 1. Sur le Rivage From AUBERT, L. : Sillages / Violin Sonata / Habanera / Feuille d’Images (2015) Released by Grand Piano Aubert: Sillages Op. 27 – No. 1. Sur le RivageA pupil of Fauré, Louis Aubert moved in the same circles as Ravel, Debussy, Koechlin...
- [Louis Schwizgebel](https://interlude.hk/louis-schwizgebel-artist-of-the-month/): from Geneva to Hong Kong Appearing in this year’s Hong Kong Premiere Performances Recital Series, our Artist of the Month Louis Schwizgebel shares his thoughts ahead of his trip to Hong Kong about his already enviable career.
- [McTeague: A Dental Opera](https://interlude.hk/mcteague-dental-opera/): And now for something extremely painful! Imagine waking up with a severe toothache in the middle of the 19th century. In many cases, you might have to wait a couple of month before an itinerant practitioner of the dental trade actually made his way to your local community. And once...
- [Music in Exile II <br/>Following the Money](https://interlude.hk/music-exile-ii-following-money/): There are various reasons for composers, musicians and artist to leave their respective homelands. Some are displaced by war or social unrest, while others follow employment opportunities. In the 15th and early 16 centuries, whole generations of composers from the coastal region in Western Europe known as the “Low Countries”...
- [Kawai: The Piano at Superbowl 50 (2016)](https://interlude.hk/kawai-piano-superbowl-50-2016/): Pianos are highly versatile instruments, equally at home in luxurious concert halls, smokey pubs, middle-class living rooms and sweaty practice cubicles. Kawai instruments prominently feature in all those locations. However, the Kawai hybrid piano has also featured in one of the biggest public events on the planet. The band “Coldplay”...
- [Minors of the Majors <br/>Gioacchino Rossini: <em>3 Choeurs Religieux</em>](https://interlude.hk/minors-majors-gioacchino-rossini-3-choeurs-religieux/): “Minors of the Majors” invites you to discover compositions by the great classical composers that for one reason or another have not reached the musical mainstream. Please enjoy, and keep listening!
- [Ludwig van Beethoven: <em>Concerto for Violin, Cello and Piano</em> in C Major, Op. 56](https://interlude.hk/ludwig-van-beethoven-concerto-violin-cello-piano-c-major-op-56/): The Concerto for Violin, Cello and Piano in C Major, Op. 56 by Ludwig van Beethoven, more commonly known as the “Triple Concerto,” has not fared well with critics, scholars and audiences alike. Music critic Marion Scott suggested that the work “rouses expectations of great music it never fulfills, and...
- [Composers as Kids: Gustav Mahler](https://interlude.hk/composers-kids-gustav-mahler/): Gustav Mahler, the grandest symphonist of his age, was born in July 1860 in the village of Kaliště, in the present-day Czech Republic. His background was not particularly artistic. His father Bernhard had grown up labeling bottles in his family’s distillery and dreamed of running a business of his own,...
- [MOSZKOWSKI, M.: Violin and Piano Works](https://interlude.hk/moszkowski-m-violin-piano-works/): Suite for 2 violins and piano IV. Molto vivace From MOSZKOWSKI, M. : Violin and Piano Works (2015) Released by Naxos Moszkowski: Suite for 2 violins and piano – IV. Molto vivaceMoritz Moszkowski enjoyed a considerable international reputation as a composer and pianist and was fêted as the natural successor...
- [Animals in Music: Birds and More](https://interlude.hk/animals-music-birds-2/): One of the most important modern composers to take up the ideas of birds and music was the French composer Olivier Messiaen. He had been fascinated with birds for a long time but it was only in 1952, when he was asked to write a piece for the Paris Conservatoire...
- [How You Should Feel in the Key of D minor](https://interlude.hk/feel-key-d-minor/): In our earlier series on C major and minor and G major and minor, we listed Ernst Pauer’s suggestions from 1876 of pieces that fit the particular affect he assigned for a key. For the rest of the major and minor keys, he left us the attributes but not list...
- [Muses and Musings <br/>The Red Poppy <br/>Reinhold Glière and Yekaterina Geltzer](https://interlude.hk/red-poppy-reinhold-gliere-yekaterina-geltzer/): Yekaterina Vasilyevna Geltzer was a prima ballerina of the famous Bolshoi Ballet, who danced in the theatre from 1898 to 1935. Her father Vasily was an outstanding mime dance and director at the theater, but he believed that his daughter’s physique was unsuitable for dancing. Yekaterina put up a fight,...
- [Masterclasses Without Tears](https://interlude.hk/masterclasses-without-tears/): The word “masterclass” can, for some, conjure up a terrifying scenario: the “private lesson in public”, with a formidable “master” teacher and a trembling student, their every error and slip heard and duly noted by teacher and audience. I remember watching music masterclasses on the BBC in the 1970s with...
- [Reinhold Gliére (1875-1956): Heir to Russian Romantic Music](https://interlude.hk/reinhold-gliere-1875-1956-heir-russian-romantic-music/): Considered the heir of the Russian Romantic musical tradition, Reinhold Moritzevich Gliére (1875-1956) primarily composed on a grand scale and in large forms. His music is well known for its expressive melodies and colorful orchestration inspired by Russian folklore. Gliére was a prodigious composer, and besides crafting three symphonies, four...
- [Minors of the Majors <br/>Antonio Vivaldi: <em>Sonata in G minor</em>, Op. 14, No. 9, RV 42](https://interlude.hk/minors-majors-antonio-vivaldi-sonata-g-minor-op-14-9-rv-42/): “Minors of the Majors” invites you to discover compositions by the great classical composers that for one reason or another have not reached the musical mainstream. Please enjoy, and keep listening! The musical estate of Antonio Vivaldi (1675-1741) contains a vast collection of original manuscripts. Throughout his extended career as...
- [The Sorrowful Mother](https://interlude.hk/sorrowful-mother/): The Sorrows of Mary became the theme for the Stabat Mater, or, to give it its full name, Stabat Mater Dolorosa, or The Sorrowful Mother Stood. The sorrowful mother, Mary, standing at the foot of the cross upon which her son is crucified, reflects upon the torments visited upon him....
- [The Great Women Artists Who Shaped Music XVIII – Maria Szymanowska](https://interlude.hk/great-women-artists-shaped-music-xviii-maria-szymanowska/): Maria Szymanowska was an artist ahead of her time. Although her name is unfamiliar to many of us, she was one of the first professional piano virtuosos and a respected composer in 19th-century Europe. Her career foreshadowed that of fellow Polish artist Frédéric Chopin. She was court pianist to the...
- [MALIPIERO, G.F.: Sinfonia degli eroi / Dai sepolcri / Ditirambo tragico](https://interlude.hk/malipiero-g-f-sinfonia-degli-eroi-dai-sepolcri-ditirambo-tragico/): Sinfonia degli eroi (Symphony of Heroes) From MALIPIERO, G. F. : Sinfonia degli eroi / Dai sepolcri / Ditirambo tragico (2015) Released by Naxos Malipiero: Sinfonia degli eroi (Symphony of Heroes)Five vividly contrasting works, four of them in world première recordings, make up this latest issue in the Naxos series...
- [Sex and Music: The English Renaissance](https://interlude.hk/sex-music-english-renaissance/): Although the madrigal in Italy was an occasion for setting some of the most notable poets of the age, when the madrigal got to England after 1558, it quickly succumbed to the most bawdy of texts. Composers were quick to take advantage of the melodic independence of the voices to...
- [How You Should Feel in the Key of D major](https://interlude.hk/feel-key-d-major/): In our earlier series on C major and minor and G major and minor, we listed Ernst Pauer’s suggestions from 1876 of pieces that fit the particular affect he assigned for a key. For the rest of the major and minor keys, he left us the attributes but not list...
- [Sound and Imagery: <em>Victory at Sea</em>](https://interlude.hk/sound-imagery-victory-sea/): In 1951, the researcher Henry Solomon approached his classmate Robert Sarnoff, a rising executive at NBC television, about the phenomenal amount of film that each side in the Second World War had in their stocks. Solomon has been working with historian Samuel Eliot Morison who was then writing the 15-volume...
- [Ruth Crawford-Seeger: It’s Depressing!](https://interlude.hk/ruth-crawford-seeger-depressing/): The “Great Depression” was the immediate result of the sudden devastating collapse of the US stock market on 29 October 1929. Known as “Black Tuesday,” it plunged the world into a severe economic downturn in the 1930’s. Construction virtually halted in many countries, personal income and tax revenue dried up...
- [Schubert’s Impromptus](https://interlude.hk/schuberts-impromptus/): I’ve been playing and listening to Schubert’s Opus 90 Impromptus since I was about 14, when my mother fell in love with Alfred Brendel playing the fourth of the set, in A flat, and insisted that I learn it. So, armed with a Peters edition of the score, I set...
- [Nikolaus Harnoncourt (1929-2016) <br/>Make it new by making it old](https://interlude.hk/nikolaus-harnoncourt-1929-2016-make-new-making-old/): Like an enormous surgeon’s scalpel, the Second World War indiscriminately severed musical and cultural arteries. A new world order was gradually taking shape, and music became a pretty adornment to our busy little lives. Coming of age in the years immediately following this great conflict, Nikolaus Harnoncourt lamented the fact...
- [Minors of the Majors <br/>Richard Strauss: <em>Oboe Concerto </em>](https://interlude.hk/minors-majors-richard-strauss-oboe-concerto/): “Minors of the Majors” invites you to discover compositions by the great classical composers that for one reason or another have not reached the musical mainstream. Please enjoy, and keep listening!
- ["If music be the food of love, play on." <br/>Shakespeare and Music VII – Hamlet](https://interlude.hk/music-food-love-play-shakespeare-music-vii-hamlet/): The Tragedy of Hamlet is one of the most quoted works in the English language and has had a pervasive influence on virtually every art form—literature, film, stage, screen, art and music. What better play to perform on a two–year odyssey to every country in the world? Conceived by the...
- [Music – Silence – and the Art of Listening](https://interlude.hk/music-silence-art-listening/): In December 2015 I attended the last performance of J. S. Bach’s Goldberg Variations played by the Russian/German pianist Igor Levit in the Drill Hall of New York’s City’s Park Avenue Armory — the setting arranged by the performance artist Marina Abramović. Levit had given this performance several times in...
- [Toccata <br/>A striking piece of Music!](https://interlude.hk/toccata-striking-piece-music/): During the Renaissance, lute music was all the rage! A versatile instrument used for accompanying vocal works or for playing short solo dance pieces, it was the most important instrument for secular entertainment. An important aspect of lute performance was improvisation, and much of the repertoire was probably never written...
- [Haec Dies <br/>Music for Easter](https://interlude.hk/haec-dies-music-easter/): Charles Villiers Stanford (1852-1924) Ye choirs of new Jerusalem From Haec Dies Music for Easter (2016) Released by Harmonia Mundi Charles Villiers Stanford: Ye choirs of new Jerusalem“This is the day the Lord hath made”. The Choir of Clare College, Cambridge and director Graham Ross continue their series of music...
- [How You Should Feel in the Key of G Minor](https://interlude.hk/feel-key-g-minor/): The Austrian composer and pianist Ernst Pauer (1826-1905) was a student of Mozart’s son, Franz Xaver Wolfgang Mozart, before moving to London in 1851. He was one of the first piano professors at the Royal College of Music and also worked with the music faculty at the University of Cambridge.
- [Sergei Rachmaninoff: <em>The Bells</em>, Op. 35](https://interlude.hk/sergei-rachmaninoff-bells-op-35/): Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943) spent much of his childhood and youth in the Russian countryside. For the rest of his life, he would vividly remember a childhood resonating with the beautiful and exotic sounds of ringing bells. Rachmaninoff writes in 1913, “The sound of church bells dominated all the cities of...
- [Muses and Musings <br/>That American Woman! Robert Schumann and Mary Potts-Perkins](https://interlude.hk/muse-musings-american-woman-robert-schumann-mary-potts-perkins/): On 14 October 1850, Robert and Clara Schumann played host to Mary Potts and her husband John Perkins in Düsseldorf. The visiting couple had married in New York just months early, and was looking to spend their honeymoon in Europe. You may well be asking how an American couple ended...
- [No talking in the stalls please!](https://interlude.hk/talking-stalls-please/): Recently I gave a concert in a local church. The audience was small, but they listened attentively and seemed genuinely engaged by the music. All except one person (someone who is connected to me through marriage – but not, I hasten to add, my husband! ) who talked throughout the...
- [Minors of the Majors <br/>Gabriel Fauré: <em>String Quartet</em>, Op. 121](https://interlude.hk/minors-majors-gabriel-faure-string-quartet-op-121/): “Minors of the Majors” invites you to discover compositions by the great classical composers that for one reason or another have not reached the musical mainstream. Please enjoy, and keep listening!
- [Music and Art: Varèse and Le Corbusier](https://interlude.hk/music-art-varese-le-corbusier/): In 1958, the French composer Edgard Varèse, working with the architect Le Corbusier and his assistant, the Greek composer Iannis Xenakis, created a music soundscape for the Philips Electronics Pavilion at the 1958 World’s Fair in Brussels.
- [Full Piano Access](https://interlude.hk/full-piano-access/): Scattered in moveable sites around the streets and buildings of Hong Kong are decorated pianos that are all part of an international piano artwork by artist Luke Jerram. Since 2008, in more than 47 cities around the world, 1,500 street pianos have been installed with the simple note: Play Me,...
- [Chamber Music - CURRENT, B. / STANILAND, A. / OESTERLE, M. / WRIGHT, J.K. (Elements Eternal)](https://interlude.hk/chamber-music-current-b-staniland-oesterle-m-wright-j-k-elements-eternal/): Letters to the Immortal Beloved No. 3. Meine unsterbliche Geliebte From Chamber Music – CURRENT, B. / STANILAND, A. / OESTERLE, M. / WRIGHT, J. K. (Elements Eternal) (2015) Released by Naxos Wright: Letters to the Immortal Beloved – No. 3. Meine unsterbliche GeliebteThese pieces are some of the best...
- [Animals in Music: Birds](https://interlude.hk/animals-music-birds/): We all know about Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf, Saint-Saëns’ Carnival of the Animals, and Schubert’s Trout, but what other animals lurk in the musical forests?
- [How You Should Feel in the Key of G Major](https://interlude.hk/feel-key-g-major/): The Austrian composer and pianist Ernst Pauer (1826-1905) was a student of Mozart’s son, Franz Xaver Wolfgang Mozart, before moving to London in 1851. He was one of the first piano professors at the Royal College of Music and also worked with the music faculty at the University of Cambridge.
- [Wedding behind Bars <br/> Giovanni Paisiello and Cecilia Pallini](https://interlude.hk/wedding-behind-bars-giovanni-paisiello-cecilia-pallini/): A shotgun wedding is commonly arranged to avoid embarrassment due to an unplanned pregnancy. As the name suggests, it is based on a supposed scenario that the father of the pregnant daughter must resort to some kind of forceful coercion to ensure that the young man actually follows through with...
- [Giovanni Paisiello: Melodic Innocence](https://interlude.hk/giovanni-paisiello-melodic-innocence/): The comic opera Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville) became Giovanni Paisiello’s greatest success. Composed and first staged during Paisiello’s tenure at the court in St. Petersburg, the opera swept like wildfire through European theaters. Between 1783 and 1804 it received nearly 100 performances, including a rare 1801...
- [Norma Nahoun](https://interlude.hk/dont-afraid-go-sing-norma-nahoun/): ‘Don’t be afraid to go out there and sing’ Our conversation resumes after a brief lapse in signal. ‘The signal is terrible sometimes,’ she exclaims. ‘You’d think in a big city like Paris there’d be no problem, but sometimes it doesn’t even make it through the wall! ’
- [Composing as Curating: In Touch with Listenpony](https://interlude.hk/composing-curating-touch-listenpony/): London’s contemporary music scene is unique. A perfect storm of engaged audiences, an urban landscape full of unusual venues and limited funding awarded only to the most creative has led to a surge of small organisations taking the music they love out of the concert hall and into new spaces...
- [Minors of the Majors <br/>Antonín Dvořák: <em>Mass in D major</em>, Op. 86](https://interlude.hk/minors-majors-antonin-dvorak-mass-d-major-op-86/): “Minors of the Majors” invites you to discover compositions by the great classical composers that for one reason or another have not reached the musical mainstream. Please enjoy, and keep listening!
- ["If music be the food of love, play on." <br/>Shakespeare and Music VI – Macbeth](https://interlude.hk/music-food-love-play-shakespeare-music-vi-macbeth/): “Out, damned spot! Out, I say! ” Bloodstains cannot be scoured nor erased in Shakespeare’s tragedy Macbeth. Intense ambition and a consuming lust for power lead the Scottish general Macbeth and his wife Lady Macbeth to commit murder and to seize the throne. The protagonists, consumed by guilt and paranoia,...
- [Music by a Medium: The Story of Rosemary Brown](https://interlude.hk/music-medium-story-rosemary-brown/): The little girl was seven years old when she awoke and saw a ghost standing beside her. His hair was long and white, and he wore a cassock. He told her that he had been a composer and pianist in life, and that he would return to give her music...
- [Henselt: Piano Works](https://interlude.hk/henselt-piano-works/): Valse Melancolique, Op. 36 From Henselt: Piano Works (2015) Released by Grand Piano Henselt: Valse Melancolique, Op. 36Bavarian-born Adolf von Henselt was one of a galaxy of star pianist-composers of a similar age that included Chopin, Schumann, Liszt and Thalberg. A student of Hummel, Henselt developed a breathtaking, idiosyncratic virtuoso...
- [Sex and Music: Medieval France](https://interlude.hk/sex-music-medieval-france/): The fifteenth-century French chanson was not only a popular light vocal genre but a wonderful vehicle for all sorts of lasciviousness. In Josquin des Prez’ song “Faulte d’argent,” the anonymous poet complains that “Lack of money is unparalleled misery... . ,” but then goes on to note that “money will...
- [How You Should Feel in the Key of C Minor](https://interlude.hk/feel-key-c-minor/): The Austrian composer and pianist Ernst Pauer (1826-1905) was a student of Mozart’s son, Franz Xaver Wolfgang Mozart, before moving to London in 1851. He was one of the first piano professors at the Royal College of Music and also worked with the music faculty at the University of Cambridge.
- [Music in Exile <br/>Displaced by War](https://interlude.hk/music-exile-displaced-war/): With Nazi security forces hot on his heels, Kurt Weill crossed the French border on 22 March 1933. For the next two years Weill settled in Paris, and the composer barely managed to make a living. He completed his Symphony No. 2, and produced his final collaboration with Bertold Brecht....
- [Giovanni Paisiello](https://interlude.hk/giovanni-paisiello-composer-of-the-month/): The Original Barber of Seville In 2016, we celebrate the 200th anniversary of Giovanni Paisiello’s death (1740-1816). One of the most successful and influential opera composers of his time, he wrote music for 94 operas that cultivated a comic, simple, direct and spirited musical style. Paired with colorful orchestral scoring...
- [Muses and Musings <br/>Anna and the Red Priest: Anna Girò and Antonio Vivaldi](https://interlude.hk/muse-musing-anna-red-priest-anna-giro-antonio-vivaldi/): Amid anguish and torment, Lives the contented soul, Chaste love, its only hope! Antonio Vivaldi: Nulla in mundo pax sincera, RV 630 (There is no honest peace in this world) These most powerful lines about the true nature of love and hope tellingly appear in Antonio Vivaldi’s sacred motet Nulla...
- [Minors of the Majors <br/>Franz Joseph Haydn: <em>Baryton Trio No. 97</em> in D Major, Hob. XI:97](https://interlude.hk/minors-majors-franz-joseph-haydn-baryton-trio-97-d-major-hob-xi97/): “Minors of the Majors” invites you to discover compositions by the great classical composers that for one reason or another have not reached the musical mainstream. Please enjoy, and keep listening!
- [Music and Art: Schoenberg and Kandinsky](https://interlude.hk/music-art-schoenberg-kandinsky/): In January 1911, the painter Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1944) was in Munich and went to a concert. He and the other members of the Munich New Artists’ Association heard something that changed Kandinsky’s whole artistic theory. The concert was of music by Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951) and it prompted Kandinsky to start...
- [What’s the point of reviewing concerts?](https://interlude.hk/whats-point-reviewing-concerts/): I’ve been reviewing classical music concerts in London for my blog and for an international concert and opera listings site for over five years now. In many ways, it’s the ideal job for me as it combines my twin passions of live classical music and writing about music, but I...
- [McCabe: Piano Music - Variations, Op. 22 / Studies No. 3, 4 and 6 / 5 Bagatelles / Haydn Variations ](https://interlude.hk/mccabe-piano-music-variations-op-22-studies-3-4-6-5-bagatelles-haydn-variations/): Haydn Variations From McCabe: Piano Music – Variations, Op. 22 / Studies No. 3, 4 and 6 / 5 Bagatelles / Haydn Variations (2015) Released by Naxos McCabe: Haydn VariationsJohn McCabe was a composer-pianist who excelled internationally in both fields. For his own instrument he wrote a distinguished series of...
- [Ernst Krenek (1900-1991): Composing the Chaos](https://interlude.hk/ernst-krenek-1900-1991-composing-chaos/): The Reichsmusiktage (Music Days of the 3rd Reich) in 1938 featured a number of customary performances and lectures. However, it also marked the opening of an exhibit entitled Entartete Music (Degenerate music). The exhibit was intended to show the “cultural degradation and moral threat posed to the nation by Jewish...
- [How You Should Feel in the Key of C Major](https://interlude.hk/feel-key-c-major/): The Austrian composer and pianist Ernst Pauer (1826-1905) was a student of Mozart’s son, Franz Xaver Wolfgang Mozart, before moving to London in 1851. He is one of the first piano professors at the Royal College of Music and also worked with the music faculty at the University of Cambridge.
- [Yamaha Pianos <br/>The fastest way from Bach to Zappa](https://interlude.hk/yamaha-pianos-fastest-way-bach-zappa/): In my youth, I spent countless Saturday and Sunday afternoons playing for weddings until I was finally able to buy my own wheels. Since playing for weddings does not really pay all that well, I had to settle for two wheels in the shape of a Yamaha motorcycle. One of...
- [The Musician as Sportsperson](https://interlude.hk/musician-sportsperson/): The musician’s life is akin to the sportsperson’s: the many hours of specialist training, the constant need to hone and improve one’s techniques and skill base, to keep fit and build stamina to cope with the Herculean learning and upkeep of all those notes, punishing concert schedules, traveling, and indeed...
- [When Trio doesn’t mean Three](https://interlude.hk/trio-doesnt-mean-three/): Minuet and Trio; Scherzo and Trio; Trio Sonata. These are all examples of times when a ‘Trio’ doesn’t mean ‘Three. ’ It might have originally meant three, but now it means something else. In the court dances of the Classical period, there was a social dance that featured very small...
- [Minors of the Majors <br/>Franz Peter Schubert: <em>Psalm 23</em>, Op. 132](https://interlude.hk/minors-majors-franz-peter-schubert-psalm-23-op-132/): “Minors of the Majors” invites you to discover compositions by the great classical composers that for one reason or another have not reached the musical mainstream. Please enjoy, and keep listening!
- [Martha Graham: Picasso of Dance](https://interlude.hk/martha-graham-picasso-dance/): Recognized as one of the greatest artists of the 20th century, Martha Graham created a movement language based upon the expressive capacity of the human body. Throughout a long and illustrious career, Graham created 181 dance compositions that crossed artistic boundaries and embraced every artistic genre. She collaborated, commissioned and...
- [Piano Quintets - Enrique Granados / Joaquin Turina](https://interlude.hk/piano-quintets-enrique-granados-joaquin-turina/): Piano Quintet in G minor op. 49 III. Largo – Molto presto From Piano Quintets – Enrique Granados / Joaquin Turina (2015) Released by Harmonia Mundi Granados: Piano Quintet in G minor op. 49 – III. Largo – Molto prestoTwo masterpieces awaiting discovery. Written a dozen years apart (1895-1907), these...
- [The Great Women Artists Who Shaped Music XVII: Felicja Blumental](https://interlude.hk/great-women-artists-shaped-music-xvii-felicja-blumental/): Polish-Brazilian pianist Felicja Blumental was one of the few women who attained a solo career as a pianist in the early 20th century. Born in Poland in 1908, she was a brilliant artist whose probing interpretations exhibited Brazilian flair in works of Heitor Villa-Lobos and compelling intensity in music of...
- [A Girl named Gucki! <br/>Ernst Krenek and Anna Mahler](https://interlude.hk/girl-named-gucki-ernst-krenek-anna-mahler/): At times, it can be rather traumatic to be the son or daughter of a celebrity couple. Take for example Anna Justine Mahler, second child of Gustav Mahler and his wife Alma Schindler. Anna was born in 1904, and her mother proudly confided in her diary, “This birth—at high noon,...
- [The Chinese Hero](https://interlude.hk/chinese-hero/): Europeans had been importing porcelain, silk and lacquer goods from China and Japan ever since the 17th century. At the dawn of the 18th century, European craftsmen and designers were actively imitating Oriental designs, creating their own fanciful versions of the East. Chinoiserie, as it became known, took inspiration from...
- [Johannes Brahms: <em>Sonata for Violin and Piano No 2</em> in A major, Op. 100](https://interlude.hk/johannes-brahms-sonata-violin-piano-2-major-op-100/): The Hungarian violinist, composer, conductor and educator Joseph Joachim (1831-1907) was one of the most influential musical personalities of his time. At the tender age of 12, with Mendelssohn conducting, he performed the Beethoven violin concerto in London, and later served as concertmaster to Franz Liszt in Weimar. He introduced...
- [Should I Be Standing Now?](https://interlude.hk/standing-now/): A standing ovation is a form of applause where members of a seated audience stand up while applauding after extraordinary performances of particularly high acclaim. In Ancient Rome returning military commanders (such as Marcus Licinius Crassus after his defeat of Spartacus) whose victories did not quite meet the requirements of...
- [Minors of the Majors <br/>Hector Berlioz: 9 <em>Melodies</em>, Op. 2](https://interlude.hk/minors-majors-hector-berlioz-9-melodies-op-2/): “Minors of the Majors” invites you to discover compositions by the great classical composers that for one reason or another have not reached the musical mainstream. Please enjoy, and keep listening!
- [More Divine Duos—Musical Pairs](https://interlude.hk/divine-duos-musical-pairs-2/): Music lovers adore their favorite divas. One high C and we are smitten. It is no surprise that sopranos have their share of musical sweethearts. Russian cellist Mstislav Rostropovich, one of the greatest cellists of the 20th century, was charmed by a soprano. “Slava,” is best known for his captivating...
- [In Touch with Olivia Jageurs and the 15 Second Harp Project](https://interlude.hk/touch-olivia-jageurs-15-second-harp-project/): In some ways there has never been a more difficult time to be a composer. Funding cuts, an over-saturated market and classical music’s waning cultural significance mean that finding a compositional voice and a place for that voice is perhaps harder than it’s ever been.
- [Bacewicz: String Quartets](https://interlude.hk/bacewicz-string-quartets/): String Quartet no 1 II. Tema con variazioni From Bacewicz: String Quartets (2015) Released by Naxos Bacewicz: String Quartet no. 1 – II. Tema con variazioni Musicologist Adrian Thomas considered Grażyna Bacewicz’s string quartets “unrivalled in 20th-century Polish music and... one of the century’s most significant contributions to the genre”....
- [Scriabin’s Color Symbolism in Music](https://interlude.hk/scriabins-color-symbolism-music/): In my last article I discussed Čiurlionis’ genius, single-handedly introducing Symbolism to his native Lithuania. Alexander Scriabin (1872-1915) in contrast, lived and worked within well-established artistic traditions in Russia, in which the various avant-garde movements in music and art from Western Europe had flourished. By 1893, the works of Verlaine,...
- [A concrete musical dream! <br/>The Edison Cement Piano](https://interlude.hk/concrete-musical-dream-edison-cement-piano/): The contribution of Thomas Alva Edison to modern life is so enormous that it is difficult to appreciate! He registered a grand total of 1,093 patents, including numerous telegraph machines, the first voice recording and playback system, the phonograph and subsequent improvements, and the first moving-picture camera. His most famous...
- [Hoyotoho to the Hong Kong Philharmonic: Die Walküre](https://interlude.hk/hoyotoho-hong-kong-philharmonic-die-walkure/): One year after the launch of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra’s Ring Cycle, Music Director Jaap van Zweden brings us Die Walküre (the Valkyrie), the second installment of Richard Wagner’s monumental opera tetralogy.
- [Minors of the Majors <br/>Frédéric Chopin: <em>Variations on a Theme by Rossini</em>, B. 9](https://interlude.hk/minors-majors-frederic-chopin-variations-theme-rossini-b-9/): “Minors of the Majors” invites you to discover compositions by the great classical composers that for one reason or another have not reached the musical mainstream. Please enjoy, and keep listening!
- [Divine Duos—Musical Pairs](https://interlude.hk/divine-duos-musical-pairs/): What could be more romantic—a Valentine’s Day feature of our favorite classical musicians who popped the question and who make great music together both on and off stage? One of the most spectacularly talented couples was cellist Jacqueline Du Pré and pianist and conductor Daniel Barenboim. They met in 1966...
- [Joubert: Instant Moment (The) / Temps perdu / Sinfonietta](https://interlude.hk/joubert-instant-moment-temps-perdu-sinfonietta/): Temps Perdu, Op. 99 Variation 4: Envoi From Joubert: Instant Moment (The) / Temps perdu / Sinfonietta (2015) Released by Naxos Joubert: Temps Perdu, Op. 99 – Variation 4: EnvoiBorn in Cape Town, John Joubert won a scholarship to study at the Royal Academy of Music in London, his successful...
- [<em>Roman de Fauvel</em>: Straight from the Horse’s Mouth](https://interlude.hk/roman-de-fauvel-straight-horses-mouth/): The Roman de Fauvel is an early 14th-century satirical poem preserved in a beautifully decorated manuscript. Attributed to Gervais de Bus, a clerk at the French royal chancery, the narrative is divided into two books. It details the rise of the fallow-colored and foolish horse “Fauvel” to prominence in the...
- [Chinese Musings](https://interlude.hk/chinese-musings/): With Chinese New Year once again around the corner, let us take a quick look at the extended tradition of Western fascination with China in arts and in music. “Chinoiserie” is commonly characterized as the use of decorative Chinese motifs and concepts in Western art, porcelain, furniture, and architecture. Take...
- [From the Piano of an Opium Eater](https://interlude.hk/piano-opium-eater/): After Frédéric Chopin was seen by three physicians in Mallorca in 1838, he wrote, “... in the last three weeks, I was sick like a dog, three of the best known physicians of the whole island came to examine me... the first said that I was as good as dead,...
- [Hector Berlioz: <em>Roméo et Juliette</em>, Op. 17](https://interlude.hk/hector-berlioz-romeo-et-juliette-op-17/): Hector Berlioz’s visit to the Odéon Theater in 1827 not only inflamed a deeply burning passion for his future wife, the Irish actress Harriet Smithson, but also for the dramatic genius of William Shakespeare. Berlioz’s infatuation with Harriet gave rise to the Symphonie Fantastique, while his literary passion inspired the...
- [The Creativity Iceberg](https://interlude.hk/creativity-iceberg/): Musicians will be familiar with this image of an iceberg. The tip, the visible part, represents our public persona and the music we perform and share with others, while the much larger mass which is hidden below the surface of the water represents the many hours of practise, study and...
- [Minors of the Majors <br/>Ludwig van Beethoven: <em>Rondino in E-flat major</em>, WoO 25](https://interlude.hk/minors-majors-ludwig-van-beethoven-rondino-e-flat-major-woo-25/): “Minors of the Majors” invites you to discover compositions by the great classical composers that for one reason or another have not reached the musical mainstream. Please enjoy, and keep listening!
- [Music and Art : Stravinsky and Picasso](https://interlude.hk/music-art-stravinsky-picasso/): Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes brought music, art, and dance into the 20th century. Eschewing the traditional, Diaghilev worked with the leading artists in all fields to bring a new life to a fairly moribund art form.
- [Seeing and Hearing](https://interlude.hk/seeing-hearing/): The concert hall is like the theatre, and the performer the actor on the stage. And for the audience, a concert is both a visual and aural experience – we “listen” with eyes as well as ears. Today audiences are likely to be as much concerned with what they see...
- [Johann Wenzel Kalliwoda (1801-1866): The Missing Link](https://interlude.hk/johann-wenzel-kalliwoda-1801-1866-missing-link/): In 2016 we remember the 150th anniversary of the passing of Johann Baptist Wenzel Kalliwoda. Remember might be a somewhat misleading word, as the 20th century never managed to acknowledge his contributions to music. Interest in the composer was reawakened only a couple of years ago when the Talich Quartet...
- [Szymanowska: Dances for Solo Piano](https://interlude.hk/szymanowska-dances-solo-piano/): 18 Danses No. 18. Cotillon in A – Flat Major From Szymanowska: Dances for Solo Piano (2015) Released by Grand Piano Szymanowska: 18 Danses – No. 18. Cotillon in A – Flat MajorDisplaying exceptional musical precocity, the young pianist Maria Szymanowska proved a sensation in Warsaw’s salons, before moving to...
- [Léo Delibes: A Life of muted passions](https://interlude.hk/leo-delibes-life-muted-passions/): You might never have heard of the composer Léo Delibes, but I bet you are familiar with at least one of his tunes. I am, of course, talking of the “Flower Duet” from his opera Lakmé. The opera has barely started when the title character and one of her servants...
- [Léo Delibes](https://interlude.hk/leo-delibes-1836-1891-lets-dance/): Let’s dance! The reputation of Léo Delibes (1836-1891) rests almost exclusively with his two 90-minute ballet scores Coppélia and Sylvia. For the first time in the history of music, Delibes had crafted ballet scores of symphonic proportions. Full of memorable tunes delivered in sparkling orchestrations, these scores not only capture...
- [Bigamist Prokofiev? <br/>Sergei Prokofiev and Mira Mendelson](https://interlude.hk/bigamist-prokofiev-sergei-prokofiev-mira-mendelson/): Dictatorial societies are notorious for fostering environments of suspicion and fear. It is always chilling to read Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s three-volume narrative The Gulag Archipelago. Solzhenitsyn relied on eyewitness testimony and primary research as well as his own experiences as a prisoner in the Soviet gulag labor camp system. A simple...
- [Pierre Boulez: Praise be to amnesia!](https://interlude.hk/pierre-boulez-praise-amnesia/): Pierre Boulez (1925-2016) was never particularly interested in making friends! Rather, he became thoroughly absorbed in a mission to write music worthy of his time, and to fight cynicism and indifference wherever he found them. That he mercilessly dismantled the monuments of classical music did not necessarily increase his mass...
- [Minors of the Majors <br/>Johann Sebastian Bach: <em>Preise dein Glück, gesegnetes Sachsen</em>, BWV 215](https://interlude.hk/minors-majors-johann-sebastian-bach-preise-dein-gluck-gesegnetes-sachsen-bwv-215/): “Minors of the Majors” invites you to discover compositions by the great classical composers that for one reason or another have not reached the musical mainstream. Please enjoy, and keep listening!
- ["If music be the food of love, play on." <br/>Shakespeare and Music V – Much Ado About Nothing](https://interlude.hk/music-food-love-play-shakespeare-music-v-much-ado-nothing/): Shakespeare’s best-loved comedies have inspired many a composer to write glorious music. Much Ado About Nothing one of his finest comedies is full of uproarious laughs, gossip, love and deception but also delves into timeless subjects of shame, honor and manners. But more interesting, Shakespeare challenges gender stereotypes by exploring...
- [Music and Art: Hindemith and Grünewald](https://interlude.hk/music-art-hindemith-grunewald/): Most of the music and art connections have been fairly simple: a picture of art and piece of music. In the case of Grünewald and Hindemith, we have a more complex inspiration that also has a political side. Matthias Grünewald (c.  1470 – 1528) fought against the new Renaissance style...
- [“Music is a Miracle and the First Place of Art” – Alice Herz-Sommer](https://interlude.hk/music-miracle-first-place-art-alice-herz-sommer/): More than ever we need heroes. Alice Hertz-Sommer is one of mine. Alice practiced the piano several hours each day usually from memory and with total absorption—Chopin waltzes, Schubert impromptus, Bach inventions, Beethoven sonatas and she played chamber music with trusted friends and relatives until she passed away at age...
- [Antonio Soler: Sol de mi fortuna <br/>Harpsichord Sonatas](https://interlude.hk/antonio-soler-sol-de-mi-fortuna-harpsichord-sonatas/): Sonata No. 17 in A Minor : Andantino From Antonio Soler: Sol de mi fortuna Harpsichord Sonatas (2015) Released by Naxos Soler: Sonata No. 17 in A Minor – AndantinoA world premiere! Who would have thought that the principal source for the music of Padre Antonio Soler was still waiting...
- [Ludwig van Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 2, Op. 19](https://interlude.hk/ludwig-van-beethoven-piano-concerto-2-op-19/): We have all heard or seen performances of the big piano concertos by Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, Liszt, Grieg, Prokofiev and various others. Hordes of young lions and lionesses—technically perfect and getting increasingly younger—merrily thunder through the repertoire on their prospective ways to virtuoso stardom. In terms of interpretation, the old warhorses...
- [Sergei Prokofiev: Salvation for Modern Music?](https://interlude.hk/sergei-prokofiev-salvation-modern-music/): It is somewhat surprising that Prokofiev’s earliest effort in the symphonic genre also became one of his most popular and most frequently programmed works. Composed in 1916/17, Prokofiev subtitled his Symphony No. 1 “Classical. ” That nickname was apparently chosen to describe the work’s character, which contains a number of...
- [Clara-Jumi Kang](https://interlude.hk/clara-jumi-kang-artist-of-the-month/): The Hong Kong International Chamber Music Festival has a reputation for attracting some of the best musical talent from around the globe, and this year is no exception. German-born Korean violinist Clara-Jumi Kang is appearing there this January, giving concerts alongside artists including Martin Beaver, DaXun Zhang, and Paul Neubauer.
- [Classical Musicians and Social Media](https://interlude.hk/classical-musicians-social-media/): social media noun noun: social media; plural noun: social medias 1. websites and applications that enable users to create and share content or to participate in social networking.
- [Lina and the Wolf <br/>Sergei Prokofiev and Lina Codina](https://interlude.hk/lina-wolf-sergei-prokofiev-lina-codina/): Sergei Prokofiev was one of the twentieth century’s most brilliant composers, and he definitely knew it. In fact, he was so confident in his musical abilities that he never attempted to conceal the more disagreeable aspects of his character or behavior. Given Prokofiev’s irresistible talent, it was rather natural that...
- [Keeping it Fresh with the Emerson Quartet in Hong Kong](https://interlude.hk/keeping-fresh-emerson-quartet-hong-kong/): The Emerson String Quartet travels to Hong Kong this month to perform at the annual Chamber Music Festival. Paul Watkins, the Quartet’s cellist, balances a busy solo career against the work of the Quartet, much like the other members of the group (violinists Eugene Drucker and Philip Setzer, and violist...
- [Minors of the Majors <br/>Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart <em>Regina Coeli</em>, K. 108](https://interlude.hk/minors-majors-wolfgang-amadeus-mozart-regina-coeli-k-108/): “Minors of the Majors” invites you to discover compositions by the great classical composers that for one reason or another have not reached the musical mainstream. Please enjoy, and keep listening!
- [Čiurlionis - Symbolism in Art and Music in Lithuania](https://interlude.hk/ciurlionis-symbolism-art-music-lithuania/): In last month’s article I discussed the Symbolist influence on music and art in France at the turn of the 20th century. It is of interest to note that this influence also played a role in the works of the Lithuanian composer/painter Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis (1875-1911) and in the compositions...
- [The Great Women Artists Who Shaped Music XVI: Zhou Guangren](https://interlude.hk/great-women-artists-shaped-music-part-xvi-zhou-guangren/): It is estimated that 30-35 million young people play the piano in China. The sudden prominence of outstanding Chinese pianists today including Yuja Wang, Li Yundi, Chen Jie and Lang Lang, and other Chinese instrumentalists, can be attributed to Zhou Guangren, pianist, ardent educator, composer and activist. Zhou Guangren, has...
- [Arensky: Chamber Music - Piano Quintet / String Quartet No. 2 / Piano Trio No. 1](https://interlude.hk/arensky-chamber-music-piano-quintet-string-quartet-2-piano-trio-1/): Piano Quintet in D Major, Op. 51 III. Scherzo: Allegro vivace From Arensky: Chamber Music – Piano Quintet / String Quartet No. 2 / Piano Trio No. 1 (2015) Released by Naxos Arensky: Piano Quintet in D Major, Op. 51 – III. Scherzo: Allegro vivaceAnton Arensky belonged to the generation...
- [Music Festivals 2016](https://interlude.hk/music-festivals-2016/): In 2016, music festivals are once again a dime a dozen. No longer confined to their traditional time slots during the summer months, listeners and performers can thankfully enjoy live music year round. Catering to all manners of taste and preferences, specialty festivals attempt to bring back a narrow soundscape...
- [Sizzling Sicilian Sagas <br/>Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci at the Royal Opera House](https://interlude.hk/sizzling-sicilian-sagas-cavalleria-rusticana-pagliacci-royal-opera-house/): The Royal Opera House delivered a remarkably gripping new production of Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci by Damiano Michieletto. The Italian directorial wunderkind unified the verismo double bill, setting the operas in the same Mezzogiorno village where some characters from both operas interact throughout the evening. The love triangle of Pagliacci...
- [With Johann Sebastian into the New Year!](https://interlude.hk/johann-sebastian-new-year/): Johann Sebastian Bach simply had no time for incompetence! In one famous anecdote he pulled off his wig and threw it at another musician with the words, “You should have been a cobbler! ” And we all know the anecdote where Bach pulled a knife on a bassoonist, supposedly in...
- [In Memoriam: Kurt Masur (1927-2015)](https://interlude.hk/memoriam-kurt-masur-1927-2015/): Kurt Masur had a comparatively simple philosophy on music and musical performances. “Conductors,” he once wrote, “should only conduct those pieces where they feel they have something special to say; then people will accept it. ” Although Masur has not shied away from tackling works by contemporary composers, his reputation...
- [A Korean-American Marriage <br/>Young Chang and Albert Weber](https://interlude.hk/korean-american-marriage-young-chang-albert-weber/): The armistice of 1953, although never signed by South Korea, mercifully ended an extended civil war on the Korean peninsular. A heavily fortified demilitarized zone kept the warring factions apart, but since no peace treaty was ever signed, the two Koreas remain technically at war. With substantial financial support from...
- [Minors of the Majors <br/>Johannes Brahms <em>Albumblatt</em>](https://interlude.hk/minors-majors-johannes-brahms-albumblatt/): “Minors of the Majors” invites you to discover compositions by the great classical composers that for one reason or another have not reached the musical mainstream. Please enjoy, and keep listening! Arnold Wehner was director of music at Göttingen, an important musical center in the north of Germany. One of...
- ["If music be the food of love, play on." <br/>Shakespeare and Music IV: The Merry Wives of Windsor](https://interlude.hk/music-food-love-play-shakespeare-music-iv-merry-wives-windsor/): The shenanigans of Sir John Falstaff, one of William Shakespeare’s great comic characters, is next in our ten-part series of Shakespeare and music. The portly, vain character appears in Henry IV part 1 and Henry IV part 2 and Merry Wives Windsor, which portray timeless subject matter—a liberal dose of...
- [Music and Art: Klee](https://interlude.hk/music-art-klee/): Paul Klee (1879-1940) was a Swiss-German painter with a unique style sometimes humorous, sometimes childlike, and always able to draw us into his work. Of all the composers we’ve looked at in this series, it is Klee who has inspired a monumental number of composers.
- [Oswald: Pagine d'Album / Álbumes, Opp. 32, 33, 36 / 3 Études / Estudo para a mão esquerda ](https://interlude.hk/oswald-pagine-dalbum-albumes-opp-32-33-36-3-etudes-estudo-para-mao-esquerda/): Album Op. 32 I. Romance From Oswald: Pagine d’Album / Álbumes, Opp. 32, 33, 36 / 3 Études / Estudo para a mão esquerda (2015) Released by Grand Piano Oswald: Album Op. 32 – I. RomanceHenrique Oswald was one of the most important composers in South America in the late...
- [Minors of the Majors<br/>Robert Schumann: (New Year’s Song), <em>Album for the Young</em> Op. 68, No. 43](https://interlude.hk/minors-majorsrobert-schumann-new-years-song-album-young-op-68-43/): “Minors of the Majors” invites you to discover compositions by the great classical composers that for one reason or another have not reached the musical mainstream. Please enjoy, and keep listening! Robert and Clara Schumann had eight children, all born between 1841 and 1854. With his family of little musicians...
- [Waltz your Way into 2016!](https://interlude.hk/waltz-way-2016/): The popping of champagne corks on New Year’s Eve is frequently accompanied by the music of Johann Strauss Junior. The undisputed master of the Viennese waltz, he became the most popular musician of his generation. And while many of his compositions originated in lavish orchestral scores, publishers printed countless copies...
- [<em>Auld Lang Syne</em> packaged by Joseph Haydn](https://interlude.hk/auld-lang-syne-packaged-joseph-haydn/): Welcoming the New Year frequently involves a glass of champagne and a celebratory kiss from somebody nearby. At the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve the English-speaking world, either before or after extensive toasting and kissing, also collectively launches into more or less dignified renditions of Auld Lang Syne....
- [Sergei Prokofiev: Enfant Terrible](https://interlude.hk/sergei-prokofiev-enfant-terrible/): The piano was the prominent vehicle for Sergei Prokofiev’s musical expression. In the tradition of the great piano virtuosos of the 19th century, he was initially looking to impress his audiences with his considerable keyboard skills. Igor Stravinsky attended a “Prokofiev Evening” on 31 December 1908, and later commented on...
- [Minors of the Majors<br/>Felix Mendelssohn: “On New Year’s Day,” Op 79, No.2](https://interlude.hk/minors-majorsfelix-mendelssohn-new-years-day-op-79-2/): “Minors of the Majors” invites you to discover compositions by the great classical composers that for one reason or another have not reached the musical mainstream. Please enjoy, and keep listening!
- [Music and Art: Mendelssohn and Leighton](https://interlude.hk/music-art-mendelssohn-leighton/): In our series on Music and Art, we’ve been looking at works of music inspired by works of art. The influence also goes the other way, where works of art have been inspired by music. Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) came from a wealthy banking family in Germany. In addition to being...
- [Muses and Musings<br/>Lusty Eye for the Music Guy: Johann Mayrhofer and Franz Schubert](https://interlude.hk/muses-musingslusty-eye-music-guy-johann-mayrhofer-franz-schubert/): Johannes Brahms considered the poet Johann Mayrhofer “the most serious of all Schubert’s friends. ” This complicated man, full of self-hatred and driven by emotions whose violence he could not accept, transferred the conflict-ridden passions of his inner world into powerful poetry. Applying experimental rhythms and forms, enigmatic language and...
- [Choral Concert: Warsaw National Philharmonic Choir](https://interlude.hk/choral-concert-warsaw-national-philharmonic-choir/): Swieta Panienka From Choral Concert: Warsaw National Philharmonic Choir (1998) Released by CD Accord Swieta PanienkaSome beautiful Choral Music from the Warsaw National Philharmonic Choir to celebrate Christmas. Official Website
- [Old Flames burn the hottest!<br/>Sergei Prokofiev and Eleonora Damskaya](https://interlude.hk/old-flames-burn-hottestsergei-prokofiev-eleonora-damskaya/): Sergei Prokofiev would make a compelling case study for a textbook investigating the psychology of the exceptional child. Supremely talented in musical matters, Sergei had composed a number of overtures, various piano pieces and his first opera The Giant by age 9! Eagerly supported by a highly educated and ambitious...
- [Ludwig van Beethoven: <em>String Quartet</em> in G Major, Op. 18, No. 2](https://interlude.hk/ludwig-van-beethoven-string-quartet-g-major-op-18-2/): The early career of Ludwig van Beethoven was decisively shaped by the patronage of Count Ferdinand Ernst Gabriel von Waldstein and Prince Joseph František Maximilian Lobkowicz. In fact, without the unquestioning support and friendship from these two individuals, Beethoven’s musical career might never have really gotten off the ground. Beethoven...
- [Sergei Prokofiev](https://interlude.hk/sergei-prokofiev/): Celebrating the 125th Anniversary of his Birth Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953) “There are still so many beautiful things to be said in C major” Sergei Prokofiev’s death on March 5, 1953, only hours before the passing of Josef Stalin, went almost unnoticed in the press. While millions of Soviet citizens paid...
- [Antique Instruments in the Orchestra](https://interlude.hk/antique-instruments-orchestra/): Can you name an instrument used for an orchestral solo that used to be so common that nearly everyone owned one but now are quite rare? One piece of popular light music calls for an instrument that was in every household until 20 years ago. Students often received them for...
- [You’re a Pro and You Still Have to Practice?](https://interlude.hk/youre-pro-still-practice/): Once I entered an elevator with my red cello case. I swung it up so it stood upright. Although I tried not to make eye contact someone was still prompted to ask questions.
- [The Music is the Least of It](https://interlude.hk/music-least/): The remarkable Orquesta de Instrumentos Reciclados de Cateura is a project from a village next to the Cateura landfill outside the city of Asunción, Paraguay, and is the subject of a new documentary entitled Landfillharmonic.
- ["If music be the food of love, play on." <br/>Shakespeare and Music III: The Tempest](https://interlude.hk/music-food-love-play-shakespeare-music-iii-tempest/): Although The Tempest, written in 1610, is thought to be one of Shakespeare’s greatest works, it had a lukewarm reception. The subsequent ban on the performance of dramas in the theater in 1642 caused The Tempest to disappear into obscurity. Not until the 20th century was there a resurgence of...
- [Music and Art: Pollock](https://interlude.hk/music-art-pollock/): In this series on Music and Art, we’ve mainly been looking at representational pictures (people, trees, and landscapes). When we look at an artist from the world of abstract expressionism, all of our horizons open wide. Jackson Pollock (1912-1956) was considered one of the finest artists of his generation. His...
- [Vianna Da Motta: Symphony, "À Pátria" / Inês de Castro / Impromptus (Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, A. Cassuto)](https://interlude.hk/vianna-da-motta-symphony-patria-ines-de-castro-impromptus-royal-liverpool-philharmonic-cassuto/): Symphony “A Patria” (to the Homeland) Op. 13 II Adagio Molto From Vianna Da Motta: Symphony, “À Pátria” / Inês de Castro / Impromptus (Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, A. Cassuto) (2015) Released by Naxos Da Motta: Symphony “A Patria” (to the Homeland) Op. 13 – II Adagio MoltoThe most distinguished pianist...
- [Christmas Voices of the Paris Conservatoire](https://interlude.hk/christmas-voices-paris-conservatoire/): The shameful, cowardly and revolting attacks on Paris in 2015 serve as a sad reminder that the veneer of civilization continues to be paper-thin! In a repulsive case of history repeating itself, Paris was also under attack roughly 100 years ago. And in 1915, Claude Debussy wrote an angry poem,...
- [The Kids of Perugia](https://interlude.hk/kids-perugia/): David Ilana and I were invited to the Silk Road Piano Festival in Xian in 2014. Xian is famous for its thousands of terracotta soldiers buried in 210–209 BCE by a paranoid emperor, Qin Shi Huang, who wanted to make sure he would be well defended even after his demise....
- [Niccolò Jommelli: <em>Requiem</em>](https://interlude.hk/niccolo-jommelli-requiem/): When Niccolò Jommelli died on 25 August 1774 in Naples, the composer Gennaro Manno organized a magnificent funeral attended by the most prominent musicians and writers in the city. However, since Jommelli was considered one of the most important and respected composers in all of Europe, news of his death...
- [The Moon and Moonlight](https://interlude.hk/moon-moonlight/): Along with the usual terrestrial subjects, composers have not hesitated to look to the skies for inspiration, starting with our own moon. In 1920, Leoš Janáček took two popular Czech novels by Svatopluk Čech and created The Excursions of Mr. Brouček to the Moon and to the 15th Century. When...
- [Christmas Ballets](https://interlude.hk/christmas-ballets/): Around Christmas time, opera houses around the world open their stages to special seasonal productions. And it doesn’t get more festive than watching your favorite Christmas ballet! Combining highly technical performance dance, choreography, music and lavish costumes and staging, the hierarchy of Christmas ballets places the Nutcracker at the head...
- [School Music Teachers: Mischief, Mayhem and Magic](https://interlude.hk/school-music-teachers-mischief-mayhem-magic/): Schoolteachers mold each new generation—what a responsibility. But when it comes to how we value educators who tops the list—the math or science teacher, the reading instructor or the basketball coach? In my book, music teachers are the heroes.
- [Claude Debussy – Music and the Artists of the Fin de Siècle](https://interlude.hk/claude-debussy-music-artists-fin-de-siecle/): In 1902, after the successful debut of his opera Pelléas and Mélisande, Claude Debussy published many articles as a music critic under the pseudonym Monsieur Croche (similar to Paul Valéry’s pseudonym ‘Monsieur Teste’) in the ‘Revue Blanche’ and other publications. The ‘Revue Blanche’ was the vehicle of Symbolist writers, artists...
- [<em>Magnificat</em>: Heavenly Muse](https://interlude.hk/magnificat-heavenly-muse/): Many passages in the Gospel according to Luke read like poetry. Among the most beautiful chapters is the story of Christ’s nativity and childhood. In Luke 1:46-55, the angel Gabriel has visited Mary and announced that she will bring forth a son whom she will call Jesus, and who will...
- [Kilar: Koscielec 1909 / Piano Concerto / Bogurodzica / Exodus (Malicki, Warsaw Philharmonic Choir and Orchestra, Wit)](https://interlude.hk/kilar-koscielec-1909-piano-concerto-bogurodzica-exodus-malicki-warsaw-philharmonic-choir-orchestra-wit/): Piano concerto I. Preludium: Andante con moto From Kilar: Koscielec 1909 / Piano Concerto / Bogurodzica / Exodus (Malicki, Warsaw Philharmonic Choir and Orchestra, Wit) (2002) Released by CD Accord Kilar: Piano concerto – I. Preludium: Andante con motoWojciech Kilar was a Polish classical and film music composer. His film...
- [Unexpected Christmas Treats](https://interlude.hk/unexpected-christmas-treats/): Depending on your location, there might already be a touch of frost in the air. Days might be getting shorter and nights much darker and longer. But whatever your geographic location, you will undoubtedly have noticed that Christmas is once around the corner. Shops are being decorated and the old...
- [Holst: The Planets](https://interlude.hk/holst-planets/): Gustav Holst is best known for a single work: The Planets. A unique symphonic work, it has little precedent in the orchestral literature. It might be compared to Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition or even Elgar’s Engima Variations, but both of those works are much smaller. Few other composers attempted...
- [Jean Sibelius: The Dances of Courtship](https://interlude.hk/jean-sibelius-dances-courtship/): When Janne Sibelius and Aino Järnefelt gazed at each other across a family dinner, love was definitely in the air. “My eyes never left you,” Sibelius wrote later, and her brother Arvid loudly proclaimed, “Don’t look at my sister like that! ” She was only 17, and he an aspiring...
- [Liszt and the <em>Ave Maria</em>](https://interlude.hk/liszt-ave-maria/): Franz Liszt (1811-1886) was one of the few composers to take on the Ave Maria multiple times. His own religious interests would have guided him to the Ave Maria text, and when he made it his own, he carries us both into his own religious thoughts and into his virtuosic...
- [I Have a Little List: Was Don Giovanni the Great Lover?](https://interlude.hk/little-list-don-giovanni-great-lover/): In the opera Don Giovanni, there’s a particularly cruel scene where the Donna Elvira, meeting Don Giovanni’s servant Leporello, has to hear how she is just one of a large number of women that the Don has seduced. In the famous catalogue aria, ‘Madamina, il catalogo è questo... ,” Leporello...
- [Sleigh Bells: Early collision warning system](https://interlude.hk/sleigh-bells-early-collision-warning-system/): Lush forests and forbidding mountains covered in deep snow, together with sweet smells of roasting chestnuts and mulled wines inescapably conjure up images of Christmas time. The only thing missing in this idyllic Victorian winter scene is the rhythmic ringing of sleigh bells. In fact, sleigh bells are almost universally...
- ["If music be the food of love, play on." <br/>Shakespeare and Music II: Midsummer Night’s Dream](https://interlude.hk/music-food-love-play-shakespeare-music-ii-midsummer-nights-dream/): The comedy A Midsummer Night’s Dream, one of Shakespeare’s most popular works, which has spurred composers’ imaginations, is next in our ten-part series of Shakespeare’s plays. Shakespeare was a young man when he wrote this fanciful tale—two couples that become entangled in the fairy world in an improbable and hilarious...
- [Music and Art: O’Keeffe](https://interlude.hk/music-art-okeeffe/): The American West was a unique inspiration for a number of artists, but it is in the work of the American artist Georgia O’Keeffe that a new eye was cast on the broad horizons. Her three watercolors from 1917, Light Coming on the Plains, Canyon with Crows, and Starlight Night,...
- [Transcending Tunes of Light and Shade <br/>Handel: Messiah](https://interlude.hk/transcending-tunes-light-shade-handel-messiah/): During the opening measures of the famous chorus, members of the audience glanced around anxiously, checking to see who would be first to rise to their feet. Then someone in the balcony stood, and someone else, and suddenly the whole audience rose to its feet, as is traditional for the...
- [Hofmann: Charakterskizzen / Piano Sonata in F Major / Theme with Variations and Fugue (Yasynskyy)](https://interlude.hk/hofmann-charakterskizzen-piano-sonata-f-major-theme-variations-fugue-yasynskyy/): Charakterskizzen, Op. 40 I Vision From Hofmann: Charakterskizzen / Piano Sonata in F Major / Theme with Variations and Fugue (Yasynskyy) (2015) Released by Grand Piano Hofmann: Charakterskizzen, Op. 40 – I VisionJózef (Josef) Hofmann was one of the greatest Romantic virtuosi of his age, a towering technician and a...
- [Ukrainian Christmas Eve](https://interlude.hk/ukrainian-christmas-eve/): Nikolai Gogol, a dramatist, novelist and short story writer of Ukrainian ethnicity, is considered a seminal figure of Russian literary realism. His fundamental romantic sensibility is marvelously infused with strains of Surrealism and the grotesque. In fact, Gogol established a new trend in Russian literature by carefully mingling the horrifying...
- [Haydn: <em>The Creation</em>](https://interlude.hk/haydn-creation/): “The story of the creation,” Joseph Haydn wrote in 1801 “has always been considered the sublimest and most awe-inspiring image for mankind. To accompany this great work with appropriate music could certainly have no other result than to heighten these sacred emotions in the listener’s heart, and to make him...
- [Hail Mary, Full of Grace](https://interlude.hk/hail-mary-full-grace/): The Catholic prayer called either Ave Maria or the Hail Mary has been a familiar setting in music, coming into favour in the Renaissance and extending to the current day. Mary, the mother of Jesus, holds a particularly beloved place in the Catholic liturgy and it is in the Ave...
- [Nicolas Dautricourt](https://interlude.hk/nicolas-dautricourt/): Delving into the unknown I talk to Nicolas Dautricourt the evening before a performance he’s giving in New York, playing chamber works by Schoenberg, Brahms, and Haydn. Concerts such as these are the staple diet of a touring musician, but nestled in the undergrowth, in amongst the towering oak trees...
- [Jean Sibelius: Finlandia](https://interlude.hk/jean-sibelius-finlandia/): Music can be an all-consuming passion that serves as a daily spiritual and physical exercise. Jean Sibelius (1865-1957) certainly thought that way, as “music grasped me with a power that rapidly relegated all my other interests to the background. ” Initially, however, music was also associated with pain as his...
- [A Nordic Fairytale<br/>Jean Sibelius and Aino Järnefelt](https://interlude.hk/nordic-fairytalejanne-sibelius-aino-jarnefelt/): At age 23, Jean Sibelius “was pale and good-looking, slender and sensitive. He seemed to all a strange and attractive being. And of course, we were all in love with him... And he was lovable. Refined, attractive, polite, he had that something that women must love. ” Acutely aware of...
- [Jean Sibelius](https://interlude.hk/jean-sibelius/): “Music begins where the possibilities of language end” For a number of high-profile music historians, Jean Sibelius (1864-1957)—instead of Gustav Mahler—is considered the last master in the Beethoven symphonic tradition. In his final symphony, so it is argued, Sibelius relentlessly engaged in a process of transitional development, with form ultimately...
- [Rode: Violin Concertos Nos. 2 and 8 (Eichhorn, Jena Philharmonic, Pasquet)](https://interlude.hk/rode-violin-concertos-nos-2-8-eichhorn-jena-philharmonic-pasquet/): Violin Concerto no 2 in E Major Op. 9 II Siciliano From Rode: Violin Concertos Nos. 2 and 8 (Eichhorn, Jena Philharmonic, Pasquet) (2015) Released by Naxos Rode: Violin Concerto no 2 in E Major Op. 9 – II SicilianoPierre Rode was the star pupil of Viotti (the greatest violinist...
- [Chinese Musical Instruments: Hide](https://interlude.hk/chinese-musical-instruments-hide/): Musical instruments in China were traditionally classified into 8 groups delineated by the material used in the instrument: Silk, Bamboo, Wood, Stone, Metal, Clay, Gourd and Hide. We will look at selected instruments in six of these groups in this series. The watercolor illustrations used in this series were made...
- [Muses and Musings <br/> Edvard Grieg and Teresina Tua](https://interlude.hk/muses-musings-iiiedvard-grieg-teresina-tua/): “To all appearances,” Edvard Grieg wrote in 1882,”I am living a more peaceful life than ever before, but in reality it is a life full of inward struggle. I am both spiritually and bodily unwell and decide every other day not to compose another note, because I satisfy myself less...
- [Violent and Unnatural Deaths in Opera II](https://interlude.hk/violent-unnatural-deaths-opera-ii/): In general, weddings tend to be rather happy occasions. This was certainly true, at least initially, for Orfeo and Euridice. The master musician and the most radiant beauty of the ancient world were passionately in love. But on the wedding day a messenger brings the news that while gathering flowers,...
- [Revered Cellist Aldo Parisot full of ‘Fogo’](https://interlude.hk/revered-cellist-aldo-parisot-full-fogo/): “The master classes are extraordinary – Aldo Parisot has that enormous, rare gift of translating musical feeling into solid information about what to do with a set of fingers and a bow... as a teacher, he is an object of pilgrimage. ” – Alan Rich, New York Magazine.
- [Estonia Grand Piano: A Tradition Reborn](https://interlude.hk/estonia-grand-piano-tradition-reborn/): For the average citizen of the Soviet Union, anything with the exception of plain breads, cabbage, potatoes and vodka was a luxury item. Soviet leadership, however, did produce a number of cultish consumer items of frequently questionable quality. A reflector electrical heater, a kind of miniature satellite dish with unprotected...
- [John Williams and the Sound of Our Lives](https://interlude.hk/john-williams-sound-lives/): Film music has always tread that fine line between classical and not-classical. Should it be considered ‘light’ classical or not classical at all? But film music itself is an interesting genre. There are so many films for which the music itself is a wash – nothing memorable comes out of...
- [That Swingin’ Jazz Thing](https://interlude.hk/swingin-jazz-thing/): Does jazz music make you want to tap your feet and dance? For many, those catchy swing beats can somehow drive our troubles away. In fact, that is one of the reasons why jazz became so popular in the early twentieth century.
- [Voices of the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing I](https://interlude.hk/voices-central-conservatory-music-beijing/): Although a relatively young institution, the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing has seen its fair share of highly talented composers. Founded in 1950, the department of composition—for better or for worse—has been the cornerstone of its academic endeavours. Guo Wenjing, originally born in the ancient city of Chongquing in...
- [Music and Art – Watteau](https://interlude.hk/music-art-watteau/): Watteau, in many ways, was a painter of rococo love. His pink and frothy paintings overflow with courting couples and cupids galore. His 1717 painting, L’Embarquement pour Cythère (The Embarkation for Cythera) is such a work, with cupids circling in the sky, cupids pushing couples together, couples snuggling everywhere, and...
- [Lipinski: Violin Music (Selected Works)](https://interlude.hk/lipinski-violin-music-selected-works/): Souvenir de la mer Baltique, divertissements, Op. 19 (arr. A. Wrobel) From Lipinski: Violin Music (Selected Works) (2012) Released by CD Accord Lipinski: Souvenir de la mer Baltique, divertissements, Op. 19 (arr. A. Wrobel)Polish-born virtuoso Karol Józef Lipiński was recognized as one of the best violinists of the 19th century,...
- [Killer Cellos](https://interlude.hk/killer-cellos/): Two cellists, coming from neighboring Balkan countries, studying in England but at different conservatories, are starting to make us look at cellists and the highly versatile instruments they play in a very new way. No longer just the lower support of a string quartet or grudgingly being given a driving...
- [Bohuslav Martinů: In search of his musical voice](https://interlude.hk/bohuslav-martinu-search-musical-voice/): Bohuslav Martinů composed a large quantity of music in various styles and forms, but according to the composer “in pure chamber music I am always more myself. ” His first Piano Trio, nicknamed “Cinq pièces brèves” spontaneously emerged in Paris in 1930. “I don’t know how I came to compose...
- [Beethoven: <em>Cello Sonata No. 5</em> in D major, Op. 102 No.2](https://interlude.hk/beethoven-cello-sonata-5-d-major-op-102-2/): The year 1812 marked a turning point in Beethoven life. He consistently experienced poor health, emotional stress and lived in great financial anxiety. He spent considerable time at the spas in Teplitz, Karlsbad and Franzensbrunn, and in September he wrote to his friend Amalie Sebald, “since I left you yesterday,...
- [Carmen Fantasy](https://interlude.hk/carmen-fantasy-inspiration/): Opera dominated the musical life of most European cities in the nineteenth century. People from all social classes could participate in the theatrical form by simply buying a ticket. In lavish settings, audiences marveled at singers and musicians combining text, music and movements on stage, commonly with the use of...
- [Favorite Dvořák Chamber Music: Wind Serenade and Two Quintets](https://interlude.hk/favorite-dvorak-chamber-music-wind-serenade-two-quintets/): Well-known for his nine symphonies, Antonin Dvořák was one of the first composers to infuse his music with the folk idioms of his native land, enchanting us with Czech, Moravian and other Slavic melodies. He wrote an enormous number of works in other forms including operas, choral works, concerti (including...
- ["If music be the food of love, play on." <br/>Shakespeare and Music I: Romeo and Juliet](https://interlude.hk/music-food-love-play-shakespeare-music-romeo-juliet/): William Shakespeare’s mastery of metaphor, lyricism, cadence and phrasing resonates with musicians. His poetic output has so much musicality it’s no wonder that the works of Shakespeare have inspired composers. His influence on music for the last five hundred years has resulted in the composition of over 20,000 pieces of...
- [Variations on a Subject in Poetry, Music and Art](https://interlude.hk/variations-subject-poetry-music-art/): In 1894, the French writer and poet Stéphane Mallarmé gave a lecture in Oxford and Cambridge, England, about the relationship between music and literature, in which he alluded to the origin of the artistic creation — the ‘trace’ — whether black notation on a white paper, or the black notes...
- [The Great Women Artists Who Shaped Music XV: Susan Wadsworth](https://interlude.hk/great-women-artists-shaped-music-xv-susan-wadsworth/): How did a young woman who played the piano and violin become a “king/queen maker” of such distinguished artists as pianists Murray Perahia, Emanuel Ax, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, and Richard Goode, the Tokyo, St. Lawrence, and Borromeo Quartets, violinists Pinchas Zukerman, and Ani Kavafian, cellists Carter Brey and Fred Sherry, soprano...
- [Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Nos. 8, 21, 32 (Giltburg)](https://interlude.hk/beethoven-piano-sonatas-nos-8-21-32-giltburg/): Piano Sonata no 21 in C Major, Op. 53 “Waldstein” III Rondo: Allegretto moderato From Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Nos. 8, 21, 32 (Giltburg) (2015) Released by Naxos Beethoven: Piano Sonata no 21 in C Major, Op. 53 “Waldstein” – III Rondo: Allegretto moderato Ludwig van Beethoven’s 32 piano sonatas form...
- [Page Turning; It’s Harder Than You Think…](https://interlude.hk/page-turning-harder-think/): I’m often asked to turn the pages for pianists at my local music society, but I tend to decline because the responsibility of page-turning is one which should not be taken lightly. An ability to read music well does not automatically qualify one for the role, and many people do...
- [Impossible Instruments](https://interlude.hk/impossible-instruments/): Man’s creativity comes to the fore in music: new sounds, new rhythms, new combinations. But, are there times when imagination can outstrip reality? We’ve found a couple of impossible instruments that seem to meet that criterion.
- [Little Chunk of Wood and Little Song<br/>Bohuslav Martinů and Vítĕzslava Kaprálová](https://interlude.hk/little-chunk-wood-little-songbohuslav-martinu-vitezslava-kapralova/): In 1937, Bohuslav Martinů visited the city of Prague to prepare for the premiere of his opera Julietta. During that visit, he met the highly talented composer Vítĕzslava Kaprálová, who had written her first two compositions for piano solo by age nine. Kaprálová, twenty-five years younger than Martinů, had long...
- [Fireman Shostakovich](https://interlude.hk/fireman-shostakovich/): With the German Sixteenth Army strategically entrenched just thirty miles southeast of Leningrad, the city also known as St. Petersburg got ready for the most prolonged siege of World War II. Among the citizens of Leningrad was a thirty-four-year-old composer whose music was one of the most valuable cultural exports...
- [A Hymn to the Sun](https://interlude.hk/hymn-sun/): What do you do if you’re stuck in the frozen north and are looking longingly at the sunny south where your wife is working? Well, you take a holiday and then, if you’re a composer, you write something that brings the sun home with you. And this is what composer...
- [Chinese Musical Instruments: Gourd](https://interlude.hk/chinese-musical-instruments-gourd/): Musical instruments in China were traditionally classified into 8 groups delineated by the material used in the instrument: Silk, Bamboo, Wood, Stone, Metal, Clay, Gourd and Hide. We will look at selected instruments in six of these groups in this series. The watercolor illustrations used in this series were made...
- [To Boo, Not to Boo or Shriek Bravo – Unruly Audiences](https://interlude.hk/boo-boo-shriek-bravo-unruly-audiences/): Does an audience have a right to boo? Or is it boorish, arrogant and rude? There is a long tradition of riots in the concert hall complete with hissing and catcalls and throwing food—tomatoes, radishes (in the case of Maria Callas) turnips (Renata Scotto) and even punches. As far back...
- [GODARD, B.: Piano Works, Vol. 1 (E. Reyes)](https://interlude.hk/godard-b-piano-works-vol-1-e-reyes/): Sonate Fantastique, Op. 63 III. La Fee d’Amour: Quasi adagio From GODARD, B. : Piano Works, Vol. 1 (E. Reyes) (2015) Released by Grand Piano Benjamin Godard: Sonate Fantastique, Op. 63 – III. La Fee d’Amour: Quasi adagioBenjamin Godard was regarded as one of the most promising French composers of...
- [Writing Music in Light](https://interlude.hk/writing-music-light/): The Russian composer Alexander Scriabin was very interested in relating color and sound. Scriabin had synesthesia – he actually heard in color; his friend Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov had the same sense. In 1910, Scriabin codified his sound and color senses and composed a work that would use both aspects in performance:...
- [Muses and Musings<br/> Bohuslav Martinů and Albert Einstein](https://interlude.hk/muses-musings-iibohuslav-martinu-albert-einstein/): Artists tend to find inspiration everywhere; in food, unrequited love, the beauty of nature or even in a textbook on physics! It so happened when Bohuslav Martinů met Albert Einstein in December 1943. Both men had been forced to escape their native homelands and held lectureships at Princeton University in...
- [Plucking at my [Heart] Strings](https://interlude.hk/plucking-heart-strings/): When the string section changes from a lush sound to a percussive sound, we know that it’s all about pizzicato. The word in Italian means pinched or plucked and that’s what the string players are doing. They’ve put down their bows, and make the strings sound by plucking them with...
- [Playing in Pairs: Bartók’s <em>Concerto for Orchestra</em>](https://interlude.hk/playing-pairs-bartoks-concerto-orchestra/): Béla Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra challenges the educated listener on several fronts, starting with the title itself. A concerto is a work for soloist and orchestra (or, perhaps, soloist versus orchestra! ). What are we to think of a work where the orchestra is also supposed to double as the...
- [Telling Tales of War](https://interlude.hk/telling-tales-war/): In 1918, Stravinsky was in dire straits: the revolution in Russia meant the loss of his property (and income), WWI meant the death of his brother fighting in Romania, his wife was ill, and then there were the four children to support. To help bring in some much needed money,...
- [Muses and Musings <br/> Guillaume de Machaut and Péronne d’Armentières](https://interlude.hk/muse-musings-iguillaume-de-machaut-peronne-darmentieres/): It has long been suspected that intense sexual relationships are an impediment to artistic creativity. Don’t take my word for it, just read what Frédéric Chopin had to say about the disastrous effect the Countess Delphina Potocka had on his creativity. “Inspiration and ideas only come to me when I...
- [Music and Art: Goya II](https://interlude.hk/music-art-goya-ii/): We looked earlier at the Spanish artist Francisco Goya (1746 – 1828) and how his ‘maja’ pictures influenced the 20th century Spanish composer Enrique Granados (1867-1916) to create his Goyescas.
- [Julie Fuchs](https://interlude.hk/julie-fuchs-artist-of-the-month/): ‘Take care of yourself because nobody is going to do it for you’ Recently returning from her Paris Opéra debut, singing La Folie in Rameau’s Platée, and finding a moment of respite before a run of Il viaggio a Reims in Zurich, soprano Julie Fuchs is building an acclaimed reputation...
- [Requiem: Music for All Saints & All Souls](https://interlude.hk/requiem-music-saints-souls/): Officium defunctorum (Requiem): Kyrie From Requiem: Music for All Saints & All Souls (2015) Released by Harmonia Mundi Tomás Luis de Victoria: Officium defunctorum (Requiem): KyrieIn memory of the faithful departed. Graham Ross directs the Choir of Clare College, Cambridge in a programme of English and Spanish music for the...
- [Odd Instruments](https://interlude.hk/odd-instruments/): What would you think of a 1-string violin with a metal horn attached? Odd indeed! The Stroh fiddle was once such instrument. The instrument was made of mahogany with a metal horn attached to a diaphragm to make the instrument louder. This was to serve two purposes: it made the...
- [Continuous flow – In Touch with Sansara](https://interlude.hk/continuous-flow-touch-sansara/): The 2015 London International A Capella Choir Competition took place in September, and saw choirs from all corners of the globe descend to St John’s, Smith Square in the heart of London for a week that showcased the extraordinary healthiness of the choral tradition across the world. After numerous preliminary...
- [A distinct division of Labor<br/>Bohuslav Martinů and Charlotte Quennehen](https://interlude.hk/distinct-division-laborbohuslav-martinu-charlotte-quennehen/): Ernest Hemingway once famously wrote, “If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast. ” For Bohuslav Martinů, who led a somewhat dreary existence as...
- [The Sounds of Music – Pro and Con](https://interlude.hk/sounds-music-pro-con/): Musical instruments have been the stuff of poetry forever. But, poets being poets, they don’t always agree. Here’s some samples of their thoughts – which side do you come down on?
- [Benjamin Britten: An Anthem for Malaysia](https://interlude.hk/benjamin-britten-anthem-malaysia/): 1957 was a momentous year for the Federation of Malaya. After nearly two centuries of British rule it was to become fully independent on 31 August 1957. The constitution was written, all civic and federal laws were in place, and its foreign policy and national religion well established. However, the...
- [The Lost Instruments of Bonanni](https://interlude.hk/lost-instruments-bonanni/): In 1716, Filippo Bonanni presented the first edition of his Gabinetto Armonico, or Showcase of Musical Instruments. It was revised and expanded in 1723 to include 523 different musical instruments from all over the world. It remained the most comprehensive book on musical instruments until the work of Curt Sachs...
- [Bohuslav Martinů: Bitten by the Composition Bug](https://interlude.hk/bohuslav-martinu-bitten-composition-bug/): At the tender age of 5, Bohuslav Martinů gave his first public performance as a solo violinist in his hometown of Polička. The townspeople immediately recognized his exceptional talent and eventually raised enough money to fund his musical education. Martinů studied at the Prague conservatory for a number of years,...
- [Chinese Musical Instruments: Metal](https://interlude.hk/chinese-musical-instruments-metal/): Musical instruments in China were traditionally classified into 8 groups delineated by the material used in the instrument: Silk, Bamboo, Wood, Stone, Metal, Clay, Gourd and Hide. We will look at selected instruments in six of these groups in this series. The watercolor illustrations used in this series were made...
- [The Case for Exquisite Cases](https://interlude.hk/case-exquisite-cases/): Would you believe that instrument cases have a history as long as the violins they contained? Instrument owners of yesterday, especially royal proprietors, saw fit to envelope their precious violins in ornate packaging. You wouldn’t dream of putting your priceless violin into a beater case nor did players of previous...
- [Vivaldi: Il teatro alla moda](https://interlude.hk/vivaldi-il-teatro-alla-moda/): Concerto per “Violino in Tromba” in G Major, RV 313: I. From Vivaldi: Il teatro alla moda (2015) Released by Harmonia Mundi Vivaldi: Concerto per “Violino in Tromba” in G Major, RV 313: I. 1720: in his famous pamphlet Il teatro alla moda, the composer Marcello satirised the excesses of...
- [Franz Berwald: Naïve Symphony](https://interlude.hk/franz-berwald-naive-symphony/): Within the context of fine arts, the term naïve is used to describe artists who work in an unsophisticated style with a child-like simplicity. Frequently such works ignore artistic conventions like the rules of perspective, and employ strong patterns and unrefined color in all planes of the composition. Above all,...
- [Bohuslav Martinů](https://interlude.hk/bohuslav-martinu/): Compulsion to Compose Early twentieth-century modernists in music eagerly explored various ways of breaking with the Romantic tradition. For Bohuslav Martinů (1890-1959), born in a church tower above the Czech-Moravian Highlands, the initial point of departure was grounded in the debates about Czech national music. A highly talented but hopeless...
- [Turning a Cynic into a Believer<br/>Hagen Quartet and Jörg Widmann](https://interlude.hk/turning-cynic-believerhagen-quartet-jorg-widmann/): A cynic was once defined as somebody “whose faulty vision sees things as they are, not as they ought to be. ” Truth be told, having sat through hundreds of uninspiring, unimaginative and downright insulting performances of classical music, it’s getting rather more difficult to put on the rose-colored glasses!...
- [Going to the next level: In Touch with Reverie](https://interlude.hk/going-next-level-touch-reverie/): The UK is home to perhaps the most active and diverse choral scene in the world. Yet, with their inventive programming and distinctive blend, Reverie are building an international reputation within this crowded market. The group, made up of many of the UK’s top young singers, is led by Artistic...
- [The B Minor Madrigal](https://interlude.hk/b-minor-madrigal/): It’s often a puzzle for us how to hear very familiar music with new ears. When you’ve heard countless blah recordings of the Vivaldi this or the Bach that, it’s hard to get them back into our ears to being fresh again. In 1981, musicologist and performer Joshua Rifkin proposed...
- [Arnold Schoenberg: <em>Gurrelieder</em>](https://interlude.hk/arnold-schoenberg-gurrelieder/): Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951) rightfully considered himself the musical successor to both Richard Wagner and Johannes Brahms. Simultaneously extending their traditionally opposed German Romantic styles, Schoenberg started work on a song cycle for soprano, tenor and piano in 1900. For his text, Schoenberg selected the dramatic poem “Gurrelieder,” part of the...
- [Music for Children: France](https://interlude.hk/music-children-france/): When you’re tired of the television jingles and interminable repetitions of “The Wheels on the Bus,” you’re ready to explore the world of music that appeals to children. Much as we wish they would love the music that stimulates our own musical tastes, we do better to look to simpler...
- [The Great Women Artists Who Shaped Music – XIV  Wanda Landowska](https://interlude.hk/great-women-artists-shaped-music-xiv-wanda-landowska/): Virtuoso, musicologist, distinguished author, a woman who was, “in love with her audience,” Wanda Landowska’s dynamic and powerful playing single-handedly revived interest in the harpsichord. Her performance of J. S. Bach’s Goldberg Variations at New York’s Town Hall, in 1942 was the first time in the modern age the piece...
- [Rameau - Castor et Pollux](https://interlude.hk/rameau-castor-et-pollux/): Castor et Pollux, Acte I, Scène 5: “Chantons l’éclatante victoire” (Choeur de Spartiates) From Rameau – Castor et Pollux (2015) Released by Harmonia Mundi Rameau: Castor et Pollux, Acte I, Scène 5: “Chantons l’éclatante victoire” (Choeur de Spartiates)At the height of the famous Querelle des Bouffons (1754), the elderly Rameau...
- [Music and Art: Blake](https://interlude.hk/music-art-blake/): The Romantic period poet and artist William Blake (1757-1827) made more of an impression after his death than he did during his own lifetime. Whereas he was largely unrecognized when he was alive, current critics now declare him “... the greatest artists Britain ever produced. ”
- [Snafus Happen: Even with Kol Nidrei](https://interlude.hk/snafus-happen-even-kol-nidrei/): Of all the pieces that I’ve performed over my career Max Bruch’s Kol Nidrei is the one I’ve performed most. It’s been my privilege to play this work each year for three decades. This melody is probably one of the most well known melodies among Jewish people. It opens the...
- [Violent and Unnatural Deaths in Opera I](https://interlude.hk/violent-unnatural-deaths-opera/): Dying is an essential part of just about every opera plot. Whether husbands or male lovers act out of jealousy, or wives or female lovers go mad, opera has given us a delectable variety of violent and unnatural deaths. Yet the distinctive difference between actual and theatrical murder is the...
- [Père Franck](https://interlude.hk/pere-franck/): In 1843, César Franck began work on his first non-chamber work, the oratorio Ruth. The libretto by Alexandre Guillemin is inspired by the biblical “Book of Ruth” and arranged in the manner of an operatic text. In fact, the three-part division of the text corresponds closely to the three acts...
- [Composers by the Numbers](https://interlude.hk/composers-numbers/): We have the 3 Bs, The Five, and the Six. They’re all from different countries and cover some 300 years. Do you know who they are? The Three Bs are J. S. Bach (1685-1750), Beethoven (1770-1827), and Brahms (1833-1897). In those three composers alone, we have the history of German...
- [Louis Vierne: Born Unlucky](https://interlude.hk/louis-vierne-born-unlucky/): Louis Victor Jules Vierne was seemingly born under an unlucky star! He emerged into this word nearly blind on 8 October 1870. Two serious operations in 1877 finally enabled him to read large print, and he eventually learned Braille in a school for the blind. As if nature tried to...
- [Chinese Musical Instruments: Wood](https://interlude.hk/chinese-musical-instruments-wood/): Musical instruments in China were traditionally classified into 8 groups delineated by the material used in the instrument: Silk, Bamboo, Wood, Stone, Metal, Clay, Gourd and Hide. We will look at selected instruments in six of these groups in this series. Wood Instruments are percussion instruments and most have a...
- [Louis Vierne: Dying on the Job](https://interlude.hk/louis-vierne-dying-job/): If you are working as a roofer, miner, logger, fisher, construction-equipment operator or in law enforcement, you have selected a profession that is designated as high-risk or safety sensitive. Although these jobs are not especially lucrative in terms of payment, serious or even fatal accidents sadly happen with some regularity....
- [Alessandro Scarlatti: Con eco d'amore](https://interlude.hk/scarlatti-alessandro-con-eco-damore/): La Statira: Aria “Io non son di quei campioni” From Alessandro Scarlatti: Con eco d’amore (2015) Released by Harmonia Mundi Scarlatti: La Statira: Aria “Io non son di quei campioni”Master of the Aria. With a voice described as “one of the most beautiful Britain has seen in a generation” (International...
- [Music and Art: Bacon](https://interlude.hk/music-art-bacon/): When art becomes distortion, we think of the 20th century as the time and place for this to become an art form. The British artist Francis Bacon (1909-1992) was a figurative painter who created bold images against isolated backgrounds. In the 1950s, Bacon used the mid-seventeenth-century Spanish painter Diego Velázquez’s...
- [What are Concerts for?](https://interlude.hk/concerts/): Concert noun 1. a public musical performance in which a number of singers or instrumentalists, or both, participate. 2. a public performance, usually by an individual singer, instrumentalist, or the like; recital: Earlier this year, I took part in a concert for a medical charity. It was held at an...
- [A Revolutionary Union<br/>César Franck and Eugénie-Félicité-Caroline Saillot-Desmousseaux](https://interlude.hk/revolutionary-unioncesar-franck-eugenie-felicite-caroline-saillot-desmousseaux/): César Franck had a rather ambitious and overbearing father! Determined to make the most profitable use of his son’s musical talents, he forced him into a career as a virtuoso pianist. Studies at the Liège and Paris Conservatory set the stage for appearances on the concert platform. Regrettably, César failed...
- [Where Did the Name Come From? Musical Names and Nicknames II](https://interlude.hk/name-come-musical-names-nicknames-ii/): In the 19th century and later musical names, titles and new forms were used to replace traditional classical music structures to allow composers to expand their music into deeper realms—Symphonie Fantastique Resurrection, Enigma Variations, Schelomo, Age of Anxiety. Music in this category is classified as programmatic music—classical music that tells...
- [Let’s be Franck!](https://interlude.hk/lets-be-franck/): César Franck’s reputation primarily rests on a few large-scale orchestral and instrumental works of his later years. Among his most respected and finest works is the Violin Sonata composed in 1886 as a wedding present for the Belgian violinist Eugène Ysaÿe. The origins of this composition, however, seem to date...
- [What Music Does Your Favorite Fictional Character Like?](https://interlude.hk/music-favorite-fictional-character-like/): As much as pop music seems to be part of everyone’s life today, classical music also has its place, although it may be much more difficult to find. Often it’s a writer’s reflections on the place of classical music in society that can help us rethink and give it a...
- [Flying Woes – What Musicians Need to Know II](https://interlude.hk/flying-woes-musicians-need-know-ii/): As if musicians don’t have enough problems—preparing for and taking auditions in other cities or countries, purchasing and insuring expensive instruments, practicing hours and hours, sustaining injuries from the repetitive motions or awkward postures necessary to play an instrument, and of course the endless hassles of transporting our instruments, there...
- [Transfigured Brahms](https://interlude.hk/transfigured-brahms/): When Johannes Brahms delivered his Clarinet Sonatas Op. 120 to Richard Mühlfeld, he basically apologized for not having written a clarinet concerto. And what a glorious addition to the repertoire it would have been! As such, however, it was left to Luciano Berio (1925-2003) to bring Brahms’s Sonata Op. 120,...
- [The Great Women Artists Who Shaped Music XIII- Nadia Boulanger](https://interlude.hk/great-women-artists-shaped-music-xiii-nadia-boulanger/): “So far as musical pedagogy is concerned —And by extension of musical creation — Nadia Boulanger is the most influential person who ever lived”- Ned Rorem High praise indeed! Nadia Boulanger influenced an amazing and diverse group of artists during her long life. Her “boulangerie” included Phillip Glass, Quincey Jones,...
- [Jimmy López](https://interlude.hk/jimmy-lopez-my-music/): Lord of the Air: II. The Ascent From Jimmy López (2015) Released by Harmonia Mundi Jimmy López: Lord of the Air: II. The AscentFirmly rooted in the folklore of Peru. Award-winning composer Jimmy López (born 1978, Lima, Peru) is considered “one of the most interesting young composers working anywhere today”...
- [Music and Art – Hommage à Bach](https://interlude.hk/music-art-hommage-bach/): Many artists in the 19th and 20th centuries were inspired by the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, whose works had been re-discovered with Felix Mendelsohn’s performance of Bach’s ‘St. Matthew’s Passion’ in Berlin in 1829. For composers such as Richard Wagner and Gustav Mahler, Bach’s music was influential, but a...
- [Voices of the Mozarteum I](https://interlude.hk/voices-mozarteum/): It was only a matter of time before the city of Salzburg exploited the name of their most famous son for commercial reasons. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, as we all know, deeply resented his hometown and he wasted no time in leaving the repressive and small-minded confines of his upbringing behind....
- [Jean Rondeau](https://interlude.hk/jean-rondeau/): On Nature vs Nurture How do you manage to sustain a career as a harpsichordist and jazz pianist? For 23-year old Jean Rondeau it’s no problem. Equally at home on the concert stage in a chamber music recital of Rameau as improvising free jazz with a bass and drumkit, Jean...
- [The East is Red <br/>National Day of the People’s Republic of China, Hong Kong and Macao ](https://interlude.hk/east-red-national-day-peoples-republic-china-hong-kong-macao/): Nations frequently define themselves on the basis of shared ethnicity. This includes ideas of a culture shared between members of the group—derived from previous generations—and usually a common language. Membership in the nation is hereditary, with the state deriving political legitimacy from its status as the homeland of an ethnic...
- [Connecting the world’s musicians <br/>In Touch with Encore founder James McAulay](https://interlude.hk/connecting-worlds-musicians-touch-encore-founder-james-mcaulay/): The classical music world today is rife with startups – everywhere you look, there are exciting new orchestras, opera companies, choirs, and all manner of small ensembles. Yet while there are many people working at rethinking the way we experience music, there aren’t so many who are examining the way...
- [Esa-Pekka Salonen: <em>Mania for Solo Cello and Ensemble</em>](https://interlude.hk/esa-pekka-salonen-mania-solo-cello-ensemble/): In 1997, conductor Claudio Abbado had a somewhat novel idea. He was looking to establish an independent and free international orchestra that plays at the highest artistic level. Instead of relying on a dedicated government funding structure, Abbado envisioned an ensemble entirely funded by concert revenues, donations and with help...
- [A New Idea at the Piano](https://interlude.hk/new-idea-piano/): Chopin took up the medieval idea of the ballad, combined it with the idea of the Italian dance called the ballata, and mixed in a bit of standard sonata form and created the Ballade. These one-movement pieces call for an accomplished pianist and a lot of imagination.
- [Chinese Musical Instruments: Bamboo](https://interlude.hk/chinese-musical-instruments-bamboo/): Musical instruments in China were traditionally classified into 8 groups delineated by the material used in the instrument: Silk, Bamboo, Wood, Stone, Metal, Clay, Gourd and Hide. We will look at selected instruments in six of these groups in this series. The watercolor illustrations used in this series were made...
- [Philip Glass: Composer and Taxi Driver](https://interlude.hk/philip-glass-composer-taxi-driver/): In order to pay rent, composers frequently take up secondary jobs. Borodin was a licensed chemist, Ives worked in the insurance industry, and the pioneer of minimalist music Philip Glass supported himself by working as a plumber, furniture mover and taxi driver. “I was careful,” the composer explained, “to take...
- [Americano](https://interlude.hk/americano-my-music/): Roland Dyens: Tango en Skaï From Americano (2015) Released by Harmonia Mundi Roland Dyens: Tango en SkaïMade in America. This is a musical journey through different countries, aesthetics, composers, and styles of the great American continent. On this album, Pablo Villegas combines the emotions of sensual Brazilian music, the nostalgic...
- [Are you a noisy neighbour? <br/>Four golden rules of practice to avoid disputes](https://interlude.hk/noisy-neighbour-four-golden-rules-practice-avoid-disputes/): I always had issues practising when growing up. I hated the idea of anyone being able to hear me practice, no matter what stage I was at with a piece. Standing in our living room playing scales terrified me for fear of annoying the neighbours. Luckily, they were very sympathetic...
- [The Great Women Artists Who Shaped Music XII – Marguerite Long](https://interlude.hk/great-women-artists-shaped-music-xii-marguerite-long/): Composer Gabriel Fauré, once called Marguerite Long, “a shameless woman who uses my name to get on. ” Nonetheless she became the foremost woman pianist of France during the first half of the twentieth century, performing and teaching at the Paris Conservatoire and her own studio for more than four...
- [Why go on a piano course?](https://interlude.hk/go-piano-course/): Piano courses are the “in thing” right now, in part thanks to Alan Rusbridger’s book Play It Again. For many years, Alan was a regular at what he described as “piano camp” – Lot Music, based in the Lot-et-Garonne region of France, and now in its 19th year – and...
- [Classical Musicians and Misguided Cracks<br/>I wish I had a dollar for each of them! ](https://interlude.hk/classical-musicians-misguided-cracksi-wish-dollar/): Classical musicians feel misunderstood. Either we are judged as cranky, elitist or aloof or in another incomprehensible world. Innocently, non-musicians will make cracks—some inadvertent, some not. Periodically there have been many articles about what not to say to a classical musician.
- [Charles Ives<br/> Bold print giveth and the fine print taketh away!](https://interlude.hk/charles-ives-bold-print-giveth-fine-print-taketh-away/): With his father the most influential musician in the Danbury Connecticut region, it’s no wonder that Charles Ives started his musical education at an early age. While his father hoped that Charles would pursue a career as a concert pianist, Charles specialized in the organ. Even more remarkably, Ives Charles...
- [The Musical Fives](https://interlude.hk/musical-fives/): When we think of FIVE in relation to music, all sorts of things come to mind: our five fingers at the piano, the five Russian composers known as The Mighty Handful, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5, just for starters. Taking Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 as being indicative of his first...
- [Aaron Copland's Most Famous Pieces and His American Sound](https://interlude.hk/aaron-copland-american-sound/): Aaron Copland’s Most Famous Pieces Appalachian Spring Aaron Copland gained worldwide recognition for his ballet score Appalachian Spring. The work was the result of a commission by the modern dancer and choreographer Martha Graham and her contemporary dance company. Copland was asked to write “music for an American ballet,” and...
- [Where Did the Name Come From? Musical Names and Nicknames I](https://interlude.hk/name-come-musical-names-nicknames/): Moonlight, Eroica, Jupiter, Unfinished, Clock, Four Seasons, New World— have you wondered how certain pieces of music got their names so ubiquitous you can probably guess the works and identify the composers? Classical music can be divided into those that were numbered, usually sequentially, by the composer and over time...
- [Playing with Glass](https://interlude.hk/playing-glass/): We are familiar with instruments made of wood and metal, but there are also some instruments made from the far more fragile material of glass. Some instruments were more showpieces of a glass-maker’s art, but instruments such as glass trumpets, glass flutes, and glass clarinets do exist.
- [Music and Art: Hogarth](https://interlude.hk/music-art-hogarth/): The London of William Hogarth’s time was one of raucous politicizing, upwardly aspiring young women, and young men ready to be tempted by the delights of the world. Well, rather like today. In his 8-painting series, A Rake’s Progress, painted in 1732-33 and engraved in 1735, we follow young Tom...
- [Oscar Wilde in Music: The Ballad of Reading Gaol](https://interlude.hk/oscar-wilde-music-ballad-reading-gaol/): Oscar Wilde, master of the killing bon mot and martyr of Victorian sexuality, isn’t often thought of in terms of music. His stories and plays have a constant following; The Importance of Being Ernest is once again on the London stage this season, but now, as has become the model,...
- [BRAHMS, J.: Cello Sonatas Nos. 1 and 2 / BRUCH, M.: Kol nidrei](https://interlude.hk/brahms-j-cello-sonatas-nos-1-2-bruch-m-kol-nidrei/): Kol nidrei, Op. 47 From BRAHMS, J. : Cello Sonatas Nos. 1 and 2 / BRUCH, M. : Kol nidrei (2002) Released by Warner Classics – Parlophone Kol nidrei, Op. 47Kol Nidre is an Aramaic declaration recited in the synagogue before the beginning of the evening service on every Yom...
- [Order and chaos - Copland’s Clarinet Concerto](https://interlude.hk/order-chaos-coplands-clarinet-concerto/): I’m going to face up to a harsh reality here. The clarinet repertoire is small. Admittedly, it’s not as meagre as certain other instruments’ (which I will not list here for fear of opening up innumerable cans of worms), but where the piano and violin are flying in business class,...
- [Music for Children: US](https://interlude.hk/music-children-us/): Another piece for children that, like Britten’s Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra, served as an introduction to the instruments of the orchestra was George Kleinsinger’s memorable Tubby the Tuba. Tubby gets tired of always only being the support for the orchestra and never having the melody. One night, a...
- [Southbank Sinfonia in Hong Kong](https://interlude.hk/southbank-sinfonia-hong-kong/): The Southbank Sinfonia (SbS) may be an unfamiliar name to Hong Kong, but in Britain it is a much sought after orchestra that every fresh graduate of music wants to be part of. Founded by British conductor Simon Over, the orchestra is designed to help outstanding young musicians find their...
- [Brahms versus Pop](https://interlude.hk/brahms-versus-pop/): A number of music critics have called Frank Sinatra the “greatest singer of the 20th century. ” The only child of an Italian immigrant couple, Sinatra entered show business at a very early age. And by the time he reached his mid-twenties, Sinatra was melting the hearts of teenage girls...
- [Hong Kong Festival Orchestra<br/>Energy and Passion!](https://interlude.hk/hong-kong-festival-orchestraenergy-passion/): 24 & 25 August 2015 City Hall Concert Hall, Hong Kong You hear about the Hong Kong Festival Orchestra well before ever going to one of their concerts. Their publicity materials almost rival that of the professional orchestras in Hong Kong: sleek, relevant and eye-catching. In recent years they have...
- [Hieronymus Bosch: Butt Song from Hell](https://interlude.hk/hieronymus-bosch-butt-song-hell/): Music is supposed to be a gift from Heaven. We have all seen beautiful paintings where the dove—representing the Holy Spirit—whispers sweet melodies into the ear of Pope Gregor. Gregor immediately started to write down these heavenly melodies and codified a whole new musical genre known as “Gregorian Chant. ”...
- [Meditations on humanity via the Guinness Book of Records](https://interlude.hk/meditations-humanity-via-guinness-book-records/): The quietest place on Earth. The tallest man on Earth. The oldest tree. The longest fingernails. Pi to 67,890 places. These are some of the world records featured in Sam Green’s new documentary-with-a-difference, The Measure of All Things. A self-confessed ‘love letter to the Guinness Book of Records’, we experience...
- [Sounds of Sorrow: Elegies and Laments III](https://interlude.hk/sounds-sorrow-elegies-laments-iii/): As the 19th century idea of death as a close and regular companion faded away, the elegy in the 20th century began to change character. If we look at a work by the Hungarian composer Eugene Zádor (1894–1977), we can see the new nature of the elegy. His Elegie and...
- [Steve Reich - Music for 18 Musicians](https://interlude.hk/steve-reich-music-18-musicians/): Music for 18 Musicians (modular version): Section VII From Steve Reich – Music for 18 Musicians (2015) Released by Harmonia Mundi Reich: Music for 18 Musicians (modular version): Section VII Making its harmonia mundi début, New York-based Ensemble Signal performs Steve Reich’s Music for 18 Musicians (1974-76), a seminal masterpiece...
- [Alfred Schnittke: <em>Moz-Art à la Haydn</em>](https://interlude.hk/alfred-schnittke-moz-art-la-haydn/): During the 1970’s, the perceived elitism and dissonant sounds of atonal academic modernism were gradually giving way to artistic expressions that favored a synthesis of familiar styles. By reintroducing traditional elements of musical styles—openly influenced by popular music and world music traditions—composers sought to close the gap between themselves and...
- [Applause is like Oxygen<br/>Sergei Rachmaninoff and Marietta Shaginyan](https://interlude.hk/applause-like-oxygensergey-rachmaninoff-marietta-shaginyan/): Sergei Rachmaninoff was deeply wounded when critics admired him as a pianist but never acknowledged him as a composer. Battling severe bouts of depression he dejectedly confided in Marietta Shaginyan “that he would concentrate fully on playing and would stop writing music altogether. ” Despite this newly found focus on...
- [Linds and Clärchens: Women Musicians and National Currency](https://interlude.hk/linds-clarchens-women-musicians-national-currency/): Who’s on your banknote? We took a survey of European bank notes and found a gratifying number of women singers and one composer who’ve appeared, past and present. Between 1996 and 2003, the Swedish Riksbank produced the Jenny Lind 50-kronor banknote. It was withdrawn from circulation at the end of...
- [Music for Children: Russia](https://interlude.hk/music-children-russia/): Russian composers have created some of the most memorable music for children, starting with Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker. Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) created the ballet The Nutcracker for the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg. It was given its premiere on 18 December 1892 and, although it was not a success at...
- [In Touch with Robert Lakatos](https://interlude.hk/touch-robert-lakatos/): Serbian violinist Robert Lakatos was recently named as winner of the 12th Pablo Sarasate Violin Competition in Pamplona. He is an exciting new talent on the world stage with a string of international competitions under his belt and a rich and varied career. I got in touch with him to...
- [No Merits, No Skills? No Problem!](https://interlude.hk/merits-skills-problem/): So, you have decided to become a neurosurgeon? What an excellent choice, but before you can hope to get your hands on the subject matter, there are many, many years of education and training in front of you. Ideally, your pre-medical undergraduate education will include a year of chemistry, organic...
- [Music and Art: Rossetti](https://interlude.hk/music-art-rossetti/): The Pre-Raphaelites as a group were founded in 1848 and quickly became a 7-man brotherhood. The group was started by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais, and Dante Gabriel Rossetti who were then joined by William Michael Rossetti, James Collinson, Frederic George Stephens, and Thomas Woolner. Rejecting Mannerist art because...
- [Chinese Musical Instruments: Silk](https://interlude.hk/chinese-musical-instruments-silk/): We are very familiar with the instruments of Western classical music, most of which appear in Western orchestral music. This new series will look at musical instruments outside the American / European tradition, beginning with China.
- [SOLAL, M.: Piano and 2-Piano Works (Ferrand-N'Kaoua, Solal)](https://interlude.hk/solal-m-piano-2-piano-works-ferrand-nkaoua-solal/): Ballade for 2 Pianos From SOLAL, M. : Piano and 2-Piano Works (Ferrand-N’Kaoua, Solal) (2015) Released by Grand Piano Solal: Ballade for 2 PianosEuropean jazz legend Martial Solal is an imaginative and creative thinker for the piano, and one never straightjacketed by music genres. Voyage en Anatolie is a kind...
- [Music and Art – The Sound of Paintings II](https://interlude.hk/music-art-sound-paintings-ii/): At the turn of the 20th century the great symphonic composers, Beethoven and Brahms, became symbols for artists such as Max Klinger (1857-1920), an amateur pianist, painter, sculptor and engraver. Klinger saw their music as an expression of the fate of humanity, its combination of sorrow, culpability and happiness —...
- [The Great Women Artists Who Shaped Music -XI: Nina Simone](https://interlude.hk/great-women-artists-shaped-music-xi-nina-simone/): Can you be a true artist without reflecting the times, without a compelling message? Nina Simone, the “High Priestess of Soul,” was one of the first African American women who openly expressed her feelings and philosophy through her music during the volatile civil rights era. Pianist, composer, arranger and singer...
- [Nurturing the Music of Tomorrow](https://interlude.hk/nurturing-music-tomorrow/): William Lane and the Hong Kong New Music Ensemble Many people were shocked when they heard that William Lane had left his job as violist in the Hong Kong Philharmonic to devote himself full time to The Hong Kong New Music Ensemble. He had founded the HKNME while at the...
- [Flying Woes – What Musicians Need to Know I](https://interlude.hk/flying-woes-musicians-need-know/): Smashed guitars, lost double basses, confiscated Stradivarius’, cancelled tickets and boarding refusals—what is a musician to do? Recently a guitarist had his custom-built instrument safely stowed in the overhead bin on a flight to Nice. The stewardesses approached him in a funk. Despite his explanations as to why the guitar...
- [Pesaro: Beach resort meets world class opera<br/>Rossini Opera Festival](https://interlude.hk/pesaro-beach-resort-meets-world-class-operarossini-opera-festival/): A tacky Italian beach resort in the heat of the summer holiday and a moderately quaint old town with a strong operatic tradition make an odd contrast. Yet Gioachino Rossini’s hometown, Pesaro on the Adriatic, hosts a longstanding opera festival entirely dedicated to Rossini, just a few minutes walk from...
- [Olga Kulchynska](https://interlude.hk/olga-kulchynska-artist-of-the-month/): ‘If you want results, you have to be a fan’ Stepping in at the last minute is something that many musicians experience at some point or other in their lives. For our Artist of the Month, soprano Olga Kulchynska, this was one of the biggest undertakings of her career so...
- [Aaron Copland: Inspired by Paderewski and Boulanger](https://interlude.hk/aaron-copland-inspired-paderewski-boulanger/): In 1915, Aaron Copland (1900-1990) attended a concert featuring the Polish pianist-composer Ignacy Paderewski. Young Copland, as well as countless young hopefuls around the world, was spellbound. He immediately decided to become a composer and enrolled in a number of music correspondence courses. To further his musical education he received...
- [Aaron Copland](https://interlude.hk/aaron-copland-composer-of-the-month/): An American Original Growing patriotic and nationalistic fervor had virtually inundated all aspects of European society by the middle of the nineteenth century. These political stirrings of national identify and pride not only found their way into all forms of artistic expression, they also found their way across the Atlantic....
- [Uncommon Men<br/>Aaron Copland and Victor Kraft](https://interlude.hk/uncommon-menaaron-copland-victor-kraft/): Aaron Copland (1900-1990), widely regarded as one of the most respected American classical composers of the twentieth century, conducted his “personal life with the characteristic modesty, tactfulness, and serenity that marked his professional life as well. ” Copland was described as a carefully balanced and tactful individual. Never aggressive, he...
- [JABERI, A.: Piano Sonatas Nos. 1-3 / Ballades Nos. 1-3 (The Báb) (Jaberi)](https://interlude.hk/jaberi-piano-sonatas-nos-1-3-ballades-nos-1-3-bab-jaberi/): Ballade No. 1, “The Herold” From JABERI, A. : Piano Sonatas Nos. 1-3 / Ballades Nos. 1-3 (The Báb) (Jaberi) (2015) Released by Grand Piano Jaberi: Ballade No. 1, “The Herold”Iranian composer Afshin Jaberi’s powerful music combines 19th-century western piano traditions with eastern melodic influences. It is strongly connected with...
- [Voices of the Curtis Institute I](https://interlude.hk/voices-curtis-institute/): Founded on 13 October 1924, the Curtis Institute of Music has since become one of the leading classical music conservatories. It educates and trains exceptionally gifted young musicians for careers as performing artists on the highest professional level. And that, of course, includes expert instruction in musical composition. Randall Thompson...
- [The Barenboim Grand](https://interlude.hk/barenboim-grand/): In May 2015, Argentinian-born pianist Daniel Barenboim unveiled a new piano bearing his name. From the audience’s perspective, it looked just like any other modern grand piano. However, once you actually open the lid and peer inside, you’ll immediately notice some rather dramatic differences. For one, the Barenboim has straight...
- [Claude Debussy: <em>Sonata for Cello and Piano</em> in D minor (1915)](https://interlude.hk/claude-debussy-sonata-cello-piano-d-minor-1915/): Demoralized by the carnage of World War I and fighting his own battle against cancer, Claude Debussy (1862-1918) writes, “Try as I may, I can’t regard the sadness of my existence with caustic detachment. Sometimes my days are dark, dull, and soundless like those of a hero from Edgar Allan...
- [Brahms in Disguise](https://interlude.hk/brahms-disguise/): In music, nobody felt the anxiety of the past—specifically the looming shadow of Ludwig van Beethoven—more acutely than Johannes Brahms. Brahms told his friends that it was “horribly difficult to compose anything with Beethoven standing on his shoulders. ” Over a period of 20 years, Brahms cautiously approached symphonic composition...
- [Curtains of Light and Sound: A Talk with Composer Joyce Tang Wai-Chung](https://interlude.hk/curtains-light-sound-talk-composer-joyce-tang-wai-chung/): Composer Joyce Tang spoke with us last week and we were delighted to meet a composer with a background in electro-acoustic music and musicology. Joyce did master’s degrees in both composition and electro-acoustic music at Hong Kong Baptist University and when we asked her about her interest in electro-acoustic music,...
- [Eating on Your Mind Before Playing? ](https://interlude.hk/eating-mind-playing/): We classical musicians have idiosyncratic behaviors when it comes to eating. Did you know that composer Eric Satie ate only things that were white? —eggs, sugar, rice, turnips, coconuts and white cheese. Once Jean Sibelius was due to conduct a concert when he disappeared. His wife found him down the...
- [Instrument of the Orchestra XIV: Other](https://interlude.hk/instrument-orchestra-xiv/): Now that we’ve had a complete tour of the orchestra with a look at all the principal instruments, we can do one last look at the rarely-used instruments that are called for by composers. In the strings, we have the harp, which only entered the orchestra when it could be...
- [When Nature Calls: Audience’s Concert Quips ](https://interlude.hk/nature-calls-audiences-concert-quips/): Recently pianist Lang Lang played a recital to a packed house. Nature called. He left the stage to pee. Hundreds of spectators started to leave thinking the concert was over. Lang Lang soon came back to the diminishing numbers in the theater. “I’m not done playing yet! he said. “I...
- [Music for Children: England](https://interlude.hk/music-children-england/): Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) wrote his orchestral showpiece The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra in 1946 as a commission for an educational film on the instruments of the orchestra. Britten used a theme from the Baroque British composer Henry Purcell (1659-1695) who had written incidental music for the 1676 play...
- [BEETHOVEN, L. van: Piano Duets (Complete) (A. and S. Hamann)](https://interlude.hk/beethoven-l-van-piano-duets-complete-s-hamann/): Sonata in D Major for Piano 4 Hands, Op. 6 II. Rondo: Moderato From BEETHOVEN, L. van: Piano Duets (Complete) (A. and S. Hamann) (2012) Released by Grand Piano Beethoven: Sonata in D Major for Piano 4 Hands, Op. 6 – II. Rondo: Moderato Beethoven’s compositions for piano duet embrace...
- [Franz Berwald: If the shoe fits, wear it!](https://interlude.hk/franz-berwald-shoe-fits-wear/): Sweden’s best Romantic composer Franz Berwald (1796-1868) holds the dubious distinction of being one of the most neglected composers in music history. In fact, he was so obscure that in 1946 the Swedish postal service, given the choice between putting Franz Berwald or the Fourth Farmer’s Congress on a postage...
- [In Touch with Andrei Ioniță](https://interlude.hk/touch-andrei-ionita/): 20-year old Romanian cellist Andrei Ioniță was awarded the Gold Medal in the cello section of the 2015 Tchaikovsky Competition. A laureate of many other competitions, he also took first prize at the Aram Khachaturian International Competition in 2013, and second place at both the ARD International Music Competition in...
- [Salzburg shines with no-name ensemble: Nozze di Figaro](https://interlude.hk/salzburg-shines-name-ensemble-nozze-di-figaro/): Every now and then the Salzburg Festival puts on a performance of such perfection, we are reminded how this festival became the leading operatic summer event in Europe. This year’s new production of Mozart’s Nozze di Figaro (Marriage of Figaro) was such an example. Under the artistic direction of Sven-Eric...
- [Sounds of Sorrow: Elegies and Laments II](https://interlude.hk/sounds-sorrow-elegies-laments-ii/): Laments continued to be very special works – rarely written and always filled with a very high emotional intensity. Elegies, on the other hand, were more of a late-19th-century phenomenon. Rather than heart-felt cries of despair, they were more like commentaries on a sad situation. The emotion was kept at...
- [Voiceless Voice in Hiroshima](https://interlude.hk/voiceless-voice-hiroshima/): Every year on August 6, Japan becomes a nation of mourning. Seventy years ago, the city of Hiroshima was incinerated by an atomic bomb nicknamed “Little Boy. ” Three days later the utter destruction of Nagasaki followed. At the human cost of more than 200,000 civilians, it brought World War...
- [Fidelio in Salzburg: Matrix, mediocrity and musical brilliance](https://interlude.hk/fidelio-salzburg-matrix-mediocrity-musical-brilliance/): A highlight of this year’s Salzburg Festival was a new production of Beethoven’s only opera, Fidelio. It was largely deemed a vehicle to show off leading German tenor Jonas Kaufmann at his vocal and artistic zenith. And indeed, he did not disappoint. But they didn’t make it easy for him.
- [In Touch with Lise Davidsen](https://interlude.hk/touch-lise-davidsen/): Though not yet 30 years old, Norwegian soprano Lise Davidsen already has an impressive list of awards and prizes to her name – the Léonie Sonning Music Prize, Kirsten Flagstad Award, 2014 three prizes at the 2015 Beveldere Competition and, most recently, the First Prize, the Birgit Nilsson Award and...
- [Music and Art: Hokusai](https://interlude.hk/music-art-hokusai/): Claude Debussy’s entire musical outlook changed after he experienced the subtle and graceful arts of Japan. As a contrast to the filled and busy impressionist paintings that surrounded him, many of the Japanese woodcuts he admired were just as filled with nothing. Space had a weight and a meaning. And...
- [The Great Women Artists Who Shaped Music X -  Isabelle Vengerova](https://interlude.hk/great-women-artists-shaped-music-x-isabelle-vengerova/): Isabelle Vengerova. Her students would wait in fearful anticipation dreading her bitingly acerbic pronouncements—to name a few—Samuel Barber, Leonard Bernstein, Lucas Foss, Gary Graffman, Abby Simon, Gilbert Kalish, Lillian Kallir and Menahem Pressler, an illustrious group of musicians, pianists and composers. Her style was abrasive. No one was spared. Prior...
- [Classical Comedy - Igudesman and Joo Come to Town](https://interlude.hk/classical-comedy-igudesman-joo-come-town/): Classical music and comedy might seem a weird juxtaposition, but there have always been classical music jokesters even in Haydn’s day. His Symphony No. 45 the Farewell instructs the musicians to blow out their candles, which lit their music, and unobtrusively leave the stage one by one until only two...
- [Music for Children: Austria and Hungary](https://interlude.hk/music-children-austria-hungary/): It’s not really known who wrote the Toy Symphony, and it’s credited to both Joseph Haydn and Leopold Mozart. One problem is that the work didn’t appear in print until 1820, long after the death of either composer. The original story is that Haydn wrote it for a party at...
- [Chamber Symphonies - Dmitri Shostakovitch](https://interlude.hk/chamber-symphonies-dmitri-shostakovitch/): Eine kleine Symphonie (Quartet No. 1), Op. 49a: III. Allegro molto From Chamber Symphonies – Dmitri Shostakovitch (2015) Released by Harmonia Mundi Shostakovitch: Eine kleine Symphonie (Quartet No. 1), Op. 49a: III. Allegro moltoA decade after its debut performance of the Chamber Symphony Op. 110a by Dmitri Shostakovich (after whom...
- [Arranged by Brahms](https://interlude.hk/arranged-by-brahms/): Johann Jakob Brahms was a double bass player in the six-man band that performed daily at the Alster Pavilion, Hamburg’s most fashionable meeting-place. Wealthy families and citizens of Hamburg liked to stroll and drive along the river, stopping for a bit of refreshment and music dispensed by the sextet. The...
- [Franz Peter Schubert: <em>Octet in F major</em>, D. 803](https://interlude.hk/franz-peter-schubert-octet-f-major-d-803/): During the first decades of the 19th Century, the city of Vienna was a thrilling and highly competitive musical melting pot. Conductors, performers and composers from all parts of Europe had flocked to the city to take advantage of the rapidly expanding employment and business opportunities. And immigrant composers, such...
- [Carl Nielsen: Music is Life](https://interlude.hk/carl-nielsen-music-life/): Over the last 150 years, the Nordic countries have produced two important composers. Both were born in 1865, however, Denmark’s foremost composer Carl Nielsen was never able to match the popularity of his contemporary Jean Sibelius. Sibelius hailed from an upper middle-class home within commuting distance to Helsinki, while Nielsen...
- [In Touch with Juliet Fraser](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-juliet-fraser/): British soprano Juliet Fraser is one of today’s most interesting and diverse singers. Though comfortable in many styles, it is her work in contemporary music that has garnered the most attention, both as a founder member of one of the world’s top contemporary music vocal ensembles, EXAUDI, and in her...
- [Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast: <br/>The Innovative Hong Kong Festival Orchestra](https://interlude.hk/six-impossible-things-breakfast-innovative-hong-kong-festival-orchestra/): The Ride of the Valkyries from a helicopter, the William Tell Overture for a merry-go-round, Barber’s Adagio for Strings in a barbershop while the violinist gets a shave, the New World Symphony on the Star Ferry, performances on a double-decker bus, on the Ding Ding, and in front of the...
- [A journey through the piano music of Frédéric Chopin](https://interlude.hk/journey-piano-music-fryderyk-chopin/): On 4th September 2015, British pianist Warren Mailley-Smith embarks on year-long survey of the complete piano music of Frédéric Chopin through a series of 11 concerts at St John’s Smith Square, London.
- [Voices of the Liszt Academy of Music I](https://interlude.hk/voices-liszt-academy-music/): Already during his performing days, Franz Liszt lent his name to a number of commercial enterprises, endorsing everything from pianos and furniture to chocolates and liquors. Things got even more interesting after his death, as Liszt’s name adorned all manner of real estate, from streets and squares to public parks....
- [What Will We Play in 300 years? <br/>An Interview with Composer Bun-Ching Lam](https://interlude.hk/will-play-300-years-interview-composer-bun-ching-lam/): Macau-born composer Bun-Ching Lam spoke with us the other day and the conversation ranged from the rise of Asia as a music power to the advantages to being a 21st century composer.
- [EKANAYAKA, T.: Reinventions – Rhapsodies for Piano (Ekanayaka)](https://interlude.hk/ekanayaka-t-reinventions-rhapsodies-piano-ekanayaka/): Adahas: Of Wings Of Roots From EKANAYAKA, T. : Reinventions – Rhapsodies for Piano (Ekanayaka) (2015) Released by Grand Piano Ekanayaka: Adahas: Of Wings Of RootsTanya Ekanayaka is one of Sri Lanka’s foremost pianists and an internationally acclaimed composer. Her ‘deeply autobiographical’ piano compositions, or reinventions, introduce a novel and...
- [Ignacy Jan Paderewski: Virtuoso, Composer, and Statesman!](https://interlude.hk/ignacy-jan-paderewski-virtuoso-composer-statesman/): It is not entirely unusual for celebrities to take up high political office. Ronald Reagan, for example, graduated from the B movie industry to serve as the 33rd Governor of California, and the 40th President of the United States. Conan the Barbarian, better known as Arnold Schwarzenegger, escaped the action...
- [Music and Art: The Sound of Paintings I](https://interlude.hk/music-art-sound-paintings/): In many of my previous articles for this publication I have written about the close relationship between art and music. Over the course of the next few months, I would like to concentrate on specific artists and their direct relationship to music, beginning with the Romantic period in the 19th...
- [Reading the Walls](https://interlude.hk/reading-walls/): As you walk around the cities in Europe, read the walls. In London, Blue Plaques tell you about the famous people who lived in ‘a house on this site. ’ If you’re at 20 Frith Street in London, look up for this memorial to Mozart:
- [Sounds of Sorrow: Elegies and Laments I](https://interlude.hk/sounds-sorrow-elegies-laments/): In classical poetry, an Elegy is a mournful, melancholic, or plaintive poem, sometimes written as a lament for the dead and other times covering sad topics such as war. Elegies to lost love are also part of the genre. Ovid wrote elegies upon his exile, which he likened to death....
- [Cats Meow, Undertakers Slap, Extreme Challenges: Musician’s Quips ](https://interlude.hk/cats-meow-undertakers-slap-extreme-challenges-musicians-quips/): A few years ago a friend of mine had an encounter with a cat. Paul Vance, cellist, taught at what was then called Moorhead State University while the cello professor was on a leave-of-absence. The responsibilities included acting as the principal cello of the Fargo-Moorhead Symphony. That year they performed...
- [Instruments of the Orchestra XIV: Percussion](https://interlude.hk/instruments-orchestra-xiv-percussion/): These might be thought of as the best toy-set in the world: things to bang, things to crash, things to ring, things to thump, and it’s all music! We can divide the percussion section into two parts: tuned and untuned percussion. The tuned percussion instruments include drums such as the...
- [Reciprocal Muse<br/>Sergei Rachmaninoff and Marietta Shaginyan](https://interlude.hk/reciprocal-musesergey-rachmaninoff-marietta-shaginyan/): During the first decade of the 20th century, Sergei Rachmaninoff was the undisputed superstar of the piano circuit. Devoted fans camped outside his house to catch a quick glimpse of their idol, and a more diehard core followed him from city to city to see him perform on stage. His...
- [The Great Women Artists Who Shaped Music IX- Marian Anderson](https://interlude.hk/great-women-artists-shaped-music-ix-marian-anderson/): With regal bearing and a voice of rich intrinsic beauty, contralto Marian Anderson was one of the most celebrated singers of the twentieth century but she had to struggle to overcome racial prejudice that was rampant during the time she was establishing her career. “I had become, whether I like...
- [Edita Gruberová <br/>No Short Cuts in a Very Long Career](https://interlude.hk/edita-gruberova-short-cuts-long-career/): Gaetano Donizetti‘s rarely performed masterpiece Roberto Devereux screams out for a truly great soprano as the Tudor Queen Elisabeth I. Certainly the most successful Donizetti opera commissioned by the great impresario Domenico Barbaja (in 1837), the work was largely forgotten until prima donnas like Beverly Sills and Montserrat Caballé revived...
- [Johannes Brahms 1833-1897 -  Sonatas for clarinet and piano op.120 / 6 Klavierstücke op.118](https://interlude.hk/johannes-brahms-1833-1897-sonatas-clarinet-piano-op-120-6-klavierstucke-op-118/): Brahms: Sonata for Clarinet and Piano No. 1 in F Minor, Op. 120: II. Andante un poco adagio From Johannes Brahms 1833-1897 – Sonatas for clarinet and piano op. 120 / 6 Klavierstücke op. 118 (2015) Released by Harmonia Mundi Brahms: Sonata for Clarinet and Piano No. 1 in F...
- [Music and Art: Botticelli](https://interlude.hk/music-art-botticelli/): We know Sandro Botticelli as that 15th-century painter who was able to capture the ineffable in his works, be it the personification of a season, the birth of a goddess, or an important Biblical meeting. The early Renaissance painter Botticelli (c. 1445-1510) worked in Florence with Lorenzo de’ Medici as...
- [David Aaron Carpenter](https://interlude.hk/david-aaron-carpenter-artist-of-the-month/): ‘We need to get out of our comfort zones’ David Aaron Carpenter is a violist with a mission. As well as championing an instrument which unfortunately spends most of its time as the butt of the orchestra’s jokes, he is drawing together a career as rich and compelling as the...
- [Apple Music](https://interlude.hk/apple-music-blog/): Music has been part of the Jobs-era Apple brand ever since the iconic ‘Silhouette’ iPod adverts that bewitched a generation. Its focus on popular music identified Apple as a company of the young– its products, especially the iPod, became essential accessories for the high-school student, university undergraduate and hip young...
- [The Secret Wife<br/>John Lennon and Cynthia Powell](https://interlude.hk/secret-wifejohn-lennon-cynthia-powell/): Love is a rather infrequent visitor to the world of sex & drugs & Rock and Roll! Love ballads do constitute an important genre within the repertory of most bands, but reality frequently looks decidedly different. John Lennon, the founder of “The Quarrymen,” a band that eventually evolved into “The...
- [Let’s Skiffle<br/>John Lennon and the Quarrymen](https://interlude.hk/lets-skifflejohn-lennon-quarrymen/): The musical genre called “Skiffle” originated in African-American culture in the early 20th century. Drawing its influences from jazz, blues, and folk, it usually featured poor musicians using homemade or improvised instruments. Washboards, jugs, cigar-box fiddles and comb-and-paper kazoos accompanied more conventional instruments, like acoustic guitar and banjo. Originally, it...
- [John Lennon](https://interlude.hk/john-lennon-composer-of-the-month/): Imagine... John Winston (later Ono) Lennon was born on 9 October 1940, in Liverpool, England, to Julia (Stanley) and Alfred Lennon, a merchant seaman. When his parents separated, 4-year-old John ended up living with his Aunt Mimi. John showed some early aptitude for music, and learned to play the banjo...
- [In Touch with Sara Solovitch](https://interlude.hk/touch-sara-solovitch/): At the age of 19, a promising pianist named Sara Solovitch, struggling with nerves, decided to turn away from her ambitions as a professional musician. Since then she has led an active and varied career as a journalist across the USA, and in her latest book, Playing Scared, Sara challenges...
- [Outdoor Weddings — the Joys and Sorrows](https://interlude.hk/outdoor-weddings-joys-sorrows/): I don’t do outdoor weddings. Weather can wreak havoc. But when my nephew asked me to play for his wedding I responded with a heartfelt resounding, “yes! ” To say I was blown away by the ceremony is an understatement.
- [William Herschel: Composer to the Stars](https://interlude.hk/william-herschel-composer-stars/): When William Herschel (1738-1822) peered into the night sky on 13 March 1781, he noticed something rather peculiar. One of the celestial bodies he had been observing through his homemade telescope was moving oddly across the sky, and Herschel initially thought that he had found a new comet. After further...
- [The Great Women Artists Who Shaped Music VIII- Doriot Anthony Dwyer](https://interlude.hk/great-women-artists-shaped-music-viii-doriot-anthony-dwyer/): When Doriot Anthony Dwyer, flutist was selected as one of the first woman principal players in a top five U. S. orchestra the press went crazy, “Woman Crashes Boston Symphony: Eyebrows Lifted as Miss Anthony sat at Famous Flutist’s Desk,” “Flutist, 30 and Pretty, Here with Boston Symphony. ” (Boston...
- [Voices of the Shanghai Conservatory I](https://interlude.hk/voices-shanghai-conservatory/): Shanghai’s Municipal Orchestra, later to become the Shanghai Symphony, began subscription concerts in 1919. Under the direction of the expatriate Italian virtuoso Mario Paci, the orchestra relied exclusively on foreign players and rarely strayed beyond Shanghai’s colonial settlements. Over time, the orchestra reached out to the Chinese population, and the...
- [KHACHATURIAN, A.: Original Piano Works and Transcriptions (Poghosyan)](https://interlude.hk/khachaturian-original-piano-works-transcriptions-poghosyan/): Poem (1926) From KHACHATURIAN, A. : Original Piano Works and Transcriptions (Poghosyan) (2015) Released by Grand Piano Khachaturian: Poem (1926)Although Khachaturian is today renowned for his great ballet scores, his piano works have been relatively neglected. Performed by the award-winning Armenian pianist Kariné Poghosyan, this programme features arrangements of excerpts...
- [Storming the Bastille<br/>Cilèa's Adriana Lecouvreur in Paris](https://interlude.hk/storming-bastillecileas-adriana-lecouvreur-paris/): Since August 2014 the Opéra National de Paris has a new impresario, Stéphane Lissner. The Parisian returned to his hometown after a successful stint as the first non-Italian to run La Scala, Italy’s premier opera house.
- [BBC Proms 2015<br/>Richard Strauss: <em>Till Eulenspiegel</em>, Op. 28](https://interlude.hk/bbc-proms-2015richard-strauss-till-eulenspiegel-op-28/): For Richard Strauss, music was always capable of telling a good story. In his tone poems, we find a composer “capable of making poetic or narrative content and formal design coalesce with great brilliance. ” Strauss’s tone poems—although he preferred to call them symphonic poems—are modeled after the programmatic compositions...
- [Klais Organs: The Power behind the Throne](https://interlude.hk/klais-organs-power-behind-throne/): The age-old craft of organ building is a highly creative profession that demands constant analysis of tradition, while simultaneously keeping abreast of the latest technical, practical and aesthetic developments. Respect for proven values and tradition has to be carefully balanced with advances in technology. This balancing act also applies to...
- [Brahms by Arrangement](https://interlude.hk/brahms-arrangement/): During his early compositional career, Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) exhibited a heightened sense of musical insecurity. He self-consciously responded to criticism, even when leveled by his closest personal friends, by ruthlessly destroying or severely reshaping his compositions. His Piano Quintet in F minor, opus 34, represents a convincing case in point....
- [Instruments of the Orchestra XII: The Tuba](https://interlude.hk/instruments-orchestra-xii-tuba/): The youngest instrument added to the orchestra is also the largest. At the bottom of the brass section, providing the support to carry all those other brass and wind instruments is the tuba. It made its appearance in the modern orchestra in the mid-19th century, making one of the newest...
- [Losing it Onstage—When Classical Musicians Get the Giggles ](https://interlude.hk/losing-onstage-classical-musicians-get-giggles/): The tension and pressure onstage at Orchestra Hall is formidable. Classical musicians must maintain intense concentration to attain our lofty goal—perfection. Attempting these standards night after night sometimes results in giddiness that becomes impossible to muzzle. Soon the conductor notices, your colleagues are infected and the audience sees the tears...
- [Too Good for Hong Kong](https://interlude.hk/good-hong-kong/): The HKPhil has recently been under fire for actively suppressing local artistic talent. A quick glance at the orchestra’s 2015-2016 concert season, merely featuring one local conductor, a pop singer and a magician, clearly seems to support that impression. In response, a petition was signed by local artists and supporters...
- [Music and Art: Gericault](https://interlude.hk/music-art-gericault/): It might be termed a double tragedy: one is a monumental artwork commemorating a tragic episode in French history and the other a monumental musical work that suffered from the political tensions of the day.
- [SAMAZEUILH, G.: Piano Works (Complete) (Chauzu)](https://interlude.hk/samazeuilh-g-piano-works-complete-chauzu/): Le Chant de la Mer No. 2. Claire de lune au large From SAMAZEUILH, G. : Piano Works (Complete) (Chauzu) (2015) Released by Grand Piano Samazeuilh: Le Chant de la Mer – No. 2. Claire de lune au largeA pupil of Dukas and a lifelong friend of Ravel, the composer,...
- [The Best of Tchaikovsky<br/>Reflections on the 2015 Tchaikovsky Competition](https://interlude.hk/best-tchaikovskyreflections-2015-tchaikovsky-competition/): Sadly, the 2015 Tchaikovsky Competition, celebrating the 175th anniversary of the composer’s birth, ended this week. After numerous hours of intense music listening, from thousands of miles away via Medici TV, my adrenaline rush climaxed with the two final galas which to me formed the highlight of the competition, as...
- [Miss Manners— Chamber Music Style](https://interlude.hk/miss-manners-chamber-music-style/): Most musicians both amateur and professional aspire to play chamber music, some of the greatest works of classical music. It would be difficult to single out a favorite but my list would include the following works— Brahms Piano Quintet, and piano trios, Schubert Quintet for two Cellos and The “Trout”...
- [Tuning Up](https://interlude.hk/tuning-up-blog/): The orchestra is assembled, the concertmaster comes to the stage, turns his back on the audience and signals the oboist. A pure clear note sounds and then lots of other notes. What is this all about?
- [BBC Proms 2015<br/>Franz Schmidt: <em>Symphony No. 2</em>](https://interlude.hk/bbc-proms-2015franz-schmidt-symphony-2/): It is difficult to make a living as a composer at the best of times. But when you are trying to make your mark at the peak of music’s history as a cultural form, your chances of success diminish significantly. Just ask Franz Schmidt (1874-1939) who came of age while...
- [A Marriage of Cousins <br/>Sergei Rachmaninoff and Natalya Satina](https://interlude.hk/marriage-cousinssergey-rachmaninoff-natalya-satina/): Sergei Rachmaninoff and Natalya Satina knew each other since childhood. This is hardly surprising as Natalya was the child of Alexander Alexandrovich Satin and Varvara Arkadyevna Rachmaninoff. Her mother Varvara, as such, was the sister of Sergei Rachmaninoff’s father, Vasily Arkadyevich Rachmaninoff. All complicated genealogy aside; it simply means that...
- [The Juilliard School](https://interlude.hk/juilliard-school/): Standing proudly on West 65th Street in the heart of Manhattan, the striking Lincoln Center building plays host to the Juilliard School, a world-renowned centre of study for dance, drama, and music. The activities at the school are as numerous and diverse as the bustling cityscape in which it nestles,...
- [Students and Teachers](https://interlude.hk/students-teachers/): School’s out for summer! Well, formal school, but practicing continues on forever. We know how influential our teachers can be so we thought we’d look at teachers of the past and see how curiously far they reach into the present.
- [Organ Restoration --- A Lifelong Calling](https://interlude.hk/organ-restoration-lifelong-calling/): Master Organ builder Wolfgang Rehn, (who, incidentally, happens to be my very own brother) formerly director of organ restoration at Kuhn Organ Builders, of Männedorf, Switzerland (www. orgelbau. ch) had started his career as a designer and builder of new organs. However, confronted with the unique cultural treasure of Europe’s...
- [An die ferne Geliebte](https://interlude.hk/die-ferne-geliebte/): Beethoven: Neue Liebe, neues Leben No. 2, Op. 75 From An die ferne Geliebte (2015) Released by Harmonia Mundi Beethoven: Neue Liebe, neues Leben No. 2, Op. 75 Songs to the distant beloved. Following their acclaimed Schumann recording, tenor Mark Padmore and fortepiano phenom Kristian Bezuidenhout join forces again for...
- [Don’t, Won’t, Can’t](https://interlude.hk/dont-wont-cant/): Songs tell us about all sorts of things: love, the beauty of spring, and all about happiness. But there are lots of songs that just go to the negative. When we look at songs that say don’t, won’t or can’t, we may find that out of the negative notion comes...
- [Rach goes to the Movies](https://interlude.hk/rach-goes-movies/): Just four days shy of his 70th birthday, Sergei Rachmaninoff died of melanoma on 28 March 1943 in Beverly Hills, California. He always wished to be buried at his estate in Switzerland, but the ravages of WWII only allowed for his interment at the Kensico Cemetery in Valhalla, New York....
- [Hildegard von Bingen: Nun more versatile!](https://interlude.hk/hildegard-von-bingen-nun-versatile/): She experienced “shades of the living light” at age three, and understood that she was experiencing visions by the age of five. Her parents, a family of the free lower nobility, had absolutely no idea how to deal with the unusual gifts of their daughter. And since the 12th century...
- [Instruments of the Orchestra XI: The Trombone](https://interlude.hk/instruments-orchestra-xi-trombone/): The trombone, or large trumpet (Tromba= trumpet, -one= suffix meaning ‘big’) in Italian, is a lower voice in the brass wind ensemble. Unlike the trumpet that started as a simple tube and now has valves, the trombone was always operated with a slide. This allows the player to change the...
- [Leonard Bernstein: The Spirit of New York](https://interlude.hk/leonard-bernstein-spirit-new-york/): Leonard Bernstein had always longed to write the Great American Opera. Yet, as it happens, he ended up writing the great American musical! In 1949, the theater producer and dance choreographer Jerome Robbins envisioned a modern adaptation of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Set during the Easter/Passover season, it featured an...
- [Miss Manners— Orchestra Style](https://interlude.hk/miss-manners-orchestra-style/): There once was a young man in our cello section, a very talented musician but a little green, who would practice all of my orchestral solos on stage, loudly, for all to hear. I tried not to get rattled—(did it sound better than me? I’d ask myself... ) and difficult...
- [Gli italiani a Londra: The Invasion of the Italians](https://interlude.hk/gli-italiani-londra-invasion-italians/): London occupies a unique place in the musical life of the world. It has been a focus for musicians and musical happenings since the 17th century and it was London that the leading composers of the day came to make their names and possibly fortunes. Among those composers we can...
- [Kinds of Conductors](https://interlude.hk/kinds-conductors/): Is there a difference in how a conductor acts depending on what ensemble is being conducted? Let’s first take a look at a variety of conductors and their styles:
- [Voices of the Conservatoire de Paris I](https://interlude.hk/voices-conservatoire-de-paris/): In a recent Interlude article, Oliver Pashley introduced us to the prestigious Conservatoire de Paris. This venerable institution has been an integral part of French musical life, and annually trains a significant number of high-profile national and international musicians. And we all know that the Conservatoire de Paris has given...
- [MAČEK, I.: Piano Music (Complete) / Violin Sonata (Mazzon, Filipec)](https://interlude.hk/macek-piano-music-complete-violin-sonata-mazzon-filipec/): Piano Sonatina – Animato From MAČEK, I. : Piano Music (Complete) / Violin Sonata (Mazzon, Filipec) (2014) Released by Grand Piano Maček: Piano Sonatina – AnimatoIvo Maček occupied a significant place in 20th-century Yugoslavian musical life as a pianist and educator. The Intermezzo is among his most poetic early miniatures,...
- [The Great Women Artists Who Shaped Music VII - Amy Beach](https://interlude.hk/great-women-artists-shaped-music-vii-amy-beach/): Women performers were accepted well before they were recognized as authors or composers. Clara Schumann and Fanny Mendelssohn are cases in point who achieved success more for their performing than music writing. Amy Cheney Beach defied traditional conceptions. She became a legendary and influential artist, piano soloist and the first...
- [Music and Art: Rembrandt](https://interlude.hk/music-art-rembrandt/): The Dutch painter Rembrandt van Rijn (1609-1669) brought Dutch painting to its Golden Age – matching Dutch society’s great wealth and cultural achievements with an innovative and creative style of painting. He trained the generations of artists that followed him and brought the often-despised idea of portraiture to a new...
- [The Castrato as Hero](https://interlude.hk/castrato-hero/): When castratos ruled the opera stage, two of the most famous worked closely with the leading composer for the London stage, George Frederick Handel, to make their names in his music. He, obligingly, cast them as the heroes of his works. This, of course, now causes us some problems because...
- [In Touch – Nadine Koutcher](https://interlude.hk/touch-nadine-koutcher/): Belarusian soprano Nadine Koutcher thrilled audiences at the 2015 Cardiff Singer of the World this month, and her glittering performances (and astonishing high notes) throughout the competition led her to the Main Prize. Though already an experienced performer on the European opera circuit stage in repertoire from Purcell to Dusapin,...
- [Of Proms and Promming](https://interlude.hk/proms-promming/): The 2015 BBC Proms start in two weeks’time. As a child and teenager, I used to go to the Proms every year with my parents, who would pour over the programme as soon as it was published (this, of course, is many years pre-internet, and the Proms booklet would be...
- [Areta Zhulla](https://interlude.hk/areta-zhulla-artist-of-the-month/): The Global Perspective Few musicians manage to balance teaching and performing as well as Greek-born violinist Areta Zhulla. A recipient of the Triandi Career Grant as well as the Tassos Prassopoulos Foundation Award, a passionate chamber musician with an equally full solo recital diary, she is also a passionate educator,...
- [The Role of a Teacher<br/>To Demolish and Rebuild, or to Plant and Nurture?](https://interlude.hk/role-teacherto-demolish-rebuild-plant-nurture/): ‘Intense. ’ ‘Gripping. ’ ‘Unsettling. ’ ‘Must-see! ’ Several people have asked me whether I have seen Damien Chazelle’s film, Whiplash, and these were words they all used to describe the drama. Though apprehensive about films centred on musicians or on musical genres because of the usual mediocre approximations, my...
- [Leonard Bernstein: Music can communicate the unknowable](https://interlude.hk/leonard-bernstein-music-can-communicate-unknowable/): Leonard Bernstein undoubtedly was one of the most supremely talented interpretive musicians of the 20th century. Yet his compositional talents, as Mstislav Rostropovich has argued, “are simply not on par with his abilities as an interpreter. ” Leon Botstein, President of Bard College and principal conductor of the American Symphony...
- [Defining Music](https://interlude.hk/defining-music-blog/): What’s your favorite one-sentence definition of music? Are there any here that exactly copy your thoughts or can you take it to a more extreme edge? Lady Gaga puts music in a different perspective: “Some women choose to follow men, and some women choose to follow their dreams. If you’re...
- [Leonard Bernstein and Felicia Montealegre <br/>A Divided Life](https://interlude.hk/leonard-bernstein-felicia-montealegrea-divided-life/): Felicia Montealegre was a stunningly beautiful Chilean stage and television actress making her living in New York. Leonard Bernstein was the wonder boy of the American classical music scene, who had made his spectacular conducting debut with the New York Philharmonic. They met at a party hosted by pianist Claudio...
- [KARLOWICZ, M.: Songs (Rappe, Poblocka)](https://interlude.hk/karlowicz-m-songs-rappe-poblocka/): 6 Songs Op. 1 No. 1. Zasmuconej (Saddened) From KARLOWICZ, M. : Songs (Rappe, Poblocka) (1998) Released by CD Accord Karlowicz: 6 Songs Op. 1 – No. 1. Zasmuconej (Saddened)Mieczysław Karłowicz (1876 – 1909) was a Polish composer and conductor. He was born in Vishneva (now part of Belarus) into...
- [The Great Women Artists Who Shaped Music VI - Ida Haendel](https://interlude.hk/great-women-artists-shaped-music-vi-ida-haendel/): Big hair, eclectic jewelry and high heels are her trademark. Ida Haendel is considered one of the greatest violin soloists of the twentieth century— born to play the violin. When she appeared earlier in my career with the Minnesota Orchestra her enormous, warm, compelling violin sound made me weep—such was...
- [Leonard Bernstein](https://interlude.hk/leonard-bernstein-composer-of-the-month/): The Interpretive Genius There can be no doubt that Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990) was “one of the most prodigiously talented and successful musicians in American history. ” He once told the New York Times, “I want to conduct. I want to play the piano. I want to write for Hollywood. I...
- [The Joy of Summer Festivals](https://interlude.hk/joy-summer-festivals/): They start to appear as the snows disappear – enticing notices for summer festivals. Spend a week of music in the mountains, or at the seashore, or in a famous historical setting. Summer festivals are a wonderful time to explore new and interesting music, hear upcoming performers, listen to established...
- [Fugenpassion](https://interlude.hk/fugenpassion-inspiration/): As soon as Robert and Clara Schumann got married on 12 September 1840, they confided their most intimate thoughts and ideas to a shared diary. Topics ranged from mundane household matters to subjects of a rather intimate private nature, like the number of times they made love each day. At...
- [King Aeolos and his Bag of Winds ](https://interlude.hk/king-aeolos-bag-winds/): Helen of Sparta was considered the most beautiful woman in the world. Sadly, she was married to a drab, conceited and seriously overweight king. When her lover Paris—who turns out to be the Prince of Troy—couldn’t take it any longer, he abducts the fair Helen and plunged Greece and Troy...
- [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart<br/><em>Die Entführung aus dem Serail</em>, K. 384](https://interlude.hk/wolfgang-amadeus-mozartdie-entfuhrung-aus-dem-serail-k-384/): During its days of largest expansion and influence in the 17th century, the Ottoman Empire controlled much of Southeastern Europe, the Middle East and Northern Africa. Remaining a constant military threat to Central Europe over several centuries, Turkish troops famously laid siege to Vienna in 1529, and again in 1683....
- [The Modern Academy in Focus: Ripieno Ensemble](https://interlude.hk/modern-academy-focus-ripieno-ensemble/): Talk about off and running. The Manila-based Ripieno Ensemble only formally launched in January, and its debut performance in February featured an ambitious repertoire: the works of modern-day music stalwarts Schoenberg and Webern as well as those of contemporary Philippine composers.
- [The Castrato and Allegri](https://interlude.hk/castrato-allegri/): Today, the idea of a castrato singer is a bit embarrassing. For our hyper-masculine world (would you like muscles on that? ), the idea of a male singer who can only sing at a soprano pitch just seems wrong.
- [The Dark Hours: Music for Introspection](https://interlude.hk/dark-hours-music-introspection/): Sometimes we don’t want the brightly lilting tunes of a flute or the ecstatic runs of a violin or piano – our mood wants something slower, something sadder, something for the dark hours. Music not for melancholy but for introspection.
- [Chemical Alexander](https://interlude.hk/chemical-alexander/): An ancient Russian proverb states, “You cannot hunt two hares at the same time. ” Sounds pretty self-explanatory to me, but Alexander Porfiryevich Borodin (1833-1887) disagreed! In musical circles, Borodin (1833-1887) is primarily known for his symphonies, the opera Prince Igor, the symphonic poem In the Steppes of Central Asia,...
- [Aeolian Harp: Music played without human hands](https://interlude.hk/aeolian-harp-music-played-without-human-hands/): The ancients described the sound of the Aeolian harp as “music played without human hands. ” As such, Romantic poets considered the instrument a source of natural and divine inspiration. Samuel Taylor Coleridge writes in his The Eolian Harp, of 1795: And that simplest Lute, Placed length-ways in the clasping...
- [ZANI, A.: Cello Concertos](https://interlude.hk/zani-cello-concertos/): Cello Concerto No. 10 in F Major, WD 794 Allegro From ZANI, A. : Cello Concertos (2013) Released by Capriccio Zani: Cello Concerto No. 10 in F Major, WD 794 – AllegroAndrea Teodoro Zani (1696–1757) was born in Casalmaggiore, a province of Cremona, long a center for famous makers of...
- [Music and Art: Arnold Böcklin](https://interlude.hk/music-art-arnold-bocklin/): The Swiss symbolist painter, Arnold Böcklin (1827-1901) took the world of mythology as his source of inspiration. His most famous painting, Die Toteninsel (The Isle of the Dead), painted in multiple versions between 1880 and 1886, was the inspiration for a work of the same name by Rachmaninov and also...
- [Sergei Rachmaninoff: The Power of a Good Tune](https://interlude.hk/sergei-rachmaninoff-power-good-tune/): Sergei Rachmaninoff certainly knew a good tune when he heard it. But recognizing a good tune was simply not enough for him. He frequently took it apart and closely analyzed its contents before reassembling them in new forms and guises. And we all know his extended variation sets on themes...
- [Flow My Tears: Weeping With Dowland](https://interlude.hk/flow-tears-weeping-dowland/): John Dowland (1563 –1626) brought the art of weeping to an exquisite height in the early 17th century. This English Renaissance composer, lutenist, and singer became famed for his melancholy songs that have an inherent darkness that stands in contrast to much of the other music from this time. Two...
- [Sherlock and Music and Mysteries](https://interlude.hk/sherlock-music-mysteries/): We looked earlier at Sherlock and Opera and now, when we see what other music he ventured into, we find a connoisseur of the musical arts of his time at its highest point.
- [What is a Concertmaster?](https://interlude.hk/concertmaster/): Sometimes the actions of an orchestra seem quite mysterious. You’d expect that the orchestra would come on stage, take their seats, the conductor would arrive, and off they’d play. Instead, the orchestra seats itself, and then the first chair of the violin section comes on, turns his back to the...
- [Instruments of the Orchestra X: The Trumpet](https://interlude.hk/instruments-orchestra-x-trumpet/): The next of the brass winds is the trumpet, which developed much on the same lines as the horn: first a simple structure, then with the addition of valves, an instrument more suited for ensemble work was created. The process of taming an instrument meant for the outdoors for use...
- [The Modern Academy in Focus : Composer Ken Ueno](https://interlude.hk/modern-academy-focus-composer-ken-ueno/): The Modern Academy, an innovative and intensive short course in music performance and composition, kicked off June 10th in Hong Kong, drawing a talented cohort of local and international students and young professionals.
- [Sorabji](https://interlude.hk/sorabji-inspiration/): Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji (1892-1988) was an English composer and pianist who wrote some of the most unusual 20th century piano music. He maintained a tight control over his output, and, following a poor performance, he banned all public performances of his work between 1936 and 1976. During this time, he...
- [Music and Art: Edward Hicks](https://interlude.hk/music-art-edward-hicks/): One of the best modern works in the choral tradition is Randall Thompson’s cycle based on the settings of verses from Isiah. The Peaceable Kingdom was inspired by the 1826 painting by the same name by the Quaker artist and preacher Edward Hicks (1780-1849).
- [Temple of High Culture or Political Debate?](https://interlude.hk/temple-high-culture-political-debate/): When the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra got ready for a performance of the Brahms Requiem recently, two members of the audience began singing the old civil rights tune, “Which Side are You on? ” Other protestors seated on the main floor and in the balcony joined them in harmony. Apparently,...
- [The Great Women Artists Who Shaped Music V –Alicia de Larrocha](https://interlude.hk/great-women-artists-shaped-music-v-alicia-de-larrocha/): Spanish pianist Alica de Larrocha was a favorite artist at our home when I was growing up and not just because of her diminutive stature. (She was less than five feet tall—like me! ) Later in my life I was privileged to perform with her when she appeared as soloist...
- [Schumann: Violin Concerto](https://interlude.hk/schumann-violin-concerto-music/): Piano Trio No. 3 in G Minor, Op. 110: III. Rasch From Schumann: Violin Concerto (2015) Released by Harmonia Mundi Schumann: Piano Trio No. 3 in G Minor, Op. 110: III. RaschThis first volume in a trilogy comprising the complete concertos and piano trios of Schumann brings together two late...
- [Chopin goes Pop](https://interlude.hk/chopin-goes-pop/): When classical music aficionados are surveyed on the most popular romantic composer, the name Frédéric Chopin invariably rises to the top. This is hardly surprising as Chopin’s music, ranging from wistful Waltzes and sensual Nocturnes to fiery Etudes and Sonatas, creates a flow of heightened emotions for the listener. Uniquely...
- [Hugo Wolf: <em>Italian Serenade</em>](https://interlude.hk/hugo-wolf-italian-serenade/): In the world of chamber music, Hugo Wolf (1860-1903) is not a household name. And there is good reason for this, as Wolf’s work consists predominantly of Lieder. He wrote large-scale song cycles on poems by Mörike, Goethe and Eichendorff, and an Italian and Spanish Song Book. Wolf brought a...
- [Infinite Reflections: Arvo Pärt’s ‘Spiegel im Spiegel’](https://interlude.hk/infinite-reflections-arvo-parts-spiegel-im-spiegel/): Spiegel im Spiegel has to be the best-known of all the music by Estonian composer Arvo Pärt. Composed in 1978, just before Pärt left Estonia for Berlin, it was originally written for single piano and violin, though many other versions exist, including for piano and cello, or viola, clarinet, flute,...
- [40-Love](https://interlude.hk/40-love-anecdotes/): Their weekly tennis games had become somewhat of a tourist attraction. George was younger and more powerful, always ready to exploit the weaknesses of his opponent. His movements were smooth and nonchalant, with every step and hit designed to impress his adoring fans. Arnold, on the other hand, was significantly...
- [“Art has to deal with eternal Questions”<br/>Arvo and Nora Pärt](https://interlude.hk/art-deal-eternal-questionsarvo-nora-part/): I know it’s hard to believe, but there are still celebrities who wish to keep their public and private spheres completely separate. For Arvo Pärt, one of the most respected and revered composers of contemporary classical music, it is a matter of principle. Pärt essentially lives the life of a...
- [Sherlock Goes to the Opera](https://interlude.hk/sherlock-goes-opera/): Scottish physician Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930) took up writing while still a medical student at the University of Edinburgh. His first stories were mysteries, but he also wrote about the difficulties of life as a fledgling doctor and many historical novels, such as The White Company. How he lives on...
- [A Love Affair: Alban Berg’s ‘Lyric Suite' and Baudelaire’s ‘De Profundis Clamavi’](https://interlude.hk/love-affair-alban-bergs-lyric-suite-baudelaires-de-profundis-clamavi/): A recent concert by the magnificent Emerson Quartet featured Alban Berg’s ‘Lyric Suite for String Quartet’ (1925). An annotated copy of Berg’s composition which he had given to his mistress, Hanna Fuchs-Robettin was discovered by the Berg scholar George Perle only in 1977 amongst the papers of Hanna’s daughter Dorothea....
- [The Note, The Silence, and Variations<br/>A Talk with Andrea Morricone](https://interlude.hk/note-silence-variationsa-talk-andrea-morricone/): We caught up with Andrea Morricone, the pianist, composer, and conductor, while he was in Hong Kong in May for a Charity “Concert for Cause” and had a wonderful afternoon reviewing everything from the wonders of Mozart’s Little G minor Symphony to what you need to do to appeal to...
- [Württemberg Sonatas - Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach](https://interlude.hk/wurttemberg-sonatas-carl-philipp-emanuel-bach/): Sonata Württemberg No. 2 in A Flat Major, Wq. 49/2, H. 31: III. Allegro From Württemberg Sonatas – Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (2015) Released by Harmonia Mundi C. P. E. Bach: Sonata Württemberg No. 2 in A Flat Major, Wq. 49/2, H. 31: III. AllegroThis reading is characterized by its...
- [The early Pärt](https://interlude.hk/the-early-part-inspiration/): Living through the political and artistic complexities of the 20th century, Arvo Pärt always sought to communicate the spiritual power that he sees as music’s essential purpose. Initially, this quest proved rather difficult as his native Estonia was squarely placed under Soviet military and cultural authority. His earliest compositions for...
- [Musicians and Street Names in Belgium](https://interlude.hk/musicians-street-names-belgium/): A new website in Belgium is collecting together a list of streets in the country named after musicians. We were pleasantly surprised to see the international nature of street names as we looked through the site https://muzikalestraatnamen. wordpress. com/.
- [Instruments of the Orchestra IX: The Horn](https://interlude.hk/instruments-orchestra-ix-horn/): In the back of the orchestra are the brass-winds: the wild brass instruments that have been tamed and brought into the orchestra, but who remain with the potential to put a wild call out over the rest of the ensemble. The horn, also called the French horn, first made its...
- [When the Detective goes to a Concert: Elliot Paul and Homer Evans](https://interlude.hk/detective-goes-concert-elliot-paul-homer-evans/): The American journalist and author Elliot Paul (1891-1958) was born in Massachusetts, served in France in WWI, and returned home to become a journalist and author. He returned to Paris in 1925 to become a writer and part of the fabled Jazz Age literary colony centered in Montparnasse. He was...
- [Singing with William Byrd](https://interlude.hk/singing-byrd/): William Byrd (1543-1623), in the preface to his Psalmes, Sonnets and Songs of 1588, set out Eight Reasons why everyone should learn to sing.
- [A Helping Hand with Music](https://interlude.hk/helping-hand-music/): Guido of Arezzo (991-2 to after 1033) was a famous music teacher first at the Benedictine Abbey of Pomposa then in Arezzo, where he moved around 1025. At the time when Guido was teaching music, he came up with some radical new ideas, including the use of lines to show...
- [Variations on Goldberg II](https://interlude.hk/variations-goldberg-ii/): Chamber Music Transcriptions of Bach’s Famous Repertoire — Goldberg Variations A variation set for harpsichord that’s considered the model of a variation set? Lots of other instrumental players looked at Bach’s Goldberg Variations in envy and immediately started making arrangements for their own instruments. As we saw in the first...
- [Francesco Piemontesi](https://interlude.hk/francesco-piemontesi-artist-of-the-month/): Telling a personal story The small Italian town of Locarno plays host to the Settimane Musicali di Ascona each summer. At its head is internationally-renowned pianist Francesco Piemontesi, the recently-appointed Artistic Director of his home town’s music festival. ‘I’ve lived away from Italy for almost 15 years, but I couldn’t...
- [Arvo Pärt](https://interlude.hk/arvo-part-composer-of-the-month/): 1+1=1 Estonian-born composer Arvo Pärt (b. 1935) has managed to strike a sound of devotional archaism into a world of chaotic modernity. Highly experimental during his early musical career, Pärt’s study of early music inspired a new, and completely unique musical language and vocabulary. Influenced by Orthodox Russian intonations, medieval...
- [Nicolai Gedda: Alive, well and thoroughly immortal](https://interlude.hk/nicolai-gedda-alive-well-thoroughly-immortal/): Last weekend, unconfirmed reports hit the internet about the great Swedish tenor’s death. By the following Monday the reports were denied by publicists and friends: Nicolai Gedda (born July 11, 1925) is alive and well.
- [Beyond Stage Fright](https://interlude.hk/beyond-stage-fright/): Beyond Stage Fright is a series of video interviews featuring many of today’s most significant performers exploring issues around performance stress. Initiated by pianist and performance coach Charlotte Tomlinson, this exciting project is representative of a growing openness about these issues within the music profession and promises to offer insights...
- [Forecast Sunny and Bright: It’s Summertime!](https://interlude.hk/forecast-sunny-bright-summertime/): As we come into summertime, we want music that matches our positive outlook. Composers, however, may take a different look at the heat and weather conditions. They give us storms, sleepy naps in the sun, and even work to do! We have to start, of course, with The Seasons. It...
- [Music in the Mind](https://interlude.hk/music-mind/): Cheryl had lost most of her hearing abilities by her late 60s. Her hearing had deteriorated so much that she could barely hear people on the phone, and her partners playing bridge together would have to repeat their bids extra loudly just for her to hear them.
- [PANUFNIK, A.: Piano Concerto / LUTOSLAWSKI, W.: Piano Concerto / SZYMANSKI, P.: Piano Concerto (Poblocka)](https://interlude.hk/panufnik-piano-concerto-lutoslawski-w-piano-concerto-szymanski-p-piano-concerto-poblocka/): Piano Concerto – Molto Tranquillo From PANUFNIK, A. : Piano Concerto / LUTOSLAWSKI, W. : Piano Concerto / SZYMANSKI, P. : Piano Concerto (Poblocka) (1998) Released by CD Accord Panufnik: Piano Concerto – Molto TranquilloThe Piano Concerto is an exuberant, colourful work, premiered in its final form by John Ogdon...
- [Hong Kong New Music Ensemble: Modern Academy 2015](https://interlude.hk/hong-kong-new-music-ensemble-modern-academy-2015/): Shortly after the cessation of hostilities in 1946, the city of Darmstadt, located in the state of Hessen in central Germany, hosted unique musical gatherings that would eventually become an institution. These “International Summer Courses for New Music” had two main objectives. First, they sought to propagate American political and...
- [Mozart & Shostakovich<br/>A Review by Yeung Man Lok Anson](https://interlude.hk/mozart-shostakovicha-review-yeung-man-lok-anson/): On 15th May, The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra performed Mozart Piano Concerto No. 18, with pianist Jean-Efflam Bavouzet and Shostakovich Symphony No. 11, The Year 1905 conducted by Case Scaglione.
- [Instruments of the Orchestra VIII: The Bassoon](https://interlude.hk/instruments-orchestra-viii-bassoon/): The woodwind’s bass support is the mighty bassoon. Another double-reed instrument like the oboe, the bassoon need to be a long wood wind in order to get the low notes and is designed rather folded back on itself in order to achieve that length.
- [In Touch with Mark Latimer of ‘The Imperfect Pearl’](https://interlude.hk/touch-mark-latimer-imperfect-pearl/): The name of composer Domenico Zipoli may not be familiar to our regular readers. But a recent UK-based project, The Imperfect Pearl, has committed to presenting this composer’s extraordinary music and even more remarkable life story. The project, inspired by the remarkable discovery of Zipoli’s original manuscripts in a bathroom...
- [An Orchestra Gets With It – Turn Your Phone On!](https://interlude.hk/orchestra-gets-turn-phone/): Handsome, longhaired composer and conductor Eric Whitacre instructed the audience, “Turn your phone on. Put it in airplane mode and wait for my cue. ” Throughout the Orchestra Hall lobby were instructions regarding how to download the Deep Fields app prior to the concert.
- [Ten Tips for Productive Practice](https://interlude.hk/ten-tips-productive-practice/): When it comes to practising instruments, most people are concerned about quantity. ‘But I practised 20 minutes every day! ’ ‘I practised yesterday! ’ ‘I spent a total of five hours practising this week! ! ! ’ But I urge you to concentrate on quality, not quantity. If you practise...
- [Robert Schumann: <em>Paradise and the Peri</em>, Op. 50](https://interlude.hk/robert-schumann-paradise-peri-op-50/): When Robert Schumann premiered his secular oratorio Das Paradies und die Peri, Op. 50 (Paradise and the Peri) in December 1843 in Leipzig, the composer was instantly catapulted from provincial to international fame. In the first decade after the composition, the Peri was performed more than fifty times. Schumann even...
- [Music and Art: Goya](https://interlude.hk/music-art-goya/): Francisco Goya (1746 – 1828) lead a life in and out of favour with the Spanish king and his highly dramatic paintings and etchings, particularly in relation to the various Spanish wars, were highly influential. His pictures of woman, his ‘maja’ pictures, were an inspiration to Spanish composer Enrique Granados...
- [The Great Women Artists Who Shaped Music IV – Dame Myra Hess](https://interlude.hk/great-women-artists-shaped-music-iv-dame-myra-hess/): British pianist Dame Myra Hess was a legend. She garnered fame during World War II when concert halls had to be blacked out during the evenings. She organized 1700 day time concerts during the London Blitz—the six years of bombings suffered by London. The concerts took place unfailingly Monday through...
- [Michel-Richard de Lalande 1657-1726 <br/>Leçons de Ténèbres](https://interlude.hk/michel-richard-de-lalande-1657-1726-lecons-de-tenebres/): Miserere: III. Ecce enim in iniquitatibus – Ecce enim veritatem dilexisti From Michel-Richard de Lalande 1657-1726 Leçons de Ténèbres (2015) Released by Harmonia Mundi Michel-Richard de Lalande: Miserere: III. Ecce enim in iniquitatibus – Ecce enim veritatem dilexistiWhen Lalande left this vale of tears, his fame was at its height;...
- [Old Wine in New Bottles <br/>Chopin in the 20th Century](https://interlude.hk/old-wine-new-bottles-chopin-20th-century/): The first transcriptions of Chopin’s music appeared as early as the 1830s, shortly after the publication of the original compositions. In time, some 1500 composers took up the task, with some popular works transformed hundreds of times for all possible instruments and ensembles. Throughout the 19th century, appreciation of Chopin’s...
- [The Sting of a Bad Review — And Revenge!](https://interlude.hk/sting-bad-review-revenge/): Bad reviews hurt! Why else would we remember Word for Word our first bad review? When I was a college student, I performed one of my first solos with an orchestra. I had just won the school wide concerto competition and I was chosen to perform Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations. It...
- [Swept Away Festival](https://interlude.hk/swept-away-festival/): Tired of hearing summer festivals filled with the same old Mozart and Bach? The Swept Away Festival, organized by The Continuum Ensemble, will be looking at music from Berlin and Vienna in the Twenties and will take place in London from 19-21 June. The festival looks at composers who were...
- [In the Service of Music <br/>Béla Bartók and Ditta Pásztory](https://interlude.hk/service-music-bela-bartok-ditta-pasztory/): Béla Bartók had always been interested in young girls. His first wife Márta was only sixteen when they married, and he did have an extramarital affair with the fifteen-year-old poetess Klára. Bartók also vigorously but unsuccessfully pursued the young violinist Jelly d’Aranyi, grandniece of Joseph Joachim. But when he felt...
- [Score it for Richard Strauss](https://interlude.hk/score-richard-strauss/): The idea that orchestration, the technique of employing instruments to portray any musical aspect, is an integral and creative aspect of the compositional art has only gradually been accepted.
- [Béla Bartók<br/>“Competitions are for horses, not artists”](https://interlude.hk/bela-bartokcompetitions-horses-artists/): Composed to celebrate the union of the cities of Buda and Pest into the present-day Hungarian capital in 1923, the Dance Suite quickly became one of Béla Bartók’s most popular works. It did more for Bartók’s reputation, in the positive sense, than all his previous works combined. The work certainly...
- [Bogányi: The Piano from Planet Stealth](https://interlude.hk/boganyi-piano-planet-stealth/): What do you get when you mate a grand piano with a spaceship from planet Stealth? The answer is simple, you get a Bogányi! If you are still confused, just have a look at the attached picture! This appears to be a unique and cutting edge reinterpretation of the classical...
- [Sounding the Sea <br/>Blackpool High Tide Organ](https://interlude.hk/sounding-seablackpool-high-tide-organ/): Some musical instruments, once constructed, no longer need additional human intervention to become musically active. One such instrument is the spectacular Blackpool High Tide Organ. Designed by Liam Curtin and John Gooding in 2002, the musical sculpture, described as “a cross between a tentacle and the staff of a violin,”...
- [Charlie Chaplin<br/>The Fiddle and the Tramp](https://interlude.hk/charlie-chaplinthe-fiddle-tramp/): Did you know that Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin (1889-1977), probably the most famous and most important actor in the silent film era, was a committed amateur violinist who also composed a number of his film scores? Long before Chaplin contemplated an acting career, he turned to music to escape the...
- [NIEMANN, W.R.: Piano Music - Sonatas Nos. 1 and 2 / 3 Compositions for Piano / Fantasie-Mazurka](https://interlude.hk/niemann-w-r-piano-music-sonatas-nos-1-2-3-compositions-piano-fantasie-mazurka/): Piano Sonata No. 1 in A Minor, Op. 60, “Romantic”II. Poco adagio From NIEMANN, W. R. : Piano Music – Sonatas Nos. 1 and 2 / 3 Compositions for Piano / Fantasie-Mazurka (2015) Released by Grand Piano / Naxos Niemann: Piano Sonata No. 1 in A Minor, Op. 60, “Romantic”...
- [The Music of the Moon](https://interlude.hk/music-moon/): We look up at the orb that hangs in our sky and know that it’s been an inspiration for artists of all sorts: authors, poets, painters, and composers. It can be an inspiration for love and for madness – lunacy, after all, comes from the power of La Luna (the...
- [Variations on Goldberg I](https://interlude.hk/variations-goldberg/): Transcriptions of Bach’s Famous Repertoire — Goldberg Variations Bach’s Goldberg Variations, BWV 988, hold a special place in music history. Written for Count Kaiserlingk, former Russian ambassador to the court of Saxony, who needed something for those sleepness nights when he was ill, the music was to be played, softly,...
- [When the Score Isn’t Enough](https://interlude.hk/score-isnt-enough/): We hear stories of the wonders of Paganini – he played so hard that strings would break beneath his bow and still he would go on, moving the melody to other strings even as he continued to play – and other wonders of 19th century virtuosity. Is there an argument...
- [Béla Bartók—Composer, Countryman and Collector](https://interlude.hk/bela-bartok-composer-countryman-collector/): Béla Bartók my father’s Hungarian countryman, is considered a composer of profound influence in the 20th century. If you haven’t yet met him I am delighted to share some of my favorite works with you.
- [DMA: Doctor of Musical Atrocity](https://interlude.hk/dma-doctor-musical-atrocity/): It’s undeniable that higher education has become serious business! Universities across the globe are churning out music graduates in untold numbers. Robert Freeman, former head of the Eastman School of Music, pointedly believes that “we are graduating too many, too narrowly trained musicians. ” Perhaps the greatest aberration of all,...
- [The Cat Piano<br/>(Warning: This Article is rated R)](https://interlude.hk/cat-pianowarning-article-rated-r/): From the weird and wacky world of musical instruments comes a story that will make your stomach turn and your blood curdle. Warning, the reading of this article might cause serious discomfort to some sensitive readers. If you are an animal lover, please read no further and close your browser...
- [Leonardo Vinci: <em>Catone in Utica</em>](https://interlude.hk/leonardo-vinci-catone-utica/): Leonardo Vinci (1690-1730), not to be confused with his more famous countryman Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), was an Italian opera composer active in the city of Naples. He became an overnight success at age 29 with his comic opera in the Neapolitan dialect Lo cecato fauzo (The False Blind Man)....
- [From the Eye to the Ear: Shape Note Singing](https://interlude.hk/eye-ear-shape-note-singing/): How can you sing when your notes aren’t round? How do you interpret a diamond-shaped note or a triangle? This isn’t avant-garde notation, but one that dates back a couple of centuries and is still alive today. This particular hymn-singing tradition in the US comes from the southern states and...
- [Hommage à Chopin](https://interlude.hk/hommage-chopin/): As a young critic, Robert Schumann famously introduced Frédéric Chopin to European audiences with the words, “Hats off, gentlemen, a genius! ” In a later review on the Chopin piano concertos, Schumann suggested, “If the autonomous, mighty monarch of the North knew what a dangerous foe was threatening him in...
- [The Great Women Artists Who Shaped Music III – Maria Theresia von Paradis](https://interlude.hk/great-women-artists-shaped-music-iii-maria-theresia-von-paradis/): It might surprise you to know that we can trace three hundred years of outstanding women pianists. They played for pleasure, for their livelihoods and they were inspirations to composers. We would not have superstars Martha Argerich and Yuja Wang had it not been for their predecessors, to name a...
- [J.S. Bach: Goldberg Variations/Britten Sinfonia dir. Thomas Gould](https://interlude.hk/j-s-bach-goldberg-variationsbritten-sinfonia-dir-thomas-gould/): Goldberg Variations: Variation 10, Fugetta From J. S. Bach: Goldberg Variations/Britten Sinfonia dir. Thomas Gould (2015) Released by Harmonia Mundi J. S. Bach: Goldberg Variations: Variation 10, FugettaBritten Sinfonia’s Associate Leader, Thomas Gould directs the ensemble in Dmitry Sitkovetsky’s beautifully realised and heartfelt arrangement for strings of Bach’s great keyboard...
- [Music and Art: Delacroix](https://interlude.hk/music-art-delacroix/): The French Romantic artist, Eugène Delacroix (1798–1863), created his masterwork Liberty Leading the People in 1830. Its unforgettable imagery of Liberty, holding the tricolor representing liberty, equality, and fraternity, leading Parisians of all classes as they take up arm and advance. The personification of Republican Liberty became an important image...
- [How I Found the Right Music Teacher for My Children](https://interlude.hk/found-right-music-teacher-children/): “How do I find the right music teacher for my children? ” This must be a frequently asked question among concerned parents who want nothing but the best for their children. Their wish-list for the ideal teacher inevitably includes the following – one who is highly qualified but not too...
- [War and Music: Waterloo II](https://interlude.hk/war-music-waterloo-ii/): We’ve been looking at how the decisive battle of Waterloo in June 1815 was the inspiration for many composers. Beethoven’s program work Weillington’s Victory is probably the one work that still remains in the repertoire, albeit more as an embarrassment at Beethoven’s literal adherence to the sound of the day....
- [Rebound from a Break Up <br/>Béla Bartók and Márta Ziegler](https://interlude.hk/rebound-break-bela-bartok-marta-ziegler/): When Stefi Geyer rejected Béla Bartók’s proposal of marriage, the composer fell into a deep depression. Unable to sleep, he lost his appetite and obsessed with not being able to attain something he truly desired. And for many years to come, the “Stefi Geyer” theme from his first violin concerto...
- [A Norma is born. <br/>(30 April 2015)](https://interlude.hk/vincenzo-bellinis-norma-ncpa-30-april-2015/): The iconic egg-shaped structure of Beijing’s National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) sits forbiddingly surrounded by a man-made lake. It’s easy to miss the entrance ramp which leads to the box office lobby, the electronic ticket readers and the airport grade security complete with metal detector gates and manual...
- [Béla Bartók: Discovering his musical voice](https://interlude.hk/bela-bartok-discovering-musical-voice/): Béla Bartók (1881-1945) was one of the most influential figures in the history of classical music. Composer, performer, educator, and ethnomusicologist, Bartók’s powerfully shaped the way subsequent generations approached and listened to music. Born near the Hungarian city of Nagyszentmiklós, presently located in Romania, Bartók displayed great musical talent at...
- [Getting Lost in the Hyphenation and Accents](https://interlude.hk/getting-lost-hyphenation-accents/): The death of the bass-baritone John Shirley-Quirk in April 2014 and the story in Times obituary about the problems caused by his name got us to think of other mistaken performers and composers. The New York Times obit gave us Mr. Shirley-Quirk’s story from the Scottish newspaper The Herald:
- [Cadenzas and Creativity II: Mozart Piano Concerto No. 20](https://interlude.hk/cadenzas-creativity-ii-mozart-piano-concerto-20/): One of the essential things about music is how it’s so hard to pin down, so hard to fix in time, and so hard to be definitive about. In looking at cadenzas, those virtuosic flourishes that appear in concertos, we can do no better than to look at Mozart’s Piano...
- [János Starker Remembrance Week: Starker’s Two Grandchildren Remember Grandpa](https://interlude.hk/janos-starker-remembrance-week-starkers-two-grandchildren-remember-grandpa/): By Alexandra Preucil Assistant Concertmaster Cleveland Orchestra For as long as I can remember, family gatherings have been synonymous with music making. Sometimes this took place in fancy concert halls, but more often than not, my family would simply come together in the music room. As a young child I...
- [Instruments of the Orchestra VII: The Clarinet](https://interlude.hk/instruments-orchestra-vii-clarinet/): If we think of the flutes as the air above the woodwind section and the oboes as the kind of nasal-sounding brain, then the heart of the section has to be the clarinet. Unlike the oboe, which is a double-reed instrument, the clarinet uses only a single reed.
- [When West is East <br/>The Cowboy Music of Ennio Morricone](https://interlude.hk/west-east-cowboy-music-ennio-morricone/): It’s odd, when we think about it, that when we think of music for cowboy movies, we think of movies made in Spain by an Italian director with an Italian avant-garde trumpet player as composer. Ennio Morricone’s film music written for the master of spaghetti western, Sergio Leone, and his...
- [HAMMOND, P.: Miniatures and Modulations (McHale)](https://interlude.hk/hammond-p-miniatures-modulations-mchale/): Miniatures and Modulations The Blackbird From HAMMOND, P. : Miniatures and Modulations (McHale) (2015) Released by Grand Piano / Naxos Hammond: Miniatures and Modulations – The BlackbirdThe Belfast Harp Festival of 1792 was an event of great significance in the history of Irish music. Edward Bunting, then nineteen, was engaged...
- [Debussy - Watteau - Baudelaire : Invitation to a Voyage](https://interlude.hk/debussy-watteau-baudelaire-invitation-voyage/): After finally achieving success with his opera ‘Pelléas et Mélisande’ in 1902, Claude Debussy (1862-1918) wrote ‘L’Isle Joyeuse’ (‘The Joyous Island’), while working hard on his new composition, ‘La Mer’. His very successful artistic achievements were in stark opposition to events in his personal life. In the summer of 1904,...
- [Hidden meanings](https://interlude.hk/hidden-meanings-anecdotes/): Many composers Used special ways of organising Sounds that, when played on Instruments, spell out Cryptic messages!
- [The New Sound of Old Music: The Berlin Baroque Soloists](https://interlude.hk/new-sound-old-music-berlin-baroque-soloists/): The Berlin Barock Solisten (The Berlin Baroque Soloists) are coming to Hong Kong and this very interesting offshoot of the Berlin Philharmonic brings a top-level Baroque ensemble that also carries a modern top-level orchestral sensibility.
- [Charlie Siem](https://interlude.hk/charlie-siem-artist-of-the-month/): Seeing with Fresh Eyes Charlie Siem is one of very few violinists to have undertaken solo tours to Norway and Holland, be the centrepiece of a dedicated Buzzfeed article, and have modelled for Vogue, Armani and Boss.
- [American-ism](https://interlude.hk/american-ism-inspiration/): The strong public nationalism in America is often a puzzle to visitors – the national flags hanging on people’s houses, the T-shirts that declare one’s love for country, etc. are highly unusual elsewhere. At most, you might have things in the national colours (red for China, orange for The Netherlands,...
- [Béla Bartók](https://interlude.hk/bela-bartok-composer-of-the-month/): Art is a matter of evolution, not revolution 70 years ago, the world completely ignored the passing of one of the most creative and influential composers of the 20th century. Béla Bartók (1881–1945) originally hailed from the Hungarian town of Nagyszentmiklós, now Sînnicolau Mare in Romania, had died in a...
- [The Character of a Basso: An Interview with Riccardo Zanellato](https://interlude.hk/character-basso-interview-riccardo-zanellato/): Italian basso Riccardo Zanellato will join Sumi Jo and Elīna Garanča in the Fifth Anniversary Gala of the Guangzhou Opera House in May. This isn’t his first appearance in the region, having sung in Hong Kong and Taipei in the Verdi Requiem. He has also sung at the Berlin Staatsoper,...
- [Bösendorfer <br/>Carrying the Coat of Arms of Austria](https://interlude.hk/bosendorfercarrying-coat-arms-austria/): Every pianist knows that the standard grand piano has an 88-key keyboard! And in general, this assumption is certainly correct. However, if you stumble across the Bösendorfer Imperial Model 290 or the Bösendorfer Model 225, you will notice that these exceptional pianos sport 97 and 92 keys, respectively! This extension...
- [Kinds of Orchestras](https://interlude.hk/kinds-of-orchestras-blog/): In many cities, there are multiple orchestras and although we might think that they differentiate themselves solely through their labels: London Philharmonic and London Symphony Orchestra, etc. , they may also carry other names that differentiate them by size. The smallest orchestra is the “chamber orchestra. ” It is made...
- [The Bel Canto of Life: An Interview with Sumi Jo](https://interlude.hk/bel-canto-life-interview-sumi-jo/): Korean coloratura soprano Sumi Jo made her reputation in Europe starting in the late 1980s with appearances at the Salzburg Festival, the Vienna State Opera, and the Metropolitan Opera. She will be appearing at the Guangzhou Opera House in May 2015 in their Fifth Anniversary Concert.
- [Singing in the Wind](https://interlude.hk/singing-in-the-wind-art/): All art, according to Walter Pater’s famous words “constantly aspires towards the condition of music. ” Since architecture and music are based on rhythm, proportion and harmony, they do share a clear cultural lineage. The search for the visual equivalent of musical themes has long inspired artists throughout the ages...
- [John Cage and his Magic Mushrooms](https://interlude.hk/john-cage-magic-mushrooms/): John Cage, the legendary composer of experimental sounds and silences was utterly fascinated by mushrooms. Apparently, Cage’s fungi obsession originated during the Depression. “In California, I had no money. I was living in Carmel and around my shack grew mushrooms, I decided they were edible and lived on them. ”...
- [Amateurs take to the stage](https://interlude.hk/amateurs-take-stage/): The South London Concert Series is a unique concert concept, created and curated by myself and harpsichordist and fellow piano teacher Lorraine Liyanage. Launched in November 2013, the series offers talented amateur pianists the opportunity to perform alongside young and emerging professional and semi-professional artists in the same formal concert...
- [Having the Final Word <br/>Cadenzas and Creativity](https://interlude.hk/final-word-cadenzas-creativity/): One of the most exciting moments in a concerto is when the orchestra, poised on an incomplete cadence, ceases to play and lets the soloist loose. The soloist gathers together all the melodic strings into one exciting moment of improvisation and creates the cadenza for the movement. Cadenzas are an...
- [Chopin: 1846, last year at Nohant - Sonata for cello & piano / Piano Works](https://interlude.hk/chopin-1846-last-year-nohant-sonata-cello-piano-piano-works/): Cello Sonata in G Minor, Op. 65: III. Largo From Chopin: 1846, last year at Nohant – Sonata for cello & piano / Piano Works (2015) Released by Harmonia Mundi Chopin: Cello Sonata in G Minor, Op. 65: III. Largo1846: the last summer that Chopin was to spend on George...
- [Fireworks à la Chopin](https://interlude.hk/fireworks-la-chopin/): You know the drill. As soon as the piano recital proper has finished, audience members—spontaneously or paid to do so—will furiously applaud in order to entice the artist to play additional pieces. Encores originated spontaneously but over time became so popular that they had to be officially banned, especially on...
- [The Great Women Artists Who Shaped Music II – Dorothy DeLay](https://interlude.hk/great-women-artists-shaped-music-ii-dorothy-delay/): Other than playing the violin fantastically, what do Itzhak Perlman, Midori, Anne Akiko Meyers, Sarah Chang, Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, Nigel Kennedy, Gil Shaham, Shlomo Mintz Philippe Quint and Cho-Liang Lin have in common? Their teacher! Dorothy DeLay.
- [In touch with Florian Uhlig](https://interlude.hk/touch-florian-uhlig/): Born in Düsseldorf to a musical family, pianist Florian Uhlig is yet in every way resembling an English gentleman. Although he was impressed by pianist Pascal Devoyon’s beauty of tone that led him to Paris to play for him, it was in London that he developed his artistry at two...
- [More Muzzles for Classical Music!](https://interlude.hk/muzzles-classical-music-society/): The connection between classical music and political activism of one sort or another is hardly new. When Beethoven disapproved of Napoleon’s shenanigans, he promptly changed the dedication of his Eroica symphony to “the memory of a great hero. ” Verdi’s chorus of Hebrew slaves in the opera Nabucco was a...
- [A musical portrait of unrequited love](https://interlude.hk/musical-portrait-unrequited-love/): Béla Bartók and Stefi Geyer She had deep blue eyes and blonde hair that she wore in two small buns on either side of her head. Extraordinarily talented, Stefi Geyer started her musical training at age three and gave her first public violin recital at age seven. In due time,...
- [Elīna Garanča <br/>The Consummate Opera Star](https://interlude.hk/elina-garanca-consummate-opera-star/): Mezzo-soprano Elīna Garanča’s appearance at the Guangzhou Opera House’s Five Year Anniversary concert marks her first appearance in Asia and she told us how excited she was to make this trip, particularly as she was looking forward to meeting China’s classical music audience in person.
- [Prague Spring : Jan Hanuš](https://interlude.hk/prague-spring-jan-hanus/): In political terms, “Prague Spring” refers to a brief period during 1968 when the government of Czechoslovakia led by Alexander Dubček was trying to lessen Moscow’s influence on the nation’s affairs. On 5 April 1968, Dubček introduced a program of reform that included significant amendments to the Czech constitution. He...
- [War and Music: Waterloo I](https://interlude.hk/war-and-music-waterloo-i-blog/): It’s difficult, 200 hundred years later, to imagine how much Europe was frightened by Napoleon’s return to power in March 1815. Before being sent to exile in Elba, Napoleon’s army had conquered most of Europe, creating an Empire that stretched from the Mediterranean to the Arctic.
- [Adam Diegel <br/>The New Practical Tenor](https://interlude.hk/adam-diegel-new-practical-tenor/): We were speaking with tenor Adam Diegel as he was in the area to celebrate the 5th anniversary of the Guangzhou Opera House. We asked him a few questions about how he got into opera, what he would suggest for those interested in opera singing, and a few questions about...
- [Scott Ordway](https://interlude.hk/scott-ordway-interview/): Scott Ordway would be what you would call an all-rounded musician. As a composer, a conductor, and a faculty member at the Curtis Institute of Music, Ordway is constantly in touch with different aspects of music, from studying and conducting standard repertoire, to teaching harmony and counterpoint, and all his...
- [Instruments of the Orchestra VI: The Oboe](https://interlude.hk/instruments-orchestra-vi-oboe/): After the sweet purity of the flute, the next woodwind is the oboe. It’s a woodwind, but instead of being mouth-blown like the flute, this instrument’s sound comes from a reed. And not just a reed, a double reed: two curved reeds placed back to back. You can buy reeds...
- [Women in Baroque Music](https://interlude.hk/women-baroque-music-blog/): London Festival of Baroque Music 2015 Women in music, either as composer, performers, or inspirational figures, are never celebrated enough. This year’s London Festival of Baroque Music brings those women back to us with their Women in Baroque Music festival, being held from 15-19 May.
- [Richard Strauss' 10 Golden Rules for a Young Conductor](https://interlude.hk/richard-strauss-10-golden-rules-young-conductor/): We always seek mentors and look for the pearls of wisdom that drop from their lips. The composer and conductor, Richard Strauss, created 10 Golden Rules in 1922 for conductors. As you read this, think of images of Strauss as conductor. Standing tall at the podium, using only his right...
- [Finding New in the Old](https://interlude.hk/finding-new-old/): An Interview with John Clapham of the Choir of St. John’s College, Cambridge The Choir of St. John’s College, Cambridge, was recently touring Asia and we caught up with choir member John Clapham for a talk about the choir and the tour. John graduated from St. John’s last year and...
- [Cavalieri: Rappresentatione di anima et di corpo](https://interlude.hk/cavalieri-rappresentatione-di-anima-et-di-corpo/): Rappresentatione di anima et di corpo, Act I, Scena Prima: Il tempo, il tempo fugge (Tempo) From Cavalieri: Rappresentatione di anima et di corpo (2015) Released by Harmonia Mundi Cavalieri: Rappresentatione di anima et di corpo, Act I, Scena Prima: Il tempo, il tempo fugge (Tempo)Composed at a time when...
- [Musical Orbit](https://interlude.hk/musical-orbit/): Violinist Nicole Wilson is a representative of a new breed of orchestral musician, for whom performing is just one strand to her bow. She played with the London Symphony Orchestra for ten years, spent five years as Principal 2nd Violin of English National Opera, has presented music to the nation...
- [Orchestra Pranks, Pitfalls and Self-Preservation](https://interlude.hk/orchestra-pranks-pitfalls-self-preservation/): String players in an orchestra are captive. We have to sit still in our chairs no matter if the conductor is rehearsing woodwind intonation or percussion ensemble. Frequently there are entire movements where brass players are not needed. We are jealous. In rehearsal, sometimes even in concerts, they will sneak...
- [“From the Diary of a Fly”](https://interlude.hk/from-the-diary-of-a-fly/): Béla Bartók: Mikrokosmos It must have been a wondrous sight! With an Edison recording machine strapped to his back, Béla Bartók traveled throughout remote regions of Eastern Europe and North Africa to record, and subsequently transcribe the folk music expressions of the common people. Eventually he published nearly two thousand...
- [Fast and Furious](https://interlude.hk/fast-furious/): Giacomo Puccini and the Automobile Giacomo Puccini had a penchant for fine cigars, quality spirits and every woman he could possibly get his hands on! And did I mention excessive gambling and hunting with country friends in the Florentine marshes and woods? Yet his most cherished pastimes since 1901 involved...
- [Lions and Dragons](https://interlude.hk/lions-and-dragons-blog/): We’ve already looked at violin body design – now let’s look at the other end of the instrument and take a look at a part of a string instrument you’ve probably seen, but never really looked at: the far end of the fingerboard is the scroll.
- [Clint Needham](https://interlude.hk/clint-needham-interview/): Clint Needham has a knack for finding interesting material and inspiration in all kinds of places, and it is no wonder the New York Times has described his music as “wildly entertaining” & “stunning... brilliantly orchestrated”. The young composer from Texas wrote When We Forget in 2011, a moving work...
- [Erik Satie: “Like a nightingale with toothache”](https://interlude.hk/erik-satie-like-nightingale-toothache/): Like many composers past and present, Erik Satie was in constant financial troubles. To escape his creditors he frequently changed his lodgings, ending up in a tiny room at 6 rue Cortot in the spring of 1890. Like a monk locked into his cell, Satie was looking to create a...
- [Aimez Vous Brahms? III](https://interlude.hk/aimez-vous-brahms-iii/): With his widely recognised achievements as a pianist, composer and conductor, Brahms had succeeded in amassing a considerable fortune: 4000. 000 marks from his compositions, earnings wisely invested by his publisher. It was also due to a frugal life: he dined in cheap restaurants, and his old overcoat was held...
- [Frédéric Chopin: Arranging the poet of the piano](https://interlude.hk/chopin-arranging-poet-piano/): Frédéric Chopin was not only one of the greatest pianists the world has ever known, he also left the finest body of music for his instrument. “In my music,” he once remarked, “one can divine the restlessness of the artist. ” Often called the “poet of the piano,” Chopin’s romantic...
- [SCHUMANN, R.: Carnaval / Davidsbündlertänze / Papillons (Giltburg)](https://interlude.hk/schumann-r-carnaval-davidsbundlertanze-papillons-giltburg/): Davidsbundlertanze, Op. 6 No. 18. Nicht schnell From SCHUMANN, R. : Carnaval / Davidsbündlertänze / Papillons (Giltburg) (2015) Released by Naxos Schumann: Davidsbundlertanze, Op. 6 – No. 18. Nicht schnellThe three works on this recording are collections of short pieces, strung together and forming a cohesive whole—a form which Schumann...
- [Violin Design](https://interlude.hk/violin-design/): We all know what a violin looks like – a beautiful instrument with a warm wood body and an elegant black fingerboard, finished off with a perfect wooden scroll. Ah, but that’s so last century. The modern violin can be electric, can be in a minimalist design, and, in many...
- [From the frying pan into the fire!](https://interlude.hk/frying-pan-fire-in-love/): “Giacomo Puccini and Elvira Gemignani” Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924) (in)famously described himself as “a mighty hunter of wild fowl, operatic librettos and attractive women. ” Bravado self-assessment aside, his entire musical career hinged on the success of his second opera Edgar, began in 1884.
- [Painting Music in the Age of Caravaggio](https://interlude.hk/painting-music-age-caravaggio/): A recent exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum in New York paired one of Caravaggio’s paintings, ‘The Musicians’ (1595) with two other paintings, ‘Allegory of Music’ by Laurent de la Hyre (1606 -1656) and ‘The Lute Player’ (c. 1626) by Valentin de Boulogne (1591-1632), establishing an interesting connection between instruments not...
- [Opinion masquerading as Fact](https://interlude.hk/opinion-masquerading-fact/): CNN: Top 10 greatest orchestras in the world Every day we are presented with lists and rankings that purport to be the ultimate authority on a given subject. From establishing credit worthiness for various nations to slugging percentages of somebody dreadfully overpaid chasing after a small round object, statistical ratings...
- [David Hertzberg](https://interlude.hk/david-hertzberg-interview/): When the Gotham Chamber Opera and the Jarvis & Constance Doctorow Family Foundation presented up-and-coming composer David Hertzberg with the inaugural Catherine Doctorow Prize for Music last year, they called his music “an extraordinarily beautiful sound world with a unique and distinguishing vocabulary. ” Hertzberg’s music is undoubtedly poetic, mysterious...
- [In Life…In Death](https://interlude.hk/life-in-death-anecdotes/): How do we really know what a composer looked like? Do we trust paintings and etchings? Do we believe people’s images as mediated through another’s hand? Before photography came into widespread use in the mid-19th century, the only way of truly capturing a person’s image was through creating a mask...
- [Night Music](https://interlude.hk/night-music/): We don’t generally think of music as belonging to a certain time of day, although the next time my local classical station plays The Grand March from Aida at 6 am, I shall throw the radio across the room... but I digress. There was music, however, that was intended for...
- [Aimez Vous Brahms? II](https://interlude.hk/aimez-vous-brahms-ii/): We had already talked about the young Johannes’ performances around the city in the last sharing. As a handsome and energetic youth, he was already composing his first piano concerto (after a short stint as an arranger for opera-potpourris).
- [Ian Ng](https://interlude.hk/ian-ng/): If he weren’t writing music for a career, Ian Ng would have liked to be a dancer. The New York-based composer has a strong passion for dance, which in turn influences the way he writes music. Ng’s career is still in its early stages; he graduated from New York University...
- [Mozart: <em>Piano Concerto No.18</em> in B-flat major, K. 456](https://interlude.hk/mozart-piano-concerto-18-b-flat-major-k-456/): During his initial years in Vienna, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart made the acquaintance of Franz Anton Mesmer. Mesmer was a trained physician who hypothesized that it was essential to maintain equilibrium between the natural magnetic fluid that filled all living things, and the magnetic fluid that he thought filled the universe....
- [Guangzhou Opera House is FIVE!](https://interlude.hk/guangzhou-opera-house-five/): The new opera house in Guangzhou will be celebrating its fifth anniversary in May, and, in celebration, will be holding an opera gala that has rarely been equaled. On Friday and Saturday, 8-9 May, the GOH will hold its Starry Gala with four celebrated singers accompanied by the Macau Orchestra...
- [The Great Women Artists Who Shaped Music  I – Zara Nelsova](https://interlude.hk/great-women-artists-shaped-music-zara-nelsova/): When I was a budding young cellist my father took me to play for the grand-dame of the cello, Zara Nelsova, who was in town to perform as soloist with the Toronto Symphony. She was known for her extraordinary cello sound and her sequined gowns, which belled outward, hiding layers...
- [The Song of the Open Road](https://interlude.hk/song-open-road/): You’re driving along the road and bump bump bump – your tires are sending you a message: either you’re coming up to a toll booth or you’ve driven out of your lane. The cat’s eyes, Botts dots and rumble strips are all designed to keep you awake and in your...
- [VANHAL, J.B.: 3 Neue Caprice-Sonaten, Op. 31 / 3 Caprices, Op. 36 (Tsalka)](https://interlude.hk/vanhal-j-b-3-neue-caprice-sonaten-op-31-3-caprices-op-36-tsalka/): 3 Caprices, Op. 36: No. 3 in G Minor II. Rondo: Allegro From VANHAL, J. B. : 3 Neue Caprice-Sonaten, Op. 31 / 3 Caprices, Op. 36 (Tsalka) (2015) Released by Grand Piano / Naxos Vanhal: 3 Caprices, Op. 36: No. 3 in G Minor – II. Rondo: AllegroOne of...
- [Tango Beyond Piazzolla – II. Troilo and Di Sarli](https://interlude.hk/tango-beyond-piazzolla-ii-troilo-di-sarli/): Welcome on board! Let’s continue our musical journey in the second largest metropolitan area in South America and the capital of Argentina – Buenos Aires. I talked of the “big four” in the Golden Age of tango music between the years 1935 to 1952. When Juan D’Arienzo is regarded as...
- [The Russian (Chess) Masters](https://interlude.hk/russian-chess-masters/): Why is chess such a popular game? For one, this ancient game of strategy is easy to learn but almost impossible to master. No matter how far you progress, chess reveals ever-new subtleties and intricacies of increasing complexity. It is this seemingly endless process of discovery that is fundamentally responsible...
- [Eli Marshall: The Composer as Internationalist](https://interlude.hk/eli-marshall-composer-internationalist/): We were speaking the other day with Eli Marshall, whose latest work just saw international release. His movie soundtrack for Ann Hui’s The Golden Era is an integral part of the film. His score has been nominated for Best Original Film Score in the upcoming Hong Kong Film Awards. The...
- [Instruments of the Orchestra V: The Flute](https://interlude.hk/instruments-orchestra-v-flute/): Once we get out of the string section, we enter the wonderful world of the woodwinds. Later we’ll explore the brass winds and then the loudest section, the percussion. The flute has a long history, going back to pre-time when the first person put his two hands together and blowing...
- [SIGNUMfive](https://interlude.hk/signumfive/): The energy with which Balkan folk music is infused is infectious, driving, compelling. Couple this with the fireworks of a world-class saxophone quartet, accordionist, and drummer, and you have the recipe for a band bubbling and brimming with an inimitable creative spark.
- [Composer’s Pianos: Halévy and Bizet](https://interlude.hk/composers-pianos-halevy-bizet/): Alex Cobbe’s piano collection at Hatchlands Park has one massive square piano that was immensely practical to its two composer owners. How do composers compose? We’re familiar with the images from movies, the composer with one hand on the keyboard and the other, pencil poised, over the music paper. In...
- [Salzburg Mozarteum - the Place to Smell Music](https://interlude.hk/salzburg-mozarteum-place-smell-music/): The Mozarteum University, nestled in the Austrian town of Salzburg, forms an inseparable part of the musical fabric of this artistically and historically rich town. Thomas Manhart from the Mozarteum’s press office tells me how the School that dates back to the 1840s feeds off today’s diverse cultural atmosphere, and...
- [The Case of the Missing Harp](https://interlude.hk/case-missing-harp/): “Jan Ladislav Dussek and Sophia Giustina Corri” As soon as the pianist and composer Jan Ladislav Dussek (1760-1812) left his native Bohemia for Paris, his fortunes increased manifold. He performed for Marie Antoinette and was a regular guest at the home of the poet Beaumarchais. He dedicated his first opus,...
- [Composer’s Pianos: Piano Innovation](https://interlude.hk/composers-pianos-piano-innovation/): The Alex Cobbe Collection of composer’s pianos is a collection that can give us a feeling for how pianos developed, often in response to the demands of composers. The square piano, called that despite the fact that they’re actually rectangles, were pianos that were created to fit into the home....
- ["Before I compose a piece, I walk around it several times”](https://interlude.hk/compose-piece-walk-around-several-times/): For Erik Satie, dance, theatre and cabaret music run as virtually continuous threads throughout his life. And every single composition adheres to the virtues of his musical craft; simplicity, brevity and precision. Many of Satie’s early compositional efforts rely on seemingly endless but varied repetition, which immerses the listener into...
- [Mozart does Bach and Handel](https://interlude.hk/mozart-bach-handel/): Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was the undisputed pop star of the 18th century! Numerous composers and musicians arranged his music, and profited handsomely from this indirect association with a superstar. But Mozart himself was also a rather active arranger of works by other composers, most notable Johann Sebastian Bach and George...
- [Ascendit Deus – Music for Ascensiontide & Pentecost](https://interlude.hk/ascendit-deus-music-ascensiontide-pentecost/): Judith Weir: Ascending into Heaven From Ascendit Deus – Music for Ascensiontide & Pentecost (2015) Released by Harmonia Mundi Judith Weir: Ascending into HeavenAscension and Pentecost are among the chief feasts of the Christian year. The Choir of Clare College, Cambridge and The Dmitri Ensemble, both led by Graham Ross,...
- [Aimez Vous Brahms? I](https://interlude.hk/aimez-vous-brahms/): Hamburg, a Hanseatic city of 1. 8 million inhabitants, previously a free city-state. It is part of the Hanseatic chain of ports, sitting on the Baltic Sea. (along with Lübeck, Antwerp, Bergen, Novgorod and London by extension)
- [A-Mao Wang](https://interlude.hk/a-mao-wang-interview/): “I thought if I could play my own work, nobody would know if I played the wrong notes or wrong rhythms. ” This was what composer and pianist A-Mao Wang thought, when at the age of 10, her father asked her if she would like to learn to compose music....
- [Antoni Gaudí: God’s Architect](https://interlude.hk/antoni-gaudi-gods-architect/): The unfinished church of “Sagrada Familia” in Barcelona is Antoni Gaudí’s exceptional creative contribution to the development of architecture in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. George Orwell called it “one of the most hideous buildings in the world! ” And the architect Enric Massip, a member of the...
- [Composer’s Pianos: The Elgar Piano](https://interlude.hk/composers-pianos-elgar-piano/): The Alex Cobbe Collection at Hatchlands, near Guilford, Surry, holds an interesting variety of pianos, most with composer connections. When we look at a composer’s piano, for the most part, we can only imagine what works were created on it. For one piano, however, we do know what music was...
- [Scriabin made me do it!](https://interlude.hk/scriabin-made/): The power of music is just awesome! Trumpets shattered the walls of Jericho, and when Orpheus tenderly tickled his lute, his dead wife Euridice returned to life. Given such enormous powers, you better be careful because listening to music can turn you into a homicidal maniac. And I am not...
- [Composer’s Pianos: Chopin’s pianos](https://interlude.hk/composers-pianos-chopins-pianos/): The Alex Cobbe collection in England is the largest collection of composers’ piano in the world. Three of the most important pieces of the collection are the pianos owned by Chopin, each of which was used during the final year of his life and show the different sides of the...
- [Composer’s Pianos: The Liszt Upright](https://interlude.hk/composers-pianos-liszt-upright/): The Alex Cobbe collection outside Guildford, England, holds a unique piano created for a unique performer. During Franz Liszt’s trips to Florence after 1873, he was loaned a piano by its maker, Carlo Ducci. This isn’t a multi-foot grand piano but a simple upright with attached sconces for candles and...
- [Erik Satie](https://interlude.hk/erik-satie/): “Memoirs of an Amnesiac” When eccentricity and classical music are used in the same sentence, Erik Satie (1866-1925) immediately comes to mind. Irreverent, disrespectful, contemptuous of tradition, forcefully direct and brutally honest, Satie famously wrote underneath his self-portrait, “I have come into the world very young into an era very...
- [Composer’s Pianos: The Cobbe Collection](https://interlude.hk/composers-pianos-cobbe-collection/): The Alec Cobbe collection, housed at Hatchlands Park, near Guildford, Surrey, England, holds pianos owned by a number of different composers, such as Haydn’s Longman & Brodrip piano; Mahler’s 1836 Graf piano; Elgar’s 1844 Broadwood piano; Chopin’s 1848 Pleyel, used for his last concert in Paris; and Chopin’s 1847 Broadwood...
- [1865](https://interlude.hk/my-music-1865/): Tenting on the Old Camp Ground From 1865 (2015) Released by Harmonia Mundi Tenting on the Old Camp GroundAnonymous 4 and special guest Bruce Molsky commemorate the 150th anniversary of the end of the (American) Civil War with songs that were in the air in the year 1865. Ballads and...
- [Baldwin: The National Piano](https://interlude.hk/baldwin-national-piano/): What do Béla Bartók, Igor Stravinsky, Aaron Copland, Liberace, Dave Brubeck and various other performers, ensembles and composers have in common? They all preferred the rich sound of the Baldwin Piano. Dwight Hamilton Baldwin (1821-1899) originally hailed from northwestern Pennsylvania, but made his money teaching voice and violin in the...
- [iSING! in Vancouver](https://interlude.hk/ising-vancouver/): Nessun Dorma was the caption on a colourful poster for the 13th annual CCSA ( Chinese Community Service Association ) Chinese New Year Gala held in Vancouver on 10th February, 2015, to celebrate the Year of the Goat, Sheep or Ram. The chosen venue was a tastefully designed concert hall...
- [Recalling Richter](https://interlude.hk/recalling-richter/): “... I don’t play for the audience, I play for myself, and if I derive any satisfaction from it, then the audience, too, is content. ” Sviatoslav Richter (1915-1997) 20th March 2015 marks the centenary of the birth of Sviatoslav Teofilovich Richter. Widely regarded as one of the greatest pianists...
- [Musical Sudoku II](https://interlude.hk/musical-sudoku-ii/): Now that your little grey cells are all warmed up, are you ready for a more complicated puzzle canon from Bach’s Musical Offering? If so, the 4th canon will probably give you a very good workout, indeed. Bach inscribed this musical Sudoku with the following message: “Canon 4. a 2...
- [Shackelton’s Cat](https://interlude.hk/shackeltons-cat/): English Touring Opera maintains an reputation not only for high-quality productions both of core and rarely performed repertoire, but also for a wide-ranging education programme. That programme includes collaborative work with dementia sufferers (see Interlude’s previous feature on this Turtle Song project), many school workshops and celebrated operas for children;...
- [Music as a Character - John Malkovich and Ksenia Kogan Exclusive](https://interlude.hk/music-character-john-malkovich-ksenia-kogan-exclusive/): I always approach a music/text collaboration with caution. So often neither are made for each other; they exist perfectly happily by themselves, and risk losing something of their intrinsic value when joined together, an artistic Odd Couple at each other’s throats, fighting for attention.
- [Instruments of the Orchestra IV: The Double Bass](https://interlude.hk/instruments-orchestra-iv-double-bass/): At the bottom of the string section stands the mighty Double Bass. With a body 45. 5 inches (115 cm) and overall length of 74. 8 inches (189 cm) the double bass both towers above and supports from below the string section of the orchestra.
- [Ruben Naeff](https://interlude.hk/ruben-naeff-in-touch/): Young composer Ruben Naeff made a big move in 2011 when he packed his bags, left Amsterdam and settled in New York, where he became a full-time musician and moved in with his now-wife. That significant year became the inspiration behind his composition, JACKASS, which he will be bringing to...
- [The Ukrainian Factor in Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1](https://interlude.hk/ukrainian-factor/): Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat minor, Op. 23 (1875) Even at the best of times, the relationship between Russia and the Ukraine has been somewhat troubled. Although they share much of their early history, the Mongol invasion in the 13th century initiated a distinct division between...
- [Performance Problems](https://interlude.hk/performance-problems/): “What Could be More Embarrassing? ” Recently, Madonna fell backwards down a staircase tripping on her Matador cape during a live performance on the BRIT Awards. Beyoncé and Lady Gaga too have taken embarrassing tumbles while performing.
- [Aldo Ciccolini (1925-2015)](https://interlude.hk/aldo-ciccolini-1925-2015/): Aldo Ciccolini (15 August 1925, Naples, Italy; 1 February 2015, Asnières-sur-Seine, France) brought the world of Satie out of obscurity and showed his quirky qualities to a new generation of listeners. Ciccolini, who was born in Italy but made his name through his work in France and through promoting French...
- [Astor Piazzolla: Escualo](https://interlude.hk/astor-piazzolla-escualo/): Histoire du Tango: III. Nightclub 1960 From Astor Piazzolla: Escualo (2015) Released by Harmonia Mundi Piazzolla: Histoire du Tango: III. Nightclub 1960A musical ambassador. The name of Astor Piazzolla is synonymous with the word tango. A musical ambassador who carried the signature sounds of Argentina’s cafes and nightclubs to concert...
- [Rock me Amadeus!](https://interlude.hk/rock-amadeus-inspiration/): Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was the undisputed rock star of the 18th century! Incredibly gifted as a musician yet nevertheless prone to long periods of self-doubt and professional jealousy, he made a lot of money but spent it just as quickly. As unique sounding documents, his music has stayed in the...
- [A glimpse into the world of amateur pianism](https://interlude.hk/glimpse-world-amateur-pianism/): In a recital space somewhere in central London a group of people are seated in a rough semi-circle around a Fazioli 212 grand piano. Some lounge in their seats in a pretence of relaxation, others crane forward eagerly for a view of the keyboard, many clutch music scores with nervous...
- [Booing the Audience](https://interlude.hk/booing-audience/): It happened again! During a performance of the Staatskapelle Dresden at the 43rd Hong Kong Arts Festival, an audience member showed his appreciation by eagerly clapping his way through the final pianissimo chords of Richard Strauss’s Metamorphosen. Other audience members loudly objected, the conductor was visibly annoyed, and HK’s chief...
- [Phantom of the Opera](https://interlude.hk/phantom-opera/): I am sure you have flown with a budget carrier! Attracted by highly reasonable base fares, we have gotten used to paying extra for luggage, meals, blankets, and drinks. If the wishes of a certain airline come true, we will soon be paying for using the bathroom facilities during flight...
- [Musical Sudoku I](https://interlude.hk/musical-sudoku-in-essence-anecdotes/): Although the brain is technically not a muscle, the old saying “use it or loose it” still applies. And when musicians and composers get together to exercise the little grey cells, they generally look towards puzzle canons for a brainy workout. We all know that a canon uses musically identical...
- [How to Keep Teenagers From Quitting Music](https://interlude.hk/keep-teenagers-quitting-music/): “Mom. I hate piano! I’m not practicing, and not going to lessons anymore,” my thirteen-year-old son announced on a wintery day after a frustrating attempt to play a piece of music that he’d been working on for—well it seemed like months. It was me against a headstrong, opinionated young boy....
- [A Tear in his Throat](https://interlude.hk/tear-throat/): Carlos Gardel (1890-1935) The tango developed as a distinctive dance around 1880 in the poorer districts of the city of Buenos Aires. Because it emerged from an economically marginal and semi-criminal social milieu, the dance was long rejected by Argentine’s high society. Only it’s social acceptance in Europe and North...
- [Paul Hindemith - Sonatas for piano and...](https://interlude.hk/paul-hindemith-sonatas-piano/): Sonata for Althorn and Piano: I. Ruhig bewegt From Paul Hindemith – Sonatas for piano and... (2015) Released by Harmonia Mundi Hindemith: Sonata for Althorn and Piano: I. Ruhig bewegtHindemith composed more than 30 sonatas for the most diverse instruments – all of which he was capable of playing himself!...
- [Instruments of the Orchestra III: The Cello](https://interlude.hk/instruments-orchestra-iii-cello/): The orchestra string section rests on two supports: the double-basses and their smaller cousins, the cellos. I say cousins because the cello and the double bass actually have different antecedents. The cello is part of the violin family and the double bass from the viol family, about which more next...
- [Tango Passions](https://interlude.hk/tango-passions/): “Carlos Gardel and Isabel del Valle” In the years before the First World War the Argentinian tango swept like wildfire throughout the world. And Carlos Gardel (1890-1935) was the one authentic superstar of his time. Gardel was the greatest singer of tangos who ever lived, and probably the finest individual...
- [A Day in the Life of A Musician II](https://interlude.hk/day-life-musician-ii/): The following is a continuation of the story ‘A Day in the Life of A Musician’, starring the pianist Alexander Kravetsky. Having spent the morning adjucating a youth music competition, Sasha now faces a long afternoon of teaching... 1:50pm As I wait for my to-go coffee and sandwich at the...
- [HKPhil in London](https://interlude.hk/hkphil-london/): A full house at London’s Cadogan Hall greeted the Hong Kong Philharmonic last week for their performance of music by Fung Lam, Beethoven and Prokofiev as part of the hall’s 2014-15 International Orchestra Series. In London’s crowded concert schedule, the orchestra’s ability to engage such an audience, despite the twelve...
- [Sergei Ivanovich Taneyev: The Russian Brahms](https://interlude.hk/sergei-ivanovich-taneyev-russian-brahms/): Beside various occasional pieces for violin and piano and several scores for strings along, Taneyev’s chamber music catalogue contains three large-scale works with piano. All three dates from the late stages of his career and almost excessively focus on musical architecture. The Piano Quintet Op. 30 dates from 1910/11 and...
- [Robert Gleadow](https://interlude.hk/robert-gleadow/): ‘I read a lot of interviews and find people don’t ever say anything,’ I am told. ‘I just think that to make something worth reading there’s got to be something more than ‘Opera’s great. I love it, and everything’s going to be fine. ’’
- [Verdi's Macbeth](https://interlude.hk/verdis-macbeth-in-person/): (Berliner Staatsoper im Schillertheater – 22 February 2015) It’s just another Sunday night in February at a Berlin opera house: Wolfgang Schaeuble, German Finance Minister, sits in the stalls with his wife and without visible security two days after negotiating one of the most critical debt restructuring deals with Greece....
- [Frank Gehry -- Architecture: Music in Motion](https://interlude.hk/frank-gehry-architecture-music-motion/): In a recent conversation on the 10th anniversary of the opening of the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, the architect Frank Gehry, the conductor and composer Esa-Pekka Salonen and the art critic Nicolai Ouroussoff discussed the concept of a perfectly conceived concert hall and the relationship between architecture...
- [A Day in the Life of a Musician I](https://interlude.hk/day-life-musician/): This is a fictional story about the pianist Alexander Kravetsky. All characters appearing in this story are fictitious. Any resemblance to real people, living or dead, is purely coincidental. 8:45am I arrive at the foyer of the Rathborne auditorium, where the annual Youth Music Festival and Competition is held, and...
- [Pictures at an Exhibition](https://interlude.hk/pictures-exhibition-my-music/): Promenade. V. Ballet of the unhatched chicks From Pictures at an Exhibition (2015) Released by Harmonia Mundi Moussorgsky: Promenade. V. Ballet of the unhatched chicksMusic is never about things. Music just is’, Leonard Bernstein once said. Perhaps that was why Schumann decided to remove the evocative titles (‘Ruin, Triumphal Arch,...
- [“In The Zone” — How Performers Do It](https://interlude.hk/zone-performers/): You can hardly believe it when you experience that rare, perfect moment when your gestures, feelings, senses and your mind are in perfect harmony. When everything “gels” you sound like you do in your mind— like Heifetz, Rubinstein, James Galway, or Alison Balsom! You’ve had an out-of-body experience and your...
- [Where has the Music Gone?](https://interlude.hk/music-gone/): As I settled in for my million-hour flight from Chicago to Hong Kong, I eagerly scanned the audio channels to see what was scheduled for the classical section. Hmmm, no contents list for the playlist in the magazine, so I turned on the audio selection and found that there was,...
- [Der Fliegende Holländer<br/> ROH, February 17, 2015](https://interlude.hk/der-fliegende-hollander-roh-february-17-2015/): Richard Wagner’s Der Fliegende Holländer (The Flying Dutchman) is an opera with unusually extensive chorus segments. And Director Tim Albery’s production at the Royal Opera House puts the chorus to unusually good use. Enthusiastic, dramatically intense and vocally polished, this chorus lit an explosive spark to an already supercharged set...
- [Jonas Chickering](https://interlude.hk/jonas-chickering-transformation-american-piano-making/): “The Transformation of American Piano Making” Some inventions completely revolutionize the further development of an instrument. Take for example the 1837 worldwide patent registered by the Boston piano manufacturer Chickering & Sons. They introduced the first practical casting of a modern iron frame built to sustain the great tension of...
- [Love in Music](https://interlude.hk/love-in-music-anecdotes/): In the great Chantilly Codex, written in the middle to late 14th century, there are two pieces of music tucked into the front, both by the composer Baude Cordier (ca. 1380 – 1440). The love song, ‘Belle, Bonne, Sage” (“Beautiful, Good, Wise”) is a beautiful piece of ‘augenmusik’ or ‘eye...
- [Amadeus Makeover](https://interlude.hk/amadeus-makeover/): When it comes to transcriptions and arrangements, the music of Johann Sebastian Bach has beautifully served the aesthetic and practical musical needs of subsequent generations. As we have heard in a number of episodes, Bach’s music was variously aligned with a huge variety of musical styles and instrumental combinations, and...
- [Instruments of the Orchestra II: The Viola](https://interlude.hk/instruments-orchestra-ii-viola/): Ah, the poor viola, butt of a thousand jokes (What’s the difference between a violin and a viola? The viola burns longer), but, in the end, provides the warm sound that counteracts the often brittle violin sound. In a string quartet, the viola is the filmic best friend: provides a...
- [Weapons of War](https://interlude.hk/weapons-war/): Music is powerful. It can make us smile, laugh and cry. It gives us something to enjoy or think about while we wait for the bus. It makes us want to dance. It gives us food for thought. It can even influence our feelings about a place or experience.
- [Schubert: Wintereisse / Matthias Goerne's Schubert Edition 9](https://interlude.hk/schubert-wintereisse-matthias-goernes-schubert-edition-9/): XI. Frühlingstraum From Schubert: Wintereisse / Matthias Goerne’s Schubert Edition 9 (2014) Released by Harmonia Mundi Schubert: Wintereisse – XI. FrühlingstraumThis Winterreise ends Matthias Goerne’s series of Schubert lieder recordings. Here everything is tenser, more urgent, more harrowing. At once backdrop and metaphor for a soul chilled by the ineluctable,...
- [Sergei Ivanovich Taneyev](https://interlude.hk/sergei-ivanovich-taneyev/): Pianist, Scholar and Composer When Sergei Ivanovich Taneyev (1856-1915) attended the funeral of his student Alexander Scriabin in 1915, he caught a rather severe flu. Instead of taking proper medicine and rest, he continued to resist the virus and persisted with his demanding performance schedule. A mere two months later,...
- [In an Italian Garden ](https://interlude.hk/italian-garden/): Madrigals in elevated style formed the basis of various musical entertainments during the late Italian Renaissance. Before the advent of opera, composers habitually turned to the dramatic madrigal in an effort to create new musico-dramatic forms. Among the most popular forms was the madrigal comedy, an unstaged but dramatic collection...
- [Sergei Ivanovich Taneyev <br/>The Russian Bach](https://interlude.hk/sergei-ivanovich-taneyev-russian-bach/): His teacher Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky called Sergei Ivanovich Taneyev “the greatest master of counterpoint in Russia; I am not even sure there is his equal in the West. ” And his student Sergei Rachmaninoff, described Taneyev as “a master composer, the most erudite musician of his time, a person of...
- [Imagined Intimacy<br/>Sergei Ivanovich Taneyev and Sophia Andreevna Tolstoy](https://interlude.hk/imagined-intimacysergei-ivanovich-taneyev-sophia-andreevna-tolstoy/): Sergei Ivanovich Taneyev (1856-1915) was a rather unusual character! Well into adulthood, he lived with his beloved nanny Pelageya Vassilievna Ivanovna. He abhorred alcohol and was a militant non-smoker; making his friends smoke at the open kitchen window in clear view of a warning he had posted about the dangers...
- [Musical Form in Architecture<br/>August Endell (1871-1925)](https://interlude.hk/musical-form-architectureaugust-endell/): Believe it or not, the dictionaries and most prominent reference books of 1878 did not have a word to identify what we now think of as abstract art. The best anybody could do at the time was to compare paintings to work of music, and specifically to works of absolute...
- [Dancing in Bach’s Chains](https://interlude.hk/dancing-bachs-chains/): What happens when you take a synthesized excerpt of the fugue in B-minor from Book 1 of the Well-Tempered Clavier by Johann Sebastian Bach and use it to frame a pop song? In the case of Lady Gaga and her song “Bad Romance,” it translated to 5. 6 million digital...
- [From Front to Back and Back to Front!<br/>Joseph Haydn: Symphony No. 47](https://interlude.hk/front-back-back-frontjoseph-haydn-symphony-47/): Joseph Haydn was famous for his pranks! When he was a choirboy at St. Stephen’s cathedral in Vienna in 1749, he decided to test the sharpness of a new pair of scissors by snipping off the pigtail of one of the other choirboys. Haydn was quickly expelled, but it did...
- [Piano Trios - Fauré / Pierné](https://interlude.hk/piano-trios-faure-pierne/): Gabriel Pierné Piano Trio op. 45 II. Allegretto scherzando From Piano Trios – Fauré / Pierné (2014) Released by Harmonia Mundi Pierné: Piano Trio op. 45 – II. Allegretto scherzandoGabriel Fauré’s Piano Trio is a late work (1923) which at once aroused the admiration of his contemporaries and is now...
- [Meeting Julian Lloyd Webber](https://interlude.hk/meeting-julian-lloyd-webber/): Music runs in the blood of the Lloyd Webber family; his parents were students of the great Vaughan William at the Royal College of Music, his godfather was the English composer Herbert Howells, and of course, his elder brother Andrew is a world famous composer for musicals. Although music was...
- [The Armchair Traveller](https://interlude.hk/armchair-traveller/): Many composers are inspired by the places that they live, or by the people they know and their music can convey those images long after the places or people are just memories. The American composer, Ferde (or Ferdie) Grofé, was a multi-talented performer, arranger and composer who worked both in...
- [For the Fun of it All!<br/>Jacques Ibert (1890-1962)](https://interlude.hk/fun-alljacques-ibert-1890-1962/): Jacques Ibert (1890-1962) gleefully reminds us that high-quality classical music does not always have to be deadly serious. He managed to sum up his general approach and attitude towards music in a few meaningful words: “I want to be free—independent of the prejudices which arbitrarily divide the defenders of a...
- [Opposites Attract: Well, what then? <br/>Alexander Scriabin and Vera Ivanovna Isakovich](https://interlude.hk/opposites-attract-well-alexander-scriabin-vera-ivanovna-isakovich/): Natalya Sekerina emphatically rejected Alexander Scriabin’s proposal of marriage, and the composer was devastated. In a long letter, after many years had passed, Natalya writes, “That beloved man could never have had happiness, if I had been afraid to say ‘no’ to him. And what kind of wife would I...
- [Instruments of the Orchestra: I. The Violin](https://interlude.hk/instruments-orchestra-violin/): When you attend a symphony orchestra concert, the first instrument you see, on the left of the stage, are the violins. No classical music concert is complete without a violin. Violins are small string instruments that are played with a bow. The instrument is held in the left hand and...
- [J.M.W. Turner and Frédéric Chopin – <br/>Visions of Modernity in Art and Music](https://interlude.hk/j-m-w-turner-frederic-chopin-visions-modernity-art-music/): The recently released film, ‘Mr. Turner’, by Mike Leigh focuses on the last 25 years of James Turner’s (1775-1849) life, the height of Turner’s career. The film opens with a beautiful Dutch landscape scene, with the sun rising at dawn, showing Turner sketching — a dark and lonely figure surrounded...
- [GOUVY, L.T.: Sonatas for Piano 4 Hands, Opp. 36, 49 and 51 (Naoumoff, Yau Cheng)](https://interlude.hk/gouvy-l-t-sonatas-piano-4-hands-opp-36-49-51-naoumoff-yau-cheng/): Sonata for Piano 4 Hands in C Minor, Op. 49 II. Larghetto From GOUVY, L. T. : Sonatas for Piano 4 Hands, Opp. 36, 49 and 51 (Naoumoff, Yau Cheng) (2014) Released by Naxos / Grand Piano Gouvy: Sonata for Piano 4 Hands in C Minor, Op. 49 – II....
- [“Selling” Classical Music – Ad Bloopers](https://interlude.hk/selling-classical-music-ad-bloopers/): Classical music has a bad rap. Despite current research that indicates music education enhances all learning, reverses the effects of poverty and dementia, and encourages empathy, publicity departments seem to think they must exert themselves to market classical music. Their attempts have resulted in tremendous bloopers.
- [Antonín Dvorák: <em>Stabat Mater</em>, Op. 58](https://interlude.hk/antonin-dvorak-stabat-mater-op-58/): Professionally, the years 1876 and 1877 accorded Antonín Dvorák (1841-1904) the first glimpses of international recognition. Privately, however, these years were overshadowed by great personal tragedy. Just two days after her birth, Dvorák’s little daughter Josefa unexpectedly died. In response, the devout Catholic Dvorák began to draft a religious cantata...
- [Satisfaction Guaranteed or Your Money Back](https://interlude.hk/satisfaction-guaranteed-money-back/): Just about every product on sale in a modern supermarket offers consumers a money back guarantee. The concept is not new. It originated with the 18th-century entrepreneur Josiah Wedgewood as a marketing strategy to shift more goods. Since then, the money-back guarantee has become a major tool in the retail...
- [LSO/Rattle/Deranged Ligetian Soprano](https://interlude.hk/lsorattlederanged-ligetian-soprano/): At a time when rumours of Sir Simon Rattle returning to the UK, no less to head the London Symphony Orchestra, were running thick and fast, it was no surprise that I found myself in a sold-out Barbican Hall, preparing myself for a whistlestop tour of some of the twentieth...
- [Play it again Condi! Brahms, that is!](https://interlude.hk/play-condi-brahms/): Do you still remember Condi Rice? Actually, that is Dr. Condoleezza Rice, and she was Secretary of State for the administration of George W. Bush. Night after night she stood in front of eager television cameras and lied about weapons of mass destructions and other such things demanded by the...
- [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart <br/><em>The Obligation of the First Commandment</em>, K. 35](https://interlude.hk/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart-obligation-first-commandment-k-35/): Sigismund von Schrattenbach was Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg from 1753 to 1771. He appointed Leopold and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart as members of the episcopal court orchestra, but only after Wolfgang had passed a rigorous test! Schrattenbach had always been suspicious that young Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was receiving compositional help from his...
- [Sophie Dartigalongue](https://interlude.hk/sophie-dartigalongue/): Sophie Dartigalongue personifies the fact that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. The bassoon often becomes the butt of many of the orchestra’s jokes, and the comical contrabassoon only sees a double serving of this teasing, but the contrabassoonist of the Berliner Philharmoniker is calm, collected, and –...
- [Brahms: Choral Works](https://interlude.hk/brahms-choral-works/): Drei Quartette, Op. 92/3: Abendlied From Brahms: Choral Works (2014) Released by Harmonia Mundi Brahms: Drei Quartette, Op. 92/3: AbendliedThe famous German Requiem must not be allowed to overshadow the wide variety of choral music Brahms wrote throughout his career. Daniel Reuss and his Cappella Amsterdam are our expert guides...
- [Bach Parody](https://interlude.hk/bach-parody/): Irony and Parody became key moments in German modernism. But parody and irony are not identical. While irony might be described as a strategy, most successful parodies derive their effect from the comic incongruity between the original and its parody. In his Symphony Nr. 5, Gustav Mahler uses irony as...
- [Alexander Scriabin](https://interlude.hk/alexander-scriabin/): Agonies and Ecstasy! What happens when new neural connections within your brain break down the boundaries that normally exist between the senses? For one, hearing a particular musical note might cause you to see a particular color, or you may actually taste spoken words. In medical terms this neurological phenomenon...
- [Ballo in Maschera](https://interlude.hk/ballo-maschera/): The casual operagoer would be forgiven for not being sure whether The Royal Opera House’s new production of Giuseppe Verdi’s Ballo in Maschera was set in Boston, as it usually is, or in Stockholm, as it often is and was originally intended to be by the composer before the censors...
- [Snuggling at the Piano](https://interlude.hk/snuggling-piano/): I was at a concert the other evening where the opening work was Schubert’s Fantasia for Piano 4-hands. Two pianists, sitting side by side, at one piano performed one of Schubert’s greatest pieces. The two pianists angled their benches carefully away from each other and then, gasp, kept bumping –...
- [The dangers of having a (critical) mind!](https://interlude.hk/dangers-critical-mind/): Aren’t you just sick and tired of lazy and unimaginative programming justified by the eternal excuse, “I am just giving my audience what they want to hear! ”
- [Das Rheingold in Hong Kong](https://interlude.hk/das-rheingold-hong-kong/): The Hong Kong Philharmonic under Jaap van Zweden pulled off a real coup. Carefully marketing the orchestra’s first ever Rheingold, the first of the four operas of Richard Wagner’s Ring cycle that the orchestra is spacing out over four years (versus the more customary few days), excitement was built through...
- [The Taste and Color of Music<br/>Alexander Scriabin](https://interlude.hk/taste-color-musicalexander-scriabin/): There is a fine line between genius and madness. Given the current zeal for psychoanalyzing dead composers, Alexander Scriabin (1872-1915) would seem to be a perfect subject. He showed serious mental instability during the early stages of his life, and eventually believed that the world could only be saved through...
- [The Beauty of the English String Sound](https://interlude.hk/beauty-english-string-sound/): We forget how much the English contributed to the beauty of orchestral music through their lush pastoral string writing. And the Bridge is Love, a new recording by the English Chamber Orchestra led by Julian Lloyd-Webber, brings all of this back to us. The recording is centred on music by...
- [Commissioning Atrocities](https://interlude.hk/commissioning-atrocities/): The Kronos Quartet is famous for commissioning works that cover the widest possible range of musical and experimental genres. The founder David Harrington once explained, “I’ve always wanted the string quartet to be vital, and energetic, and alive, and cool, and not afraid to kick ass and be absolutely beautiful...
- [A Universe of Delight<br/>Alexander Scriabin and Natalya Sekerina](https://interlude.hk/universe-delightalexander-scriabin-natalya-sekerina/): Alexander Scriabin (1872-1915) was short of stature and stood just over five feet tall. For a period of time he joined the military, but was mercilessly ridiculed and bullied because he was “small, effeminate and weak. ” Commentators have suggested, “Like many little men, he acted arrogantly to compensate for...
- [A Key to the Brahms Sound<br/>J. B. Streicher & Sohn No. 8105](https://interlude.hk/key-brahms-soundj-b-streicher-sohn-8105/): Buying a piano for home use is a highly personal choice. It depends on a number of variables, including instrument style, brand, color and shape. Generally speaking, however, we look for instruments within a certain budget range, and one that complements the technical abilities and musical strengths of the performer....
- [RIOTTE, A.: Météorite et ses métamorphoses (Malengreau)](https://interlude.hk/riotte-meteorite-et-ses-metamorphoses-malengreau/): Meteorite et ses metamorphoses Metamorphose XXIV: En rafales – Subitement calme From RIOTTE, A. : Météorite et ses métamorphoses (Malengreau) (2014) Released by Naxos / Grand Piano Riotte: Meteorite et ses metamorphoses – Metamorphose XXIV: En rafales – Subitement calmeFrench composer André Riotte was closely involved with experiments in avant-garde...
- [A Fresh Perspective into Ensemble Playing](https://interlude.hk/fresh-perspective-ensemble-playing/): The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao recently presented a nine-screen multi-channel video installation by the young Icelandic performance artist Ragnar Kjartansson, who is known for featuring music in his works. Bliss, his 12-hour work starring a live performance of a scene from Mozart’s ‘The Marriage of Figaro’ repeated over and over again...
- [Friends in Music](https://interlude.hk/friends-music/): English composer Edward Elgar used to create musical puzzles and then challenge his wife to solve them. He would create little piano pieces depicting various friends and Alice Elgar had to figure out who he was depicting.
- [“Power Poses” Musician Style<br/>“Your Body Language Shapes Who You Are”](https://interlude.hk/power-poses-musician-styleyour-body-language-shapes/): When you walk out onto the stage for a performance, audition, competition or jury do your thoughts go wild with self-doubt or do you exude confidence? Do you slink into your seat and look down at the instrument or do you walk with bold steps and sit proudly upright? When...
- [The Royal Academy of Music](https://interlude.hk/royal-academy-music/): If you walk from Baker Street along Marylebone Road, you are greeted with hoards of tourists stampeding their way towards Madame Tussaud’s to gape at the wax models within. However, if you dare to push past the crowds and wander a little further down the street, you’ll reach one of...
- [VOŘÍŠEK, J.H.: Complete Works for Piano, Vol. 1 - 6 Impromptus / Fantasie / Piano Sonata (Urban)](https://interlude.hk/vorisek-j-h-complete-works-piano-vol-1-6-impromptus-fantasie-piano-sonata-urban/): Piano Sonata in B-Flat Minor, Op. 20, “Quasi una fantasia” III. Finale: Allegro con brio From VOŘÍŠEK, J. H. : Complete Works for Piano, Vol. 1 – 6 Impromptus / Fantasie / Piano Sonata (Urban) (2014) Released by Naxos / Grand Piano Voříšek: Piano Sonata in B-Flat Minor, Op. 20,...
- [Team Orchestra- What Does a Section Leader Do?](https://interlude.hk/team-orchestra-section-leader/): There is much more to being an effective orchestra member than merely playing your instrument well. Teamwork is really important in an orchestra. Without teamwork a cohesive interpretation of the music is impossible.
- [The Music that fuelled Occupy Hong Kong](https://interlude.hk/music-fuelled-occupy-hong-kong/): Before the last of the Occupy Movement protest sites were removed in Hong Kong, the city’s financial district was awash with brightly colored tents, yellow umbrellas and banners of all shapes and sizes. The most striking was possibly the Lennon Wall, a namesake of the one in Prague, where students...
- [Gustav Mahler: <em>Songs on the Death of Children</em>](https://interlude.hk/gustav-mahler-songs-death-children/): There can be nothing more tragic to a parent than the loss of a child. Imagine the grief of the German poet Friedrich Rückert, who lost two of his children to scarlet fever within a period of six months. Attempting to cope with this devastating tragedy, Rückert penned 428 highly...
- [Asteroid 22369 Klinger](https://interlude.hk/asteroid-22369-klinger/): Between the orbits of the planets Mars and Jupiter lays a vast region of space occupied by numerous irregularly shaped celestial bodies. Known as asteroids and minor planets, this so-called asteroid belt was formed by violent primordial collisions. Scientist have long been mapping this area for objects that might become...
- [Le Gibet](https://interlude.hk/le-gibet/): It might be natural to assume that a starting point to playing a piece of music is to play all the notes as they are written. In this article, the question why composers might write notes that cannot be played or heard in the way they are written will be...
- [<em>Mozart in The Jungle</em><br/>Spoiler alert!](https://interlude.hk/mozart-junglespoiler-alert/): Beware—Mozart in The Jungle recently released on Amazon has sexual situations, graphic violence, adult content, and adult language. A racy shoot-em-up movie? No. It’s a ten part series about classical musicians in New York City and ostensibly what they have to do to become successful.
- [Trios - Beethoven / Brahms / Weber](https://interlude.hk/trios-beethoven-brahms-weber/): Beethoven Trio in B flat major op. 11 (“Gassenhauer”) I. Allegro con brio From Trios – Beethoven / Brahms / Weber (2014) Released by Harmonia Mundi Beethoven: Trio in B flat major op. 11 (“Gassenhauer”)I. Allegro con brioNoble Tenderness. “Ideal for expressing feelings and ideas of the most poetic kind”...
- [Bach the Healer](https://interlude.hk/bach-healer/): In the last decade of the 19th century, European culture was perceived as increasingly decadent and degenerate. Visual art had abandoned representation and liberated color and line; literature weakened the narrative structures and loosened meanings, and music used a technically advanced language with a sense of increased chromaticism that eventually...
- [Music be the Food of Love<br/>Hans Gál and Hanna Schick](https://interlude.hk/music-food-lovehans-gal-hanna-schick/): An ancient proverb says, “a successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person. ” And that is exactly what happened to Hans Gál and Hanna Schick. They were married for 65 years, and their devotion, dedication, quiet strength and love of music allowed them to...
- [A Timeless Journey<br/>Liszt's Petrarch Sonnet No. 47](https://interlude.hk/timeless-journeyliszt-petrarch/): Franz Liszt was the ultimate rock star of the 19th century! Handsome, flamboyant and a genius performer with a natural aptitude for the stage, he eventually turned into a prolific thinker and monumental composer. Yet, that path towards enlightenment was a period of great personal insecurities and professional turmoil. Between...
- [Name That Tune!](https://interlude.hk/name-tune/): How on earth do you remember all those melodies, all those little turns of phrase and all that invention by all those composers? We know from brain studies that combining words and music is a positive way to combine both parts of the brain in working on the same problem....
- [Learning Classical Music As A Child Helps Shape Adulthood](https://interlude.hk/learning-classical-music-child-helps-shape-adulthood/): I have been asked to write about how my learning of a musical instrument as a child had influenced me in life. As a mother, I have also asked myself this question when thinking about my daughter’s education. I would love to think that my daughter has an innate sense...
- [Ondine](https://interlude.hk/ondine/): Among the compositions by Maurice Ravel that are highly regarded in the piano repertoire is the suite Gaspard de la Nuit. It is based on three poems by Aloysius Bertrand and is known for its technical difficulties. In this article, the time signature in ‘Ondine’, the first of three parts...
- [An Unremarkable Centenary<br/>Karl Goldmark (1830-1915)](https://interlude.hk/unremarkable-centenarykarl-goldmark-1830-1915/): In ancient Greece, the coming of the New Year was celebrated by presenting a newborn baby to Dionysus, the God of Wine. Used as a symbol of rebirth, the newborn child also featured prominently in early Christian practices, and today it’s a race to the finish! Millions of expectant mothers...
- [The Many Kinds of Winter](https://interlude.hk/many-kinds-winter/): Winter – Spring – Summer – Fall: It’s not only Vivaldi who has his four seasons; other composers took up the idea. In Argentina, we find Astor Piazzolla applying the idea to Buenos Aires in a set of tangos. Collectively called the Cuatro Estaciones Porteñas, these four compositions, originally written...
- [HOFFMEISTER, F.A.: Keyboard Sonatas, Vol. 1 (Tzinlikova)](https://interlude.hk/hoffmeister-f-keyboard-sonatas-vol-1-tzinlikova/): Keyboard Sonata in G Major – Allegro From HOFFMEISTER, F. A. : Keyboard Sonatas, Vol. 1 (Tzinlikova) (2014) Released by Naxos / Grand Piano Hoffmeister: Keyboard Sonata in G Major – AllegroFranz Anton Hoffmeister is associated with composers such as Haydn and Mozart through his involvement in Viennese music publishing....
- [A Conversation with Behzod Abduraimov](https://interlude.hk/conversation-behzod-abduraimov/): The young Behzod Abduraimov (b. 1990) has rocketed to music’s top ranks. He released his debut recital CD in 2012 (Decca Classics) and has been working with the leading orchestras of the world, including the Royal Philharmonic, the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, and the Boston Symphony orchestras. He recently...
- [Happy 2015!](https://interlude.hk/happy-2015/): If you are planning to welcome 2015 in France, Belgium, Brazil, Portugal or the province of Quebec in Canada, chances are that you will be part of an extended dinner party called “réveillon. ” Exceptionally luxurious, appetizers often include truffles, oysters, escargots, lobster or foie gras, followed by a traditional...
- [DaXun Zhang](https://interlude.hk/daxun-zhang/): Bach... on the Bass? DaXun Zhang playing what he wants to play Making an appearance at the Hong Kong Chamber Music Festival is bassist DaXun Zhang. After completing his studies at Beijing’s Central Conservatory of Music, he moved to America, where he now teaches at the university of Texas. During...
- [The Escher Quartet goes East](https://interlude.hk/escher-quartet-goes-east/): The Escher String Quartet really have their work cut out for them this January. While most of us will be lethargically recovering from new years celebrations, the Quartet will be preparing for their appearance at the Hong Kong International Chamber Music Festival, where almost half the total music played will...
- [Musical Fairytales <br/>New Year’s Concert of the Vienna Philharmonic](https://interlude.hk/musical-fairytalesnew-years-concert-vienna-philharmonic/): In the morning of New Year’s Day 2015, roughly 60 million viewers in 90 countries worldwide will turn on their television to watch the New Year’s Concert of the Vienna Philharmonic. That kind of marketing success is normally reserved for people who in one form or another chase after a...
- [Heinrich Schütz: <em>Historia of the Birth of Jesus Christ</em>](https://interlude.hk/heinrich-schutz-historia-birth-jesus-christ/): Sometimes it is easy to hate Johann Sebastian Bach! Not because of his abrasive and authoritative personality and certainly not because of his glorious compositions, but for the way that our familiarity with his works gets in the way of hearing somebody else’s works. Take for example Bach’s Passions and...
- [Orion Weiss is discovering the new - and mastering the old](https://interlude.hk/orion-weiss-discovering-new-mastering-old/): You could say that the debut of Orion Weiss at the Hong Kong International Chamber Music Festival has been long-anticipated – over two years in the waiting. Plans to appear at the 2013 Festival were rearranged due to the birth of his now two year old daughter, who I can...
- [For Musicians the Holiday Hubbub is Crunch Time! ](https://interlude.hk/musicians-holiday-hubbub-crunch-time/): Musicians are extremely popular this time of year—what’s a celebration without music? We all look forward to the Holidays and the merriment of the New Year and it can be a lucrative time for musicians. Each town prepares furiously to feature the traditional favorites—performances of the Nutcracker by Tchaikovsky, the...
- [It’s a Woman’s Business<br/>Nannette Streicher](https://interlude.hk/womans-businessnannette-streicher/): The business of designing and building musical instruments was long in the exclusive domain of men. Or so we have been led to believe! But there was at least one woman who kicked ass in this male dominated world. Her name was Nannette Streicher and she was not merely a...
- [Mendelssohn: Songs without words](https://interlude.hk/mendelssohn-songs-without-words/): Lieder ohne Worte, Op. 67/2: Allegro leggiero From Mendelssohn: Songs without words (2014) Released by Harmonia Mundi Mendelssohn: Lieder ohne Worte, Op. 67/2: Allegro leggieroThis programme illustrates four essential qualities of the music of Felix Mendelssohn. Music stripped of all superfluity, including the literary aspect (Songs without Words); a gift...
- [Music Lessons? 10 Tips for Parents](https://interlude.hk/music-lessons-10-tips-parents/): My parents were both musicians. There was never any doubt in our household. Music lessons were essential. I took lessons both on cello and piano with the requisite theory lessons, and that was that. No instructor, no teaching style, no study books, no regimen was good enough for them! I’m...
- [The Holiday Sound – The New Year](https://interlude.hk/holiday-sound-new-year/): The year ends with a bang and a roar, and perhaps a clink of raised glasses, at New Year. Now that we’ve looked at the Classics for Christmas and more modern songs for Christmas what happens for other parts of the holiday?
- [Peeling Back the Audio Wallpaper](https://interlude.hk/peeling-back-audio-wallpaper/): In the holiday season, there are distinctive holiday songs that seem to play incessantly in all the shopping malls. We hear them and they are expected to put us in a ‘holiday mood,’ but do we really listen to them?
- [Does She Really Love Him?: The Berio Ending for Turandot](https://interlude.hk/really-love-berio-ending-turandot/): Giacomo Puccini’s final opera was Turandot, set in exotic Peking. The story of a Chinese princess who keeps herself unattainable by the perplexing riddles she sets her prospective suitors, only to be brought down by a riddle that she, herself, cannot puzzle out, it was one of Puccini’s most forward-looking...
- [Time Shifts at Holiday Time](https://interlude.hk/time-shifts-holiday-time/): When you think about time shifts in music, we think of Stravinsky, where in The Rite of Spring, there are sections where the time signature changes every measure. But what if there were a song, known to most people, where the time shifts were taken for granted?
- [The Gospel According to the Other Mary<br/>English National Opera](https://interlude.hk/gospel-according-maryenglish-national-opera/): We’re blasted with the full force of the chorus right from the beginning of the show, accompanying a brutal prison drug search. This was one of many lights in which we saw the English National Opera chorus during ENO’s production of John Adams’ The Gospel According to the Other Mary,...
- [The Silk Road Festival <br/>The Chinese Miracle in Classical Music](https://interlude.hk/silk-road-festival-chinese-miracle-classical-music/): How and why is the city of Xian 15 million strong and host of the “Silk Road Festival“ so immaculate? The answer is an army of street sweepers working nonstop, 24 hours. It all starts in the morning with the cleaning of sidewalks by an army of middle aged men...
- [The Holiday Sound – The Moderns, sort of](https://interlude.hk/holiday-sound-moderns-sort/): Now that we’ve looked at the Classics for Christmas, let’s look at some of the new music for the holiday season. When we get to more modern music, the American songs written in the 1940s and 1950s capture our ear. ASCAP, the US music rights organization, compiled a list of...
- [Roxanna Panufnik](https://interlude.hk/roxanna-panufnik/): I can empathise with Roxanna Panufnik. She, too, is a morning person. ‘Anything difficult that I have to do I schedule for Monday morning; it’s when I’m at my complete and utter freshest! ’ I catch her after a stint of morning composition, busy working on a piece for choir,...
- [John Harbison: String Trio – Four Songs of Solitude – Songs America Loves to Sing](https://interlude.hk/john-harbison-string-trio-four-songs-solitude-songs-america-loves-sing/): Songs America loves to sing – Amazing Grace From John Harbison: String Trio – Four Songs of Solitude – Songs America Loves to Sing (2014) Released by Harmonia Mundi John Harbison: Songs America loves to sing – Amazing GraceThree facets of John Harbison. One of the most celebrated and wide-ranging...
- [The Changing Face of Commissioning](https://interlude.hk/changing-face-commissioning/): It’s easy to forget that the creation of a new piece usually involves a substantial amount of money changing hands to ensure that the composer is paid fairly. Trusts and foundations, organisations such as the BBC, or private donations have usually footed this bill. But, faced with dwindling funding opportunities,...
- [In touch with Lynn Harrell](https://interlude.hk/touch-lynn-harrell/): Lynn Harrell is one of our great musicians. Soloist, chamber musician, recitalist and conductor, the great cellist has performed all over the world in a career spanning over 50 years, with a discography consisting of over 30 recordings. Education has formed a major part of his career; as well as...
- [In touch with Wu Han](https://interlude.hk/touch-wu-han/): Wu Han is a pianist – but to say just that would be a disservice to this influential artist, who is widely active as a performer (especially of chamber music), recording artist, educator and director. After a busy autumn, featuring a number of concert tours across the USA, the Chamber...
- [Pogorelich in Hong Kong](https://interlude.hk/pogorelich-hong-kong/): Let me put it bluntly. I am not fond of musicians who play without taking risks, who either delivers a composition so precisely that a computer could have done the same or blatantly regurgitates a teacher or mentor’s interpretation or style. As Beethoven put it, ‘to play a wrong note...
- [Always<br/>Irving Berlin and Ellin Mackay](https://interlude.hk/alwaysirving-berlin-ellin-mackay/): We all know the sad story of Friedrich Wieck taking Robert Schumann to court in order to prevent the “old alcoholic and womanizer” from marrying his daughter Clara. The heated court battle raged for almost a year, but once Schumann was able to prove that he was able to financially...
- [The Miracle of Christmas: Irving Berlin](https://interlude.hk/miracle-christmas-irving-berlin/): Many famous public figures have written books. Presidents, starlets, sports stars and others who are not generally known for their literary talents have entertained us with publications detailing their personal lives. Of course, very few have actually written a single word. Instead, they have brought their stories and ideas to...
- [The Choir of Clare College, Cambridge](https://interlude.hk/choir-clare-college-cambridge/): The Light From Heaven ‘Tis the season for new choral music recordings for Christmas, and, newly arrived is Lux de caelo, The Light From Heaven, from the Choir of Clare College Cambridge, directed by Graham Ross.
- [In this moonlit night - Lieder by Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky & Taneyev](https://interlude.hk/moonlit-night-lieder-tchaikovsky-mussorgsky-taneyev/): Sergei Taneyev: Not the wind from on high From In this moonlit night – Lieder by Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky & Taneyev (2013) Released by Ondine Sergei Taneyev: Not the wind from on highThis second release of star baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky for Ondine features Russian Lieder by Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky and Taneyev. Tchaikovsky...
- [Cannibal Bach](https://interlude.hk/cannibal-bach/): Johann Sebastian Bach was a ferocious musical cannibal! He habitually borrowed from himself and others in order to adapt a composition to a particular performing venue or occasion. In 1729 he was appointed director of the Collegium Musicum in Leipzig. This voluntary association of professional musicians and university students focused...
- [The Holiday Sound – The Classics](https://interlude.hk/holiday-sound-classics/): It’s getting chillier, the morning air is brisk, there might even be snow, and with that, our thoughts turn toward the holidays. But we find that the thing that helps us with that holiday feeling is the sound of the holidays – the music of the season.
- [Music, the Reason of my Existence – Frank Peter Zimmermann](https://interlude.hk/music-reason-existence-frank-peter-zimmermann/): I often think that doing interview has a therapeutic effect on me; meeting great and kind artists remind me of the goodness in life. Talking to the German violinist Frank Peter Zimmermann was one of those moments. Zimmermann is gentle, calm, and truly passionate about music. Born into a family...
- [Listening to Bach with New Ears](https://interlude.hk/listening-bach-new-ears/): The art of the transcription has been with us for centuries, coming into play whenever someone tried to play a work written for one instrument on another. We were listening, the other day, to a recording of J. S. Bach transcribed for a number of different ensembles. There are chorales,...
- [Cole Porter](https://interlude.hk/cole-porter/): Mommy’s little Darling It’s not easy being the son or daughter of the richest person in the whole wide word! Just ask Kate Cole, daughter of James Omar Cole, at his time, the richest man in the US state of Indiana. Kate was treated like a princess and showered with...
- [<em>CRAP—I Don’t Know What Comes Next!<br/>Memorizing Tips </em>](https://interlude.hk/crap-dont-know-comes-nextmemorizing-tips/): Have you had the horrible feeling when you’re playing a concert—“CRAP—I don’t know what comes next? ” It’s demoralizing and embarrassing. A memory slip can destroy your confidence. Memorization is one of the biggest challenges for a musician—often causing panic, sweaty palms, nightmares, and heart palpitations. Legend has it that...
- [BAGDASARIAN, E.: Piano and Violin Music - 24 Preludes / Rhapsody / Nocturne (Ayrapetyan, V. Sergeev)](https://interlude.hk/bagdasarian-e-piano-violin-music-24-preludes-rhapsody-nocturne-ayrapetyan-v-sergeev/): 24 Preludes No 6 in B minor From BAGDASARIAN, E. : Piano and Violin Music – 24 Preludes / Rhapsody / Nocturne (Ayrapetyan, V. Sergeev) (2014) Released by Grand Piano / Naxos Bagdasarian: 24 Preludes No. 6 in B minorEduard Ivanovich Bagdasarian was a key figure in the modern development...
- [Inventing Abstraction – Part III](https://interlude.hk/inventing-abstraction-part-iii/): In my last two Interlude articles we followed the development towards abstraction in art and music in Germany and France, but interestingly, it was artists in Russia who led the movement towards total abstraction. There was of course a constant exchange of ideas between Russia and Western Europe, and many...
- [The Reason for the Crowd](https://interlude.hk/reason-crowd/): Why do you attend concerts? Is it for the performer or the work being performed, or, is it because it’s the place you need to be to see and be seen? There’s nothing sadder than attending a fabulous concert and finding empty seats in the audience. As an audience member...
- [Ivo Pogorelich – A Genius of Few Words](https://interlude.hk/ivo-pogorelich-genius-words/): When I was given the task to interview the Belgrade-born pianist Ivo Pogorelich, I immediately asked my pianist/friend who had the privilege of attending Pogorelich’s master-class. She said to me, ‘Ivo seemed cold at first and did not speak much, but if it interested him, be it a phrase or...
- [Making or Missing the Leap from Child to Adult](https://interlude.hk/making-missing-leap-child-adult/): Sometimes when you hear a child prodigy, you marvel at their ability to perform at such a high level. The technical skills are there, the musicality is there, and resulting performance is nothing short of miraculous in its perfection. But then, later, it may not be so easy, it may...
- [Cameron Carpenter](https://interlude.hk/cameron-carpenter-artist-of-the-month/): I watch his music video and am greeted with a jet black mohawk, sequinned top, and sparkly heels, flashily collaged in a rapid onslaught of fast-paced camera angles. Did I mention he’s an organist?
- [Sleep gently my Count Keyserlingk](https://interlude.hk/sleep-gently-count-keyserlingk/): Every music lover knows the Goldberg Variations by J. S. Bach! But who was this Goldberg, who so famously lent his name to one of the most remarkable compositions in the history of Western music? The story of how this came to pass has been embellished and fictionalized, but it...
- [ABRAMIAN, E.: 24 Preludes (Ayrapetyan)](https://interlude.hk/abramian-e-24-preludes-ayrapetyan/): 24 Preludes No 19 in G Sharp From ABRAMIAN, E. : 24 Preludes (Ayrapetyan) (2014) Released by Grand Piano / Naxos Abramian: 24 Preludes No. 19 in G SharpThe composer, pianist and teacher Eduard Aslanovich Abramian was one of the most significant and respected figures in the development of modern...
- [The Rose Blooming in the Desert <br/>Creating the Qatar Philharmonic](https://interlude.hk/rose-blooming-desert-creating-qatar-philharmonic/): Like a rose blooming in the desert, the Qatar Philharmonic has made a unique place for beauty in the city of Doha, Qatar. We had a conversation recently with Kurt Meister, Executive Director of the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra, about how the QPO came to be created, how it has developed,...
- [Hans Leo Hassler <br/>The Venice Experiment](https://interlude.hk/hans-leo-hassler-venice-experiment/): Born 450 years ago, Hans Leo Hassler (1564-1612) was the first notable German composer to broaden his musical horizon by studying in Italy. Not surprisingly, Hassler went to the city of Venice to experience the thriving musical environment surrounding the cathedral of St. Mark’s. Studying under the esteemed composer and...
- [Soulmates!<br/>Adolf von Henselt and Rosalie Vogel](https://interlude.hk/soulmatesadolf-von-henselt-rosalie-vogel/): In 1836, the exceptional pianist and composer Adolf von Henselt suffered a severe nervous breakdown. After taking a number of cures in local spas and private hospitals, Henselt decided to visit his old teacher Johann Nepomuk Hummel in Weimar. Hummel was delighted and invited Henselt to stay for a couple...
- [Bach’s Blues](https://interlude.hk/bachs-blues/): When people see the name Anton Webern on a concert bill, they habitually run for cover! But Webern would not be Webern if he hadn’t studied the old masters during his student years at Vienna University. In fact, he studied with the renowned musicologist Guido Adler and wrote his thesis...
- [Playin’ In The Rain ](https://interlude.hk/playin-rain/): In the song Singin’ in The Rain, Gene Kelly tap-dances in the streets of Paris, splashing with joy in the downpour. Playing in the rain is another story. We definitely do not dance. Most orchestras have a few days of outdoor concerts in the summer. On a July concert evening...
- [Max Reger: Violin Concerto / Chaconne](https://interlude.hk/max-reger-violin-concerto-chaconne/): Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 101 II. Largo con gran espressione From Max Reger: Violin Concerto / Chaconne (2012) Released by Ondine Max Reger: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 101 – II. Largo con gran espressioneBeing “one of the last giants of music” as Hindemith described Reger, his...
- [Having Sex with Ghosts!](https://interlude.hk/sex-ghosts/): Are you ready for a bit of specialist musical trivia to impress your friends? Here it goes! What is the name of the instrument that you can see, you can hear but you can’t touch? Performing on this instrument has been likened to finger painting in space, or as one...
- [Pure Ephemera – or Not](https://interlude.hk/pure-ephemera/): You can’t tell the players without scorecard, as the old baseball metaphor goes, and in classical music, we use the program for the same purpose – who’s singing / playing / responsible for what. In UK theatres, you still buy your program at most venues; in US theatres, they are...
- [Florestan and Eusebius<br/>Robert Schumann: <em>Violin Sonata No. 2</em> in D minor, Op. 121](https://interlude.hk/florestan-eusebiusrobert-schumann-violin-sonata-2-d-minor-op-121/): Robert Schumann composed in intense spurts of creative hyperactivity, generally focusing on a single genre. When he locked himself into his Düsseldorf study in October 1851, Clara Schumann excitedly reported in her diary. “Robert is working away on something new. I can’t get him to tell me what, but I...
- [Music Through Words<br/> Vikram Seth’s ‘An Equal Music’](https://interlude.hk/music-words/): Vikram Seth, perhaps most well-known for his novel A Suitable Boy (1993), is an Indian novelist and poet who has received numerous awards including Padma Shri (the fourth highest civilian award in the Republic of India awarded by the Government), Pravasi Bharatiya Samman (award given by the President of India...
- [In the Night: Pascal Amoyel and Chopin’s Nocturnes](https://interlude.hk/night-pascal-amoyel-chopins-nocturnes/): Although it has an older meaning, when we think of the “nocturne” we think of Frederic Chopin. He took his inspiration from the Irish composer John Field whose works were the first to take the title to the piano. A nocturne is a work of the night – its meaning...
- [Adolf von Henselt](https://interlude.hk/adolf-von-henselt/): The (Almost) Forgotten Piano Wizard! Between 1809 and 1814 six remarkable composers were born; Mendelssohn, Chopin, Schumann, Liszt, Thalberg and Adolf von Henselt (1814-89). Surely you have heard of the first five, but what about Henselt? Make no mistake, during his lifetime Henselt was easily considered on par as a...
- [Shanghai Conservatory of Music](https://interlude.hk/shanghai-conservatory-music/): The Shanghai Conservatory of Music is one of the most competitive musical education institutions in China. The Conservatory’s Vice President, Zhang Xiangping, and Zhou Xianglin, the director of teaching and study affairs, filled me in on how training at Shanghai prepares students for multi-faceted careers at a time where versatility...
- [Beethoven – Complete Works for violoncello & piano](https://interlude.hk/beethoven-complete-works-violoncello-piano/): Sonata No. 3 in A Major, Op. 69: II. Scherzo. Allegro molto From Beethoven – Complete Works for violoncello & piano (2014) Released by Harmonia Mundi Beethoven: Sonata No. 3 in A Major, Op. 69: II. Scherzo. Allegro moltoBeethoven’s works for cello and piano were written between 1796 and 1815....
- [Paul Klee: Fugue in Red](https://interlude.hk/paul-klee-fugue-red/): Paul Klee (1879-1940) craved the freedom to explore radical and modernist experimentations in his paintings. In music, however, he could never come to terms with contemporary works of Schoenberg, Berg and Webern. In fact, he even disliked the compositions of Wagner, Bruckner and Mahler. Klee was a gifted musician who...
- [Shostakovich and <em>The</em> (Soviet) <em>Golden Age</em>](https://interlude.hk/shostakovich-soviet-golden-age/): Joseph Stalin was not a particularly nice man! Once he had consolidated near-absolute power in the 1930’s, he ruthlessly eliminated any opposition. That meant banishing “counter-revolutionary infiltrators” to the Gulag labour camps, deported nonconformists to the furthest regions of the Soviet Union, or simply executing them en masse. Stalin is...
- [Coming at Wagner from a Different Direction](https://interlude.hk/coming-wagner-different-direction/): We associate Wagner with gloriously large orchestral sounds, with complex stories, and magnificent singing. It’s interesting, however, when we hear Wagner’s operatic writing from the viewpoint of the keyboard and in this recording by French pianist Wilhem Latchoumia, he shapes an interesting Wagner program from some very unusual sources.
- [Are We Going to Party?<br/>Groupmuse](https://interlude.hk/going-partygroupmuse/): ‘In this modern world, we are constantly confronted by this question of how best to spend our free time’, explains Sam Bodkin. ‘Are we going to engage with a challenging work of art? ’ he asks. ‘Or are we going to party? ’
- [Why there’s no Fairy Godmother in La Cenerentola](https://interlude.hk/theres-fairy-godmother-la-cenerentola/): Who doesn’t know the story of Cinderella? The tale of a young girl tormented by stepsisters, who with the help of her fairy godmother, pumpkin carriages and glass slippers, goes to a ball and marries the prince. But is it still a Cinderella story if we strip it from all...
- [Debussy’s New Vision of an Old Standard](https://interlude.hk/debussys-new-vision-old-standard/): When we think of a musical piece called a ‘Prelude,’ we think of the monumental series of Preludes and Fugues by J. S. Bach, or, more adventurously, Chopin’s 1838 series of 24 Preludes, Op. 28. When the French composer Claude Debussy (1862-1918) took up the idea in 1909, he brought...
- [Weaving a Global Tapestry of Sound<br/>The Silk Road Ensemble](https://interlude.hk/weaving-global-tapestry-soundthe-silk-road-ensemble/): ‘It’s based around the basic instrumentation. ’ ‘What would that be? ’ ‘Mainly Western strings, percussion, plucked instruments, like my pipa, sometimes a Middle Eastern oud, or a guitar, and we have the Iranian kamancheh. Oh – and we have Indian tabla, and we took on a Spanish Galician bagpipe...
- [Raphaël Pichon and the Ensemble Pygmalion](https://interlude.hk/raphael-pichon-ensemble-pygmalion/): Baroque music arguably suffers the most when it comes to its perceived stuffiness. In the world of historical performance practice, many retreat into the dark corners of the library, poring over dusty treatises to debate the authority of the way in which to articulate a group of notes, or the...
- [Streetwise Opera](https://interlude.hk/streetwise-opera/): Amongst the wealth of operatic activity in the UK today (as surveyed recently on Interlude), the work of Streetwise Opera stands out as some of the most important. Founded in 2000, they have worked with London’s homeless on a number of remarkable projects. A recent culmination came at the Royal...
- [The Dog Ate My Music — Excuses For Not Practicing](https://interlude.hk/dog-ate-music-excuses-practicing/): The dinosaur ate my homework. The dog ate my homework. The computer ate my homework. Through the ages teachers have heard extremely convincing excuses to not do their work. Dear music pupils: Don’t tell me you’ve practiced when you haven’t. I can always tell. My parents were both musicians. My...
- [Dvorák – Symphony No. 6 / American Suite op. 98b](https://interlude.hk/dvorak-symphony-6-american-suite-op-98b/): Suite in A Major ‘American Suite’, Op. 98b, B. 190: IV. Andante From Dvorák – Symphony No. 6 / American Suite op. 98b (2014) Released by Harmonia Mundi Dvorák: Suite in A Major ‘American Suite’, Op. 98b, B. 190: IV. Andante While Dvorák’s Sixth Symphony is clearly inspired by the...
- [The Fight for Spontaneous Applause](https://interlude.hk/fight-spontaneous-applause/): We think nothing of it – a brilliant performance and we launch to our feet, applauding madly. In the years of the claque, however, spontaneous applause was not so easy to come by. The claque, a word coming out of the 19th century French theatre, was a group in the...
- [Jealous dwarf or keyboard magician?<br/>Eugene d’Albert](https://interlude.hk/jealous-dwarf-keyboard-magicianeugene-dalbert/): Playing an audition for Johannes Brahms, who single-handedly controlled much of Vienna’s musical establishment—must have been an unbelievably frightening experience. Just ask Hans Rott, who showed his symphony to the old master in 1880. Rott was told, “you have no talent whatsoever and you better give up music. ” Not...
- [Sight-reading May Save Your (Musical) Life!](https://interlude.hk/sight-reading-may-save-musical-life/): When I was a fledgling cellist in the Indianapolis Symphony I remember not thinking much about playing an outdoor concert—the program entailed “crowd pleasers. ” When I arrived to the park I was told that the principal cellist’s car had died. I’d be in the hot seat. The overture on...
- [Estate Johannes Brahms](https://interlude.hk/estate-johannes-brahms/): Producing a doctoral thesis in the humanities, especially when it involved archival research, used to be a lot of work. It frequently involved lengthy travel from library to library in order to research original materials related to the subject at hand. If your research subject turned out to be a...
- [Inventing Abstraction – Part II](https://interlude.hk/inventing-abstraction-part-ii/): After Kandinsky’s and Schoenberg ground-breaking endeavors, many artists in France, Italy and Russia started to follow different paths — all towards abstraction.
- [World Orchestra for Peace](https://interlude.hk/world-orchestra-peace/): The World Orchestra for Peace is a band like no other. Apart from it being formed from the best orchestral musicians handpicked from around the world, it has a loud and clear message: to be a global ambassador for peace. I talked to Charles Kaye, the Orchestra’s Director and Co-Founder,...
- [Switched-On Bach](https://interlude.hk/switched-bach/): Johann Sebastian Bach started his work on The Art of the Fugue, one of the most celebrated and extensively studied collection of contrapuntal movements, in 1743. At the time of his death, on 28 July 1750, the collection remained unfinished and unordered with no specific instructions as to its instrumentation....
- [The Napoleon Complex](https://interlude.hk/napoleon-complex/): Emperor Napoleon I of France was small in stature, reaching a mere 157 centimeters in height. It is commonly assumed that he compensated for his lack of height by aggressively seeking out power, war and conquest. “Short man syndrome,” which apparently can also affect short woman, is a psychological phenomenon...
- [Mozart - String Quartets dedicated to Haydn](https://interlude.hk/mozart-string-quartets-dedicated-haydn/): String Quartet No. 16 in E Flat Major, K. 428/421b: IV. Allegro vivace From Mozart – String Quartets dedicated to Haydn (2014) Released by Harmonia Mundi Mozart: String Quartet No. 16 in E Flat Major, K. 428/421b: IV. Allegro vivaceThe sincerest form of flattery. When he dedicated a set of...
- [The Luthéal Attachment](https://interlude.hk/lutheal-attachment/): I am almost certain you have never heard of the Belgian inventor George Cloetens (1871-1949). In the category of quirky inventions, he is known for patenting a special dual-chamber syringe, and claiming a patent for printing advertisements on toilet paper! Believe it or not, for a very short period of...
- [Mendelssohn and the String Quartet](https://interlude.hk/mendelssohn-string-quartet/): Felix Mendelssohn (1809 — 1847) started writing string quartets at a very early age – always precocious, he composed his String Quartet in E flat major in 1823, when he was just 14 (although it was not published until 50 years after his death). His final string quartet was the...
- [Musicality is nature; musical ability is nurture](https://interlude.hk/musicality-nature-musical-ability-nurture/): An article published in The Economist (‘Musical ability is in the DNA’) suggested that one’s musical ability is determined by genetics, and that despite Malcolm Gladwell’s bold statement that 10,000 hours of practice will guarantee expertise in almost any field, any effort invested in trying to master musical skills will...
- [Berkeley Symphony Orchestra Opening Night Concert](https://interlude.hk/berkeley-symphony-orchestra-opening-night-concert/): I had the pleasure of attending the Berkeley Symphony Orchestra opening concert for the 2014/15 season—my first classical music concert since moving to the U. S. A. The concert took place at UC Berkeley’s Zellerbach Hall. The building has a surprisingly small foyer and a fairly inconspicuous and minute cloak...
- [The Speed of Poetry](https://interlude.hk/speed-poetry/): When we hear Renaissance madrigals sung, we often hear these lovely, long-drawn out pieces of pure counterpoint and then forget why they were written. The Italian madrigal came out of what we might think of as the upper-class men’s clubs of Italy. These literary or aesthetic clubs, or academies, brought...
- [Franz Tunder](https://interlude.hk/franz-tunder-free-concerts-advent/): Free Concerts for Advent In many Western Christian churches, the season of Advent prepares believers for the celebration of the nativity of Jesus at Christmas. Traditionally, Advent marks the beginning of the Church Year, and symbolizes the spiritual journey towards the affirmation of the coming Christ. This four-week period of...
- [Devotional Simplicity<br/> Mozart: <em>Ave verum corpus</em>](https://interlude.hk/devotional-simplicitywolfgang-amadeus-mozart-ave-verum-corpus/): Mozart’s relationship to church music has been compared to a child’s attitude towards eating sprouts and spinach. That attitude was clearly conditioned by his troubled interaction with Count Hieronymus von Colloredo, who was appointed Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg in 1771. This dual appointment placed him in charge of the political affairs...
- [Robert Schumann: Variationen & Fantasiestucke / Andreas Staier](https://interlude.hk/robert-schumann-variationen-fantasiestucke-andreas-staier/): Abegg-Variationen, Op. 1: Finale alla Fantasia – Vivace From Robert Schumann: Variationen & Fantasiestucke / Andreas Staier (2014) Released by Harmonia Mundi Schumann: Abegg-Variationen, Op. 1: Finale alla Fantasia – VivaceThis third volume of Andreas Staier’s series devoted to the piano music of Robert Schumann begins with his first published...
- [What Makes a Good Conductor?](https://interlude.hk/makes-good-conductor/): What makes a good conductor? Ask any musician— you’ll get as many answers. Gone is the despotism and snarky remarks that were tolerated from great Maestros such as Arturo Toscanini, Fritz Reiner, George Szell and Sir Thomas Beecham. Their tirades are, in retrospect, told and retold as great mythology. Today...
- [What Happens When It All Goes Wrong?](https://interlude.hk/happens-goes-wrong/): It’s the classic quandary for musicians – you’re playing and then all of a sudden something absolutely terrible happens. It may be any number of things – someone gets lost at a critical point in the music, you turn two pages of your part at once and make the wrong...
- [The Marriage Fanatic<br/>Eugen d’Albert](https://interlude.hk/marriage-fanaticeugen-dalbert/): Fabled pianist Eugen d’Albert compared his wives to Beethoven symphonies. He once told a friend that he intended to marry until he got up to the ninth, with chorus! Unfortunately, he only lived long enough to manage the “Pastoral. ” For most people, according to Elsa Galafrés, second wife of...
- [The Italian Influence](https://interlude.hk/italian-influence/): Italy has long been an influence on the development of music in Europe – perhaps it was due to the money inherent in its courts and the musical developments they supported, the promotion of art during the Renaissance, or just the inspiration of the warm south. Whatever the cause, when...
- [Repetition is life](https://interlude.hk/repetition-life/): One could argue that all creative process is improvisation: for that flash of creativity that generated the art, which distinguished whatever the artist was doing from merely replicating a past behaviour, was improvisation. Afterwards, the artist can do whatever he wants with that piece – he can include it in...
- [The International Ring, part 2: <em>Die Walküre</em> in Thailand](https://interlude.hk/international-ring-part-2-die-walkure-thailand/): Hero maidens in the sky, taking the fallen warriors to their golden future – that’s the normal vision of the Valkyries. Don’t forget the sword and the winged helmet! After Das Rheingold, Wagner continued the story of The Ring of the Nibleung with the story of Wotan’s warrior daughter, Brunnhilde,...
- [Centaur pianist Eugen d’Albert: <br/>Half piano, half man](https://interlude.hk/centaur-pianist-eugen-dalbert-half-piano-half-man/): His mother was British, his father French and his grandmother German! No wonder that Eugen d’Albert (1864-1932) had an identity crisis on his hands! However, the ten-year old quickly pledged his allegiance to Germany, and famously corrected his biography a couple of years later. “Above all things I scorn the...
- [Vivaldi: Concerti per Flauto-recorder Concertos](https://interlude.hk/vivaldi-concerti-per-flauto-recorder-concertos/): Concerto ‘La pastorella’ in D major per flauto, oboe, violino, fagotto e basso continuo, RV 95: I. Allegro From Vivaldi: Concerti per Flauto-recorder Concertos (2014) Released by Harmonia Mundi Vivaldi: Concerto ‘La pastorella’ in D major per flauto, oboe, violino, fagotto e basso continuo, RV 95: I. AllegroDespite complaints at...
- [OH The Things Audiences Say!](https://interlude.hk/oh-things-audiences-say/): I would be wealthy if I had a quarter for every time someone said, “that’s bigger than you are! ” Dragging my cello around on buses, thrusting it under turnstiles, hoisting it onto airplane seats, taking it into stores—always brings on all kinds of derisive comments. “Why didn’t you play...
- [Das Rheingold in Thailand<br/>The International Ring, part 1](https://interlude.hk/das-rheingold-thailandthe-international-ring-part-1/): Das Rheingold is a tale of greed and gold, unfulfilled promises and threats of destruction, culminating in a grand vision of Valhalla, somewhat tainted by how it was achieved. Over all hangs the ring and its destructive curse. In early western productions, the story was set in some kind of...
- [Drink some champagne and call me in the morning!](https://interlude.hk/drink-champagne-call-morning/): On 7 May 1896, Johannes Brahms celebrated his 63rd birthday. Supposedly he opened the festivities by declaring, “If there is anyone here I have not yet offended, I apologize. ” Always known for his crusty personality and rustic mannerisms, Brahms was famous for hiding his real emotions and feelings behind...
- [The Lord of the Rings Symphony](https://interlude.hk/lord-rings-symphony/): Long before Howard Shore got his hands on writing the score for Peter’s Jackson’s monumental Lord of the Rings movie trilogy, Dutch composer Johan de Meij had taken up the call. His Symphony No. 1, “The Lord of the Rings,” begun in March 1984 and completed in December 1987, was...
- [And the winner is not Mozart<br/>Salieri fights Mozart at Schönbrunn](https://interlude.hk/winner-mozartsalieri-fights-mozart-schonbrunn/): If you come to Vienna as a tourist, you’ll have to visit Schönbrunn Palace. It’s unlikely that you will see all 1,441 rooms—most of them lavishly decorated—but the complex will certainly give you a sense of the splendor and lifestyle of a number of Habsburg monarchs. Schönbrunn, meaning beautiful spring...
- [Tour ≠ Holiday!](https://interlude.hk/tour-%e2%89%a0-holiday/): I love travelling. And getting to play music while travelling is basically being on holiday, right? Not quite. The flights are booked; the concert’s in the diary; the audience have their tickets. Can you really relax knowing you’ve got an expectant audience to please? In addition, for two of the...
- [Old Tears in New Vials](https://interlude.hk/old-tears-new-vials/): In 1997, the Kronos Quartet took a step back in time with their Early Music (Lachrymae Antiquae) album, mixing quartet performances of medieval and Renaissance music with that of 20th century composers.
- [The Stage Manager- A Musician’s Best Friend](https://interlude.hk/stage-manager-musicians-best-friend/): What Are the Duties of a Stage Manager? Stage managers of orchestras have a very important role. A good one takes expert care of our instruments and the musicians, soloists and conductors— meeting their every wish and whim. The stage manager is the one who announces, “Orchestra... On stage please....
- [Improvisation is Repetition](https://interlude.hk/improvisation-repetition/): In my previous article, I explained how improvisation is the basis for true creation. While creation implies the origin of something new, the process through which the improvisation leading to it develops is one of repetition. This seems paradoxical, but repetition is the only basis for improvisation.
- [J. S. Bach: Kothener Trauermusik BWV 244a / Pygmalion / Raphael Pichon](https://interlude.hk/j-s-bach-kothener-trauermusik-bwv-244a-pygmalion-raphael-pichon/): Köthener Trauermusik BWV 244a XII. Mit Freuden sei die Welt verlassen (Aria) From J. S. Bach: Kothener Trauermusik BWV 244a / Pygmalion / Raphael Pichon (2014) Released by Harmonia Mundi J. S. Bach: Köthener Trauermusik BWV 244a – XII. Mit Freuden sei die Welt verlassen (Aria)When Leopold of Anhalt-Cöthen died...
- [The Terrorist Pianist <br/>Friedrich Gulda: <em>Concerto for Cello </em>](https://interlude.hk/terrorist-pianist-friedrich-gulda-concerto-cello/): The genius pianist Friedrich Gulda (1930-2000) was lauded for his extraordinary interpretations of the music of Bach, Mozart, Schubert, and Beethoven. Highly sought after as a piano teacher, his students included Martha Argerich and Claudio Abbado. However, Gulda openly flaunted classical music etiquettes and conventions, playing some recitals in the...
- [So You Want to Play a Home Concert?](https://interlude.hk/want-play-home-concert/): Musicians are constantly on the hunt! We strive for the spark of deep intimacy and shared experiences with our audiences. So how about playing in a truly intimate setting—chamber music as it was intended—in a parlor? Harkening back to the salons of Schubert and Chopin’s time, we wonder if we...
- [Catching some Z’s<br/>Johannes Brahms](https://interlude.hk/catching-zsjohannes-brahms/): I always thought that my grandfather was the luckiest person on earth! No matter how dull the conversations, boring the sermon or uncomfortable the journey, he always managed to nod off. At first I thought he was just pretending, but he was actually fast asleep. Grandma always complained that he...
- [Inventing Abstraction 1910-1925<br/>The Early Years I](https://interlude.hk/inventing-abstraction-1910-1925the-early-years/): “Must we not then renounce the object altogether,throw it to the winds and instead lay bare the purely abstract? ”Vasily Kandinsky, 1911 In the early years of the 20th century the relationship between the arts and music was at its closest and most influential. This was the very focus of...
- [Flutes From Little to Large](https://interlude.hk/flutes-little-large/): When we think of flutes, we think of the common concert flute – silver, about 67 cm (26 inches) long, pitched in the key of C. That’s just the start of the flute family, albeit the most familiar. If we start at the very short end, we have the piccolo....
- [Blowing the Budget<br/>Giacomo Meyerbeer](https://interlude.hk/blowing-budgetgiacomo-meyerbeer/): It is prohibitively expensive to stage an opera. In 2012 alone, the Metropolitan Opera in New York had expenses totaling 317 million US Dollars! For one, you need singers, an orchestra of roughly 80 players and a conductor. Some popular works by Verdi and Puccini also sport big choruses, and...
- [Edgar Moreau](https://interlude.hk/edgar-moreau/): French cellist Edgar Moreau is already making waves on the solo circuit at the tender age of 20. He is currently completing his Masters studies at the internationally renowned Kronberg Academy in Germany, where a specialist programme is offered to outstanding young soloists – and there is no doubt that...
- [Cigarettes, Chocolate Milk, and Threesomes<br/>All in a Night’s Work for Rufus Wainwright](https://interlude.hk/cigarettes-chocolate-milk-threesomesall-nights-work-rufus-wainwright/): Ah, the Late Night Proms. The only time you can spend in the Albert Hall in summer and not be glared at for shuffling your feet or clapping spontaneously. Starting at 10. 15pm, finishing at 11. 45, you’d think that this nocturnal timescale would discourage people from taking the risk...
- [Haydn: Scottish Airs](https://interlude.hk/haydn-scottish-airs/): My Love she’s but a lassie yet From Haydn: Scottish Airs (2014) Released by Harmonia Mundi Haydn: My Love she’s but a lassie yetThe arrangements of Scottish ‘national melodies’ (nearly 400 in all) are among the little-known gems of Haydn’s last years. Already a past master of the piano trio...
- [The Waltz King - Three Strauss Brothers](https://interlude.hk/waltz-king-three-strauss-brothers/): Johann Strauss II, or Junior, or the younger The Waltz King, (not related to Richard), composed over 400 of the world’s most beloved waltzes, polkas, quadrilles, dance music and operettas. These include the perennial favorites: An der Schonen Blauen Donau (The Beautiful Blue Danube), Tritsch-Tratsch Polka, Fruhlingsstimmen (Voices of Spring),...
- [Love and Death in Music](https://interlude.hk/love-death-music/): Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde tells the story of good intentions gone wrong. Tristan is sent to Ireland to fetch the beautiful Isolde, the intended bride of King Mark of Cornwall. Tristan killed Isolde’s fiancé, Morold, and Isolde is in despair about her future, travelling with a murderer to a man...
- [Diversion of the Mind<br/>Victor Borge](https://interlude.hk/diversion-mindvictor-borge/): I always find music a fun thing to do: musical instruments are ‘played’, and the word ‘music’ lends itself to other words like ‘amuse’, ‘amusing’ and ‘amusement’. If ones looks up the meaning of ‘amusement’ on OED. com, one would find that one of the definitions says ‘the pleasurable occupation...
- [The Stepmother Syndrome<br/>Charles Burney and Elizabeth Allen](https://interlude.hk/stepmother-syndromecharles-burney-elizabeth-allen/): After Esther Burney died of cancer in September 1762, Charles Burney remained a widower for five years. The reason it took him so long to remarry and find a new mother for his six children was because Elizabeth Allen turned down his marriage proposal in 1764. The widow of Stephen...
- [Charles Burney](https://interlude.hk/charles-burney/): Music is an innocent Luxury Charles Burney (1726-1814) may only have been a relatively minor composer, but he was definitely a giant as a writer about music and the music scene of his time. In fact, his four-volume General History of Music, published over a period of thirteen years between...
- [Gilbert and Gewandhaus - and so many singers](https://interlude.hk/gilbert-and-gewandhaus-and-so-many-singers/): I love the Proms. Despite the fact that everyone always seems to be ill. Always. Of course there’ll be the odd cough in the quiet bits like at any concert, but in between movements is when the army of splutterers makes its true appearance, a wave of throat-clearing breaking around...
- [Playing only One Note](https://interlude.hk/playing-only-one-note/): Russia is home to many unique things and in music, one of the unique groups is the Horn Orchestra. So, you’re thinking – what’s so strange about an orchestra made up of horn players? The unique aspect comes in when you consider that in this orchestra, each horn only plays...
- [The Kreutzer Sonata<br/>Beethoven-Tolstoy-Janačék](https://interlude.hk/the-kreutzer-sonatabeethoven-tolstoy-janacek/): Music and Literature are like twin sisters. Not necessarily identical, but deeply connected in ways that can’t be easily explained. When the great Russian novelist and writer Leo Tolstoy published his1889 novella on the ideal of sexual abstinence and jealous rage, he surprisingly titled the work The Kreutzer Sonata. As...
- [C.P.E Bach: Magnificat Wq 215 / Heilig ist Gott Wq 217 – Symphony in D major Wq 183/1](https://interlude.hk/c-p-e-bach-magnificat-wq-215-heilig-ist-gott-wq-217-symphony-in-d-major-wq-1831/): Magnificat Wq 215 4. Chor. Et misericordia elius From C. P. E Bach: Magnificat Wq 215 / Heilig ist Gott Wq 217 – Symphony in D major Wq 183/1 (2014) Released by Harmonia Mundi C. P. E Bach: Magnificat Wq 215 – 4. Chor. Et misericordia eliusOn 9 April 1786,...
- [Qatar Philharmonic Music Director Resigns After Proms Performance](https://interlude.hk/qatar-philharmonic-music-director-resigns-after-proms-performance/): I get home from the Qatar Philharmonic Prom, notes in hand, ready to start reviewing. Thinking I’ll start writing in the morning, I wake up to the news that the conductor of the orchestra I saw the night before has resigned. Wait, what? I double check my facts and, sure...
- [Love begins at home!<br/>Charles Burney and his family](https://interlude.hk/love-begins-at-homecharles-burney-and-his-family/): In 1990, the average size of individual households in the industrialized word ranged from a low 2. 1 individuals in Sweden to a high of 3. 1 in Ireland. According to this study, the group of 7 countries that make up the G7 averaged a meager 2. 54. Things have...
- [A date with the Devil<br/>Giacomo Meyerbeer: Robert the Devil](https://interlude.hk/a-date-with-the-devilgiacomo-meyerbeer-robert-the-devil/): The nice thing about going to an opera performance is that you get to have fictional dates with characters your mom would almost certainly disapprove of. Take for example Robert le diable (Robert the Devil), an opera in five acts composed by Giacomo Meyerbeer. The libretto was written by Eugène...
- [Are Music Students Burying Their Heads in the Sand?](https://interlude.hk/are-music-students-burying-their-heads-in-the-sand/): ‘So... I’m graduating in a year... I could get a job... or I could commence further study! ’ ‘So... I’m finishing further study in six months... I could get a job... or I could commence FURTHER study! ’
- [A Walk in a Japanese Garden<br/>Tōru Takemitsu](https://interlude.hk/a-walk-in-a-japanese-gardentoru-takemitsu/): Tōru Takemitsu (1930-1996) fell in love with western classical music via American forces radio broadcasts during the post-war U. S. occupation of Japan. In fact, he “considered the radio as his first real teacher. ” Almost exclusively focused on Western musical styles and genres, he even became the co-founder of...
- [Improvisation is Life](https://interlude.hk/improvisation-is-life/): Improvisation is one of the most important areas in which music can teach us how to live better. Because improvisation is life. Without improvisation, existence is not life; it is only the empty copying of old patterns – improvisation is what differentiates a fax-machine model, or a record-player, and a...
- [Musical Instruments and Inventions: Adolphe Sax](https://interlude.hk/musical-instruments-and-inventions-adolphe-sax/): We don’t think of instruments as having been “invented” – they just have been there forever. In some cases, though, instruments do have a definite hand guiding them and none more so than the Saxophone.
- [Why Are Male Harpists So Rare?](https://interlude.hk/why-are-male-harpists-so-rare/): Music is, unfortunately, no stranger to sexism. Right through the pop world to the lands of orchestras and opera, gender bias occurs more often than people wish to admit. So why do more girls play the harp, and how did it end up like that in the first place?
- [Hindemith: Violine Konzert / Symphonic Metamorphosis / Konzertmusik Op. 50](https://interlude.hk/hindemith-violine-konzert-symphonic-metamorphosis-konzertmusik-op-50/): Symphonic Metamorphosis of Themes by C. M. von Weber (1943) III Andantino From Hindemith: Violine Konzert / Symphonic Metamorphosis / Konzertmusik Op. 50 (2013) Released by Ondine Hindemith: Symphonic Metamorphosis of Themes by C. M. von Weber (1943) – III AndantinoOndine presents a release of works by Paul Hindemith (1895-1963)...
- [<em>FINNISH</em> Finish - A Tour Story](https://interlude.hk/finnish-finish-a-tour-story/): Any veteran musician has some outstanding tour stories to tell. Here is one of mine. The climax of the 2004 Minnesota Orchestra European tour was our performance in Lahti, Finland at the Sibelius Concert Hall. Our new Music Director Osmo Vänskä, a native of Finland, was coming home— to the...
- [Tango Beyond Piazzolla<br/>I. Introduction](https://interlude.hk/tango-beyond-piazzollai-introduction/): When Astor Piazzolla went to Paris to study with Nadia Boulanger, he was embarrassed by his non-classical music past, and that he played tango music with a bandoneón in a cabaret at night. No matter how hard he tried to hide, it was soon found out. Piazzolla recalled this moment...
- [A serious case of the Flu!<br/>Johannes Brahms and H2N2](https://interlude.hk/a-serious-case-of-the-flujohannes-brahms-and-h2n2/): Throughout his life, Johannes Brahms equated corporeal infirmity with frailty of character. An avid outdoors enthusiast, who boasted that he had never consulted a physician or taken any medication, Brahms confidently asserted the connection between a healthy body and a healthy mind. It must have come as a great shock...
- [Recycling and the Music Trade](https://interlude.hk/recycling-and-the-music-trade/): Recycling isn’t a new idea and one of the very odd ways in which instrument makers could benefit was in how they acquired their leather for making the pads for their woodwind instruments.
- [Franz Liszt: <em>Harmonies poétiques et religieuses</em>](https://interlude.hk/franz-liszt-harmonies-poetiques-et-religieuses/): The outstanding French pianist Pascal Amoyel takes on the chameleon-like Franz Liszt in this recording of the Harmonies poétiques et religieuses (S. 173) in this two-disc set that also include the Ballade No. 2 (S. 171) and the Liebestraüme, (S. 541).
- [Yuri Temirkanov : A New World of Music](https://interlude.hk/yuri-temirkanov-a-new-world-of-music/): The Russian maestro Yuri Temirkanov will be bringing the St. Petersburg Philharmonic to the Guangzhou Opera house in October and in anticipation of his visit, we got him to answer a few questions.
- [Véronique Gens: Berlioz & Ravel](https://interlude.hk/veronique-gens-berlioz-ravel/): Maurice Ravel: Shéhérazade – L’Indifférent From Véronique Gens: Berlioz & Ravel (2012) Released by Ondine Ravel: Shéhérazade – L’Indifférent On this release famous soprano Véronique Gens performs Herminie and Les Nuits d’été by Hector Berlioz and Shéhérazade by Maurice Ravel with the Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire under...
- [The Men in My Life: Stand Partners Two and Three](https://interlude.hk/the-men-in-my-life-stand-partners-two-and-three/): My stand partner for twenty years in the Minnesota Orchestra was another veteran, Robert Jamieson. He was the polar opposite of aggressive, gruff and passionate Shirley Tabachnick. Jamieson was a stoic and private gentleman of Scottish heritage. He had been principal cello as long as I was old. Slender, disciplined,...
- [Charles Ives](https://interlude.hk/charles-ives/): Charles Ives (October 20, 1874 – May 19, 1954) is a composer whose music is still difficult for us to grasp and whose vision for music far exceeded that of his contemporaries. His music seems to be as strongly tied to his New England heritage as much as to his...
- [Bewitched in a Magic Garden<br/>Giacomo Meyerbeer in Italy](https://interlude.hk/bewitched-in-a-magic-gardengiacomo-meyerbeer-in-italy/): Giacomo Meyerbeer first visited Italy in 1816. He only planned for a brief study tour, but in the event, it gradually extended itself to nine years! During that time, the composer produced seven operas, starting with the semi-serious Romilda e Constanza staged at the Teatro Nuovo in Padua on 19...
- [Eating through the Ears](https://interlude.hk/eating-through-the-ears/): When I get back to Hong Kong next week, I am very much looking forward to a special lunch. An internationally renowned chef has opened his own restaurant! I can already tell you that the food will be beyond delicious and the service impeccable. Although the menu, ambiance and service...
- [Dancing to Death:<br/>Bernstein’s Symphonic Dances  from West Side Story](https://interlude.hk/dancing-to-deathbernsteins-symphonic-dances-from-west-side-story/): If we look at Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990) we see a musician who came to embody the best of classical music. He was a conductor, most famously making his debut in 1943 with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra on a moment’s notice and with no rehearsal, replacing the ailing Bruno Walter....
- [Lavender Marriage<br/>Marc Blitzstein and Eva Goldbeck](https://interlude.hk/lavender-marriagemarc-blitzstein-and-eva-goldbeck/): The 2005-film Brokeback Mountain—an adaptation of the 1997 short story by Annie Proulx, which featured two married cowboys in love with each other—brought the issue of mixed-orientation marriages to public attention. However, this type of marriage between partners of differing sexual orientations is hardly a phenomenon of the 21st century,...
- [Designing Sound](https://interlude.hk/designing-sound/): We all know what a piano looks like – large and square, if it’s an upright; or large and black, if it’s a concert grand. Yet, through the years, piano makers have done many explorations into the design of piano cases. Sometimes these changes have to do with how the...
- [Alexander Scriabin: Piano Works](https://interlude.hk/alexander-scriabin-piano-works/): Scriabin: Mazurka op. 24 no. 3 – Lento From Alexander Scriabin: Piano Works (2013) Released by Harmonia Mundi Scriabin: Mazurka op. 24 no. 3 – LentoHow can one write a work like the Fantaisie op. 28 at the age of 27 and, just eight years later, the revolutionary Prométhée that...
- [James McNeill Whistler – Claude Debussy – Nocturnes in Painting and Music](https://interlude.hk/james-mcneill-whistler-claude-debussy-nocturnes-in-painting-and-music/): ‘Comme de longs échos qui de loin se confondent... . Les parfums, les couleurs et les sons se répondent’ (As long echoes confound from afar... . perfumes, colors and sounds respond to each other’) Charles Baudelaire, ‘Correspondances’ The recent exhibition at the Sackler Gallery in Washington D. C. , ‘Whistler...
- [Maurice Ravel: Mysteries of the Brain](https://interlude.hk/maurice-ravel-mysteries-of-the-brain/): Maurice Ravel was small and slender in stature, standing about 162 centimeters, with an unusually large head in relation to his body. He was an avid walker and swimmer and until the age of 50 he was perfectly healthy. Ravel was initially rejected for military service in 1914 for being...
- [Tchaikovsky in the Hands of Two Masters](https://interlude.hk/tchaikovsky-in-the-hands-of-two-masters/): Two visiting orchestras will bring a lot of Tchaikovsky to Guangzhou this year, with appearances by the St. Petersburg Philharmonic under Yuri Temirkanov and the London Philharmonic Orchestra under Vassily Sinaisky. Both conductors are Russian, Temirkanov has led the St. Petersburg Philharmonic since 1988, and until 2012, Sinaisky was conductor...
- [Everything Old is New Again: <br/>Orff and <em>Carmina Burana</em>](https://interlude.hk/everything-old-is-new-again-orff-and-carmina-burana/): We went to a performance recently of Orff’s Carmina Burana and really welcomed the rare chance to hear a performance of the work on stage. This is a work that is more heard on the radio or as part of a film than on the concert stage and it really...
- [<em>Variations on a Rococo Theme for Cello and Orchestra</em><br/>Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky vs. Wilhelm Fitzenhagen](https://interlude.hk/variations-on-a-rococo-theme-for-cello-and-orchestrapeter-ilyich-tchaikovsky-vs-wilhelm-fitzenhagen/): Every summer, the “Intimacy of Creativity Festival” brings together aspiring composers and seasoned performers in Hong Kong. Emerging composers present and revise their work after in-depth discussions with world-renowned performers. The principle aim of this gathering is to rekindle the same kind of artistic synergy between composer and performer that...
- [In touch with Dimitri Maslennikov](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-dimitri-maslennikov/): Thank you for agreeing to being interviewed by Interlude. HK! We have several questions that we think would be of interest to our readers and those who will attend your upcoming concert in Guangzhou with the St Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra in October.
- [Mahan Esfahani](https://interlude.hk/mahan-esfahani/): ‘You didn’t just wake up, did you? ’ After many Facebook messages, negotiating times here and there to try and arrange a convenient time to talk, my phone finally buzzes unannounced on a Saturday morning, causing me to leap up and grab the nearest notepad. Turns out he’s quite an...
- [My Three Stand Partners<br/>Aide-de-Camp Marriages pt 1](https://interlude.hk/my-three-stand-partnersaide-de-camp-marriages-pt-1/): The time you spend with a stand partner in an orchestra frequently exceeds the time you spend with your spouse. I had three long-term stand partners all vastly different in approaches. My first stand partner was the veteran and irascible principal cello of the Indianapolis Symphony, Shirley Tabachnick. The orchestra...
- [Auguste Mustel: Celesta<br/>The silvery sounds of Heaven](https://interlude.hk/auguste-mustel-celestathe-silvery-sounds-of-heaven/): If you listen to Tchaikovsky’s “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” from the Nutcracker, you are acutely aware of a silvery, ethereal and otherworldly sound coming from the orchestra. That sound, similar to that of the glockenspiel—a percussion instrument composed of a set of tuned keys arranged in the fashion...
- [Cousin Marriage<br/>Giacomo Meyerbeer and Minna Mosson](https://interlude.hk/cousin-marriagegiacomo-meyerbeer-and-minna-mosson/): The fictional HBO series Game of Thrones, already in its fourth season and slated to run for at least another 2 years has once again garnered a number of impressive awards and accolades. Loosely based on the novel A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin, viewers...
- [Marc Blitzstein<br/>A Forgotten Father of American Song](https://interlude.hk/marc-blitzsteina-forgotten-father-of-american-song/): It’s hard to imagine someone who called the music of Kurt Weill (the composer of ‘Mack the Knife’) ‘drivel’ eventually writing musicals and popular songs himself. Yet for Marc Blitzstein, this huge shift in aesthetic was just the start – he was an openly gay communist murdered in the sixties...
- [From Screen to Stage<br/>Erich Korngold: <em>Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 35</em>](https://interlude.hk/from-screen-to-stageerich-korngold-violin-concerto-in-d-major-op-35/): The Romantic Violin Concerto Erich Korngold (1897-1957) was a modern composer with a Romantic touch. He is considered, along with Max Steiner (Gone with the Wind) and Alfred Newman (Wuthering Heights / How the West was Won) as one of the “godfathers of film music. ” His Violin Concerto in...
- [Marc Blitzstein](https://interlude.hk/marc-blitzstein/): In search of an identity for Classical music Marc Blitzstein: Piano Sonata The enormous political and cultural changes that flooded Europe in the first decade of the 20th century led to a dismantling of political, social and artistic structures. As the world inexorably accelerated towards the catastrophes of World War...
- [Music in the Clouds<br/>Harps and Angels](https://interlude.hk/music-in-the-cloudsharps-and-angels/): One of the most eagerly encoded images in a number of different cultures and contexts is the angel sitting on a cloud and playing the harp. What could be more comforting upon leaving this earthly realm than being greeted by a heavenly creature playing a bit of music? For one,...
- [Italianize Yourself <br/>From Jacob Liebmann Beer to Giacomo Meyerbeer](https://interlude.hk/italianize-yourself-from-jacob-liebmann-beer-to-giacomo-meyerbeer/): The composer Jacob Liebmann Beer (1791-1864), frequently described as the most successful stage composer of the 19th century, is more commonly known under his stage moniker Giacomo Meyerbeer. That name arguably represents the best combination of his parents’ names, Jakob Herz Beer and Amalia Liebmann Meyer Wulff. Born into a...
- [A Land of Musical Treasures](https://interlude.hk/a-land-of-musical-treasures/): What are my impressions of Poland? The deadly WWII, Holocaust and Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima... Throughout my college years, this country always appeared to me as miserable. This year in March, after a month long struggle, I finally filled in my application to join the 15th Chopin-Górecki Music...
- [Robert Kyr: The Cloud Of Unknowing](https://interlude.hk/robert-kyr-the-cloud-of-unknowing/): Part II “Songs Of Dawn”: V. Surrendering From Robert Kyr: The Cloud Of Unknowing (2014) Released by Harmonia Mundi Robert Kyr: The Cloud Of Unknowing Part II “Songs Of Dawn”: V. SurrenderingCraig Hella Johnson leads Conspirare, soprano Estelí Gomez, baritone David Farwig, and the Victoria Bach Festival string orchestra in...
- [Talking with the Talich](https://interlude.hk/talking-with-the-talich/): We were recently in Paris, speaking with the 2 members of the Talich Quartet. Vladimír Bukač, Violist and Roman Patočka, Violin II, took time out from their busy concert schedule to sit down with us.
- [Lullaby of Tears<br/>Claude Debussy: <em>Berceuse héroïque</em>](https://interlude.hk/lullaby-of-tearsclaude-debussy-berceuse-heroique/): The Battle of the Somme was fought between 1 July and 18 November 1916. One of the largest and most brutal engagements of the First World War, almost one million men were wounded or killed! Among them was the young British composer George Butterworth, who was shot through the head...
- [On Pilgrimage with Murakami and Liszt](https://interlude.hk/on-pilgrimage-with-murakami-and-liszt/): Haruki Murakami’s latest novel, Colourless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage, has just been released and there’s that curious phrase in the title: “Years of Pilgrimage. ” The reference, of course, is to Franz Liszt’s celebrated piano works about his travels around Europe: his Années de pèlerinage (S. 160,...
- [An Introduction to East meets West - featuring Jonathan James](https://interlude.hk/an-introduction-to-east-meets-west-featuring-jonathan-james/): Now well into the second decade of the twenty-first century, we well and truly live in a global age. News breaks across the globe within minutes; we enjoy food from the other side of the planet in our own kitchens; sporting events are watched by millions – sometimes billions –...
- [Singing the Country](https://interlude.hk/singing-the-country/): Joseph Canteloube (1879-1957) was a skilled composer but it’s for his unique preservation (and improvement) of the songs of his area of France that he is best remembered. Canteloube came from a départment in south central France called the Auvergne.
- [Mozart: Violin Sonatas Nos. 27, 32 and 35 (Tetzlaff, Vogt)](https://interlude.hk/mozart-violin-sonatas-nos-27-32-and-35-tetzlaff-vogt/): Violin Sonata No. 27 in G Major, K. 379 Adagio From Mozart: Violin Sonatas Nos. 27, 32 and 35 (Tetzlaff, Vogt) (2012) Released by Ondine / Naxos Mozart: Violin Sonata No. 27 in G Major, K. 379 – AdagioThe bar-by-bar alternation between joy and sadness, beauty and regret, in mature...
- [“I drink, therefore I am”<br/>Modest Mussorgsky](https://interlude.hk/i-drink-therefore-i-ammodest-mussorgsky/): When the legendary British surreal comedy outfit “Monty Python” announced a reunion show in 2014, tickets sold out in a matter of minutes and additional shows had to be hastily arranged. Performing in London’s O2 Arena, satellite live feeds broadcast their eccentric, irreverent and utterly hilarious comedy sketches to numerous...
- [You Know It’s The End of The Season When...](https://interlude.hk/you-know-its-the-end-of-the-season-when/): Once again the end of the season finally arrives after weeks of wonderful performances—subscription concerts with great artists and soloists, young people and children’s programs, chamber music performances, and plenty of summer pops programs. Our students scurry to various summer camps and we musicians can almost taste the finish line...
- [Dancing into the Past](https://interlude.hk/dancing-into-the-past/): John Adams, born 1947, made the world look at East-West relations in a new light with his ground-breaking opera Nixon in China. First performed in Houston in 1987, the opera took a look behind the scenes of an event of international political importance. One work related to the opera has...
- [Presentation of the Rose<br/>Richard Strauss: <em>Rosenkavalier Suite</em>](https://interlude.hk/presentation-of-the-roserichard-strauss-rosenkavalier-suite/): From his glorious summation of 19th-century Romanticism to the deeply probing psychological experimentations of 20th-century Modernism, the long career of Richard Strauss spanned one of the most chaotic political, social, and cultural periods in human history. Composing in all genres, Richard Strauss almost exclusively expressed his life and thoughts through...
- [Egos and Ballet](https://interlude.hk/egos-and-ballet/): Ravel: Daphnis et Chloé Suite No. 2 Once upon a time, a ballet dancer had a dream of doing a ballet on a classical Greek theme. At the time, he was just a dancer in the Imperial Russian Ballet and it wasn’t until he became the choreographer for Diagilev’s Ballets...
- [A Master of the Orchestra - Bechara El-Khoury’s Sound Worlds](https://interlude.hk/a-master-of-the-orchestra-bechara-el-khourys-sound-worlds/): Following the release of his new CD, featuring concerti for horn, violin, and clarinet, I spend lunch getting to know Franco-Lebanese composer and poet Bechara El-Khoury. Born in Lebanon before moving to France and eventually becoming a French national, his music displays a keen awareness of sonic possibilities, conjuring up...
- [Alma Mahler - Giving Music Life](https://interlude.hk/alma-mahler-giving-music-life/): I’m still a little bit scared of Alma Mahler. I can feel her gigantic personality looming over me, transcending the years, inevitably offering some acid-tongued rebuke at my futile attempts to capture this complex and volatile person in writing. When I think of Alma, I think of her as the...
- [Schubert: Piano Sonatas v. 3](https://interlude.hk/schubert-piano-sonatas-v-3/): Piano sonata in A Major, D. 959 III. Scherzo Allegro vivace – Trio Un pocco più lento From Schubert: Piano Sonatas v. 3 (2014) Released by Harmonia Mundi Schubert: Piano sonata in A Major, D. 959 – III. Scherzo Allegro vivace – Trio Un pocco più lento‘What makes these so...
- [The Morbid Compulsion of Anton Bruckner](https://interlude.hk/the-morbid-compulsion-of-anton-bruckner/): Having been born, raised and educated in rural Austria ill prepared Anton Bruckner (1824-1896) for the acidic and highly competitive musical environment of imperial Vienna. Retaining his shy and unassuming demeanor throughout his life, Bruckner presented a wide target for music critics, journalists and composers alike, with most famously perhaps,...
- [Fighting About Music in 1913](https://interlude.hk/fighting-about-music-in-1913/): Now, the most famous fight about music in 1913, occurred at the première of The Rite of Spring. Audience in an uproar, fights in the audience, the dancers can’t hear the music for the noise in the hall, Nijinsky futilely trying to keep the dancers by yelling the count from...
- [Bach and Beyond - Avi Avital and Mahan Esfahani at the Bristol Proms](https://interlude.hk/bach-and-beyond-avi-avital-and-mahan-esfahani-at-the-bristol-proms/): I arrive into Bristol an hour early, so I grab a quick coffee in the bar of the Bristol Old Vic Theatre, the recently-renovated landmark in Bristol’s cultural history. As I sit in the bar someone leans out a door and shouts to her colleague: ‘Yep, that’s fine – I...
- [Dull Classical Musicians – <em>NOT</em>](https://interlude.hk/dull-classical-musicians-not/): Orchestral musicians like to have fun just like everyone else. We may appear dignified but fooling around is a requirement; pranks are ingenious. Sometimes the joke is on the conductor. There was once a conductor who was not, shall we say, adored by the orchestra he was conducting. One day...
- [The bits you don’t see… backstage at concerts and competitions](https://interlude.hk/the-bits-you-dont-see-backstage-at-concerts-and-competitions/): Sitting in a comfortable seat in a concert hall, watching the soloist striding out confidently, you relax knowing that the performer arrived in good time, had ample rehearsal, and a quiet place to rest beforehand in order to be in the position to give their best on stage. But sometimes...
- [Boneless Preludes and Greetings to the Goat<br/>Erik Satie and Suzanne Valadon](https://interlude.hk/boneless-preludes-and-greetings-to-the-goaterik-satie-and-suzanne-valadon/): Recently, I came across a composition entitled Three Boneless Preludes for a Dog. With a name like that, it was instantly clear that it could only have come from the pen of Erik Satie. But it was still rather surprising to learn that Satie composed these piano miniatures as love...
- [Music Through Words<br/>Wunderkind by Nikolai Grozni](https://interlude.hk/music-through-wordswunderkind-by-nikolai-grozni/): It is rare to find books written by someone who is both a trained writer and musician, but Wunderkind is a fine example of such a novel. Bulgarian writer Nikolai Grozni not only holds an MFA in creative writing from Brown University, but he also trained to become a concert...
- [Mazeppa: Endless Battles for Ukraine](https://interlude.hk/mazeppa-endless-battles-for-ukraine/): “It is forbidden to kill; therefore all murderers are punished unless they kill in large numbers and to the sound of trumpets. ” Voltaire was certainly right on the money about warfare and humanity. And he was also right about the long and close association of music with warfare. Whether...
- [Songs from a Century Ago](https://interlude.hk/songs-from-a-century-ago/): We went to a concert the other day of songs from WWI – popular tunes for a war that started a hundred years ago. What surprised us was how familiar some of the tunes were. Songs such as George M. Cohan’s ‘Over There,’ although written for WWI, still carried resonance...
- [Mahler: Songs](https://interlude.hk/mahler-songs/): Lieder und Gesange aus der Jugendzeit Book 3: No. 2. Ablosung im Sommer From Mahler: Songs (2014) Released by Harmonia Mundi Mahler: Lieder und Gesange aus der Jugendzeit – Book 3: No. 2. Ablosung im SommerCan one really grasp the whole of Mahler’s symphonic output without knowing his songs? Not...
- [Alexander Grechaninov<br/>Russian Devotion and Spirituality](https://interlude.hk/alexander-grechaninovrussian-devotion-and-spirituality/): Grechaninov’s most enduring and influential musical gift to posterity is surely found in his liturgical music. Breaking entirely new ground, he returned to the old Slavonic traditional chants of the Russian Greek Orthodox Church. Folk-like harmonies and motivic counterpoint provide a “vocal orchestration” that emphasizes an almost hypnotic relationship between...
- [Audition Tips](https://interlude.hk/audition-tips/): What’s the scariest monster in the closet for musicians? (I must whisper here) THE AUDITION. Any job interview inspires some trepidation, of course, but THE AUDITION— so brief, so dicey, so seemingly random— brings on tremendous doubt, misgivings and even panic. Although it is a necessary fact of life for...
- [Georges Braque and Erik Satie – A Musical Friendship](https://interlude.hk/georges-braque-and-eric-satie-a-musical-friendship/): Violins, guitars, mandolins, music sheets and references to classical composers are very much part of Braque’s oeuvre, particularly during his analytic and synthetic cubist period, which essentially started in the early part of the 20th century and lasted well into the 1930’s. For many years, his work was overshadowed by...
- [Martynas Levickis](https://interlude.hk/martynas-levickis/): With already a Decca album under his belt at the age of 22, Martynas Levickis is a concert accordionist ready to take on the world and its assumptions of the accordion. Quickly skyping in between concerts at the world-famous Schleswig-Holstein Festival, I found out how it all started, and where...
- [Salzburg Festival<br/>It’s not for “Jedermann”!](https://interlude.hk/salzburg-festivalits-not-for-jedermann/): The War to end all Wars—as World War I was colloquially known—put a brutal stop to most cultural events on the European continent. Although some determined aficionados managed to ignore the devastation caused by this all-encompassing conflict, most theaters, opera houses and music festivals were silenced by heavy artillery.
- [What’s “English” about Bach’s <em>English Suites</em>?](https://interlude.hk/whats-english-about-bachs-english-suites/): Throughout his long and industrious musical career, Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) never strayed far away from home. Content to live and work in his native community, and possibly remembering that he was once thrown in jail for overstaying his leave of absence, he never ventured beyond North-German borders. This self-imposed...
- [Mozart: Adagios & Fugues after Bach](https://interlude.hk/mozart-adagios-fugues-after-bach/): Adagio and Fugue in C minor K546 From Mozart: Adagios & Fugues after Bach (2014) Released by Harmonia Mundi Mozart: Adagio and Fugue in C minor K546It has too often been overlooked that, between Bach’s death (1750) and the triumphant revival of his St Matthew Passion by Mendelssohn in 1829,...
- [Between Mahler and Gropius<br/>Oskar Kokoschka and the Alma Doll](https://interlude.hk/between-mahler-and-gropiusoskar-kokoschka-and-the-alma-doll/): When Gustav Mahler died in 1911, his widow Alma first sought comfort in the arms of her already-lover Walter Gropius. However, Alma still harbored resentment that Gropius had intentionally misaddressed an envelope and thus exposed their affair to Gustav. In doubt about their future, Alma engaged in a brief but...
- [Pimp my Schimmel](https://interlude.hk/pimp-my-schimmel/): Apparently, it is rather common practice to take the most expensive cars straight from the factory to a tuning shop. These specialists outfits tweak engines to produce the raw horsepower of the space shuttle and attach all manner of exterior glittery and space-age parts. Frequently, the inside cabin of the...
- [Famous Musical Siblings<br/> Musical Dynasties Part II](https://interlude.hk/sizzling-siblings-musical-dynasties-part-ii/): Talent certainly runs in the family. Celebrity brothers and sisters are everywhere. Take for example Casey and Ben Affleck, actors, Venus and Serena Williams, tennis players, or Alec and Evelyn Waugh, authors of Island in The Sun and Brideshead Revisited respectively. The music world is full of sizzling siblings too,...
- [Trio di Clarone at Wigmore Hall](https://interlude.hk/trio-di-clarone-at-wigmore-hall/): Stepping into the cool foyer of Wigmore Hall in the middle of a blisteringly hot London day has the same effect as a chilled drink on a summer’s day: instantly cool and refreshing. Unfortunately, seeing as only bottled water was allowed in the auditorium, I had to make do with...
- [Dobrinya the Dragonslayer](https://interlude.hk/dobrinya-the-dragonslayer/): Alexander Grechaninov displayed prodigious musical talents at an early age. However, his father was a barely literate tradesman who expected his son to follow in his footsteps. Against the clear wishes of his father but with financial support from his sister-in-law, Alexander finally started piano lessons at age fourteen. A...
- [Thomas Larcher: What Becomes](https://interlude.hk/thomas-larcher-what-becomes/): A Padmore Cycle: IV. Familie Numero drei From Thomas Larcher: What Becomes (2014) Released by Harmonia Mundi Thomas Larcher: A Padmore Cycle: IV. Familie Numero dreiThomas Larcher’s sound world is both original and captivating in its fusion of contemplative harmonies with innovative performance techniques. Written for and performed by tenor...
- [‘It’s not that weird - honest!’<br/>The How and Why of The Hermes Experiment](https://interlude.hk/its-not-that-weird-honestthe-how-and-why-of-the-hermes-experiment/): ‘So, I’ve got a rehearsal later. ’ ‘What for? ’ ‘Hermes. ’ ‘What’s that? ’ ‘The Hermes Experiment. It’s a quartet – harp, double bass, clarinet, and soprano. ’
- [Saved by “Cleopatra”<br/>Handel-Mattheson Duel](https://interlude.hk/saved-by-cleopatrahandel-mattheson-duel/): Can you imagine a musical universe without performances of the Messiah, Samson, Jephta, the Water Music and Music for the Royal Fireworks? These highly popular compositions might never have existed in the first place, because George Frideric Handel got into a deadly duel with Johann Mattheson in 1704! It so...
- [Famous Musical Fathers and Sons <br/>Musical Dynasties](https://interlude.hk/fathers-and-sons-musical-dynasties/): Paul and Yan Pascal Tortelier Sons frequently follow in their father’s footsteps. Sons of Maestros often end up waving batons like the Tortelier family. I was always a fan of Paul Tortelier the French cellist, conductor and composer. He played the solo part in Richard Strauss’ Don Quixote with Strauss...
- [Hino Nacional Brasileiro](https://interlude.hk/hino-nacional-brasileiro/): Hino Nacional do Brasil (National Anthem of Brazil) FIFA limits the songs to only 90 seconds in order to get the games up and going, but most national anthems are longer than that; the Hino Nacional Brasileiro is no exception. Largely ignoring the fact that the music has stopped, Brazilian...
- [Johann Mattheson](https://interlude.hk/johann-matthesona-composer-scholar-and-a-gentleman/): A Composer, Scholar and a Gentleman! Take for example Johann Mattheson (1681-1764), a prolific composer, singer, organist, writer, lexicographer, diplomat, and music theorist. Born in Hamburg as the third, and only surviving son of a local tax collector, Mattheson displayed prodigious intellectual and musical talents at an early age. His...
- [Reach Out, Freak Out?](https://interlude.hk/reach-out-freak-out/): There’s a storm brewing in classical music. The quandary: #1 how far are we willing to go to achieve reaching out? Can we pursue change without freaking out our musicians and loyal concert attendees? #2 how do we remedy the erroneous expectations and misconceptions regarding attending a performance in a...
- [Death to the Diva<br/>Gluck and the Reform Opera](https://interlude.hk/death-to-the-divagluck-and-the-reform-opera/): According to his contemporaries, Johann Adolph Hasse (1699-1783) was one of the greatest masters of opera seria. Hasse had married the fabled Italian soprano Faustina Bordoni, and he specifically created the title role of his opera Cleofide of 1731 for his new bride. Faustina was universally admired as one of...
- [Poulenc: Les Anges Musiciens](https://interlude.hk/poulenc-les-anges-musiciens/): Banalites, FP107 – No. 2 Hotel From Poulenc: Les Anges Musiciens (2014) Released by Harmonia Mundi Banalites, FP107 – No. 2 HotelFrancis Poulenc’s corpus of songs is one of the most generous and accomplished in the French repertoire. A friend of poets like Apollinaire, Éluard, Aragon, and Louise de Vilmorin,...
- [Conservatoire de Paris](https://interlude.hk/conservatoire-de-paris/): The prestigious Conservatoire de Paris is the next stop on our Music College world tour. Alexandre Pansard-Ricordeau, the director of communications, talks to me about the strong links this conservatoire has with both the musical life of France, and further afield...
- [Heroic Self<br/>Richard Strauss: <em>Ein Heldenleben</em>, Op. 40 (1897/8)](https://interlude.hk/heroic-selfrichard-strauss-ein-heldenleben-op-40-18978/): With his three last and largest tone poems – Ein Heldenleben (1897/8) the Sinfonia Domestica (1903) and Eine Alpensinfonie (1915) – Richard Strauss faced mounting criticism, charges of excess, megalomania, superficiality, and bad taste. For the eminent Richard Strauss scholar Bryan Gilliam “Ein Heldenleben remains one of Strauss’s most controversial...
- [FAIL! – Onstage kind!](https://interlude.hk/fail-onstage-kind/): Before we enter that hallowed space—the concert stage— there are the ritual last minute precautions—men: fly zipped, check; women: hooks and buttons fastened especially in the front, check; string players: extra strings, check; oboe and bassoon players: good reeds soaking in water, check; music, check; brass players: valve oil, check;...
- [Alma’s Tenth Symphony](https://interlude.hk/almas-tenth-symphony/): In the summer of 1910, Gustav and Alma Mahler once more made their way to Toblach for their annual summer routine. Their personal relationship, however, was becoming severely strained. Much of the marital discontent can be traced back to the beginnings of the relationship. After they got married, things quickly...
- [Beethoven the Tramp](https://interlude.hk/beethoven-the-tramp/): Ludwig van Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 31, Op. 110 “Allegro molto” We have long known that Ludwig van Beethoven was a man of high eccentricity. Stories about his temper became legendary, and detail sudden rages, uncontrolled emotional states, suicidal tendencies, and frequent feeling of persecution. He lived in disorderly surroundings,...
- [From TV to the stage with <em>Owen Wingrave</em>](https://interlude.hk/from-tv-to-the-stage-with-owen-wingrave/): Britten: Owen Wingrave, Op. 85 A TV opera? Yep, it happened... Back in 1971 to be precise, when Benjamin Britten wrote Owen Wingrave for the BBC. The opera was taken from TV-land and given a live revival this summer, to open the Aldeburgh Festival. I was lucky enough to be...
- [The Power of Silence](https://interlude.hk/the-power-of-silence/): To the city dwellers of Hong Kong, noise has always been, and always will be, an inescapable part of life. If you have ever experienced living here, you will understand just how difficult it is to find a quiet place to wind down.
- [Six Musicians… to Accompany You throughout the Day](https://interlude.hk/six-musicians-to-accompany-you-throughout-the-day/): When I get woken up in the morning, the first thought that comes to mind is ‘Do I have to get up? ’, which is then usually interrupted by ‘Mmmm, what am I looking forward to eating today? ’ Yes, food plays a huge role in keeping me motivated and...
- [Vocal Eyes](https://interlude.hk/vocal-eyes/): Opera Holland Park, set in a patch of beautiful green space just west of London’s Hyde Park, adds a rich dimension to the city’s already active opera scene. As well as fine productions of core repertoire, the company boasts an extensive education scheme, featuring new work such as Will Todd’s...
- [Stars Spangled Igor](https://interlude.hk/stars-spangled-igor/): Recently, a number of European countries have actively changed, or are contemplating to change, the words and or melodies of their national anthems. Designed to reflect the social and cultural climate of the 21st century, these attempted changes, as you might well imagine, are not greeted by universal approval. An...
- [Behind the Scenes at Aldeburgh with the Britten-Pears Young Artist Programme](https://interlude.hk/behind-the-scenes-at-aldeburgh-with-the-britten-pears-young-artist-programme/): Many think of big festivals in the UK as happening in the bigger cities – London, Cambridge, Huddersfield... But tucked away in the not-too-far reaches of Suffolk lies the quiet town of Aldeburgh, home to one of the most formidable festivals this country has to offer, a festival of which...
- [BACH, C.P.E.: Keyboard Concertos](https://interlude.hk/bach-c-p-e-keyboard-concertos/): Keyboard Concerto in D Major, Wq. 43/2, H. 472 – III. Allegretto From BACH, C. P. E. : Keyboard Concertos (2013) Released by Ondine / Naxos Keyboard Concerto in D Major, Wq. 43/2, H. 472 – III. AllegrettoKeyboard concertos by J. S. Bach and his sons C. P. E and...
- [<em>The Conductor Gets it In The End</em>: <br/><em>Deception</em> and the Korngold Cello Concerto](https://interlude.hk/the-conductor-gets-it-in-the-end-deception-and-the-korngold-cello-concerto/): The classic film noir Deception, starring Bette Davis, is a racy, classic tale of passion, jealousy, and lust for power. The romantic music written by Erich Wolfgang Korngold carries the movie. At the time, Korngold was an Austro-Hungarian Jewish refugee. He was one of the lucky ones who escaped from...
- [Music, art and literature and the Great War: Part II](https://interlude.hk/music-art-and-literature-and-the-great-war-part-ii/): Last month’s article focused on the impact of the Great War on musicians, artists and writers in France –today I will focus on its impact in Germany and Austria.
- [Ensemble Tips A to Z](https://interlude.hk/ensemble-tips-a-to-z/): A is for Audition. Have a plan to learn your material and be able to play it any tempo, any dynamic under any circumstance with absolute accuracy, rhythm and expression. Recruit your scariest friends to play through your material in mock auditions. B is for Beat. Always watch the beat....
- [The Talich Quartet: Kalliwoda String Quartets](https://interlude.hk/the-talich-quartet-kalliwoda-string-quartets/): It’s a real treat, in these days of so much being available at the drop of an internet query, to find a recording of music that truly is rare. We heard the other day a recording of Johan Wenzel Kalliwoda’s three string quartets by the Talich Quartet and, in looking...
- [Avi Avital](https://interlude.hk/avi-avital/): A Mandolin in Carnegie Hall? Surely not? But yes, it’s been done, in addition to Wigmore Hall and the Lincoln Center. Israeli-born Avi Avital is on a mission: to make the mandolin as at-home in the concert hall as the violin or piano. No longer the ignored distant cousin of...
- [Skipping Town: Christoph Willibald Gluck](https://interlude.hk/skipping-town-christoph-willibald-gluck/): Christoph Willibald Gluck (1714-1787) was a prodigious musical talent. By age 13—entirely self-thought—he was a proficient vocalist and expert performer on the violin, cello, harpsichord, and the organ. Regrettably, his father, a successful and prosperous forester did not share his son’s interest in music, and young Gluck packed his bags...
- [Bassoon Recital: Zdybel, Katarzyna](https://interlude.hk/bassoon-recital-zdybel-katarzyna/): Jean Francaix: Divertissement for Bassoon and Strings – I. Vivace From Bassoon Recital: Zdybel, Katarzyna (2013) Released by CD Accord / Naxos Jean Francaix: Divertissement for Bassoon and Strings – I. VivaceAlthough many composers value the bassoon’s melodiousness and its ability to create grotesque effects, nevertheless, it does not belong...
- [The Miracles of Salzburg<br/>Maria Plain and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://interlude.hk/the-miracles-of-salzburgmaria-plain-and-wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/): Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Missa Brevis, K. 192 “Credo” Leopold Mozart and his wife Anna Maria Walburga had seven children, of whom only two survived infancy. Being good Catholics and all, they continued to sponsor Holy Masses for their dead children. They believed that paying a priest to celebrate a Mass...
- [Orchestral Foibles A-Z](https://interlude.hk/orchestral-foibles-a-z/): A is for audition. Get used to it. You’ll have to. And accompaniment. That’s what you are—not the soloist! B is for Body odor. None appreciated— even the most expensive perfume. Onstage it’s a no-no. C is for Cough drops. If you have a cough have a pocketful— unwrapped of...
- [Psychoanalysis of a Dysfunctional Family<br/>Richard Strauss: <em>Elektra</em>](https://interlude.hk/psychoanalysis-of-a-dysfunctional-familyrichard-strauss-elektra/): Richard Strauss: Elektra In Greek mythology, Elektra is widely considered the most psychologically advanced Greek tragedy. The Greek dramatist Sophocles constructed a play that centers on the heroine’s obsession to avenge her father’s murder. Elektra lives in hope that her brother Orest would eventually return to slay their murdering mother...
- [In touch with Paul Lewis](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-paul-lewis/): Paul Lewis, protege of the renowned pianist Alfred Brendel, has in some ways followed in his master’s footsteps, making a name for himself performing all 32 of the Beethoven piano sonatas while on tour in the United States and Europe between 2005 and 2007; and then going on to become...
- [The Exceptional Hybrid: Luigi Borgato](https://interlude.hk/the-exceptional-hybrid-luigi-borgato/): The history of musical instruments is full of ingenious ideas that for one reason or another did not enter the commercial mainstream. Take for example the pedal piano, a keyboard instrument featuring an additional pedalboard played with the feet. The idea of attaching a pedalboard to a keyboard originates in...
- [Going down for 15 Years: Henry Cowell](https://interlude.hk/going-down-for-15-years-henry-cowell/): Henry Cowell: Pulse The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation State Prison in San Quentin has numerously featured in fiction, literature, motion pictures, concerts, music videos and more recently, video games. It is the oldest prison in the state of California, opening its doors for business in 1852. It has...
- [Mozart: Keyboard Music, Vols. 5 & 6 (Kristian Bezuidenhout - Fortepiano)](https://interlude.hk/mozart-keyboard-music-vols-5-6-kristian-bezuidenhout-fortepiano/): Mozart: Sonata in C major, K. 309 III. Rondeau: Allegretto grazioso From Mozart: Keyboard Music, Vols. 5 & 6 (Kristian Bezuidenhout – Fortepiano) (2014) Released by Harmonia Mundi Mozart: Sonata in C major, K. 309 – III. Rondeau: Allegretto grazioso“Few players coax as much depth and detail from the fortepiano...
- [The Kronberg Academy](https://interlude.hk/the-kronberg-academy/): Perhaps the most exclusive of all our institutions interviewed so far, the Kronberg Academy is based in Germany, in the small town of Kronberg in Taunus. The size of the town reflects the size of the student body, devoted solely to violinists, violists, and cellists. Raimund Trenkler, the Academy’s President...
- [Masterclass in the morning<br/>Menahem Pressler at Wigmore Hall](https://interlude.hk/masterclass-in-the-morningmenahem-pressler-at-wigmore-hall/): As I stand waiting for the doors to open to the auditorium at Wigmore Hall, I take a moment to glance around the entrance. One of the first things I see, among images of Gerald Finley and Julian Bliss, and a couple of somewhat overindulgent flower arrangements, is a large...
- [Divine Intervention!<br/>Christoph Willibald Gluck and Maria Anna Bergin](https://interlude.hk/divine-interventionchristoph-willibald-gluck-and-maria-anna-bergin/): Christoph Willibald Gluck: Ezio, “Va, ma tremo” He was 36, an internationally acclaimed but impoverished composer of opera. She was 18, daughter of a wealthy merchant and banker, and a member of the circle of ladies in waiting who surrounded Empress Maria Theresa. It is not known how and where...
- [In touch with Menahem Pressler](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-menahem-pressler/): Very few musicians can boast a career as long or distinguished as that of Menahem Pressler. Born in 1923, he fled Nazi Germany in the 30s, and emigrated to Palestine. By the end of the 40s had already made his American debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra. And at the age...
- [The Eccentric Knight<br/>Richard Strauss: <em>Don Quixote op. 35</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-eccentric-knightrichard-strauss-don-quixote-op-35/): Few characters have captured our imagination than Don Quixote, the befuddled knight—a pathetic, aging oddball who dreams of righting the world’s wrongs. The knight is the protagonist of Miguel Cervantes’ novel Don Quixote or ‘The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha’ of 1605, and is considered to be one...
- [Alma Schindler](https://interlude.hk/alma-schindler/): Muse, Femme Fatale, Composer Her admirers described Alma Schindler as pathologically cruel, anti-Semitic, exceedingly vain, prone to excessive drinking, and utterly obsessed by a sense of entitlement that the world owed her something in return for her brilliance and beauty. Really makes you wonder what her enemies had to say...
- [Forster, K.: Vanitas vanitatum / Sonata a 3 (Il Tempo)](https://interlude.hk/forster-k-vanitas-vanitatum-sonata-a-3-il-tempo/): Kaspar Forster: Vanitas vanitatum From Forster, K. : Vanitas vanitatum / Sonata a 3 (Il Tempo) (1999) Released by CD Accord / Naxos Kaspar Forster: Vanitas vanitatumKaspar Förster (1616−1673), of Gdańsk, was a distinguished vocalist and composer of exceptional individuality, who typified a European citizen living within a culturally united...
- [Dream Big!](https://interlude.hk/dream-big/): When we are faced with important decisions in life it feels scary to take a leap and embrace change. When I was in my twenties, I didn’t anticipate that dreaming big and having lofty goals would result in my career falling into place.
- [Lyrical Sax<br/>Alexander Glazunov: <em>Concerto for Alto Saxophone</em>](https://interlude.hk/lyrical-saxalexander-glazunov-concerto-for-alto-saxophone/): The saxophone was a relative latecomer to the family of woodwind instruments. Developed in Paris by Adolphe Sax in the 1840’s, the instrument features a single reed mouthpiece like the clarinet, a conical brass body like the ophicleide—the bass member of the bugle family—and the acoustic properties of both the...
- [Backstage Secrets](https://interlude.hk/backstage-secrets/): “Why don’t you get a new publicity photo to match your new hair color? ” a man said to me immediately after I performed the Elgar Cello Concerto in a Northern Minnesota town. I thought I’d played it pretty well... and yes... A few gray hairs had been sprouting (from...
- [Music, art and literature and the Great War: Part I](https://interlude.hk/music-art-and-literature-and-the-great-war-part-i/): 2013 saw the celebrations of Verdi’s and Wagner’s bicentennials, the centennial of Benjamin Britten’s birth and of Stravinsky’s ‘Rite of Spring’. 2014 marks a more somber centennial — of the outbreak of the Great War following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the presumptive heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and...
- [In touch with Michaël Adda of La Dolce Volta Records<br/>The Art of the Recording](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-michael-adda-of-la-dolce-volta-recordsthe-art-of-the-recording/): We have to admire, in this increasingly digital age, the determination and drive of Michaël Adda of the French label La Dolce Volta. He has created a perfect new label that brings us both the best of the past with the best of the new in his choice of performers...
- [Composers in the Slammer! <br/>Ethel Smyth](https://interlude.hk/composers-in-the-slammer-ethyl-smyth/): We all remember that Johann Sebastian Bach was jailed for overstaying his holiday, and that Beethoven, mistaken for a homeless vagrant, spent a couple of days in the slammer as well. Michael Tippet was arrested for conscientiously objecting to WW2, and Eric Satie spent a week in jail for his...
- [In touch with Bright Sheng](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-bright-sheng-2/): In four years’ time, the Intimacy of Creativity has grown from a university arts project to a widely sought after chance by emerging young composers to come to Hong Kong and get creative with renowned pianist, composer and founder of the IC, Bright Sheng. At the close of the successful...
- [Schubertiade<br/>In Praise of Franz Peter Schubert](https://interlude.hk/schubertiadein-praise-of-franz-peter-schubert/): In the musical world, Moritz von Schwindt is primarily remembered for his famous drawing entitled “Schubertiade. ” The term “Schubertiade” was actually coined by friends of Franz Schubert, and described private and informal musical gathering in the composer’s apartment. In addition to the composer’s participation, these meetings often featured poetry...
- [Berg: Lyric Suite / Schoenberg: Transfigured Night](https://interlude.hk/berg-lyric-suite-schoenberg-transfigured-night/): Schoenberg: Verklärte Nacht op. 4 La Nuit transfigurée / Transfigured Night V. Adagio (molto tranquillo) From Berg: Lyric Suite / Schoenberg: Transfigured Night (2014) Released by Harmonia Mundi Schoenberg: Transfigured Night op. 4The First World War, that crucible of every kind of artistic change, intervened between Berg’s Lyric Suite (1925)...
- [The 2014 Lufthansa Festival](https://interlude.hk/the-2014-lufthansa-festival/): In its 30th year, the 2014 Lufthansa Festival presented a variety of music heard in Britain during the early 18th century under the reign of the Georgian dynasty. There were many favourites on offer, such as Handel’s Coronation Anthems, Ode for the Birthday of Queen Anne and the oratorio Joshua,...
- [Pomp and Circumstance](https://interlude.hk/pomp-and-circumstance/): It’s graduation season and we start to hear music for ceremonies. At my high school graduation, the concert band played a bit of Wagner: ‘Elsa’s Procession to the Cathedral’ from Lohengrin. It was wonderful music, but when you’d repeated it for the millionth time so that all the graduates could...
- [Feats of Social Climbing<br/>Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme](https://interlude.hk/feats-of-social-climbingle-bourgeois-gentilhomme/): Do you imagine that social climbing is a modern day phenomenon? Think again! Here’s a piece that humorously illustrates this societal failing— Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme Op. 60 by Richard Strauss. It was written between 1911 and 1917 and is a favorite of mine to perform. Strauss’ intention was to revive...
- [Richard Strauss: A Composer for All Seasons](https://interlude.hk/richard-strauss-a-composer-for-all-seasons/): Elektra (1909), proved crucial to Strauss’s later development as a composer of opera, since it marked the beginning of his collaboration with the young Viennese poet Hugo von Hofmannsthal. This tale of multiple murder and bitter vengeance is musically and dramatically Strauss’s most successful opera, though clearly not his most...
- [Modern Done Right](https://interlude.hk/modern-done-right/): When you look at the output of composer and conductor Carl Davis, you get a wonderful overview of the many ways that a classical orchestra can take on the pop repertoire. There are orchestral renderings of the music from the James Bond films, of The Beatles’ and Abba’s top hits;...
- [Richard Strauss and his Leading Ladies](https://interlude.hk/richard-strauss-and-his-leading-ladies/): Throughout his life, Richard Strauss surrounded himself with beautiful women!
- [Gorczycki: Missa Rorate coeli / Illuxit sol iustitia / Laetatus sum / Completorium ](https://interlude.hk/gorczycki-missa-rorate-coeli-illuxit-sol-iustitia-laetatus-sum-completorium/): Gorczycki: Illuxit sol iustitia From Gorczycki: Missa Rorate coeli / Illuxit sol iustitia / Laetatus sum / Completorium (2013) Released by CD Accord / Naxos Gorczycki: Illuxit sol iustitiaGrzegorz Gerwazy Gorczycki, arguably the most eminent Polish composer of the late Baroque, is a figure distinguished from others of the period...
- [Music for Obscure Instruments](https://interlude.hk/music-for-obscure-instruments/): We think of instruments as being so well-established (look at any orchestra), that we don’t think about the instruments that were there and are now gone, or have been replaced with something else, or just changed into something else.
- [Quatuor Hermès](https://interlude.hk/quatuor-hermes-2/): This month, our Artists of the Month are the Quatour Hermès, a young string quartet moving from strength to strength. I caught up quickly with Elise Liu, their second fiddle, ahead of their upcoming tour to China.
- [The Supernatural in Music <br/> XII. Gothic Visuals: Musical Horror in the Cinema](https://interlude.hk/the-supernatural-in-music-xii-gothic-visuals-musical-horror-in-the-cinema/): Slowly, behind the heroine, the shadow rises... . the audience shrinks back in their cinema seats, helped with a hearty push from the music, generally starting in the cellos, which signal the terror that awaits. Then the violins take over, strident in their message. The terror in the violins is...
- [Intimacy in Strauss<br/>The Cello Sonata](https://interlude.hk/intimacy-in-straussthe-cello-sonata/): Yo-yo Ma, cello Emanuel Ax, piano Richard Strauss: Cello Sonata in F Major, Op. 6, TrV 115 Richard Strauss was controversial as a person and as a composer, despite being one of the more prominent composers of the 20th Century. “He’d be better off shoveling snow,” said composer Arnold Schoenberg....
- [Monkeying around the Edges](https://interlude.hk/monkeying-around-the-edges/): In the fifteenth century, when manuscript book production really took off, the problem of blank space in the margins had some unique solutions. When these were music books, even the initial letters of songs were decorated.
- [Embodied Sexuality<br/>Georges Bizet: <em>Carmen</em>](https://interlude.hk/embodied-sexualitygeorges-bizet-carmen/): Georges Bizet’s opera Carmen was first produced at the Vienna Opera on 23 October 1875, with an extremely curious Johannes Brahms in the audience. Brahms had been aware of the scandalous Parisian premiere, summarized by a local critic. “Mr. Bizet as is known, belongs to that new sect that believes...
- [‘Spirit, Strength and Sorrow’<br/>Stabat Mater](https://interlude.hk/spirit-strength-and-sorrowstabat-mater/): The image of Jesus on the cross has inspired artists of many kinds for centuries. There are of course many striking paintings of the scene by artists from Veláquez’s Cristo crucificado to Salvador Dali’s Christ of Saint John of the Cross, and musical settings of Jesus’ final moments in Bach’s...
- [Pomp and Circumflex](https://interlude.hk/pomp-and-circumflex/): We’ve looked at English ceremonial music – now let’s cross La Manche and look at French music of the same kind. A king such as King Louis XIV and centrality of the court at Versailles meant that there was the need for ceremonial music to welcome the king and any...
- [Sails in the Harbor<br/>Sydney Opera House](https://interlude.hk/sails-in-the-harborsydney-opera-house/): The Sydney Opera House is easily one of the most iconic and readily recognized performing arts centers in the world. Of course it’s not really a single venue, but a building complex that houses multiple performance spaces. It plays host to roughly 2000 performances, conferences, ceremonies and social functions each...
- [York Bowen: 24 Preludes / Suite Mignonne / Berceuse (Ortiz)](https://interlude.hk/york-bowen-24-preludes-suite-mignonne-berceuse-ortiz/): Bowen: Berceuse in D Major, Op. 83 From York Bowen: 24 Preludes / Suite Mignonne / Berceuse (Ortiz) (2014) Released by Grand Piano / Naxos Bowen: Berceuse in D Major, Op. 83York Bowen was described by Saint-Saëns as ‘the most remarkable of the young British composers’. His 24 Preludes form...
- [In touch with James Conway](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-james-conway/): Amidst much doom and gloom, the UK’s opera scene has quietly flourished into perhaps the country’s most diverse and creative arts sector. As well as regular performances from the Royal Opera House (now offering cheaper seats than ever before), English National Opera, Opera North, Welsh National Opera and Scottish Opera...
- [Richard Strauss and the Rise of Modernity](https://interlude.hk/richard-strauss-and-the-rise-of-modernity/): Six years after the dismal failure of his opera Guntram in Munich, Richard Strauss collaborated with the librettist Ernst von Wolzogen on a project he hoped would exact revenge on the bourgeois provincialism of his hometown. Feuersnot (In need of fire) is based on an old Flemish legend about a...
- [The Supernatural in Music <br/>XI. Black Angels: Electrified Fear](https://interlude.hk/the-supernatural-in-music-xi-black-angels/): The American composer George Crumb took the idea of the classical string quartet and turned into an electric ensemble of darkness. His 1971 work, Black Angels: Thirteen Images from the Dark Land, extended the string quartet by electrifying it, and adding crystal glasses and percussion, all played by the string...
- [In touch with Jorja Fleezanis<br/>Concertmaster and Prophet](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-jorja-fleezanisconcertmaster-and-prophet/): Jorja Fleezanis became one of two female concertmasters in the country when the Minnesota Orchestra recruited her in 1989. After twenty years in that position, the longest tenured concertmaster in the orchestra’s history, she joined the faculty of Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, as Professor of Violin and Orchestral...
- [The Dossier Richard Strauss](https://interlude.hk/the-dossier-richard-strauss/): The Allied initiative to rid German and Austrian society, culture, press, economy, judiciary, and politics of any remnants of National Socialist ideology was launched after the end of the Second World War. The directives of “denazification” identified specific groups and people, and established judicial procedures and guidelines for handling them....
- [An Alpine Symphony<br/> Richard Strauss](https://interlude.hk/an-alpine-symphony-richard-strauss/): Richard Strauss’ Alpine Symphony is seen as one of the peaks of his orchestral writing (oh dear, I’m on the puns already... ). Lasting almost an hour, written for a huge orchestra, it follows the dramatic story of a journey up and down a mountain, encountering everything in between. This...
- [Fazioli: The Ferrari among Pianos](https://interlude.hk/fazioli-the-ferrari-among-pianos/): When I was doing some research on piano makers, I came across a rather interesting statistic. In the first half of the 20th century, 300 piano makers plied their trade in Europe. By December 2013, only 9 makers remain. Like many other things in our modern world, the piano trade...
- [Ciccolini and the Waltz](https://interlude.hk/ciccolini-and-the-waltz/): We heard, the other day, a new disc by Aldo Chiccolini, simply entitled 13 Waltzes and it got us thinking about the waltz. The waltz was one of several similar dances that came out of southern Germany, Bavaria and Austria that had two common features: they were in triple time...
- […les sons et les parfums<br/>Debussy meets Chopin](https://interlude.hk/les-sons-et-les-parfumsdebussy-meets-chopin/): Claude Debussy: La plus que lente (Valse) From ... les sons et les parfumsDebussy meets Chopin (2013) Released by Harmonia Mundi Claude Debussy: La plus que lente (Valse)Chopin and Debussy: two seekers of the absolute who, in their art distilled to the quintessence, succeeded in erasing all traces of their...
- [Classical Modern](https://interlude.hk/classical-modern/): It’s always a surprise when Pop and Classical music overlap. We already looked at Pop singers taking on the Classical repertoire, often with a lamentable result. But, if we look at the influence moving in the other direction, where Pop music takes its cues from Classical works, the result can...
- [The Conquest of Bayreuth<br/>Richard Strauss and Cosima Wagner](https://interlude.hk/the-conquest-of-bayreuthrichard-strauss-and-cosima-wagner/): Richard Strauss first met Francesca Gaetana Cosima Liszt-Bülow Wagner in March 1889. Of all his acquaintances and friendships during this period of his life, this one was to have the most important consequences for his immediate future. Alexander Ritter had introduced Strauss to Wagner’s writings and converted him to the...
- [In touch with The King’s Singers<br/>Kings of A Capella](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-the-kings-singerskings-of-a-capella/): Taking its name from their alma mater King’s College Cambridge, The King’s Singers was officially formed in 1968. It all began with six choral scholars singing six days a week in the college chapel, performing at dinners and balls, as well as reading university degrees. In 1965, they first named...
- [The Supernatural in Music <br/>X. Dance of the Fairies: Mischievous Imps](https://interlude.hk/the-supernatural-in-music-x-dance-of-the-fairies-mischievous-imps/): In the Romantic era, the Fairy was a lovely creature – rarely seen but with sometimes beneficial charms. In no work was Fairy music better expressed than by Mendelssohn in his incidental music for Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. In this play of lovers lost in the woods and the...
- [The Not-So-Grand "Grand Piano"](https://interlude.hk/the-not-so-grand-grand-piano/): With a plot centred on a threat to a concert pianist – ‘Play one wrong note and you die’ – the film ‘Grand Piano’ sounded intriguing. The small but strong cast, starring Elijah Wood and John Cusack, made it seem even more appealing. So I sacrificed my Sunday evening (usually...
- [Central Conservatory of Music, Beijing](https://interlude.hk/central-conservatory-of-music-beijing/): So far in my series on the great music colleges of the world, my conversation has always been with the administration departments. It was refreshing, therefore, to get in touch with a cello professor, Yibing Chu, who teaches at the Central Conservatory of Beijing, to gain a slightly different perspective...
- [Jean-Marie Leclair](https://interlude.hk/jean-marie-leclair/): Murder in the Rue Careme-Prenant In the early morning of 23 October 1764, the violinist and composer Jean-Marie Leclair (1697-1764) was found lying dead in the vestibule of his house in a pool of blood from three vicious stab wounds to his neck. Jacques Paysant the gardener, who quickly became...
- [Gabriel García Márquez and Music](https://interlude.hk/gabriel-garcia-marquez-and-music/): Nobel Prize–winner and Colombian author Gabriel García Márquez died recently and we were looking traces of him in the musical world. His books and stories brought the realism and magic realism of South American literature to the world. He also inspired music of all kinds, from ballet to opera, and...
- [“New ideas must seek new forms”<br/> Richard Strauss and the Tone Poem](https://interlude.hk/new-ideas-must-seek-new-forms-richard-strauss-and-the-tone-poem/): After grooming his conducting career under Hans von Bülow in Meiningen between October 1885 and April 1886, Richard Strauss was offered the post as third conductor at the Munich Hofoper. Before he took up his post in Munich, Strauss — on the recommendations of Johannes Brahms — spent several weeks...
- [Chopin: 19 Polish Songs](https://interlude.hk/chopin-19-polish-songs/): Chopin: 19 Polish Songs – No. 13. Dumkas: Nie ma czego trzeba (There is no need) From Chopin: 19 Polish Songs (1999) Released by CD Accord/Naxos Chopin: 19 Polish Songs – No. 13. Dumkas: Nie ma czego trzeba (There is no need)Vocal compositions requiring from the artist a competence in...
- [Pop to Classical](https://interlude.hk/pop-to-classical/): In 1950, singer Theresa Brewer had a top 10 hit with ‘Music! Music! Music! ,’ also known as ‘Put Another Nickel In’ and for one classical composer the song was so prevalent and so annoying that he turned into a piece that he could listen to.
- [Which musical instrument is a good fit for your child?](https://interlude.hk/which-musical-instrument-is-a-good-fit-for-your-child/): Nowadays, children are expected to start all sorts of extra-curricular activities even before they can utter ‘ma-ma’ and ‘da-da’. If you haven’t got your act together yet, fret not. Here is a guide to helping you choose the right instrument for your child. Don’t delay though: if you have a...
- [The musical Conversion<br/>Richard Strauss and Alexander Ritter](https://interlude.hk/the-musical-conversionrichard-strauss-and-alexander-ritter/): There can be no doubt that Lotti Speyer had seriously enflamed the romantic passions of the young Richard Strauss. After a short ten days at the little spa of Heilbrunn, however, the two lovebirds had to return to their respective and separate routines of everyday living. In a number of...
- [The Supernatural in Music <br/>IX. Witches Sabbath: The Symphonie Fantastique](https://interlude.hk/the-supernatural-in-music-ix-witches-sabbath-the-symphonie-fantastique/): The murderous composer lies abed, dreaming fevered dreams about the love that he lost and the evils that he did... . or was it all just an opium-induced nightmare? In his 1830 work, the French composer Hector Berlioz wrote a symphony that broke all the strict of the symphony. He...
- [Nature’s Song](https://interlude.hk/natures-song/): Mozart’s Divertimento K522 (also nicknamed ‘A Musical Joke’) is said to be inspired from his pet bird, a starling. The awkwardness of the piece is said to mimic the way starlings whistle off-key. Likewise, Beethoven’s Sixth Symphony incorporates the song of a yellowhammer followed by a quail and a cuckoo’s....
- [Friday the 13th<br/>Arnold Schoenberg and Triskaidekaphobia](https://interlude.hk/friday-the-13tharnold-schoenberg-and-triskaidekaphobia/): Just the mention of Arnold Schoenberg strikes fear in the hearts and ears of most listeners. But can you guess what struck the fear of god into Arnold Schoenberg? Somewhat ironically, the composer experienced a paralyzing fear of the number 13, a condition which is known in medical circles as...
- [Shostakovich/Schubert – Rothko/Schiele: Music and Art](https://interlude.hk/shostakovichschubert-rothkoschiele-music-and-art/): A recent concert by the distinguished Emerson String Quartet (Eugene Drucker, violin; Philip Setzer, violin; Lawrence Dutton, viola; Paul Watkins, cello) at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D. C. paired Dmitri Shostakovich’s String Quartet No. 15 in E-flat minor, Op. 144 (1974) with Franz Schubert’s Quartet in D-minor, D. 810...
- [Walking With Art and an Orchestra](https://interlude.hk/walking-with-art-and-an-orchestra/): We’ve already looked at Modest Mussorgsky’s creation for piano, Pictures at an Exhibition. This best-known of Mussorgsky’s works had an afterlife as an orchestral work that has resulted in dozens of orchestrations. There are also arrangements for other performing forces including piano trio, organ, string sextet, jazz trio, rock band,...
- [In touch with Pablo Heras-Casado](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-pablo-heras-casado/): An engaging interpreter of baroque and contemporary music as well as of the mainstream symphonic repertoire, Spanish conductor Pablo Heras-Casado maintains a busy schedule in the concert hall, opera house and recording studio. He holds the position of Principal Conductor with the Orchestra of St Luke’s in New York and...
- [Expressive Virtuosity<br/>Carl Maria von Weber: <em>Clarinet Concerto No. 1</em> in F minor, Op. 73](https://interlude.hk/expressive-virtuositycarl-maria-von-weber-clarinet-concerto-no-1-in-f-minor-op-73/): Carl Maria von Weber : Clarinet Concerto No. 1 in F Minor, Op. 73, J. 114 The comparatively late addition of the clarinet family to our modern catalogue of musical instruments at the turn of the 18th-century immediately spawned countless generations of woodwind virtuosi. Concordant with the rise of the...
- [Babadjanian: Piano Solo Works ](https://interlude.hk/babadjanian-piano-solo-works/): Babadjanian: Polyphonic Sonata – II Fugue From Babadjanian: Piano Solo Works (2014) Released by Grand Piano/Naxos Babadjanian: Polyphonic Sonata – II FugueOne of the former Soviet Union’s leading composers and a member of the so-called Armenian ‘Mighty Handful’, Arno Babadjanian was admired by musicians of the stature of Shostakovich, Khachaturian,...
- [Bringing Colour to Music](https://interlude.hk/bringing-colour-to-music/): Mitrofan Petrovich Belaieff (1839-1904) was a music publisher in Imperial Russia but made his money in the wood industry. Despite inheriting his father’s business and being successful in it for some 30 years, his heart was really with music. He could play the violin, viola and the piano and, through...
- [Lufthansa Festival](https://interlude.hk/lufthansa-festival/): In May, a corner of London just south-east of Victoria Station will spend a week ringing to the sound of some of the world’s finest baroque musicians. The Lufthansa Festival celebrates its 30th birthday this year, and there are other historical landmarks to be recognised too – it is the...
- [Come Holy Spirit!<br/>Music for Pentecost](https://interlude.hk/come-holy-spiritmusic-for-pentecost/): 50 days after the Resurrection of Christ, the Holy Ghost descended upon the Apostles. The biblical narrative states, “And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like...
- [The Supernatural in Music <br/>VIII. The Voice of Fear: Touched by the King of the Elves](https://interlude.hk/the-supernatural-in-music-viii-the-voice-of-fear-touched-by-the-king-of-the-elves/): In the Romantic era, as we’ve seen with in earlier articles (VI. Possessed by the Demon & VII. The Wolf’s Glen), there was a fascination with other worldly things – demons and sprites, ghosts and devils. Since this was part of the poetry as well, we also find these being...
- [Tours of Duty – Musically Speaking](https://interlude.hk/tours-of-duty-musically-speaking/): Orchestra “Tours of Duty” to venues across the globe results in memorable concerts and quirky tales. I remember a Florida tour in February — who wouldn’t be pleased about that? First we performed in Carnegie Hall, in New York. After the performance we moved quickly to pack up our instrument...
- [Music Therapy II](https://interlude.hk/music-therapy-ii/): Following my introduction to music therapy, I wanted a bit more detail, about what goes on in a typical session. I also wanted to figure out how people found their way to a music therapist – not literally, of course, although my embarrassingly poor sense of direction did make finding...
- [In touch with Dennis O’Neill](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-dennis-oneill/): One of the world’s most well-loved and experienced singers, Welsh tenor Dennis O’Neill has been performing to audiences across the world for over 30 years. A celebrated exponent of Italian opera, especially Verdi, he is closely associated with many opera houses, especially the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Alongside his...
- [Emmanuelle Haïm](https://interlude.hk/emmanuelle-haim/): French harpsichordist and conductor Emmanuelle Haïm is one of today’s most celebrated interpreters of Baroque music. After a decade performing as a harpsichordist with William Christie and Les Arts Florissants, she began her career as a conductor with the ensemble she founded in 2000, Le Concert d’Astrée, with whom she...
- [Hearing a New Sound](https://interlude.hk/hearing-a-new-sound/): Often, it’s an unending bad succession of indifferent performances that will make you move music from ‘love to listen to’ over to the ‘never again’ list. Or, it’s the overuse of a work that makes you not want to listen to it again. Think of how many times you’ve been...
- [Notre-Dame de Paris--Our Lady of Paris<br/>The Cradle of modern Western Music](https://interlude.hk/notre-dame-de-paris-our-lady-of-paristhe-cradle-of-modern-western-music/): Notre-Dame de Paris is the most famous Gothic Cathedral of the Middle Ages. Construction began in 1163 and had to overcome a number of architectural concerns. The popular Gothic building style called for higher and thinner walls. As the walls reached greater heights, stress fractures began to appear and the...
- [Marching with John Philip Sousa](https://interlude.hk/marching-with-john/): Ah, there’s nothing like a march. It’s perfect for parades, for getting small children in order, or even for vacuuming the house – there’s a strong beat, hummable tunes, and they’re designed to get your attention and get you moving.
- [In touch with Desirée Rancatore](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-desiree-rancatore/): Italian soprano Desirée Rancatore is one of the most exciting singers of our time. A leading exponent of the Italian operatic tradition, she maintains a busy schedule at opera houses in her native country and in cities such as Paris, London, Zurich, Madrid and Vienna. We got in touch with...
- [Dimitri Shostakovich - Sonata No. 2 and 24 Preludes](https://interlude.hk/dimitri-shostakovich-sonata-no-2-24-preludes/): Shostakovich: Preludes op. 34 – V. Allegro vivace From Dimitri Shostakovich – Sonata No. 2 and 24 Preludes Released by Outhere Music Shostakovich: Preludes op. 34 – V. Allegro vivaceRecorded in Flagey’s unsurpassable Studio N4 in Brussels, here’s the first CD of the new Music Chapel collection in Fuga Libera’s...
- [Introduction to Music Therapy](https://interlude.hk/introduction-to-music-therapy/): The topic of music therapy is, to put it gently, mind boggling. When I began to undertake a couple of articles on music therapy, I thought... I didn’t know what to think, actually. Music therapy was always one of those things that I knew of, but didn’t really know anything...
- [Antonio Stradivari<br/>Modern Violin Beats Stradivarius in a Blind Test](https://interlude.hk/antonio-stradivarimodern-violin-beats-stradivarius-in-a-blind-test/): The scholarly paper “Player preferences among new and old violins,” published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in January 2012, shook the foundations of one of the longest held beliefs in Classical music. In this study, judges and participants at the 2010 International Violin Competition of Indianapolis...
- [The Supernatural in Music<br/>VII. The Wolf’s Glen: The Supernatural Opera ](https://interlude.hk/the-supernatural-in-musicvii-the-wolfs-glen-the-supernatural-opera/): What could be more ideal for showing the supernatural world than opera? The most famous supernatural scene in opera occurs in Weber’s Der Freischütz. The opera, known in English as ‘The Marksman,’ is about a poor woodsman, Max, who, in order to win the hand of his beloved Agathe, must...
- [Famous Father, Famous Son!<br/>Franz and Richard Strauss](https://interlude.hk/famous-father-famous-sonfranz-and-richard-strauss/): Famous musical sons frequently have famous musical fathers. And Richard Strauss is no exception. In his day, his father Franz was recognized as an important artistic personality. Foremost, he became a celebrated horn virtuoso, by “breathing soul into the unthankful instrument. ” Even Richard Wagner, against whom the musically conservative...
- [Kissin’ Kissin](https://interlude.hk/kissin-kissin/): A few nights ago, Hong Kongers greeted the return of the prodigious Russian pianist, Evgeny Kissin, with pure rapture. It has been three years since his last visit, but music-lovers here have not at all forgotten about him. The fact that people queued at box offices is evidence that he...
- [Barker on the Bass](https://interlude.hk/barker-on-the-bass/): Yannatos: Variations In our earlier talk with bassist Ed Barker, we focused solely on his return to China with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, 35 years after his first visit to China with the orchestra In 1979. Our conversation continued, discussing his instrument, the double bass, and its recent rise in...
- [Glioblastoma Multiforme and George Gershwin<br/>How the medical community got it deadly wrong!](https://interlude.hk/glioblastoma-multiforme-and-george-gershwinhow-the-medical-community-got-it-deadly-wrong/): In 1937 George Gershwin was at the top of his game. His Rhapsody in Blue (1924), An American in Paris (1928) and his opera Porgy and Bess (1935) had established him as one of the most prolific and talented composers of his generation. In January of that year, Gershwin was...
- [A day in the life of Perugia… Part II<br/>Music Fest Perugia](https://interlude.hk/a-day-in-the-life-of-perugia-part-iimusic-fest-perugia/): After having talked with the Artistic and Executive Directors of Music Fest Perugia, Ilana Vered and Peter Hermes, I decided to see how the festival fared in the eyes of some of its young participants. Nathan Lee and Vanessa Haynes, aged 12 and 17 respectively and both based in the...
- [Four Friends](https://interlude.hk/four-friends/): In all of classical music, there’s nothing quite as wonderful as a string quartet. Four voices but which produce a world of sound. In a letter to the composer C. F. Zelter in late 1829, Goethe described a string quartet as “Four rational people conversing. ” And, as the audience,...
- [In touch with Ilari Kaila](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-ilari-kaila/): Hailed as “the city’s most innovative music experience” by the Financial Times, the Intimacy of Creativity, founded by Chinese-American composer Bright Sheng, begins its fourth cycle this April, to bring together internationally acclaimed performers and composers for creative dialogue and music-making. For four years straight, the project has aimed to...
- [Red Roses!<br/> Richard Strauss and Lotti Speyer](https://interlude.hk/red-rosesrichard-strauss-and-lotti-speyer/): During the summer of 1883, the nineteen-year-old Richard Strauss (1864-1949) spent a short ten-day holiday at the little spa of Heilbrunn. Located between Bad Tölz and the Kochelsee in Bavaria, the natural thermal springs and forested rolling hills had long attracted visitors from all parts of Europe. Strauss unexpectedly made...
- [In touch with Andy Akiho](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-andy-akiho/): Composer Andy Akiho did not grow up with classical music training. If you had asked him what a string quartet was a few years ago, “I would have told you violin, viola, cello and bass. I wouldn’t have known it was two violins, viola and cello,” he said. “If I...
- [André Campra - Messe de Requiem](https://interlude.hk/andre-campra-messe-de-requiem/): André Campra: Sanctus From André Campra – Messe de Requiem (2013) Released by Harmonia Mundi André Campra: SanctusCampra: the missing link between Lully and Rameau? A rather simplistic view that meant this native of Aix-en-Provence was long excluded from the canon of ‘great names’ of French music, as if his...
- [Are you playing, <em>still</em>?](https://interlude.hk/are-you-playing-still/): When I was a young cello student, I was reprimanded for moving too much when I played. My teachers would say, “Don’t beat your foot! Don’t wiggle! It’s too distracting. ” I just couldn’t play a Brahms Cello Sonata without moving, let alone a Beethoven Symphony! Later in my career,...
- [The Supernatural in Music <br/>VI Possessed by the Demon: Exposed Virtuosity](https://interlude.hk/the-supernatural-in-music-vi-possessed-by-the-demon-exposed-virtuosity/): Performers with extraordinary talent were often accused of having made a pact with the devil to achieve their seemingly un-human abilities. We’ve already seen the temptation of Tartini. This accusation has been levelled against performers from violinist Nicolò Paganini in the 18th century to guitarist Robert Johnson in the 20th...
- [How Czech is Czech?<br/>Antonin Dvořák: <em>Symphony No. 6</em> in D major, Op. 60](https://interlude.hk/how-czech-is-czechantonin-dvorak-symphony-no-6-in-d-major-op-60/): Like practically every composer working in the nineteenth century — regardless of their origin or nationality — Antonin Dvořák (1841-1904) was profoundly nationalist in many respects. In fact, he was expressively patriotic regarding Czech rights within the German dominated Habsburg Empire, and a number of his vocal and programmatic works...
- [The International Maria Callas Grand Prix](https://interlude.hk/the-international-maria-callas-grand-prix/): The 38th International Maria Callas Grand Prix will take place in Athens this autumn after a two-year hiatus brought about by the economic and political difficulties in Greece. The competition started life in 1975, immediately after the restoration of democracy to the country. Initially known as the International Music Competition...
- [Pietro Antonio Locatelli](https://interlude.hk/pietro-antonio-locatelli/): The Paganini of the 18th CenturyThe violinist Pietro Antonio Locatelli (1695-1764) was widely known as the “Paganini of the eighteenth century. ” As a performer Locatelli systematically explored the uncharted regions of the instrument, including left-hand extensions, double and triple stops, polyphonic passages and double trills. Above all, however, he...
- [Walking Around Art <br/>Modest Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition](https://interlude.hk/walking-around-art/): Modest Mussorgsky’s piano work Pictures at an Exhibition take us on a tour around an art gallery of the work of the Russian artist and architect Viktor Hartmann. The seemingly passive title might be clearer if we look at the full title from the Russian: Картинки с выставки – Воспоминание...
- [Carreño: Rêverie - Selected Music for Piano](https://interlude.hk/carreno-reverie-selected-music-for-piano/): Carreño: Souvenirs de mon pays, Op. 10 From Carreño: Rêverie – Selected Music for Piano (2013) Released by Naxos / Grand Piano Carreño: Souvenirs de mon pays, Op. 10 The Venezuelan pianist Teresa Carreño was one of the most virtuosic artists of her age. A child prodigy, she won the...
- [“Crème de Menthe Variations”](https://interlude.hk/creme-de-menthe-variationssergei-rachmaninoff-rhapsody-on-a-theme-of-paganini/): Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini Contemporary young composers of classical music are frequently taken to task for placing marketability and profit orientation above artistic integrity and compositional skill. In reality, however, placing the emphasis on the profitability of a given composition is not really a 21st century phenomenon...
- [Visions of Arcadia in Music, Art and Literature III](https://interlude.hk/visions-of-arcadia-in-music-art-and-literature-iii/): In Germany, in the early years of the 20th century, with rapid industrialization and growing urban populations, we see a return to, and a longing for, the simpler past of rural life, in opposition to the fast-paced life of the cities. As discussed in my previous article, in the last...
- [The Supernatural in Music <br/>V Tartini and the Devil’s Trill](https://interlude.hk/the-supernatural-in-music-v-tartini-and-the-devils-trill/): Giuseppe Tartini (1692–1770) took the already-lurid reputation of the violin and painted it with the colours of the dark side. Tartini was among the leading violinist/composers of his time and was based in Padua, Italy, where he founded an internationally famous school of violin playing. We remember him today for...
- [Leo Marillier](https://interlude.hk/leo-marillier/): Leo Marillier is one of today’s most exciting young violinists. An active soloist, chamber musician and recording artist, he currently combines his busy schedule with study at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. We got in touch with him to ask him about his life in music so...
- [Lullistes et Ramoneurs!<br/>The debate surrounding French opera](https://interlude.hk/lullistes-et-ramoneursthe-debate-surrounding-french-opera/): Although Jean-Philippe Rameau had established a solid reputation as a teacher, organist and theorists, his musical fortune rested squarely on the shoulders of Alexandre-Jean-Joseph Le Riche de la Pouplinière. A leading patron of music in France, La Pouplinière was fabulously wealthy and maintained various residences in Paris, and also owned...
- [In touch with Janko Vasiljevic](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-janko-vasiljevic/): “If we look back at the Great Masters they were all like Swiss Army knives,” said Vasiljevic. “They were all-in-one: they played many instruments, they composed, conducted, improvised. ” In one sentence, the Serbian composer perfectly summed up the inspiration behind the Intimacy of Creativity, founded in 2011 by Chinese-American...
- [In touch with Vladimir Ashkenazy<br/>“I Believe in Destiny”](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-vladimir-ashkenazyi-believe-in-destiny/): Vladimir Ashkenazy has it all. He won prizes in three major piano competitions – Chopin, Queen Elizabeth and Tchaikovsky. He recorded the complete piano works by Rachmaninov, Chopin and Schumann; the complete sonatas by Beethoven, Scriabin; the complete piano concertos by Beethoven and Rachmaninov. And the list goes on. However,...
- [A day in the life of Perugia… Part I<br/>Music Fest Perugia](https://interlude.hk/a-day-in-the-life-of-perugia-part-imusic-fest-perugia/): Opportunities for young performers abound at festivals and competitions, both at home and abroad. Upon learning I’d be interviewing two of the key organisers of Music Fest Perugia, my heart sank. A month in the heart of Italy, in a sun-drenched historic town, immersing yourself in music and culture... why...
- [A Musical Kaleidoscope – Inspiring the Younger Generation](https://interlude.hk/a-musical-kaleidoscope-inspiring-the-younger-generation/): For much of the younger generation, the words ‘classical music’ mean boredom or even resentment. In an attempt to shake off this negative image, I dig deep to find refreshing faces of classical music that will hopefully reach out and speak to the next generation.
- [Music for Easter](https://interlude.hk/music-for-easter/): The festival of Easter — a holiday celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ — is of central importance to the Christian faith. It is the culmination of the Passion of Christ, which commemorates the Last Supper, as well as the crucifixion and death of Jesus. Given its theological importance, it...
- [Maestro Skrowaczewski: <br/>Seeking the Infinite and Sto Lat! (Happy Birthday)](https://interlude.hk/maestro-skrowaczewski-seeking-the-infinite-and-sto-lat-happy-birthday/): Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, or “Stan the Man” as we in Minnesota affectionately call him, has the distinction of being the oldest major conductor working today. He is also a Pulitzer Prize nominee for his highly regarded compositions. Recently the music communities of Japan and Minnesota expressed their deepest gratitude and appreciation...
- [Schulhoff: Piano Works Vol. 2-5](https://interlude.hk/schulhoff-piano-works-vol-2-5/): Schulhoff: Esquisses de jazz No 3 Tango From Schulhoff Piano Works Vol. 2-5 (2013) Released by Naxos / Grand Piano Schulhoff: Esquisses de jazz – No 3 TangoCzech composer Erwin Schulhoff assimilated the influence of jazz with genuinely distinctive results. The Fünf Pittoreskenabsorb both Dada and Scott Joplin whilst more...
- [The Isaac Newton of Music<br/>Rameau and his Treatise on Harmony](https://interlude.hk/the-isaac-newton-of-musicrameau-and-his-treatise-on-harmony/): Jean-Philippe Rameau: Dardanus “Overture” Jean-Philippe Rameau was deeply in love with Marie-Louise Mangot. She must have been a remarkably charming, and extremely pretty 19-year old maiden. After all, a 42-year old bachelor does not give up his solitude all that easy. Given Rameau’s somewhat advanced age, it is hardly surprising...
- [The Supernatural in Music <br/>IV Vanity of Vanities](https://interlude.hk/the-supernatural-in-music-iv-vanity-of-vanities/): In the Flemish 16th century, a new style of painting became popular: Vanity Paintings. Unlike today’s ‘vanity publishing,’ where you pay to have your immortal work put into print, Vanitas Paintings were about a deadly sin.
- [In touch with Lorin Maazel](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-lorin-maazel/): In anticipation of the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s visit to China in May, we caught up with Maestro Lorin Maazel and asked him a few questions about his work in China and repertoire for touring orchestras.
- [In touch with Ed Barker<br/>Returning to China](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-ed-barkerreturning-to-china/): In 1979, the Boston Symphony Orchestra became the first western orchestra to tour China, following the opening of the country to the West. The date is important, when you consider that 1978 marked the reopening of the Chinese conservatories and that there was a great deal of repressed musical experiences...
- [Death Penalty for Smoking!](https://interlude.hk/death-penalty-for-smoking/): By now, even the dimmest bulbs on the planet know that smoking is bad for your health. And we also know that exposure to passive smoking, also identified as “second-hand smoke” or “environmental tobacco smoke” causes disease, disability, and death. Maybe that’s why Anton Webern, hoping not to disturb his...
- [In touch with Joseph Hallman](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-joseph-hallman/): Hailed as “the city’s most innovative music experience” by the Financial Times, the Intimacy of Creativity, founded by Chinese-American composer Bright Sheng, begins its fourth cycle this April, to bring together internationally acclaimed performers and composers for creative dialogue and music-making. For four years straight, the project has aimed to...
- [Mozart, Beethoven & Schubert recital](https://interlude.hk/mozart-beethoven-schubert-recital/): Schubert: Sonata in B flat major, D960 IV. Allegro ma non troppo – Presto From Mozart, Beethoven & Schubert recital (2013) Released by Semaphore Schubert: Sonata in B flat major, D960 – IV. Allegro ma non troppo – PrestoDiscover Sarah Beth Briggs and her latest recording of Beethoven, Mozart and...
- [Spies and Music](https://interlude.hk/spies-and-music/): With all the news these days of computer spies, we’d thought we’d look at the historical problem of musical spies. We don’t mean stealing composers’ musical ideas, but the ways in which, over the centuries, music and composers have entered the realm of espionage. The first thing we have to...
- [The Supernatural in Music <br/>III. Dies Irae: The Dance of Death](https://interlude.hk/the-supernatural-in-music-iii-dies-irae-the-dance-of-death/): The ‘Dies Irae’ (Day of Wrath) was a poem written to be used in the Requiem Mass of the Roman Catholic Church and comes from a Latin hymn dating from the thirteenth century. As you say the Latin aloud, you can hear that it’s very emphatic – 8 syllables per...
- [I Want to Be in America](https://interlude.hk/i-want-to-be-in-america/): One of the most interesting songs about the United States comes in the voice of embattled immigrants, the Puerto Ricans who inhabit Leonard Bernstein’s 1957 musical West Side Story. The song ‘America,’ in the original Broadway production, contrasts an idealized vision of ‘home,’ i. e. , Puerto Rico (a lovely...
- [In touch with Melody Eötvös](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-melody-eotvos/): Hailed as “the city’s most innovative music experience” by the Financial Times, the Intimacy of Creativity, founded by Chinese-American composer Bright Sheng, begins its fourth cycle this April, to bring together internationally acclaimed performers and composers for creative dialogue and music-making. For four years straight, the project has aimed to...
- [What If You Had 12 Trumpets?<br/>Leoš Janáček <em>Sinfonietta</em>](https://interlude.hk/what-if-you-had-12-trumpetsleos-janacek-sinfonietta/): What if you had not 2 or 3 trumpets, the normal complement for an orchestra, but 12 trumpets? Well, then you’d write the Sinfonietta. The Sinfonietta, completed in 1926, was the last orchestral work by Czech composer Leoš Janáček. Now 12 trumpets is a lot of brass power – why...
- [Sinking into the Pasture<br/>Concertgebouw Amsterdam](https://interlude.hk/sinking-into-the-pastureconcertgebouw-amsterdam/): The Royal Concertgebouw concert hall in Amsterdam is one of the finest performing venues in the world. At the time of construction, which started in 1883 in a pasture outside the city limits, the science of acoustics was not yet fully understood. Architect Dolf van Gendt, considered by his family...
- [The Piano Has the Last Word](https://interlude.hk/the-piano-has-the-last-word/): Before Schubert and Schumann, the role of the piano in lied performances was just as a general support – the vocal line was the star and the piano the nearly invisible support. With Schubert, the ultimate lieder composer, and Schumann, the ultra-romantic, the piano began to take a different role...
- [Beethoven: Christ on the Mount of Olives](https://interlude.hk/beethoven-christ-on-the-mount-of-olives/): Chor der Krieger, Chor der Jünger Hier ist er, der Verbannte From Beethoven: Christ on the Mount of Olives (2013) Released by Harmonia Mundi Beethoven: Chor der Krieger, Chor der Jünger – Hier ist er, der Verbannte In his only Oratorio, Christ on the Mount of Olives, Beethoven depicts the...
- [Don’t pop that zit!<br/>Alexander Scriabin’s undoing](https://interlude.hk/dont-pop-that-zitalexander-scriabins-undoing/): Alexander Scriabin: Mysterium Acne is an annoying and often embarrassing skin disease that frequently plunges the teenage world into turmoil. If we can trust medical advice, one should never pick, gouge, pop, scratch or squeeze the infected skin as this might easily result in acne scarring. Too bad Alexander Scriabin’s...
- [The Supernatural in Music <br/>II. Medieval Occultism: Defeating the Devil](https://interlude.hk/the-supernatural-in-music-ii-medieval-occultism-defeating-the-devil/): One of the famous stories of demonic possession cured by music was David playing his harp to sooth King Saul (I Samuel). Although this is taken in modern times as the first instance of music therapy for the treatment of madness, we look at it as representing the power of...
- [Johann Friedrich Reichardt](https://interlude.hk/johann-friedrich-reichardt/): The joys of Civil Service! If you really think that being a composer in the 18th and 19th centuries was an easy way to make a living, just ask Johann Friedrich Reichardt (1752-1814). Born into a highly musical family in Königsberg, then the capital of East Prussia, Johann was an...
- [The Enlightened Revolutionary <br/>Jean-Philippe Rameau](https://interlude.hk/the-enlightened-revolutionary-jean-philippe-rameau/): Voltaire rightfully called Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683-1764) “le premier musicien de France. ” Simultaneously looking backward and forward over French musical history, Rameau’s compositions uniquely capture the spirit of the Enlightenment. In all, Rameau published four books of keyboard music. The collections of 1706 and 1724 presents conventional 17th century dance...
- [Trains in a Classical Mode](https://interlude.hk/trains-in-a-classical-mode/): Trains provide a nice rhythmic basis for music – the old chuga-chuga sound of a steam train might be replaced now with the smooth humming of electrics, but we can find music where the train meets the tracks.
- [The rise and rise of the countertenor Part II](https://interlude.hk/the-rise-and-rise-of-the-countertenor-part-ii/): At the end of Part 1 of this article, the countertenor voice was in a sorry state. Gone were the days of the star castrati, Farinelli and Senesino; the changing philosophical landscape of the Enlightenment had allowed the female voice to dominate the opera house. Composers of both opera and...
- [From Solemnity to Paganism<br/>Rimsky-Korsakov: <em>Russian Easter Festival Overture</em>](https://interlude.hk/from-solemnity-to-paganismrimsky-korsakov-russian-easter-festival-overture/): Franz Liszt famously proclaimed that instrumental music attempting to communicate or carry meanings, messages or concepts that originate from outside music itself, do need to carry a narrative or descriptive program in order to be understood. This program, essentially a preface or title to a piece of instrumental music, directs...
- [György Sebők – Pianist, Artist, Alchemist](https://interlude.hk/gyorgy-sebok-pianist-artist-alchemist/): Have you ever had a teacher who was a great musician, mystic, mentor, statesman and alchemist all at once? Pianist, György Sebők was such a man. When I first met him at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana in the late 1970’s he was already a legend. Little did I know...
- [Robert Schumann : Drei Romanzen op. 28 – Sonata, op. 11 – Kinderszenen, op. 15](https://interlude.hk/robert-schumann-drei-romanzen-op-28-sonata-op-11-kinderszenen-op-15/): Sonata op. 11 in f sharp minor II. Aria From Robert Schumann : Drei Romanzen op. 28 – Sonata, op. 11 – Kinderszenen, op. 15 Released by Outhere Music Schumann: Sonata op. 11 in f sharp minor – II. AriaThe first cd of the Queen Elisabeth College of Music collection...
- [Pipe Dreams<br/>The instruments of Gottfried Silbermann](https://interlude.hk/pipe-dreamsthe-instruments-of-gottfried-silbermann/): Are you ready for your monthly instrument quiz? I think you’re going to like this one! Here it goes. What instruments did Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart have in mind when he wrote, “These instruments are magnificent beyond measure? ” And in case you need a bit more help, Johann Sebastian Bach...
- [Musicals and Opera: Long-lost Siblings?](https://interlude.hk/musicals-and-opera-long-lost-siblings/): The statures of musicals and operas seem worlds apart – opera’s for the snobs, musicals are for the masses, right? This is, thankfully, becoming more and more of a hackneyed stereotype, untrue of the current situation. Opera companies are trying harder and harder to broaden their appeal – and (hopefully)...
- [The Supernatural in Music <br/>I. The Interval of the Devil: Basic Musical Elements](https://interlude.hk/the-supernatural-in-music-i-the-interval-of-the-devil-basic-musical-elements/): The Devil is incarnate in music! Or so the medieval musicians believed as they worked to develop the basics of sound. Some pitches, when sounded together, just seemed to make an organ howl, hence they were known as wolf tones. As the tuning systems were gradually brought into control –...
- [Extreme Privacy<br/>Jean-Philippe Rameau and Marie-Louise Mangot](https://interlude.hk/extreme-privacyjean-philippe-rameau-and-marie-louise-mangot/): Jean-Philippe Rameau: Hippolyte et Aricie, “Ou suis-je? ” Jean-Philippe Rameau was extremely tall and thin, “more like a ghost than a man. ” He had a sharp chin, no stomach, flutes for legs and his eagle profile was aesthetically so attractive that hardly any portraits show him full face. His...
- [Representation of the Supernatural in Music](https://interlude.hk/representation-of-the-supernatural-in-music/): From the very beginnings of human memory, witches, ghouls, ghosts and goblins have played a highly significant role in the formation and continuance of stories that have attempted an explanation of natural phenomena and inexplicable cultural conventions.
- [Visions of Arcadia in Music, Art and Literature II](https://interlude.hk/visions-of-arcadia-in-music-art-and-literature-ii/): In my last article, ‘Visions of Arcadia in Music, Art and Literature I’, I focused on the Arcadian theme in the classical period. Today I will concentrate on its continuation in the 19th century — with the music of Jacques Offenbach and Claude Debussy, the paintings of Paul Cézanne and...
- [In touch with Michael Thomas Foumai](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-michael-thomas-foumai/): Hailed as “the city’s most innovative music experience” by the Financial Times, the Intimacy of Creativity, founded by Chinese-American composer Bright Sheng, begins its fourth cycle this April, to bring together internationally acclaimed performers and composers for creative dialogue and music-making. For four years straight, the project has aimed to...
- [The Mozart of the Future?](https://interlude.hk/the-mozart-of-the-future/): Doing research on many composers (well, actually, anything) often starts with a quick Google search, which inevitably leads to a quick scan of Wikipedia. Oh come on, don’t pretend you don’t do it... Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: A ‘prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. ’ Ludwig van Beethoven: ‘One...
- [Music for the Ides of March](https://interlude.hk/music-for-the-ides-of-march/): Kobayashi Issa beautifully captured the change of season and the idea of rejuvenation and renewal in his spring haiku: Spring breeze— the pine on the ridge whispers it
- [In touch with Veritas Vos](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-veritas-vos/): We sat quietly in a dark room, silent except for the slight hum from the air-conditioners. “Let’s listen,” we were instructed.
- [Sean Chen, Crystal Award, 14th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition](https://interlude.hk/sean-chen-crystal-award-14th-van-cliburn-international-piano-competition/): Béla Bartók Three Etudes Op. 18 I. Allegro molto From Sean Chen, Crystal Award, 14th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition (2013) Released by Harmonia Mundi Bartók: Three Etudes Op. 18 – I. Allegro moltoAn amazing recording by Sean Chen, “An artist with something to say” (Cincinnati Enquirer). Sean Chen is...
- [Music for Lent](https://interlude.hk/music-for-lent/): Ash Wednesday on March 5th marks the beginning of the Christian period of Lent. An annual period of self-examination and meditation in preparation for Easter, Lent is also a time when many people try to give up something, like chocolate or beer or such like, to reflect Jesus’ time in...
- [The rise and rise of the countertenor I](https://interlude.hk/the-rise-and-rise-of-the-countertenor-i/): Strange though it may seem, we may be in the middle of a rebirth of the countertenor voice in our popular consciousness. For a long time, from the time of Mozart until the mid-20th century, the sound of the high male voice was essentially absent from Western musical culture, a...
- [Sanctity, Salvation and a Swan!<br/>Richard Wagner <em>Lohengrin </em>](https://interlude.hk/sanctity-salvation-and-a-swanrichard-wagner-lohengrin/): Richard Wagner was never shy to freely give his advice and opinions on god, himself and the world, no matter if you wanted them or not. On occasion, he personally swung into action and physically defended his convictions. In 1848, the year of political upheavals throughout Europe, Wagner got involved...
- [Bashing the Boo and Charming the Clouds<br/>The musical world of Harry Partch](https://interlude.hk/bashing-the-boo-and-charming-the-cloudsthe-musical-world-of-harry-partch/): Have you ever heard of the musical instruments called Chromelodeon, Quadrangularis Reversum or Zymo-Xyl? If not, let me introduce you to Harry Partch (1901-1974), an American composer, music theorist and creator of unique musical instruments. The son of Presbyterian missionaries, who had twice served in China, young Harry grew up...
- [Overtures and Overtures](https://interlude.hk/overtures-and-overtures/): When is an Overture not an Overture? When it’s a Concert Overture. We are familiar with Overtures that serve as an introduction to an opera, a ballet, or even an oratorio, starting in the 17th century, but the Concert Overture is another thing entirely. Starting with Monteverdi and the beginnings...
- [Revamping Classical Music’s Sex Appeal](https://interlude.hk/revamping-classical-musics-sex-appeal/): Music has always been my companion. Just shy of 3 years old, I would sing along to pop songs broadcasted on the radio. By the time I grasped the basics of the piano, I would make up random tunes on the piano; when I discovered I could play by ear,...
- [I dream of Jeanie!<br/>Stephen Foster and Jane McDowell](https://interlude.hk/i-dream-of-jeaniestephen-foster-and-jane-mcdowell/): Stephen Foster: I dream of Jeannie with the light brown hair To everyone’s surprise, Stephen Foster married Jane McDowell, daughter of a leading Pittsburgh physician, on 22 July 1850. For friends and mutual acquaintances, it remained a mystery why the couple got together in the first place. Jane was not...
- [The Special Meaning of Bach’s Solo Cello Suites](https://interlude.hk/the-special-meaning-of-bachs-solo-cello-suites/): Without a doubt the six J. S. Bach Solo Cello Suites are a pinnacle to be reached for any cellist. Although I’ve performed them many times, there is one occasion that stands out more than any other. My father was also a professional cellist. When I was growing up I...
- [Beethoven: Piano Trios op. 70 no. 2, op. 97 "Archduke"](https://interlude.hk/beethoven-piano-trios-op-70-no-2-op-97-archduke/): Trio for piano, violin and cello no. 6, Op. 70 no. 2 III. Allegretto ma non troppo From Beethoven: Piano Trios op. 70 no. 2, op. 97 “Archduke” (2014) Released by Harmonia Mundi Beethoven: Trio for piano, violin and cello no. 6, Op. 70 no. 2 – III. Allegretto ma...
- [Appealing to the Melting Pot <br/>Stephen Foster and the American Experience](https://interlude.hk/appealing-to-the-melting-pot-stephen-foster-and-the-american-experience/): Parlour music became hugely popular in the 19th century. As the name implies, it was frequently performed by amateur singers and pianists in the parlours of middle-class homes. The music itself was disseminated as sheet music, and the text commonly took its bearing from the works of European writers such...
- [Music and Religion: Dominus tecum (The Lord is with thee)<br/>Musical Settings of the Ave Maria (Hail Mary)](https://interlude.hk/music-and-religion-dominus-tecum-the-lord-is-with-theemusical-settings-of-the-ave-maria-hail-mary/): In 1825, Franz Peter Schubert prepared a musical setting of Sir Walter Scott’s epic poem “The Lady of the Lake. ” In the story, a vengeful King is persecuting the heroine, Ellen Douglas, who in turn is hiding in a mountain cave and asking the Virgin Mary for help. An...
- [Playing with Leg](https://interlude.hk/playing-with-leg/): The elegant young man about town in the 17th century carved his way through the world dressed very very well. Fine cloth, elegant cuffs, a lace collar – and stockings. So what kind of instrument might the elegant young man play? If he were in Italy, he might play the...
- [Stéphane Tétreault](https://interlude.hk/stephane-tetreault/): I had a chance to catch up with the handsome, 20-year-old Montréal born cellist Stéphane Tétreault, Interlude’s artist of the month. He already has an impressive dossier. The release of his debut CD, featuring the works of Saint-Saëns and Tchaikovsky, was met with critical acclaim in Canada and recently praised...
- [BACH HOUSE WEIMAR instead of a “UNESCO World Heritage Car Park”!](https://interlude.hk/bach-house-weimar-instead-of-a-unesco-world-heritage-car-park/): Concerto in the Italian Style in F Major, BWV 971, “Italian Concerto” J. S. Bach spent the years of 1708-1717 in Weimar, in central Germany, as the Konzertmeister at the court of Duke Johann Ernst. This was an important time in Bach’s life. He encountered new techniques and ideas from...
- [Fostering Unity<br/>Stephen Foster: Father of American Music](https://interlude.hk/fostering-unitystephen-foster-father-of-american-music/): The run-up to the United States presidential election of 1844 was dominated by the controversial issue of slavery expansion through the annexation of the Republic of Texas. The Democratic Party was looking to expand America’s territory by any means. In oppositions, the Whig Party was trying to avoid war with...
- [Morning Call!!](https://interlude.hk/morning-call/): Emily Dickinson beautifully captured the small hours of the night in her poem Dawn: When night is almost done, And sunrise grows so near That we can touch the spaces, It’s time to smooth the hair And get the dimples ready, And wonder we could care For that old faded...
- [The Magic of the Licorice Stick!<br/>Buffet Crampon](https://interlude.hk/the-magic-of-the-licorice-stickbuffet-crampon/): Without being disrespectful to a number of wonderful performers, Martin Fröst currently represent the non-plus-ultra of clarinetists. Internationally revered, admired, and respected, Fröst has not only mastered the classical repertoire, he is also keen to expand the clarinet repertoire as well. And if you have ever heard him in a...
- [Music in Murakami](https://interlude.hk/music-in-murakami/): Those familiar with the novels of the Japanese writer Haruki Murakami know that there are recurring themes throughout his books such as jazz, cats, and women’s ears, to name just a few. In his 2002 novel, Kafka On The Shore, we meet not jazz, but classical music. The secondary character...
- [Matthew Tommasini - Crescent Moon, Let Me Love You](https://interlude.hk/matthew-tommasini-crescent-moon-let-me-love-you/): Crescent Moon, Let Me Love You (2013) Richard Stoltzman, clarinet Mika Yoshida Stoltzman, marimba Matthew Tommasini: Crescent Moon, Let Me Love YouMatthew Tommasini (b. 1978) has been awarded top prizes including the Charles Ives Scholarship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the ASCAP/CBDNA Frederick Fennell Prize and...
- [The Monteverdi Puzzle<br/><em>Vespers for the Blessed Virgin</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-monteverdi-puzzlevespers-for-the-blessed-virgin/): Claudio Monteverdi: Vespers of the Blessed Virgin The musicologist Denis Arnold once famously suggested that to perform the Vespro della Beata Vergine (Vespers for the Blessed Virgin), composed by Claudio Monteverdi is “to court disaster. ” Arnold further asserts, “To write about it is to alienate some of one’s best...
- [Objects of Desire<br/>Stephen Collins Foster and Susan Pentland](https://interlude.hk/objects-of-desirestephen-collins-foster-and-susan-pentland/): Stephen Collins Foster grew up in Alleghany City, a Pennsylvania municipality located at the junction of the Allegheny and Ohio rivers. The Foster’s shared a large two-family house with the family of a retired Army Officer. Captain Pentland was a veteran of the War of 1812, a three-year military conflict...
- [The Child Prodigy as Social Experiment](https://interlude.hk/the-child-prodigy-as-social-experiment/): Saint-SaensPiano Concerto No. 2 in G Minor, Op. 22 The American pianist Philippa Schuyler made her concert debut while still a child, giving piano recitals and frequently appearing on the radio. Born in 1931, the mixed-race child was the daughter of a prominent black writer and essayist, George S. Schuyler,...
- [A Little Nibble of Mozart and Something More](https://interlude.hk/a-little-nibble-of-mozart-and-something-more/): When you’re in Austria, you’re assaulted by images of Mozart – not Mozart the Composer but Mozart the Chocolate. The Mirabell Chocolate Factory in Salzburg is the creator of the famous Mozartkugel. It’s a little ball of milk chocolate, filled with praline cream and with a centre of green marzipan,...
- [Death by Autoerotic Asphyxiation<br/>Frantisek Kotzwara](https://interlude.hk/death-by-autoerotic-asphyxiationfrantisek-kotzwara/): František Kočvara (1730-1791), who thankfully changed his spelling to Frantisek Kotzwara after settling in London, originally hailed from Bohemia. He was a talented performer, equally versed on the viola, double bass, piano, violin, cello, oboe, flute, bassoon and cittern. He busily traveled throughout Europe, performing with a great number of...
- [Opening Doors with Music](https://interlude.hk/opening-doors-with-music/): In his 2010 novel, The Elephant Keepers’ Children, Danish author Peter Høeg uses Schubert songs to very practical end. One of the major characters in the book is a sonic engineer – she creates mechanisms that operate through speech or sound recognition. Her mechanisms are used throughout her house and...
- [More about Ernst Toch](https://interlude.hk/more-about-ernst-toch/): Wait, what? This guy wrote film music as well as classical stuff? Pfft... Sound familiar? It’s interesting nowadays how film composers are often sneered at in relation to their more ‘serious’ counterparts. However, there was a whole generation of composers who dabbled in both, with great results. And don’t think...
- [Musical Autograph Books](https://interlude.hk/musical-autograph-books/): Starting in the 16th century with small albums created by fellow classmates and continuing into the 20th century with the rise of musical groupies (actually, this started much earlier), the autograph book is an interesting view into the relationship between musicians and their audience. An autograph book is typically a...
- [In touch with Sabine Meyer](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-sabine-meyer/): Athena of the Clarinet ‘Destiny’ would probably be the best word to describe Sabine Meyer and her instrument: she started with piano and organ, but at eight, it became clear to her that clarinet is her true love. Her father, brother and husband are all clarinetist; in 1983, she formed...
- [Janáček / Smetana - String Quartets](https://interlude.hk/janacek-smetana-string-quartets/): Leoš Janáček String Quartet No. 1 “Kreutzer Sonata” I. Adagio. Con moto From Janáček / Smetana – String Quartets (2014) Released by Harmonia Mundi Janáček: String Quartet No. 1 “Kreutzer Sonata” – I. Adagio. Con motoLeoš Janáček’s String Quartet No. 1, “Kreutzer Sonata”, was written in a very short space...
- [Pierre de Manchicourt](https://interlude.hk/pierre-de-manchicourt/): Pierre de Manchicourt: O Virgo virginum In 1554, a remarkable wedding ceremony took place at Winchester Cathedral. The bride was described as “a faded little woman with red hair and no eyebrows. ” That little woman was no other than Mary Tudor who recently had staked her claim to the...
- [Old St. Paul’s Cathedral](https://interlude.hk/old-st-pauls-cathedral/): Thomas Morley: I know that my redeemer liveth For nearly 300 years, St. Paul’s Cathedral was the tallest building on the London skyline. The present cathedral with its majestic dome was designed by Sir Christopher Wren and built in the wake of the English Reformation between 1675 and 1710. Yet...
- [Why Music?](https://interlude.hk/why-music/): We who play music know that there are few experiences in life that are as fulfilling as making music. It is a powerful gift. We can touch people and be a positive influence on others and ourselves. The physician and author Oliver Sacks says in his book Musicophilia: “Music can...
- [Music with Messages](https://interlude.hk/music-with-messages/): Some of the most beautiful music in the world is an image, not a sound. And in these works of musical art, there is often another message to be read. In 1477, the Chansonnier Cordiforme (the heart-shaped songbook) was a beautiful red velvet–bound book that, when opened, took the form...
- [Open Letter to Yuja Wang](https://interlude.hk/open-letter-to-yuja-wang/): Dear Yuja, I am writing this open letter to you, as I want the world to know that I am in awe of your piano playing. Since I followed your musical career from the age of seven, I have not ceased to be amazed by your super-human technique, the swiftness...
- [Visions of Arcadia in Music, Art and Literature I](https://interlude.hk/visions-of-arcadia-in-music-art-and-literature-i/): In my last article ‘Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, Frederick the Great and the Architecture of the Rococo’ I focused on the re-emergence of pastoral themes in music and the arts. Members of the aristocracy, dressed as shepherdesses and shepherds appeared in many paintings of the period, pursuing romantic pursuits in...
- [In touch with Joyce Yang : A Brilliant Young Talent](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-joyce-yang-a-brilliant-young-talent/): SchumannCarnaval The pianist Joyce Yang was recently in Hong Kong as the headliner of the Fifth Hong Kong International Chamber Music Festival. She performed across a wide range of repertoire, showcasing her versatility as a pianist.
- [Living with the Mozarts!](https://interlude.hk/living-with-the-mozarts/): Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 17, K. 453, “Allegretto” The Mozart household in Vienna was frequently described as a place of controlled chaos. Joachim Daniel Preiser, an actor from the Royal Theater of Copenhagen, described an afternoon with Mozart in August 1788. “This small man and great master twice...
- [The Showstopper–Classical Style](https://interlude.hk/the-showstopper-classical-style/): When you go to the opera, it’s for the spectacle, the vision, the sound, and the light. But it’s the music that’s the central part. In many operas, there’s the one aria or the one chorus that has to be right. And, when done right, it’s the showstopper. If that...
- [After Kissing..... the Passionate Embrace !](https://interlude.hk/after-kissing-the-passionate-embrace/): When thoughts and actions turn to romance and passion, the only thing you really need is music! Why don’t you wrap yourself in the sensuous and seductive beauty of Mozart’s piano concerto; trust me, you will not be disappointed. Of course, if your motives are entirely goal oriented, Maurice Ravel...
- [CORTOT: Piano Arrangements](https://interlude.hk/cortot-piano-arrangements/): Schubert Heidenroslein, Op. 3, No. 3, D. 257 (arr. A. Cortot for piano) From CORTOT: Piano Arrangements (2013) Released by Grand Piano / Naxos Schubert: Heidenroslein, Op. 3, No. 3, D. 257 (arr. A. Cortot for piano)Legendary pianist Alfred Cortot’s distinguished reputation as an educator is demonstrated in these magnificent...
- [The Urgency of the Toccata](https://interlude.hk/the-urgency-of-the-toccata/): The young Sergei Prokofiev made his mark on the piano world with a brilliant showcase piece, written when he was 23. The Toccata, Op. 11, was cleverly designed to display the composer’s brilliance not only as a composer but also as a pianist. The piece is modern, prickly, and ranges...
- [A Marriage of Convention<br/>C.P.E. Bach and Johanna Maria Danneman II](https://interlude.hk/a-marriage-of-conventionc-p-e-bach-and-johanna-maria-danneman-ii/): Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach: Morning Song on the Day of Creation, Wq. 239 In the spring of 1768, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach and his family relocated to the city of Hamburg. C. P. E. had been appointed Kantor at the Johanneum and director of music at the five principal churches,...
- [The Great Concert Halls — My Visceral Reactions to Them](https://interlude.hk/the-great-concert-halls-my-visceral-reactions-to-them/): Barber Concerto for Violin and Orchestra Op. 14 Isaac Stern New York Philharmonic Leonard Bernstein I have been fortunate to perform in some of the world’s greatest concert halls. It’s difficult to choose favorites but I will—four international venues, two historical and two modern— Musikverein in Vienna, Austria, Sydney Opera...
- [Immortalized Beloveds](https://interlude.hk/immortalized-beloveds/): The fact that the names of the pitches of the scales are both consonants and vowels opens up a great deal of possibility in terms of hiding words in music. The alphabet that can be hidden is larger than you think: it’s not just the English A-B-C-D-E-F-G but also includes...
- [The Goth String Quartet](https://interlude.hk/the-goth-string-quartet/): Eklipse, a German-based string quartet, is turning the traditional look of the string quartet upside down. No more conservative clothes and demure attitude, this group takes the string quartet into the realm of heavy metal styling: eye patches and leather dresses, neck chains and black velvet, strong makeup and tattoos,...
- [In touch with Peter Katona](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-peter-katona/): Peter Katona is the Director of Casting at the Royal Opera (London, United Kingdom) and spends much of his time travelling around the world sourcing talent. I asked him what it was like growing up in a musical environment, and found out that both attending performances and serving as a...
- [Youthful Poetry<br/>Chopin: <em>Piano Concerto No. 2</em> in F minor, Op. 21](https://interlude.hk/youthful-poetrychopin-piano-concerto-no-2-in-f-minor-op-21/): Philadelphia OrchestraEugene OrmandyArthur Rubinstein The Polish-Russian War of 1830/31 was essentially an armed rebellion of a politically partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. Although the Polish resistance was able to achieve some minor victories, the Imperial Russian Army quickly crushed the uprising. With Poland an integral part of Russia, Warsaw...
- [The Speed of Sound II](https://interlude.hk/the-speed-of-sound-ii/): We were talking about tempo and how composers sought to transfer the sound in their ear to their performers’ brain. Starting in the Baroque, Italian words such as Allegro and Andante were used to show relative speed. But composers wanted more definition. How fast was the Allegro that Beethoven meant?...
- [In touch with Professor Wolfgang Rathert](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-professor-wolfgang-rathert/): Talking with Wolfgang Rathert, professor of musicology at the University of Munich, introduced me to the life and work of the pianist Géza Anda, after whom these events are named. Described by journalist Lynda Greene as a pianist whose ‘refined articulation distilled through an impeccable artistic discipline’ and ‘whose pianistic...
- [Connecting the Past to the Future.<br/>The Legacy of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach](https://interlude.hk/connecting-the-past-to-the-future-the-legacy-of-carl-philipp-emanuel-bach/): The commercial and defensive confederation of merchants and their market towns along the coast of Northern Europe — commonly known as the Hanseatic League — assured that the free city-state of Hamburg was completely under the control of commercial enterprises. Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, who took up his tenure in...
- [Irina LANKOVA, piano / Franz Schubert - Works for piano](https://interlude.hk/irina-lankova-piano-franz-schubert-works-for-piano/): Sonata D959 in A major Scherzo, Allegro Vivace From Irina LANKOVA, piano / Franz Schubert – Works for piano Released by Indésens Records Schubert: Sonata D959 in A major – Scherzo, Allegro Vivace“Schubert’s music has always fascinated me. The long preparation for the recording is not just about practicing, it’s...
- [Let’s Move It !](https://interlude.hk/lets-move-it/): Having already outlined the benefits of the more developmental type of music education known as Dalcroze Eurhythmics in an earlier article, I wanted to discover more details about this approach. Chui Tan Lee, a dedicated violin teacher based in Hong Kong who incorporates ideas of the Dalcroze method in her...
- [Thomas Oliemans](https://interlude.hk/thomas-oliemans/): Interlude’s Artist of the Month is baritone Thomas Oliemans, who was recently in Hong Kong where we caught up with him and asked him a few questions about his life, the Schumann program he was presenting, and plans for the future. We asked Thomas how he came to music and...
- [Music and Religion: <br/>Gratia plena: Full of Grace](https://interlude.hk/music-and-religion-gratia-plena-full-of-grace/): Martin Luther famously praised Josquin de Prez (1450-1521) as “the master of notes. They have to do as he bids them; other composers have to do as the notes will. ” During his service at several courts — notably the one of Cardinal Sforza of Milan and Ercole d’Este, duke...
- [“Heredity can tend to run out of musical ideas”<br/>Wilhelm Friedrich Ernst Bach](https://interlude.hk/heredity-can-tend-to-run-out-of-musical-ideaswilhelm-friedrich-ernst-bach/): Wilhelm Friedrich Ernst Bach (1759-1845) was the eldest son of Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach and the singer Lucia Elizabeth Munchhausen. Wilhelm Friedrich Ernst, not to be confused with his uncle Wilhelm Friedeman Bach, was the only grandson of Johann Sebastian Bach to achieve a modest degree of musical fame. His...
- [Amateur Hour](https://interlude.hk/amateur-hour/): The interaction between classical and pop music can often be an extended exercise in looking at old material in a new way. We don’t mind when Barry Manilow uses a bit of Frédéric Chopin’s Prelude in C Minor, Op. 28/2 to begin his pop song ‘Could it be Magic,’ because...
- [The Lethal Chalice<br/>Tchaikovsky’s <em>Pathétique</em>](https://interlude.hk/the-lethal-chalicetchaikovskys-pathetique/): Pytor Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Symphony No 6, Op. 74 “Pathétique” Pytor Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s (1840-1893) died a mere nine days after conducting the première of his final composition. Composed between February and August 1893, his Symphony No 6 was first given on 28 October of that year. His sudden death has become...
- [Claudio Abbado <br/>An Example to Us All](https://interlude.hk/claudio-abbado-an-example-to-us-all/): It’s difficult for me to add much to the many tributes to Claudio Abbado that have appeared since his death. As well as obituaries detailing his life and achievements, there have been statements from those who worked with him, who frequently saw him in performance (and were transformed by the...
- [From the old to the new with Neoclassicism](https://interlude.hk/from-the-old-to-the-new-with-neoclassicism/): People often think that the music of the twentieth century lost direction – it certainly at least changed direction, and it’s possible to see a huge splintering of styles in this period of massive change. However, along with all the loud crazy stuff came styles such as neoclassicism, perhaps one...
- [Dom Clément JACOB (1906-1977) - Works for piano solo](https://interlude.hk/dom-clement-jacob-1906-1977-works-for-piano-solo/): Nocturnes no. 3 From Dom Clément JACOB (1906-1977) – Works for piano solo Released by Indésens Records Dom Clément Jacob: Nocturnes no. 3Maxime Jacob, or Dom Clément Jacob, (1906 -1977) was a French composer and organist. Jacob studied at the Paris Conservatory with Charles Koechlin and André Gedalge; an admirer...
- [Composer Silhouettes](https://interlude.hk/composer-silhouettes/): Starting in the 18th century and continuing through the 20th century, the silhouette became the artistic rage. Typically, a silhouette is the image of a person (or something else) as a solid shape in black, presented against a white (or light coloured) background. There are no internal details on the...
- [Sheet Music Apps for Non-Dinosaurs! ](https://interlude.hk/sheet-music-apps-for-non-dinosaurs/): I admit I’m a dinosaur. I come from the time when we did a lot of cut and pasting —and I don’t mean highlighting and punching command X and C. We used real paper, with scissors and tape to organize the pages in our sheet music so as to turn...
- [Best Music for Kissing ?](https://interlude.hk/best-music-for-kissing/): With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, all thoughts turn to love and associated gestures of affection. Maybe you will be treated to a nice romantic dinner, a bouquet of flowers, or delectable sweets. But with some degree of certainly, you will receive a kiss. Depending on the nature of...
- [Classical Music Takes to the Slopes](https://interlude.hk/classical-music-takes-to-the-slopes/): It was announced on January 21st that violinist Vanessa Mae has qualified to represent Thailand at the Sochi Games, which begin in February and she has been confirmed by the world governing body as a contender. The life-long skier, competing under her family name as Vanessa Vanakorn, will be able...
- [Melba at Your Table](https://interlude.hk/melba-at-your-table/): Georg Predota already alerted us to the delights of Tournedos à la Rossini, a tribute to a heroic trencherman. On the distaff side, some lovely dishes were inspired by a very famous soprano who was active a century ago, or, if you’re a fan of Downton Abbey, you would have...
- [The Microsoft of Pianos<br/>Steinway & Sons](https://interlude.hk/the-microsoft-of-pianossteinway-sons/): It is hardly surprising that innovations in the field of instrument design frequently originated in small workshops run by dedicated artisans determined to realize a personal vision. Take for example Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg, who started to build pianos in his small house in Seesen, Germany in 1835. Collaborating with the...
- [In touch with Elena Mosuc](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-elena-mosuc/): Romanian soprano Elena Mosuc is one of the most in-demand sopranos of her generation. Closely linked with the Zürich Opera and a regular guest at the world’s great opera houses, she is a powerful exponent of the bel canto repertoire as well as Mozart’s coloratura roles. Highly decorated, in 2005...
- [In vino veritas!<br/>C.P.E. Bach and Johanna Maria Danneman](https://interlude.hk/in-vino-vertiasc-p-e-bach-and-johanna-maria-danneman/): Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach: Keyboard Concerto in D Major, Wq. 13, H. 416 (1744) Approaching the ripe old age of 30, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach had a steady but poorly paid job with Frederick II, King of Prussia. Away from work, he enjoyed friendships with a number of literati, philosophers...
- [Bach and Beethoven - a legal comparison](https://interlude.hk/bach-and-beethoven-a-legal-comparison/): Hans von Bülow famously said that in piano music “Bach is the Old Testament and Beethoven, the New Testament”. With all respect to the great man, I would content that a better framework to compare the two is not a religious but rather a legal one. This is because Bach’s...
- [Night’s Daughter: Bradley meets Mozart](https://interlude.hk/nights-daughter-bradley-meets-mozart/): Tamino: Zu Hilfe! Papageno: Der Vogelfänger bin ich ja Tamimo: Dies Bildnis sind bezaubernd schön Queen: Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen Monostatos, Queen, Ladies: Nur stille, stille, stille, stille (Monostatos, Queen of the Night, 3 Ladies-in-Waiting) Although we think of some of the more over-the-top science fiction as...
- [Bechstein Hall at 36 Wigmore Street](https://interlude.hk/bechstein-hall-at-36-wigmore-street/): Following the example set by piano builders Pleyel&Cie, rival manufacturers quickly established competing showrooms and concert halls to display and demonstrate their wares to the general public. Érard provided immediate competition in Paris, with the Steinway Hall opening in New York City in 1866, and the Bösendorfer Hall first inviting...
- [Nenov: Piano Music (Valkov)](https://interlude.hk/nenov-piano-music-valkov/): Etude no. 2 From Nenov: Piano Music (Valkov) (2013) Released by Grand Piano / Naxos Nenov: Etude no. 2Dimitar Nenov was a leading figure of early 20th-century Bulgarian classical music. The entire range of his solo piano works is covered on this recording, from the austere and dissonant Cinema Suite...
- [Bach is the Father, we are the Children!](https://interlude.hk/bach-is-the-father-we-are-the-children/): Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart famously told Gottfried van Swieten, a diplomat, librarian and esteemed patron of music, “Bach is the father. We are the children! ” Interestingly, Mozart did not have Johann Sebastian in mind, but referred to Carl Philipp Emanuel instead. Johann Sebastian’s cultural references are primarily theological, but C....
- [Curtis Institute of Music](https://interlude.hk/curtis-institute-of-music/): Our second destination in our world tour of the world’s great music colleges sees us stopping off in the USA, in the state of Philadelphia. The Curtis Institute of Music is renowned for its exceptional level of musical tuition, and I was lucky enough to interview Jonathan Coopersmith, the Chair...
- [The Speed of Sound I](https://interlude.hk/the-speed-of-sound-i/): As Einstein noted, time is relative, and for music this is especially true. Tempo, the speed at which music is performed, is not something that is set in stone. Every Allegro movement doesn’t move at the same speed, but is Allegro in comparison to the other movements that accompany it....
- [Anatoly Lyadov](https://interlude.hk/anatoly-lyadov/): The Firebird that did not fly Anatoly Lyadov: The Enchanted Lake, Op. 62 Anatoly Lyadov: Kikimora, Op. 63 The Ballets Russes, widely regarded as the most influential ballet company of the 20th century, was the brainchild of the Russian impresario Sergei Diaghilev. Preparing for the 1910 season, Diaghilev commissioned Anatoly...
- [BACH à PIAZZOLLA "tête-à-tête"](https://interlude.hk/bach-a-piazzolla-tete-a-tete/): Astor Piazzolla Fugata From BACH à PIAZZOLLA “tête-à-tête” (2013) Released by Indésens Records Astor Piazzolla: FugataA beautiful recording of Bach and Piazzolla, both performed on piano and bandoneon, with this wonderful Fugata by Piazzollo. Official Website
- [Music Classes: the Joys, the Pains and the Gains.](https://interlude.hk/music-classes-the-joys-the-pains-and-the-gains/): ‘Music produces a kind of pleasure which human nature cannot do without. ’ ‘To educate somebody, you should start from poems, emphasise on ceremonies, and finish with music. ’ Confucius (551 BC – 479 BC) There have recently been a number of articles advocating the advantages of beginning music lessons...
- [Bite me!<br/>Heinrich Marschner and his Vampire](https://interlude.hk/bite-meheinrich-marschner-and-his-vampire/): Many decades before Bram Stoker severely frightened Victorian society with his Gothic horror novel Dracula, the English writer and physician John William Polidori published his short story The Vampyre in 1819. According to literary critics, Polidori wrote “the first story successfully fusing the disparate elements of vampirism into a coherent...
- [Beyond the Mask](https://interlude.hk/beyond-the-mask/): I recently came across an extraordinary image. Many police services combine images of a suspect to create a general photo-fit image. But the federal police in Berlin recently combined a number of portraits of a man who died in the late 18th century to create a composite image of his...
- [Top 5 Tracks <br/>New Year’s Resolutions](https://interlude.hk/top-5-tracks-new-years-resolutions/): Oscar Wilde sarcastically suggested, “Good resolutions are simply checks that people draw on a bank where they have no account. ” Of course it might also be said that making resolutions is a cleansing ritual demanding personal honesty, and that breaking them is simply part of an overall human cycle.
- [Hail to the Flautist!<br/>C.P.E. Bach at the Court of Frederick II of Prussia](https://interlude.hk/hail-to-the-flautistc-p-e-bach-at-the-court-of-frederick-ii-of-prussia/): When Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach joined the royal court of Frederick the Great of Prussia as an accompanist in 1740, a stable of some 17 musicians primarily devoted to the performance of chamber music greeted him. The monarch himself was an accomplished flautist, and Charles Burney reports, “His Majesty allotted...
- [A Minimalistic Mountain out of a Molehill?](https://interlude.hk/a-minimalistic-mountain-out-of-a-molehill/): Something out of nothing Processes processes processes Repetition Inspiration Are you confused yet?
- [CPE Bach, Frederick the Great and the Architecture of the Rococo](https://interlude.hk/cpe-bach-frederick-the-great-and-the-architecture-of-the-rococo/): C. P. E. Bach (1714-1788), second surviving son of Johann Sebastian Bach and Maria Barbara Bach, was the true successor to his father’s legacy. Considered by his contemporaries as one of the most important composers and harpsichordists of their time, his enormous output has however been overshadowed by the resurrection...
- [Among true Friends!<br/>The Berlin Monday Club](https://interlude.hk/among-true-friendsthe-berlin-monday-club/): Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach: “Der Tag ist wieder hin” (Another day has passed), Gellerts Geistliche Oden und Lieder Throughout his 30 years of service to Frederick II, King of Prussia, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach was never able to gain recognition as a leading composer and virtuoso at court. In fact,...
- [Music from the deepest Province<br/>Robert Schumann: <em>Piano Quintet in E-flat major</em>, Op. 44](https://interlude.hk/music-from-the-deepest-provincerobert-schumann-piano-quintet-in-e-flat-major-op-44/): Robert Schumann: Piano Quintet in E-flat major, Op. 44 To prove his potential earnings from composition to his highly skeptical father-in-law —we all remember that Friedrich Wieck had taken Robert to court in order to prevent the “old alcoholic” from marrying his daughter Clara — Robert Schumann composed well over...
- [The Liszt Academy of Music](https://interlude.hk/the-liszt-academy-of-music/): Based in Budapest, the Liszt Academy is one of the most renowned music colleges in Europe, and the world. Founded in 1875 by the composer-pianist himself, it has gone on to become a centre of musical excellence. I talked with Beáta Furka, the head of International Affairs and Development, to...
- [Koželuch - Keyboard Sonatas (Complete), Vol. 1](https://interlude.hk/kozeluch-keyboard-sonatas-complete-vol-1/): Piano Sonata in B flat major Op. 2 Adagio From Koželuch – Keyboard Sonatas (Complete), Vol. 1 (2013) Released by Grand Piano / Naxos Koželuch: Piano Sonata in B flat major Op. 2 – AdagioFew composers exemplified the late eighteenth-century Viennese keyboard style better than Mozart’s contemporary, the Czech composer...
- [A Cellist’s Dream - The Beethoven Cello Sonatas](https://interlude.hk/a-cellists-dream-the-beethoven-cello-sonatas/): Desert Island? No problem. I’d take the five Beethoven Cello Sonatas hands down. Spanning all three periods of Beethoven’s life they essentially depict his whole life story — from the lyrical Sonata in F major Op. 5 Nr. 1 to the grandiose Op. 102. Nr. 2 in D major. The...
- [Battling for Commercial Success in 1539](https://interlude.hk/battling-for-commercial-success-in-1539/): Selling music in the Renaissance wasn’t that different from selling music today. Published music needed a way to differentiate itself from other, similar pieces of music. The title pages tended to look alike: Name, composers’ name (maybe), patron, voice part, and publisher’s name, all in fairly repetitive format. The music...
- [Music and Religion: <br/>Ave Maria: Hail Mary](https://interlude.hk/music-and-religion-ave-maria-hail-mary/): Perhaps the most popular of all Marian Prayers, the “Ave Maria” (Hail Mary) originated in the gospel of Luke. Historically, the text is divided into three parts and opens with a salutation of the Angel Gabriel to the Blessed Virgin. The second segment contains the greeting of St. Elizabeth, and...
- [Ji Liu](https://interlude.hk/ji-liu/): On a cold, crisp morning, I prepare to meet Ji Liu at the Royal Academy of Music, his place of study for the last six years. Over a cup of tea, we chat about his time there and what the future holds for him... Where did your piano studies take...
- [A rousing start!<br/>The musical education of C.P.E. Bach](https://interlude.hk/a-rousing-startthe-musical-education-of-c-p-e-bach/): When Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach was born on 8 March 1714 in the city of Weimar, his father was employed as court organist at the ducal court. By then, Johann Sebastian had already acquired a fierce reputation as an organ virtuoso, and a villager hearing the organ played at the...
- [Brahms by Meng-Chieh Liu](https://interlude.hk/brahms-by-meng-chieh-liu/): Brahms Waltzes, Op. 39 No. 11 in B minor Brahms: Waltzes, Op. 39 – No. 11 in B minorNew Year Treat ! ! Let’s welcome 2014 with this beautiful Waltze performed by Meng-Chieh Liu. A recipient of the 2002 Avery Fisher Career Grant, Meng-Chieh Liu first made headlines in 1993...
- [Like Father like Son!<br/>Johann Sebastian and Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach](https://interlude.hk/like-father-like-sonjohann-sebastian-and-carl-philipp-emanuel-bach/): Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach: Trio Sonata in A minor, Wq. 148, H. 572 I have always wondered what it must have been like to grow up as the son of Johann Sebastian Bach. The old man was known around town as a strict disciplinarian and had, by all accounts, a...
- [Soloists I Have Known: Yo Yo Ma, André Watts, Sara Davis (once David) Buechner](https://interlude.hk/soloists-i-have-known-yo-yo-ma-andre-watts-sara-davis-once-david-buechner/): “Are soloists nice? ” audiences ask. “Not all of them,” I’d reply cautiously. (One doesn’t want to taint the concert experience, after all. ) Some soloists can be self-centered; others reserved. There are soloists who stand out as genuine, warm and wonderful people. Shostakovich Piano Trio No. 2 in E,...
- [The Keys to Success: <br/>Burkat Shudi and John Broadwood](https://interlude.hk/the-keys-to-success-burkat-shudi-and-john-broadwood/): When the 16-year-old Swiss craftsman Burkat Shudi made his way to London in 1718, he could scarcely have imagined that he would play a pivotal role in the development of the modern piano. Initially, Shudi established a company that produced harpsichords, and on his first visit to London, the nine-year-old...
- [In touch with Jon Kimura Parker: The Diabolical Pianist](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-jon-kimura-parker-the-diabolical-pianist/): MozartPiano Concerto No. 21 in C Major, K. 467, “Elvira Madigan” JH: Jon you just recorded your transcription of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring for solo piano paired with his ballet Petrouchka. It was released on iTunes in time for the May 29th, 2013 premier of Rite of Spring 100 years...
- [<em>in vain</em>](https://interlude.hk/in-vain/): in vain Last Friday, a packed out Queen Elizabeth Hall played host to the London Sinfonietta’s performance of Georg Friedrich Haas’ in vain, generating an air of cultist excitement around its London premiere. The piece’s famous use of darkness and light ensures that to fully experience it one must see...
- [In Praise of the Fat One!<br/>Ignaz Schuppanzigh](https://interlude.hk/in-praise-of-the-fat-oneignaz-schuppanzigh/): Teaching must be one of the most hazardous professions worldwide. And I am not necessarily talking about public schools in Angola, Los Angeles or the Bronx. Nor am I talking about bulletproof glass, metal detectors or semi-automatic weapons. There are many more subtle ways of getting back at your teacher....
- [Salle Pleyel](https://interlude.hk/salle-pleyel/): Once upon a time, the life of a traveling piano virtuoso was a veritable nightmare. Performers traveled long days and dark nights in rickety horse-drawn coaches over slippery roads and muddy fields. If they could afford the luxury, they spent a few short hours in run-down country motels and ate...
- [Mozart - Clarinet Quintet / String Quartet](https://interlude.hk/mozart-clarinet-quintet-string-quartet/): Clarinet Quintet in A Major: II. Larghetto From Mozart – Clarinet Quintet / String Quartet (2013) Released by Harmonia Mundi Mozart: Clarinet Quintet in A Major: II. LarghettoFriendship in musicWe owe these two masterpieces to the musical friendships Mozart made during his years in Vienna. The celestial beauties of the...
- [Ernst Toch](https://interlude.hk/ernst-toch/): Corrected by MozartCan you imagine one of the most astonishingly gifted musical prodigies of all times being forced to study music in secret? It happened to Ernst Toch, whose father — a Jewish processed-leather dealer in Vienna — did everything possible to discourage his son’s musical interest. Under cover of...
- [In touch with ZRI](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-zri/): Playing the Brahms Clarinet Quintet interspersed with gypsy folk may seem odd – but this is what the band ZRI lives for. There is a method in their madness, and speaking to accordion player Jon Banks gave me an insight into how this at-first eccentric idea actually makes a lot...
- [In touch with Gary Hoffman: <br/>Unforgettable Cello Sound ](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-gary-hoffman-unforgettable-cello-sound/): Gary, I’ll never forget hearing you for the first time. We were both in Janos Starker’s class in the 1970’s and your sound blew me away. I must say I wondered if I would be up to snuff with such illustrious students and I was terrified of Starker.
- [Christmas at King’s](https://interlude.hk/christmas-at-kings/): For many people across the world, tuning in to the Service of Nine Lessons and Carols from King’s College, Cambridge on Christmas Eve signals the arrival of Christmas. The sound of a solo treble intoning ‘Once in Royal David’s City’ resounding across the globe is instantly recognisable; with an audience...
- [Top Five Tracks to welcome the New Year](https://interlude.hk/top-five-tracks-to-welcome-the-new-year/): In one form or another — regardless of culture, nationality or creed — New Year’s celebrations have several elements in common. Among the most popular are dancing, singing, drinking, a sense of spiritual renewal and, of course, fireworks! To celebrate such time-honored traditions, Interlude has compiled a classical Top 5...
- [Folk Music of the Future](https://interlude.hk/folk-music-of-the-future/): When we think of folk music, we often think of music that is far removed from what we do in daily life. So how do you modernize something that is considered to exist almost out of time – we rarely credit folk music with the names of composers or lyricists...
- [Johannes Brahms, <em>Piano Quartet No. 3</em> in C Minor, Op. 60](https://interlude.hk/johannes-brahms-piano-quartet-no-3-in-c-minor-op-60/): In 1853, with a stack of original compositions in his backpack, Johannes Brahms (1833-1896) finally found enough courage to visit his musical hero Robert Schumann. Their brief encounter prompted Schumann to pen his famous article “Neue Bahnen” (New Paths) — published in the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik on 28 October...
- [In touch with Burt Hara — Clarinetist with the Golden Sound ](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-burt-hara-clarinetist-with-the-golden-sound/): Burt Hara is one of the great orchestral and solo clarinetists of our time. He was the principal clarinet of the Minnesota Orchestra for 25 seasons. A native of California, Burt has just relocated to Los Angeles to play in the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He has served on the faculty...
- [BARGIELSKI, Z.: Landscape of Remembrance / MYCIELSKI, Z.: Piano Trio (Landscape of Memories)](https://interlude.hk/bargielski-z-landscape-of-remembrance-mycielski-z-piano-trio-landscape-of-memories/): Andrzej Panufnik: Piano Trio Op. 1 (1934, recon. 1945, rev. 1985) Largo From BARGIELSKI, Z. : Landscape of Remembrance / MYCIELSKI, Z. : Piano Trio (Landscape of Memories) (2012) Released by CD Accord Andrzej Panufnik: Piano Trio Op. 1 (1934, recon. 1945, rev. 1985) – LargoThe fact that Polish music...
- [Thinking About Notation](https://interlude.hk/thinking-about-notation/): Time marches on and in music, you have to keep track of it. Before we get to time signatures, we have to talk about notation of pitch duration, i. e. , how long is a note? In yet another example of a common language that proves to have major differences,...
- [Corelli and JS Bach: <br/>The Musical and Architectural Baroque Style](https://interlude.hk/corelli-and-js-bach-the-musical-and-architectural-baroque-style/): Arcangelo Corelli (1653-1713) and Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) were two of the composers most familiar to me in my youth, with their oratorios, concerti grossi and choral compositions, respectively, heard particularly during the Christmas Season. Today’s article will reflect on some of their works which are representative not only of...
- [That’s Padre Pedrini to you and I!](https://interlude.hk/thats-padre-pedrini-to-you-and-i/): Teodorico PedriniViolin Sonata in A Major, Op. 3, No. 1, “Nepridi” My editor keeps reminding me that my quiz questions are just too simple and too easy! “What’s the use of having a quiz if everybody instantly knows the answer? ” In response, I believe I have come up with...
- [In touch with the Miró Quartet](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-the-miro-quartet/): String Quartet No. 12 in C Minor, D. 703, “Quartettsatz” The other day, I got a chance to chat with Joshua Gindele, one of the founding members of the internationally-acclaimed Miró quartet, and gain an insight into the history and workings of this incredibly versatile and renowned ensemble...
- [Have a Musical Christmas!](https://interlude.hk/have-a-musical-christmas/)
- [Jingle that Bell!](https://interlude.hk/jingle-that-bell/): First published as “The One Horse Open Sleigh” in 1857, “Jingle Bells” has become one of the most recognized and best-loved Christmas songs. Originally, however, it was neither connected with Christmas nor was it commercially successful. Only after the composer James Lord Pierpont (1822-1893) — an American songwriter, arranger and...
- [Metrono-no?](https://interlude.hk/metrono-no/): If there’s one thing that divides opinions almost as equally as it divides beats per minute, it’s the metronome. Its controversy began right since its inception in the early 19th century, and remains a highly contentious topic for many musicians. Commonly viewed as a tool to keep time, it’s had...
- [Sacred Choral Works by Samuel Sebastian Wesley](https://interlude.hk/sacred-choral-works-by-samuel-sebastian-wesley/): O give thanks unto the Lord From Sacred Choral Works by Samuel Sebastian Wesley (2013) Released by Chandos Samuel Sebastian Wesley: O give thanks unto the LordSAMUEL SEBASTIAN WESLEY (1810 – 1876) Son of the composer and organist Samuel Wesley, grandson of the hymn-writer Charles Wesley and great nephew of...
- [70 Children and Counting!<br/>Cardinal Ottoboni and Arcangelo Corelli](https://interlude.hk/70-children-and-countingcardinal-ottoboni-and-arcangelo-corelli/): Concerto Grosso in D Major, Op. 6, No. 1 By all accounts, Cardinal Pietro Ottoboni — grandnephew of Pope Alexander VIII —loved “pomp, prodigality and sensual pleasure. ” Apparently, portraits of his mistresses disguised as saints, including the angelic Margarita Pio Zeno of Savoy, decorated his bedroom. And he seems...
- [The Hungarians and Chinese are related<br/> — The Pentatonic Scale](https://interlude.hk/the-hungarians-and-chinese-are-related-the-pentatonic-scale/): “But I don’t want to practice scales! They’re boring! ” Have you heard this complaint from your students? Or perhaps you have said it yourself? When I was a young student I became enamored of playing them — really! I knew that scales are an important building block in music...
- [Corelli goes Viral!](https://interlude.hk/corelli-goes-viral/): The Italian ensemble sonata — in the mold established by Arcangelo Corelli — took Europe by storm. It was soon imitated and adapted by composers far and wide, and Corelli himself brought the genre to England. John Jenkins, Henry Purcell and George Friedrich Handel composed and published a number of...
- [Jan Lisiecki](https://interlude.hk/jan-lisiecki/): Canadian pianist Jan Lisiecki is one of the most exciting musicians of generation. The recent recipient of a Gramophone Young Artist of the year award and fresh from his debut disc of Chopin’s Ètudes, he maintains a busy performing schedule across the world. But Lisiecki represents a refreshing contradiction to...
- [Music and Religion:<br/>Agnus Dei: Grant us Peace](https://interlude.hk/music-and-religionagnus-dei-grant-us-peace/): In the late 7th century, a chant associated with the breaking of the community bread was added to the Ordinary of the Roman Mass. The name of this new chant “Agnus Dei” (Lamb of God) originates in the Gospel of John, where John the Baptist upon seeing Jesus exclaims, “Behold...
- [In touch with Steven Smith, Director of J & A Beare](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-steven-smith-director-of-j-a-beare/): I was lucky enough to get a chance to chat with Steven Smith, one of the two directors of J&A Beare fine instrument dealers. Tucked away just behind Wigmore Hall, the magnificent showrooms of Beare’s, with stunning cellos, violins, and violas (some complete, some in pieces) hanging from the walls,...
- [Kevin Puts - Symphony No. 4 / To touch the sky / If I were a swan](https://interlude.hk/kevin-puts-symphony-no-4-to-touch-the-sky-if-i-were-a-swan/): Symphony No. 4, From Mission San Juan: I. Prelude: Mission San Juan Bautista, ca. 1800 From Kevin Puts – Symphony No. 4 / To touch the sky / If I were a swan (2013) Released by Harmonia Mundi Kevin Puts: Symphony No. 4, From Mission San Juan: I. Prelude: Mission...
- [Waltzing Duel.<br/>Maurice Ravel: <em>La Valse</em>](https://interlude.hk/waltzing-duel-maurice-ravel-la-valse/): One would be hard pressed not to agree with the assessment of a contemporary music critic, who described the Viennese Waltz as a direct expression of sensuality. In the hands of Johann Strauss II, known as the “Waltz King,” this originally humble country-dance transformed into a sophisticated and stylish entertainment...
- [In touch with Leonard Slatkin](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-leonard-slatkin/): After a 34-year gap and just in time for the season, the Orchestre National de Lyon is returning to China on its second tour to celebrate not only the New Year, but also 50 years of Sino-French diplomatic relations. Under the baton of internationally acclaimed conductor Leonard Slatkin, the programme...
- [Warbling Violins<br/>Corelli and Bologna](https://interlude.hk/warbling-violinscorelli-and-bologna/): The famed violinmakers of Cremona — Nicolò Amati, Antonio Stradivari and Giuseppe Bartolomeo Guarneri — initiated a golden age of string music in Italy. Various important centers of violin making, performing and composition began to emerge around 1650, with the Church of San Petronio in Bologna leading the way in...
- [In touch with Christoph Meyer](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-christoph-meyer/): Christoph Meyer is the director of the Deutsche Oper am Rhein Dusseldorf Duisburg and is regularly on the jury for international singing competitions. I recently caught up with him to talk about the future of opera, both from the perspective of a young singer looking to pursue a career in...
- [In Daddy’s Footsteps!<br/>Franz Xaver Mozart](https://interlude.hk/in-daddys-footstepsfranz-xaver-mozart/): Rather predictably, the deciphering of the human genome has done little to provide conclusive answers to questions regarding musical talent and ability. Although we have learned that certain genes control unique sites in the brain, which in turn determine levels of pitch perception, we are also aware that encouragement, nurture,...
- [No nerves in sight - <br/>Thomas Adès and Friends](https://interlude.hk/no-nerves-in-sight-thomas-ades-and-friends/): The atmosphere was electric. A mix of current Guildhall students, teachers, professors, alumni, critics and music lovers all piled in to the intimate Milton Court concert hall – Guildhall’s new music and drama venue. To celebrate the opening of this building, the School organised an alumni recital series, featuring the...
- [Mediating between the Sacred and the Secular<br/>Pablo González conducts Berlioz <em>L'Enfance du Christ</em><br/>Medici Live, 22 December 2013](https://interlude.hk/mediating-between-the-sacred-and-the-secularpablo-gonzalez-conducts-berlioz-lenfance-du-christmedici-live-22-december-2013/): Watch LSO Colin Davis Hector Berlioz sought gainful employment in the theatre and at the Conservatoire, but he never applied for a church job. His pronouncements about religious music are the views of an unorthodox Christian, but he nevertheless set several sacred texts disclosing a strong personal vision and deeply...
- [Polish Piano Quintets](https://interlude.hk/polish-piano-quintets/): Juliusz Zarębski Piano Quintet in G minor Op. 34 Scherzo. Presto From Polish Piano Quintets (2012) Released by CD Accord Juliusz Zarębski: Piano Quintet in G minor Op. 34 – Scherzo. PrestoIn 1935, at the peak of the neoclassical period, the Piano Quintet in G minor Op. 34 by Juliusz...
- [20th Century Studies - Is Serialism Serially Dull?](https://interlude.hk/20th-century-studies-is-serialism-serially-dull/): Love it or loathe it, serialism happened, and no matter how loudly you shout ‘la la la’ with your ears covered, it’ll still be there when you stop, staring you in the face more intently than ever. A lot of people don’t really get why serialism ever happened in the...
- [Musical Catfights!<br/>Corelli and Handel](https://interlude.hk/musical-catfightscorelli-and-handel/): Arcangelo CorelliSonata a 3 in G Minor, Op. 1, No. 10 Trying to reconstruct the love life of a discreetly homosexual composer in the 17th century presents a variety of formidable challenges. For one, the public record was not overly concerned with sexual orientation, and happily expunged all references to...
- [Zoltán Kodály: Taking Children Seriously](https://interlude.hk/zoltan-kodaly-taking-children-seriously/): When I walk into my music studio I see Zoltán Kodály’s Sonata for Cello and Piano. It is prominently displayed and beautifully framed with Kodály’s signature splashed across the title page. Kodály was an important figure in our house. He was one of my father’s teachers at the Franz Liszt...
- [Attention: Sensory Overload!<br/>“Philips Pavilion”](https://interlude.hk/attention-sensory-overloadphilips-pavilion/): Surprising, as it may sound, some of the most intimate and convincing synergies between architecture and music were created in the 20th century. Take for example the “Philips Pavilion” designed to celebrate postwar technological progress for the World’s Fair Expo 1958 in Brussels. Originally, the office of Le Corbusier —...
- [In touch with Ian Rosenblatt](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-ian-rosenblatt/): With central funding for the arts scarce and centred around established institutions, the world of classical music is finding itself looking to philanthropy to back new ventures of all kinds. This is not new, of course – musical history is full of musicians seeking out patrons to support their activities,...
- [Morton Gould](https://interlude.hk/broadway-on-my-mindmorton-gould/): Broadway on my Mind! Morton Gould: Chorale and Fugue in Jazz Some composers effortlessly move between the worlds of popular and classical music. Take for example Morton Gould (1913-1996), an American composer, conductor, arranger, and pianist who was equally at home with a symphony orchestra, musical comedy, film music, jazz...
- [Chamber Music (Polish) ](https://interlude.hk/chamber-music-polish/): Maciej Małecki Polish Suite for string quartet (2007) Melodia From Chamber Music (Polish) (2010) Released by CD Accord Maciej Małecki: Polish Suite for string quartet (2007) – MelodiaThis is not only the debut album of OPiUM String Quartet, but also the first-ever CD recording of three out of the four...
- [Running the Ring](https://interlude.hk/running-the-ring/): On Friday, 1 November, and Saturday, 2 November, the Hong Kong Philharmonic, under Lorin Maazel performed an evening of Wagner. But, it wasn’t Wagner as most of us knew it. The evening started with the Siegfried Idyll, famously given its private premiere to an audience of one. Written for the...
- [Zukerman in Hong Kong](https://interlude.hk/zukerman-in-hong-kong/): Last month, I had the chance to attend an orchestral concert directed by Pinchas Zukerman, featuring both Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra – of which he is Music Director – and the Hong Kong Sinfonietta. I was apprehensive about this concert as I was not particularly inspired by previous performances....
- [Francis Poulenc: The most Literary Avant Garde Composer](https://interlude.hk/francis-poulenc-the-most-literary-avant-garde-composer/): “J’écris ce qui me chante” – “I write of that which sings to me”Francis Poulenc In 1916 in Paris, Francis Poulenc (1899-1963), a largely self-taught composer, was introduced by a close friend to Adrienne Monnier’s bookshop ‘La Maison des Amis des Livres’ (The House of the Friends of Books), where...
- [Northern Lights?<br/>Boris Giltburg plays Grieg](https://interlude.hk/northern-lightsboris-giltburg-plays-grieg/): Edvard GriegPiano Sonata in E Minor, Op. 7II. Andante molto Edvard Hagerup Grieg (1843-1907) is widely acknowledged as a central figure in the emergence of a distinctively Scandinavian tone in nineteenth century music. Even the composer, in his own words, was “determined to create a national form of music, which...
- [The Incredible Human Hands](https://interlude.hk/the-incredible-human-hands/): The Human Hands Here are some facts you may not know about your hands. With 34 muscles, 27 bones, 48 named nerves and at least 123 ligaments in each hand, the human hand is known for its ability to carry the entire weight of a human body on just a...
- [Rags to Riches - Folk in the Chopin Mazurkas](https://interlude.hk/rags-to-riches-folk-in-the-chopin-mazurkas/): Without doubt, one of the greatest and most important composers for piano was Frederic Chopin. His groundbreaking harmonies, forms and textures make him one of the most prominent names associated with piano music. With the exception of a couple of pieces for strings, almost his entire output was for the...
- [Harp Headaches](https://interlude.hk/harp-headaches/): ‘Help! We need a piece to show off our instrument! ’ This was perhaps something like the conversation between the Érard company and Maurice Ravel when, in 1904, the Pleyel harp company commissioned Claude Debussy to write a piece for their newfangled chromatic harp – the Danses sacrée et profane....
- [In a Galaxy far away!<br/>Joseph Haydn: <em>Il mondo della luna</em>](https://interlude.hk/in-a-galaxy-far-awayjoseph-haydn-il-mondo-della-luna/): We all know that the first successful manned landing on the moon occurred on 20 July 1969, when Apollo 11 delivered Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin to the surface of Earth’s lone satellite. The first robotic moon landing happened a decade earlier and was achieved by the Soviet Union in...
- [Medieval Music is SO Boring!<br/><em>Le remède de fortune</em>](https://interlude.hk/medieval-music-is-so-boringle-remede-de-fortune/): Qui n’aroit autre deport – Lai Tels rit au main qui au soir pleure – Complainte Joie, plaisence et douce norriture – chanson roial En amer a douce vie – Rondelet Dame de qui toute ma joie – Ballade Dame, a vous sans retollir Dame mon cuer – Baladelle This...
- [Parisian Sexuality.<br/>Francis Poulenc and Friends](https://interlude.hk/parisian-sexuality-francis-poulenc-and-friends/): “You have changed my life, you are the sunshine of my thirty years, a reason for living and for working. ” This is how Francis Poulenc openly inscribed the score to his Concert champêtre, a work that is dedicated to the painter Richard Chanlaire. Concert champetre, FP 49Allegro Molto
- [Musical Mentors](https://interlude.hk/musical-mentors/): To become a successful performer takes more than raw talent, someone to mold that talent and diligent practice. If you’re lucky, as I was, on the road to becoming a musician you encounter in addition to a good teacher, musical mentors who guide and inspire you. Their advice, performances, and...
- [CPE Bach Cello Concertos](https://interlude.hk/cpe-bach-cello-concertos/): Cello Concerto in B-Flat Major, Wq. 171, H. 436 III. Allegro assai From CPE Bach Cello Concertos (1997) Released by CD Accord CPE Bach: Cello Concerto in B-Flat Major, Wq. 171, H. 436 – III. Allegro assaiThe cellist Tomasz Strahl and Andrzej Mysinski’s widely known ensemble Concerto Avenna present the...
- [Bohemian Recipe.<br/>The Poulenc Sound](https://interlude.hk/bohemian-recipe-the-poulenc-sound/): Poulenc’s musical style, thematic materials and even tonal structures build from established musical practices, which are transformed into something unique. The American composer and essayist Ned Rorem concocted an amusing little recipe to explain the Poulenc sound. “Take Chopin’s dominant sevenths, Ravel’s major sevenths, Fauré’s plain triads, Debussy’s minor ninths,...
- [Andreas Ottensamer](https://interlude.hk/andreas-ottensamer-in-sight/): As a clarinettist myself, it was fairly nerve-wracking phoning up the principal clarinet of the Berlin Philharmonic, one of the best orchestras in the world. “Hello? Hello? Is that Mr. Ottensamer? I’m very sorry, it’s a bit crackly at my end, apologies if I ask you to repeat something! ”...
- [Music and Religion: Silence the Organ!<br/>Benedictus](https://interlude.hk/music-and-religionsilence-the-organbenedictus/): The Second Vatican Council, colloquially known as “Vatican II” and held in the early 1960’s, sought to address the relationship between the Roman Catholic Church and a society living in a modern and industrialized world. Bishops around the world had faced various challenges brought on by changes in political, social,...
- [Autobiographical Meditations<br/>Camille Saint-Saëns, <em>Symphony No. 3</em> (with organ)](https://interlude.hk/autobiographical-meditationscamille-saint-saens-symphony-no-3-with-organ/): Most of us associate the pipe organ with liturgical, that is, religious use. But did you know that the instrument was originally associated with gladiatorial combat during the time of the Romans? Gladiatorial games usually began with an elaborate procession that included all combatants. It was led by the sponsor...
- [In touch with Patricia Kopatchinskaya](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-patricia-kopatchinskaya/): Violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaya was born in Moldova in 1977. In some sense she is the epitome of the modern high-profile touring musician, with concerts in Linz, Vienna, London, Brussels and Tokyo alone in the next few months performing concerti with the world’s leading orchestras and conductors. More than that, her...
- [Nostitzsches Nationaltheater](https://interlude.hk/nostitzsches-nationaltheater/): If you are a connoisseur of classical music and an opera buff, today’s trivia question is going to be child’s play. Here it goes: What is the only theater still standing today in which Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart personally performed? Will it help if I tell you that this particular theater...
- [St Matthew's Passion](https://interlude.hk/st-matthews-passion/): St. Matthew Passion: Part 29 Chorale O man, bewail ‘your great sin From St Matthew’s Passion (2013) Released by Harmonia Mundi Bach: St. Matthew Passion: Part 29 Chorale O man, bewail ‘your great sinIt has haunted René Jacobs since childhood: first as a boy soprano in Ghent, then as a...
- [‘It's Too Damn Loud! It's Too Damn Fast!!’: <br/>Morton Feldman](https://interlude.hk/its-too-damn-loud-its-too-damn-fast-morton-feldman/): These words would commonly be heard issuing from the mouth of the composer at a rehearsal for one of his pieces. And if you’ve ever heard the music of Morton Feldman, you’d probably understand why. Feldman’s music is more often than not – well, almost absolutely always – extremely soft...
- [Giovanni Battista Pergolesi: <em>Stabat Mater dolorosa</em> (c. 1736)](https://interlude.hk/giovanni-battista-pergolesi-stabat-mater-dolorosa-c-1736/): Watch Mater Dolorosa: Les Talens Lyriques at the Festival D’Ambronay The text of the Roman Catholic hymn Stabat Mater dolorosa (The grieving Mother stood), which originated in the 13th century and is variously attributed to Pope Innocent III, St. Bonaventure, and the Franciscan monk Jacopone da Todi, offers a unique...
- [Your Music Stinks!<br/>Poulenc and the Parisian Conservatory](https://interlude.hk/your-music-stinkspoulenc-and-the-parisian-conservatory/): The composer Ned Rorem suggested that, Francis Poulenc never penned an original note. “Every measure can be traced to Chopin, or Mussorgsky, or Ravel, or Stravinsky, or even Faure whom he reviled. Yet every measure can be instantly identified as sheer Poulenc, by that mad touch of personal chutzpah that...
- [The number games: chamber music vs orchestral playing](https://interlude.hk/the-number-games-chamber-music-vs-orchestral-playing/): During my time at Cambridge, I was lucky enough to get many opportunities to play in both chamber music and orchestral projects. Now, on the brink of beginning a masters course devoted to orchestral playing, I’ll have a chance to really see how the techniques used in playing in a...
- [Is This How They Turn Out?](https://interlude.hk/is-this-how-they-turn-out/): From The Mozart Effect to The Cage Effect Perhaps you didn’t realize that if your child or student listens to classical music then they might exhibit some of those character traits! Teachers especially like #13 – The Cage Effect! Does your student exhibit these characteristics? Several of our Facebook readers...
- [Mechanical Mozart!](https://interlude.hk/mechanical-mozart/): Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Fantasia in F minor for Mechanical Organ, K. 608, arr. Fortepiano duet We should never forget that the supposedly rarefied air and sterile environment of classical music is numerously inhabited by an incredible number of colourful personalities. Take for example Count Joseph Deym von Střítež, who originated...
- [In touch with Carol Lin](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-carol-lin/): Carol Ho-Yan Lin is one of Hong Kong’s leading mezzo-sopranos. A graduate of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (HKAPA), she furthered her studies with the American mezzo-soprano Delores Ziegler at the New England Conservatory in Boston where she received her Masters in Vocal Performance. She is a regular...
- [An inconvenient proposal!<br/>Francis Poulenc and Raymonde Linossier](https://interlude.hk/an-inconvenient-proposalfrancis-poulenc-and-raymonde-linossier/): Invariably, Francis Poulenc is described as a man of constant contradictions. A sense of ambivalence and ambiguity is readily found in his compositions, but it also extends to his sexual behavior and preferences. Poulenc was a devout Catholic and homosexual “who made no distinction between making sacred pilgrimages to a...
- [Practice makes perfect...but what makes perfect practice?](https://interlude.hk/practice-makes-perfect-but-what-makes-perfect-practice/): There’s one word that many musicians fear, a word that strikes terror (or boredom) into their hearts. Of course, I can only be talking about practice. Why do we hate it so much? It’s a necessary part of every musician’s training (and beyond), and so wouldn’t it be great if...
- [Horatio Parker](https://interlude.hk/horatio-parker/): The New Haven Conservative In the United States, Charles Ives is revered as a cultural messiah who provided musical identity to a country desperately searching for a classical musical tradition of its own. Ives went to school at Yale University, and among others, studied with Horatio William Parker (1863-1919). Ives...
- [Veni Emmanuel - Music for Advent](https://interlude.hk/veni-emmanuel-music-for-advent/): Rachmaninov – All-Night Vigil, Op. 37: VI: Bogoroditse Dyevo The Choir of Clare College, Cambridge Graham Ross, conductor From Veni Emmanuel – Music for Advent (2013) Released by Harmonia Mundi Rachmaninov: All-Night Vigil, Op. 37: VI: Bogoroditse DyevoThe familiar hymn Veni Emmanuel is emblematic of the Advent season: a period...
- [In touch with mezzo-soprano Magdalena Kožená](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-mezzo-soprano-magdalena-kozena/): The Nightingale from Czech With her father a mathematician and her mother a biologist, it would have been natural for Magdalena Kožená to become a scientist. Nevertheless, she chose to be a musician; piano was her first love, but she broke her hand at the age of 14 and decided...
- [When the Symphony Embraces the Concerto<br/>Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 2, Op. 83](https://interlude.hk/when-the-symphony-embraces-the-concerto-brahms-piano-concerto-no-2-op-83/): In 1881, Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) wrote to his friend Elisabeth von Herzogenberg that he had finished “a tiny little piano concerto with a wisp of a scherzo. ” At that time, Elisabeth could scarcely have known that Brahms had just completed a monumental work in four movements that would radically...
- [Matthias Goerne](https://interlude.hk/matthias-goerne-in-sight/): German baritone Matthias Goerne (b. 1967) is one of the most celebrated singers of his generation. Since studying with Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau and Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, he has become one of the world’s foremost song recitalists, and since his début as Papageno at the 1997 Salzburg Festival he also appears in the...
- [Music and the Arts in 19th and 20th Century Russia II](https://interlude.hk/music-and-the-arts-in-19th-and-20th-century-russia-ii/): In last month’s article I focused on the relationships between musicians, artists and writers in 19th century Russia, which foreshadowed the even more drastic changes of the beginning of the 20th century. Not only would the artists and painters, associated with the Arts and Crafts movement at the Abramtsevo colony,...
- [Vincenzo Galilei: Reshaping the Sonic Universe](https://interlude.hk/vincenzo-galilei-reshaping-the-sonic-universe/): Vincenzo Galilei: Duo tutti di fantasia We all know that Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) is commonly known as the “Father of modern observational astronomy,” the “Father of Modern Physics,” and the “Father of Modern Science. ” But did you know that his father, Vincenzo Galilei (1520-1591) was a famous lute virtuoso,...
- [Finding a way in: <br/>Messiaen’s <em>Turangalîla-Symphonie</em>](https://interlude.hk/finding-a-way-in-messiaens-turangalila-symphonie/): Who’s going to write it? How long’s it going to be? For how many people? These are just a few of the questions that are asked when a new work is commissioned. What, then, do you get when these constraints get thrown out the window, when the composer is given...
- [From Russia with a Cello<br/>Britten, Shostakovich, Rostropovich](https://interlude.hk/from-russia-with-a-cellobritten-shostakovitch-rostropovich/): In 1935, Benjamin Britten spoke rather despairingly of the musical scene in the 20th century. “The real musicians are so few & far between, aren’t they? Apart from Berg, Stravinsky, Schoenberg and Bridge one is a bit stumped for names, isn’t one! Only as an afterthought he added, “Shostakovitch-perhaps-possibly. ”...
- [Cello Concerto - Elgar / Tchaikovsky / Dvořák](https://interlude.hk/cello-concerto-elgar-tchaikovsky-dvorak/): Antonín Dvořák Klid (Silent Woods), Op. 68, No. 5, B. 182 Jean-Guihen Queyras, cello BBC Symphony Orchestra Jin Belohlavek, conductor From Cello Concerto – Elgar / Tchaikovsky / Dvořák (2013) Released by Harmonia Mundi Dvořák: Klid (Silent Woods), Op. 68, No. 5, B. 182On the face of it there is...
- [In touch with Simon Trpčeski:<br/>The Macedonian Hero](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-simon-trpceskithe-macedonian-hero/): Simon and I met in our teens, before he became known to the world as ‘Trpčeski’. As a person, he is full of joy, warmth and sincerity; as a pianist, he is natural, charismatic and phenomenal. Wherever he appears, he shines like the golden sun, as if he was the...
- [A life of the two of us!<br/>Britten and Pears II](https://interlude.hk/a-life-of-the-two-of-usbritten-and-pears-ii/): 7 Sonnets of Michelangelo, Op. 22Benjamin Britten, pianoPeter Pears, tenor In 1974, Benji Britten and Peter Pears exchanged a number of remarkable letters that summarized not only their personal relationship but also their artistic careers. Dated 17 November 1974, Britten writes, “My darling heart (perhaps an unfortunate phrase, but I...
- [Daphnis et Chloé vs Diaghilev et Ravel - <br/>a match made in hell?](https://interlude.hk/daphnis-et-chloe-vs-diaghilev-et-ravel-a-match-made-in-hell/): Daphnis et Chloé For all its charm and wonder, Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloé wasn’t a bump-free production from either side of the fence... It’s perhaps most well-known for its two orchestral suites, using music directly from the ballet itself. The suites, about 15 minutes each, make up half of the...
- [Slava](https://interlude.hk/slava/): Antonín DvořákCello Concerto in B Minor, Op. 104, B. 191Mstislav RostropovichMoscow Radio Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra When I was a student I would often sneak into the Toronto Symphony Orchestra concerts. My father, who was a member of the cello section, would bring a program home. I knew my way around...
- [Music and Religion:<br/>Turning Wine into Blood](https://interlude.hk/music-and-religionturning-wine-into-blood/): Sanctus, Sanctus, SanctusIn Christian liturgy, the prayer of consecration of the bread and wine forms an important part of the Ordinary of the Mass. Theologically speaking, the substance of the bread and wine used in the sacrament of the Eucharist is changed, “not merely as by a sign or a...
- [Musicophilia](https://interlude.hk/musicophilia/): Musical Crossword Puzzle- Are you up to the challenge? - have fun!
- [Piano Recital: Blechacz, Rafal](https://interlude.hk/piano-recital-blechacz-rafal/): Schumann Sonata in G minor Op. 22 – Andantino Rafal Blechacz, piano From Piano Recital: Blechacz, Rafal (2005) Released by CD Accord Schumann: Sonata in G minor Op. 22 – AndantinoThe Romanticism saw a bountiful development of piano music. It was a century which brought not only an abundance of...
- [Inking your Irks: <br/>J.S. Bach: <em>St. Matthew Passion</em>](https://interlude.hk/inking-your-irksj-s-bach-st-matthew-passion/): Throughout his extended Leipzig career, J. S. Bach had a rather uneasy relationship with civic and church authorities. At his election as Cantor of St. Thomas Church in 1723, Bach was cautioned to make compositions that were not theatrical. “In order to preserve the good order in the Churches,” Counsel...
- [The Italian Diva – Cecilia Bartoli](https://interlude.hk/the-italian-diva-cecilia-bartoli/): The first time I heard Cecilia Bartoli live was at the opening concert of the Hong Kong Arts Festival in 2011. Appearing on stage like a queen, she dazzled the audience not only with her exquisite singing of arias from the Baroque to songs from the 19th century, but also...
- [St. Michael in Vienna:<br/>Mozart’s Funeral Mass](https://interlude.hk/st-michael-in-viennamozarts-funeral-mass/): During the summer months of July and August, the city center of Vienna turns into a veritable assemblage of the United Nations. People from all corners and regions of the world visit the self-proclaimed “City of Music” to experience its unique flair, sample the local cuisine, attend concerts at the...
- [Ricci Remembered, in Song and Image](https://interlude.hk/ricci-remembered-in-song-and-image/): A Macau Concert Profiles the Life, Words, and Music of Jesuit Missionary Matteo RicciOn June 26, the American Renaissance music ensemble ¡Sacabuche! came to Macau and joined forces with traditional Chinese musicians, singers, and orators to give musical expression to the explorations of the International Convention of Asia Scholars, an...
- [Celso Albelo at the Wigmore Hall (Rosenblatt Recitals)](https://interlude.hk/celso-albelo-at-the-wigmore-hall-rosenblatt-recitals/): A significant development in the world of opera over the last few decades has been the emergence of new opportunities for young artists. Many opera houses now have Young Artist schemes, such as the Jette Parker programme at the Royal Opera House in London and the Lindemann Young Artist Development...
- [A brave New World:<br/>Britten and Pears I](https://interlude.hk/a-brave-new-worldbritten-and-pears-i/): Having resisted the sexual advances of WH Auden, who eventually turned rather spiteful and detailed Benji’s defects of character in an acerbic letter, “I am certain too that it is your denial and evasion of the demands of disorder that is responsible for your attacks of ill-health... you are always...
- [Joys and Sorrows of Outdoor Concerts](https://interlude.hk/joys-and-sorrows-of-outdoor-concerts/): Ah! It’s finally summer festival and outdoor concert time. Families love to picnic while orchestras play in various outdoor venues. The audiences come to our outdoor performances in droves. They are excited to introduce the orchestra to their children where they can run around freely and dance to the music...
- [Piano works - Arnold SCHOENBERG](https://interlude.hk/piano-works-arnold-schoenberg/): Trois pièces pour piano (1894) II Andantino grazioso Florent Boffard, piano From Piano works – Arnold SCHOENBERG (2013) Released by Harmonia Mundi Schoenberg: Trois pièces pour piano (1894) – II Andantino graziosoThe composer of the celebrated Pierrot lunaire, Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951) wrote five sets of piano pieces which correspond to...
- [From Purcell to Mahler:<br/>Britten, Purcell and Mahler](https://interlude.hk/from-purcell-to-mahlerbritten-purcell-and-mahler/): Besides studying and emulating the works of 20th century composers, Benjamin Britten became increasingly fascinated by English music of the late 17th and early 18th centuries, most notably the music of Henry Purcell. He wrote, “One of my chief aims is to try to restore to the musical setting of...
- [Au Clair de la Lune](https://interlude.hk/au-clair-de-la-lune/): The French folk song Au Clair de la Lune is a greater celebrity than its simple tune might suggest. Not only is it well known especially in France (even used by some mid-wives to teach labour breathing techniques) and popularly taught in percussion lessons, but it also has the unique...
- [In touch with Antonio Poli](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-antonio-poli/): With a jury comprised of not only opera managers and music directors around the globe but also international media figures, the annual International Hans Gabor Belvedere Competition aims to offer prizewinners the fast track into a career in opera. I recently spoke with Antonio Poli, the 2010 prizewinner, to find...
- [Ferdinando and his Magical Keyboard](https://interlude.hk/ferdinando-and-his-magical-keyboard/): Sometimes, the course of musical history is utterly changed by the split decision of a single individual. When Ferdinando de’Medici, Grand Prince of the Duchy of Tuscany needed a caretaker for his roughly 75 musical instruments, he hired Bartolomeo Cristofori, a relatively unknown harpsichord builder from Padua in 1688. Unbeknownst...
- [The Lang Lang Effect - Good, Bad or Ugly](https://interlude.hk/the-lang-lang-effect-good-bad-or-ugly/): First of all, I have to declare that I am definitively not a fan of Lang Lang. As a matter of fact, I strongly dislike his public image, his musical taste, what he has to say with his music, and the portrayal of his persona through music. No doubt, most...
- [Johann Ludwig Krebs](https://interlude.hk/johann-ludwig-krebs/): A Crayfish in my Stream Johann Ludwig Krebs: Flute Sonata No. 3 in C major By all accounts, Johann Sebastian Bach was a stern and exacting teacher. Since he had no time to waste — he was after all in charge of music at the four principal churches in Leipzig,...
- [Frédéric Chopin - Katarzyna Popowa-Zydroń](https://interlude.hk/frederic-chopin-katarzyna-popowa-zydron/): Etude in C Sharp Minor Op. 25 No. 7 Katarzyna Popowa-Zydroń From Frédéric Chopin – Katarzyna Popowa-Zydroń (2013) Released by CD Accord Chopin: Etude in C Sharp Minor Op. 25 No. 7In an interview of 2005, conducted by the recently departed first lady of Polish journalism, Teresa Torańska, Katarzyna Popowa-Zydroń...
- [Orchestration - a whole world of sound](https://interlude.hk/orchestration-a-whole-world-of-sound/): To orchestrate verb 1 arrange or score (music) for orchestral performance. 2 arrange or direct the elements of (a situation) to produce a desired effect Why do people write for orchestra? Because of the larger choice of sounds available, of course. As opposed to a single instrument, the orchestra expands...
- [Whatever Horowitz wants, Horowitz gets!<br/>Samuel Barber : Excursions](https://interlude.hk/whatever-horowitz-wants-horowitz-gets/): By the early 1940’s, the pianist Vladimir Samoylovich Horowitz — and his conducting father-in law Arturo Toscanini — had reached the pinnacle of fame in the United States. Described as a “tornado unleashed from the steppes,” Horowitz mesmerized audiences with interpretations that involved dynamic contrasts and exceptional range of tonal...
- [Classical Music for Weddings](https://interlude.hk/wedding-music/): Having been to several weddings in the last six months and having celebrated my own nuptials earlier this month, I thought I would share some of my thoughts on wedding music in this article. I have often been asked to recommend pieces for weddings, mostly for the ceremony but occasionally...
- [Chief Listener: Ng, Yat-chiu, Daniel (1937-2013)](https://interlude.hk/chief-listener-ng-yat-chiu-daniel-1937-2013/): What do you get when you cross a marketing genius and extremely successful businessman with an insatiable music enthusiasm actively supporting composers, performers, scholars and various musical organizations? If you reside in Hong Kong or have a serious interest in music in New York, Sydney, London or elsewhere, there is...
- [How my Cello found me](https://interlude.hk/how-my-cello-found-me/): My Cello and Me — We Were Made for Each Other I was smitten from the first moment. Finding an instrument is like finding your soul mate — you know it instantly. I was twenty- two- years old and had just been accepted to Janos Starker’s elite class at Indiana...
- [In touch with Celso Albelo](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-celso-albelo/): Tenerife-born tenor Celso Albelo is one of the most exciting voices of today. Still young by operatic standards, he has already made debuts at the major opera houses in Paris, Vienna, Milan, Berlin, Zurich, Venice and Rome and is one of the most significant torch-bearers for the Italian operatic tradition...
- [The Three “B’s”.<br/>Britten, Bridge, and Berg](https://interlude.hk/the-three-bs-britten-bridge-and-berg/): During his apprenticeship with Frank Bridge, Benjamin Britten began work on a set of variations on a theme by his teacher. It took Britten 5 years and a specific request from the conductor Boyd Neel and the Salzburg Festival in 1937 to finally settle on a suitable theme, the second...
- [Is it just ‘a bit of fun’?](https://interlude.hk/is-it-just-a-bit-of-fun/): Theme and variations for Clarinet and Piano ‘You should learn his Theme and Variations’, said my teacher. I was never a fan of variations, but Françaix’s take on the form changed my view of them quite a bit. (I also, in the meantime, discovered Beethoven’s Diabelli Variations and Chopin’s Op....
- [Béla Bartók - Violins Concertos no. 1 & 2](https://interlude.hk/bela-bartok-violins-concertos-no-1-2/): Violin Concerto No. 2, Sz 112 – II. Andante tranquillo Isabelle Faust, violin Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra Daniel Harding From Béla Bartók – Violins Concertos no. 1 & 2 (2013) Released by Harmonia Mundi Bartók: Violin Concerto No. 2, Sz 112 – II. Andante tranquilloSuch is the fame of Bartók’s...
- [Tying the knot Medici style!](https://interlude.hk/tying-the-knot-medici-style/): For most of us — and I have been down the aisles twice — weddings tend to be rather jolly affairs; amongst much food, drink and pageantry, a varying number of relatives and friends come together to witness the ritual joining of two people. At the end of the day,...
- [Music and the Arts in 19th and 20th Century Russia I](https://interlude.hk/music-and-the-arts-in-19th-and-20th-century-russia-i/): The recent exhibition of ‘Diaghilev and the Ballets Russes’ at the National Gallery in Washington, D. C. and several of the recent Interlude articles on the same subject raised interesting and important questions about the connection and inter-relationship between the arts in the beginning of the 20th century. How did...
- [Coming out!<br/>Britten, Auden, and Berkeley](https://interlude.hk/coming-outbritten-auden-and-berkeley/): While Benji Britten was delighting in his fondness for the young of his own sex, he himself became the object of the desires of the poet WH Auden and the composer Lennox Berkeley. In 1935, the General Post Office Film Unit produced a series of documentary films about modern-day life,...
- [Boris Giltburg](https://interlude.hk/boris-giltburg/): A Sincere and Serious Pianist There is a certain seriousness about Russian musicians. I remember talking to Valery Gergiev once after his rehearsal with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra; every note, for him, is about life and death. In fact, this profound thinking can be found in Russian literature, in Dostoyevsky’s...
- [Music and Religion:<br/>Nicene Creed: I believe!](https://interlude.hk/music-and-religionnicene-creed-i-believe/): In the year 325, theological experts and ecclesiastical dignitaries met in the city of Nicaea — presently defined as the Turkish city of Iznik — and discussed the exact wording for a profession of faith or creed to be used in Christian liturgy. It took them rather a long time,...
- [Olga Pasichnyk - Bella mia fiamma... (Mozart Concert Arias)](https://interlude.hk/olga-pasichnyk-bella-mia-fiamma-mozart-concert-arias/): “Nehmt meinen Dank” K. 383 Olga Pasichnyk From Olga Pasichnyk – Bella mia fiamma... (Mozart Concert Arias) (2013) Released by CD Accord Mozart: “Nehmt meinen Dank” K. 383The concert arias of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – skilfully designed, cut and tailored with the precision of a master couturier to suit the...
- [Playing Second Fiddle](https://interlude.hk/playing-second-fiddle/): Giovanni Battista Sammartini: Symphony in A major, J-C 65 Franz Josef Haydn: String Quartet No. 31 in B minor, Op. 33, No. 1 Between 1715 and 1735, Alain-René Lesage published his 4-volume novel L’Histoire de Gil Blas de Santillane (The Adventures of Gil Blas of Santillane). In satirical and humorous...
- [Salutations From Composer to Composer](https://interlude.hk/salutations-from-composer-to-composer/): Just like the rest of the world composers may or may not get along with each other; and they may or may not like each other’s music. In fact, insults sometimes fly. “He’d be better off shoveling snow,” said Richard Strauss about Arnold Schoenberg. Strauss was let us say reticent...
- [The Adventures of Benji<br/>Britten and the Boys](https://interlude.hk/the-adventures-of-benjibritten-and-the-boys/): It is a rather thankless task to write about Benjamin Britten in the context of a column entitled “In Love. ” His long-time relationship with the tenor Peter Pears, which is clearly a love story, is not the issue and I will tell you about that in a later episode....
- [Britten and Tippett – Two Kinds of Englishman](https://interlude.hk/britten-and-tippett-two-kinds-of-englishman/): One of the most enjoyable musical experiences of my life has been performing Sir Michael Tippett’s extraordinary oratorio A Child of our Time with the chorus and orchestra of Clare College, Cambridge. Famous especially because of the series of five spirituals that Tippett placed at key dramatic points throughout the...
- [Balakirev - Complete Piano Works Vol. 1 Piano Sonatas](https://interlude.hk/balakirev-complete-piano-works-vol-1-piano-sonatas/): Piano Sonata in B flat minor III. Intermezzo: Larghetto Nicholas Walker From Balakirev – Complete Piano Works Vol. 1 Piano Sonatas (2013) Released by Grand Piano Balakirev: Piano Sonata in B flat minor – III. Intermezzo: Larghetto About M. A. Balakirev (1837 – 1910) A brilliant pianist, improviser, noted conductor...
- [A Bridge to Europe<br/>Britten, Bridge, and Schoenberg](https://interlude.hk/a-bridge-to-europebritten-bridge-and-schoenberg/): Edith Rhoda Britten, née Hockley was an ambitious woman. When she discovered that her son Benjamin had outstanding musical talents, she not only provided him with his first piano lessons and instructions in rudimentary musicianship, she also was convinced that Benji was to become the “Fourth B”, that is, Britten...
- [Julius Harrison](https://interlude.hk/julius-harrison/): Part-time Composer Julius Harrison: Viola Sonata in C minor Traditionally, composers had a rather difficult time to earn a living practicing their art. A good many of them had to take a day job to actually make a living. Gustav Mahler, for example, was primarily engaged as a conductor, and...
- [Living with Handel](https://interlude.hk/living-with-handel/): Bach : Saint John PassionPart I: Chorale: Herr, unser Herrscher (Chorus) I am for the first time in my life living with Handel. I lived with Bach earlier this year, when I was involved in performances of his St John Passion at Clare College, Cambridge and with the Aurora Orchestra...
- [The Sunken Crate: Vienna State Opera](https://interlude.hk/the-sunken-crate-vienna-state-opera/): Viennese audiences, throughout the establishment of their city as a cultural and musical center, have not only been known for their artistic expertise, but also for their fickleness. A deep-seated reliance on musical and cultural traditions informed much of the artistic discourse, and the divisions between “serious” and “light” classical...
- [In touch with Lana Kos](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-lana-kos/): It seems that every rising star has a mentor; like cellist Han-na Chang, the Croatian soprano Lana Kos was inspired by Mstislav Rostropovich. The late maestro chose Kos for the role of Natasha Rostova in Prokofiev’s War and Peace in the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow. Since then, she has been...
- [In Search of Magic](https://interlude.hk/in-search-of-magic/): At the Van Cliburn Piano Competition Four years ago, when the Van Cliburn Piano Competition was first presented on webcast, I found myself glued to my laptop for weeks, following what I considered one of the most exciting events in music history. The “winning” performances of the top three prize...
- [“Violetta: A Subject for our own Age”<br/><em> La Traviata</em>](https://interlude.hk/violetta-a-subject-for-our-own-age-la-traviata/): In February 1852, Giuseppe Verdi and his companion Giuseppina Strepponi attended a performance of Alexander Dumas fils’ play La Dame aux camellias (The Lady of the Camellias) in Paris. Verdi had probably read the novel, originally published in 1849, at some time before his visit to the theater, but upon...
- [Ponce - Complete Piano Works : 1](https://interlude.hk/ponce-complete-piano-works-1/): Valentina Alvaro Cendoya From Ponce – Complete Piano Works : 1 (2013) Released by Grand Piano Ponce: ValentinaAbout Manuel Maria Ponce (1882 -1948) Manuel María Ponce was the author of a substantial and significant body of work and, as one of Mexico’s most prolific and well-known composers, is still held...
- [In touch with Maria Agresta](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-maria-agresta/): Just by looking at her photos, I can feel the Italian warmth from Maria Agresta’s beaming smiles. A winner of several competitions, Maria Agresta made her debut in 2007. Since then, she has worked with conductors like Gianandrea Noseda, Zubin Mehta and Riccardo Muti, in prestigious venues like the Carnegie...
- [Schubert - Complete works for violin and piano](https://interlude.hk/schubert-complete-works-for-violin-and-piano/): Fantasy in C major D934 III. Andantino Alina Ibragimova (violin), Cédric Tiberghien (piano) From Schubert – Complete works for violin and piano (2013) Released by Hyperion Schubert: Fantasy in C major D934 – III. AndantinoThis recording of Schubert’s complete works for violin and piano is a pure delight. Alina Ibragimova...
- [“Something Almost Being Said”](https://interlude.hk/something-almost-being-said/): Pianist Simone Dinnerstein has recently released a new compact disk with the title “Something Almost Being Said – Music of Bach and Schubert” which includes Bach’s Partita No. 1 in B-Flat Major, Bach’s Partita No. 2 in C-Minor and Schubert’s Four Impromptus, Op. 90. Dinnerstein uses a poem by Philip...
- [Mahler’s Dumplings](https://interlude.hk/mahlers-dumplings/): Gustav Mahler: Symphony 1, “Feierlich and gemessen” When Gustav Mahler (1860-1911) took up his conducting appointment in the city of Olmütz, located in the Moravian region of the Czech lands, everybody thought he was a rather odd duck. According to contemporary reports, “At the inn where the singers met in...
- [Alina Ibragimova](https://interlude.hk/alina-ibragimova-in-sight/): An intelligent violinist Beethoven Violin Sonata No. 5 in F major, Op. 24, “Spring” With Cédric Tiberghien Bach Concerto for Oboe and Violin in C minor, BWV 1060 With Alexei Ogrintchouk and the Swedish Chamber Orchestra Once shared the stage with conductor Yehudi Menuhin at the opening ceremony of the...
- [In touch with Cédric Tiberghien:<br/>An artist, not just a musician](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-cedric-tiberghienan-artist-not-just-a-musician/): ‘If one day my passion for music fades, I would have done something else! ’ the French pianist Cédric Tiberghien told me a few years ago when we first met in a practice room in Hong Kong. Time flies, but the fire inside Tiberghien is still burning. In his recent...
- [Buried Treasures:<br/>Felix Mendelssohn: Concerto for Piano, Violin and Strings in D Minor (1822)](https://interlude.hk/buried-treasuresfelix-mendelssohn-concerto-for-piano-violin-and-orchestra-1822/): When Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) died at the incredibly young age of thirty-eight, he simply had not yet made arrangements for literally hundreds of unpublished musical manuscripts and artworks, alongside thousands of personal letters to and from the composer. During his lifetime, and for a short period thereafter — with a...
- [In touch with David Hertzberg:<br/>A YouTube Channel to Die For!](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-david-hertzberga-you-tube-channel-to-die-for/): Are you a Facebook addict? I admit it. I am. Many of my friends are musicians, of course. Recently, I noticed that one of my friends has a “friend” who began posting some of the most amazing archival photos I’d ever seen – of the greatest musical artists of the...
- [Music and Religion:<br/>Glory to God](https://interlude.hk/music-and-religionglory-to-god/): According to the apostle Luke, when the angels announced the birth of Christ to the Shepherds, they sang a hymn beginning with the words “Gloria in excelsis Deo” (Glory to God in the highest. ) In time, additional verses were added to create the Greater Doxology — a Greek word...
- [All work and no play? Studying music academically](https://interlude.hk/all-work-and-no-play-studying-music-academically/): ‘Writing about music is like dancing about architecture’. These were the words of Miles Davis. Or was it Elvis Costello? Perhaps it was Thelonius Monk... Or Frank Zappa? Regardless of who said these words (maybe they all uttered it at one point in their lives), I’m here to (hopefully) show...
- [Vagn Holmboe Concertos](https://interlude.hk/vagn-holmboe-concertos/): Viola Concerto Op. 189 I. Allegro moderato, ma con forza Erik Heide, violin Lars Anders Tomter, viola Norrköping Symphony Orchestra Dima Slobodeniouk, conductor From Vagn Holmboe Concertos (2013) Released by Dacapo Vagn Holmboe: Viola Concerto Op. 189 – I. Allegro moderato, ma con forzaAbout Vagn Holmboe (1909 – 1996) The...
- [Shooting the Messenger<br/>Hindemith and the Folk Tradition](https://interlude.hk/shooting-the-messengerhindemith-and-the-folk-tradition/): During a 1928 lecture for choral conductors in Berlin, Paul Hindemith addressed the widening gap between contemporary composers — and here he particularly emphasized Arnold Schoenberg — and the general musical public. “The tenuous connection in music today between producers and consumers is to be regretted. The composer today should...
- [Sign of the Lion!<br/>Paul Hindemith and Gertrud Rottenberg IV](https://interlude.hk/sign-of-the-lionpaul-hindemith-and-gertrud-rottenberg-iv/): Paul Hindemith: Die Serenaden, Op. 35 “Duett for Viola and Violoncello” At the beginning of 1940, Gertrude was still stuck in Switzerland and desperately looking for a way to join her husband, who had secured lectureships at the University of Buffalo, Cornell University, Wells College and Yale University. As Europe...
- [The Riot of Spring!](https://interlude.hk/the-riot-of-spring/): On 29 May 1913, the city of Paris witnessed the premiere performance of a musical work that exerted a tremendously powerful influence on the music of the 20th century. The Rite of Spring catapulted Stravinsky to international stardom and defined modernity in the minds of audiences and critics alike. As...
- [In touch with Daniel Oren:<br/>A life in Opera](https://interlude.hk/a-life-in-opera-conductor-daniel-oren/): Being chosen by Leonard Bernstein to sing the boy solo part in Chichester Psalms, conductor Daniel Oren seems to be destined for the opera house from an early age. Indeed, when I saw him stepping onto the podium to conduct Puccini’s Turandot at the Guangzhou Opera House in June, he...
- [Bach Cantatas <br/>Gardiner](https://interlude.hk/bach-cantatas-gardiner/): Chorus: “Gott fähret auf mit Jauchzen” John Eliot Gardiner From Bach Cantatas Gardiner (2013) Released by Harmonia Mundi Bach: Chorus – “Gott fähret auf mit Jauchzen”Another masterpiece by John Eliot Gardiner. Official Website
- [Back to Bach<br/>Hindemith and Bach](https://interlude.hk/back-to-bachhindemith-and-bach/): In his Suite 1922, Paul Hindemith had not only referenced in popular music genres; he also paid homage to the gestures and aesthetic of the high Baroque. Like many composers of the time, Hindemith was looking for greater objectivity and discipline in music. As such, he renounced the harmonically orientated...
- [Charles-Valentin Alkan](https://interlude.hk/charles-valentin-alkan/): From the Diary of a Hermit At one time or another, Charles-Valentin Alkan (1813-1888) was mentioned in the same breath with Frédéric Chopin and Franz Liszt and even compared with Hector Berlioz. Not only was Alkan — he was born of Jewish parentage as Charles-Valentin Morhange — one of the...
- [In touch with Harry Fehr:<br/>The Philosophical Director](https://interlude.hk/the-philosophical-director-harry-fehr/): Harry Fehr is the opera director who once told The Scotsman that he ‘would avoid Wagner at a dinner party’. Yet in April this year, he directed an intriguing production of The Flying Dutchman, re-shaping the title role as the captain of an oil tanker off the north-east coast of...
- [Ravioli à la Paganini](https://interlude.hk/ravioli-a-la-paganini/): In 1906, Gertrude Clarke of Belleview, Nebraska married Matthew John Whittall —roughly twenty-five years her senior — who had made his substantial fortune producing and dealing in carpets and rugs. While John was busy weaving another mat, Gertrude developed a taste for music and the arts — expensive music and...
- [Paris Ballet Now](https://interlude.hk/paris-ballet-now/): The atmosphere was electric! We were at Paris’s Palais Garnier to attend a ballet performance just five days before the one-hundredth anniversary of the riot surrounding the premiere of Igor Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring in May of 1913. To top that off, we would be seeing another world-famous work of...
- [Castelnuovo - Tedesco <br/>The Piano Concertos nos. 1 and 2 <br/>Solo Piano Works](https://interlude.hk/castelnuovo-tedesco-the-piano-concertos-nos-1-and-2-solo-piano-works/): Passatempi Op. 54 V . Con brio alla Viennese Pietro Massa Neubrandenburger Philharmonie Stefan Malzew From Castelnuovo – Tedesco The Piano Concertos nos. 1 and 2 Solo Piano Works (2013) Released by Naxos Castelnuovo – Tedesco: Passatempi Op. 54 – V . Con brio alla VienneseAbout Castelnuovo-Tedesco (1895 – 1968...
- [Mozart’s Party Piece? ‘Gran Partita’ examined](https://interlude.hk/mozarts-party-piece-gran-partita-examined/): MOZART, W. A. : Serenade No. 10, “Gran Partita” Sabine Meyer Wind Ensemble Mozart’s Serenade K. 361 has a lot of mystery surrounding it, generating many articles, thoughts and opinions (both scholarly and informal) with regards to its genesis and function. The work’s large scope gives it a fairly unique...
- [The Land of Limited Impossibilities<br/>Paul Hindemith and Gertrud Rottenberg III](https://interlude.hk/the-land-of-limited-impossibilitiespaul-hindemith-and-gertrud-rottenberg/): Paul Hindemith: Der Schwanendreher (Viola Concerto), II If you have ever taken wedding vows, you might still remember uttering the words “for better or for worse. ” For Gertrud and Paul Hindemith, the “worse” was slightly more threatening than merely worrying about the next payment for the car. Just when...
- [St. Thomas in Leipzig](https://interlude.hk/st-thomas-in-leipzig/): J. S. Bach: St. Matthew Passion, “Kommt ihr Töchter helft mir klagen” One of the most wonderful experiences while traveling in Europe is the ability to visit monuments, castles, churches and civic buildings, and the spaces within the urban or rural landscape they occupy. Many have existed in one form...
- [Robert Schumann - <br/>Chamber Music with Winds](https://interlude.hk/robert-schumann-chamber-music-with-winds/): Märchenerzählungen Op. 132 for clarinet, viola and piano. Ruhiges Tempo. mit zartem Ausdruck Soloists from the Orchestre de Paris From Robert Schumann Chamber Music with Winds (2012) Released by Indésens Schumann: Märchenerzählungen Op. 132 for clarinet, viola and piano – Ruhiges Tempo. mit zartem AusdruckIn 1849, Schumann spent some time...
- [Matthis the Painter:<br/>Paul Hindemith and Matthias Grünewald](https://interlude.hk/matthis-the-painterpaul-hindemith-and-matthias-grunewald/): Wilhelm Furtwängler had asked Paul Hindemith to write an orchestral work for the Berlin Philharmonic’s 1933/34 season – just at the moment when Hindemith had decided to write an opera based on the famous Isenheimer Altar (now in the Unterlinden Museum in Colmar, France) by the great German painter, Matthias...
- [Sachsenplatz Choo Choo<br/>Paul Hindemith and Gertrud Rottenberg II](https://interlude.hk/sachsenplatz-choo-choopaul-hindemith-and-gertrud-rottenberg/): In most cases, prenuptial agreements or matrimonial regimes include provisions for division of property and spousal support in the event of divorce or breakup of marriage. However, these contracts rarely regulate issues relating to the children of a marriage, particularly, custody and visitation rights. It gets even murkier if a...
- [The Érard of Your Ways!<br/>"Waldstein" and “Appassionata”](https://interlude.hk/the-erard-of-your-wayswaldstein-and-appassionata/): Beethoven’s Transfer of the “Symphonic Ideal” Into His Middle Period Piano Sonatas What had begun as a slight ringing in Beethoven‘s ears around 1789 had progressively turned into partial deafness by 1801. In 1802, while spending the summer in the Viennese suburb of Heiligenstadt, Beethoven wrote his last will and...
- [Introduction to Eurhythmics](https://interlude.hk/introduction-to-eurhythmics/): In my last article, I wrote about the importance of listening and how it contributes significantly to one’s musical education and development. I would now like to introduce another educational approach known as Eurhythmics, which incorporates listening as well as physical movement. Eurhythmics, more commonly thought of as the British...
- [Paris Ballet Then](https://interlude.hk/paris-ballet-then/): What was the Paris Opéra Ballet like six decades ago? My Uncle Arnold was posted in France after the Second World War in 1946. A dedicated music aficionado, he could hardly wait for his furlough to attend the ballet. This is what he related about his experience:(written in early 1946...
- [Let’s do the Shimmy!<br/>Hindemith, Bartók and Bach](https://interlude.hk/lets-do-the-shimmyhindemith-bartok-and-bach/): Composed in January and February 1920, Paul Hindemith’s third string quartet was described as “brimming with youthful energy... a thrilling, musical event, real ‘new’ music. Here everything is comprehensible and concrete. ” First performed at the Donaueschingen Chamber Music Performances in 1921, it led to the founding of the Amar...
- [Feng Yi Ting:  A Historic Femme Fatale In Luminato Festival](https://interlude.hk/feng-yi-ting-a-historic-femme-fatale-in-luminato-festival/): Feng Yi Ting on Luminato Fesival’s 2013 playbill attracted me in a similar way that The Infernal Comedy featuring John Malkovich attracted me in 2010. The former was Canadian film and stage director Atom Egoyan’s modern interpretation of the Chinese opera and the latter was a weird and shocking chamber...
- [Henri Tomasi - Concertos pour trompette et trombone / Noces de cendres](https://interlude.hk/henri-tomasi-concertos-pour-trompette-et-trombone-noces-de-cendres/): Concerto for trumpet Nocturne : Andantino Eric Aubier, trumpet Fabrice Millischer, trombone Orchestre d’Harmonie de la Garde Républicaine From Henri Tomasi Concertos pour trompette et trombone Noces de cendres (2013) Released by Indésens Tomasi: Concerto for trumpet – Nocturne : AndantinoThe tracks on this CD are the perfect reflexion of...
- [Music and Religion: <br/>Lord have Mercy!](https://interlude.hk/music-and-religion-lord-have-mercy/): The Roman Liturgy consists of texts and rites that make up a sacred service. One form of service, inherited from ancient Jewish practices, developed into the liturgy of the Divine Office, also known as the Canonical Hours. The Divine Office — first codified by St. Benedict around 520 — is...
- [Quatuor Ebène](https://interlude.hk/quatuor-ebene-2/): Classical or jazz? That is the question – Quatuor Ébène ‘We are so jetlag! ’ said Mathieu Herzog, viola player from Quatuor Ébène. Great, I thought. In front of me were four handsome Frenchmen, who studied extensively with the Ysaye Quartet in Paris and won the prestigious ARD International Competition...
- [Tournedos à la Rossini](https://interlude.hk/tournedos-a-la-rossini/): Today, we remember Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868) as the most prominent composer of Italian opera in the first half of the 19th century. But, when he was a young man growing up in Bologna he was simply known as “La Grassa,” or “The Fat One. ” Contemporary audiences compared his music...
- [In touch with Charles Dutoit](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-charles-dutoit/): When I heard that Charles Dutoit is performing at the Guangzhou Opera House in July, a wave of nostalgia swept over me – I decided to reminisce about my summer at the Canton International Summer Music Academy in Guangzhou, seven years ago. It was a week in heaven. My day...
- [Béla Bartók - 44 Violin Duets](https://interlude.hk/bela-bartok-44-violin-duets/): Pizzicato Jan Talich Agnès Pyka From Béla Bartók – 44 Violin Duets (2012) Released by Indésens Bartók: Pizzicato Béla Bartók did not intend this work to be played in performances, but rather to be useful as a work for young students. The work was commissioned by Erich Dorfein, a German...
- [The Cowherd’s Tower<br/>Paul Hindemith and Gertrud Rottenberg I](https://interlude.hk/the-cowherds-towerpaul-hindemith-and-gertrud-rottenberg/): Paul Hindemith: String Quartet No. 3 in C major, Op. 16 The attentive and regular reader of my “In Love” column has surely come to understand that when it comes to musicians, artists and composers, love might not be the most accurate word to describe their world of interpersonal relationships....
- [A Vision of Eternity<br/>Schubert’s String Quintet](https://interlude.hk/a-vision-of-eternityschuberts-string-quintet/): Franz SchubertString Quintet in C major, Op. 163, D. 956(Stern, Casals, Tortelier, Schneider, Katims) (1956) In the autumn of 1822, Franz Peter Schubert (1797-1828), a quiet, shy, gentle and introverted man of short stature, contracted syphilis. Affectionately called “Schwammerl,” a Viennese dialect word meaning “tiny mushroom,” Schubert was romantically involved...
- [“Strangolapreti”](https://interlude.hk/strangolapreti/): Giovanni Pierluigi Palestrina: Stabat Mater Picturesquely located in a glacial valley on the southern foothills of the Alps, the small town of Trento — also known as Trient — played a pivotal role in deciding the fate of the Roman Catholic Church. In 1545, 255 members of the high clergy,...
- [The Frailty of a Genius: Frederic Chopin](https://interlude.hk/the-frailty-of-a-genius-frederic-chopin/): For many years people believed that Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849) had died from tuberculosis. Not only was he known for his chronic coughs, breathlessness and haemotypsis (coughing out blood), ‘tuberculosis’ was also cited as the cause of death on his death certificate. To many, Chopin’s breathtaking skills on the piano and...
- [The Old World just exploded!<br/> Hindemith and Brahms](https://interlude.hk/the-old-world-just-exploded-hindemith-and-brahms/): Paul Hindemith was a precocious musical talent. Whatever he touched, he almost instantaneously mastered. He started violin lessons at an early age and was admitted to the Frankfurt Conservatory at age 12. He soon became an accomplished performer on several instruments, most notably the clarinet and the piano, and also...
- [Conductor “Quips”](https://interlude.hk/conductor-quips/): Audiences have little comprehension of the nuances that are determined by the conductor and the musicians in the rehearsal process. The audience sees elaborate gestures that somehow result in exquisite music making. What actually goes on? It is no exaggeration that every note is discussed. Musicians come to the first...
- [Joseph Haydn - The Seven Last Words of Our Savior on the Cross<br/>extended string quartet version](https://interlude.hk/joseph-haydnthe-seven-last-words-of-our-savior-on-the-crossextended-string-quartet-version/): Sonata I Ensemble OPUS POSTH, Grindenko From Joseph Haydn The Seven Last Words of Our Savior on the Cross extended string quartet version (2006) Released by CCnC Haydn: Sonata IThe Seven Last Words of Our Saviour On the Cross (German: Die sieben letzten Worte unseres Erlösers am Kreuze) is an...
- [Rise of the Phoenix: La Fenice](https://interlude.hk/rise-of-the-phoenix-la-fenice/): Have you ever heard of Enrico Carella and Massimiliano Marchetti? There is really no reason why these names should be particularly memorable, except for the fact that these two knuckleheads deliberately set fire to one of the most famous opera houses in Europe on 29 January 1996. During renovation work...
- [Memory Top Tips](https://interlude.hk/memory-top-tips/): “I hope my reed makes it through the performance... It’s so hot in there, my tuning’s going to go out the window... This shirt’s so uncomfortable... And why, to top it all off, am I performing from memory? ! ” These can be just a few of the thoughts that...
- [Felix Draeseke](https://interlude.hk/felix-draeseke/): The Curse of Promotion Felix Draeseke, Clarinet Sonata in B flat major, Op. 38 Felix Draeseke, Symphonia Tragica, Op. 40 Music is a fickle business! Having exceptional musical talents, composing a first work at age nine followed by an extensive catalogue of works in most genres — including eight operas,...
- [Francesco da Milano "Il Divino"](https://interlude.hk/francesco-da-milano-il-divino/): Fantasia Paul O’Dette, lute From Francesco da Milano “Il Divino” (2013) Released by Harmonia Mundi Francesco da Milano “Il Divino”: FantasiaFrancesco da Milano (dubbed “Il divino”) was celebrated as the pre-eminent composer of lute music in Renaissance Italy. He was widely published in his lifetime and remained popular across Europe...
- [Diaghilev and the Ballet Russes: When Art danced with Music](https://interlude.hk/diaghilev-and-the-ballet-russes-when-art-danced-with-music/): The current exhibition at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D. C. “Diaghilev and the Ballets Russes, 1909-1929: When Art Danced with Music” brings into focus one of the most productive eras in the arts, in which poetry, art, theater, dance, music and fashion inspired each other, creating a...
- [The Importance of Listening](https://interlude.hk/the-importance-of-listening/): Can one cook an authentic Chinese meal without ever having had a taste of the cuisine? It would be safe to say that the above would prove extremely tricky. As with most other things in life, it is hard to successfully replicate something without having experienced it one way or...
- [Beethoven and his Op. 2](https://interlude.hk/beethoven-and-his-op-2/): Ludwig van Beethoven Piano Sonata Op. 2, No. 1 Piano Sonatas Op. 2 No. 2 Piano Sonatas Op. 2, No. 3 Historians and scholars habitually divided Beethoven’s life and work into three periods, a concept that originated with Johann Aloys Schlosser’s biography published merely months after the composer’s death. This...
- [Beethoven’s Immortal Beloved](https://interlude.hk/beethovens-immortal-beloveds/): Beethoven’s love life is a mystery. He wrote a series of passionate letters — a total of 10 pages written in pencil — to a woman, his “Immortal Beloved. ” These heartbreaking letters were found after Beethoven’s death. To this day the debate rages as to who the intended recipient...
- [Poets from the East](https://interlude.hk/poets-from-the-east/): Leonid Desyatnikov From Kashchey’s Life Evelyn Chang, piano From Poets from the East (2009) Released by Avie Records Leonid Desyatnikov: From Kashchey’s LifeThe solo debut recital recording by Taiwanese pianist Evelyn Chang is an ingenious blend of Eastern musical poetry and Western colours, drawing attention to the artist’s musical and...
- [Ménage à trois<br/>Verdi and Teresa Stolz II](https://interlude.hk/menage-a-triosverdi-and-teresa-stolz-ii/): Giuseppe Verdi: Messa da Requiem, “Agnus Dei” In psychology, empathic accuracy refers to how precisely a person can infer the thoughts and feelings of another person. Contrary to popular urban myth, women do not seem to possess superior empathic abilities to men. Mind you, Peppina Verdi did not have to...
- [Plants growing in the wrong climate: <br/>Verdi and his String Quartet](https://interlude.hk/plants-growing-in-the-wrong-climate-verdi-and-his-string-quartet/): Originally, the term “Grand Opera” meant nothing more than a work that dealt with a serious subject and featured recitatives to separate musical numbers, rather than the dialogue used in opéra comique. By 1830, however, it had come to refer to an operatic genre that shifted the focus from arias...
- [Don't lose your Head: Haydn's Skull](https://interlude.hk/dont-lose-your-head-haydns-skull/): Around the turn of the 19th century, Schädellehre (doctrine of the skull) — better know as phrenology — was considered on the cutting edge of medical theory. Developed by the renowned Viennese neuroanatomist and physiologist Dr. Franz Joseph Gall, the theory suggested that it was possible to determine an individual’s...
- [Lise Lindstrom](https://interlude.hk/lise-lindstrom/): The New York Post once claimed that ‘the tall, slender Lindstrom wielded the icy glamour of a 30s film star, working the trains and veils of her elaborate costumes with the panache of a runway model’. About six feet tall, blonde and slim, this combination certainly helps Lise Lindstrom to...
- [Music and Religion:<br/>The Catholic Retaliation](https://interlude.hk/music-and-religion-the-catholic-retaliation/): The Counter-Reformation, also known as the Catholic Revival or Catholic Reformation, began with the Council of Trent in 1545 and ended at the close of the Thirty Year’s War in 1648. A direct response to the Protestant Reformation, it sought to reorganize the ecclesiastical and political structures of the church,...
- [In touch with Marco Berti:<br/>The Otello of the Future](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-marco-bertithe-otello-of-the-future/): Sharing the same birthplace, Como, with Cosima Liszt, the daughter of Franz List and second wife of Richard Wagner, tenor Marco Berti is perhaps destined for greatness. After hearing Marco Berti’s debut as Otello at the Festival de Opera de La Coruna in 2010, the Spanish critic Alonzo Gonzales of...
- [Dvořák Quartet no. 12, Op. 96 American / Smetana Quartet no. 1  From my Life](https://interlude.hk/dvorak-quartet-no-12-op-96-american-smetana-quartet-no-1-from-my-life/): Dvořák: Quartet no. 12, Op. 96 American III Molto Vivace Tokyo String Quartet From Dvořák Quartet no. 12, Op. 96 American / Smetana Quartet no. 1 From my Life (2013) Released by Harmonia Mundi Dvořák: Quartet no. 12, Op. 96 American – III Molto VivaceIn its valedictory release, the world-renowned...
- [Searching for Authenticity: Turandot](https://interlude.hk/searching-for-authenticity-turandot/): Ever since the seventeenth century, composers in every generation have explored the Orient for musical and dramatic inspiration. In fact, the sheer durability of this Orientalist obsession in music has greatly extended the language of music by employing eastern instruments, tunes or perceived melodic, harmonic and rhythmic conventions. Orientalist passion...
- [Without Music, Life would be an Error: <br/>Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche](https://interlude.hk/without-music-life-would-be-an-error-friedrich-wilhelm-nietzsche/): Friedrich Nietzsche Das zerbrochene Ringlein Piano Sonata in G Major “God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him. ” This most widely quoted statement originating with Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (1844-1900) first appeared in the 1882 publication Die fröhliche Wisssenschaft (The jolly Science) and is restated in Also...
- [Intimacy Revisited: A Look at Hong Kong’s Performer/Composer Summit, Two Years Later](https://interlude.hk/intimacy-revisited-a-look-at-hong-kongs-performercomposer-summit-two-years-later/): Two years on, the question remains: what, exactly, is Hong Kong’s University of Science and Technology doing dropping gobs of money to invite top-class musicians from around the world to spend two weeks on a campus without a music department? And its corollary: what are some of the world’s top...
- [Envy the Cellist](https://interlude.hk/envy-the-cellist/): Why I Love the Cello Because it is me. Because it is the closest sound to the human voice. Because I can engulf it with my body in an embrace. Because when I tell people that I play the cello they say, “ Oh! I love the cello. It makes...
- [Brahms - Clarinet Quintet / String Quartet no. 2](https://interlude.hk/brahms-clarinet-quintet-string-quartet-no-2/): String Quartet in A minor Opus 51 Quasi Minuetto, moderato, Allegretto vivace Jerusalem Quartet Sharon Kam, clarinet From Brahms – Clarinet Quintet / String Quartet no. 2 (2013) Released by Harmonia Mundi Brahms: String Quartet in A minor Opus 51 – Quasi Minuetto, moderato, Allegretto vivaceBrahms’s implacable self-criticism was at...
- [The Intimacy of Creativity Review](https://interlude.hk/the-intimacy-of-creativity-review/): Spent two great afternoons at the City Hall enjoying two world premiere concerts following the third season of The Intimacy of Creativity, a two week intensive collaboration between emerging composers and world renowned artists. The two concerts, on April 28, 2013 and May 5, 2013, were given the “world premiere”...
- [André Ernest Modeste Grétry](https://interlude.hk/andre-ernest-modeste-gretry-curious-matters-of-the-heart/): Curious Matters of the Heart André Ernest Modeste GrétryString Quartet in D major, Op. 3, No. 4 Zemire et Azor: Air de Ballet It is hardly uncommon for relatives and friends — generally called heirs — to squabble over the inheritance of property, titles, debts, rights and obligations upon the...
- [Music for the Puppet Theatre<br/>Verdi and Donizetti](https://interlude.hk/music-for-the-puppet-theatre-verdi-and-donizetti/): Gaetano Donizetti (1797-1848) was one of the most prolific Italian composers in the second quarter of the 19th Century. He composed roughly 100 songs, several symphonies and oratorios, cantatas, chamber and church music. Yet his reputation invariably stands or falls with his 70 works for the operatic stage. When Robert...
- [Music Healing Healers](https://interlude.hk/music-healing-healers/): It was in the Fall of 2012 that an email went out to many of my colleagues in the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra: we were in a stressful situation, with our having been locked out by our management because of our unwillingness to accept major reductions to our salaries, benefits, season...
- [Fate or Destiny?<br/> Verdi and Teresa Stolz I](https://interlude.hk/fate-or-destiny-verdi-and-teresa-stolz/): Giuseppe Verdi: La Forza del destino, Act 1, “Me pellegrina ed orfana” Having finally tied the knot, Peppe Verdi and Peppina Strepponi enjoyed an extended period of matrimonial peace. Whenever possible, they spent quality time at the Villa Verdi, located in the village of Sant’Agata. Verdi had bought the property...
- [In touch with Graham Ross](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-graham-ross/): So, to start with: what does your role as Director of Music actually include? My job as Director of Music covers all the practical music-making aspects of the College. I’m different to the Director of Studies in Music, who is here primarily to help with students’ academic affairs – I...
- [Tourists, Pigeons and Giovanni](https://interlude.hk/tourists-pigeons-and-giovanni/): Giovanni Gabrieli, In ecclesiis I vividly remember my first visit to Venice. Mind you, I came prepared, at least in the literary sense, as I had eagerly plowed through various portrayals of the city in novels ranging from Lady Chatterley’s Lover, Voltaire’s Candid and Death in Venice by Thomas Mann,...
- [Works for Viola and Piano - Brahms/ Bridge/ Enescu/ Franck/ Glinka/ Tabakova](https://interlude.hk/works-for-viola-and-piano/): Frank Bridge Allegro appassionato Maxim Rysanov, viola Evelyn Chang, piano From Works for Viola and Piano – Brahms/ Bridge/ Enescu/ Franck/ Glinka/ Tabakova (2007) Released by Avie Records Frank Bridge: Allegro appassionatoMaxim Rysanov is re-defining the art of viola playing for a new generation. “Romantic expression”, says Rysanov, is the...
- [Music and Religion:<br/>Long Live the Queen!](https://interlude.hk/music-and-religionlong-live-the-queen/): If you were hoping to read an article on a particular female monarch, I must disappoint you, because the title refers to the pipe organ, famously called the “Queen of Instruments” by the French composer and writer Guillaume de Machaut. The origins of this instrument — which basically produces sound...
- [Thea Musgrave - Chamber works for Oboe](https://interlude.hk/thea-musgrave-chamber-works-for-oboe/): Night Windows Loneliness Nicholas Daniel, oboe From Thea Musgrave – Chamber works for Oboe (2013) Released by Harmonia Mundi Musgrave: Night Windows – LonelinessRich and powerful musical language and a strong sense of drama have made Scottish-American composer Thea Musgrave (b. 1928) one of the most respected and exciting contemporary...
- [Verdi’s Footstool](https://interlude.hk/verdis-footstool/): Imagine writing sixty operas over a period of fifty years, and having them performed to great acclaim at the most important opera houses of Europe. Yet the only thing history actually remembers are the infamous words by Amintore Galli, who proclaimed that Saverio Mercadante only “served as a footstool for...
- [Music and Art in the Age of the Pre-Raphaelites](https://interlude.hk/music-and-art-in-the-age-of-the-pre-raphaelites/): A recent exhibition of major works by the Pre-Raphaelite painters at the National Gallery in Washington, D. C. brings into focus the close relationship between painting, poetry and music which existed throughout much of the 19th century.
- [Mysteries of the Late Beethoven](https://interlude.hk/mysteries-of-the-late-beethoven/): Watch Piano Sonata No. 31 in A flat major, Op. 110Stephen Kovacevich Piano Sonata No. 32 in C minor, Op. 111Michelangeli Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) was a revolutionary man who lived and worked in revolutionary and tumultuous times. Much of his music — particularly his symphonies, piano sonatas and string...
- [Ravel’s <em>Boléro</em>](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-ravels-bolero/): Music lovers and musicians adore the music of Frenchman Maurice Ravel. Whether it’s his moving Pavane for a Dead Princess or his more esoteric String Quartet, his colorful orchestral work La Valse or his dazzling piano concertos (one of which is for the left hand only), he was considered an...
- [The Colour of Love](https://interlude.hk/the-colour-of-love/): Symphony No. 41 in C major, K. 551, “Jupiter” IV. Molto Allegro Berlin Philharmonic OrchestraHerbert von Karajan There are certain events in the history of humankind that must have been utterly magical. Take for example 23 September 1964, and picture yourself sitting in the Parisian Opera. All the lights have...
- [Franz Schubert - Licht und Lieber](https://interlude.hk/franz-schubert-licht-und-lieber/): Die Geselligkeit (Lebenslust) D 609 – Johann Karl Unger Marlis Petersen, soprano Anke Vondung, mezzo-soprano Werner Güra, tenor Konrad Jarnot, bass Christoph Berner, fortepiano Rönisch From Franz Schubert – Licht und Lieber (2013) Released by Harmonia Mundi Schubert: Die Geselligkeit (Lebenslust) D 609 – Johann Karl UngerSometimes written in dialogue...
- [Souls Without Music <br/>The Condition of Congenital Amusia](https://interlude.hk/souls-without-music/): “A man that hath no music in himself, nor is not mov’d with concord of sweet sounds, is fit for treasons, stratagems, and spoils. ” This is how Shakespeare described a soul without music. To most of us, music appreciation, like emotion, is a universal quality that is predisposed in...
- [Freddy Kempf](https://interlude.hk/freddy-kempf/): From a charming hero to a perfect dad In any high school drama movie, there is always a scene like this: when a handsome boy walks pass, all the girls would turn their heads, look, and giggle. It happens in reality. I remember vividly how Freddy Kempf caught everyone’s eyes...
- [Depositing a Foundling, or two?<br/>Verdi and Giuseppina Strepponi III](https://interlude.hk/depositing-a-foundling-or-twoverdi-and-giuseppina-strepponi-iii/): Giuseppe Verdi, Barcarola “Al tuo bambino” Once Giuseppe Verdi and Giuseppina Strepponi had fallen in love, things got rather complicated. This is hardly surprising amongst professional people as it can be rather challenging to balance career and love. Strepponi had ended her singing career and established a highly successful singing...
- [Memory like a Sieve!<br/>Giuseppe Verdi](https://interlude.hk/memory-like-a-sieve/): Did you know that no single cell in your body is older than 10 years? Some of your cells have an even shorter lifespan. For example, the cells lining your stomach only last five days, your red blood cells regenerate after about 120 days, and the surface layer of your...
- [Dmitri Shostakovich - Cello Concerto no.1 / Sonata for Cello and Piano op.40](https://interlude.hk/dmitri-shostakovich-cello-concerto-no-1-sonata-for-cello-and-piano-op-40/): Moderato for Cello and Piano Emmanuelle Bertrand, cello Pascal Amoyel, piano BBC National Orchestra of Wales Pascal Rophé From Dmitri Shostakovich – Cello Concerto no. 1 Sonata for Cello and Piano op. 40 (2013) Released by Harmonia Mundi Shostakovich: Moderato for Cello and Piano Here are two masterpieces for cello...
- [The best, not the biggest](https://interlude.hk/the-best-not-the-biggest/): When I open the newspaper looking for evening performances these days, all I see are operas. Following the announcement of a strategic partnership between the Oriental Art Centre and the Italian Bellini Theatre, the OAC further announced on 16th January that their opening performances for the 2013/14 season will be...
- [The Flute and the Snake!](https://interlude.hk/the-flute-and-the-snake/): Here is your pop quiz for today! Who said, “There is nothing on earth that approaches the perfection of The Magic Flute and the Bible”? I give you a hint; his paintings are rendered with an extraordinary formal inventiveness, vivid colors, and deceptive fairy-tale naïveté. He is also credited with...
- [David Popper](https://interlude.hk/david-popper-2/): The Dandy Have you ever wondered what a superstar in the 19th Century looked like? Predictably, male idols had incredibly good looks; broad shoulders, wavy hair, distinguished facial features, masculine chins, and chiseled profiles. Lacking anabolic steroids, they sported wiry and lean physical frames, but were substantially taller than the...
- [Auditions Tips](https://interlude.hk/auditions-tips/): Dear Oliver, We are pleased to invite you to audition, which will take place at 10. 56 am on the 1st April. These are the first words you read on the email – the initial joy of having secured a place at the audition can often quickly be overshadowed by...
- [In touch with Steven Snowden](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-steven-snowden/): Steven Snowden has done some pretty interesting things in the name of music composition, from creating music installations with Nintendo Wii-motes, to collaborating with performers through blogging. Not one to shy away from musical collaborations, this month, the 32-year old composer has found himself in the heart of Asia with...
- [A Symphony of a Thousand](https://interlude.hk/a-symphony-of-a-thousand/): Symphony No. 8, “Symphony of a Thousand” (Bavarian Radio Symphony, Kubelik 1970) When the Mahler family arrived in Maiernigg — an idyllic village located on the southern shore of Lake Wörth in the Austrian province of Carinthia — for their annual summer holiday in 1906, Gustav was once again struck...
- [David Popper](https://interlude.hk/david-popper/): Composer and cellist David Popper is well known among cellists. His High School of Cello Playing is our Bible—40 Études comprising every acrobatic feat of cello pyrotechnics. Popper was born among the narrow streets of the Jewish ghetto of Prague, Czechoslovakia June 16, 1843. David was five years old when...
- [Will you be my Slave? <br/>Verdi and Giuseppina Strepponi II](https://interlude.hk/will-you-be-my-slave-verdi-and-giuseppina-strepponi-ii/): Giuseppe Verdi, Nabucco, Act 2, Scene 1 Ben io t’invenni, o fatal scritto! Aria: Anch’io dischiuso un giorno Without doubt, Giuseppina Strepponi must receive credit for Verdi’s first operatic successes. Her performances in a number of his early operas not only reaffirmed her vocal prowess and international status — even...
- [Handel - Dixit Dominus HWV 232 / Vivaldi - Dixit Dominus RV 807 In furore iustissimae irae rv 626](https://interlude.hk/handel-dixit-dominus-hwv-232-vivaldi-dixit-dominus-rv-807-in-furore-iustissimae-irae-rv-626/): In furore iustissimae irae Miserationem Pater piissime (recitative) La Nuova Musica Lucy Crowe, soprano DAVID BATES, director From Handel – Dixit Dominus HWV 232 / Vivaldi – Dixit Dominus RV 807 In furore iustissimae irae rv 626 (2013) Released by Harmonia Mundi Vivaldi: In furore iustissimae irae – Miserationem Pater...
- [In touch with Mikhail Rudy<br/> The Explorer in Music](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-mikhail-rudy-the-explorer-in-music/): It is believed that artists who went through pain in life were often able to create work, profound and philosophical; Tchaikovsky and his Pathétique Symphony, Dostoevsky and his Crime and Punishment, Nijinsky and his Le Sacre du Printemps. Despite the difficult living conditions and later asking for political asylum in...
- [Teatro alla Scala](https://interlude.hk/teatro-alla-scala/): Every year on 7 December something magical happens in the Italian city of Milan. For one, the city celebrates its patron saint Ambrose (340-397). A revered archbishop, he is widely recognized as one of the most influential ecclesiastical figures who contributed significantly to the theology and doctrine of the Catholic...
- [Cramer - Studio Per Il Pianoforte (84 Etudes in Four Books) / Busoni : Eight Etudes after Cramer](https://interlude.hk/cramer-studio-per-il-pianoforte-84-etudes-in-four-books-busoni-eight-etudes-after-cramer/): Studio per il pianoforte, Book 1, Op. 30 No. 3 in D Major Gianluca Luisi Alessandro Deljavan Giampaolo Stuani From Cramer – Studio Per Il Pianoforte (84 Etudes in Four Books) / Busoni : Eight Etudes after Cramer (2012) Released by Naxos Grand Piano Cramer: Studio per il pianoforte, Book...
- [In touch with Roger Zare](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-roger-zare/): Not many composers can claim to have had their very first music composition publicly performed, but Roger Zare could. And judging from the number of awards and scholarships he has won since then, you might even assume he has perfected the formula for composing great music, but Roger disagrees. Arriving...
- [Handel’s <em>Semele</em>: A wolf in sheep’s clothing?](https://interlude.hk/handels-semele-a-wolf-in-sheeps-clothing/): Throughout the 17th century, all forms of staged musical theater were strictly forbidden during Lenten season. To substitute for this lack of operatic entertainment, this period of fasting and prayer that prepares believers for the celebration of Easter did see the proliferation of morality plays. These plays combined sacred dialogues...
- [Giuseppe Verdi: A True Revolutionary? A True Romantic?](https://interlude.hk/verdi-a-true-revolutionary-a-true-romantic/): Later mythologized as a true Italian, Giuseppe Verdi was born on October 10, 1813 in Busseto as a French subject, which seems to have disturbed him enough to lead him to represent that he had in fact been born in 1814, in which year the Dukedom of Parma, to which...
- [The Reversed Musicians](https://interlude.hk/the-reversed-musicians/): Left-handedness does not only affect one’s writing, it can also bring about problems when playing music. The truth is that most instruments are designed for right-handed people, making lefties seem disadvantaged in comparison. However, the elasticity of the human brain has proven that these challenges can be overcome with hard...
- [A Recipe for Success?<br/>Verdi, Pacini,and Rossini](https://interlude.hk/a-recipe-for-successverdi-paciniand-rossini/): Almost immediately after the premiere of Oberto in 1839, a contemporary critic considered the question of Verdi’s personal musical style. “Many salient features of this style are not Signor Verdi’s own,” he wrote. “The crescendo and the use — not abuse — of unison, had been suggested by Donizetti; the...
- [Frommel: Piano Sonatas nos.1-3](https://interlude.hk/frommel-piano-sonatas-nos-1-3/): Piano Sonata No. 2 in F major, Op. 10 III Allegro Tatjana Blome From Frommel: Piano Sonatas nos. 1-3 (2012) Released by Naxos Grand Piano Frommel: Piano Sonata No. 2 in F major, Op. 10 – III Allegro Gerhard Frommel rejected vapid pre-war Nationalism and Schoenberg’s dodecaphony, finding his voice...
- [Searching for Aida<br/>Verdi and Giuseppina Strepponi I](https://interlude.hk/searching-for-aidaverdi-and-giuseppina-strepponi/): Giuseppe Verdi, Oberto, Tutto ho perduto! (Leonora) Scholars have suggested that the inherent pathos and drama of Verdi’s operas was the direct result of the composer attempting to cope with the cruel loss of his two infant children and the unexpected death of his wife Margherita in 1840. And death,...
- [Bach Marathon](https://interlude.hk/bach-marathon/): This all-day event at the Royal Albert Hall was a celebration of not one but two creative artists – J. S. Bach, and the conductor John Eliot Gardiner. Gardiner is 70 this year, and this Bach Marathon was principally led by him and his own ensembles, the Monteverdi Choir and...
- [Xavier de Maistre](https://interlude.hk/xavier-de-maistre/): The Prince of Harp Tall, charming, intelligent were words that came to my mind when I first met French harpist Xavier de Maistre for a recording session at a radio station. Xavier shines through his beautiful playing, eloquence, and polite demeanor. One would presume that his path would have been...
- [Music to make Mona smile! ](https://interlude.hk/music-to-make-mona-smile/): Throughout most of his life, the Renaissance polymath genius Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (1452-1519) kept a daily journal. He meticulously recorded daily events and engagements, including shopping lists and people who owed him money. Yet, these journals also contain drawings and notes on an infinite variety of inventions,...
- [In touch with The Planets](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-the-planets/): Gustav Holst – The Planets: A Listener’s Guide The Planets, Op. 32 (1916) London Philharmonic Choir and Orchestra, V. Jurowski Holst called the piece “a series of mood pictures. ” The piece The Planets — a seven movement orchestral suite, is an example of brilliant and imaginative orchestral writing. The...
- [Music and Religion:<br/>Reformation in Germany](https://interlude.hk/music-and-religionreformation-in-germany/): The leader of the German Reformation, Martin Luther (1483-1546), never intended to establish a Protestant church movement completely separate from Rome, but his initial struggles with the Catholic Church centered on the notion of God as an angry judge who could only be pacified by good works and by paying...
- [In touch with Charles Halka](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-charles-halka/): “Chuchichäschtli. ” “I won’t attempt to pronounce that,” I said. “Chuchichäschtli,” Charles Halka, US-based composer, pianist, and one of six composer fellows at the upcoming Intimacy of Creativity 2013, repeated with a laugh. “It’s a Swiss-German word that actually means kitchen cabinet. ” Chuchichäschtli was not Charles’ furniture choice for...
- [GIOVANNI BATTISTA PERGOLESI - Septem verba a Christo](https://interlude.hk/giovanni-battista-pergolesi-septem-verba-a-christo/): Verbum I: Pater, dimitte illis: non enim sciunt quid faciunt (Luc 23, 34) SOPHIE KARTHÄUSER CHRISTOPHE DUMAUX JULIEN BEHR KONSTANTIN WOLFF Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin RENÉ JACOBS From GIOVANNI BATTISTA PERGOLESI – Septem verba a Christo (2013) Released by Harmonia Mundi Pergolesi: Verbum I: Pater, dimitte illis: non enim...
- [An Italian Tragedy<br/>Giuseppe Verdi and Margherita Barezzi](https://interlude.hk/an-italian-tragedygiuseppe-verdi-and-margherita-barezzi/): Giuseppe Verdi was a painfully private individual. Details about his romantic encounters are sketchy, and for the most part rely on his own and somewhat inconsistent recollections later in life. We do know, however, that Verdi went to live in the house of the grocer and wine merchant Antonio Barezzi...
- [Arvo Pärt – The Bach of Our Century](https://interlude.hk/arvo-part-the-bach-of-our-century/): It is said that Estonian composer Arvo Pärt is the Bach of our century. An unassuming man with furrowed brow, a big bushy salt and pepper beard, and serious contemplative demeanor, this contemporary composer, does not tend to make people want to run the other way. Even non-classical music fans...
- [Reverberating Devotion<br/>The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore and Guillaume Dufay](https://interlude.hk/reverberating-devotionthe-basilica-di-santa-maria-del-fiore-and-guillaume-dufay/): Guillaume Dufay, Nuper rosarum flores For almost 600 years, the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore (Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Flower) has dominated the cityscape of Florence. Build on the site of an earlier cathedral dedicated to Saint Reparata — a third century Christian virgin and martyr —...
- [In touch with Karlo Margetić](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-karlo-margetic/): Karlo Margetić would like to thank fellow composer, Jack Body, for ordering him to apply to the Intimacy of Creativity 2013, because if his friend hadn’t, Karlo would have missed out on what he described as a “fantastic opportunity”. Born in 1987 in Sarajevo in what is now Bosnia and...
- [Please keep theatre to the stage and films to the cinema](https://interlude.hk/please-keep-theatre-to-the-stage-and-films-to-the-cinema/): One of the hottest topics in town was the Shanghai Grand Theatre’s HD film screening of the London National Theatre production of Frankenstein. Tickets sold out immediately. Whispers crossed the city about how brilliant it was. However, this article is not about the Frankenstein production, but rather, the theatre’s programming....
- [A Refreshing Experience With <br/><em>La Cenerentola</em>](https://interlude.hk/a-refreshing-experience-with-la-cenerentola/): To a novice like me in opera appreciation, the production of La Cenerentola at Palais Garnier on February 27 was a delightful eye opener. It all began with my first visit to Paris in 13 years last month for a reunion with my goddaughter’s family and a few college friends....
- [Grainger: Folk-Inspired Works For Piano Duet and Duo](https://interlude.hk/grainger-folk-inspired-works-for-piano-duet-and-duo/): Song from the Faroer Islands: Let’s Dance Gay in Green Meadow Caroline Weichert Clemens Rave From Grainger: Folk-Inspired Works For Piano Duet and Duo (2012) Released by Naxos Grand Piano Grainger: Song from the Faroer Islands: Let’s Dance Gay in Green Meadow Song from the Faroe Islands (Let’s Dance Gay...
- [Musical Ventriloquism<br/>Transcriptions on Bach's “Chaconne” from Partita No. 2 in D Minor](https://interlude.hk/musical-ventriloquismchaconne/): Within the enormous variety and diversity of musical compositions, only a select few ever manage to withstand the test of time. One such work is the “Chaconne” from the Partita No. 2 in D minor for solo violin, composed by J. S. Bach between 1717 and 1723. Famously, Joshua Bell...
- [Premiere at “La Scala”<br/>Verdi, Lavigna and Rossini](https://interlude.hk/premiere-at-la-scalaverdi-lavigna-and-rossini/): Giuseppe Verdi was one of the most precocious musical talents of all times. At age three, he was given a spinet and took up studies with Don Pietro Baistrocchi, organist at his home village of Roncale. When Baistrocchi passed away in 1822, the nine-year-old Giuseppe took over his teacher’s duties...
- [How to say, “I do” in style!<br/>Leopold I](https://interlude.hk/how-to-say-i-do-in-styleleopold-i/): Joseph I Regina coeli Leopold I Sonata piena Laudate Pueri Johann Heinrich Schmelzer Arie per il baletto a cavallo: Corrente per l’intrada di S. M. C. Antonio Bertali Missa Sancti Spiritus Kyrie Gloria Credo Sanctus Agnus Dei Antonio Caldara Te Deum laudamus Johann Joseph Fux Ouverture for 2 Oboes, 2...
- [John Dowland](https://interlude.hk/john-dowland/): Flow my tears! According to various theories of personality differences, regardless whether they are based on a biological, psychological or social analysis, each human being belongs to one of four types of basic temperament, or “humours. ” The Sanguine bodily temperament, taking its name from the color of blood and...
- [In touch with Dai Bo](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-dai-bo/): When none of the primary schools in the northeast Chinese town of Dalian would admit the then seven-year old Dai Bo, his parents bought him a piano. Little did they know that Dai Bo would grow up to be an award-winning Chinese composer and pianist; back then their only concern...
- [The Edge of Light - MESSIAEN and SAARIAHO](https://interlude.hk/the-edge-of-light-messiaen-and-saariaho/): Messiaen Huit Préludes I : La Colombe Gloria Cheng, piano Calder Quartet From The Edge of Light – MESSIAEN and SAARIAHO (2013) Released by Harmonia Mundi Messiaen: Huit Préludes – I : La Colombe Grammy® Award-winner Gloria Cheng (“an invaluable new-music advocate” – THE NEW YORK TIMES) brings an exquisite...
- [It only happens every 5000 years: <br/>Wagner, Cosima and Judith](https://interlude.hk/it-only-happens-every-5000-years-wagner-cosima-and-judith/): Cosima Liszt was the illegitimate daughter of the Hungarian pianist and composer Franz Liszt and his mistress, Marie, Comtesse d’Agoult. In order to continue his independent lifestyle — he also forbade contact between mother and daughters — Franz placed Cosima, together with her sister Blandine, in the care of his...
- [Music 101 – A Foray into Understanding Classical Music](https://interlude.hk/music-101-a-foray-into-understanding-classical-music/): Introduction to Classical Music I’ve been a professional classical musician for more decades than I care to disclose. By far the most common comment I’ve heard (other than, “Why, that cello is bigger than you are! ) is— “I don’t know anything about classical music. I like it, but I...
- [Richard Wagner’s Concept of the <em>‘Gesamtkunstwerk’</em>](https://interlude.hk/richard-wagners-concept-of-the-gesamtkunstwerk/): In many of Wagner’s theoretical writings, such as “Die Kunst und die Religion” (Art and Religion – 1849), “Das Kunstwerk der Zukunft” (The Artwork of the Future – 1849) and “Oper und Drama” (Opera and Drama – 1852), the concept of the ‘Gesamtkunstwerk’ — the totality of the work of...
- [Gethsemane/A Tone Picture for String Orchestra with Cello Solo](https://interlude.hk/gethsemanea-tone-picture-for-string-orchestra-with-cello-solo/): Gethsemane/A Tone Picture for String Orchestra with Cello Solo by Richard Cerchia (The present recording is MIDI realized using the Garritan Personal Orchestra. Score and Parts available by contacting thecomposer at cerchiamusic@hotmail. com) Richard Cerchia: Gethsemane/A Tone Picture for String Orchestra with Cello Solo- Final “Gethsemane/A Tone Picture” reflects on...
- [The Wagner Dilemma](https://interlude.hk/the-wagner-dilemma/): Giacomo Meyerbeer followed the tremendous financial and artistic success of Robert le diable with another blockbuster. Les Huguenots, five years in the making, dramatically staged the bloody events of the St. Bartholomew’s Day massacre in Paris in August of 1572, in which Catholics slaughtered thousands of French Huguenots (Protestants). Once...
- [In touch with Xu Min-qi : <br/>The Spirit behind the Guangzhou Opera House](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-xu-min-qi-the-spirit-behind-the-guangzhou-opera-house/): When I went to Guangzhou last September for the Asian premiere of Anthony Minghella’s Madama Butterfly, I was completely swept away by the Guangzhou Opera House. The stunning architecture of the building, designed by Zaha Hadid, together with the overall appearance, atmosphere, energy and enthusiasm of the audience, left a...
- [Sounds of Woe<br/>Ferdinand III](https://interlude.hk/sounds-of-woe-ferdinand-iii/): Johann Jakob Froberger, Lamentation faite sur la mort tres douloureuse de Sa Majeste Imperiale, Ferdinand III Ferdinand III, Jesu Corona Virginum Lamentations — songs, poems or pieces of instrumental music expressing grief, regret, or mourning — represent some of the oldest and longest lasting artistic expressions in human history. The...
- [A musical and “fantastique” Revolution<br/>Hector Berlioz : Symphonie Fantastique](https://interlude.hk/a-musical-and-fantastique-revolutionhector-berlioz-symphonie-fantastique/): On December 11, 1803, Hector Berlioz (1803-1869), who might be considered one of the fullest embodiments of the Romantic Movement, was born in a small provincial town in the French Alps. In his memoirs, he detailed with great clarity and humor his deep burning passion for poetry, literature, theatre and...
- [Ning Feng : A Musician's Musician](https://interlude.hk/ning-feng-a-musicians-musician/): On this auspicious day, the 3rd day of the 3rd month of year 2013, my husband and I made a trip into the city ( Vancouver ) from our snowy mountain home ( Whistler ) specifically to attend a concert by violinist Ning Feng, in collaboration with pianist Weicong Zhang,...
- [Lucy Crowe](https://interlude.hk/lucy-crowe-artist-of-the-month/): Lucy Crowe has established a reputation as one of the world’s leading lyric sopranos. Acclaimed for her powerful stage presence, she is a regular performer at the Glyndebourne Festival, and increasingly in demand at opera houses across the world, from the Deutsche Oper Berlin to the Met. Yet her musical...
- [In touch with Eli Marshall](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-eli-marshall/): Bringing to the table a new composition entitled Duo: in cerca, American composer Eli Marshall is 90% excited and 10% nervous about the upcoming Intimacy of Creativity workshop, calling it not only a challenge to “think outside the box, but to go deeper into the box. ” “You’d like to...
- [Mozart : Alla Turca](https://interlude.hk/mozart-alla-turca/): Sonata no. 2 K280 Presto Aldo Ciccolini From Mozart : Alla Turca (2011) Released by La Dolce Volta Mozart: Sonata no. 2 K280 – Presto Over the course of his 60-year career Aldo Ciccolini has established an intimate relationship with the great composers. Now aged 85, he takes a fresh...
- [Cheeky Budding Conductors: <br/>Podiums I Have Not Known](https://interlude.hk/cheeky-budding-conductors-podiums-i-have-not-known/): Arnold Rosenberg, Uncle Arnold, was a global citizen who relished all of the arts especially music. He rubbed shoulders with great artists and travelled widely in the days when world travel was an extraordinary undertaking. He became a music critic and a radio announcer and as such he wrote radio...
- [Turtle Song](https://interlude.hk/turtle-song/): I spend most of my time at Cambridge involved in activities that are almost entirely self-serving. I work towards a degree; I engage in musical projects to practice conducting; I seek work either to earn money or to gain valuable professional experience. There is I hope nothing shocking about this...
- [Le Roi Soleil](https://interlude.hk/le-roi-soleil/): Jean-Baptiste Lully Marche des Mousquetaires du Roy de France Trios pour le coucher du Roi For countless centuries, monarchs, royalty and nobility carried cognomens, that is, nicknames appended either before or after their real names. Frequently these monikers made reference to various political achievements, like David II, King of Georgia...
- [Tempting Fate!<br/>Gustav Mahler: Symphony No 6 in A minor (1903-1904)](https://interlude.hk/tempting-fategustav-mahler-symphony-no-6-in-a-minor-1903-1904/): In November 1901, Gustav Mahler (1860-1911) first met Alma Schindler, Vienna’s most eligible Bachelorette. Stepdaughter of the painter Carl Moll, Alma took painting lessons from Gustav Klimt and composition lessons from Josef Labor and Alexander Zemlinsky, with whom she also had a passionate affair. In fact, during their first meeting...
- [Schubert - Piano Sonata D.845 / <br/>"Wandererfantasie" D.760 / <br/>4 Impromptus D.935 / <br/>Moments Musicaus D.780](https://interlude.hk/schubert-piano-sonata-d-845-wandererfantasie-d-760-4-impromptus-d-935-moments-musicaus-d-780/): 6 Moments Musicaux D. 780 III Allegretto moderato Paul Lewis From Schubert – Piano Sonata D. 845 “Wandererfantasie” D. 760 4 Impromptus D. 935 Moments Musicaus D. 780 (2012) Released by Harmonia Mundi Schubert: 6 Moments Musicaux D. 780 – III Allegretto moderato “Lewis’s mature insight into the workings and...
- [Is Audience Behaviour a Fair Measure of Civility?](https://interlude.hk/is-audience-behaviour-a-fair-measure-of-civility/): Even now, I often see our press and expert critics sigh about the behaviour of audiences when they talk about concerts, as if whether they applauded between movements is the only standard by which to judge how civilised they are. Just as often, I hear western touring agencies or orchestra...
- [Grandes Ambitions!<br/>Wagner, Auber, and Rossini](https://interlude.hk/grandes-ambitionswagner-auber-and-rossini/): During his tenure in Magdeburg (1834-6) and Riga (1837-8), Richard Wagner rehearsed and conducted the opera La muette de Portici (The Mute Girl of Portici). Composed by Daniel François Esprit Auber to a libretto by Augustin Eugène Scribe — one of the most successful and influential French dramatists and librettist...
- [Robert Kurka](https://interlude.hk/robert-kurka/): Robert Kurka Symphony No. 2, OP. 24 Louisville Orchestra Robert Whitney, conductor Louisville Orchestra First Edition Records — LP LOU-616 Released 1961 I. Allegro molto II. Andante espressivo III. Presto gioioso “There is a degree of freshness and impetuosity that defines Kurka as an imitator of nobody. It must stand...
- [Johan Baptist Vanhal](https://interlude.hk/johan-baptist-vanhal/): “No rights reserved” Vanhal, Violin Concerto in B-flat major If you have ever wondered about the competitive nature of the music business in the 18th Century, Johan Baptist Vanhal (1739-1813) would be a good person to ask. He rubbed shoulders with the most important and influential musicians of his day,...
- [In touch with Bright Sheng](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-bright-sheng/): Bright Sheng, Chinese-American composer and the founder of Intimacy of Creativity is feeling good about the coming third season in many ways. With a stellar artistic line up, up-and-coming young composers and a growing recognition both locally and internationally, Bright has reason to be proud, and not even a badly...
- [Pretty Servants and a Mad King<br/>Richard Wagner and Ludwig II](https://interlude.hk/pretty-servants-and-a-mad-kingrichard-wagner-and-ludwig-ii/): Having been unceremoniously evicted from Mr. Wesendonck’s Zürich property, Richard Wagner aimlessly wandered around Europe. He was clearly depressed, as none of his grand musical ambitions had yet been realised, and as usual, he had no money. He had also come to the realization that the relationship with his wife...
- [Mozart - La Finta Giardiniera](https://interlude.hk/mozart-la-finta-giardiniera/): Aria Serpetta (Sunhae Im, Soprano) Appena mi vedon Freiburger Barockorchester René Jacobs From Mozart – La Finta Giardiniera (2012) Released by Harmonia Mundi Mozart: La Finta Giardiniera – Aria Serpetta (Appena mi vedon) One of the least known operas of the young Mozart, rediscovered by René Jacobs who sees here...
- [Paving the Road!<br/>Mozart Piano Concerto No. 25](https://interlude.hk/paving-the-road/): Here is a little trick question; see if you know the answer? What major composition by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart had to wait 147 years after his death before it was performed again? The answer is truly amazing as it involves a work from his most popular genre composed during his...
- [The Magic of Amateur Musicians](https://interlude.hk/the-magic-of-amateur-musicians/): We professionals rarely, if ever read through music for fun. We are too busy preparing music. I avoid sight-reading, if I can. I am a professional musician after all! I take pride in preparation, precision and perfection. I delve beyond the mere notes on the page to reach the heady...
- [Richard Wagner and Paris](https://interlude.hk/richard-wagner-and-paris/): In the 19th century, Paris was one of the most important music capitals of Europe. Richard Wagner, during his ‘Wanderjahre’ (years of wandering from Riga to London, Dresden and Zűrich – mainly to escape his various creditors), attempted several times (from about 1839 to 1861) not only to make Paris...
- [A Life Misunderstood](https://interlude.hk/a-life-misunderstood/): Robert Schumann (1810 – 1856) is widely regarded as cornerstone to Germany’s romantic era. Not only was he an accomplished composer, he also inaugurated and published for Die Neue Zeitschrift für Musik (the New Journal for Music), one of the most important musical publications of the nineteenth century. Robert Schumann:...
- [In touch with Matthew Tommasini](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-matthew-tommasini/): Matthew Tommasini recalled how emerging young pianist Haochen Zhang suggested to composer Bright Sheng at The Intimacy of Creativity – The Bright Sheng Partnership: Composers Meet Performers in Hong Kong last year that maybe he should cut his music piece short. “It’s too long. We don’t need that many bars...
- [Wedding on the Eiffel Tower](https://interlude.hk/wedding-on-the-eiffel-tower/): Hot on the heels of the shocking notoriety achieved with Parade, Jean Cocteau went to work on a surrealist spectacle entitled The Wedding Party on the Eiffel Tower. He described it as a sort of secret marriage between Ancient Greek Tragedy and a Christmas Pantomime. It combined his love of...
- [Let the Sunshine in!<br/>Wagner and Bellini](https://interlude.hk/let-the-sunshine-in/): By 1834, Richard Wagner was not only honing his musical and dramatic skills, he was also starting to express himself in a series of essays. In his article Die Deutsche Oper (German Opera), published in Laube’s Zeitung für die elegante Welt (Journal for a graceful society), Wagner argued that German...
- [Schubert - Erlkönig](https://interlude.hk/schubert-erlkonig/): An den Mond D. 259 Matthias Goerne, baryton Andreas Haefliger, piano From Schubert – Erlkönig Released by Harmonia Mundi Schubert: Erlkönig – An den Mond D. 259 ‘New edition features composer’s lyrical heartbeat at its most artless and unaffected. Goerne’s Schubert edition is building an impressive head of steam: his...
- [Martin Fröst](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-martin-frost/): Martin Fröst is one of the world’s most highly-acclaimed clarinettists, well-known for his huge versatility. Concerto appearances, chamber music, conducting: he is highly respected across all these fields, in addition to being a proponent of commissioning new works for the clarinet. Here’s how he does it...
- [Waltzing Mathilde<br/>Wagner and Mathilde Wesendonck](https://interlude.hk/waltzing-mathildewagner-and-mathilde-wesendonck/): 5 Gedichte fur eine Frauenstimme, Op. 91, “Wesendonck-Lieder” The beautiful and talented poet and playwright Agnes Mathilde Luckemeyer married the silk merchant Otto Wesendonck in 1848. The couple moved to Zurich and Otto, having done extremely well in his profession, ordered the construction of a lavish villa, harmoniously situated in...
- [Neefe - Twelve Sonatas (1773) / Beethoven : Nine Variations for Keyboard on a March by Dressler](https://interlude.hk/neefe-twelve-sonatas-1773-beethoven-nine-variations-for-keyboard-on-a-march-by-dressler/): Keyboard Sonatas (1773): Sonata No. 3 in G major II. Andante con tenerezza Susan Kagan, piano From Neefe – Twelve Sonatas (1773) / Beethoven : Nine Variations for Keyboard on a March by Dressler (2012) Released by Naxos / Grand Piano Neefe: Sonata No. 3 in G major – II....
- [“Le Grand Combat”<br/>Witold Lutosławski](https://interlude.hk/le-grand-combatwitold-lutoslawski/): 3 Poems by Henri Michaux Although Witold Lutosławski experimented with serial and post-serial techniques, he always found the results rather unsatisfactory. This was particularly true of compositions utilizing the human voice. Awkward intervals and highly complex rhythms demanded a high degree of technical proficiency, and in choral compositions, “resulted in...
- [Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis – A Most Unfamiliar Masterpiece](https://interlude.hk/beethovens-missa-solemnis-a-most-unfamiliar-masterpiece/): Mass in D major, Op. 123, “Missa Solemnis” (Philharmonic Symphony, Walter) (1948) ‘Is this the greatest piece ever written? ’ Such was the question fired at me by Sir Roger Norrington during our correspondence in preparation for the recent performance of Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis, given by the combined choirs and...
- [Witold Lutosławski](https://interlude.hk/witold-lutoslawskifishing-for-souls/): Fishing for Souls The premier of Witold Lutosławski’s Cello Concerto in 1970 was greeted as “an epic confrontation between an individual and an oppressive mass, in which the cello’s voice is symbolically squashed by outbursts in the brass and orchestral explosions, a staging of the essential tensions of living in...
- [Approaching the Music Drama<br/>Wagner, Weber and Marschner](https://interlude.hk/approaching-the-music-drama/): Richard Wagner consistently downplayed the significance of his musical education. Undoubtedly, he was very keen to cultivate the notion of the untutored genius, just as Ludwig van Beethoven had done. However, as we saw in our last episode, his first symphonic efforts are technically indebted to his teacher Theodor Weinlig....
- [Carl Maria Von Weber - Sonatas for Piano and Violin Piano Quartet](https://interlude.hk/carl-maria-von-weber-sonatas-for-piano-and-violin-piano-quartet/): Piano Quartet Op. 8 in B flat major Menuetto, Allegro Isabelle Faust, violin Alexander Melnikov, fortepiano Boris Faust, viola Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt, cello From Carl Maria Von Weber – Sonatas for Piano and Violin Piano Quartet (2013) Released by Harmonia Mundi Carl Maria Von Weber: Piano Quartet Op. 8 in...
- [2013: Here’s to Lutosławski!](https://interlude.hk/2013-heres-to-lutoslawski/): Dance Preludes When you’re asked to think of a twentieth-century composer who uses imaginative textures and sounds, who do you think of? Ravel? Boulez? What about folk melodies – who springs to mind then? Bartok, or maybe Vaughan-Williams? And an innovative harmonic language... Debussy perhaps? Here we find ourselves stumbling...
- [Page Turning Horror Stories](https://interlude.hk/page-turning-horror-stories/): I was sixteen years old when I was first asked to turn pages. A fabulous young violinist was making his Toronto recital debut. I was thrilled to be allowed to purchase my first long gown for the occasion— it was lime green. I was an accomplished pianist. I could follow...
- [Promoting Culture or Vanity Projects?](https://interlude.hk/promoting-culture-or-vanity-projects/): It was recently reported that Hunan province is going to build its very own “Sydney Opera House”, which is due to be completed in 2015. The designer is the renowned architect Zaha Hadid, who also designed the Guangzhou Opera House, which opened in 2010. It seems that ‒far from abating...
- [Parade!](https://interlude.hk/parade/): The Parisian café-concert established itself during the Second Empire as a standard diversion of the urban bourgeoisie and working class by providing a combination of dinner and song. Offering entertainment provided by strolling entertainers singing drinking-songs, along with refreshments at a café were found to attract customers. As the café-concerts...
- [Schmitt - Complete Original Works For Piano Duet and Duo : 1](https://interlude.hk/schmitt-complete-original-works-for-piano-duet-and-duo-1/): Sept Pièces, Op. 15 for Piano 4 Hands Somnolence The Invencia Piano Duo From Schmitt – Complete Original Works For Piano Duet and Duo : 1 (2012) Released by Naxos / Grand Piano Schmitt: Sept Pièces, Op. 15 for Piano 4 Hands – Somnolence Winner of the Prix de Rome...
- [A Case of Narcissistic Personality Disorder?<br/>Wagner, Minna Planer and Jessie Laussot](https://interlude.hk/a-case-of-narcissistic-personality-disorderwagner-minna-planer-and-jessie-laussot/): Christoph Columbus (1835) One certainly could not fault Richard Wagner for being persistent, but one has to question his judgment regarding his pursuit of Minna Planer. Minna did everything in her power to get rid of him! She fled from him, hid from him, embarrassed him and engaged in highly...
- [Tchaikovsky - Les Saisons, Ouverture Fantaisie Romeo and Juliette, Adagio lamentoso Symphonie no. 6](https://interlude.hk/tchaikovsky-les-saisons-ouverture-fantaisie-romeo-and-juliette-adagio-lamentoso-symphonie-no-6/): Les Saisons March : Song of the Lark Emile Naoumoff, piano From Tchaikovsky – Les Saisons, Ouverture Fantaisie Romeo and Juliette, Adagio lamentoso Symphonie no. 6 (2012) Released by Saphir Productions Tchaikovsky: Les Saisons – March : Song of the Lark The field shimmering with flowers, the stars swirling in...
- [Bring in the Clowns!<br/>Poulenc Sonata for Clarinet and Piano](https://interlude.hk/bring-in-the-clowns/): Sonata for clarinet and piano (FP 184) Francis Poulenc Francis Poulenc Clarinet Sonata The French poet, novelist, dramatist, designer, boxing manager, playwright and filmmaker Jean Cocteau magnanimously announced in 1918, that his principal goal was the elimination of all foreign and specifically German elements from French music and culture. In...
- [The Musical Knight from Italy – Riccardo Muti](https://interlude.hk/the-musical-knight-from-italy-riccardo-muti/): ‘I am the ultimate outsider,’ conductor Riccardo Muti told Norman Lebrecht in a BBC interview. After hearing their conversation, I had an image of Muti, wearing shiny armor, riding on a horse, and conquering the world with the sword of music. Muti also reminds me of several Italians: like Marco...
- [Beethoven’s Shadow!<br/>Richard Wagner](https://interlude.hk/beethovens-shadow/): At the tender age of 13 and accompanied by his mother, young Richard made his first journey to the city of Prague. They visited his two sisters who were employed as singers at the National Opera. The vibrant cultural and artistic environment immediately fascinated young Richard, however, once arrived they...
- [Richard Wagner and Dresden](https://interlude.hk/richard-wagner-and-dresden/): Dresden, with its well-known Sächsische Staatskapelle, Kreuzchor and Semper Opera House, cannot only be considered one of the great ‘musical’ cities in Germany, but most importantly, its cultural and political milieu played a significant role in the musical and artistic education of one of the greatest opera composers of the...
- [Wagner, Freud and what it means to be human](https://interlude.hk/wagner-freud-and-what-it-means-to-be-human/): I spent much of last year studying Wagner’s great tetralogy of music dramas, The Ring of the Nibelung. If anyone hasn’t done so, I would heartily recommend it – simply to list the number of things I found fascinating about this extraordinary work would take up a whole article. Like...
- [Orbiting Minna<br/>Richard Wagner and Wilhelmine Planer](https://interlude.hk/orbiting-minnarichard-wagner-and-wilhelmine-planer/): 7 pieces for Goethe’s Faust, Op. 5 No. 6. Gretchen am Spinnrade No. 7. Melodram It is at least conceivable that Leah David’s rejection fueled Richard Wagner’s gradually growing hatred for the Jewish race. It is without doubt, however, that it peaked his interest in the opposite sex, specifically one...
- [Golden Age of Violinists Part II](https://interlude.hk/golden-age-of-violinists-part-ii/): Milstein and Heifetz are but two violinists comprising the golden age of violinists. A discussion would not be complete without including David Oistrakh, Fritz Kreisler, Yehudi Menuhin and Isaac Stern. Heifetz and his teacher Leopold Auer were viewed as traitors by their home country for immigrating to the United States....
- [Boom, Boom, Boom!](https://interlude.hk/boom-boom-boom/): Arnold Schoenberg Brettl-Lieder (excerpts) The French cabaret, around the turn of the 20th century, was much more then a simple place for drinking, dancing and entertainment. It was a gathering place for the artistic and literary elite that also served to project social and artistic ideals. The “Chat Noir” became...
- [Türk - Keyboard Sonatas Collection I and II](https://interlude.hk/turk-keyboard-sonatas-collection-i-and-ii/): Keyboard Sonatas, Collection 2 (1777) Sonata No. 6 in G major Grave Michael Tsalka From Türk – Keyboard Sonatas Collection I and II (2012) Released by Naxos / Grand Piano Türk: Sonata No. 6 in G major – Grave Daniel Gottlob Türk is best known for his influential pedagogical treatise...
- [Feng Ning](https://interlude.hk/a-moment-with-ning-feng/): ‘It’s really an unsuccessful event, or a harsh word – failure – that makes people learn. To define ‘successful’ is difficult, but for me, it’s that no matter how hard you try, how high you’ve reached, there’ll always be somebody who’s better than you. So you cannot compare yourself with...
- [At the Cusp of a New Year](https://interlude.hk/at-the-cusp-of-a-new-year/): With the start of a new year, it is always good to summarise the highlights of the previous one and reflect on ways to make the very most of the one to come. The year 2012 has been busy. We successfully revamped Interlude, unveiling a new site in July with...
- [Presenting Jian Wang - Chopin, Barber, Schumann](https://interlude.hk/presenting-jian-wang-chopin-barber-schumann/): Chopin Sonata Op. 65 Largo Jian Wang, cello Carol Rosenberger, piano From Presenting Jian Wang – Chopin, Barber, Schumann (1990) Released by Delos Records Chopin: Cello Sonata Op. 65 – Largo Recording debut of Jian Wang in 1990. A wonderful piece to finish 2012 ” en beauté “. Click here...
- [Curtain’s Up! Wagner and Weber](https://interlude.hk/curtains-up-wagner-and-weber/): It is generally acknowledged that no single operatic composer influenced Richard Wagner as decisively as Carl Maria von Weber. When Richard was nine, Weber came to Dresden to rehearse and conduct his opera Der Freischütz. In his autobiography, Wagner gives a rather detailed description. “Weber’s features were really refined, delicate,...
- [Dvořák’s Legacy!](https://interlude.hk/dvoraks-legacy/): In 1884/85, a wealthy patron of classical music named Jeanette Thurber set out to establish a uniquely American school of classical music composition. To accomplish this ambitious undertaking, she founded in quick succession the National Conservatory of Music of America and the American Opera Company. She initially contemplated to hire...
- [Do you know Ashkenazy?](https://interlude.hk/do-you-know-ashkenazy/): Last month, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, led by chief conductor Vladimir Ashkenazy, performed a six-concert tour in China. This included visiting Qingdao and Wuhan ‒ two cities where few big orchestras get to play, due to the financial constraints of venues in these secondary cities. It was the visit to...
- [Mummy, Panties and a Princess called Leah<br/>Richard Wagner and Leah David](https://interlude.hk/mummy-panties-and-a-princess-called-leahrichard-wagner-and-leah-david/): In his most renowned psychoanalytic conjecture — appropriately dubbed the “Oedipus complex” — Sigmund Freud suggested that a child’s unconscious mind projects the desire to sexually possess the mother, and kill the father. Freud derived his theory from ancient Greek mythology; however, he certainly had some more recent and highly...
- [Mendelssohn Symphony no 4 "Italian"](https://interlude.hk/mendelssohn-symphony-no-4-italian/): Do you know the Land where the Lemon Trees blossom? Mendelssohn Symphony No. 4 in A major, Op. 90, “Italian” Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra Sergiu Celibidache Music Score In 1786, the polymath genius Johann Wolfgang von Goethe embarked on a secret and anonymous journey to Italy. The stated purpose of this...
- [The Golden Age of Violinists](https://interlude.hk/the-golden-age-of-violinists/): The turn of the 20th century was the golden age for violinists. Jascha Heifetz, Nathan Milstein, Mischa Elman, Fritz Kreisler, David Oistrach and Yehudi Menuhin, considered the greatest violinists of all time, graced us with their presence. At least in part, in the cases of Heifetz, Elman and Milstein, this...
- [Schulhoff - Piano Works 1](https://interlude.hk/schulhoff-piano-works-1/): Partita for piano, WV 63 IV. T empo di fox à la Hawaii Caroline Weichert, piano From Schulhoff – Piano Works 1 (2012) Released by Naxos Schulhoff: Partita for piano, WV 63 – IV. T empo di fox à la Hawaii During his short life Erwin Schulhoff absorbed a wide...
- [Franz Danzi](https://interlude.hk/franz-danzi/): Kiss of Life Sinfonia concertante in B flat major, Op. 41 Bassoon Concerto in G minor Wind Quintet in B flat major, Op. 56, No. 1 Between 1777 and 1778, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart spent a total of five months in the city of Mannheim. On one hand, he eagerly observed...
- [In touch with John Rutter](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-john-rutter/): Choral Music (A Song in Season) Royal Philharmonic, John Rutter Look to the day Most Glorious Lord of Life I am with you always John Rutter is one of the most successful and frequently performed composers of his generation. Many of his compositions have become firmly embedded in the choral...
- [Medtner - Complete Piano Sonatas 1](https://interlude.hk/medtner-complete-piano-sonatas-1/): Piano Sonata in F minor, Op. 5 I. Allegro Paul Stewart, piano From Medtner – Complete Piano Sonatas 1 (2012) Released by Naxos Medter: Piano Sonata in F minor, Op. 5 – I. Allegro Like his near-contemporary Rachmaninov, who called him ‘the greatest composer of our time’, Nikolay Medtner was...
- [Albert Schweitzer - Bach, Peace and Cats](https://interlude.hk/albert-schweitzer-bach-peace-and-cats/): “There are only two means of refuge from the miseries of life:Music and Cats! ” For many of us mere mortals, it seems utterly unfair that some fortuitous individuals should inherit multiple talents and abilities. Take for example the polymath genius Albert Schweitzer, who made major scholarly contributions to theology...
- [Schoenberg, Kokoschka and Schiele - Vienna's revolutionaries](https://interlude.hk/schoenberg-kokoschka-and-schiele-viennas-revolutionaries/): Fin-de Siècle Vienna’s ‘Second Generation’ Art and Music In his opus, ‘Der Mann ohne Eigenschaften’ (The Man without Qualities) the Austrian writer Robert Musil, considered by many the Marcel Proust of Fin-de-Siècle Vienna, stated that Austria’s intellectuals, artists and writers found themselves on the threshold of the new century where...
- [Follies of Music Fans](https://interlude.hk/follies-of-music-fans/): Fans come in all shapes and sizes. They can be famous actors, artists themselves, and family members. We musicians tend to love our fans. Sometimes, their love of us can be requited.
- [Liszt, or the Art of Running after Women!](https://interlude.hk/liszt-or-the-art-of-running-after-women/): In festo transfigurationis Domini nostri Jesu Christi, S188/R74 It was relatively easy to start this series on Franz Liszt and his romantic conquests. However, it is somewhat more difficult to conclude it. Since Liszt was a fairly discreet lover, there is no hope of having comprehensively covered the entire spectrum...
- [Denis Kozhukhin](https://interlude.hk/not-just-another-russian-pianist-denis-kozhukhin/): Not just another Russian pianist With a deep respect for tradition and musicians from his homeland, the Russian pianist Denis Kozhukhin carries this unique Russian spirit with him when dazzling audience around the world, particularly with his playing of Prokofiev’s music. A prize-winner at both the Leeds and the Queen...
- [No Humbug!<br/>Christmas Oratorio, BWV 248](https://interlude.hk/no-humbugchristmas-oratorio-bwv-248/): With all the worldwide commercial hype associated with Christmas, it is relatively easy to forget that it is also a sacred religious holiday. Localized traditions, economic considerations and rather peculiar cultural practices — Santa Claus comes for a visit every single day of the year in some freewheeling Florida communities...
- [Brahms - Quintets Op. 34 & Op. 115](https://interlude.hk/brahms-quintets-op-34-op-115/): Clarinet Quintet in B minor, Op. 115 I Allegro Tokyo String Quartet Jon Nakamatsu, piano Jon Manasse, clarinet From Brahms – Quintets Op. 34 & Op. 115 (2012) Released by Harmonia Mundi Brahms: Clarinet Quintet in B minor, Op. 115 – I Allegro The Tokyo String Quartet is joined by...
- [Mozart in Mannheim IV](https://interlude.hk/mozart-in-mannheim-iv/): The city of Mannheim, picturesquely located at the confluences of the Rhine and Neckar Rivers, was not only home to one of the best orchestras in Europe, it was also a thriving center for religious music. Much of the music composed for the Mannheim cathedral came from the pen of...
- [Hard Work Even For Diva](https://interlude.hk/hard-work-even-for-diva/): The name Angela Gheorghiu is synonymous with diva, opera, beauty, passion, and romance. Audiences across the globe wait for and cherish the opportunity to see her perform live in the opera theatre. She is an immediate draw and therefore a godsend for any fiscally concerned opera general director. Thus, it...
- [Life Under the Silver Screen](https://interlude.hk/life-under-the-silver-screen/): West Side Story Leonard Bernstein It was announced in the spring of 2012 that the Indianapolis Symphony would include in its upcoming Pops Series three “live” performances of the 1961 classic movie West Side Story, with music by Leonard Bernstein, choreography by Jerome Robbins, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and original...
- [Tcherepnin - Complete Piano Music 1](https://interlude.hk/tcherepnin-complete-piano-music-1/): 10 Bagatelles, Op. 5 Dolce Giorgio Koukl, piano From Tcherepnin – Complete Piano Music 1 (2012) Released by Naxos Tcherepnin: 10 Bagatelles, Op. 5 – Dolce This programme demonstrates Russian-born Alexander Tcherepnin’s mastery of the miniature and the monumental, speaking to the heart from a basis in the Romantic tradition....
- [A Cut above the Rest!<br/>Theodore Billroth](https://interlude.hk/a-cut-above-the-rest-theodore-billroth/): Brahms String Quartet in C minor, Op. 51, No. 1 “It is one of the superficialities of our time to see in science and in art two opposites. Imagination is the mother of both. ” These thoughtful words, uttered towards the end of the 19th century, stem from the pen...
- [My instrument is my orchestra – Zubin Mehta](https://interlude.hk/my-instrument-is-my-orchestra-zubin-mehta/): Doing telephone interview is nerve-racking because the communication between you and the interviewee relies on one thing- the voice. It is even more nerve-racking when the voice is from one of the greatest conductors in the world, Maestro Zubin Mehta. Maestro Mehta was in Florence when I made the telephone...
- [Bronislaw Huberman and the formation of the Israeli Philharmonic](https://interlude.hk/bronislaw-huberman-and-the-formation-of-the-israeli-philharmonic/): The legendary violinist and peace activist Bronislaw Huberman was born in Poland December 19, 1882 of Jewish parents. His prodigious talent was manifest at a very early age and it soon became evident that he needed the best teacher in Europe. In 1892 his parents took him to Berlin to...
- [The Spy who loved me!<br/>Liszt and Agnes Street-Klindworth](https://interlude.hk/the-spy-who-loved-meliszt-and-agnes-street-klindworth/): Orpheus, S98/R415 For 12 years, the Villa Altenberg in Weimar became the holy shrine celebrating the religious and personal cults of Carolyne von Sayn-Wittgenstein and Franz Liszt. Working together in a church like atmosphere of religious solitude, they wrote essays, composed tone poems and piously despised the sins of the...
- [Brahms and His Symphony No. 1](https://interlude.hk/brahms-and-his-symphony-no-1/): In 1900, when Boston’s Symphony Hall was being built, Philip Hale, a distinguished American music critic working for the Boston Herald, suggested that a sign should be fitted over the central doorway reading, “Exit in case of Brahms”! Hale’s message is clear, if Brahms is on the program, run away...
- [Mozart in Mannheim III](https://interlude.hk/mozart-in-mannheim-iii/): Ignatz Fränzl (1736-1811) was one of the most acclaimed virtuoso performers working at Mannheim. Already his father had been part of the orchestra, playing trumpet and viola under the leadership of Johann Stamitz. When Ignatz joined the ensemble as violinist at age 23, he was quickly paid an exorbitant salary...
- [8th. International Competition - Franz Schubert and Modern Music](https://interlude.hk/8th-international-competition-franz-schubert-and-modern-music/): Franz Schubert Der Schmetterling op. 57 / 1D 633 (Schlegel) Nora Lentner, soprano Klara Hornig, piano From 8th. International Competition – Franz Schubert and Modern Music (2012) Released by Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Graz Schubert: Der Schmetterling op. 57 / 1D 633 (Schlegel) Duo Nora LENTNER / Klara...
- [Nikolai Karlovich Medtner](https://interlude.hk/nikolai-karlovich-medtner/): The immediate outcome of the 1917 Russian revolution, in part the result of heavy military setbacks during WWI, was the utter dismantling of Tsarist autocracy. Not only was the Emperor forced to abdicate; his entire family was summarily executed. Vladimir Lenin took control of the Bolshevik party and the government,...
- [A Taste of Music!](https://interlude.hk/a-taste-of-music/): The 4 Seasons: Violin Concerto in F minor, Op. 8, No. 4, RV 297, “L’inverno” (Winter) Although food and music interface in an infinite variety of delicious possibilities, the most commonly experienced fusion occurs at private dinner parties or public restaurants. Frequently, unsuspecting diners are alternately assailed by elevator concoctions...
- [Beethoven Sonata Op. 69 no, 3 in A major for Cello and Piano](https://interlude.hk/beethoven-sonata-op-69-no-3-in-a-major-for-cello-and-piano/): Allegro ma non tanto Janet Horvath, cello Arthur Rowe, Piano (Professor of piano, Associate Dean of Fine Arts at the University of British Columbia, Canada) Beethoven Sonata Op. 69 no, 3 in A major for Cello and Piano – Allegro ma non tanto We are very proud to present this...
- [If music be the food of love, play on – Richard Ekkebus](https://interlude.hk/if-music-be-the-food-of-love-play-on-richard-ekkebus/): Hailed as ‘the Italian Mozart’, Rossini was not only famous for his operas, but also for his passion for food. A French steak dish, Tournedos Rossini, was specially created for him by chef Marie- Antonie Carême. A tournedos of beef, pan-fried in butter, served on a crouton and finished with...
- [In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Franz!<br/>Liszt and Carolyne von Sayn-Wittgenstein](https://interlude.hk/in-the-name-of-the-father-son-and-holy-franzliszt-and-carolyne-von-sayn-wittgenstein/): The differences between Marie Duplessis and Carolyne von Sayn-Wittgenstein could not have been more pronounced. Marie experienced a wretched and squalid upbringing with Daddy selling her into prostitution by age 12. Carolyne Ivanovska, on the other hand, was the only daughter of a rich Polish nobleman. When she was seventeen,...
- [Sa Chen](https://interlude.hk/on-the-road-with-bravery-pianist-sa-chen/): On the road, with bravery The first time I heard pianist Sa Chen’s performance was back in the 90s, in Newcastle. It was also the first time I ever heard of her name. Though she just won the fourth prize at the Leeds International Piano Competition, Sa Chen walked on...
- [The Vienna Secession in Art and Music](https://interlude.hk/the-vienna-secession-in-art-and-music/): Gustav Klimt started his career as architectural decorator just as the Ringstrasse program of monumental building entered its final phase – in fact, he had been hired to decorate the interior staircase of the Fine Arts Museum. He subsequently became the portrait painter of Vienna’s rich and famous. Just as...
- [Maestros Tales ](https://interlude.hk/maestros-tales/): We are so fortunate that we can witness some of the work of legendary maestros of the last century via recordings and YouTube. Oftentimes their reputations are well known among aficionados of orchestral music. We musicians have a history, a family tree if you will, of passing on stories of...
- [Ian Pong - Allegro in the style of Mozart (1998)](https://interlude.hk/ian-pong-allegro-in-the-style-of-mozart-1998/): Ian Pong : Allegro in the style of Mozart (1998) Ian Pong, piano Allegro in the style of Mozart A delightful Allegro composed by our very own Ian. Music Score “For personal use only” Click here to find out more about Ian.
- [In touch with the Caius College Choir](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-the-caius-college-choir/): Caius College Choir is one of Britain’s leading collegiate choirs. The College was founded in 1348 but the musical tradition stems from the late nineteenth century when the well-known composer of church music Charles Wood became Organist. The choir in Wood’s day contained boy trebles; it is now a mixed...
- [Mozart in Mannheim II](https://interlude.hk/mozart-in-mannheim-ii/): One of the most significant innovations of the Mannheim Orchestra was to standardize the orchestral instrumentation. It normally consisted of strings — first and second violins, violas, cellos, and double basses — and pairs of flutes, oboes, bassoons, French horns, trumpets and timpani, with two clarinets being added after mid-century....
- [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: <em>Clarinet Concerto</em>, K. 622](https://interlude.hk/mozart-clarinet-concerto-k622/): Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra Claudio Abbado Sabine Meyer, clarinet Music Score Watch Live Giovanni Antonini and The Orchestre du Capitole de Toulouse Martin Fröst, clarinet Innovations in instrumental design, and the performers who explore these newly found opportunities, frequently spur the imagination of composers. The invention of the clarinet and the...
- [Weinberg - Complete Piano Works 2](https://interlude.hk/weinberg-complete-piano-works-2/): Partita, Op. 54 VII . Aria World Première Recording Allison Brewster Franzetti, piano From Weinberg – Complete Piano Works 2 (2012) Released by Naxos Weinberg : Partita, Op. 54 VII . Aria This second volume of the complete piano works ranges in date from 1950–55. The Partita is notable for...
- [Mozart in Mannheim I](https://interlude.hk/mozart-in-mannheim-i/): Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart first visited the city of Mannheim — a little side trip after a performance in Munich — in 1763. Accompanied by his parents and his sister Nannerl, he only stayed for a couple of days before the entire entourage departed for Vienna. Fourteen years later, Wolfi was...
- [Old Bach meets Old Fritz!](https://interlude.hk/old-bach-meets-old-fritz/): Musical Offering, BWV 1079 Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra Ton Koopman Frederick the Great of Prussia, affectionately known as “Der Alte Fritz” (Old Fritz) is generally known as a brilliant military campaigner who established the reputation of Prussian military might. In addition, he was praised for embracing the principles of the Enlightenment,...
- [Café Music by Paul Schoenfield](https://interlude.hk/cafe-music-by-paul-schoenfield/): Andante Moderato Stephanie Arado, violin (Assistant Concertmaster of the Minnesota Orchestra) Dr. Charles Kemper, piano (collaborative pianist) Janet Horvath, cello Schoenfield : Café Music – Andante Moderato Paul Schoenfield: “The idea to compose Café Music first came to me in 1985 after sitting in one night for the pianist at...
- [Schumann Fantasie Op. 17](https://interlude.hk/schumann-fantasie-op17/): Clara, Ludwig, or both? Robert Schumann (1810-1856) had one of the most fascinating and varied biographies of all the nineteenth-century German composers. Forced by his guardian to study law, he rebelled against its pharisaical quibbling at age nineteen and moved to Leipzig in order to take piano lessons from Friedrich...
- [Backstage Tour](https://interlude.hk/backstage-tour/): Concertgoers love to conjure backstage mysteries. What enables musicians to walk onstage with such confidence and dazzle audiences with their prodigious talents? I have always enjoyed taking groups of patrons to the inner sanctum for them to see the interior workings of a symphony orchestra. Usually my tour group gasps...
- [Redemption through Consumption!<br/>Liszt and Marie Duplessis](https://interlude.hk/redemption-through-consumptionliszt-and-marie-duplessis/): Liszt Liebestraum After Franz Liszt had successfully escaped the ravenous attention of Lola Montez in early autumn 1845, he hastily made his way to Paris. Performing in a variety of public and salon concerts, he apparently liked to spend his free time at the famous Théâtre de l’Ambigu-Comique (Theatre of...
- [The Lucky Agonies](https://interlude.hk/the-lucky-agonies/): Niccolo Paganini Niccolo Paganini (1782 –1840) was an Italian virtuoso violinist and composer who loved playing tricks during his performances. To impress his audience, he would sometimes tune one of his strings a semitone higher, and at other times he would play his entire piece on just one string (after...
- [Beethoven : Piano Concerto no. 5 "Emperor"](https://interlude.hk/beethoven-piano-concerto-no-5-emperor/): Beethoven : Piano Concerto no. 5 “Emperor” Ian Pong, piano Richard Dickins, Director of Music Imperial College Symphony Orchestra Recorded on Friday 4th of March 2005 at the Great Hall, Imperial College London Beethoven : Piano Concerto no. 5 “Emperor” – I. Allegro Listen to our multi talented contributor Ian....
- [Ignaz Moscheles](https://interlude.hk/ignaz-moscheles/): The transitional period between Bartolomeo Cristofori’s pianoforte designs of the 1720’s and the essentially modern-day instruments produced by John Broadwood, Ignaz Pleyel and Sébastien Érard around the turn of the 19th century not only coincides with the approximate lifetimes of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Franz Josef Haydn, it was also...
- [Madama Butterfly in Taipei](https://interlude.hk/madama-butterfly-in-taipei/): This July, Taiwan’s National Symphony Orchestra – renowned for tackling heavy German fare – switched gears to buoy Opera Australia’s mostly minimalist production of Madama Butterfly. It worked: despite being the ostensible “B” cast the evening I went, the stage’s spare surroundings and orchestra’s romantic swagger worked in tandem with...
- [Les Voix de l'oubli - Schuloff Erwin, Smit Leo](https://interlude.hk/les-voix-de-loubli-schuloff-erwin-smit-leo/): Erwin Schulhoff Sonata for Flute and Piano Virginie Reibel-Escoffier, flute Romain Descharmes, piano From Les Voix de l’oubli – Schuloff Erwin, Smit Leo (2012) Released by Saphir Productions Schulhoff : Sonata for Flute and Piano Erwin Schulhoff was a Czech composer and pianist. He was one of the brightest figures...
- [Butterfly Alights in Guangzhou](https://interlude.hk/butterfly-alights-in-guangzhou/): I’ve watched many performances of Madame Butterfly since my teens – in Paris, London, Verona –and I must confess that apart from the famous Un bel dì vedremo aria or the Humming Chorus, I get pretty bored if the performance lacks passion and authentic talent. That being said, however, Anthony...
- [German Adventures II<br/>Lola and her “Montez” ](https://interlude.hk/german-adventures-iilola-and-her-montez/): King Ludwig I of Bavaria had the somewhat conceited habit of having his lovers, real and imagined, portrait by the royal painter Joseph Karl Stieler. When the Bavarian Revolution forced his abdication in 1848, he possessed a proud collection of 36 paintings housed in the “Gallery of Beauties” in the...
- [Jerusalem Quartet](https://interlude.hk/the-voice-of-jerusalem-the-jerusalem-quartet/): Regarded by the Times as having ‘passion, precision, warmth, a gold blend’, the Jerusalem Quartet was founded in 1993. Since then, it has been active in the international music scene, performing worldwide and collaborating with renowned performers like Mitsuko Uchida, Jessye Norman and Natalie Gutman, to name a few. Even...
- [Hands off my Flute!](https://interlude.hk/hands-off-my-flute/): Frederick the Great and his greatest Obsession Frederick II, of Prussia, subsequently known as Frederick the Great, was the eldest surviving son of Frederick William I and Sophia Dorothea of Hanover, the sister of George II of England. Daddy Frederick, who loved horses and seeing soldiers being chopped in half...
- [Gustav Mahler: <em>Symphony No. 9</em> (1908-11)](https://interlude.hk/gustav-mahler-symphony-no-9-1908-11/): The German born conductor Bruno Walter worked closely with Gustav Mahler as an assistant and protégé. In addition, he frequently heard Mahler conduct his own works. Since Mahler did not live to lead performances of Das Lied von der Erde or the Symphony No. 9, his widow Alma Mahler, asked...
- [Vienna’s ‘Ringstrasse’ Style and Modernism](https://interlude.hk/viennas-ringstrasse-style-and-modernism/): Brahms Fest und Gedenkspruche, Op. 109 Strauss II Die Fledermaus (excerpts) Schoenberg Verklarte Nacht (Transfigured Night), Op. 4 (version for string orchestra) Emperor Franz Josef I came to power after the revolution of 1848 – a time which saw the ascendancy of the liberal middle class. In 1860 their increasing...
- [Mozart in London V](https://interlude.hk/mozart-in-london-v/): Scholars are generally in agreement that the young Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart attended a performance of J. C. Bach’s opera “Adriano in Siria,” which premiered at King’s Theatre London on 26 January 1765. J. C. was clearly at the centre of London’s almost entirely Italian operatic culture. For “Adriano” he relied...
- [In Australia with the Clare College Choir](https://interlude.hk/in-australia-with-the-clare-college-choir/): There is a greater than usual sense of wonder and joy in beholding the Sydney Opera House when you know that you will soon give two performances of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony inside its famous shell. Cambridge is of course not short of wonderful architecture, but our first sight of this...
- [Raff - Piano Works Vol.1](https://interlude.hk/raff-piano-works-vol-1/): Frühlingsboten, Op. 55 No. 4 Unruhe: Allegro Tra Nguyen, piano World Première Recordings From Raff – Piano Works Vol. 1 (2012) Released by Naxos Raff : Frühlingsboten, Op. 55 – No. 4 Unruhe: Allegro Although Raff is remembered primarily as one of the foremost symphonists of his day, by far...
- [Claude Debussy: The Moon, The Sea; Dreams and Desires](https://interlude.hk/claude-debussy-the-moon-the-sea-dreams-and-desires/): The music of Claude Debussy is evocative. One cannot help but be transported by his subtle shadings of tone color, delicate instrumentations and shimmering melodies. A master at the piano and of orchestration, his name is linked with Impressionism although Debussy himself didn’t like the term. Music, like painting, moved...
- [On The Road with the SHFO](https://interlude.hk/on-the-road-with-the-shfo/): After the term of exams that university students work so hard for, the sudden summer break is seen as a vast chasm of empty time, the long summer months stretching out seemingly endlessly before the next year of education begins. For many, it is seen as an opportunity to either...
- [Jewish Spirits - Osvaldo Golijov, Ernest Bloch](https://interlude.hk/jewish-spirits-osvaldo-golijov-ernest-bloch/): Ernest Bloch (1880-1959) : Jewish Life – Jewish Song Michel Lethiec, clarinet Quatuor Artis Itamar Golan, piano From Jewish Spirits – Osvaldo Golijov / Ernest Bloch (2012) Released by Saphir Productions Ernest Bloch (1880-1959) : Jewish Life – Jewish Song A beautiful piece initially composed in 1924 for Hans Kindler,...
- [Jan Ladislav Dussek](https://interlude.hk/jan-ladislav-dussek/): The tradition of the touring piano virtuoso did not start with Sigismond Thalberg or even Franz Liszt. This distinct honour should rightfully be bestowed upon the Czech pianist and composer Jan Ladislav Dussek, who was born 12 February 1760 in Čáslav. His father, the local organist, quickly discovered the musical...
- [German Adventures I<br/>Liszt and Charlotte von Hagn](https://interlude.hk/german-adventures-iliszt-and-charlotte-von-hagn/): Liszt Was Liebe sei? , S288/1/R575a Was Liebe sei? , S288/2/R575b Was Liebe sei? , S288/3/R575c After a highly successful tour of Russia, Franz Liszt arrived in Berlin and played his first recital at the Berlin Singakademie on 27 December 1841. His performance style had earlier been described in the...
- [Brass Buzz](https://interlude.hk/brass-buzz/): Brass players are lucky to have some of the most gorgeous music written for them. One can’t help but think of Bruckner Symphonies, like the 9th Symphony with 8 horns, 4 of them doubling on Wagner Tubas, 3 trumpets and 3 trombones as well as contrabass tuba; the many brass...
- [Mozart in London IV](https://interlude.hk/mozart-in-london-iv/): During his stay in London, Wolfi apparently composed a number of duet sonatas, that is, two players performing at one piano. They were probably intended for his personal use and included the participation from his sister Nannerl. Advertisements from 1765 confirm that the two children performed these works in public....
- [Schumann : Carnaval / Kreisleriana](https://interlude.hk/schumann-carnaval-kreisleriana/): Schumann: Carnaval op. 9 – Aveu Mitsuko Uchida From Schumann : Carnaval / Kreisleriana (2007) Released by Decca Schumann: Carnaval op. 9 – Aveu When Schumann composed the Carnaval, he was torn between his then fiancée Ernestine and Clara, his future wife. I just wonder whether this confession is a)...
- [Johannes Brahms: “Ein Deutsches Requiem” Op. 45](https://interlude.hk/from-the-establishment-of-a-first-class-undertakerjohannes-brahms-ein-deutsches-requiem-op-45/): The “German Requiem” by Johannes Brahms, more so than any other of his compositions, first established the composer’s reputation among a wide range of music lovers in Germany, and subsequently secured his international reputation as well. Not unexpectedly, however, the work had to overcome some initial misgivings. George Bernhard Shaw,...
- [On Tour with the Clare College Music Society](https://interlude.hk/on-tour-with-the-clare-college-music-society/): Haydn Die Schopfung (The Creation), Hob. XXI:2 (Sung in English) Walking into Rouen in search of some refreshment late on our first evening in France, we passed the grand Abbatiale Saint-Ouen, Rouen’s second major church and the venue for the second concert of our CCMS tour. As Tour Manager, I...
- [Beethoven For All - Music of Power, Passion and Beauty](https://interlude.hk/beethoven-for-all-music-of-power-passion-and-beauty/): Beethoven: Piano Concerto no. 1 – Rondo West-Eastern Divan Orchestra (Symphonies) Staatskapelle Berlin (Concertos) Daniel Barenboim, conductor & piano From Beethoven For All – Music of Power, Passion and Beauty (2012) Released by Decca Beethoven: Piano Concerto no. 1 – Rondo “Beethoven’s music is universal... no matter where in the...
- [In touch with Carolyn Choa](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-carolyn-choa/): Behind every great man there stands a wise woman. Behind the late award-winning director Anthony Minghella, there stands his wife Carolyn Choa- together, they have shared their artistic career most fittingly. Carolyn has choreographed numerous dance productions before involving in Minghella’s widely heralded opera production Madame Butterfly with ENO. Since...
- [Maxim Rysanov](https://interlude.hk/maxim-rysanov-in-sight/): Having established himself as one of the world’s top viola players, Maxim has won the applause from audiences around the world with his charismatic performance. Having chosen Hong Kong as one of the destinations in his world tour this fall, Maxim introduces himself to the Asian audience with his unique...
- [Resistance is Futile!<br/>Franz Liszt and Caroline and Eveline](https://interlude.hk/resistance-is-futilefranz-liszt-and-caroline-and-eveline/): Piano Concerto No. 2 in A minor, Op. 85 (1819) While in the waning stages of his relationship with Marie d’Agoult, Franz Liszt would deliberately forget to put their “fidelity ring” on his finger. “I felt a curious pleasure in abandoning this symbol of our union to chance,” he once...
- [Mozart in London III](https://interlude.hk/mozart-in-london-iii/): After a mere four weeks in England, Wolfi showed remarkable progress and growth as a composer. Leopold wrote, ”what he had known when he left Salzburg is nothing compared with what he knows now; it defies the imagination ... right now, Wolfgang is sitting at the harpsichord playing Bach’s trios....
- [E=Mozart<sup>2</sup>](https://interlude.hk/emozart2/): The German theoretical physicist Werner Heisenberg, who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1925 for his work in quantum mechanics, suggested “The space in which a person developed as an intellectual/spiritual being has more dimensions than the space which he occupied physically. ” In a personal sense, Heisenberg...
- [The Power of Music](https://interlude.hk/the-power-of-music/): Music has power. Preceding both spoken and written language, the music of every culture reflects their indigenous spirits. Music travelled with the many people who have been displaced and through music they were able to keep their cultures alive. Music is so seminal that dictatorships banned music for its influence...
- [Ariadne auf Naxos: Take One!](https://interlude.hk/ariadne-auf-naxos-take-one/): After the rousing financial success of “Der Rosenkavalier”, Richard Strauss and Hugo von Hofmannsthal eagerly sought to continue their artistic collaboration. It seems, however, that they were pulling in slightly different artistic directions. Strauss wanted them to reengage with “Semiramis”, the Calderón drama featuring the legendary sexual orgies of the...
- [Imogen Holst - Choral Works](https://interlude.hk/imogen-holst-choral-works/): Imogen Holst: Mass in A Minor: V. Agnus Dei Choir of Clare College, Cambridge The Dmitri Ensemble Graham Ross, dir. From Imogen Holst – Choral Works (2012) Released by Harmonia Mundi Imogen Holst: Mass in A Minor: V. Agnus Dei Imogen Holst (1907-1984), the daughter of Gustav Holst, has long...
- [In touch with Daniel Propper](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-daniel-propper/): Glenn Gould’s performance on The Goldberg Variations has nurtured and inspired many generations of musicians ever since its first inception. To Swedish pianist Daniel Propper, the piece itself has brought him recognition and memories. A student of Tatiana Nikolaieva, Daniel has first been invited to perform The Goldberg Variations at...
- [Fin-de-Siècle Vienna – Music, Art and Architecture](https://interlude.hk/fin-de-siecle-vienna-music-art-and-architecture/): Ravel’s composition ‘La Valse’, written at the close of World War I, can be seen as a parable of the violent death of 19th century Vienna – with “the waltz, long a symbol of gay Vienna, becoming in the composer’s hands a frantic Danse Macabre” (Carl Schorske – Fin de...
- [Schumann : <em>Dichterliebe</em> Op.48](https://interlude.hk/schumann-dichterliebe-op-48/): Schumann : Dichterliebe Op. 48 – Allnächtlich im Traume Felix Tso, tenor Ellen Tso, piano Schumann : Dichterliebe Op. 48 – Allnächtlich im Traume A wonderful couple enjoying beautiful music together. Am very blessed to have talented and passionate friends.
- [Striving for excellence - Soprano He Hui](https://interlude.hk/striving-for-excellence-soprano-he-hui/): Born in China, soprano He Hui won the 2nd prize at the International Competition ‘Placido Domingo Operalia’. After the competition, she was immediately invited by Placido Domingo to perform with him in Shanghai in 2001. Nowadays, she is regarded as one of the most famous interpreters of the title role...
- [My Father’s Cello](https://interlude.hk/my-fathers-cello/): Max Bruch Kol Nidrei, Op. 47 Israel Philharmonic Orchestra / Daniel Barenboim Jacqueline Du Pre After the Second World War, my parents escaped from their native Hungary to Munich. At that time refugees had to go to Munich in order to procure documentation that allowed them to leave Europe. They...
- [Mozart in London II](https://interlude.hk/mozart-in-london-ii/): During his initial stay in London, which lasted from 23 April 1764 through 1 July 1765, young Wolfi regaled in the invigorating and stimulating musical environment offered by the British capital. A rapidly prospering and growing middle class not only created the demand for public concerts, music printing and publishing...
- [Attila the Hun, the Merciful](https://interlude.hk/attila-the-hun-the-merciful/): Verdi: Attila The conversation should have gone in another direction. After all, how often are you in the presence of Attila the Hun, and live to tell the story. Instead, when speaking to the legendary Italian bass Ferruccio Furlanetto, all I could think to ask was: “How do you pronounce...
- [Extra, Extra: Daniel Stern tells all!<br/>Franz Liszt and Marie d'Agoult III](https://interlude.hk/extra-extra-daniel-stern-tells-allfranz-liszt-and-marie-dagoult-iii/): Franz Liszt Annees de pelerinage, 2nd year, Italy, S161/R10b In the second volume of his “Years of Pilgrimage” (Deuxième année: Italie), Franz Liszt musically recalls some of the emotionally fulfilling days traveling in the company of his lover Marie d’Agoult. But Liszt had also, following his musical duel with Sigismond...
- [Elgar : The Dream of Gerontius / Cello Concerto](https://interlude.hk/elgar-the-dream-of-gerontius-cello-concerto/): Elgar: Cello Concerto in E minor, Op. 85 – Adagio Jian Wang, cello Sydney Symphony Vladimir Ashkenazy, conductor From Elgar : The Dream of Gerontius / Cello Concerto (2011) Released by ABC Classics Elgar: Cello Concerto in E minor, Op. 85 – Adagio One of the most beautiful Cello concertos...
- [Daniel Gottlieb Steibelt](https://interlude.hk/daniel-gottlieb-steibelt/): Harp Concerto Sonata for 2 organs in G major During the first half of the nineteenth century, the piano became all the rage as a powerful and expressive concert instrument as well as the parlor instrument par excellence. Technical changes in the construction of the instrument not only made the...
- [Gustav Mahler: <em>Symphony No. 4</em> (1899-1901) / Willem Mengelberg: Concertgebouw Orchestra, 1939](https://interlude.hk/gustav-mahler-symphony-no-4-1899-1901-willem-mengelberg-concertgebouw-orchestra-1939/): Gustav Mahler Symphony No. 4 in G major The notated musical score requires not only realization, but also interpretation. In many cases, conductors will work with composers to clarify certain passages or to obtain a sense of musical meaning. However, equally important is the passing of knowledge about a given...
- [In touch with Han Feng](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-han-feng/): From the stunning red backdrop that opens Anthony Minghella’s Madame Butterfly, first staged at London’s ENO (2005) and then at The Met (2006), it is perfectly natural for dazzled audiences from worldwide to imagine the most complicated setting of the production team, possibly consisting of years and months of talent...
- [Schubert - String Quartets D87 and D887](https://interlude.hk/schubert-string-quartets-d87-and-d887/): Schubert: String Quartet D87 – Scherzo, Prestissimo Quarteto Casals From Schubert – String Quartets D87 and D887 (2013) Released by Harmonia Mundi Schubert: String Quartet D87 – Scherzo, Prestissimo For their first incursion into the works of Schubert on disc, the members of the Cuarteto Casals invite us to discover...
- [Cynthia Lawrence](https://interlude.hk/pavarottis-partner-on-stage-cynthia-lawrence/): Pavarotti’s partner on stage Listening to Cynthia Lawrence singing ‘Un bel di’ on her website reminds me of the late Mirella Freni. If one’s art is a reflection of the person, Cynthia is just as warm and expressive as her voice. Acclaimed as one of America’s most exciting ‘singing actresses’,...
- [Georges Enesco - Integral works for violin and piano](https://interlude.hk/georges-enesco-integral-works-for-violin-and-piano/): Sonata for violin and piano no. 3 in A minor Op. 25 “In the Romanian folk style” (1926) Amiram Ganz, violin Alexandre Paley, piano From Georges Enesco – Integral works for violin and piano Released by Saphir Productions Enesco : Sonata for violin and piano no. 3 in A minor...
- [Giacomo Puccini: <em>Madame Butterfly</em>](https://interlude.hk/giacomo-puccini-madame-butterfly/): You may not be able to name the title but you must have heard the famous soprano aria “Un bel dì vedremo” from Giacomo Puccini’s opera Madame Butterfly or Madama Butterfly. In this article, let us revisit the inspirations and plots of Puccini’s opera while discovering who is the best...
- [A Tale of Discovery](https://interlude.hk/a-tale-of-discovery/): It was early 2009 and I was searching for a way to distract my father and myself after the recent death of my mother. My father loved to “talk shop. ” Little did I know that I would stumble upon an amazing story by asking an innocent question. My father...
- [Theme and Variation in Music and Art](https://interlude.hk/theme-and-variation-in-music-and-art/): Frederic Rzewski “The People United Will Never Be Defeated” (1975) Stephen Drury, piano J. S. Bach Goldberg Variations BWV988 (1741) Glenn Gould, piano (1955) Beethoven 33 Variations in C major on a Waltz by Diabelli, Op. 120, “Diabelli Variations” (1819) Grigory Sokolov, piano Early this summer I attended the opening...
- [Years of Pilgrimage<br/>Franz Liszt and Marie d'Agoult II](https://interlude.hk/years-of-pilgrimagefranz-liszt-and-marie-dagoult-ii/): Franz Liszt Annees de pelerinage, 1st year, Switzerland, S160/R10 Following the tragic death of her daughter Louise, Marie d’Agoult found herself pregnant with Franz Liszt’s child. Since she was still married to Charles d’Agoult, it was impossible to stay in Paris. She wrote her husband in May 1835, telling him...
- [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart versus Muzio Clementi](https://interlude.hk/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart-versus-muzio-clementi/): Just imagine being in Vienna on Christmas Eve 1781. Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II — eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband Francis I, and brother of Marie Antoinette — was hosting a reception for the music loving Paul, Grand Duke of Russia and his wife, Grand Duchess...
- [Let there be Music!](https://interlude.hk/let-there-be-music/): Mostly Baroque: Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Conductor: Geoffrey Lancaster, 14/7/2012 Jean-Féry Rebel Les Eléments, “Symphonie Nouvelle” Many moons ago, the pianist Paul Badura-Skoda — already in his early eighties, frail and bent by the ravages of age that made it difficult for him to walk across the stage — came to...
- [Mozart in London I](https://interlude.hk/mozart-in-london/): Mozart’s father Leopold early on realized that his son Wolfgang, to whom he referred as the “miracle of God permitted to have been born in Salzburg,” represented a unique talent and opportunity. In order to raise money and to spread the fame of the child prodigy, Leopold virtually abandoned his...
- [Quatuor Modigliani - Intuition<br/>Arriaga / Mozart / Schubert](https://interlude.hk/quatuor-modigliani-intuitionarriaga-mozart-schubert/): Arriaga : String Quartet no 3 in E flat – Allegro Quatuor Modigliani From Quatuor Modigliani – IntuitionArriaga / Mozart / Schubert Released by Harmonia Mundi Arriaga : String Quartet no 3 in E flat – Allegro More or less off the beaten track of what is known as the...
- [Debussy and the sea…](https://interlude.hk/debussy-and-the-sea/): La Mer (1890) Philadelphia Orchestra Riccardo Muti Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune (1894) London Symphony Orchestra André Previn Stéphane Mallarmé L’après-midi d’un faune (1867) Original in French English translation My encounter with Claude Debussy began with his 24 preludes. I was attracted to the music as well as the descriptive...
- [Symphonic Shenanigans](https://interlude.hk/symphonic-shenanigans/): Anything can happen at a concert and in the three decades of my career I have experienced some unexpected and memorable incidents. Flying Batons Charles Dutoit was the principal guest conductor of the Minnesota Orchestra in the 1980’s. He conducted with French elegance — his moves suave and lithe. We...
- [Franz & Karl Doppler - Flutes of Glory Volumes 2 & 3](https://interlude.hk/franz-karl-doppler-flutes-of-glory-volumes-2-3/): Nocturne Op. 19 for flute, violin, cello and piano Claudi Arimany, flute From Franz & Karl Doppler – Flutes of Glory Volumes 2 & 3 Released by Saphir Productions Franz & Karl Doppler – Nocturne Op. 19 for flute, violin, cello and piano We have all heard various flute music...
- [Mozart and his World: Salzburg III](https://interlude.hk/mozart-and-his-world-salzburg-3/): Mozart’s early experience with Italian opera is documented in Daines Barrington’s report to the Royal Society in London, published in 1769. “At nine, the prodigy could already, in improvised recitatives and arias, ape operatic styles suited to anger and tenderness”. Clearly, Barrington’s assessment was accurate as the eleven year old...
- [Francisco Guerrero](https://interlude.hk/francisco-guerrero/): In 1589, Francisco Guerrero (1528-1599) the most prominent Spanish composer of the generation between Cristóbal de Morales and Tomás Luis de Victoria, embarked on a pilgrimage to the Holy Lands. He departed Venice on 14 August and traveled via the island of Zakinthos to Jaffa, Damascus, Bethlehem, and Jerusalem. Once...
- [Let’s meet in the Rat hole!<br/>Franz Liszt and Marie d'Agoult I](https://interlude.hk/lets-meet-in-the-rat-hole/): “She was beautiful, very beautiful, a Lorelei: slender, of lofty bearing, enchantingly graceful and yet dignified in her movements, her head proudly raised, with an abundance of fair tresses, which waved over her shoulders like molten gold, a regular, classic profile, which stood in strange and interesting contrast with the...
- [Choir, Chorale, Chorus which is it already…](https://interlude.hk/choir-chorale-chorus-which-is-it-already/): Opera chorusmaster, a profession steeped in mystery and nuance. An invaluable member of the opera company, he or she is a general training the troops by day and commanding them on the battlefield by night. This is no mere choral director, but a leader, supporter, parent and therapist all in...
- [Behind the Scenes with the Clare College Choir](https://interlude.hk/behind-the-scenes-with-the-clare-college-choir/): There are audible sighs of relief in the church of All Hallows, Gospel Oak as producer John Rutter announces his satisfaction with our last take, and it’s time for a break and a quick cup of tea. It’s the evening session on the first day of the Clare College Choir’s...
- [Antonín Dvořák - Songs and Duets](https://interlude.hk/antonin-dvorak-songs-and-duets/): Gypsy Melodies Op. 55 Songs my mother taught me Genia Kühmeier, soprano Bernarda Fink, mezzo-soprano Christoph Berner, piano From Antonín Dvořák – Songs and Duets (2012) Released by Harmonia Mundi Dvořák – Gypsy Melodies Op. 55 – Songs my mother taught me In 2004 Bernarda Fink released a recording of...
- [In touch with Alain Deguernel](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-alain-deguernel/): The first time I met Alain, it was in a small Parisian café, almost two years ago. Prior to our meeting, I had taken an extensive look at his website forgotten records, and fallen instantly in love with his selection of old masterpieces. Though our initial meeting was brief, it...
- [Johann Sebastian Bach vs. Louis Marchand](https://interlude.hk/johann-sebastian-bach-vs-louis-marchand/): We would be entirely wrong to assume that musical duels were in the exclusive domain of the 19th Century. Far from it, throughout the 17th and 18th Centuries, musicians busily battled in musical contests that measured technical facility and improvisational skills. Unlike musical competitions today, where a more or less...
- [Carlo TESSARINI (1690-1767) - 12 Violin Concertos opus 1](https://interlude.hk/carlo-tessarini-1690-1767-12-violin-concertos-opus-1/): Concerto no 7 – Allegro Marco Pedrona Ensemble Guidantus From Carlo TESSARINI (1690-1767) – 12 Violin Concertos opus 1 (2012) Released by Indésens Tessarini – Concerto no 7 – Allegro A special recording of an unfortunately forgotten Baroque Italian composer, Carlo Tessarini. Official website
- [In touch with <br/>Mark O’Connor](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-mark-oconnor/): Apart from his numerous accomplishments as a child prodigy, Grammy-winning jazz/folk/classical violinist and composer Mark O’Connor has been one of the pioneers that cross genres in his music making. This year O’Connor joins Bright Sheng’s Intimacy of Creativity and introduces his influence atop classical music to audience in Hong Kong....
- [Brooklyn Rider](https://interlude.hk/brooklyn-rider-spotlight/): Heralded by NPR as “recreating the 300-year-old form of string quartet as a vital and creative 21st-century ensemble,” the genre-defying string quartet’s gripping performance style has drawn critical acclaim from classical, world and rock music scenes. One of the quartet’s core members, Colin Jacobsen, unveils their collective philosophy by discussing...
- [Federico García Lorca – Manuel de Falla – The Andalusian Heritage in Poetry, Music and Art](https://interlude.hk/federico-garcia-lorca-manuel-de-falla-the-andalusian-heritage-in-poetry-music-and-art/): Canción de Jinete Córdoba Lejana y sola. Jaca negra, luna grande, Y aceitunas en mi alforja. Aunque sepa los caminos yo nunca llegaré a Córdoba Por el llano, por el viento Jaca negra, luna roja. La muerte me está mirando desde las torres de Córdoba. ᴉ Ay qué camino tan...
- [Breaking boundaries - Nadia Boulanger](https://interlude.hk/breaking-boundaries-nadia-boulanger/): In Woody Allen’s movie, ‘Midnight in Paris’, Gil Pender (Owen Wilson) travelled back to Paris in the 1920s and encountered Ernest Hemingway, Salvador Dali, Pablo Picasso, Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald etc. If I had a chance, I would have also returned to Paris at the turn of the 20th...
- [Exercises in the lofty French style<br/>Franz Liszt and Assorted](https://interlude.hk/exercises-in-the-lofty-french-style/): Devastated by having been forbidden to see his first sexual conquest and true love Caroline de Saint-Cricq ever again — her father had rather unceremoniously suggested that the boy take his Bohemian behind somewhere else — Franz Liszt seriously contemplated becoming a monk. Yet his appetite for the desires of...
- [Baby, your Shoulders!](https://interlude.hk/baby-your-shoulders/): It is estimated that shoulder injuries are one of the most common injuries among the general public and the third most common complaint among instrumental musicians. A shoulder injury can happen to a young athletic person as well as an older out-of-shape person. The shoulder is a complex structure designed...
- [Mozart and his World: Salzburg II](https://interlude.hk/mozart-and-his-world-salzburg-2/): Around the 5th century BC, a Celtic tribe established a small settlement on the banks of the river Salzach. By 15 BC the settlement had grown into the city Juvavum, and was part of the Roman Empire. The modern name of this city, Salzburg (Salt Castle) emerged with the construction...
- [Miloš Karadaglić - Latino](https://interlude.hk/milos-karadaglic-latino/): Ponce – Scherzino Mexicano Miloš Karadaglić, Guitar From Miloš Karadaglić – Latino (2012) Released by Universal Music Ponce – Scherzino Mexicano Sensuous, delicate, subtle, tender, passionate, intimate,... . my vocabulary is not rich enough to describe this marvelous recording, why don’t you just get it ! ! Official website
- [A Cambridge Music Student takes on the Cambridge Music Scene](https://interlude.hk/a-cambridge-music-student-takes-on-the-cambridge-music-scene/): As a music student here, it seems odd that, for a university with such an amazingly diverse and active music scene, performance at Cambridge makes up a very small amount of your final degree. The option to give a recital only appears in your third and final year here, and...
- [In touch with Adrian Spence (Camerata Pacifica)](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-with-adrian-spence-camerata-pacifica/): Hailed by the Los Angeles Times as “the best chamber music reason to get out of the house”, Camerata Pacifica has committed to exploring the breadth of chamber repertoires and new voices since its foundation in 1990. In 2012, the Santa-Barbara-based music group flies into Hong Kong to join Bright...
- [Franz Schubert Schwanengesang / Sonate D.960](https://interlude.hk/franz-schubert-schwanengesang-sonate-d-960/): Schwanengesang D. 957 1. Liebesbotschaft Matthias Goerne, Baritone Christoph Eschenbach, Piano From Franz Schubert Schwanengesang / Sonate D. 960 (2012) Released by Harmonia Mundi Schubert : Schwanengesang D. 957 – 1. Liebesbotschaft Matthias Goerne continues a Schubert survey that has already established him as one of the most fantastically gifted...
- [Magical Mozart](https://interlude.hk/magical-mozart/): If you are into opera, Mozart, and Masonic lore, then Magic Flute is the right fit. What you encounter in San Francisco Opera’s new production of this masterpiece is a tremendous artistic and visual landscape. These ingredients combine to form an inspiring, fresh, and subtle reinterpretation of the famous opera.
- [Krzysztof Penderecki](https://interlude.hk/krzysztof-penderecki/): One of the most versatile, multi-faceted and stylistically diverse composer of modern times, Krzysztof Penderecki was born 23 November 1933 in Dębica, Poland. Education and Early Compositions After initially taking private music lessons, Penderecki enrolled in the State Higher School of Music in Kraków; an institution subsequently renamed “Academy of...
- [The Cultural Ambassador - pianist Xu Zhong](https://interlude.hk/the-cultural-ambassador-pianist-xu-zhong/): Once a French concession, Shanghai, with its rich culture and roadside platanes, is regarded as the ‘Paris’ in China. Pianist Xu Zhong, who grew up in Shanghai and furthered his study with Dominique Merlet in Paris, is perhaps one of the best representatives of the city. Apart from his numerous...
- [Let’s get the Party started!<br/>Franz Liszt and Caroline de Saint-Cricq](https://interlude.hk/lets-get-the-party-started/): One of the foremost musical personalities and arguable the greatest virtuoso of his day, Franz Liszt (1811-1886) expanded the technical limits of the piano and the performer in both his own playing and in his compositions. However, what really distinguished Liszt from other virtuosi pianists of his time was his...
- [Cello Concerto Overview – Two Three and Four cellos!](https://interlude.hk/cello-concerto-overview-two-three-and-four-cellos/): Virtually every time I mention that I play the cello, the response is an enthusiastic “Oh I love the cello! ” Despite the fact that the soulful instrument is very popular today, the solo concerto repertory is not abundant like the piano or violin literature. We cellists are always on...
- [Franz Liszt versus Sigismond Thalberg](https://interlude.hk/franz-liszt-versus-sigismond-thalberg/): The culture of the traveling virtuoso, so prevalent in the first half of the nineteenth century and clearly reincarnated in today’s concert environment in which pianists like Lang Lang play more than 300 concerts a year, brought forth a unique way of “settling the score. ” To determine who was...
- [Schumann - Piano Quintet Op.44 / Piano Quartet Op.47](https://interlude.hk/schumann-piano-quintet-op-44-piano-quartet-op-47/): Piano Quintet Op. 44 in E Flat Major – Allegro Brillante Alexander Melnikov, piano Jerusalem Quartet From Schumann – Piano Quintet Op. 44 / Piano Quartet Op. 47 (2012) Released by Harmonia Mundi Schumann – Piano Quintet Op. 44 in E Flat Major – Allegro Brillante The Piano Quintet op....
- [Mozart and his World: Salzburg I](https://interlude.hk/mozart-and-his-world-salzburg-1/): For one reason or another, the name Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart has become a marketing cliché, selling everything from alcohol to chocolates. Perfectly sane and healthy people swoon at the mere mention of his name, and he is habitually referred to as a musical genius. Somehow, this ontological truism has managed...
- [Beethoven and Shostakovich 9th](https://interlude.hk/beethoven-and-shostakovich-9th/): Leonard Slatkin conducts Shostakovich and Beethoven: 2 Ninth SymphoniesOrchestre National de Lyon, The Gulbenkian Choir, Manuela Uhl, Bea Robein,Christian Elner, Morten Frank Larsen29 June 2012, Auditorium de Lyon Watch the concert Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125, “Choral” (1824)Philharmonia OrchestraHerbert Von Karajan Music Score The two respective Ninth...
- [Franz Schubert - The Resonance of the Origin](https://interlude.hk/franz-schubert-the-resonance-of-the-origin/): Fantasie in F minor for Piano Four Hands, D940 (Op. 103) Maria João Pires Ricardo Castro From Franz Schubert – The Resonance of the Origin (2005) Released by Deutsche Grammophon Schubert – Fantasie in F minor for Piano Four Hands, D940 (Op. 103) One of the greatest and most original...
- [Isabelle Faust](https://interlude.hk/isabelle-faust-spotlight/): Winner of the 1987 Leopold Mozart Competition and the 1993 Paganini Competition, Isabelle Faust is one of the most prominent young violinists of the day. Born in Esslingen, Germany, ten miles southeast of Stuttgart, Faust started playing the violin at the age of five, two years after her father started...
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- [The Song of the Nightingale<br/>Felix Mendelssohn and Jenny Lind](https://interlude.hk/the-song-of-the-nightingale/): By 1843, Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) was at the pinnacle of his career. He was almost universally acknowledged as an exceptional composer, conductor and educator. He had just founded the Leipzig Conservatory, and hired Ignaz Moscheles, Robert Schumann, Ferdinand David, Joseph Joachim and the music theorist Moritz Hauptman to join him...
- [In touch with Joan Tower](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-joan-tower/): The Intimacy of Creativity, HKUST Heralded as “one of the most successful woman composers of all time” with her bold and energetic musical style, Grammy-winning composer Joan Tower joins The Intimacy of Creativity 2012 to present her works Très Lent (Hommage à Messiaen) and Catching the Wave. During the interview,...
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- [New Concepts in Music and Art – Flamenco – Picasso – Gaudí - Dalí](https://interlude.hk/new-concepts-in-music-and-art-flamenco-picasso-gaudi-dali/): With the nationalist revival in the 19th century, the different regions of Spain saw a diverse musical development, from the Basque-language choirs in the north, to the melting pot in Castile, León and Aragon, where Roman, Visigoths, French, Italian and Gypsy influences are felt, to Catalonia, where the ‘sardana’ originated...
- [spotlight](https://interlude.hk/spotlight/): Spotlight on composers and musicians
- [Mozart - Marche Turque](https://interlude.hk/mozart-marche-turque/): Minueto de Dupont K 573 Vadim Sakharov, piano From Mozart – Marche Turque (2012) Released by Saphir Productions Mozart – Minueto de Dupont K 573 Subtle, delicate, airy, Vadim Sakharov’s Mozart is a little gem. Official website
- [Musician Mishaps](https://interlude.hk/musician-mishaps/): Ludwig van Beethoven 7 Variations in E flat major on Bei Mannern, welche Liebe fuhlen from Mozart’s Die Zauberflote, WoO 46 Paul Hindemith Sonata op. 11 no. 3 Musicians are fallible. Most of the time we attain near perfection in our performances only to be foiled by very human blunders....
- [music_note](https://interlude.hk/music_note/): Music notes from worldwide press
- [The Firebird and Xavier de Maistre, National Symphony Orchestra, Taipei](https://interlude.hk/the-firebird-and-xavier-de-maistre-national-symphony-orchestra-taipei/): Alberto Ginestera Harp Concerto, Op. 25 Felix Godefroid Carnaval de Venise Though mainlining in High German classics – Wagner, Mahler – the National Symphony Orchestra continues to keep up an eclectic programming schedule. Last Sunday, Lü Shao-chia yielded the podium to Russian Daniel Raiskin. But it was harpist Xavier de...
- [Brooklyn Rider - Seven Steps](https://interlude.hk/brooklyn-rider-seven-steps/): Seven Steps composed by Brooklyn Rider (2011) Johnny Gandelsman, violin Colin Jacobsen, violin Nicholas Cords, viola Eric Jacobsen, cello From Brooklyn Rider – Seven Steps (2012) Released by In a Circle Records Inspired by Beethoven’s String Quartet in C sharp Minor Op. 131, Seven Steps is the first string quartet...
- [Chinese Sense and Sensibility](https://interlude.hk/chinese-sense-and-sensibility/): We are a country full of surprises. In response to the UK NOW FESTIVAL campaign in China, the 2012 Beijing Music festival had plans to adopt a British theme. The organiser’s original ambition had been to feature a dream line-up of British composers, musicians and classical music pieces. The plan...
- [Almost a Fairytale!<br/>Felix Mendelssohn and Cécile Charlotte Sophie Jeanrenaud](https://interlude.hk/almost-a-fairytale/): Paulus (St. Paul), Op. 36 (1836) On 4 May 1836, Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) happily conducted the chorus of the Frankfurt Cäcilienverein, substituting for an indisposed colleague. Although he was certainly concentrating on the music, his eyes got distracted by a 16 year-old girl in the soprano section, which he described...
- [Tomás Luis de Victoria](https://interlude.hk/tomas-luis-de-victoria/): Tomás Luis de Victoria (1548-1611) should undoubtedly be considered the most significant Spanish composer of his time. He exclusively devoted his life and creative energies to the Catholic Church, and became one of the leading musical figures of the Counter-Reformation.
- [Benjamin Britten / Gerald Finzi](https://interlude.hk/benjamin-britten-gerald-finzi/): Gerald Finzi – Dies Natalis, Op. 8: III. The Rapture : Danza Mark Padmore, tenor Britten Sinfonia Jacqueline Shave, director From Benjamin Britten / Gerald Finzi (2012) Released by Harmonia Mundi Gerald Finzi – Dies Natalis, Op. 8: III. The Rapture : Danza Celebrated tenor Mark Padmore joins with Britten...
- [Jacqueline Mary du Pré](https://interlude.hk/jacqueline-mary-du-pre/): Jacqueline Mary du Pré (1945-1987) is arguably one of the most gifted cellists of our time. She is particularly remembered for her legendary debut performance of Elgar’s Cello Concerto in E minor (one of the favourite cello concertos of all time), which she performed with the BBC Symphony Orchestra at...
- [Listen Hear: Protecting Your Most Precious Sense, <br/>Part 2](https://interlude.hk/listen-hear-protecting-your-most-precious-sense-part-2/): Nearly every day I see large advertisements promoting hearing devices. There is certainly a need. Hearing plays an essential role in communication, language development and learning. Even a small amount of hearing loss can have a profound, negative effect on comprehension and social development and may result in social isolation....
- [Gustav Mahler: <em>Das Lied von der Erde</em> (The Song of the Earth)](https://interlude.hk/getting-ready-for-the-performance-2/): On 17 March 1907, Gustav Mahler (1860-1911) resigned the Artistic Directorship of the Vienna Court Opera. For years on end, discontent over his lavish salary, his extended musical tours promoting his own works, and persistent anti-Semitic attacks had finally taken their toll. Hoping to find respite from these tumultuous days...
- [Pierre Rode: Violin Concertos](https://interlude.hk/pierre-rode-violin-concertos/): Violin Concerto no. 4 in A Major – Rondo Jena Philharmonic Orchestra Friedemann Eichhorn, violin Nicolas Pasquet, conductor From Pierre Rode: Violin Concertos (2011) Released by Naxos Pierre Rode: Violin Concerto no. 4 in A Major – Rondo Pierre Rode was one of the giants of the violin world. He...
- [Art Song Project](https://interlude.hk/art-song-project/): What’s this project? This is our dream: We‘re finally in the position to share with you all the unsung songs we‘ve found. Some people ask why we bother spending our time with the works of composers nobody has heard of. Our answer is always: because we love to search for...
- [Schubert : Willkommen und Abschied](https://interlude.hk/schubert-willkommen-und-abschied/): Wandrers Nachtlied D224 Werner Gűra, tenor Christoph Berner, fortepiano From Schubert : Willkommen und Abschied (2012) Released by Harmonia Mundi Schubert: Wandrers Nachtlied D224 Placed under the aegis of Goethe’s poem Willkommen und Abschied (Greeting and parting), the lieders that make up this programme are emblematic of Romantic feeling as...
- [In touch with Zhang Hao Chen](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-zhang-hao-chen/): The Intimacy of Creativity, HKUST Zhang Hao Chen, the winner of the 13th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 2009, has been living in the centre of media focus since then. Three years whizzed by, and the young pianist has set his footprints in various prestigious concert halls before landing...
- [To Russia with Love!<br/>Fernando Sor and Félicité Hullin](https://interlude.hk/to-russia-with-love/): Towards the end of a highly successful performing and publishing career, the great Spanish guitarist Fernando Sor (1778-1839) — also known as Joseph Fernando Macari Sors, Josep Ferran Sorts I Muntades, Ferran Sor, Ferdinand Sor and Ferdinando Sor — vented his dissatisfaction with the general lack of musicianship in the...
- [Goya’s Genius and Spanish Art and Music in the 19th Century](https://interlude.hk/goyas-genius-and-spanish-art-and-music-in-the-19th-century/): Enrique Granados : Goyescas Book I Miguel Llobet : Romanza Francisco Tárrega : Capricho Arabe Felipe Pedrell : Courante Isaac Albéniz : Piano Concerto No. 1 in A minor, Op. 78, “Concierto fantastico” Spain, at the time of Goya’s birth in 1746, wrote one of his contemporaries, was “a body...
- [Listen Hear: Protecting your Most Precious Sense, <br/>Part 1](https://interlude.hk/listen-hear-protecting-your-most-precious-sense-part-1/): Without music life is unthinkable. Audience members and musicians are passionate about it, yet few people realize that decibels can be dangerous! Our world is toxically noisy and our hearing is jeopardized on a daily basis. The majority of cases of hearing loss and injury occur due to loud noise....
- [Fou Ts'ong, Taipei, April 28](https://interlude.hk/fou-tsong-taipei-april-28/): China’s Legendary Cold-War Era Pianist gave a show to a packed house in Taipei last weekend, cementing his status as an elder statesman of China’s classical music universe, and of the piano, full stop. He is one of the few surviving links to China’s pre-1949 musical past: raised in a...
- [Astor Piazzolla](https://interlude.hk/astor-piazzolla/): Astor Piazzolla Tristeza de un doble A Escualo Adios Nonino Contraataque Mumuki Miguel angelo Chin Chin Aix-en-Provence 7th January 2012 I first encountered Piazzolla’s music when I was a student in London. I had not been much attracted by tango, except perhaps the classical tango scene in the movie, Scent...
- [Henri Tomasi (1901-1971) Mélodies Corses - Cyrnos](https://interlude.hk/henri-tomasi-1901-1971-melodies-corses-cyrnos/): Chants Corses (1932) Lamentu d’u trenu Johanne Cassar, soprano Laurent Wagschal, piano Sodi Braide, piano From Henri Tomasi (1901-1971) Mélodies Corses – Cyrnos (2011) Released by Indésens Records Chants Corses – Lamentu d’u trenu Soprano Johanne Cassar’s first recording with pianist Laurent Wagschal is a series of enchanting songs from...
- [In touch with Bright Sheng at The Intimacy of Creativity](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-bright-sheng-at-the-intimacy-of-creativity/): Artist: Bright Sheng Date: 22 April 2012Venue: HKUST, Art Hall Initiated by world-renowned composer and pianist Bright Sheng, the Intimacy of Creativity is a two-week composition symposium. Selected pieces are constantly revised and refined to the best shape through rehearsal discussions and experiments between composers and performers. As a revival...
- [Il Pastor Fido 1712 / George Frideric Handel - Opera in three acts](https://interlude.hk/il-pastor-fido-1712-george-frideric-handel-opera-in-three-acts/): Aria : Se m’ami, oh caro (Madeleine Shaw) La Nuova Musica David Bates, direction Lucy Crowe, soprano Anna Dennis, soprano Katherine Manley, soprano Madeleine Shaw, mezzo-soprano Clint van der Linde, countertenor Lisandro Abadie, bass-baritone From Il Pastor Fido 1712 / George Frideric Handel – Opera in three acts (2012) Released...
- [Cristóbal de Morales](https://interlude.hk/cristobal-de-morales/): Cristóbal de Morales (c. 1500–1553) was the first Spanish composer of international renown. Two years after his death, the Spanish theorist Juan Bermudo — primarily known for his treatise on playing the vihuela — wrote, “for composing polyphony I would take as master the works of Adriano, of Christoval de...
- [All in the Family!](https://interlude.hk/all-in-the-family/): Le French May Arts Festival Hong Kong & Hong Kong SinfoniettaDaishin Kashimoto Plays Brahms14/4/2012, Hong Kong City Hall Concert hall Click here to read the concert preview “Getting Ready for the Performance”. Going to see the Hong Kong Sinfonietta is like going to a family picnic. Plenty of young and...
- [Marry your Violin, my Son, never a Woman!<br/>Pablo de Sarasate and Marie Lefébure-Wély](https://interlude.hk/marry-your-violin-my-son-never-a-woman/): Jean-Delphin Alard’s motivation for uttering the immortal words “marry your violin, my son, never a woman” to his most famous charge, the teenage violinist Pablo de Sarasate, might have been twofold. For one, he was rather unhappily married to the daughter of Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume, the most illustrious member of a...
- [The Curse of the Ninth](https://interlude.hk/the-curse-of-the-ninth/): Gustav Mahler Das klagende Lied (1880) Kindertotenlieder (1904) Symphony No. 9 (1909) Summer of 1907 came as a nightmare for Austrian-Jewish composer Gustav Mahler (1860-1911). His five year old daughter Maria Anna died of scarlet fever and diphtheria; he lost his job as director of the Vienna Court Opera due...
- [Audience Antics](https://interlude.hk/audience-antics/): Edward Elgar Symphony No. 1 in A flat major, Op. 55 Musicians love audiences. The more of them there are, the merrier. Little do they know that they are as visible to us as we are to them. Audiences think that musicians are so immersed in their playing that we...
- [HASSE - Requiem in C major / Miserere in E minor](https://interlude.hk/hasse-requiem-in-c-major-miserere-in-e-minor/): Osanna : Allegro di molto Il Fondamento Paul Dombrecht, director From HASSE – Requiem in C major / Miserere in E minor (2000) Released by PID Hasse: Osanna – Allegro di molto There was Hasse and his match “made in Heaven”, Faustina. Now, it is Hasse, and his Requiem. Official...
- [Make Money or Art?](https://interlude.hk/make-money-or-art/): Within the first two months of 2012, China has hosted the London Phil, the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Concertgebouw, the London Symphony Orchestra and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra. The Philharmonia, St Martin in the Fields and the Philadelphia Orchestra are still scheduled to come in the first...
- [Joaquin Turina: Piano Music Vol. 7](https://interlude.hk/joaquin-turina-piano-music-vol-7/): Álbum de viaje, Op. 15 – I. Retrato Jordi Maso, piano From Joaquin Turina: Piano Music Vol. 7 (2011) Released by Naxos Joaquin Turina: Álbum de viaje, Op. 15 – I. Retrato This much admired series continues with an evocative travel album that shows Turina at the height of his...
- [Miloš Karadaglić](https://interlude.hk/milos-karadaglic-spotlight/): If you were asked to name classical music’s most legendary guitar players, you’d probably come up with Andres Segovia, Julian Bream and John Williams. Miloš Karadaglić, who is already being hailed by fans and critics for his brilliant technique and transcendent musicality, may well be on his way to joining...
- [The Creative Power of Love!<br/>Isaac Albéniz and Rosina Jordana](https://interlude.hk/the-creative-power-of-love/): In April 1883, Rosina Jordana Lagarriga — daughter of the industrious businessman S. Simon Jordana, who lived and operated in the Catalonian capital of Barcelona — went to a local music store to look for sheet music by the sensational young pianist Isaac Albéniz. Rosina was slender and tall, with...
- [PROMS](https://interlude.hk/proms-spotlight/): The Minnesota Orchestra Anton Bruckner Symphony No. 4 in E flat major, WAB 104, “Romantic” (1888 version, ed. B. Korstvedt) Beethoven Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125, “Choral” Proms. The word brings to mind memories of parties past, giggling girls, corsages and hesitant dancers. In the music world,...
- [The Golden Age of Spain in Music, Arts and Literature](https://interlude.hk/the-golden-age-of-spain-in-music-arts-and-literature/): Tomas Luis de Victoria O magnum mysterium (1572) Domine ad adjuvandum me festina Cristóbal de Morales Puer natus est nobis (1543) Missa Benedicta es caelorum regina (excerpts) (1544) Antonio de Cabezon (Click here for our related “In love” article) Pavana con su glosa Fabordones del octavo tono Extraordinary artistic achievements...
- [Missa da Requiem - Miserere - Johann Christian Bach](https://interlude.hk/missa-da-requiem-miserere-johann-christian-bach/): III. Sequenz – 1. Coro. Dies irae Lenneke Ruiten, soprano Ruth Sandhoff, alto Colin Balzer, tenor Thomas E. Bauer, bass RIAS Kammerchor Akademie Fur Alte Musik, Berlin Hans-Christoph Rademann, dir. From Missa da Requiem – Miserere Johann Christian Bach (2011) Released by Harmonia Mundi J. C. Bach: III. Sequenz –...
- [Messian’s <em>L’Ascension</em> and Puccini’s <em>Suor Angelica</em> ; "Taiwan Philharmonic, the National Symphony Orchestra"](https://interlude.hk/messians-lascension-and-puccinis-suor-angelica-taiwan-philharmonic-the-national-symphony-orchestra/): When Lü Shao-chia (呂紹嘉) returned from the Staatsoper Hannover for the directorship of the NSO, he inherited an ensemble already steeped in Austro-German music and musicianship, on account of both the education of many orchestra members and the directorship of Günther Herbig. It’s a moment – and momentum – Lü...
- [Johannes Brahms: <em>Violin Concerto in D Major</em>, Op. 77](https://interlude.hk/johannes-brahms-violin-concerto-in-d-major/): Among the great composer-musicians of the nineteenth century, Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) stands as somewhat of an anomaly. In an age that worshiped flamboyant personalities and in which composers strove to break from tradition in radical new ways, Brahms was a private man who forged his own musical identity while upholding...
- [Ludmila Berlinskaia & Arthur Ancelle / Tchaikovsky](https://interlude.hk/ludmila-berlinskaia-arthur-ancelle-tchaikovsky/): Casse-Noisette : Suite op. 71a for two pianos (transcription N. Economou) Danse Chinoise Ludmila Berlinskaia, piano Arthur Ancelle, piano From Ludmila Berlinskaia & Arthur Ancelle / Tchaikovsky (2012) Released by Saphir Productions Casse-Noisette: Suite op. 71a for two pianos (transcription N. Economou) – Danse Chinoise A wonderful and amazing transcription...
- [Seeing with the Heart!<br/>Antonio de Cabezón and Louisa Nuñez de Mocos](https://interlude.hk/seeing-with-the-heart/): Antonio de Cabezón Tiento XXV de sexto tono Pavana Italiana The immediate consequence of a rather messy political game of conspiracy and intrigue involving his own mother saw Charles V ascend to the throne of both Castile and Aragon in 1516. Once his paternal grandfather Maximilian died in 1519, Charles...
- [Boosting China’s Cultural Power](https://interlude.hk/boosting-chinas-cultural-power/): One can’t help but notice the new major policy unveiled in 2011 and continuing well into 2012 – the supreme importance of strengthening Chinese culture. At the end of last year, President Hu published an essay in which he drew a sharp distinction between the cultures of the West and...
- [9 Justice Drive<br/>Admiralty, Hong Kong](https://interlude.hk/9-justice-driveadmiralty-hong-kong/): A mere 15 years ago, Hong Kong proudly escaped the shackles of British colonial rule and happily pledged its allegiance to an even more aggressive ruler in the north. There were no cries for independence or democracy, no calls for an uprising or spring of any kind but simply an...
- [Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and Ulnar Nerve Entrapments](https://interlude.hk/carpal-tunnel-syndrome-and-ulnar-nerve-entrapments/): Injuries among musicians occur mainly due to overuse. Repetition, excessive force, poor posture, awkward positions, and little respite from our wonderful profession when stirred into the mix, is a recipe for disaster. Half of the injuries seen in musicians are muscle/tendon overuse injuries. Other injuries that may occur include nerve...
- [Anton Rubinstein Persian Love Songs](https://interlude.hk/anton-rubinstein-persian-love-songs/): Sechs Lieder Op. 72 Es blinkt der Tau (Boddien) (The Dew Gleams) Hélène Lindqvist, soprano Philippe Vogler, piano (The Art Song Project) From Anton Rubinstein Persian Love Songs (2012) Released by The Art Song Project Rubinstein: Sechs Lieder Op. 72 – Es blinkt der Tau (Boddien) – (The Dew Gleams)...
- [An Unstoppable Talent](https://interlude.hk/an-unstoppable-talent/): Stravinsky Symphony No. 1 in E flat major, Op. 1 (1907) At age nine, Russian musician Dmitry Shostakovich (1906-1975) was already a music prodigy. His parents took him to his first opera performance when he was five, only to find him singing several songs from the show the next day....
- [Mozart - Duos KV423 & 424 / The Magic Flute / Transcriptions for Flute and Viola](https://interlude.hk/mozart-duos-kv423-424-the-magic-flute-transcriptions-for-flute-and-viola/): Duo KV424 – Andante grazioso Patrick Gallois, Flute Pierre-Henri Xuereb, Viola From Mozart – Duos KV423 & 424 / The Magic Flute / Transcriptions for Flute and Viola (2012) Released by Saphir Productions Mozart: Duo KV424 – Andante grazioso Duo KV424, originally for violin and viola was seldom performed. This...
- [In the Clutches of Madness<br/>Don Carlo Gesualdo and Eleonora d’Este](https://interlude.hk/in-the-clutches-of-madness/): Carlo Gesualdo GESUALDO: Tenebrae Responsories for Maundy Thursday (1611) The brutal slaughter of Maria d’Avalos and her lover Don Fabrizio Carafa at the hands of Don Carlo Gesualdo was not exclusively motivated by jealousy. In fact, Italian noblemen during the later stages of the Renaissance were essentially duty-bound to kill...
- [Javier Perianes](https://interlude.hk/javier-perianes-spotlight/): The acclaim accorded to the pianist Javier Perianes by audiences and critics alike confirms his status as one of Spain’s most exciting new artists. Hugely popular with Spanish audiences, he has a growing international reputation.
- [Conductor Chronicles](https://interlude.hk/conductor-chronicles/): Helmut Rilling Bach : Mass in B minor Edo de WaartMinnesota Orchestra MAHLER, G. : Symphony No. 1, “Titan” Audiences regard the maestro with awe. Their god-like stance on the podium and their mesmerizing control over the musicians is the stuff of legend. Those ruthless dictators are beyond reproach, known...
- [Manuel de Falla (1876-1946): Nights in the Gardens of Spain, Works for Solo Piano](https://interlude.hk/manuel-de-falla-1876-1946-nights-in-the-gardens-of-spain-works-for-solo-piano/): Nocturno (1896) Andante molto Javier Perianes, piano BBC Symphony Orchestra Josep Pons From Manuel de Falla (1876-1946): Nights in the Gardens of Spain, Works for Solo Piano (2011) Released by Harmonia Mundi Manuel de Falla: Nocturno – Andante molto This wonderful piece was composed when Falla was only 20, when...
- [Opéra ci, Opéra là](https://interlude.hk/opera-ci-opera-la/): I read two interesting articles recently. One was about the Metropolitan Opera, whose spokesman proudly informed Times Magazine that the average age of subscribers is much younger now, “dropping from 66. 4 in 2005 to 64. 8 in 2011” – which, let’s face it, isn’t that much younger. The other...
- [Music and Arts in Medieval Spain](https://interlude.hk/music-and-arts-in-medieval-spain/): Sephardic Romances: Traditional Jewish Music from Spain – Avrix mi galanica (Let Me in, My Love) Ya viene el cativo (Now Comes the Prisoner) With the invasion of the Moors in the 8th century, medieval Spain saw a blossoming of music, architecture and the arts, not only unparalleled in the...
- [Romances Françaises French Songs 1795 -1815](https://interlude.hk/romances-francaises-french-songs-1795-1815/): François-Adrien Boieldieu (1775-1834) Les Souvenirs Sylvie Nicephor, soprano Etsuko Shoji, harpe Erard From Romances Françaises French Songs 1795 -1815 (2011) Released by Indésens Records François-Adrien Boieldieu – Les Souvenirs This album is a fabulous voyage throughout the French Classicism in the early 19th century. With spontaneous lyrics, the music flows...
- [The makings of Insanity<br/>Carlo Gesualdo and Donna Maria d’Avalos](https://interlude.hk/the-makings-of-insanity/): Carlo Gesualdo Madrigals, Book 6 (1611) The third act of William Shakespeare’s tragic play “Othello” contains the ominous words “O, beware, my lord, of jealousy! It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock the meat it feeds on”. As we all know, Othello did not heed these words and unceremoniously...
- [Janos Starker : Igniting a Spark](https://interlude.hk/janos-starker-igniting-a-spark/): When we think about the wonders of the world, we think in terms of natural marvels or edifices. Typically, we don’t think in these terms when we describe creative artists but Janos Starker, qualifies. Virtuoso cellist, master pedagogue, articulate advocate and visionary, Starker has had an extraordinary impact on cello...
- [Berg - Beethoven: Violin Concertos](https://interlude.hk/berg-beethoven-violin-concertos/): Beethoven: Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61 – Rondo Allegro Isabelle Faust, Violin Orchestra Mozart Claudio Abbado From Berg – Beethoven: Violin Concertos (2012) Released by Harmonia Mundi Beethoven: Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61 – Rondo Allegro Dialogue’ is probably the best term to describe the coupling...
- [In touch with Tan Dun : From Beijing to Bartók](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-tan-dun-from-beijing-to-bartok/): From Beijing to Bartók: a Talk with Tan Dun at the 2012 Hong Kong International Chamber Music Festival Tan Dun flew to Hong Kong last month to oversee rehearsals for the local premiere of Ghost Opera, the chamber work considered by many to be his best. The highly theatrical piece...
- [Nature, Nurture and Playing Music to Cows](https://interlude.hk/nature-nurture-and-playing-music-to-cows/): Do cows understand music? Can animals appreciate the beauty of music? The term “playing music to a cow” (对牛弹琴) is an old Chinese proverb that came about when a man called Gong Mingyi played music to his cow, only to find that it did not respond. Today, the term is...
- [Vivaldi Cello Concertos](https://interlude.hk/vivaldi-cello-concertos/): Cello Concerto in A minor, RV419 – II. Andante Jean-Guihen Queyras, cello Akademie Für Alte Musik Berlin Vivaldi Cello Concertos (2011) Released by Harmonia Mundi Vivaldi: Cello Concerto in A minor, RV419 – II. Andante Alongside the famous Quattro Stagioni, La Notte, and so on, Vivaldi wrote no fewer than...
- [Mostly Gibbons….](https://interlude.hk/mostly-gibbons/): Orlando Gibbons Great King of Gods (1617) Fantasia a 3 (1620) Glorious and Powerful God See, see the world is incarnate Cambridge plays host to some fascinating combinations of music and architecture. There is no shortage of unusual venues for performance: from opera in the natural history museum, choral recitals...
- [Molding a new Tradition?](https://interlude.hk/molding-a-new-tradition/): Not so long ago, chamber music simply did not register in Hong Kong. Sure, various chamber groups were featured during the Arts Festival and on other special occasions, and student groups — primarily emerging from the Academy of Performing Arts — would cheerfully saw and toot their way through ghastly...
- [A Bird of a different feather!<br/>Richard Strauss and Pauline Maria de Ahna](https://interlude.hk/a-bird-of-a-different-feather/): After sampling the sexual exploitations by some members of the Viennese Strauss family, it might be time to restore our faith in humanity—especially with Valentine’s Day around the corner—by taking a look at a different Strauss, namely Richard from Munich. As a celebrated international conductor, Richard Strauss enjoyed an impressive...
- [The Royal Instrument from the Classical Age to Present](https://interlude.hk/the-royal-instrument-from-the-classical-age-to-present/): Liszt : Prélude and Fugue on the Name of B. A. C. H Schumann : Six Fugues B-A-C-H, op. 60 During the Classical period of the 18th century, organ music was seldom written, since most composers started to write for the newly invented piano forte. We know though that the...
- [Shostakovich: Piano Concertos Sonata for Violin and Piano op. 134](https://interlude.hk/shostakovich-piano-concertos-sonata-for-violin-and-piano-op-134/): Concerto no. 1 for Piano, Trumpet and String Orchestra Op. 35 – Lento Alexander Melnikov, piano Isabelle Faust, violin Jeroen Berwaerts, trumpet Mahler Chamber Orchestra Teodor Currentzis, conductor From Shostakovich: Piano Concertos Sonata for Violin and Piano op. 134 (2012) Released by Harmonia Mundi Shostakovich: Concerto no. 1 for Piano,...
- [Essentials for Good Posture](https://interlude.hk/essentials-for-good-posture/): Looking good, feeling good and sounding good are inextricably linked when it comes to playing our instruments. We strive to play with “good technique” but do we have the same commitment to play with good posture? Good posture helps our body function optimally, promoting efficiency of movement and stamina. When...
- [Music for Broken Heart](https://interlude.hk/music-for-broken-heart/): To stir and to soothe It’s Valentine’s Day again. Just a year ago, I wrote about Valentine’s Day gifts and love-inspired music. So why is it that this year, I want to write about music for a broken heart?
- [Tchaikovsky: Complete work for Violin and Orchestra](https://interlude.hk/tchaikovsky-complete-work-for-violin-and-orchestra/): Souvenir d’un lieu cher op. 42 (orch. A. Glazunov) Mélodie : Moderato con moto Régis Pasquier, violin Baltic Chamber Orchestra Emmanuel Leducq-Barôme, conductor From Tchaikovsky: Complete work for Violin and Orchestra (2012) Released by Saphir Productions Tchaikovsky: Souvenir d’un lieu cher op. 42 – Mélodie : Moderato con moto Memory...
- [Malcolm Arnold: Cello concerto / Symphony for Strings](https://interlude.hk/malcolm-arnold-cello-concerto-symphony-for-strings/): Concertino for flute and strings, Op. 19a – Allegretto Davis Ellis, arranger Esther Ingham, flute Manchester Symphonia Richard Howarth, conductor From Malcolm Arnold: Cello concerto / Symphony for Strings (2011) Released by Naxos Malcolm Arnold: Concertino for flute and strings, Op. 19a – Allegretto Sir Malcolm Arnold’s preference for classical...
- [Danubian Debauchery III<br/>Analyze This<br/>Johann Strauss II, Henriette Angelika Diettrich “Lily”, Henrietta “Jetty” Treffz and Adele Deutsch](https://interlude.hk/danubian-debauchery-iiianalyze-this/): Johann Strauss II Eine Nacht in Venedig (A Night in Venice) (1883) Kaiser Walzer (Emperor Waltz), Op. 437 (1889) Aufs Korn, Op. 478 (1898) Psychoanalytical models suggest that a human being, emotionally responding to the loss of a loved one, undergoes a process of grieving that involves various stages. The...
- [In Touch with Henning Kraggerud](https://interlude.hk/conversation-with-henning-kraggerud-by-cathy-hung/): Edvard Grieg Violin Sonata No. 1 in F major, Op. 8 Jean Sibelius Sibelius Serenade in G minor, Op. 69b, No. 2: Lento assai Norwegian violinist Henning Kraggerud joins the Hong Kong International Chamber Music Festival 2012 and impresses the audience with his slightly ‘different’ interpretation of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons...
- [Leopold Hofmann](https://interlude.hk/leopold-hofmann/): Cello Concerto in D major, Badley D3 Flute Concerto in G major, Badley G2 Concerto for Oboe and Harpsichord in F major, Badley F1 Leopold Hofmann (1738 – 1793) was an Austrian church musician and composer of instrumental music. His symphonies, concerti and chamber works were played all over Europe....
- [What is love?](https://interlude.hk/what-is-love/): Clara Schumann 3 Romanzen, Op. 22 (1853) Helen Fisher, a Canadian-American anthropologist and human behavior researcher, is a leading expert on the biology of love. She divides the experience of love between men and women into three overlapping stages: lust, attraction and attachment; each involves the increased release of certain...
- [Bach for the New Year](https://interlude.hk/bach-for-the-new-year/): Happy New Year to all! What better way to begin the New Year than listening to Bach in a concert you did not expect to be in? On the evening of the 31 December, having wondered from café to café in Soho for the entire afternoon, we were not only...
- [Nadja and Astor – What a combination!](https://interlude.hk/nadja-and-astor-what-a-combination/): Las 4 Estaciones Portenas (The 4 Seasons of Buenos Aires)(arr. L. Desyatnikov for violin and strings) I have long had a love affair with Astor Piazzolla’s music. Several years ago I heard the wonderful recording of Le Grand Tango for cello and piano performed by Yo Yo Ma. Written in...
- [Music and Language](https://interlude.hk/music-and-language/): Imagine a world without language — a world where sounds were merely frequencies on a spectrum, and where the rules of writing and speech did not exist. It would be virtually impossible to imagine how human civilization would have developed, how history would have unfolded, or how science and technology...
- [John Ireland: Piano Concerto](https://interlude.hk/john-ireland-piano-concerto/): Piano concerto in E flat major – Allegretto giocoso John Lenehan, piano Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra John Wilson, conductor From John Ireland: Piano Concerto (2011) Released by Naxos John Ireland: Piano concerto in E flat major – Allegretto giocoso John Ireland’s radiant Piano Concerto was written for his protégée Helen...
- [Interlude is two years old!](https://interlude.hk/interlude-is-two-years-old/): And it has been two wonderful and exciting years for me. Through Interlude, I have met outstanding musicians, learned the fascinating history of talented composers and discovered inspiring new pieces. My knowledge and appreciation not just for music, but for life as well, have been tremendously enriched.
- [Granados Goyescas Valses Poéticos](https://interlude.hk/granados-goyescas-valses-poeticos/): El Fandango de candil Luis Fernandos Pérez, piano From Granados Goyescas Valses Poéticos (2011) Released by Harmonia Mundi Granados: El Fandango de candil The Goyescas of Enrique Granados, inspired by the Madrid of Goya’s time which the painter immortalised with his marvellous palette of colours, is – along with Iberia...
- [Antonio Poli](https://interlude.hk/antonio-poli/): Future projects of young Italian tenor Antonio Poli include 2012 concerts with operatic arias in Hamburg, Frankfurt and Zurich, as well as Mozart’s “Requiem” conducted by Antonio Pappano in Rome, Mercadante’s “I due Figaro” at Teatro Real in Madrid conducted by Muti, a song recital at the prestigious Lucerne Festival,...
- [Danubian Debauchery II<br/>(Like Father, like Son)<br/>Johann Strauss II, Olga Smirnitskaya and Henrietta “Jetty” Treffz](https://interlude.hk/danubian-debauchery-2like-father-like-son/): Johann Strauss II Abschied von St. Petersburg (1858) An der schonen, blauen Donau (The Beautiful Blue Danube), Op. 314 (1867) Die Fledermaus (1874) I am not entirely sure who coined the saying “like father, like son”, but they certainly could have had Johann Strauss the father, and Johann Strauss the...
- [The Baroque Era – The Golden Age of the Organ](https://interlude.hk/the-baroque-era-the-golden-age-of-the-organ/): The Reformation and Counterreformation of the 16th and 17th centuries had a decisive impact not only on the architecture of the time, moving from the harmony and balance of the Renaissance to the painted heavens, extreme ornamentation and disturbance captured in the concave and convex form of the Baroque, but...
- [Bach Cantatas](https://interlude.hk/bach-cantatas/): J. S. Bach Liebster Gott, wenn werd ich sterben, BWV 8 (1724) A recent poll of Classical music buyers by the BPI (The British Recorded Music Industry) returned an interesting answer: that the favourite composer of an overwhelming majority was Johann Sebastian Bach. An evergreen composer, his music is continually...
- [A Week In the Life](https://interlude.hk/a-week-in-the-life/): Non-musicians (civilians we call them) like to get behind the scenes. Sometimes they ask questions that surprise us, such as: “You play for a living — do they pay you for that? ” or “What’s your day job? ” or one I love especially — when I am home during...
- [Franz Schubert Schwanengesang](https://interlude.hk/franz-schubert-schwanengesang/): Die Taubenpost Mark Padmore, tenor Paul Lewis, piano From Franz Schubert Schwanengesang (2011) Released by Harmonia Mundi Schubert: Die Taubenpost Tenor Mark Padmore and pianist Paul Lewis conclude their acclaimed Schubert triptych with this revelatory account of Schwanengesang, the third and last of the great Schubert cycles, collected and published...
- [La Campanella](https://interlude.hk/la-campanella-by-ian-pong/): Aix-en-Provence 27th December 2011 ‘La Campanella’ is often heard as an encore at recitals, in TV commercials, and in movies. To some it is a perennial favourite, but to others it may be too frequently performed. In either case, it says something about the popularity of this piece which bears...
- [Il Caro Sassone Handel in Italy](https://interlude.hk/il-caro-sassone-handel-in-italy/): Il Trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno – Aria “Lascia la spina” Lucy Crowe, soprano The English Concert Harry Bicket From Il Caro Sassone Handel in Italy (2011) Released by Harmonia Mundi Handel: Il Trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno – Aria “Lascia la spina” Soprano Lucy Crowe joins The...
- [Danubian Debauchery I<br/>Johann Strauss and Maria Anna Streim](https://interlude.hk/danubian-debauchery-1/): Johann Strauss Täuberlin-Walzer, Op. 1 Kettenbrücken-Walzer, Op. 4 “Homage to Queen Victoria of Great Britain”, Op. 103 (1838) “Radetzky March”, Op. 228 (1848) One would be hard pressed not to agree with the assessment of a contemporary music critic, who described the Viennese Waltz as a direct expression of sensuality....
- [Osvaldo Golijov](https://interlude.hk/osvaldo-golijov/): Osvaldo Golijov (b. December 5, 1960) grew up in an Eastern European Jewish household in La Plata, Argentina. Born to a piano teacher mother and physician father, Golijov was raised surrounded by classical chamber music, Jewish liturgical and klezmer music, and the new tango of Astor Piazzolla. After studying piano...
- [Vienna’s New Year Concert, Past and Present](https://interlude.hk/viennas-new-year-concert-past-and-present/): One of my most memorable new year’s day was in the year 2010. I went to a friend’s place to watch a TV broadcast of the New Year Concert, live from Vienna, with several music lovers and critics. Before the concert, we were so excited about it as if we...
- [Why It May Hurt to Play](https://interlude.hk/why-it-may-hurt-to-play/): Ravel : Bolero Sibelius : Oceanides We musicians just want to make music. We are willing to self-destruct if need be. But the goal is to re-create great music with ease and expressiveness. It’s vital to keep in mind that our violins, cellos, flutes and trombones are only half the...
- [Azerbaijani Piano Concertos](https://interlude.hk/azerbaijani-piano-concertos/): Piano Concerto after Arabian Themes – I. Allegro Elmira Nazirova / Fikret Amirov, composers Farhad Badalbeyli, piano Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Dmitry Yablonsky, conductor Azerbaijani Piano Concertos (2011) Released by Naxos Elmira Nazirova / Fikret Amirov: Piano Concerto after Arabian Themes – I. Allegro All of the composers here combine elements...
- [Harmony](https://interlude.hk/harmony/): Making room for the good It seems like just yesterday that I was scratching my head in front of my computer, coming up with resolutions that begin with an H. And here I am again, one year later, wondering what to wish for in 2012.
- [The Christmas Story](https://interlude.hk/the-christmas-story/): We wish you a Merry Christmas (arranged by Paul Hillier) Theatre of Voices Ars Nova Copenhagen Paul Hillier, Artistic Director From The Christmas Story (2011) Released by Harmonia Mundi We wish you a Merry Christmas (arranged by Paul Hillier) The Nativity story told through plainchant, motets, 17th Century dialogues and...
- [Ying Huang](https://interlude.hk/ying-huang/): Ying Huang, renowned lyric coloratura soprano and opera singer, is one of the outstanding Chinese vocal artists who has been active worldwide in opera and concert performances, TV and movie productions as well as recording studios. Her tender and sweet voice, flexible and unassailable technique, authentic musical styles and impassioned...
- [The Royal Instrument through the Ages - from Antiquity to the Renaissance Era](https://interlude.hk/the-royal-instrument-through-the-ages-from-antiquity-to-the-renaissance-era/): On my recent European lecture tour, I was fortunate to hear several concerts in magnificent Baroque churches on Baroque organs, including one in the church of the former Cistercian monastery of St. Urban, Switzerland and one in the St. Francis Church in Prague. Not only was this a musical experience...
- [Tuberculosis, Tinnitus and other Tribulations<br/>Bedřich Smetana and Kateřina Kolářová](https://interlude.hk/tuberculosis-tinnitus-and-other-tribulations/): By the summer of 1874, Bedřich Smetana (1824-1884) was fighting an apparently minor throat infection that resulted in a blockage to his ears. By September, however, he had lost all hearing in his right ear, and by October he was profoundly deaf. Like Beethoven, he sought medical treatment abroad—ingesting large...
- [Overture to Injury Prevention](https://interlude.hk/overture-to-injury-prevention/): It was one thing to be accepted at age 22 to study with the great cellist and pedagogue Janos Starker at Indiana University. Adhering to his regimen of three lessons a week, each lesson on different repertory was another! Although I had heard stories about Starker’s intensely competitive class, I...
- [On Christmas Night](https://interlude.hk/on-christmas-night/): Sir John Tavener (b. 1944) The Lamb For Simon’s third birthday With extreme tenderness, flexible, always guided by the words – Poco meno mosso – A tempo, moving forward – Poco meno mosso Choir of St. John’s College, Cambridge Andrew Nethsingha On Christmas Night (2011) Released by Chandos Sir John...
- [In Touch with Simone Lamsma](https://interlude.hk/conversation-with-simone-lamsma-by-cathy-hung/): Edward Elgar Violin Sonata in E Minor, Op. 82 On the day of interview, Simone has just finished her rehearsal with the HKPO. Despite her long day, her eyes rolled with excitement whenever she talks about music. Behind her blue eyes, you can see passion, determination and energy. At the...
- [The Voices of Angels](https://interlude.hk/the-voices-of-angels/): During the Baroque period (1600-1750), male sopranos composed about 70 percent of all opera singers. Crowned as the singing sensations of the 18th century, these men moved audiences with the shrill clarity of their high-pitched voices, and the lung power of a full-grown man. However, behind their success was a...
- [Antonio Vivaldi: Concerti for piccolo](https://interlude.hk/antonio-vivaldi-concerti-for-piccolo/): Concerto for 2 piccolos in C major RV533 Allegro molto Orchestre National de France Jean-Pierre Rampal, conductor Jean-Louis Beaumadier, piccolo Philippe Pierlot, piccolo From Antonio Vivaldi: Concerti for piccolo (2011) Released by Saphir Productions Vivaldi: Concerto for 2 piccolos in C major RV533 – Allegro molto Uplifting, sunny, energetic, any...
- [“A Match made in Heaven”<br/>Faustina Bordoni and Johann Adolph Hasse](https://interlude.hk/a-match-made-in-heaven/): After merely two years in London, Faustina Bordoni departed for Venice. Exhausted from her petty quarrels with Francesca Cuzzoni, and tired of a feuding and bickering general public and musical establishment — which of course included Handel’s futile attempts at micromanagement — Faustina was ever so happy to say goodbye...
- [Gilad Hochman](https://interlude.hk/gilad-hochman/): Born in 1982, Israeli composer Gilad Hochman was already defined as “one of Israel’s most prominent composers” by the Deutschland Magazine and as “a rising star in the classical music world” by France 24. His search after expression and originality in music had led to many musical pieces and growing...
- [The Sound of Silence](https://interlude.hk/the-sound-of-silence/): ‘Dead air’ to a radio presenter is like the name of ‘Lord Voldemort’ to ‘Harry Potter’... must not be named, nor heard. This moment of speechlessness creates an anxiety between the presenter and the listener as if the earth has suddenly stopped rotating. Yet, silence can be a powerful force...
- [The Horvath Cellists](https://interlude.hk/the-horvath-cellists/): I was born into a musical family. My father was a cellist whose career spanned several years with the Budapest Symphony and thirty – eight years with the Toronto Symphony. My mother was an inspired piano teacher. Music permeated our home. My parents were very pleased when at the age...
- [Georges Enesco: Sonatas op.26 for cello and piano](https://interlude.hk/georges-enesco-sonatas-op-26-for-cello-and-piano/): Sonata in C major opus 26 no. 2 Andantino cantabile, senza lentezza Alexandre Dmitriev, cello Alexandre paley, piano From Georges Enesco: Sonatas op. 26 for cello and piano (2011) Released by Saphir Productions Enesco: Sonata in C major opus 26 no. 2 – Andantino cantabile, senza lentezza Georges Enesco composed...
- [About Janet](https://interlude.hk/about-janet-horvath/): Music may achieve the highest of all missions: she may be a bond between nations, races and states, who are strangers to one another in may wanys; she may unite what is disunited and bring peace to what is hostile. DR. MAX BENDER Janet Horvath, wears many hats. She has...
- [Feast or Folly? - 3rd Hong Kong International Piano Competition](https://interlude.hk/feast-or-folly-3rd-hong-kong-international-piano-competition/): The 3rd Hong Kong International Piano Competition, held over roughly 2 weeks in the fall of 2011, has come and gone. Organised by the Chopin Society of Hong Kong and financially supported by various business interests and taxpayer money, this event once again succeeded in assembling a highly distinguished panel...
- [Mahler on the Jumbotron: the Berlin Philharmonic in Taipei](https://interlude.hk/mahler-on-the-jumbotron-the-berlin-philharmonic-in-taipei/): For Westerners who wonder aloud whether Asia might save classical music’s declining fortunes in the West, Friday night is the sort of thing they have in mind. When the Berlin Philharmonic kicked off Taipei’s weekend with a gripping rendition of Mahler’s 9th Symphony, the spectacle was not limited only to...
- [Bach: Das Wohltemperierte Klavier - Teil II](https://interlude.hk/bach-das-wohltemperierte-klavier-teil-ii/): Fuga 11 BWV 880 Sébatien Guillot, harpsichord From Bach: Das Wohltemperierte Klavier – Teil II (2011) Released by Saphir Productions Bach: Fuga 11 BWV 880 First recording of The London autograph score. Official website
- [Schubert: Piano Sonatas](https://interlude.hk/schubert-piano-sonatas/): Impromptus op 90 D899 Allegretto Paul Lewis, piano From Schubert: Piano Sonatas (2011) Released by Harmonia Mundi Schubert: Impromptus op 90 D899 – Allegretto Paul Lewis and Schubert, un vrai bonheur ! In Hong Kong this December, not to be missed. Official website
- [I Drink, Therefore I am: The Truth about Alcohol and Creativity](https://interlude.hk/i-drink-therefore-i-am-the-truth-about-alcohol-and-creativity/): Have you ever wondered why so many creative people are associated with alcohol? Beethoven, Vincent van Gogh, Elvis Presley, Andy Warhol, Johnny Cash, Jimi Hendrix, are but a handful of many who have been known for their creative output and alcoholism. Likewise, many famous writers such as Dylan Thomas, James...
- [Alice Sara Ott](https://interlude.hk/alice-sara-ott/): “The soloist, replacing Lang Lang at short notice, was Alice Sara Ott, who gave the kind of gawp-inducing bravura performance of which legends are made. ” – Tim Ashley, The Guardian, November 2010
- [In Touch with Andrea Fessler - PPHK, my fourth baby](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-andrea-fessler-pphk-my-fourth-baby/): When Andrea Fessler speaks about music, her big round eyes sparkle. Even while working as a lawyer, she would rather sacrifice her sleep and work till 3 in the morning than not attend concerts. A classmate of Barack Obama at the Harvard Law School, she decided to abandon law for...
- [“The Queen amongst the Queens”<br/>Faustina Bordoni, Francesca Cuzzoni and George Friedrich Handel](https://interlude.hk/the-queen-amongst-the-queens/): “She had a mezzo-soprano voice, that was less clear than penetrating. Her execution was articulate and brilliant. She had a fluent tongue for pronouncing words rapidly and distinctly, and a flexible throat for divisions, with so beautiful a shake that she put it in motion upon short notice, just when...
- [Jeux d'Eau - Musical, Literary and Artistic Remembrances](https://interlude.hk/jeux-deau-musical-literary-and-artistic-remembrances/): Liszt : Les Jeux d’eau a la Villa d’Este (1882) Ravel : Jeux d’Eau (1901) Tan Dun : Memories in Watercolor (2003) Debussy : Preludes (1910-1913) – Des pas sur la neige Debussy : Preludes (1910-1913) – Brouillards Debussy : Preludes (1910-1913) – Ondine Liszt : Etudes d’execution transcendante (1851)...
- ["Dr. Sun Yat-sen": A Fight at the Opera?  Fundamentally Sound?](https://interlude.hk/a-fight-at-the-opera-fundamentally-sound/): Hong Kong made history this month, hosting the world premiere of the former colony’s first homegrown grand opera, “Dr. Sun Yat-sen. ” Not only is its namesake Cantonese; so were the composer, librettist, and much of the cast. Opera Hong Kong’s first-ever original commission, “Dr. Sun” was accompanied by the...
- [Alexandre Tharaud: A Study in Passion and Focus](https://interlude.hk/alexandre-tharaud-a-study-in-passion-and-focus/): When I first began collaborating with Harmonia Mundi, a wonderful classical music label headquartered in the south of France, they sent me a batch of CDs, among which were several by the prominent young French pianist Alexandre Tharaud. I had never heard of him, though with pieces by Rameau, Satie,...
- [Georges Enesco: Chamber Music 1895-1906](https://interlude.hk/george-enescu-chamber-music-1895-1906/): Sérénade lointaine, trio pour piano, violon et violoncelle (1903) Andante – Allegretto grazioso Claudia Bara, piano Tatiana Samouil, violin Gérard Caussé, alto Justus Grimm, cello Vincent Lucas, flute Frédéric Mellardi,trumpet From Georges Enesco: Chamber Music1895-1906 (2011) Released by Indésens Enesco: Sérénade lointaine, trio pour piano, violon et violoncelle – Andante...
- [Bringing Chinese musicians closer to the world stage](https://interlude.hk/bringing-chinese-musicians-closer-to-the-world-stage/): Amid all the talk of China’s growing appetite for classical music, there are now concrete examples of just how promising this scene is. The New York Philharmonic recently signed an agreement with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra to collaborate on a new orchestral training institute in Shanghai. The agreement also includes...
- [Francis Poulenc: Complete chamber music with winds](https://interlude.hk/francis-poulenc-complete-chamber-music-with-winds/): Un joueur de flute berce les ruines (World Premiere) Les Solistes de l’Orchestre de Paris From Francis Poulenc: Complete chamber music with winds (2010) Released by Indésens Poulenc: Un joueur de flute berce les ruines For the great fan of colours Francis Poulenc, having a predilection for wind instruments is...
- [Giuseppe Valentini](https://interlude.hk/giuseppe-valentini/): Oboe Concerto in D major Violin Sonata in A major “La Montanari” Bizzarrie per Camera no. 2 in E major op. 2 Giuseppe Valentini (1681-1753) was an Italian violinist, composer of operas, oratorios, cantatas and inventive instrumental music.
- [The Loft of Contention and Scandal<br/>Charles Gounod and Georgina Weldon](https://interlude.hk/the-loft-of-contention-and-scandal/): In an interview, conducted by a special correspondent to the New York Times in London on 2 June 1874, Georgina Weldon defiantly declared “according to some authorities, an atmosphere of scandal is not only favorable to the development of musical reputation, but is absolutely essential to it. It is certainly...
- [Analogue to Digital Conversion](https://interlude.hk/analogue-to-digital-conversion/): The advent of storing music digitally allowed consumers to carry a significant library of music on a player little larger than a CD. For the classical listener, with an ear to fidelity and musical quality rather than portability, new developments in delivering high-quality content are going to be of more...
- [Ciurlionis, M.K.: Piano Works, Vol. 1](https://interlude.hk/ciurlionis-m-k-piano-works-vol-1/): Ciurlionis: Prelude, VL 182a Muza Rubackyte From Ciurlionis, M. K. : Piano Works, Vol. 1 (1994) Released by Naxos Ciurlionis: Prelude, VL 182a Beautiful pieces by Lithuanian painter and composer M. K. Čiurlionis , who not only contributed to symbolism and art nouveau with 300 paintings, wrote also well over...
- [Sala Sao Paulo: travelling in music](https://interlude.hk/sala-sao-paulo-travelling-in-music/): The main concert hall in Sao Paulo is housed in a converted train station. The station still works – it serves line 8, which crosses the city. As you approach it, in the decadent downtown area, Julio Prestes Station appears as a neo-classical dream among the faded facades of the...
- [Conversation with Szymanowski Quartet](https://interlude.hk/conversation-with-szymanowski-quartet-by-cathy-hung/): Oct 10, 2011 Karol Szymanowski Nocturne and Tarantella, Op. 28 (arr. M. Skoryk) – Nocturne Szymon Laks String Quartet No. 3 – I. Allegro quasi presto Concerts in Hong Kong Oct 8, 2011 Szymanowski String Quartet No. 2 Mozart Divertimento K. 136 Laks String Quartet Beethoven String Quartet Op. 18,...
- [Pizzetti: String Quartets in A Major and D Major](https://interlude.hk/pizzetti-string-quartets-in-a-major-and-d-major/): Pizzetti: String Quartet No. 1 in A major II. Adagio Lajtha Quartet From Pizzetti: String Quartets in A Major and D Major (1995) Released by Naxos Pizzetti: String Quartet No. 1 in A major II. Adagio “The Lajtha Quartet plays with perceptive affinity, and when called for, expressive elan. ”...
- [The Arts and Music in the Early 20th Century](https://interlude.hk/the-arts-and-music-in-the-early-20th-century/): Eric Satie Parade (1917) Gymnopédies (1893) In their respective fields, Paul Cézanne and Claude Debussy influenced the artists of the early 20th century, which found their counterparts in intellectual circles formed around writers and poets such as Stéphane Mallarmé, Guillaume Apollinaire, Jean Cocteau, Marcel Proust and André Breton. Jean Cocteau,...
- [In Touch with René Jacobs - My hobby besides music, is music](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-rene-jacobs-my-hobby-besides-music-is-music-by-jenny-lee/): René Jacobs, the celebrated Belgian counter-tenor and conductor, does not set out to be different, but there is always a breeze of freshness in his music. Having been a boy chorister, Jacobs decided to read classical philology at the University of Ghent. It was until the persuasion of the Kuijken...
- [Henning Kraggerud](https://interlude.hk/henning-kraggerud/): “Kraggerud must be counted among the world’s most interesting and accomplished stars. ” – Cincinnati. com, November 2009
- [“The Maid as Mistress”<br/>Georg Philipp Telemann and Maria Katharina Textor](https://interlude.hk/the-maid-as-mistress/): Georg Philipp Telemann TELEMANN, G. P. : Pimpinone (1725) For one reason or another, scholarship has been unable to ascertain the exact number of children sired by Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767). This numerical uncertainly—not all together uncommon in the history of humankind—has clearly been exacerbated by the user-generated content published...
- [Julian Steckel: Cello Concertos --- Korngold-Bloch-Goldschmidt](https://interlude.hk/julian-steckel-cello-concertos-korngold-bloch-goldschmidt/): Ernest Bloch: Schelomo, Hebrew Rhapsody for cello solo and orchestra Julian Steckel, cello Daniel Raiskin, conductor Rheinische Philharmonie Koblenz From Julian Steckel: Cello Concertos — Korngold-Bloch-Goldschmidt (2011) Released by Avi-Music Ernest Bloch: Schelomo, Hebrew Rhapsody for cello solo and orchestra Young German cellist Julian Steckel made an exceptional recording of...
- [Fascinating Beats of Taiwan](https://interlude.hk/fascinating-beats-of-taiwan/): Taiwan is a fascinating place. In 1949, the Republic of China lost Mainland China in the Chinese Civil War to the Communist Party of China and resettled its government in Taiwan. It brought not only its followers, but also a great tradition of Chinese civilization. However, these influential emigrants after...
- [Franz Schubert’s Illness: <em>The Melancholy of an Autumnal Sunset</em>](https://interlude.hk/franz-schuberts-illness-the-melancholy-of-an-autumnal-sunset/): “I am the most unhappy and miserable person in this world... my health will never improve, and in such despair, things will only become worse instead of better... ” – Franz Schubert Austrian Composer Franz Schubert (1797-1828) is enshrined as the pillar of Romantic Western Classical Music who follows after...
- [Thierry Gervais: Trumpet Concertos](https://interlude.hk/thierry-gervais-trumpet-concertos/): Richard Galliano (1950): 3 Dances – A l’encre rouge Thierry Gervais, trumpet P. Andrews, accordion From Thierry Gervais: Trumpet Concertos (2009) Released by Indésens Richard Galliano : 3 Dances – A l’encre rouge Discover a beautiful piece by accordionist Galliano for trumpet, accordion and orchestra. Official website
- [Roger Quilter](https://interlude.hk/roger-quilter/): Roger Quilter (1877-1953) was an English composer known primarily for his elegant and distinguished art songs. He has composed more than 100 of them throughout his career, in addition to his choral, instrumental, and stage works.
- [“The Secret Passage”<br/>Felix Mendelssohn and Delphine von Schauroth](https://interlude.hk/the-secret-passage/): Felix Mendelssohn Song without words Book 1, Op 19No. 6 Andante sostenuto in G minor “Venezianisches Gondellied” (Venetian Boat Song) No. 1 (1830) Piano Concerto No. 1 in G minor Op. 25 (1830-31) On his way to Italy, Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) visited the Bavarian capital Munich between June and August...
- [“Thank Brazilian pianists”](https://interlude.hk/thank-brazilian-pianists/): Recently, in Sao Paulo, I lived through a perfect example of the surreal music scene in Brazil. It was a wintry Sunday afternoon. We went to Sala Sao Paulo, the concert hall home to the Sao Paulo State Symphony Orchestra (of which more to come in these pages) and tried...
- [Émile Sauret: Music for Violin and Piano](https://interlude.hk/emile-sauret-music-for-violin-and-piano/): Scenes Villageoises Op. 50 I. Le matin Michi Wiancko, violin Dina Vainshtein, piano From Émile Sauret: Music for Violin and Piano (2011) Released by Naxos Scenes Villageoises Op. 50 I. Le matin French violinist and composer Emile Sauret wrote well over 100 pieces of violin pieces but unfortunately rarely performed....
- [Émile Sauret: Music for Violin and Piano](https://interlude.hk/emile-sauret-music-for-violin-and-piano-2/): Émile Sauret: Music for Violin and Piano Scenes Villageoises Op. 50 I. Le matin French violinist and composer Emile Sauret wrote well over 100 pieces of violin pieces but unfortunately rarely performed. Let’s discover together the beautiful “Village Scenes”.
- [Grigory Sokolov](https://interlude.hk/grigory-sokolov-by-ian-pong/): Aix-en-Provence 17th August 2011 On the 3rd of August, I saw Sokolov live at the 31st International Piano Festival of La Roque d’Anthéron. What a delightful concert it was! I have heard a plethora of superlatives about the playing of the 1966 winner of the International Tchaikovsky Piano Competition. What...
- [Orchestra in the mall](https://interlude.hk/orchestra-in-the-mall/): It is Proms season again. But I am not going to describe any of those splendid concerts staged at the Royal Albert Hall. I just want to talk about a free live concert held on June 21 by the BBC Symphony Orchestra at Westfield London Shopping Centre, one of the...
- [Grieg: Complete Symphonic Works Vol.1](https://interlude.hk/grieg-complete-symphonic-works-vol-1/): Symphonic Dances Op. 64 (Allegretto grazioso) Eivind Aadland, conductor WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln From Grieg: Complete Symphonic Works Vol. 1 (2011) Released by Audite! Symphonic Dances Op. 64 (Allegretto grazioso) Let’s discover Norwegian violinist and conductor Eivind Aadland, with strong connection to folk music, perform Grieg’s Symphonic Dances which are based...
- [Grieg: Complete Symphonic Works Vol.1](https://interlude.hk/grieg-complete-symphonic-works-vol-1-2/): Grieg: Complete Symphonic Works Vol. 1 Symphonic Dances Op. 64 (Allegretto grazioso) Let’s discover Norwegian violinist and conductor Eivind Aadland, with strong connection to folk music, perform Grieg’s Symphonic Dances which are based on folk songs.
- [<em>Violin Concerto</em> of Renewed Passion<br/>Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and Yosif Kotek II](https://interlude.hk/violin-concerto-of-renewed-passion/): Story Behind Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto in D major Op. 35 Following his separation from his wife Antonina Miliukova, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) hastily fled to the town of Clarens. This small and peaceful Swiss resort village on the shores of Lake Geneva not only allowed him to mentally recover from...
- [The Power to Overcome: The Story of Ludwig van Beethoven and Bedřich Smetana](https://interlude.hk/the-power-to-overcome/): “... For two years I have avoided almost all social gatherings because it is impossible for me to say to people “I am deaf”. If I belonged to any other profession it would be easier, but in my profession it is a frightful state... ” ~ Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig...
- [Solenne Païdassi](https://interlude.hk/solenne-paidassi/): “Solenne Païdassi has won the Baltic International Violin Competition. {... } She won because of her very intimate style of interpretation and her spontaneous, unprompted joy in playing music. She also demonstrated richness of sound and wide dynamics from subtle piano to full-size romantic forte” – The Strad Magazine, February...
- [In Touch with Michael MacLeod - A Gypsy in the Arts](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-michael-macleod-a-gypsy-in-the-arts-by-jenny-lee/): When I first met Michael in a concert, I thought I saw Sir John Eliot Gardiner. Both are tall, charismatic, and have a sense of authority when speaking. It was until later which I found out that Michael was, indeed, the General Manager of Sir Gardiner’s various ensembles. Son of...
- [Saint-Saëns: Complete Chamber Music with Winds](https://interlude.hk/saint-saens-complete-chamber-music-with-winds/): Tarentelle for Clarinet, flute and piano op. 6 Laurent Wagschal, piano Pascal Godart, piano Olivier Derbesse, clarinet Vincent Lucas, flute From Saint-Saëns: Complete Chamber Music with Winds (2010) Released by Indesens Tarentelle for Clarinet, flute and piano op. 6 The Complete Chamber Music Works with Winds demonstrates that Saint-Saëns is...
- [Saint-Saëns: Complete Chamber Music with Winds](https://interlude.hk/saint-saens-complete-chamber-music-with-winds-2/): Saint-Saëns: Complete Chamber Music with Winds Tarentelle for Clarinet, flute and piano op. 6 The Complete Chamber Music Works with Winds demonstrates that Saint-Saëns is the origin of the worldwide famous “French winds tradition”...
- [Joao Carlos Martins II:  The passion of Martins](https://interlude.hk/joao-carlos-martins-ii-the-passion-of-martins/): If Joao Carlos Martins’s life has been pretty eventful, as I mentioned in my last article, the same can be said of his music, and the hallmark of his piano playing as well as of his conducting work is his genius originality. From the beginning of his career, Martins has...
- [Impressionism to Modernism in Music and the Arts](https://interlude.hk/impressionism-to-modernism-in-music-and-the-arts/): Debussy La Mer (1905) Estampes (1903) Prélude à l’après midi d’un faune (1894) The works of the great Romantic musicians, painters and writers contributed not only to Impressionism, one of the most important artistic and cultural evolutions in the mid- 19th century, but presaged the advent of Modernism in the...
- [Hoffmeister: Viola Concertos](https://interlude.hk/hoffmeister-viola-concertos/): Viola concerto in D major (Rondo: Allegro) Victoria Chang, viola Baltimore Chamber Orchestra Markand Thakar From Hoffmeister: Viola Concertos (2011) Released by Naxos Hoffmeister: Viola concerto in D major (Rondo: Allegro) Victoria Chiang plays beautifully these rarely performed viola concertos, a pure delight. Official website
- [Hoffmeister: Viola Concertos](https://interlude.hk/hoffmeister-viola-concertos-2/): Hoffmeister: Viola Concertos Hoffmeister: Viola concerto in D major (Rondo: Allegro) Victoria Chiang plays beautifully these rarely performed viola concertos, a pure delight.
- [Alexander von Zemlinsky](https://interlude.hk/alexander-zemlinsky/): Alexander von Zemlinsky (1871-1942) was an Austrian composer and conductor whose career was essentially in opera. He had composed a total of eight operas, in addition to songs, chamber music and four symphonies. The last of these, the Lyric Symphony (1923), was among one of his best-known compositions and was...
- [<em>The Mermaid</em> and the Prince<br/>Alexander Zemlinsky and Alma Schindler](https://interlude.hk/the-mermaid-and-the-prince/): Alexander 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 features and marble skin. He came from a poor and...
- [Borodin: Symphonies Nos. 1, 2 and 3 ](https://interlude.hk/borodin-symphonies-nos-1-2-and-3/): Symphony No. 1 in E flat Major (Andante) Stephen Gunzenhauser, conductor Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra From Borodin: Symphonies Nos. 1, 2 and 3 (1990) Released by Naxos Borodin: Symphony No. 1 in E flat major (Andante) “The Slovak performances are alive and vigorous” (Gramophone) Official website
- [Borodin: Symphonies Nos. 1, 2 and 3 ](https://interlude.hk/borodin-symphonies-nos-1-2-and-3-2/): Borodin: Symphonies Nos. 1, 2 and 3 Borodin: Symphony No. 1 in E flat major (Andante) “The Slovak performances are alive and vigorous” (Gramophone)
- [Jacques Loussier Trio](https://interlude.hk/jacques-loussier-trio-by-ian-pong/): 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 music and jazz: he transformed J. S. Bach by ‘jazzing...
- [Beyond all Mortal Dreams](https://interlude.hk/beyond-all-mortal-dream/): 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 times that it seems impossible to think of anyone who...
- [Paul Juon: Dancing Rhythms – Music for piano 4 hands](https://interlude.hk/paul-juon-dancing-rhythms-%e2%80%93-music-for-piano-4-hands/): Quasi valse lente (op. 24-2) Agnès Dubois-Chauvet Igor Kraèvsky From Paul Juon: Dancing Rhythms – Music for piano 4 hands (2011) Released by MinstreL Paul Juon: Quasi valse lente (op. 24-2) “Tanzrhythmen” by Russian composer Paul Juan was written at the turn of the 20th century while he was living...
- [Paul Juon: Dancing Rhythms – Music for piano 4 hands](https://interlude.hk/paul-juon-dancing-rhythms-%e2%80%93-music-for-piano-4-hands-2/): Paul Juon: Dancing Rhythms – Music for piano 4 hands Paul Juon: Quasi valse lente (op. 24-2) “Tanzrhythmen” by Russian composer Paul Juan was written at the turn of the 20th century while he was living in Berlin. A rare recording of forgotten music to be rediscovered and enjoyed.
- [Funeral Rites for Gustav<br/>Gustav Mahler and Marion Mathilde von Weber](https://interlude.hk/funeral-rites-for-gustav/): Gustav 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 and staged his own funeral. Lighting numerous candles and...
- [In Touch with Richard Pontzious - Live for a Dream](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-richard-pontzious-live-for-a-dream-by-jenny-lee/): 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 man wearing a light blue shirt. They were discussing vigorously...
- [Tchaikovsky Again?](https://interlude.hk/tchaikovsky-again/): 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 boring, how can it be considered a masterpiece to start...
- [The Romantic Age in Music and the Arts](https://interlude.hk/the-romantic-age-in-music-and-the-arts/): 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 change in the political system, but also a profound...
- [André Jolivet (1905 – 1974): Second trumpet concerto (1954): Grave](https://interlude.hk/andre-jolivet-1905-%e2%80%93-1974-second-trumpet-concerto-1954-grave/): André Jolivet: Second trumpet concerto (Grave) Eric Aubier, trumpet From Great French Concertos 1948 – 1956 (2007) Released by InDeSens André Jolivet: Second trumpet concerto (Grave) Having appeared on the most famous stages around the world for the past 20 years, Eric Aubier has risen his trumpet to the rank...
- [André Jolivet (1905 – 1974): Second trumpet concerto (1954): Grave](https://interlude.hk/andre-jolivet-1905-%e2%80%93-1974-second-trumpet-concerto-1954-grave-2/): André Jolivet (1905 – 1974): Second trumpet concerto (1954): Grave André Jolivet: Second trumpet concerto (Grave) Having appeared on the most famous stages around the world for the past 20 years, Eric Aubier has risen his trumpet to the rank of ambassador of French music. Yet again with this record,...
- [The life of Martins](https://interlude.hk/the-life-of-martins/): 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 central Sao Paulo. The image is as surprising as it...
- [Edouard Oganessian - Brahms: Complete Organ Works](https://interlude.hk/edouard-oganessian-brahms-complete-organ-works/): Prelude and Fugue in G minor: Fugue Edouard Oganessian, organ From Edouard Oganessian – Brahms: Complete Organ Works (2011) Released by Saphir Productions Brahms: Prelude and Fugue in G minor: Fugue Discover Brahms’rarely performed and recorded organ music, in homage to J. S. Bach and Lutheran liturgical practice. Official website
- [Edouard Oganessian - Brahms: Complete Organ Works](https://interlude.hk/edouard-oganessian-brahms-complete-organ-works-2/): Edouard Oganessian – Brahms: Complete Organ Works Brahms: Prelude and Fugue in G minor: Fugue iscover Brahms’rarely performed and recorded organ music, in homage to J. S. Bach and Lutheran liturgical practice.
- [Mélanie Bonis](https://interlude.hk/melanie-bonis/): Fantaisie, Op. 72 “Septuor” (1906) Suite en Trio Op. 59 (1903) Ballade, Op. 27 Mélanie “Mel” Bonis (1858 – 1937) was a prolific French composer who wrote more than three hundred pieces, including works for piano solo and four hands, chamber and choral music, mélodies, and works for orchestra. Born...
- [Mendelssohn: Double Concerto for piano, violin and orchestra](https://interlude.hk/mendelssohn-double-concerto-for-piano-violin-and-orchestra/): Double Concerto for piano, violin and orchestra MWV 04 (Allegro molto) Gottfried von der Goltz, violin Kristian Bezuidenhout, piano Freiburger Barockorchester From Mendelssohn: concertos (2011) Released by Harmonia Mundi Mendelssohn: Double Concerto for piano, violin and orchestra MWV 04 (Allegro molto) The Double Concerto in D minor for violin and...
- [Mendelssohn: Double Concerto for piano, violin and orchestra](https://interlude.hk/mendelssohn-double-concerto-for-piano-violin-and-orchestra-2/): Mendelssohn: Double Concerto for piano, violin and orchestra Mendelssohn: Double Concerto for piano, violin and orchestra MWV 04 (Allegro molto) The Double Concerto in D minor for violin and piano was first completed on 6th May 1823. Mendelssohn wrote this work for himself and his best childhood friend, the violinist...
- [Reaching for the ideal](https://interlude.hk/reaching-for-the-ideal/): Reflections on the Advanced Cultural Leadership Program I have always been called ‘an idealist’ – pursuing beauty in the world and striving for the brightest side of the human soul. Some of my friends said that it is almost impossible to achieve because nothing is perfect and one has to...
- [The One-Armed Swordsman <br/>Paul Wittgenstein and Ravel's Left Hand Piano Concerto](https://interlude.hk/the-one-armed-swordsman/): “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. Abandoned in a state of depression, he is rescued by...
- [<em>Valse-Scherzo</em> of Lust<br/>Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky and Yosif Kotek](https://interlude.hk/valse-scherzo-of-lust/): Yosif 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 more or less tacitly for granted, and on the ways...
- [Eiichi Chijiiwa - Solo Migration](https://interlude.hk/eiichi-chijiiwa-solo-migration/): Moderato (Molto rubato), from George Enescu / Sherban Lupu: Airs dans le genre roumain (World première recording) Eiichi Chijiiwa, violin From Eiichi Chijiiwa – Solo Migration (2011) Released by Indésens Moderato (Molto rubato), from George Enescu / Sherban Lupu: Airs dans le genre roumain Paris has always fascinated and welcomed...
- [Eiichi Chijiiwa - Solo Migration](https://interlude.hk/eiichi-chijiiwa-solo-migration-2/): Eiichi Chijiiwa – Solo Migration Moderato (Molto rubato), from George Enescu / Sherban Lupu: Airs dans le genre roumain Paris has always fascinated and welcomed “migratory” musicians, some among which have contributed to French culture, despite having ever been considered as French. Their contribution to French music is undeniable. The...
- [Roméo in Milan](https://interlude.hk/romeo-in-milan/): I love Italy. Italians have a particular sense of elegance – refined, understated and polished, with delicate attention to detail. They are probably the most sophisticated Europeans. Yet their food is unpretentious – simple but so heavenly delicious – not to mention the desserts and the wine. And, of course,...
- [Emil Gilels - Beethoven: Piano Sonatas](https://interlude.hk/emil-gilels-beethoven-piano-sonatas/): Piano Sonata No. 28 in A major (Allegro) Emil Gilels, piano From Emil Gilels – Beethoven: Piano Sonatas (2011) Released by Deutsche Grammophon Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 28 in A major (Allegro) There were many recordings of Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas, some recent ones being quite exceptional. Nevertheless, let’s not forget...
- [Emil Gilels - Beethoven: Piano Sonatas](https://interlude.hk/emil-gilels-beethoven-piano-sonatas-2/): Emil Gilels – Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 28 in A major (Allegro) There were many recordings of Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas, some recent ones being quite exceptional. Nevertheless, let’s not forget the unforgettable great master Emil Gilels.
- [Li-Wei Qin](https://interlude.hk/li-wei-qin/): “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 an enormously promising cellist... charismatic, generous and committed. ” –...
- [The Classical Age in Music and the Arts](https://interlude.hk/the-classical-age-in-music-and-the-arts/): 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 “natural”. But the 18th century saw a new philosophy begin...
- [Alexandre Tharaud - Scarlatti: Sonatas](https://interlude.hk/alexandre-tharaud-scarlatti-sonatas/): Sonata K29 in D major (Presto) Alexandre Tharaud, piano From Alexandre Tharaud – Scarlatti: Sonatas (2011) Released by Virgin Classics Scarlatti: Sonata K29 in D major (Presto) One of the most mesmerising interpretations of Scarlatti. Official website
- [Alexandre Tharaud - Scarlatti: Sonatas](https://interlude.hk/alexandre-tharaud-scarlatti-sonatas-2/): Alexandre Tharaud – Scarlatti: Sonatas Scarlatti: Sonata K29 in D major (Presto) One of the most mesmerising interpretations of Scarlatti.
- [About Georg Predota](https://interlude.hk/about-georg-predota/): For some reason, bios always follow a predictable and rather boring format. Dr. Georg A. Predota holds degrees from blah, blah, blah, and university appointments from blah, blah, blah. His research interests and extensive publication record include blah, blah, blah and blah. By now, you are undoubtedly fast asleep! While...
- [Quintet of Discontent<br/>César Franck and Augusta Holmès](https://interlude.hk/quintet-of-discontent/): The 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 reaction also befell the dedicatee of the work, the composer...
- [I see Jenny Lee (李嘉盈)](https://interlude.hk/i-see-jenny-lee-by-jenny-lee-%e6%9d%8e%e5%98%89%e7%9b%88/): When Juliette the editor asked me to write something about myself, I felt both flattered and troubled. As a radio presenter, I have interviewed more than 400 artists, from local to international, from prodigies to established personalities. It is very natural for me to report on other people’s story, but...
- [Pinnock’s smile: baroque music at its best](https://interlude.hk/pinnocks-smile-baroque-music-at-its-best/): 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 burning their books to stay warm during the siege of...
- [About Jenny Lee](https://interlude.hk/about-jenny-lee/): Jenny Lee李嘉盈 Rachmaninov once said, ‘Music is enough for a lifetime, but a lifetime is not enough for music. ’ Agree and disagree. Music is not enough for my appetite and I determine to lead several lives simultaneously. Life No. 1: Jenny as an international award-winning broadcaster. She is a...
- [Beyond Bach](https://interlude.hk/beyond-bach/): 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 was little, I was forced by my piano teacher to...
- [Fabien Wallerand - Art of the Tuba](https://interlude.hk/fabien-wallerand-art-of-the-tuba/): Fabien Wallerand (1979 – present): Viñales for Tuba Trio Fabien Wallerand, Stéphane Labeyrie, Michel Godard, tubas From Fabien Wallerand – Art of the Tuba (2011) Released by Indésens Fabien Wallerand: Viñales for Tuba Trio “During a trip to Cuba and notably in the Viñales Valley, that has one of the...
- [Fabien Wallerand - Art of the Tuba](https://interlude.hk/fabien-wallerand-art-of-the-tuba-2/): Fabien Wallerand: Viñales for Tuba Trio Fabien Wallerand: Viñales for Tuba Trio “During a trip to Cuba and notably in the Viñales Valley, that has one of the most beautiful landscapes in the world, and after having met people with extraordinary musical personalities, this melody came to my ear... ”...
- [Alfredo Casella](https://interlude.hk/alfredo-casella/): 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 composer and as an author of music-related articles were highly...
- [Love and Song](https://interlude.hk/love-and-song/): Why are there so many songs about love? Regardless of whether it is country music, pop music or classical music, songs about love and romance have always made up the greatest proportion. In fact, the world’s oldest song ever discovered and documented was indeed a love song inscribed in hieroglyphics...
- [The unbearable heaviness of exams](https://interlude.hk/the-unbearable-heaviness-of-exams/): In the society of Hong Kong, keen competition could be found anywhere and everywhere. From getting an empty seat on public transport, to climbing up the social ladder, people have to fight hard for their own benefits. And in recent years, this trend has spread from the cruel world of...
- [The Other Ébène: Fiction](https://interlude.hk/the-other-ebene-fiction/): Wigmore Hall, Friday 16 June. Classical artists venturing into other musical styles rarely works. Listeners and critics are stuffy about classical ensembles taking on popular music, and some projects should probably never have got further than the first meeting. With two very significant classical repertoire releases on the Virgin Classic’s...
- [Rolling the Dice in Macao?](https://interlude.hk/rolling-the-dice-in-macao-by-georg-a-predota/): When Fernando Chui Sai On took over the political reigns of the Macau Special Administrative Region in December 2009, he not only promised a speedy recover for the gaming industry, but also voiced his unbridled and continued support for local cultural and creative industries. While obviously pleasing the moguls of...
- [Piotr Anderszewski - Schumann: Piano Works](https://interlude.hk/piotr-anderszewski-schumann-piano-works/): Humoreske Op. 20 (Einfach und Zart. Intermezzo. Adagio) Piotr Anderszewski, piano From Piotr Anderszewski – Schumann: Piano Works (2010) Released by EMI Classics Schubert: Humoreske Op. 20 (Einfach und Zart. Intermezzo. Adagio) Piotr and Schumann, no need for words. Official website
- [Piotr Anderszewski - Schumann: Piano Works](https://interlude.hk/piotr-anderszewski-schumann-piano-works-2/): Piotr Anderszewski – Schumann: Piano Works Schubert: Humoreske Op. 20 (Einfach und Zart. Intermezzo. Adagio) Piotr and Schumann, no need for words.
- [Some professionalism please!](https://interlude.hk/some-professionalism-please/): Staatskapelle Dresden once again came to China last week. The tour was led by the young Nikolaj Znaider, who is not exactly renowned for his violin or his conducting. The concerts were fair but far from brilliant, according to the critics. And – whether because Znaider was not available or...
- [Schubert: Winterreise](https://interlude.hk/schubert-winterreise/): Winterreise – Gute Nacht Nathalie Stutzmann, contralto Inger Södergren, piano From Schubert: Winterreise (2011) Released by Saphir Productions Schubert: Winterreise – Gute Nacht Winterreise is probably one of Schubert’s most famous masterpieces and THE one that every established singer would like to perform and record. Although most recordings have been...
- [Schubert: Winterreise](https://interlude.hk/schubert-winterreise-2/): Schubert: Winterreise Schubert: Winterreise – Gute Nacht Winterreise is probably one of Schubert’s most famous masterpieces and THE one that every established singer would like to perform and record. Although most recordings have been done with men, but lately, there were few versions with women, and this very exceptional one...
- [Tamás Erdi](https://interlude.hk/tamas-erdi/): To be a successful concert artist is a major achievement. To accomplish this without being able to see, as Tamás Érdi does, shows what can happen when artistic giftedness, gutsy determination, and innovative teaching methods combine. The Budapest-born pianist, now in his 30s, is a truly gifted musician with a...
- [Groupie for Suite No. 6](https://interlude.hk/groupie-for-suite-no-6/): This is not about a luxurious hotel suite somewhere in a remote, romantic hideaway where I spent a wonderful weekend. No, this is about Bach and one of his English suites, not the average suite played by a ‘lambda’ pianist. I have always preferred Bach’s English suites over his French...
- [Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde (Chinese version)](https://interlude.hk/mahler-das-lied-von-der-erde-chinese-version/): Von der Schönheit (Lotus-Picking Song), Li Bai Ning Liang, mezzo-soprano Warren Mok, tenor Lan Shui, conductor Singapore Symphony Orchestra Daniel Ng, lyricist From Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde (Chinese version) (2007) Released by Naxos Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde: Von der Schönheit Mahler’s masterpiece, Das Lied von der...
- [Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde (Chinese version)](https://interlude.hk/mahler-das-lied-von-der-erde-chinese-version-2/): Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde (Chinese version) Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde: Von der Schönheit Mahler’s masterpiece, Das Lied von der Erde (The Song of the Earth) was after Hans Bethge’s “Chinese Flute”, which was based on Chinese ancient poetry by Li Bai, Wang Wei, Qian Qi and...
- [The Age of the Baroque in Music and the Arts](https://interlude.hk/the-age-of-the-baroque-in-music-and-the-arts/): The Baroque period began toward the end of the 16th century, reached into the middle of the 18th century, and is generally seen as the art of the Counter-Reformation. With the Reformation, the Catholic Church had lost a very large number of its believers and needed to reform itself. In...
- [Mozart Ellington in Aix-en-Provence](https://interlude.hk/mozart-ellington-in-aix-en-provence-by-ian-pong/): Aix-en-Provence 12th May 2011. Interdisciplinary studies have had a long tradition in music. Examples range from operas and ballets, to instrumental pieces based on a borrowed theme (e. g. Liszt’s La Campanella), to musical ideas derived from another subject (e. g. Second Viennese School’s serialism). Many important developments in music...
- [French music for Bassoon](https://interlude.hk/french-music-for-bassoon/): Charles Koechlin: Trois pièces op. 34 (Andante moderato) Marc Trénel, bassoon Pascal Godart, piano From French music for Bassoon (2008) Released by Indésens Charles Koechlin: Trois pièces op. 34 (Andante moderato) Marc Trénel, First Prize at Munich ARD Competition, made this wonderful recording of French music for Bassoon with Indésens,...
- [French music for Bassoon](https://interlude.hk/french-music-for-bassoon-2/): French music for Bassoon Charles Koechlin: Trois pièces op. 34 (Andante moderato) Marc Trénel, First Prize at Munich ARD Competition, made this wonderful recording of French music for Bassoon with Indésens, to discover more, visit the official website. The bassoon’s first golden era in France was the XVIIth and XVIIIth...
- [The Royal Wedding](https://interlude.hk/the-royal-wedding/): Well, writing about the royal wedding – yes, the one with Will and Kate – seems a bit passé now, but I’m here to talk about the music, not the wedding itself. The day of the royal wedding, I was in Seoul with a bunch of good friends. I didn’t...
- [Walter Piston](https://interlude.hk/walter-piston/): Piano Quintet (1964) The Incredible Flutist (Ballet Suite) Walter Piston (1894 – 1976) was a notable American composer, music theorist and an influential professor at Harvard University whose students included Leonard Bernstein, Irving Fine, Leroy Anderson, and Elliott Carter. Born in Rockland, Maine, Piston and his family moved to Boston...
- [Le Clavecin du Roi Soleil - The Sun King's Harpsichord](https://interlude.hk/le-clavecin-du-roi-soleil-the-sun-kings-harpsichord/): Germain Pinel (1600-1661): Sarabande (D’Anglebert) Jean-Patrice Brosse, harpsichord From Le Clavecin du Roi Soleil – The Sun King’s Harpsichord (2011) Released by Saphir Productions Germain Pinel (1600-1661): Sarabande (D’Anglebert) A wonderful 2CD set of harpsichord music composed during the reign of the Sun King, Louis XIV of France. Official website
- [Le Clavecin du Roi Soleil - The Sun King's Harpsichord](https://interlude.hk/le-clavecin-du-roi-soleil-the-sun-kings-harpsichord-2/): Le Clavecin du Roi Soleil – The Sun King’s Harpsichord Germain Pinel (1600-1661): Sarabande (D’Anglebert) A wonderful 2CD set of harpsichord music composed during the reign of the Sun King, Louis XIV of France.
- [In Touch with Daedalus Quartet at The Intimacy of Creativity](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-daedalus-quartet-at-the-intimacy-of-creativity-by-cathy-hung/): If you are a fan of Mozart and you had missed the Daedalus Quartet’s live interpretation of his Clarinet Quintet in A major, K581 with Grammy award-winning clarinet soloist Richard Stoltzman at the premiere concert of The Intimacy of Creativity, you probably want to start regretting it now. A perfectly...
- [Conversation with Yehudi Wyner, guest performing artist at The Intimacy of Creativity](https://interlude.hk/conversation-with-yehudi-wyner-guest-performing-artist-at-the-intimacy-of-creativity-by-cathy-hung/): The good thing about interviewing established artists is that one gets to listen to the honest sharing of their stories of success- if you are lucky enough. With Pulitzer Prize-winning composer and pianist Yehudi Wyner, it is even more exciting to encounter his exceptional sense of humor and wisdom. He...
- [No country for non-stars](https://interlude.hk/no-country-for-non-stars/): Lang Lang is everywhere these days and plays anything (and because of his star status, the story about his playing the Chinese song My Country in the White House led to totally redundant discussions involving thousands of people). Dudamel is likewise everywhere and tries everything. Just as the 30-year-old Venezuelan...
- [In Touch with Ted Goldman at The Intimacy of Creativity](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-ted-goldman-at-the-intimacy-of-creativity-by-cathy-hung/): While some composers write their music based on concrete phenomenon, others prefer working on abstractness. In Scrudge, American composer Ted Goldman tries to balance between the two. Whilst agreeing a piece of music has an abstract self within, Ted draws his inspiration from patterns in nature. Whether it is ripples...
- [In Touch with Richard Stoltzman, guest performer at The Intimacy of Creativity](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-richard-stoltzman-guest-performer-at-the-intimacy-of-creativity-by-cathy-hung/): “Usually I don’t like to think that I’m a clarinettist,” stated the Grammy Award-winning clarinet soloist. It may all seem surprising for Richard Stoltzman to have said so. But when you actually hear it, you know there is a profound wisdom within. “Because if I don’t think, I’m free. Just...
- [In Touch with Narong Prangcharoen at The Intimacy of Creativity](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-narong-prangcharoen-at-the-intimacy-of-creativity-by-cathy-hung/): It is as if one is breathing in a gulp of cool air atop the deep mountains listening to Thai composer Narong’s Bencharong. Sometimes energetic and flashing whilst other times calm and delicate, there is a great depth of emotion embedded within the clear layers of colourful melodies- perhaps more...
- [In Touch with Pedro Faria Gomes at The Intimacy of Creativity](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-pedro-faria-gomes-at-the-intimacy-of-creativity-by-cathy-hung/): Not only does a musical piece record a composer’s perception or vision towards life, but it also captures certain personality traits of his. One can perhaps find even greater reference of Pedro’s thoughtful presentation in his Nachtmusik– as the flowy melody glides lightly across clouds of ambience, and reappearing with...
- [Lully: Bellérophon](https://interlude.hk/lully-bellerophon/): Reine, vous savez qu’en ce jour... Céline Scheen, soprano (Philonoé) Ingrid Perruche, soprano (Sténobeé) Christophe Rousset, conductor Les Talens Lyriques, baroque orchestra Chamber Choir of Nemur From Lully: Bellérophon (2011) Released by Aparté Lully: Bellérophon: Reine, vous savez qu’en ce jour... Jean-Baptiste Lully: Bellérophon, Libretto by Thomas Corneille. First performed...
- [Lully: Bellérophon](https://interlude.hk/lully-bellerophon-2/): Lully: Bellérophon Lully: Bellérophon: Reine, vous savez qu’en ce jour... Jean-Baptiste Lully: Bellérophon, Libretto by Thomas Corneille. First performed on January 31st 1679, Bellérophon was among the most popular of Lully’s operas during his lifetime. The myth of Bellérophon was intended as a metaphor for Louis XIV’s military victories in...
- [In Touch with Moon Young HA at The Intimacy of Creativity](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-moon-young-ha-at-the-intimacy-of-creativity-by-cathy-hung/): Whenever girls find joy in devoting themselves to fairies and princesses, boys hail and cheer on supermen and heroes. Perhaps this is what raises eyebrows of a few when composer Moon Young Ha’s Fairytale is first presented, trying to cross the gender barrier with his music. Well, then what exactly...
- [The Cup of Water that Took Away Tchaikovsky](https://interlude.hk/the-cup-of-water-that-took-away-tchaikovsky/): Given the way medical advancements have significantly prolonged life expectancies around the world, it is hard to imagine that old-age diseases such as cholera are still affecting people in our world today. The 2010s cholera epidemic that hit Haiti has reached a death toll of more than 900, with more...
- [Music, politics and the big picture: from Hammarskjold to Gaza](https://interlude.hk/music-politics-and-the-big-picture-from-hammarskjold-to-gaza/): The extraordinarily rousing power of music is a force that, as any other, can be used for good or evil. Daniel Barenboim’s recent concert in Gaza City has re-affirmed the positive impact that music can have in politics. Barenboim led an orchestra of two dozen musicians from Europe’s best orchestras...
- [Conversation with Ming-Hsiu YEN at The Intimacy of Creativity](https://interlude.hk/conversation-with-ming-hsiu-yen-at-the-intimacy-of-creativity-by-cathy-hung/): If you still have the impression that female composers write necessarily in a tender and soft style, you may want to hold back your stance for a while after listening to Ming-Hsiu’s piece- strands of interlocking rhythmic patterns piling up, imitating construction sounds in a restless pace. The velocity and...
- [Promenade - The Art of the French Flute](https://interlude.hk/promenade-the-art-of-the-french-flute/): Poulenc: Sonata for flute and piano “Cantilena” Vincent Lucas, flute Emmanuel Strosser, piano From Promenade – The Art of the French Flute (2008) Released by Indésens Poulenc: Sonata for flute and piano “Cantilena” Beautiful recording of some exceptional music for flute from Fauré, Debussy, Widor, Poulenc, Gaubert, Messiaen and Jolivet....
- [Promenade - The Art of the French Flute](https://interlude.hk/promenade-the-art-of-the-french-flute-2/): Promenade – The Art of the French Flute Poulenc: Sonata for flute and piano “Cantilena” Beautiful recording of some exceptional music for flute from Fauré, Debussy, Widor, Poulenc, Gaubert, Messiaen and Jolivet.
- [Rafał Blechacz](https://interlude.hk/rafal-blechacz/): In October 2005, the name of Rafał Blechacz swept across the world of classical music, with his exceptional winning of all five 1st prizes at the 15th International Frederick Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw, including the Polish Radio Award for “Best Performance of the Mazurkas”, the Polish Chopin Society Award...
- [The Renaissance in Music and the Arts](https://interlude.hk/the-renaissance-in-music-and-the-arts/): The idea of the Renaissance, in which language, literature, the arts and music saw a remarkable change and renewal, started gradually taking shape in the 14th century, celebrated then and later by writers, artists and musicians such as Petrarch, Boccaccio, Cola di Rienzi, Leon Battista Alberti, Leonardo da Vinci, Dufay,...
- [Lionel Stoléru: Symphonie Juive](https://interlude.hk/lionel-stoleru-symphonie-juive/): No. 3, Allegro vivace Francine Aubin Orchestre Romantique Européen Lionel Stoléru, conductor From Lionel Stoléru: Symphonie Juive (2011) Released by Saphir Productions Lionel Stoléru: Symphonie Juive, No. 3, Allegro vivace Lionel Stoléru, considered one of the leading European economists, has a passion for music since his childhood. He studied piano...
- [Lionel Stoléru: Symphonie Juive](https://interlude.hk/lionel-stoleru-symphonie-juive-2/): Lionel Stoléru: Symphonie Juive Lionel Stoléru: Symphonie Juive, No. 3, Allegro vivace Lionel Stoléru, considered one of the leading European economists, has a passion for music since his childhood. He studied piano and conducting while at the same time, prepared a Ph. D. in economics at Standford. He wrote economics...
- [In Touch with Bright Sheng at The Intimacy of Creativity](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-bright-sheng-at-the-intimacy-of-creativity-by-cathy-hung/): With a unique goal of fostering the earnest exchange of ideas between performers and composers, The Intimacy of Creativity at HKUST stirred an enthusiastic welcome in the local music scene. Bright Sheng, the event’s creator and a Chinese-American composer, seeks to revive close engagement between the two groups of artists,...
- [In Touch with Matthew Tommasini at The Intimacy of Creativity](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-matthew-tommasini-at-the-intimacy-of-creativity-by-cathy-hung/): Whilst some culture critics and local artists are labelling Hong Kong as ‘cultural desert’, American composer-in-residence of the HKUST Matthew Tommasini stays optimistic about the potential of local music scene. Having spent his previous years in New York, Matthew is attracted by the cultural diversity and flexibility in Hong Kong....
- [Resetting the Song](https://interlude.hk/resetting-the-song/): On some recent recording sessions in the wonderful Snape Maltings I was reintroduced to the music of young American composer Nico Muhly. His music struck me in a way that many contemporary composers don’t. Although his music encapsulates a range of genres, techniques, and styles, it still retains a sense...
- [The Intimacy of Creativity: Introduction](https://interlude.hk/the-intimacy-of-creativity-introduction/): If there were a sonata for Einstein’s theory of relativity, how would it sound like? In The Intimacy of Creativity, you will discover the infinite possibilities. Organized by the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, the project is in collaboration with Einstein in Hong Kong– an exhibition of the...
- [Bach: Cantatas and Arias](https://interlude.hk/bach-cantatas-and-arias/): Cantata BWV105: Aria “Wie zittern und wenken” Elizabeth Watts, soprano Harry Bicket, conductor The English Concert, chamber ensemble From Bach: Cantatas and Arias (2011) Released by Harmonia Mundi Bach: Cantata BWV105: Aria “Wie zittern und wenken” Elizabeth Watts (Winner of the 2006 Kathleen Ferrier Award and 2007 The Cardiff Song...
- [Bach: Cantatas and Arias](https://interlude.hk/bach-cantatas-and-arias-2/): Bach: Cantatas and Arias Bach: Cantata BWV105: Aria “Wie zittern und wenken” Elizabeth Watts (Winner of the 2006 Kathleen Ferrier Award and 2007 The Cardiff Song Prize) received the Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award for this marvelous recording of J. S. Bach’s Cantatas and Arias.
- [Sergei Lyapunov](https://interlude.hk/sergei-lyapunov/): Sergei Mikhailovich Lyapunov (1859-1924) was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor. His father Mikhail Lyapunov was a celebrated mathematician and astronomer, while his mother Sofya Alexandrovna was an accomplished amateur pianist who fostered his interest in music. When Sergei Lyapunov was eight, his father passed away, and the family moved...
- [Forgive and Forget](https://interlude.hk/forgive-and-forget/): The recent tragedy in Japan is certainly affecting people everywhere. In this very difficult moment, the world at large feels sorrow for those who lost their lives and the families who have lost their loved ones in the earthquake. When the news arrived in China, subtle undertones were everywhere. A...
- [Bright Sheng: Four Movements for Piano Trio](https://interlude.hk/bright-sheng-four-movements-for-piano-trio/): Triple Helix Trio From Bright Sheng: Four Movements for Piano Trio Bright Sheng: Triple Helix Trio II. quarter note = 72 This work will be performed in Hong Kong on May 1st, 2011. Details
- [Bright Sheng: Four Movements for Piano Trio](https://interlude.hk/bright-sheng-four-movements-for-piano-trio-2/): Bright Sheng: Four Movements for Piano Trio Bright Sheng: Triple Helix Trio II. quarter note = 72 This work will be performed in Hong Kong on May 1st, 2011.
- [Les Ballets Russes: Forgetting and remembering](https://interlude.hk/les-ballets-russes-forgetting-and-remembering/): I have been thinking more about the relationship between music and memory (which I first explored in my previous article) in two different areas, which has led me to two brief comments. Firstly, the role that forgetting plays in improvisation, and, secondly, the role of remembering in ballet. So, first,...
- [Anne Kaasa - Debussy: Images (oubliées)](https://interlude.hk/anne-kaasa-debussy-images-oubliees/): Rêverie, from Images (oubliées) Anne Kaasa, piano From Anne Kaasa – Debussy: Images (oubliées), Six Epigraphes antiques, Pièces pour Piano (2011) Released by Saphir Productions Debussy: Rêverie, from Images (oubliées) Dreamy melody, definitely not to be oublié (forgotten). Official website
- [Anne Kaasa - Debussy: Images (oubliées)](https://interlude.hk/anne-kaasa-debussy-images-oubliees-2/): Anne Kaasa – Debussy: Images (oubliées) Debussy: Rêverie, from Images (oubliées) Dreamy melody, definitely not to be oublié (forgotten).
- [Music and the Arts in the Middle Ages](https://interlude.hk/music-and-the-arts-in-the-middle-ages/): Over the course of centuries, the relationship between music, the arts and literature has always focused on their similarities and differences. The difference between painting, which one sees and music, which one hears, has always been considered obvious. However, as Philippe Sollers (Tel Quel, No. 20, 1965) says about painting:...
- [Nemanja Radulovic](https://interlude.hk/nemanja-radulovic/): At the young age of 24, Nemanja Radulovic has already set aflame concert halls at each of his appearances, thanks to his amazing performances and charismatic stage presence. Born in Serbia in 1985, Nemanja began his musical studies at the age of seven. In 1996, he won the Prize of...
- [Johann Ludwig Bach: Trauermusik](https://interlude.hk/johann-ludwig-bach-trauermusik/): Tutti: Meine Bande sind zurissen RIAS Kammerchor, choral ensemble Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, Early music ensemble Hans-Christoph Rademann, conductor From Johann Ludwig Bach: Trauermusik (2011) Released by Harmonia Mundi Johann Ludwig Bach: Tutti: Meine Bande sind zurissen Tutti: My bonds are broken asunder. Lord, this is thy doing. Now...
- [Johann Ludwig Bach: Trauermusik](https://interlude.hk/johann-ludwig-bach-trauermusik-2/): Johann Ludwig Bach: Trauermusik Johann Ludwig Bach: Tutti: Meine Bande sind zurissen Tutti: My bonds are broken asunder. Lord, this is thy doing. Now I may see at my feet those whom once I had to obey; Satan, Death and Sin. Johann Ludwig, second cousin of Johann Sebastian, and Kapellmeister...
- [Hail, Mother of the Redeemer](https://interlude.hk/hail-mother-of-the-redeemer/): The Sixteen Choral Pilgrimage 2011 St. John’s College Chapel, Cambridge The Sixteen’s eleventh Choral Pilgrimage celebrates the 400th anniversary of the death of one of the greatest composers of the Renaissance, the scholar, mystic, priest, singer, organist and composer, Tomás Luis de Victoria. The programme of exclusively Marian texts contains...
- [Simone Kermes - Amor Sacro](https://interlude.hk/simone-kermes-amor-sacro/): Vivaldi: Aria (Larghetto), from Nulla in Mundo Pax Sincera Simone Kermes, soprano Andrea Marcon, conductor Venice Baroque Orchestra From Simone Kermes – Amor Sacro (2007) Released by Deutsche Grammophon Vivaldi: Aria (Larghetto), from Nulla in Mundo Pax Sincera Our belle Simone in my favorite Vivaldi Motet. Specially for Stephane. Official...
- [Simone Kermes - Amor Sacro](https://interlude.hk/simone-kermes-amor-sacro-2/): Simone Kermes – Amor Sacro Vivaldi: Aria (Larghetto), from Nulla in Mundo Pax Sincera Our belle Simone in my favorite Vivaldi Motet. Specially for Stephane.
- [Lili Boulanger](https://interlude.hk/lili-boulanger/): One of the most treasured composers in France is the younger sister of Nadia Boulanger, Lili Boulanger (1893 – 1918). While the older sister lived a long and fruitful life as one of the most important pedagogues, bearing her influence upon musicians from Aaron Copland to Astor Piazzolla to Daniel...
- [In Touch with pianist Ernest So, the musical aesthete](https://interlude.hk/in-touch-with-pianist-ernest-so-the-musical-aesthete-by-cathy-hung/): Having his first debut released at the age of eight, pianist Ernest So has been very determined on his path since young. “I grew up in a family where music was the only entertainment. I must have watched more videos of Karajan conducting Berlin Philharmonic or Horowitz, Weissenberg, Pollini than...
- [Brahms Piano Concerto No. 1](https://interlude.hk/brahms-piano-concerto-no-1-by-ian-pong/): In my previous article I wrote about the Ogdon-Stokowski recording of Brahms’ first piano concerto. Here, I would like to write about the performance of the concerto with consideration to the original score. The concerto, Op. 15, was finished in 1857; but it began rather earlier and had taken forms...
- [Laudent Deum - Sacred Music by Orlande de Lassus](https://interlude.hk/laudent-deum-sacred-music-by-orlande-de-lassus/): Laudent Deum cithara Choir of St John’s College, Cambridge From Laudent Deum – Sacred Music by Orlande de Lassus (2011) Released by Chandos Orlande de Lassus: Laudent Deum cithara Orlande de Lassus was a Franco-Flemish composer of the late Renaissance, he is considered today to be the chief representative of...
- [Laudent Deum - Sacred Music by Orlande de Lassus](https://interlude.hk/laudent-deum-sacred-music-by-orlande-de-lassus-2/): Laudent Deum – Sacred Music by Orlande de Lassus Orlande de Lassus: Laudent Deum cithara Orlande de Lassus was a Franco-Flemish composer of the late Renaissance, he is considered today to be the chief representative of the polyphonic style. Laudent Deum cithara Let the lyre praise God Let the lyre,...
- [I Sing, Therefore I Speak](https://interlude.hk/i-sing-therefore-i-speak/): What Does Singing Have to Do With Increasing Human’s Rate of Survival When Charles Darwin proposed the theory of Evolution, it quickly became common knowledge that organisms constantly adapt to their environment for survival. This is where the catchphrase “survival of the fittest” or “natural selection” comes into play. Favourable...
- [English Chamber Orchestra - Mozart: Wind Concertos](https://interlude.hk/english-chamber-orchestra-mozart-wind-concertos/): Oboe Concerto in C, K. 314 (Rondo: Allegretto) John Anderson, oboe Ralf Gothóni, conductor English Chamber Orchestra From English Chamber Orchestra – Mozart: Wind Concertos (2004) Released by Avie Mozart: Oboe Concerto in C, K. 314 (Rondo: Allegretto) Pure delight! Official website English Chamber Orchestra
- [English Chamber Orchestra - Mozart: Wind Concertos](https://interlude.hk/english-chamber-orchestra-mozart-wind-concertos-2/): English Chamber Orchestra – Mozart: Wind Concertos Mozart: Oboe Concerto in C, K. 314 (Rondo: Allegretto) Pure delight! English Chamber Orchestra
- [Plamena Mangova](https://interlude.hk/plamena-mangova/): Born in 1980, Bulgarian pianist Plamena Mangova is the Second-Prize winner of the 2007 Queen Elisabeth Competition. This award confirms her exceptional talent, which has also been recognised by a prestigious Diapason d’Or de l’Année 2007 for her first CD, a solo recording of Shostakovich on Fuga Libera label. Her...
- [Bach: Die Kunst der Fuge](https://interlude.hk/bach-die-kunst-der-fuge/): Contrapuntus 1 Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, chamber ensemble Raphael Alpermann, organ From Bach: Die Kunst der Fuge (2011) Released by Harmonia Mundi Bach: Contrapuntus 1, from Die Kunst der Fuge The monumental Art of Fugue arranged by the musicians of Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin. Official website
- [Bach: Die Kunst der Fuge](https://interlude.hk/bach-die-kunst-der-fuge-2/): Bach: Die Kunst der Fuge Bach: Contrapuntus 1, from Die Kunst der Fuge The monumental Art of Fugue arranged by the musicians of Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin.
- [How music affects our emotions](https://interlude.hk/how-music-affects-our-emotions/): Have you ever heard the song Gloomy Sunday, the 1933 tune composed by Hungarian pianist and composer Rezső Seress? This song is said to be the saddest tune ever composed, and is rumoured to have sparked hundreds to commit suicide. The melancholic song was inspired by Seress’ emotions as he...
- [Ballet, music and memory](https://interlude.hk/ballet-music-and-memory/): Brazilian children have a game called “wireless telephone”. Perhaps it is played all over the world, but this version is very simple: you sit next to each other in a circle and the first person whispers a message, a few sentences long, into the next person’s ear. That person in...
- [Déodat de Severac: Cerdana](https://interlude.hk/deodat-de-severac-cerdana/): Cerdana, Act 1: In Tartan Jean-Philippe Hodant, transcription for organ From Déodat de Severac: Cerdana (2011) Released by Saphir Productions Severac: Cerdana, Act 1: In Tartan The Cerdana cycle was initially composed for piano, it draws a picture in five acts of the frontier region between France and Spain where...
- [Déodat de Severac: Cerdana](https://interlude.hk/deodat-de-severac-cerdana-2/): Déodat de Severac: Cerdana Cerdana, Act 1: In Tartan The Cerdana cycle was initially composed for piano, it draws a picture in five acts of the frontier region between France and Spain where the composer lived. The slow introduction that opens the cycle in In Tartan reveals a sudden appearance...
- [Index:In Tune](https://interlude.hk/indexin-tune/): “Ursula”, “Matthew”, “Zoey”
- [Review on Ryo Terakado Violin Masterclass](https://interlude.hk/review-on-ryo-terakado-violin-masterclass-by-cathy-hung/): A masterclass of The Hong Kong Arts Festival PLUS. 22 Feb 2011, Concert Hall, HKAPA. Whether you are an instrumentalist or just a mere enthusiast without instrumental training, the Art Festival Plus Masterclass series is definitely worth your investment of time. Not only can you be rewarded with ample inspiration...
- [What does our press want to tell?](https://interlude.hk/what-does-our-press-want-to-tell/): I am convinced that there are real masters hiding among ordinary people – a real Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, as we Chinese often say. So when I recently happened to see several anonymously posted pictures on the internet, I was amazed by the poster’s sense of humor and astute observation....
- [Hear My Words - Choral Classics from St. John's](https://interlude.hk/hear-my-words-choral-classics-from-st-johns/): Vaughan Williams: O taste and see Thomas Mullock, treble Andrew Nethsingha, conductor Choir of St John’s College, Cambridge From Hear My Words – Choral Classics from St. John’s (2010) Released by Chandos Vaughan Williams: O taste and see One of the finest collegiate choirs in the world perform a series...
- [Hear My Words - Choral Classics from St. John's](https://interlude.hk/hear-my-words-choral-classics-from-st-johns-2/): Hear My Words – Choral Classics from St. John’s Vaughan Williams: O taste and see One of the finest collegiate choirs in the world perform a series of choral classics dated from early sixteenth century to 2007. O taste and see was first performed on 2 June 1953 in Westminster...
- [Ferdinand Ries](https://interlude.hk/ferdinand-ries/): Clarinet Trio Op. 28 (1810) Flute Quartet in C Major Op. 145 No. 1 (1830) Cello Sonata in G Minor, Op. 125 (1799) Ferdinand Ries (1784 – 1838) was a German composer and the most notable friend and pupil of Ludwig van Beethoven. Born in 1784, he was blinded in...
- [Fellini and Rota: filming music](https://interlude.hk/fellini-and-rota-filming-music/): Italian composer Nino Rota wrote several operas, ballets and concerti, but he is best known for his cinema soundtrack work. Indeed, from the 1940s until his death, in 1979, there seem to be few great Italian films he did not write the score for. Il Gattopardo, Amarcord, Roma, Zeffirelli’s Romeo...
- [Picasso and Music](https://interlude.hk/picasso-and-music/): “There is Music in Picasso and Picasso is in Music” The current exhibition of ‘Picasso: Guitars 1912-1914’ at Museum of Modern Art in New York lets us consider the close relationship between art and music. As an artist, Picasso was influenced by music, which plays such an important part in...
- [About Ursula](https://interlude.hk/about-ursula/): Professor Ursula Rehn Wolfman was born in Steinfeld, Austria and educated in Germany, England, France and the United States. She received the Diplôme Supérieur from the Université de Paris (Sorbonne) in Paris in literature and philosophy and completed her graduate studies at Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, and the...
- [Souvent Me Souvient](https://interlude.hk/souvent-me-souvient/): The Mediaeval French motto “souvent me souvient” given to St John’s College by it’s founder Lady Margaret Beaufort is as potent in this Quincentenary year as it was when the College was founded in 1511. Inscribed throughout the College on lintels, gates and pediments it has a three fold meaning,...
- [Review on Classical in Cinema: 3 Stars in Vienna](https://interlude.hk/review-on-classical-in-cinema-3-stars-in-vienna-by-tracy-tang/): New to classical music? Fear that attending performances in concert halls is too formal or too serious? “Classical in Cinema” is the answer to these questions. It provides live video recordings of great musicians, orchestras and conductors, showing in local cinemas with affordable prices. Days ago I went to the...
- [Review on Classical in Cinema: Beethoven by Karajan](https://interlude.hk/review-on-classical-in-cinema-beethoven-by-karajan-by-cathy-hung/): I am naturally attracted to works by the “B-composers”- J. S. Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Bartok, Barber, Britten- each having their unique musical character and captivating power. When I first heard about the idea of bringing a concert of Beethoven 7 & 9 conducted by Karajan to cinemas, I was both...
- [Mozart: String Quartets](https://interlude.hk/mozart-string-quartets/): Allegro, String Quartet No. 4 in C major K. 157 Jerusalem Quartet, Chamber ensemble From Mozart: String Quartets (2011) Released by Harmonia Mundi Mozart: Allegro, String Quartet No. 4 in C major K. 157 Uplifting, charming and joyful. This quartet makes your day brighter and your heart lighter. Official website
- [Mozart: String Quartets](https://interlude.hk/mozart-string-quartets-2/): Mozart: String Quartets Mozart: Allegro, String Quartet No. 4 in C major K. 157 Uplifting, charming and joyful. This quartet makes your day brighter and your heart lighter.
- [Shabby Butterfly!](https://interlude.hk/shabby-butterfly/): I was in Paris for a few days to meet a very special friend, and managed to get a couple of tickets to Madame Butterfly at the Opera Bastille. I hadn’t intended to write about this event, for the very simple reason that there was really nothing to write about....
- [About Matthew](https://interlude.hk/about-matthew/): Working as a freelance singer, record producer and project manager, Matthew enjoys a broad view of music in Cambridge. As a boy he was a chorister at Ely Cathedral – singing services everyday in under the magnificent octagon lantern. Later a student at Christ Church, Oxford he was a Choral...
- [Albéniz: Transcriptions for Oboe and Piano](https://interlude.hk/albeniz-transcriptions-for-oboe-and-piano/): Evocation, from Ibéria, Book 1 David Walter, oboe Jean-Marc Bonn, piano From Albéniz: Transcriptions for Oboe and Piano (2011) Released by Saphir Productions Albéniz: Evocation, from Ibéria, Book 1 Oboist David Walter transcribed Albéniz’ masterpiece for piano, Iberia into a work for oboe and piano. The original version, full of...
- [Albéniz: Transcriptions for Oboe and Piano](https://interlude.hk/albeniz-transcriptions-for-oboe-and-piano-2/): Albéniz: Transcriptions for Oboe and Piano Albéniz: Evocation, from Ibéria, Book 1 Oboist David Walter transcribed Albéniz’ masterpiece for piano, Iberia into a work for oboe and piano. The original version, full of Oriental resonances, has the sensuality intensified by the sound of the oboe, together with pianist Jean-Marc Bonn,...
- [Cédric Tiberghien](https://interlude.hk/cedric-tiberghien/): “There was lightness and grandeur, seriousness and fun, powerful momentum and meditative restraint. Tiberghien knew exactly what he wanted to say about the music, and did so with a blend of boldness, reasoning and inspiration. ” The Daily Telegraph, London “Tiberghien leaps from the ruck of talented young pianists by...
- [Valentine's Music](https://interlude.hk/valentines-music/): For me, Valentine’s Day is no more than an occasion for retailers to sell flowers and chocolates. But for lovers, I think every day can be Valentine’s, and a special thought, sweet message, or just a tender hug can be more inventive, expressive and seductive than mere flowers and chocolates....
- [Ravel's Repetition](https://interlude.hk/ravels-repetition/): If God hadn’t desired repetition, the world would never have been created. Soren Kierkegaard, Repetition Repetition is essential to music. Indeed, without some form of repetition, there is no rhythm. And few composers have taken this consideration of repetition as seriously as Maurice Ravel did, in his Bolero. His most...
- [Ogdon-Stokowski CD](https://interlude.hk/ogdon-stokowski-cd-by-ian-pong/): Aix-en-Provence, 2nd Feb 2011. Most people have their favourite place, favourite wine, favourite composer. Here, I would like to share my favourite recording. Nearly a decade ago, I acquired from Brenda Lucas herself some recordings and manuscripts of her late husband John Ogdon, the great British pianist who won the...
- [Feelings, nothing more than feelings](https://interlude.hk/feelings-nothing-more-than-feelings/): Music is a beautiful yet complicated creation. For learners, the initial focus ought to be on the technical side. Upon the mastery of the basic skills, however, it is the sensational aspect that the musicians have to observe in detail. What was the background of the piece? What were the...
- [Tamás Érdi plays Schubert](https://interlude.hk/tamas-erdi-plays-schubert/): Impromptu No. 3 in G-flat major, Andante Tamás Érdi, piano From Tamás Érdi plays Franz Schubert (2002) Released by Hungaroton Records Schubert: Impromptu No. 3 in G-flat major, Andante A wonderful recording of Schubert Impromptus and Sonata by the Hungarian pianist Tamás Érdi. Official website
- [Tamás Érdi plays Schubert](https://interlude.hk/tamas-erdi-plays-schubert-2/): Tamás Érdi plays Franz Schubert Schubert: Impromptu No. 3 in G-flat major, Andante A wonderful recording of Schubert Impromptus and Sonata by the Hungarian pianist Tamás Érdi.
- [Why Were Opera Singers Fat?](https://interlude.hk/why-were-opera-singers-fat/): Picture in your head an image of an opera singer. Like many people, you may see the stereotype of a fat lady in an extravagant gown belting it out like there was no tomorrow. Why are opera singers fat? Or, to be more accurate, why is there such a stereotype...
- [Concert Review: Michael Chance &amp; City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong](https://interlude.hk/concert-review-michael-chance-city-chamber-orchestra-of-hong-kong-by-cathy-hung/): Tuesday 25 January 2011. Concert Hall, HK City Hall With a slight divergence from mainstream classical concert programmes, City Chamber Orchestra Hong Kong’s choice of performances captures a fuller audience base with diversified tastes. A counter-tenor recital featuring early vocal works is definitely something rare in Hong Kong, and yet...
- [Handel: Scipione](https://interlude.hk/handel-scipione/): “Ah! Scipione... ” (Berenice’s aria) Sandrine Piau, soprano Christophe Rousset, conductor Les Talens Lyriques, baroque orchestra From Handel: Scipione (2010) Released by Aparté Handel: “Ah! Scipione... ” (Berenice’s aria), from Scipione Sandrine Piau (Berenice) in Act III, Scene II: “The torment is aleady over and calm will return, and in...
- [Handel: Scipione](https://interlude.hk/handel-scipione-2/): Handel: Scipione Handel: “Ah! Scipione... ” (Berenice’s aria), from Scipione Sandrine Piau (Berenice) in Act III, Scene II: “The torment is aleady over and calm will return, and in the rays of a propitious star my love shall sparkle. ” Opera in three acts composed by Haendel in 1726, not...
- [Federico Mompou](https://interlude.hk/federico-mompou/): Cancons i danses (1962) 12 Preludes (1960) Variations sur un theme de Chopin (1957) Federico (Frederic) Mompou (1893-1987) was one of the greatest Spanish composers of the 20th century. A Catalan by birth, he studied and appeared on stage in Barcelona since young. Later he studied piano in Paris Conservatory...
- [Chinese repertoire or not Chinese repertoire?](https://interlude.hk/chinese-repertoire-or-not-chinese-repertoire/): The following is a fictional story. Any resemblance to actual individuals or events is purely coincidental. An internationally renowned conductor is invited to lead the New Year concert at one of the most prestigious halls in China. The maestro kindly suggests a repertoire which is not far from the spirit...
- [Three times Mozart](https://interlude.hk/three-times-mozart/): Pushkin’s Mozart and Salieri is a fantastic exploration of the nature of artistic creation. This short blank verse drama, written in 1830, has been re-told many times (notably by Rimsky-Korsakov in his 1898 opera of the same name and by Peter Shaffer in his 1979 play Amadeus and the 1984...
- [Chopin: The Piano Concertos](https://interlude.hk/chopin-the-piano-concertos/): Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor, Larghetto Rafal Blechacz, piano Jerzy Semkow, conductor Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra From Chopin: The Piano Concertos (2009) Released by Deutsche Grammophon Chopin: Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor, Larghetto 25-year-old Rafal Blechacz, winner of the 15th International Chopin Competition in 2005, performs the...
- [Chopin: The Piano Concertos](https://interlude.hk/chopin-the-piano-concertos-2/): Chopin: The Piano Concertos Chopin: Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor, Larghetto 25-year-old Rafal Blechacz, winner of the 15th International Chopin Competition in 2005, performs the two piano concertos with extreme musicality and sensibility. This is by far the best recording of the Chopin concertos in recent years.
- [Blindness and Musical Talent](https://interlude.hk/blindness-and-musical-talent/): He is the youngest person to have his US number 1 hit at the age of 13. He has had over 100 million albums sold, over 30 U. S top-ten hits, 25 Grammies, 10 US number-one hits on the pop charts, a Lifetime Achievement Award, an Oscar, and is inducted...
- [Slideshow](https://interlude.hk/slideshow/)
- [Liszt: Via Crucis](https://interlude.hk/liszt-via-crucis/): Station II, Jesus trägt sein Kreuz Maîtrise Notre Dame de Paris David Selig, piano Nicole Corti, conductor From Liszt: Via Crucis (2011) Released by Saphir Productions Liszt: Station II, Jesus trägt sein Kreuz Stations of the cross or Way of the cross depicts the final hours of Jesus. One of...
- [Liszt: Via Crucis](https://interlude.hk/liszt-via-crucis-2/): Liszt: Via Crucis Liszt: Station II, Jesus trägt sein Kreuz Stations of the cross or Way of the cross depicts the final hours of Jesus. One of Liszt most daring and original composition, Via Crucis is a new kind of church music combining new harmonic language with traditional liturgy. Beautifully...
- [Les Violoncelles Français - Méditations](https://interlude.hk/les-violoncelles-francais-meditations/): Rachmaninov: Vocalise Les Violoncelles Français, music ensemble From Les Violoncelles Français – Méditations (2010) Released by Mirare Rachmaninov: Vocalise Eight French cellists perform transcription of some of the most famous melodies. Official website
- [Les Violoncelles Français – Méditations](https://interlude.hk/les-violoncelles-francais-meditations-2/): Les Violoncelles Français – Méditations Rachmaninov: Vocalise Eight French cellists perform transcription of some of the most famous melodies.
- [Does it take incredible intelligence to produce a music genius?](https://interlude.hk/does-it-take-incredible-intelligence-to-produce-a-music-genius/): The musical genius of Beethoven, though witnessed over 200 years ago, is still deeply admired by many because Ludwig van Beethoven once described his talent saying, “I keep a thought in my mind for a very long time. I am certain that my memory is reliable, as I never forget,...
- [Concert Review from Geneva](https://interlude.hk/concert-review-from-geneva-by-ian-pong/): Geneva, 27th November 2010. A year so dominated by the economic downturn in the West and the rise of China epitomized by the Shanghai Expo in the East, few may have noticed that this year marks the 170th birthday of Pyotr Tchaikovski, the great composer from 19th century Russia, a...
- [A Tale of Two Cities](https://interlude.hk/a-tale-of-two-cities/): A tale of two cities. I have no idea when this handy name came about, but it is now used by the literati to compare pairs of cities like Shanghai and Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing, Suzhou and Hangzhou, and so on. So in comparing the classical music scenes in...
- [Bach, the composer as intellectual](https://interlude.hk/bach-the-composer-as-intellectual/): Bach, the composer as intellectual by Marco Moraes But all at once it dawned on me that this Was the real point, the contrapuntal theme; Just this: not text, but texture; not the dream But topsy-turvical coincidence, Not flimsy nonsense, but a web of sense. Vladimir Nabokov, Pale Fire If...
- [About Marco](https://interlude.hk/about-marco/): Marco Moraes was born in Sao Paulo in 1986. He studied International Relations at the London School of Economics and law at the London College of Law. He is currently a trainee solicitor at Shearman & Sterling LLP in London. A passionate amateur in terms of music, he proposes to...
- [Bach: Mass in B minor](https://interlude.hk/bach-mass-in-b-minor/): Gloria in excelsis Deo Philippe Herreweghe, conductor Collegium Vocale Gent, Early music ensemble From Bach: Mass in B minor (2010) Released by Harmonia Mundi Bach: Mass in B minor, Gloria in excelsis Deo Bach’s masterpiece performed by one of the best Baroque orchestras, Collegium Vocale Gent under the baton of...
- [Bach: Mass in B minor](https://interlude.hk/bach-mass-in-b-minor-2/): Bach: Mass in B minor Bach: Mass in B minor, Gloria in excelsis Deo Bach’s masterpiece performed by one of the best Baroque orchestras, Collegium Vocale Gent under the baton of Philippe Herreweghe. A breathtaking recording.
- [Happy 2011!!](https://interlude.hk/happy-2011/): For years, my New Year’s resolutions have looked like this: Get better grades; Find a handsome boyfriend; Increase revenues in my business; Lose some weight; Get married; Have a baby; Lose more weight; More babies; You get the idea. As I reached a more mature age, I began making birthday...
- [Summing up and looking ahead](https://interlude.hk/summing-up-and-looking-ahead/): A crazy 2010 has come to an end. It was the year of the Shanghai Expo and vuvuzelas, of positive events and negative happenings, and not least, lots and lots of music festivals. Apart from the countless music events and mini festivals presented at the World Expo, Shanghai hosted the...
- [forgotten records](https://interlude.hk/forgotten-records/): Franck1. Quintet in F minor for piano and strings 2. Prelude, Chorale and Fugue Sviatoslav Richter, piano Quatuor du Théâtre Bolshoi Recorded in 1955 & 1956 Franck: Prelude, Chorale and Fugue Official website read more...
- [Florent Schmitt](https://interlude.hk/florent-schmitt/): Florent Schmitt (September 28, 1870 – August 17, 1958) is one of the most fascinating French composers active in the first half of the 20th century. A Lorrainer, born in Meurthe-et-Moselle, Schmitt originally took music lessons in Nancy with the local composer Gustave Sandré. At the age of 19, he...
- [Tengfei Zhou plays Jean-Marie Leclair](https://interlude.hk/tengfei-zhou-plays-jean-marie-leclair/): Sonata No. 1 in G major Tengfei Zhou, violin From Jean-Marie Leclair: Six Sonatas for Two Violins, Op. 3 (2010) Released by Eroica Classical Recordings Jean-Marie Leclair: Sonata No. 1 in G major After two years of research, Tengfei Zhou managed to find music scores for all 6 sonatas for...
- [Tengfei Zhou plays Jean-Marie Leclair](https://interlude.hk/tengfei-zhou-plays-jean-marie-leclair-2/): Jean-Marie Leclair: Six Sonatas for Two Violins, Op. 3 Jean-Marie Leclair: Sonata No. 1 in G major After two years of research, Tengfei Zhou managed to find music scores for all 6 sonatas for two violins by Jean-Marie Leclair. Leclair (1697-1764) was a Baroque violinist and composer, considered to have...
- [Concert Reviews: The Snowman &amp; The Bear and Gong Dongjian Recital](https://interlude.hk/concert-reviews-the-snowman-the-bear-and-gong-dongjian-recital-by-cathy-hung/): The Snowman and the Bear (City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong) 5PM, Sunday 5 December 2010. Concert Hall, HK City Hall As a pre-Christmas concert for children, featuring a narration of two children’s beloved tales with muted animation and a live orchestra for the sound effects, I’d say this is...
- [Does Listening to Mozart Make You Smarter? The truth about the Mozart effect](https://interlude.hk/does-listening-to-mozart-make-you-smarter-the-truth-about-the-mozart-effect/): In 1993, Dr Frances Rauscher and her colleagues from the Centre of Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, University of California published a letter in “Nature” magazine that shook the music world. The report suggested that listening to Mozart’s music could temporarily raise spatial reasoning, and hence make people “smarter”. Although...
- [Cuz I want it all, or nothing at all](https://interlude.hk/cuz-i-want-it-all-or-nothing-at-all/): Being a “huge romantic” at heart, my preference in classical music has always been evolving around the genre of “concerto grandioso”. I did attend some concerts of chamber music in the past, but frankly, they were far from impressive, and after several unsuccessful trials, they were avoided. In October, the...
- [Telemann: La Musique de Table](https://interlude.hk/telemann-la-musique-de-table/): Concerto for 3 Violins in F major, Allegro Freiburger Barockorchester, Early music ensemble From Telemann: La Musique de Table (2010) Released by Harmonia Mundi Telemann: Concerto for 3 Violins in F major, Allegro The most prolific composer of his time, Telemann’s music was a driving force behind the late Baroque...
- [Telemann: La Musique de Table](https://interlude.hk/telemann-la-musique-de-table-2/): Telemann: La Musique de Table Telemann: Concerto for 3 Violins in F major, Allegro The most prolific composer of his time, Telemann’s music was a driving force behind the late Baroque and early Classical styles. Considering himself an European, in “La Musique de Table”, Telemann succeeded in creating the so-called...
- [Jean-Frederic Neuburger](https://interlude.hk/jean-frederic-neuburger/): Described by The Washington Post as a “brilliantly polished, profoundly gifted young pianist” following his debut recital at age 20 at the Kennedy Center, the French pianist, organist and composer Jean-Frederic Neuburger has been showing an exceptional musical aptitude and curiosity since his early times. Born in 1986, Mr. Neuburger...
- [Chopin: Mazurkas](https://interlude.hk/chopin-mazurkas-my-music/): Mazurka op. 17 no. 4 in A minor Cédric Tiberghien, piano From Chopin: Mazurkas (2010) Released by Harmonia Mundi Chopin: Mazurka op. 17 no. 4 in A minor Wonderful recording by Cédric Tiberghien, to finish the Chopin year “en beauté”. Official website
- [Chopin: Mazurkas](https://interlude.hk/chopin-mazurkas-2/): Chopin: Mazurkas Chopin: Mazurka op. 17 no. 4 in A minor Wonderful recording by Cédric Tiberghien, to finish the Chopin year “en beauté”.
- [The ECO Music Cruise](https://interlude.hk/the-eco-music-cruise-by-adrienne-l-miami/): I’m not sure what I was expecting when I decided to board Windstar Cruises for my first music cruise, but it definitely exceeded whatever I had in mind. To be frank, I boarded the cruise ship extremely naïve. For one, it was my first time on a boat. Second, I...
- [The ECO Music Cruise](https://interlude.hk/the-eco-music-cruise/): I went on my first ECO Music Cruise in 2007, and it was a most memorable experience. Travelling with a respected orchestra and exceptional musicians, enjoying two to three concerts a day over the course of seven days, sometimes even in unprecedented historical venues – it was a frugal adventure...
- [About Zoey](https://interlude.hk/about-me-zoey/): Even though Zoey holds a psychology degree, she does not believe that one human being can be a psychiatrist to another. Only beings that are more advanced than humans can truly learn about and cure the mind of another person. She worked in the media industry and later attained an...
- [Simone Kermes - Colori d'Amore](https://interlude.hk/simone-kermes-colori-damore/): Scarlatti: Qui dove... Torbido irato e nero Simone Kermes, soprano From Simone Kermes: Colori d’Amore (2010) Released by Sony Classical Scarlatti: Qui dove... Torbido irato e nero Not to be missed: Simone’s latest album, Colori d’Amore, is a selection of Baroque arias about love, almost all of which are world...
- [Simone Kermes - Colori d’Amore](https://interlude.hk/simone-kermes-colori-damore-2/): Simone Kermes – Colori d’Amore Scarlatti: Qui dove... Torbido irato e nero Not to be missed: Simone’s latest album, Colori d’Amore, is a selection of Baroque arias about love, almost all of which are world premiere recordings.
- [Simone, Rocker Queen of the Baroque](https://interlude.hk/simone-rocker-queen-of-the-baroque/): Stephane, a friend of ours with an extensive knowledge of classical music, has been a contributor to Interlude since day one, providing invaluable recommendations on composers and artists to cover. A few months ago, he sent me two Youtube clips of his idol, the incomparable soprano Simone Kermes. Her performances...
- [Wrong Diagnosis and Wrong Operation for Handel](https://interlude.hk/wrong-diagnosis-and-wrong-operation-for-handel/): George Frideric Handel (1685-1759), the great German-English composer, was almost completely blind by 1751. As a result, he was unable to finish his final piece of music “Jephtha”. Handel was told by Samuel Sharp, an eye specialist at Guy’s hospital, that his condition could not be improved without surgery, and...
- [Pergolesi: Stabat Mater](https://interlude.hk/pergolesi-stabat-mater/): Stabat Mater: Quis est homo, qui non fleret Anna Prohaska, soprano Bernarda Fink, contralto Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, Early music ensemble From Pergolesi: Stabat Mater (2010) Released by Harmonia Mundi Pergolesi: Quis est homo, qui non fleret Stabat Mater by Pergolesi, performed by Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin with...
- [Pergolesi: Stabat Mater](https://interlude.hk/pergolesi-stabat-mater-2/): Pergolesi: Stabat Mater Pergolesi: Quis est homo, qui non fleret Stabat Mater by Pergolesi, performed by Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin with soprano Anna Prohaska and mezzo soprano Bernarda Fink. Poignant rendition of “Quis est homo, qui non fleret”. This masterpiece is the song of Mary’s suffering, during the cruxifixion...
- [Sandrine Piau](https://interlude.hk/sandrine-piau/): A renowned figure in the world of Baroque music, French soprano Sandrine Piau performs regularly with such celebrated conductors as William Christie, Philippe Herreweghe, Christophe Rousset, Gustav Leonhardt, Sigiswald Kuijken, Ton Koopman, René Jacobs, Marc Minkowski, Fabio Biondi, Michel Corboz, Josep Pons and Louis Langrée. Ms. Piau embraces both the...
- [Alabama Song](https://interlude.hk/alabama-song/): I am pretty sure you know the famous Alabama Song, with its provocative lyrics. The tune brings back the decadence and perversion of early 20th century Berlin, conjuring the zest of Marlene Dietrich. It has been sung by a number of artists including The Doors, David Bowie, Dalida, Nina Simone...
- [Ombra Cara - Opera Arias by George Frideric Handel](https://interlude.hk/ombra-cara-opera-arias-by-george-frideric-handel/): Agrippina: Aria Bejun Mehta, countertenor René Jacobs, conductor Freiburger Barockorchester, Early music ensemble From Handel: Ombra Cara (2010) Released by Harmonia Mundi Agrippina: Aria Another outstanding recording by René Jacobs with the American countertenor Bejun Mehta. Voi, che udite il mio lamento, Compatite il mio dolor! You who hear my...
- [Ombra Cara - Opera Arias by George Frideric Handel](https://interlude.hk/ombra-cara-opera-arias-by-george-frideric-handel-2/): Ombra Cara – Opera Arias by George Frideric Handel Agrippina: Aria Bejun Mehta (countertenor), René Jacobs, Freiburger Barockorchester Another outstanding recording by René Jacobs with the American countertenor Bejun Mehta. Agrippina: Aria Voi, che udite il mio lamento, Compatite il mio dolor! You who hear my lament, Take pity on...
- [Franz and Karl Doppler](https://interlude.hk/franz-and-karl-doppler/): Franz Doppler Albert Franz Doppler (October 16, 1821 – July 27, 1883) was a flute virtuoso and a composer. Born in Lemberg, Franz received flute lessons from his father Joseph Doppler, who was an oboist, and made his debut as a flautist at the age of 13. Franz formed a...
- [Jian Wang - A Gifted Musician of Talent, Authenticity and Passion](https://interlude.hk/jian-wang-a-gifted-musician-of-talent-authenticity-and-passion/): The first time I ‘met’ Jian Wang, it was through the documentary ‘From Mao to Mozart’, an exceptional award-winning account of the musical journey taken by violinist Isaac Stern through China in 1979. In it, little ten year old Jian performed in front of one of the most famous artists...
- [Ernest Chausson: Concert Op. 21](https://interlude.hk/ernest-chausson-concert-op-21/): Sicilienne from Concert pour piano, violon et quatuor a cordes en re majeur Op. 21 Sandrine Piau, soprano Régis Pasquier, violin Philippe Bianconi, piano Quatuor Parisii From Chausson: Concert Op. 21, Chanson perpétuelle Op. 37, Quatuor Op. 35 (2010) Released by Saphir Productions Chausson: Sicilienne from Concert pour piano, violon...
- [Ernest Chausson: Concert Op. 21](https://interlude.hk/ernest-chausson-concert-op-21-2/): Ernest Chausson Sicilienne from Concert pour piano, violon et quatuor a cordes en re majeur Op. 21
- [Puer natus est - Tudor Music for Advent and Christmas](https://interlude.hk/puer-natus-est-tudor-music-for-advent-and-christmas/): Plainchant: Puer natus est Stile Antico, vocal ensemble From Puer natus est – Tudor Music for Advent and Christmas (2010) Released by Harmonia Mundi Plainchant: Puer natus est Young British Early Music vocal ensemble Stile Antico have won numerous prizes and awards since their establishment in 2001. Beautiful rendition of...
- [Puer natus est - Tudor Music for Advent and Christmas](https://interlude.hk/puer-natus-est-tudor-music-for-advent-and-christmas-2/): Puer natus est – Tudor Music for Advent and Christmas Plainchant: Puer natus est Young British Early Music vocal ensemble Stile Antico have won numerous prizes and awards since their establishment in 2001. Beautiful rendition of Plainchant (or plainsong) after Isaiah 9:6, Introit, Christmas Day Mass. “To us a boy...
- [Alexandre Tharaud](https://interlude.hk/alexandre-tharaud/): An outstanding soloist as well as a fine chamber musician, Alexandre Tharaud has dedicated much of his time to French music. Born in Paris on 9 December 1968, Alexandre began his piano lessons at age five at the initiative of his parents. He met his teacher, Tacconi-Devenat Carmen, a student...
- [About me - Tracy](https://interlude.hk/about-me-tracy/): I am Tracy, a local university student. Perhaps it is difficult to describe my complex character, but the general picture might be revealed by telling some of my interests (those in brackets are my all-time favourites). -Listening to music: This is in fact a daily habit. Besides classical, I also...
- [Falling in Love with Opera](https://interlude.hk/falling-in-love-with-opera/): Although I have become a frequent concert-goer since I was allowed to go out at night at age 12, opera had never been on my list, with the impression that the word “opera” itself equals boredom, or even hypnotism. Therefore when invited to attend Puccini’s La bohème, enthusiasm was unfortunately...
- [Frédéric Chopin: Les 21 Nocturnes](https://interlude.hk/frederic-chopin-les-21-nocturnes/): Nocturne Op. 9 No. 3 Pascal Amoyel, piano From Frédéric Chopin: Les 21 Nocturnes (2010) Released by Calliope Chopin: Nocturne Op. 9 No. 3 Refined, sensitive and delicate, Pascal Amoyel’s recording of Chopin’s Nocturnes was awarded the Honorable Mentions from the 7th International Record Competition Grand Prix du Disque Frédéric...
- [Frédéric Chopin: Les 21 Nocturnes](https://interlude.hk/frederic-chopin-les-21-nocturnes-2/): Frédéric Chopin Nocturne Op. 9 No. 3 Refined, sensitive and delicate, Pascal Amoyel’s recording of Chopin’s Nocturnes was awarded the Honorable Mentions from the 7th International Record Competition Grand Prix du Disque Frédéric Chopin. An outstanding CD not to be missed.
- [Guillaume Lekeu](https://interlude.hk/guillaume-lekeu/): Works for String Quartet : Meditation (1887) Poemes : No. 3 Nocturne: version for soprano and piano quintet (1892) Cello Sonata Guillaume Lekeu (January 20, 1870 – January 21, 1894) was a Belgian (Wallon) composer. Born in Verviers, Lekeu took his first lessons at the conservatory in the city. At...
- [Did Johann Sebastian Bach die from eye surgery complications?](https://interlude.hk/did-johann-sebastian-bach-die-from-eye-surgery-complications/): ‘Father of Music’ Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) suffered visual problems from a young age. In his portrait, Bach appears to squint, and the way his facial muscles are aligned has led analysts to believe that he suffered from shortsightedness. His condition was probably mild, however. If it was serious, it...
- [Ludvig van Beethoven: Complete Piano Concertos](https://interlude.hk/ludvig-van-beethoven-complete-piano-concertos/): Piano Concerto No. 3, Largo Paul Lewis, piano Jiří Bělohlávek, conductor BBC Symphony Orchestra From Ludvig van Beethoven: Complete Piano Concertos (2010) Released by Harmonia Mundi Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 3, Largo Sensitive, delicate, subtle, Paul Lewis is absolutely enchanting. Official website
- [Ludvig van Beethoven: Complete Piano Concertos](https://interlude.hk/ludvig-van-beethoven-complete-piano-concertos-2/): Ludvig van Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 3, Largo Sensitive, delicate, subtle, Paul Lewis is absolutely enchanting.
- [Musica Medicus ](https://interlude.hk/introduction-of-dr-c-y-huang/): ... ... ... ... where music and medicine meet Music lovers are often fascinated by the medical problems of great musicians. The idea, that these great individuals who gave life so much beauty could suffer and die from ordinary illnesses like us mortals, particularly diseases that are now easily treatable,...
- [Sergej Krylov](https://interlude.hk/sergej-krylov/): Born in Moscow into a family of musicians, Sergej Krylov started studying the violin at the age of five and made his debut with orchestra at ten, performing in Russia, China, Finland and Germany. At a very young age he won the First Prize at the International Competition “R. Lipizer”...
- [The Amazing Shen Yang](https://interlude.hk/the-amazing-shen-yang/): Over the past few years, Hong Kong’s classical music scene has become increasingly active. The city is slowly shedding its ‘cultural desert’ reputation, attracting a slate of world-class artists and offering a broad variety of programmes. Unfortunately however, opera remains a rarity. You can count on one hand the number...
- [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: The Magic Flute](https://interlude.hk/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart-the-magic-flute/): The Magic Flute Marlis Petersen, soprano René Jacobs, conductor Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, chamber ensemble From Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: The Magic Flute (2010) Released by Harmonia Mundi Mozart: The Magic Flute The wonderful German soprano, Marlis Petersen sings about love and sorrow as Pamina in The Magic Flute :...
- [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: The Magic Flute](https://interlude.hk/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart-the-magic-flute-2/): Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart The Magic Flute The wonderful German soprano, Marlis Petersen sings about love and sorrow as Pamina in The Magic Flute : “Alas, I feel it has vanished... Gone forever is the joy of love ! Never, hours of bliss, Will you return to my heart. ” A...
- [Johann Nepomuk Hummel](https://interlude.hk/johann-nepomuk-hummel/): Johann Nepomuk Hummel (November 14, 1778 – October 17, 1837) was an Austrian composer and virtuoso pianist. His music reflects the transition from the Classical to the Romantic musical era. Hummel was born in Pressburg, Hungary (now Bratislava, Slovakia), the son of National Theater conductor Johann Hummel. He began music...
- [Scary Niu Niu](https://interlude.hk/scary-niu-niu/): Niu Niu had his Wigmore Hall debut in 2006, when he was just nine years old. Introduced to the London public by pianist Leslie Howard and sponsored by David Tang of Shanghai Tang fame, Niu Niu received a taste of limelight and glamour in one of the foremost concert halls...
- [Franz Schubert: Die schöne Müllerin](https://interlude.hk/franz-schubert-die-schone-mullerin/): Die schöne Müllerin Mark Padmore, tenor Paul Lewis, piano From Franz Schubert: Die schöne Müllerin (2010) Released by Harmonia Mundi Schubert: Die schöne Müllerin After Winterreise, this is another jewel. Mark Padmore, Paul Lewis, and Schubert, a divine lyrical combination. Official website
- [Franz Schubert: Die schöne Müllerin](https://interlude.hk/franz-schubert-die-schone-mullerin-2/): Franz Schubert Die schöne Müllerin After Winterreise, this is another jewel. Mark Padmore, Paul Lewis, and Schubert, a divine lyrical combination.
- [Igor Levit](https://interlude.hk/igor-levit/): “The young Igor Levit, who shows not only great technical accomplishment but also a remarkable artistic maturity, shaped concerto forcefully... A brilliant performance. ” – Neue Zürcher Zeitung, April 2009 At only 23, Igor Levit has already made his debuts with orchestras such as the Luzerner Sinfonieorchester (with whom he...
- [My Favourite Chopin](https://interlude.hk/my-favourite-chopin/): We have been celebrating Chopin’s bicentenary for the whole of this year. Numerous articles have been written, prominent pianists have been performing his music all over the world, major festivals have featured special Chopin days, not to mention all the “Best of Chopin by xxx” CDs that have been released...
- [Tomás Luis de Victoria: Et Jesum](https://interlude.hk/tomas-luis-de-victoria-et-jesum/): Et Jesum Carlos Mena, countertenor From Tomás Luis de Victoria: Et Jesum (2010) Released by Harmonia Mundi Tomás Luis de Victoria: Et Jesum Spanish countertenor Carlos Mena performs these divine Motets for solo voice, instant peace and contemplation. Official website
- [Tomás Luis de Victoria: Et Jesum](https://interlude.hk/tomas-luis-de-victoria-et-jesum-2/): Tomás Luis de Victoria Et Jesum Spanish countertenor Carlos Mena performs these divine Motets for solo voice, instant peace and contemplation.
- [Index:In turn(0) or In Person (1)](https://interlude.hk/indexin-turn0-or-in-person-1/)
- [Exuberance and Energy at the HKICMF 2010](https://interlude.hk/exuberance-and-energy-at-the-hkicmf-2010-by-jenny-pang/): I love the violin for its incredible emotive range. With a violin in hand, a master can paint so many pictures: a romp through a field, a sun-dappled parlour, a stately march, a manic pandemonium. Or nature in full bloom, as was captured in this year’s theme for the Hong...
- [Mr. Corelli in London](https://interlude.hk/mr-corelli-in-london-2/): Mr. Corelli in London Corelli’s Concerto It is very rare to hear such wonderful recorder music. This is a fascinating performance by Maurice Steger with the English Concert, presenting the beautiful concertos by Arcangello Corelli. Definitely a must have.
- [Baldassare Galuppi](https://interlude.hk/baldassare-galuppi-2/): Antigono (excerpts) (1762) Messa per San Marco: Concerto a 4 in D Major (1766) Baldassare Galuppi (18 October 1706 – 3 January 1785) was an Italian composer, nicknamed “Il Buranello” because of his origin on the island of Burano, near the city of Venice. He was regarded as one of...
- [Mr. Corelli in London](https://interlude.hk/mr-corelli-in-london/): Concerto per flauto Maurice Steger, recorder Laurence Cummings, conductor The English Concert From Mr. Corelli in London (2010) Released by Harmonia Mundi Corelli: Concerto per flauto Mr. Corelli in London It is very rare to hear such wonderful recorder music. This is a fascinating performance by Maurice Steger with the...
- [Ravel: Introduction and allegro](https://interlude.hk/ravel-introduction-and-allegro/): Introduction and allegro Ieuan Jones, harp William Bennett, flute James Campbell, clarinet Allegri String Quartet From Ravel & Poulenc – Complete Chamber Music for Woodwinds (2006) Released by Cala Records Ravel: Introduction and allegro I am not usually a fan of harp music, but this piece is a delight, commissioned...
- [Festival International d'Opéra Baroque de Beaune](https://interlude.hk/festival-international-dopera-baroque-de-beaune-2/): written by Melissa, for Juliette. In her annual attempt to inject some culture into her nineteen-year-old daughter’s life, my mother forced me to attend the Festival International d’Opéra Baroque in Beaune. So it was with resignation and not a little irritation that my father, my brother and I accompanied my...
- [Saint-Saëns: Sonata for Oboe](https://interlude.hk/saint-saens-sonata-for-oboe/): James Campbell, oboe Sonata for Oboe, Ad libitum – Allegretto From French Chamber Music For Woodwinds – Disc 2 (2006) Released by Cala Records Ltd Saint-Saëns: Sonata for Oboe Along with the sonata for clarinet and the sonata for bassoon, this is one of the last works Saint-Saëns completed before...
- [Beethoven: Spring Sonata 2nd movement](https://interlude.hk/beethoven-spring-sonata-2nd-movement/): Arthur Grumiaux, violinClara Haskil, piano Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 5 in F, Op. 24 “Spring” 2. Adagio molto espressivo From Beethoven: The Violin Sonatas (2007) Released by Universal Classics Beethoven: Spring Sonata 2nd movement The famous "Spring" sonata for violin and piano is performed here by the eminent...
- [Back to School - the Joy of Learning (minus the stress)](https://interlude.hk/the-joy-of-learning-minus-the-stress/): A very close family friend of ours who was a prominent and extremely successful barrister recently decided to retire to go back to school. He has chosen to study archaeology, one of his passions, and has just started his first year. I imagine the whole experience – the learning process,...
- [Saint-Saëns: Sonata for Bassoon](https://interlude.hk/saint-saens-sonata-for-bassoon/): Nicholas Daniel, oboe Sonata for Bassoon Allegro moderato From French Chamber Music for Woodwinds Vol. 1 (1994) Released by Cala Records Saint-Saëns: Sonata for Bassoon The introduction is captivating, it’s nostalgic, melodic, and expressive. This is one of the last works Saint-Saëns completed before he died in December 1921.
- [Pierrot Lunaire](https://interlude.hk/pierrot-lunaire/): While I was in London I attended a concert I would normally have avoided, since half of the programme consisted of Arnold Schoenberg. But I bought a ticket and went in spite of my jet leg because Vladimir Jurowski was conducting a reduced orchestra. For one thing, I find Jurowski...
- [Hummel: Piano Concerto no.3](https://interlude.hk/hummel-piano-concerto-no-3/): Stephen Hough, piano Piano Concerto no. 3 in B minor, Finale-Vivace From Johann Nepomuk Hummel: Piano Concerto in A Minor and B Minor (1992) Released by Chandos Hummel: Piano Concerto no. 3 A wonderful concerto unfortunately seldom performed, beautiful recording by Stephen Hough with the English Chamber Orchestra
- [Tianwa Yang](https://interlude.hk/tianwa-yang/): Debut with the Seattle Symphony and Gerard Schwarz: “This young woman could outplay the devil... Yang’s splash on our coast was stunning... (she) played with fire... a perfect platform for her talents. ” – Seattle Times, May 2009
- [Mon ami Piotr](https://interlude.hk/mon-ami-piotr/): I first met Piotr Anderszewski at la Roque d’Anthéron Piano Festival. I had heard of this talented pianist, but never had a chance to listen to him live. I still remember the evening concert where I first met him. My favourite Bach Partita was on the programme, and I get...
- [Chopin: Mazurka op.68 no.4](https://interlude.hk/chopin-mazurka-op-68-no-4/): Arthur Rubinstein, piano Mazurka op. 68 no. 4 in F minor From Rubinstein Collection, Vol. 50 (2001) Released by RCA Chopin: Mazurka op. 68 no. 4 Chopin has written at least 58 Mazurkas, based on the traditional Polish dance. Let’s listen to Arthur Rubinstein play Mazurka no. 4 op. 68.
- [Le French May](https://interlude.hk/le-french-may/): I have been travelling so extensively lately that I missed most of the wonderful performances that Le French May brought to Hong Kong this year. Fortunately however, I managed to attend a concert featuring Nemanja Radulovic, a young Serbian violinist that I first heard last May, when he delivered an...
- [Galuppi: Piano Sonata in C major](https://interlude.hk/galuppi-piano-sonata-in-c-major/): Peter Seivewright, piano Piano Sonata in C major, Illy No. 55 From Galuppi Complete Piano Sonatas, vol 2 (2006) Released by Divine Art Galuppi: Piano Sonata in C major Thanks to a very special friend, I get to know these Sonatas by Galuppi. Listen to this beautiful Andante, and enjoy...
- [Meeting Paul](https://interlude.hk/meeting-paul/): The first time I heard Paul Lewis was on a CD. It was a recording of Schubert’s Winterreise. I am ashamed to admit that I had never heard of Paul before, and the reason I bought the CD was actually to hear Mark Padmore, whom I consider one of the...
- [Poulenc: Sonata for Clarinet](https://interlude.hk/poulenc-sonata-for-clarinet/): James Campbell, clarinetJohn York, piano Sonata for Clarinet, 2nd Movement; Romanza From Ravel & Poulenc – French Chamber Music for Woodwinds, Vol. 2, Disc 2 (2006) Released by Cala Poulenc: Sonata for Clarinet The clarinet sonata was completed in 1962, few months before Poulenc’s death from a sudden heart attack....
- [Wagner Rewrite](https://interlude.hk/wagner-rewrite/): Every spring in Ueno, the cherry blossom starts to bloom, heralding the music festival fittingly entitled “Spring Festival In Tokyo”. This year the festival took place between March 14th and April 10th. One of the highlights of this year’s festival was Wagner’s Opera “Parsifal”. The five hour piece was performed...
- [Mariko from ACT4](https://interlude.hk/mariko-from-act4/): I spent the busiest days in April, since we had 4 big events in this month. On April, 10th, there was the festival called “Ryukyu Kaiensai” in Okinawa. The main event was the fireworks on the Gino-wan, the western shore of Okinawa. What is so special about the fireworks, is...
- [Mozart: Ave Verum Corpus](https://interlude.hk/mozart-ave-verum-corpus/): Ave Verum Corpus, motet for chorus, strings & organ, K. 618 From Agnus Dei: Music of Inner Harmony: The Choir of New College Oxford (1997) Released by Erato Mozart: Ave Verum Corpus Beautiful and serene, the experience of listening to this is like coming down from heaven. I heard it...
- [Another Folle Journée in Tokyo](https://interlude.hk/another-folle-journee-in-tokyo/): This year, La Folle Journée is celebrating the 200th anniversary of Chopin’s birth. I decided to take my mother, a Chopin enthusiast, for a special three-day musical marathon. Once again, thanks to the concierge team at The Peninsula, I managed to secure a good number of tickets. Unfortunately some performances...
- [Fauré: Elégie](https://interlude.hk/faure-elegie/): Jacqueline du Pré, cello Elegie in C minor, Op. 24 From Les introuvables de Jacqueline du Pré, CD 4 /6 (2002) Released by EMI Classics Fauré: Elégie A beautiful piece, originally written as a sonata for Cello and Piano in 1883, is performed here by one of the greatest cellist,...
- [Air, Please!](https://interlude.hk/air-please/): When bass vocalist Alexei Tanovitsky visited Hong Kong to perform Wagner’s Die Walküre, he was heard coughing and choking onstage. Similarly, following his concert in Hong Kong, Tom Jones was forced to cancel the remainder of his Asian tour due to laryngitis. Not to mention all the performances I attended...
- [Saint-Saëns: Feuillet d’Album for wind octet](https://interlude.hk/saint-saens-feuillet-dalbum-for-wind-octet/): Feuillet d’album for wind octet, Op. 81 William Bennett, flute Nicholas Daniel, oboe James Campbell, David Campbell, clarinet Rachel Gough, Robin Kennard, bassoon Richard Watkins, Robert Maskell, horn From French Chamber Music for Woodwinds, Volume One: Debussy and Saint-Saëns – Disc 2 (2008) Released by Cala Records Saint-Saëns: Feuillet d’Album...
- [Thank you, E15!](https://interlude.hk/thank-you-e15/): E15 is the name that has been given to the Icelandic volcano, Eyjafjallajökull, by journalists who were struggling to pronounce the full name properly. The nickname is derived from the somewhat daunting number of letters that come after the E. So why am I grateful to E15? Well, I was...
- [About me-Mariko :](https://interlude.hk/about-me-mariko/): My name is Mariko Sato, editor-in-chief of the magazine, “ACT4”. Graduating from Waseda University, my first career was a staff of Cathay Pacific Airways, and then started to work at a publishing company called ALC Press Inc in 1986. I worked as the executive manager of the life-style magazine “Seven...
- [ACT4](https://interlude.hk/act4/): “ ACT4” is the life-style magazine based on music, art and culture featuring people engaging in respective fields. We have 30,000 readership and about 5,000 of them are the subscribers , and we welcome them as members of “Club Impresario”. We give services for them to get the tickets for...
- [Poulenc: L’invitation au château](https://interlude.hk/poulenc-linvitation-au-chateau/): L’ Invitation Au Chateau: IX. Act III, TangoJames Campbell, clarinetPeter Carter, violinJohn York, pianoJacky Guter, vocalJoanna Elias, vocal From Maurice Ravel / Francis Poulenc: Chamber Music for Woodwinds (2006) Released by Cala Poulenc: L’invitation au château Francis Poulenc was commissioned to write incidental music for plays and films, and among...
- [No Passions in Hong Kong](https://interlude.hk/no-passions-in-hong-kong/): I became a Bach fanatic in the late seventies when I discovered Glenn Gould, though I came to appreciate Bach’s choral music at a much later stage, first with the Cantatas, then the Mass in B Minor and lastly, the Passions. Many years ago, when I was part of the...
- [Scarlatti: Sonaten](https://interlude.hk/scarlatti-sonaten/): Ivo Pogorelich, piano Sonata in E major, K. 20, Presto From Scarlatti: Sonaten (1993) Released by Deutsche Grammophon Scarlatti: Sonaten Son of Alessandro, Domenico wrote 555 sonatas, and after Horowitz made several recordings of them, there was a surge of popularity for Scarlatti, whose work was unfortunately rarely performed in...
- [Hong Kong Arts Festival](https://interlude.hk/hong-kong-arts-festival-2/): I have been spending a lot of time in London lately, so I have regretfully been unable to attend all the exciting and exceptional events of the Hong Kong Arts Festival. Nevertheless, during the few days I was in Hong Kong, I managed to get tickets for a small number...
- [Schubert: Arpeggione Sonata](https://interlude.hk/schubert-arpeggione-sonata/): Anne Gastinel, cello Sonata for arpeggione and piano in A minor (“Arpeggione Sonata”), D. 821 Claire Désert, piano From Schubert: Arpeggione (2005) Released by Valois Schubert: Arpeggione Sonata This is a wonderful interpretation of the famous Arpeggione by the French cellist Anne Gastinel: extremely expressive, intimate and enchanting.
- [The Sevens](https://interlude.hk/the-sevens/): No, I did not go to the Hong Kong Stadium, decked out in fancy dress, shouting and singing, flag in my left hand, can of beer in my right. In fact, I was sitting in front of my computer, trying to finish my article about the London Handel Festival, when...
- [Wieniawski: Violin Concerto](https://interlude.hk/wieniawski-violin-concerto/): Isaac Stern, violin Wieniawski: Violin Concerto No. 2 in D minor for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 22/II. Romance. Andante non troppoPhiladelphia Orchestra From Wieniawski/Bruch/Tchaikovsky: Violin Concertos (1995) Released by Sony Classical Wieniawski: Violin Concerto This is a wonderful piece played divinely by Isaac Stern. What makes it even more a...
- [London Handel Festival](https://interlude.hk/london-handel-festival-2/): I was in London for three days, and was lucky enough to find myself in the midst of the London Handel Festival. I got a ticket for the concert Arias for Mrs. Arne, which included a pre-concert festival walk around the Covent Garden area. The meeting point was at the...
- [Beethoven: Sonata no. 8 "Pathétique"](https://interlude.hk/beethoven-sonata-no-8-pathetique/): Paul Lewis, piano Sonata no. 8 “Pathétique” in C minor, I. Grave – Allegro di molto e con brio From Beethoven: Piano Sonatas, Vol. 2 (2007) Released by Harmonia Mundi Beethoven: Sonata no. 8 “Pathétique” This Sonata was written in 1798 when Beethoven was 27, and named Grande Sonate pathétique...
- [Carlo and Martha in Paris](https://interlude.hk/carlo-and-martha-in-paris/): Commissioned by the Paris Opera, Verdi wrote a five-act opera based on Friedrich Schiller’s play, Don Carlo. According to the grand opera criteria of the times, the work had to be sung in French, with spectacular scenes providing an opportunity for grand staging such as large choruses and ballets. And...
- [Schubert: Fantasia for piano](https://interlude.hk/schubert-fantasia-for-piano/): Maria João Pires and Ricardo Castro, piano Fantasia for piano, 4 hands in F minor, D. 940 (Op. 103) From Résonance de l’Originaire (2005) Released by Deutsche Grammophon Schubert: Fantasia for piano This is one of the most important works for piano that Schubert wrote in 1828, the year he...
- [Ginastera: La moza donosa](https://interlude.hk/ginastera-la-moza-donosa/): Daniel Barenboim, piano La moza donosa From Tangos Among Friends (1996) Released by Teldec Ginastera: La moza donosa Many classical musicians have tried to add different genres to their repertoire, whether it is jazz, blues, musicals or something else, but most of the time, the rendition is just a disappointment....
- [Schubert: Winterreise, Gute Nacht](https://interlude.hk/schubert-winterreise-gute-nacht/): Mark Padmore, tenorPaul Lewis, piano Winterreise, Song Cycle for Voice & Piano, D. 911 (Op. 89) – Book I, Gute Nacht (‘Fremd bin ich eingezogen’) From Schubert: Winterreise (2009) Released by Harmonia Mundi Schubert: Winterreise, Gute Nacht Based on poems by Wilhelm Müller. Every time I listen to Gute Nacht,...
- [Clash of Titans](https://interlude.hk/clash-of-titans/): I was in London for my daughter’s birthday, and was very excited when I found out that Magdalena Kožená was performing at Wigmore Hall, with none other then András Schiff at the piano. This is a meeting of two great artists: one of the best mezzos of our time, and...
- [Mozart: Clarinet Quintet in A](https://interlude.hk/mozart-clarinet-quintet-in-a/): Richard Stoltzman, clarinet Mozart: Clarinet Quintet in AK581 Allegro From Richard Stoltzman – The Essential Clarinet (1999) Released by BMG Mozart: Clarinet Quintet in A This piece gives me a feeling of bien être, full of tenderness and contentment. This is pure joy and happiness.
- [Harold Moores Records](https://interlude.hk/harold-moores-records/): I met my dear friend Guy in the early ’80s in Paris. We were young, innocent (at the very least, I was), fearless and full of foolish dreams... and then I moved to Hong Kong. Over the past 20 years, we met several times: in Paris, Hong Kong, Montreal or...
- [Fauré: Romances](https://interlude.hk/faure-romances/): Pascal Rogé, piano Romances sans paroles (3) for piano, Op. 17: III. Andante moderato From Fauré: Piano Music (1990) Released by Polygram Records Fauré: Romances Fauré’s piano music has never been widely performed although it deserves a legitimate place in any recital for its delicate, subtle and refined musicality.
- [My Other Music](https://interlude.hk/my-other-music/): I always exercise to music, and Anthony, my better half, kindly took the time to transfer all my music (yes, all) to my computer, so here I am every morning, stretching to Chopin’s nocturnes, weight-lifting to Vivaldi’s Sacred Music, or sweating to Bach’s Brandebourgeois. Then one day, out of the...
- [Bach: Schafe können sicher weiden](https://interlude.hk/bach-schafe-konnen-sicher-weiden/): Magdalena Kožená, mezzo-soprano Bach: Was mir behagt, ist nur die muntre Jagd, Cantata BWV 208 – Aria: Schafe können sicher weiden From Bach Arias (1998) Released by Deutsche Grammophon Bach: Schafe können sicher weiden One of my favorite mezzos, Kožená has a voice so clear and bright, it’s pure crystal.
- [Plácido in China](https://interlude.hk/placido-in-china/): I am in love with YouTube. I am not here to advertise for the website or extol its virtues, but I must say that without it, I wouldn’t have discovered many classical music clips, featuring great musicians and beautiful pieces from composers whose existence I had never known. A very...
- [Vivaldi: Beatus vir](https://interlude.hk/vivaldi-beatus-vir/): Vivaldi: Beatus vir (Psalm 111) for 3 voices, strings & continuo in B flat major, RV 598King’s Consort From Vivaldi: Sacred Music, Vol. 3 (1997) Released by Hyperion UK Vivaldi: Beatus vir This is so vigorous, uplifting and luminous that when I listen to this music, my day becomes shiny...
- [The Jewelled Air](https://interlude.hk/the-jewelled-air/): The last time I was in Singapore, it was a long time ago. Back when the children still enjoyed playing in the sand and splashing in the pool, we had a short stay at Sentosa, a holiday resort island which you cannot exactly call Singapore. So this time, when I...
- [Schubert: Quintet D956](https://interlude.hk/schubert-quintet-d956/): Heinrich Schiff, cello Schubert: Quintet in C, D. 956, II. AdagioAlban Berg Quartet From Schubert Quintet in C (1990) Released by Angel Records Schubert: Quintet D956 The String Quintet in C major, D 956, Op. 163, was composed during the summer of 1828, two months before his death, and is...
- [Taiwan's Rachmaninov](https://interlude.hk/taiwans-rachmaninov/): I took my mother to Taipei for a short holiday and as usual, was on the lookout for classical music events. When I read online about a major event dedicated to Tyzen Hsiao, praised by the local media as “Taiwan’s Rachmaninov” and “Taiwan’s last Romantic poet of the piano”, I...
- [Chopin: Cello Sonata](https://interlude.hk/chopin-cello-sonata/): Jian Wang, cello Chopin: Cello Sonata Op. 65 From Presenting Jian Wang (1992) Released by Delos Records Chopin: Cello Sonata Frédéric Chopin wrote his Cello Sonata in G minor, Op. 65 in 1846. It is one of only nine works by Chopin published during his lifetime that were written for...
- [Anna, Anna, Sacrée Nana! and Paris](https://interlude.hk/anna-anna-sacree-nana-and-paris/): Anna, Anna, Sacrée Nana! Anna Nebretko is known to be a star in the opera world. But nowadays, record companies have become so proficient in marketing and “creating” artists, so to speak, with digitally enhanced images, glamorous makeup and wardrobe, “technically” improved sound and more, that the classical music “stars”...
- [Thank you for your feedback](https://interlude.hk/love-your-feedback/): After a prolonged gestation, Interlude was finally launched on Wednesday, January 6th, 2010. This is actually the day that I started sending out my first announcement emails. First, I want to thank all those of you who gave me extremely valuable comments and suggestions. Among the most interesting ones was...
- [Bach: Cello Suite No. 1](https://interlude.hk/bach-cello-suite-no-1/): Paul Tortelier, cello Bach: Prelude, Cello Suite No. 1 From Les 6 Suites pour violoncelle (2002) Released by EMI Classics France Bach: Cello Suite No. 1 What I like about this interpretation by Tortelier is the degree of intensity that makes the rendition almost painful, showing another, more complicated side...
- [The 12th Beijing Music Festival](https://interlude.hk/the-12th-beijing-music-festival/): I debated whether I should go to the Beijing Music Festival or not, as I had just returned from over four weeks of traveling in Europe, which included the Queen Elisabeth Musical Voyage, and was looking forward to some peaceful rest time at home. Nevertheless, I decided at the last...
- [Chopin: Waltz #9 in A flat](https://interlude.hk/chopin-waltz-9-in-a-flat/): Dinu Lipatti, piano Chopin: Waltz #9 in A flat “L’Adieu” From Waltzes by Chopin (2009)Released by CreateSpace Chopin: Waltz #9 in A flat This recording was made in 1950, three months before the Romanian pianist Dinu Lipatti died of Hodgkin’s disease at the age of 33. Lipatti, whether he plays...
- [Ravel: Vocalise En Forme De Habanera](https://interlude.hk/ravel-vocalise-en-forme-de-habanera/): Natalie Dessay, soprano Ravel: Vocalise En Forme De Habanera From Vocalises (1998) Released by EMI Ravel: Vocalise En Forme De Habanera This voice is out of this world! And this is an amazing CD, definitely a must-have – there’s not much more I can say.
- [Brahms: Sonata for Cello and Piano](https://interlude.hk/brahms-sonata-for-cello-and-piano/): Mischa Maisky, celloPavel Gililov, piano Brahms: Sonata for Cello and Piano No. 1 in E minor, Op. 38 – 1. Allegro non troppo From Brahms . Die Cellosonaten (1998) Released by Deutsche Grammophon Brahms: Sonata for Cello and Piano The first time I heard Maisky was few years ago during...
- [Hope or White Elephant?](https://interlude.hk/hope-or-white-elephant/): China’s Prolific Arts Venues: A Ray of Hope or a Ruinous White Elephant? Western media has expressed awe at the prodigious number of piano students that are emerging from China, while foreign agencies and orchestras are amazed by the rapid increase in theatres and concert hall venues in the last...
- [Pärt: Spiegel im Spiegel](https://interlude.hk/arvo-part-spiegel-im-spiegel/): Vladimir Spivakov, violinSergei Bezrodny, piano Arvo Pärt: Spiegel im Spiegel From Alina (1999) Released by ECM Records Pärt: Spiegel im Spiegel ” I could compare my music to white light which contains all colours. Only a prism can divide the colours and make them appear; this prism could be the...
- [Sibelius: Sonatinas for piano](https://interlude.hk/sibelius-sonatinas-for-piano-op-67-sonatina-no-1-in-f-sharp-minor-allegro-moderato/): Glenn Gould, piano Sibelius: Sonatinas for piano, Op. 67: Sonatina No. 1 in F sharp minor: Allegro moderato From The Glenn Gould Edition – Grieg – Bizet – Sibelius: Piano Works (1992) Released by Sony Classical Sibelius: Sonatinas for piano Written in 1912, this is a beautiful and most interesting...
- [Haydn: Cello Concerto in C](https://interlude.hk/haydn-cello-concerto-in-c-h-viib-no-1-1-moderato/): Jian Wang, cello Haydn: Cello Concerto in C, H. VIIb, No. 1 – 1. Moderato Gulbenkian Orchestra From Haydn: Cello Concertos (1999) Released by Deutsche Grammophon Haydn: Cello Concerto in C What can I say? If you have read my blog entry about Queen Elisabeth Musical Voyage, you know this...
- [Bach: Cantata No. 82](https://interlude.hk/bach-cantata-no-82-ich-habe-genug-bwv-82-bc-a169-aria-schlummert-ein-ihr-matten-augen/): Hans Hotter, Baritone Bach: Cantata No. 82, ‘Ich habe genug,’ BWV 82 (BC A169): Aria “Schlummert ein, ihr matten Augen” Philharmonia Orchestra From Bach: Kantate “Ich habe genug” BWV 82; Brahms: 4 ernste Gesänge & 10 Lieder (1990) Released by Capitol Bach: Cantata No. 82 Ich habe genug (I have...
- [Bach: Goldberg Variations](https://interlude.hk/bach-goldberg-variations-for-keyboard-bwv-988-aria/): Glenn Gould, piano Bach: Goldberg Variations for keyboard, BWV 988: Aria From Bach: Goldberg Variations, BWV 988 (1992) Released by Sony Classical Bach: Goldberg Variations6 Legend has it that Bach composed the Goldberg Variations at the request of the Russian Ambassador, Count Kaiserling, who was suffering from insomnia and asked for...
- [Queen Elisabeth Musical Voyage and Venice](https://interlude.hk/queen-elisabeth-musical-voyage-2/): Queen Elisabeth Musical Voyage There’s an old saying that declares cruises are either for newlyweds or the nearly dead – I am of neither category, but yet I have always loved cruises. It isn’t a passion for the sea or the need to pursue any water sport that fuels this...
- [Hong Kong International Chamber Music Festival](https://interlude.hk/hong-kong-icmf/): This summer, Hong Kong’s music enthusiasts were excited to witness the first Hong Kong International Chamber Music Festival, organised by Premiere Performances of Hong Kong under the artistic direction of cellist Trey Lee. During the four-day festival in June, 10 musicians from around the world performed an extensive programme that...
- [Mozart: Clarinet Concerto in A](https://interlude.hk/mozart-clarinet-concerto-in-a-k-622/): Richard Stoltzman, clarinet and conductor Mozart: Clarinet Concerto in A, K. 622 English Chamber Orchestra From Richard Stoltzman – The Essential Clarinet (1999) Released by BMG Written in 1791 for the clarinetist Anton Stadler, this is one of Mozart’s final completed works before his death in December 1791. The concerto...
- [Madam Butterfly in London](https://interlude.hk/madam-butterfly/): Madam Butterfly My mother dragged me to the Palais Garnier (Paris Opera House) for a performance of Puccini’s “Madam Butterfly” when I was in my early teens. It was supposed to be a treat, and my initiation to Opera. I came out completely exhausted, after sitting through over two hours...

### Jokes

- [That's d'amore!](https://interlude.hk/thats-damore/): Credit: NPR Classical
- [Dress Rehearsal of the Conductor...](https://interlude.hk/dress-rehearsal-of-the-conductor/): Credit: The Student Music Organizer on Facebook
- [So, Which One <em>IS</em> It?](https://interlude.hk/so-which-one-is-it/): Credit: Viola-Memes on Facebook
- [The Coldest Things in the World](https://interlude.hk/the-coldest-things-in-the-world/): Credit: best. musicmemes on Instagram
- [Introducing the Latest Instrument This Winter!](https://interlude.hk/introducing-the-latest-instrument-this-winter/)
- [Any New Year's Resolutions?](https://interlude.hk/any-new-years-resolutions/): Credit: Euge. ca
- [Arnold Schoenberg's New Year's Resolution?](https://interlude.hk/arnold-schoenbergs-new-years-resolution/): Credit: best. musicmemes on Instagram
- [Can Santa Get Through the Chimney?](https://interlude.hk/can-santa-get-through-the-chimney/): Credit: Classical Music Memes on Instagram
- [Santa, Please Help!](https://interlude.hk/santa-please-help/): Credit: NPR Classical
- [Santa: Tell Them 'I No Longer Conduct "Sleigh Ride"!'](https://interlude.hk/santa-tell-them-i-no-longer-conduct-sleigh-ride/): Credit: NPR Classical
- [Before And After Thanksgiving](https://interlude.hk/before-and-after-thanksgiving/): Credit: Mike Magatagan
- [Here's a Professional Page Turner!](https://interlude.hk/heres-a-professional-page-turner/): Credit: The Student Music Organizer on Facebook
- [How Was Haydn Inspired by a Cat?](https://interlude.hk/how-was-haydn-inspired-by-a-cat/): Credit: best. musicmemes on Instagram
- [The Extra-Cellistrial...](https://interlude.hk/the-extra-cellistrial/): Credit: Classical Music Memes on Instagram
- [So That's Where I Left My Keys!](https://interlude.hk/so-thats-where-i-left-my-keys/): Credit: The Student Music Organizer on Facebook
- ["Carve Something Scary." They Said.](https://interlude.hk/carve-something-scary-they-said/): Credit: Orchestra Humor on Instagram
- [A Bassic Costume](https://interlude.hk/a-bassic-costume/): Credit: classical_music_humor on Instagram
- [How Bass Players Warm Up](https://interlude.hk/how-bass-players-warm-up/): Credit: best. musicmemes on Instagram
- [Classical Hush Money](https://interlude.hk/classical-hush-money/): Credit: NPR Classical
- [New Tipping Expectations!](https://interlude.hk/new-tipping-expectations/): Credit: NPR Classical
- [If Bartók Was a Social Media Influencer ...](https://interlude.hk/if-bartok-was-a-social-media-influencer/): Credit: NPR Classical
- [Let's Solve This Musical Mystery](https://interlude.hk/lets-solve-this-musical-mystery/): Credit: NPR Classical
- [Here're Some of Bach's Early Compositions!](https://interlude.hk/herere-some-of-bachs-early-compositions/): Credit: Bizarro Studios
- [Have You Mastered These Conductor Moves?](https://interlude.hk/have-you-mastered-these-conductor-moves/): Credit: Janet Horvath on Twitter (@playinglesshurt)
- [Musical Chairs](https://interlude.hk/musical-chairs/): Credit: John Atkinson, Wrong Hands
- [When Mozart and Cinderella Had a Crossover!](https://interlude.hk/when-mozart-and-cinderella-had-a-crossover/): Credit: Aleksey Igudesman on Facebook
- [How Do Musicians and Non-Musicians Recognize Instruments?](https://interlude.hk/how-do-musicians-and-non-musicians-recognize-instruments/): Credit: up. the. band on Instagram
- [Three Easy Jazz Chords for Beginners](https://interlude.hk/three-easy-jazz-chords-for-beginners/): Credit: Classical Music Humor on Facebook
- [But… I Only Have Two Feet](https://interlude.hk/but-i-only-have-two-feet/): Credit: best. musicmemes on Instagram
- [A Strong Password Is Paramount!](https://interlude.hk/a-strong-password-is-paramount/): Credit: Sheet Music Direct on Facebook
- [No Strings Attached!](https://interlude.hk/no-strings-attached/): Credit: Liz Smith / Harp Jokes on Facebook
- [Look, It’s a Trap for Humans.](https://interlude.hk/look-its-a-trap-for-humans/): Credit: Kovács Jocó on Facebook
- [SchönBERG!](https://interlude.hk/schonberg-joke/): Credit: Clémence Clémence on Facebook
- [I Feel Kind of Blue…](https://interlude.hk/i-feel-kind-of-blue/): Credit: Classical Music Humor on Facebook
- [I Just Couldn’t Find Any Time to Practice This Week](https://interlude.hk/i-just-couldnt-find-any-time-to-practice-this-week/): Credit: Classical Music Humor on Facebook
- [It’s Lucky That You’re Such a Bad Conductor!](https://interlude.hk/its-lucky-that-youre-such-a-bad-conductor/): Credit: Sidonie Winter on Facebook
- [How to Hold a Frog?](https://interlude.hk/how-to-hold-a-frog/)
- [Odds of Missing a Note](https://interlude.hk/odds-of-missing-a-note/): Credit: Janet Horvath on Twitter
- [Please Confirm That You Are Not a Robot](https://interlude.hk/please-confirm-that-you-are-not-a-robot/): Credit: Stanton’s Sheet Music on Facebook
- [How Musicians Turn a Page](https://interlude.hk/how-musicians-turn-a-page/): Credit: Stanton’s Sheet Music on Facebook
- [Oh, Yes, Classical Music Is So Relaxing!](https://interlude.hk/oh-yes-classical-music-is-so-relaxing/): Credit: Stanton’s Sheet Music on Facebook
- [Time to Tune Your Piano!](https://interlude.hk/time-to-tune-your-piano/): Credit: John Deaton
- [Are You Playing Music With The Metrognomes?](https://interlude.hk/are-you-playing-music-with-the-metrognomes/): Credit: imgflip. com
- [A Musician's Eye Test!](https://interlude.hk/a-musicians-eye-test/): Credit: Joshua Wells
- [Cello Repairs Done Cheap!](https://interlude.hk/cello-repairs-done-cheap/): Credit: Mike Magatagan
- [I Used the "#" in front of Everything!](https://interlude.hk/i-used-the-in-front-of-everything/): Credit: ravepubs. com
- [How Expensive Would It be to Just Skip Practice and Get Right to Perfect?](https://interlude.hk/how-expensive-would-it-be-to-just-skip-practice-and-get-right-to-perfect/): Credit: Andertoons. com
- [RachmanInOff? RachmanOutOff?](https://interlude.hk/rachmaninoff-rachmanoutoff/): Credit: u/charliezzzz1 on Reddit
- [Learning to Conduct](https://interlude.hk/learning-to-conduct/): Credit: best. musicmemes on Instragram
- [Places People Hear Classical Music](https://interlude.hk/places-people-hear-classical-music/): Credit: best. musicmemes on Instragram
- [Four Types of Headaches](https://interlude.hk/four-types-of-headaches-joke/): Credit: musicianfame on Instagram
- [When You Type Bolognese Instead of Polonaise](https://interlude.hk/when-you-type-bolognese-instead-of-polonaise/): Credit: chopinmemes on Instagram
- [Baby, You're the Lieder of My Heart](https://interlude.hk/baby-youre-the-lieder-of-my-heart/): Credit: Janet Horvath on Twitter
- [Hey Organist, I’m Your Father……](https://interlude.hk/hey-organist-im-your-father/): Credit: Classical Music Humor on facebook
- [No, I Do Not Play Piano](https://interlude.hk/no-i-do-not-play-piano/): Credit: Scott Johnson on Pinterest
- [What Was Beethoven's Favorite Fruit?](https://interlude.hk/what-was-beethovens-favorite-fruit/): Credit: Reader’s Digest
- [I Don't Like Your Tone](https://interlude.hk/i-dont-like-your-tone/): Credit: Bizarro. com
- [I'm Not the Musical One!](https://interlude.hk/im-not-the-musical-one/): Credit: GoComics
- [Here's My New Year's Resolution!](https://interlude.hk/heres-my-new-years-resolution/): Credit: From our reader “I Ketut Brian Aardvaark”
- [It’s Time to Master Your Bell-Shaking Techniques!](https://interlude.hk/its-time-to-master-your-bell-shaking-techniques/): Credit: NPR Classical
- [Seasonal Coffee Flavors for You!](https://interlude.hk/seasonal-coffee-flavors-for-you/): Credit: Classical Music Humor on Facebook
- [The John Cage Carollers](https://interlude.hk/the-john-cage-carollers/): Credit: Classical Music Humor on Facebook
- [Before Thanksgiving vs After Thanksgiving](https://interlude.hk/before-thanksgiving-vs-after-thanksgiving/): Credit: Mike Magatagan
- [I Only Listen to Whole Symphonies…](https://interlude.hk/i-only-listen-to-whole-symphonies/): Credit: Classical Music Humor on Facebook
- [Optimist, Pessimist, and… Oboeist](https://interlude.hk/optimist-pessimist-and-oboeist/): Credit: Classical Music Humor on Facebook
- [Stop! You're Under a Rest!](https://interlude.hk/stop-youre-under-a-rest/): Credit: buzzfeed. com
- [Pizzicato! Pizzacato!](https://interlude.hk/pizzicato-pizzacato/): Credit: buzzfeed. com
- [Boo!](https://interlude.hk/boo/): Credit: best. musicmemes on Instagram
- [What Kind of Music Do Mummies Listen to?](https://interlude.hk/what-kind-of-music-do-mummies-listen-to/): Credit: learnfunnyjokes. com
- [Do You Want to Learn to Play the Triangle?](https://interlude.hk/do-you-want-to-learn-to-play-the-triangle/): Credit: Janet Horvath on Twitter
- [What They Are Afraid of:](https://interlude.hk/what-they-are-afraid-of/): Credit: Janet Horvath on Twitter
- [The Unofficial Olympics](https://interlude.hk/the-unofficial-olympics/): Credit: NPR Classical
- ["We Were Blown Away By Your Playing!"](https://interlude.hk/play-it-louder/): Credit: Janet Horvath on Twitter
- [My Cello Wants the Veggie Plate!](https://interlude.hk/my-cello-wants-the-veggie-plate/): Credit: Great Cellists of The 20TH And 21ST Centuries on Facebook
- [The "Bolero" Breaking Point](https://interlude.hk/the-bolero-breaking-point/): Credit: NPR Classical
- [You CAN Do It!](https://interlude.hk/you-can-do-it/): Credit: Classical Music Daily on Facebook
- [Your Keys vs My Keys](https://interlude.hk/your-keys-vs-my-keys/): Credit: Classical Music Daily on Facebook
- [Wish I Had Such a Cute Panda Piano!](https://interlude.hk/wish-i-had-such-a-cute-panda-piano/): Credit: k5fuwa on Instagram
- [We've Decided to Replace the Guest Conductor!](https://interlude.hk/weve-decided-to-replace-the-guest-conductor/): Credit: NPR Classical
- [What was Mahler's Biggest Regret?](https://interlude.hk/what-was-mahlers-biggest-regret/): Credit: NPR Classical
- [Here's How to Impress Your Audience!](https://interlude.hk/heres-how-to-impress-your-audience/): Credit: Janet Horvath on Twitter
- [40 Ways to Get Tendinitis](https://interlude.hk/40-ways-to-get-tendinitis/): Credit: Cellists on Facebook
- ["We Do Need a Cello Solo!"](https://interlude.hk/we-do-need-a-cello-solo/): Credit: dbStrings on Facebook
- [Time to Wrap Up the Practicing!](https://interlude.hk/time-to-wrap-up-the-practicing/): Credit: Janet Horvath on Twitter
- [I Baroque Your Violin!](https://interlude.hk/i-baroque-your-violin/): Credit: Janet Horvath on Twitter
- [His Performance is Like Lightning!](https://interlude.hk/his-performance-is-like-lightning/): Credit: NPR Classical
- [Too Many Notes!](https://interlude.hk/too-many-notes/): Credit: Euge. ca
- [Keep Your Strings Instruments Clean!](https://interlude.hk/keep-your-strings-instruments-clean/): Credit: Janet Horvath on Twitter
- [This is Taking Forever!](https://interlude.hk/this-is-taking-forever/): Credit: The Violin Channel on Facebook
- [Reason for Drawing a Portrait of the Conductor](https://interlude.hk/reason-for-drawing-a-portrait-of-the-conductor/): Credit: NPR Classical
- [I Can't Marimba!](https://interlude.hk/i-cant-marimba/): Credit: Janet Horvath on Twitter
- [A Travel-Cello?!](https://interlude.hk/a-travel-cello-music-joke/): Credit: Cartoonstock. com
- [Such a Good Band!](https://interlude.hk/such-a-good-band/)
- [Do It Again!](https://interlude.hk/do-it-again/): Credit: Bill Whitehead
- [A "Flamingo" Guitarist](https://interlude.hk/a-flamingo-guitarist/): Credit: Joe Lennon
- [The Hardest Audition to Win...](https://interlude.hk/the-hardest-audition-to-win/)
- [Don’t Give Piano Lessons to Any Woodpecker!](https://interlude.hk/dont-give-piano-lessons-to-any-woodpecker/): Credit: Bill Whitehead
- [Celebrate Happy Easter With ORATOREO!](https://interlude.hk/celebrate-happy-easter-with-oratoreo/): Credit: NPR Classical
- [Don't Want to Practice the Piano? Here's a Trick!](https://interlude.hk/dont-want-to-practice-the-piano-heres-a-trick/): Credit: History of Music on Facebook
- [The Karaoke That We Really Appreciate](https://interlude.hk/the-karaoke-that-we-really-appreciate/): Credit: History of Music on Facebook
- [New Piano Composition: Watermelon](https://interlude.hk/new-piano-composition-watermelon/): Credit: k5fuwa on Instagram
- [Know Your Brass Instruments!](https://interlude.hk/know-your-brass-instruments/): Credit: orchestralsaxophone on Instagram
- [Just Read the Score...](https://interlude.hk/just-read-the-score/): Credit: orchestralsaxophone on Instagram
- [When Musicians Go For a Run...](https://interlude.hk/when-musicians-go-for-a-run/): Credit: Best Music Memes on Instagram
- [Here's a Music Sharpener!](https://interlude.hk/heres-a-music-sharpener/): Credit: lisibilli on Instagram
- [Old McDonald's Favorite Opera](https://interlude.hk/old-mcdonalds-favorite-opera/): Credit: NPR Classical
- [Practice, Practice & Practice…](https://interlude.hk/practice-practice-practice/): Credit: Classical Music Daily on Facebook
- [Where Do You Live? F#? Bb?](https://interlude.hk/where-do-you-live-f-bb/): Credit: Classical Music Daily on Facebook
- [Like Father, Like Son](https://interlude.hk/like-father-like-son/): Credit: NPR Classical
- [Are You Looking for a Beginner’s Model Piano?](https://interlude.hk/are-you-looking-for-a-beginners-model-piano/): Credit: Classical Music Humor on Facebook
- [I'll Wake Up the Bow!](https://interlude.hk/ill-wake-up-the-bow/): Credit: NPR Classical
- [Why Is a Broken Drum the Best Christmas Gift?](https://interlude.hk/why-is-a-broken-drum-the-best-christmas-gift/): Credit: Aleksey Igudesman on Facebook
- [Santa is Getting You a Metronome This Year!](https://interlude.hk/santa-is-getting-you-a-metronome-this-year/): Credit: Harp Jokes on Facebook
- [I Feel Underdressed...](https://interlude.hk/i-feel-underdressed/): Credit: Mark Parisi/The Student Music Organizer on Facebook
- [What's the Coldest Thing in the World?](https://interlude.hk/whats-the-coldest-thing-in-the-world/): Credit: Music Teacher Resources on Facebook
- [The Real Reason for Schubert's "Unfinished" Symphony](https://interlude.hk/the-real-reason-for-schuberts-unfinished-symphony/): Credit: Janet Horvath on Twitter
- [A Harp Is a Helpful Instrument](https://interlude.hk/a-harp-is-a-helpful-instrument/): Credit: Harp Jokes on Facebook
- [More Flame to the Firebird!](https://interlude.hk/more-flame-to-the-firebird/): Credit: NPR Classical
- [Aliens Are the Best Piano Players](https://interlude.hk/aliens-are-the-best-piano-players/): Credit: Classical Music Humor on Facebook
- [Learn Your Chord Emojis!](https://interlude.hk/learn-your-chord-emojis/): Credit: Hummingbird Piano Studio/The Student Music Organizer on Facebook
- [A New Conductor!](https://interlude.hk/a-new-conductor/): Credit: NPR Classical
- [J.S. Bach's Full Name](https://interlude.hk/j-s-bachs-full-name/): Credit: Janet Horvath on Twitter
- [When You Practice Für Elise Too Much](https://interlude.hk/when-you-practice-fur-elise-too-much/): Credit: Janet Horvath on Twitter
- [Why It Took Brahms So Long to Write His Lullaby](https://interlude.hk/why-it-took-brahms-so-long-to-write-his-lullaby/): Credit: Janet Horvath on Twitter
- [Some Things Are Best Left Unfinished](https://interlude.hk/some-things-are-best-left-unfinished/): Credit: Janet Horvath on Twitter
- [Quick! Turn the Page!](https://interlude.hk/quick-turn-the-page/): Credit: NPR Classical
- [In a Piano Yoga Class...](https://interlude.hk/in-a-piano-yoga-class/): Credit: NPR Classical
- [Babies Like Bach!](https://interlude.hk/babies-like-bach/): Credit: NPR Classical
- [Welcome to the Khachaturian Speedway!](https://interlude.hk/welcome-to-the-khachaturian-speedway/): Credit: NPR Classical
- [A Glass of Lacrimosa, Please!](https://interlude.hk/a-glass-of-lacrimosa-please/): Credit: Classical Music Daily on Instagram
- [I Have No Time to Practice...](https://interlude.hk/i-have-no-time-to-practice/): Credit: Classical Music Daily on Facebook
- [Mastering the Art of Crescendo](https://interlude.hk/mastering-the-art-of-crescendo/): Credit: Classical Music Daily on Instagram
- [Ideas for the Environmentally Conscious Music Lovers...](https://interlude.hk/ideas-for-the-environmentally-conscious-music-lovers/): Credit: NPR Classical
- [Are You Single?](https://interlude.hk/are-you-single-meme/): Credit: Ludwig van Beethoven Facebook Page
- [The Fall of Onomatopoeian Empire](https://interlude.hk/the-fall-of-onomatopoeian-empire/): Credit: Scott Hilburn on Facebook
- [Don't Look at Me, I'm Always Right!](https://interlude.hk/dont-look-at-me-im-always-right/): Credit: NPR Classical
- [Dream House for Pianists](https://interlude.hk/dream-house-for-pianists/): Credit: playinglesshurt on Twitter
- [Just Don’t Select the Ring Cycle Laundry Setting!](https://interlude.hk/just-dont-select-the-ring-cycle-laundry-setting/): Credit: Opera North/The Student Music Organizer on Facebook
- [My Dog Is Musically Trained!](https://interlude.hk/my-dog-is-musically-trained/): Credit: The Student Music Organizer on Facebook
- [“Normally the Hashtags Go in Front...”](https://interlude.hk/normally-the-hashtags-go-in-front/): Credit: The Student Music Organizer on Facebook
- [How My Headphone Looks Like When I Listen to Classical Music:](https://interlude.hk/how-my-headphone-looks-like-when-i-listen-to-classical-music/): Credit: Classical Music Daily on Instagram
- [When People Talk About 6 Flats...](https://interlude.hk/when-people-talk-about-6-flats/): Credit: Classical Music Daily on Instagram
- [How to Play Rachmaninoff](https://interlude.hk/how-to-play-rachmaninoff/): Credit: Classical Music Daily on Instagram
- [Paganini Caprice vs Caprese Panini](https://interlude.hk/paganini-caprice-vs-caprese-panini/): Credit: Classical Music Humor on Facebook
- [Therapist: A Picture Can't Hurt You](https://interlude.hk/therapist-a-picture-cant-hurt-you/): Credit: Classical Music Daily on Instagram
- [Where Is Liszt?](https://interlude.hk/where-is-liszt/): Credit: Classical Music Humor on Facebook
- [You Can Count On Me!](https://interlude.hk/you-can-count-on-me/): Credit: Classical Music Daily on Instagram
- [Composer Hindemint?](https://interlude.hk/composer-hindemint/): Credit: Classical Music Humor
- [This Is How a Bassist Presses the Keyboard:](https://interlude.hk/this-is-how-a-bassist-presses-the-keyboard/): Credit: Classical Music Humor
- [Pianists After Vacuuming...](https://interlude.hk/pianists-after-vacuuming/): Credit: Classical Music Humor on Facebook
- [Before vs After Coffee](https://interlude.hk/before-vs-after-coffee/): Credit: Classical Music Daily on Facebook
- [An Illustration of the Diatonic Scale](https://interlude.hk/an-illustration-of-the-diatonic-scale/): Credit: Harp Jokes on Facebook
- [Illustrating a Chopin Composition](https://interlude.hk/illustrating-a-chopin-composition/): Credit: Orchestra Memes on Instagram
- [Maths Teacher: 3/4 and 6/8 Is the Same](https://interlude.hk/maths-teacher-3-4-and-6-8-is-the-same/): Credit: Orchestra Memes on Instagram
- [That's Heavy Metal!](https://interlude.hk/thats-heavy-metal/): Credit: Best Music Memes on Instagram
- [Whenever a Note Has More Than Two Beams](https://interlude.hk/whenever-a-note-has-more-than-two-beams/): Credit: Best Music Memes on Instagram
- [What Gives People Feelings of Power](https://interlude.hk/what-gives-people-feelings-of-power/): Credit: Best Music Memes on Instagram
- [The Perfect Valentine's Gift for Your Wife](https://interlude.hk/the-perfect-valentines-gift-for-your-wife/): Credit: NPR on Facebook
- [Treble Clef is Too Difficult to Draw](https://interlude.hk/treble-clef-is-too-difficult-to-draw/): Credit: Orchestra Memes on Instagram
- [Han Solo vs Hahn Solo](https://interlude.hk/han-solo-vs-hahn-solo/): Credit: Orchestra Memes on Instagram
- [I Didn't Say I Would Help...](https://interlude.hk/i-didnt-say-i-would-help/): Credit: Southern Adirondack Library System on Facebook
- [When You Try to Learn Liszt or Paganini for the First Time](https://interlude.hk/when-you-try-to-learn-liszt-or-paganini-for-the-first-time/): Credit: Orchestra Memes on Instagram
- [The Harmony that Classical Composers Used](https://interlude.hk/the-harmony-that-classical-composers-used/): Credit: Classical Music Daily on Instagram
- [Instruments to Enhance the Holiday Season](https://interlude.hk/instruments-to-enhance-the-holiday-season/): Credit: NPR
- [Have a Silent Night](https://interlude.hk/have-a-silent-night/): Credit: Ynske Heeringa on Facebook
- [The Best Time for a Barbecue Party](https://interlude.hk/the-best-time-for-a-barbecue-party/): Credit: Classical Music Daily on Instagram
- [When You're the Only One Who Didn't Notice the Key Signature...](https://interlude.hk/when-youre-the-only-one-who-didnt-notice-the-key-signature/): Credit: Classical Music Daily on Instagram
- [I Can Play Without a Warmup!](https://interlude.hk/i-can-play-without-a-warmup/): Credit: Classical Music Daily on Instagram
- [Playing Instruments in Cold Hands](https://interlude.hk/playing-instruments-in-cold-hands/): Credit: Classical Music Humor on Facebook
- [What Was Happening in Mozart’s “Minute Waltz”?](https://interlude.hk/what-was-happening-in-mozarts-minute-waltz/): Credit: NPR Classical
- [At the Chopin Piano Concerto...](https://interlude.hk/at-the-chopin-piano-concerto/): Credit: Classical Music Humor on Facebook
- [Classical Music Is So Relaxing...](https://interlude.hk/classical-music-is-so-relaxing/): Credit: Classical Music Humor on Facebook
- [Maestroso Agitato](https://interlude.hk/maestroso-agitato/): Credit: NPR Classical
- [When the Page Turner Says They Can’t Make the Concert](https://interlude.hk/when-the-page-turner-says-they-cant-make-the-concert/): Credit: The Student Music Organizer on Facebook
- [Things That Rhyme](https://interlude.hk/things-that-rhyme/): Credit: The Student Music Organizer on Facebook
- [How Do You Keep the Trumpet Players From Turning Around?](https://interlude.hk/how-do-you-keep-the-trumpet-players-from-turning-around/): Credit: NPR Classical
- [Meet the Latest Superhero!](https://interlude.hk/meet-the-latest-superhero/): Credit: Classical Music Fanpage on Instagram
- [Musicians to Do List Be Like:](https://interlude.hk/musicians-to-do-list-be-like/): Credit: Classical Music Fanpage on Instagram
- [The Solar System if Holst Hadn't Invented the Other Planets](https://interlude.hk/the-solar-system-if-holst-hadnt-invented-the-other-planets/): Credit: Classical Music Fanpage on Instagram
- [Just One More Time...](https://interlude.hk/just-one-more-time/): Credit: Classical Music Fanpage on Instagram
- [Extremely Rare Photo of Rachmaninoff!](https://interlude.hk/extremely-rare-photo-of-rachmaninoff/): Credit: Classical Music Fanpage on Instagram
- [Harp Metamorphosis](https://interlude.hk/harp-metamorphosis/): Credit: Jilovan Anca on Facebook
- [World's Slowest Things](https://interlude.hk/worlds-slowest-things/): Credit: Classical Music Fanpage on Instagram
- [Something Sharp's Here!](https://interlude.hk/something-sharps-here/): Credit: Addy Buffum on Facebook
- [The Loudest Sound on Earth](https://interlude.hk/the-loudest-sound-on-earth/): Credit: Birgitta Stolpe on Facebook
- [Here’s Your Heartbeat When You Play a Wrong Note!](https://interlude.hk/heres-your-heartbeat-when-you-play-a-wrong-note/): Credit: Classical Music Daily on Instagram
- [Musicians and Normal People Have Different Heartbeat...](https://interlude.hk/musicians-and-normal-people-have-different-heartbeat/): Credit: Classical Music Daily on Instagram
- [It's a Contrabass Triangle!](https://interlude.hk/its-a-contrabass-triangle/): Credit: NPR
- [How Pianists Dry Their Socks](https://interlude.hk/how-pianists-dry-their-socks/): Credit: Classical Music Humor on Facebook
- [Conductor: Let's Start from the 259th Bar](https://interlude.hk/conductor-lets-start-from-the-259th-bar/): Credit: Classic FM
- [A Strange Way to Sleep](https://interlude.hk/a-strange-way-to-sleep/): Credit: Orchestra Humor on Instagram
- [Don’t Worry --- It’s Just an Audition.](https://interlude.hk/dont-worry-its-just-an-audition/): Credit: Classical Music Humor on Instagram
- [How Many Times Do I Have to Tell You That Your Larghetto Is My Prestissimo?](https://interlude.hk/how-many-times-do-i-have-to-tell-you-that-your-larghetto-is-my-prestissimo/): Credit: Classical Music Humor on Instagram
- [Metrognome Is Your Friend!](https://interlude.hk/metrognome-is-your-friend/): Credit: Classical Music Humor on Facebook
- [Oh, the puns!](https://interlude.hk/oh-the-puns/): Credit: Classical Music Humor on Facebook
- [Music I Make vs Music My Friends Like...](https://interlude.hk/music-i-make-vs-music-my-friends-like/): Credit: Cover Band Central on Facebook
- [This One Doesn’t Spark Joy...](https://interlude.hk/this-one-doesnt-spark-joy/): Credit: Piano Memes on Instagram
- [Whenever There Are More Than Two Beams on the Music Score...](https://interlude.hk/whenever-there-are-more-than-two-beams-on-the-music-score/): Credit: classicalmusic. daily on Instagram
- [Your Car Has Been Keyed!](https://interlude.hk/your-car-has-been-keyed/): Credit: classicalmusic. daily on Instagram
- [Air Guitar Strings](https://interlude.hk/air-guitar-strings/): Credit: classicalmusic. daily on Instagram
- [What Actually Happens in My Brain...](https://interlude.hk/what-actually-happens-in-my-brain/): Credit: Classic FM on Instagram
- [Impressing My Friends With My New 5G Phone!](https://interlude.hk/impressing-my-friends-with-my-new-5g-phone/): Credit: Classic FM on Instagram
- ["Babe I Swear I've Changed"](https://interlude.hk/babe-i-swear-ive-changed/): Credit: best. musicmemes on Instagram
- [Santa’s Getting You a Metronome](https://interlude.hk/santas-getting-you-a-metronome/): Credit: Orchestra Humor on Instagram
- [Please Always Take Notes at Rehearsal](https://interlude.hk/please-always-take-notes-at-rehearsal/): Credit: best. musicmemes on Instagram
- [Somebody in the Audience Claps Between Movements...](https://interlude.hk/somebody-in-the-audience-claps-between-movements/): Credit: Classical Music Daily on Instagram
- [Playing Early in the First Beat....](https://interlude.hk/playing-early-in-the-first-beat/): Credit: Classical Music Daily on Instagram
- [Your Next Task Is to Play ppp!](https://interlude.hk/your-next-task-is-to-play-ppp/): Credit: Classical Music Daily on Instagram
- [It’s Time to Buy New Instrument!](https://interlude.hk/its-time-to-buy-new-instrument/): Credit: Classical Music Daily on Instagram
- [No Toccata and Fugue in D Minor!](https://interlude.hk/no-toccata-and-fugue-in-d-minor/): Credit: Classical Music Humor on Facebook
- [Before Midi, There Was This!](https://interlude.hk/before-midi-there-was-this/): Credit: best. musicmemes on Instagram
- [Get That <em>sfz</em> on Bar 35!](https://interlude.hk/get-that-sfz-on-bar-35/): Credit: Viola-Memes on Facebook
- [When You Want to Play Something but You're Also Really Tired](https://interlude.hk/when-you-want-to-play-something-but-youre-also-really-tired/): Credit: Classic FM
- [Playing Something Romantic on Cymbals...](https://interlude.hk/playing-something-romantic-on-cymbals/): Credit: Aleksey Igudesman
- [Here's the Entrance to the Car Park of Estonian State Operas...](https://interlude.hk/heres-the-entrance-to-the-car-park-of-estonian-state-operas/): Credit: u/sabikt on Reddit
- [Quick, Take the Accordion!](https://interlude.hk/quick-take-the-accordion/): Credit: Classical Music Humor on Facebook
- [Tell the Violinist I Prefer the Kreisler Well Done](https://interlude.hk/tell-the-violinist-i-prefer-the-kreisler-well-done/): Credit: Donato Cabrera on Facebook
- [Please Forget Everything You Know About Texting!](https://interlude.hk/please-forget-everything-you-know-about-texting/): Credit: Daniel Hope on Facebook
- [Well, It’s Hard…](https://interlude.hk/well-its-hard/): Credit: Classical Music Humor on Facebook
- [Classical Music Memes Are So Easy to Come up With!](https://interlude.hk/classical-music-memes-are-so-easy-to-come-up-with/): Credit: Edoardo Passarotto on Facebook
- [Where Will I Go to Cough?](https://interlude.hk/where-will-i-go-to-cough/): Credit: Nick Newman
- [How to distinguish B minor and B major?](https://interlude.hk/jokes-how-to-distinguish-b-minor-and-b-major/): Credit: Classic FM
- [An Analysis on Auditorium Acoustics](https://interlude.hk/an-analysis-on-auditorium-acoustics/): Credit: Cover Band Central on Facebook
- [Me Checking if My Piano Is Actually a Cake](https://interlude.hk/me-checking-if-my-piano-is-actually-a-cake/): Credit: pianoomemes on Instagram
- [COVID-19 The Musical](https://interlude.hk/covid-19-the-musical/): Credit: Kovács Jocó on Facebook
- [How Violists Keep the Hygiene](https://interlude.hk/how-violists-keep-the-hygiene/): Credit: classicalmusicdaily on Instagram
- [Keep Your Mask On!](https://interlude.hk/keep-your-mask-on/): Credit: classicalmusicdaily on Instagram
- [That's How C Major Evolved!](https://interlude.hk/thats-how-c-major-evolved/): Credit: classicalmusicdaily on Instagram

### Quizzes

- [The Ultimate Classical Music Bird Quiz](https://interlude.hk/the-ultimate-classical-music-bird-quiz/): Respighi's The Birds features four movements depicting dove, hen, nightingale, and cuckoo. Haydn's Symphony No. 83 is nicknamed "The Hen." Messiaen, known for transcribing birdsong, composed Le Merle Noir imitating blackbirds. Saint-Saëns assigned the swan to cello in Carnival of the Animals. Vivaldi's Il Gardellino depicts goldfinch.
- [Classical Music Color Quiz: Test Your Knowledge](https://interlude.hk/classical-music-color-quiz-test-your-knowledge/): Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue was named after Whistler paintings, not emotional blues. The blues scale mixes major and minor with lowered seventh. Quiz covers color-titled works including Milhaud's Le train bleu, Bartók's Duke Bluebeard's Castle, Joan Tower's Wild Purple, and China's Yellow River Concerto. Scriabin had synaesthesia.
- [Classical Music Geography Quiz: Composer Origins](https://interlude.hk/classical-music-geography-quiz-composer-origins/): Music geography quiz tests composer birthplaces versus associated cities. Questions cover pairs born in Hamburg (Mendelssohn, Brahms), Cologne (Offenbach, Bruch), Venice (Gabrieli, Vivaldi, Albinoni), Lucca (Boccherini, Puccini), Brooklyn (Gershwin, Copland), and New York City (Grofé, Lansky). Medieval Paris composers Léonin and Pérotin worked at Notre Dame Cathedral. Debussy born in...
- [Classical Music in Movies: Famous Film Soundtracks Quiz](https://interlude.hk/classical-music-in-movies-famous-film-soundtracks-quiz/): Article presents classical music quiz about film soundtracks. Covers Mozart's Requiem in Amadeus, Dukas's Sorcerer's Apprentice in Fantasia, Strauss's Blue Danube and Also Sprach Zarathustra in 2001 Space Odyssey, Ravel's Boléro, Wagner's Ride of Valkyries in Apocalypse Now, and Puccini's Turandot in Mission Impossible Rogue Nation.
- [Composers on Film Quiz: Test Your Classical Movie Knowledge](https://interlude.hk/composers-on-film-quiz-test-your-classical-movie-knowledge/): Quiz article covers composer biographical films including The Devil's Violinist about Paganini, Mahler on the Couch featuring Freud consultation, Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky depicting their 1920 meeting, Interlude in Prague following Mozart's 1786 visit, Tous les Matins du Monde about viola da gamba player Marin Marais, and films portraying...
- [Opera Henchmen Quiz: Test Your Classical Music Knowledge](https://interlude.hk/opera-henchmen-quiz-test-your-classical-music-knowledge/): Article examines supporting characters in opera who facilitate plot action. Features quiz questions about assistants to main characters including Leporello (Don Giovanni), Despina (Così fan tutte), Figaro (The Barber of Seville), Susanna (The Marriage of Figaro), Dr. Malatesta (Don Pasquale), Belinda (Dido and Aeneas), Peter Quint and Miss Jessel (The...
- [Ultimate Classical Music Quiz: Earth & Elements](https://interlude.hk/ultimate-classical-music-quiz-earth-elements/)
- [Classical Music Quiz: Famous Nicknames & Symphony Numbers](https://interlude.hk/classical-music-quiz-famous-nicknames-symphony-numbers/)
- [Test Your Opera Knowledge: Tragic Deaths & Endings](https://interlude.hk/test-your-opera-knowledge-tragic-deaths-endings/)
- [Opera Disguises Quiz: Test Your Knowledge of Hidden Identities & Deceptions](https://interlude.hk/opera-disguises-quiz-test-your-knowledge-of-hidden-identities-deceptions/)
- [Ultimate Musical Instruments Quiz for Music Lovers](https://interlude.hk/ultimate-musical-instruments-quiz-for-music-lovers/)
- [Quiz: Famous Ghosts from 10 Operas](https://interlude.hk/quiz-famous-ghosts-from-10-operas/)
- [Are You an Expert on the Orchestra?](https://interlude.hk/are-you-an-expert-on-the-orchestra/)
- [Music Quiz: Bad Families in Opera](https://interlude.hk/music-quiz-bad-families-in-opera/)
- [Test Your Musical Knowledge: Will the Real Igor Stravinsky Please Stand Up?](https://interlude.hk/test-your-musical-knowledge-will-the-real-igor-stravinsky-please-stand-up/)
- [Test Your Knowledge: How Well Do You Know Your Female Composers?](https://interlude.hk/test-your-knowledge-how-well-do-you-know-your-female-composers/)
- [Can You Ace This Surprising Opera Quiz? From Mozart to Tricksters!](https://interlude.hk/can-you-ace-this-surprising-opera-quiz-from-mozart-to-tricksters/)
- [High Notes & Plot Twists: The Grand Opera Quiz](https://interlude.hk/high-notes-plot-twists-the-grand-opera-quiz/)
- [Behind the Nicknames: Classical Masterpieces Secret Stories](https://interlude.hk/behind-the-nicknames-classical-masterpieces-secret-stories/)
- [Famous Melodies, Forgotten Names: Test Your Composer IQ](https://interlude.hk/famous-melodies-forgotten-names-test-your-composer-iq/)
- [Musical Masterminds: Can You Match These Famous Works to Their Composers?](https://interlude.hk/musical-masterminds-can-you-match-these-famous-works-to-their-composers/)
- [Classical Music's Best Nicknames: Test Your Musical IQ!](https://interlude.hk/classical-musics-best-nicknames-test-your-musical-iq/)
- [From Alfonso to Silva: The Grand Opera Don Challenge](https://interlude.hk/from-alfonso-to-silva-the-grand-opera-don-challenge/)
- [Working for a Living: An Opera Characters Quiz](https://interlude.hk/working-for-a-living-an-opera-characters-quiz/)
- [From Broadway to the Met: The Ultimate Leontyne Price Quiz!](https://interlude.hk/from-broadway-to-the-met-the-ultimate-leontyne-price-quiz/)
- [Quiz: Clara Schumann - Beyond the Piano Keys](https://interlude.hk/quiz-clara-schumann-beyond-the-piano-keys/)
- [The Music Aficionado's Challenge: Test Your Knowledge](https://interlude.hk/the-music-aficionados-challenge-test-your-knowledge/)
- [The Clara Schumann Marriage Years: A Musical History Quiz](https://interlude.hk/the-clara-schumann-marriage-years-a-musical-history-quiz/)
- [The Ultimate Ethel Smyth Challenge: Are You Up For It?](https://interlude.hk/the-ultimate-ethel-smyth-challenge-are-you-up-for-it/)
- [Test Your Knowledge: The Ultimate Soprano Quiz](https://interlude.hk/test-your-knowledge-the-ultimate-soprano-quiz/)
- [Classical Music Quiz: Discover the Genius of Clara Schumann](https://interlude.hk/classical-music-quiz-discover-the-genius-of-clara-schumann/)
- [Test Your Wagner Knowledge!](https://interlude.hk/test-your-wagner-knowledge/)
- [Nature's Symphony: Classical Music Quiz](https://interlude.hk/natures-symphony-classical-music-quiz/)
- [Paganini’s Enigma: A Musical Mastermind Quiz](https://interlude.hk/paganinis-enigma-a-musical-mastermind-quiz/)
- [Unraveling the Life of Gluck: A Musical Journey Through 10 Questions](https://interlude.hk/unraveling-the-life-of-gluck-a-musical-journey-through-10-questions/)
- [Quiz: Unlocking the Secrets of the Piano](https://interlude.hk/quiz-unlocking-the-secrets-of-the-piano/)
- [Music Quiz: Clara Schumann's Beginnings](https://interlude.hk/music-quiz-clara-schumanns-beginnings/)
- [Melodies of the Spanish Court: A Musical Quiz](https://interlude.hk/melodies-of-the-spanish-court-a-musical-quiz/)
- [Royal Melodies: Test Your Knowledge of English Court Music](https://interlude.hk/royal-melodies-test-your-knowledge-of-english-court-music/)
- [Quiz: Music at the Court of France](https://interlude.hk/quiz-music-at-the-court-of-france/)
- [Quiz: The Extraordinary Life of Joseph Bologne](https://interlude.hk/quiz-the-extraordinary-life-of-joseph-bologne/)
- [How Well Do You Know the Italian Composer Luigi Boccherini?](https://interlude.hk/how-well-do-you-know-the-italian-composer-luigi-boccherini/)
- [Test Your Knowledge of François-Adrien Boieldieu](https://interlude.hk/test-your-knowledge-of-francois-adrien-boieldieu/)
- [Quiz: Discover J.C. Bach's Remarkable Life](https://interlude.hk/quiz-discover-j-c-bachs-remarkable-life/)
- [Music Quiz: Test Your Haydn Knowledge](https://interlude.hk/music-quiz-test-your-haydn-knowledge/)
- [Quiz: Are You Familiar With Jean-Philippe Rameau’s Life and Music?](https://interlude.hk/quiz-are-you-familiar-with-jean-philippe-rameaus-life-and-music/)
- [Music Quiz: Are You Familiar With Antonio Salieri's Life and Music?](https://interlude.hk/music-quiz-are-you-familiar-with-antonio-salieris-life-and-music/)
- [Quiz: Everything About Leopold Mozart](https://interlude.hk/quiz-everything-about-leopold-mozart/)
- [How Well Do You Know François Couperin?](https://interlude.hk/how-well-do-you-know-francois-couperin/)
- [A Pop-Classical Quiz For You](https://interlude.hk/a-pop-classical-quiz-for-you/)
- [Ready for the Ultimate Quiz on J.S. Bach?](https://interlude.hk/ready-for-the-ultimate-quiz-on-j-s-bach/)
- [Quiz: So You Think You Know J.S. Bach?](https://interlude.hk/quiz-so-you-think-you-know-j-s-bach/)
- [Music Quiz: Everything About Henry Purcell](https://interlude.hk/music-quiz-everything-about-henry-purcell/)
- [The Ultimate Vivaldi Quiz](https://interlude.hk/the-ultimate-vivaldi-quiz/)
- [A Double Scarlatti Quiz](https://interlude.hk/a-double-scarlatti-quiz/)
- [Music Quiz: Everything About Arcangelo Corelli](https://interlude.hk/music-quiz-everything-about-arcangelo-corelli/)
- [Quiz: Everything About Monteverdi](https://interlude.hk/quiz-everything-about-monteverdi/)
- [Quiz: How Much Do You Know About Jean-Baptiste Lully?](https://interlude.hk/quiz-how-much-do-you-know-about-jean-baptiste-lully/)
- [How Well Do You Know About Georg Philip Telemann?](https://interlude.hk/how-well-do-you-know-about-georg-philip-telemann/)
- [The Ultimate Handel Quiz](https://interlude.hk/the-ultimate-handel-quiz/)
- [Test Your Knowledge of Beethoven](https://interlude.hk/test-your-knowledge-of-beethoven-quiz/)
- [The Unfinished Symphonies Quiz](https://interlude.hk/the-unfinished-symphonies-quiz/)
- [The Haydn Quiz](https://interlude.hk/the-joseph-haydn-composer-quiz/)
- [The Ultimate Mozart Quiz](https://interlude.hk/the-ultimate-mozart-quiz/)
- [Name the Composer Based on Their Reviews](https://interlude.hk/name-the-composer-based-on-their-reviews-music-quiz/)
- [The Ultimate Quiz on Classical Orchestras and Conductors](https://interlude.hk/the-ultimate-quiz-on-classical-orchestras-and-conductors/)
- [Percussion Instruments Trivia Quiz](https://interlude.hk/percussion-instruments-trivia-quiz/)
- [The Ultimate Brass Instruments Quiz](https://interlude.hk/the-ultimate-brass-instruments-quiz/)
- [Do You Know Everything About the Woodwinds?](https://interlude.hk/do-you-know-everything-about-the-woodwinds/)
- [Quiz: Everything About the Violin](https://interlude.hk/quiz-everything-about-the-violin/)
- [The Bernstein Quiz](https://interlude.hk/the-leonard-bernstein-quiz/)
- [The Britten Quiz](https://interlude.hk/composer-benjamin-britten-quiz/)
- [Are You Familiar With German Operas?](https://interlude.hk/are-you-familiar-with-german-operas/)
- [How Well Do You Know Italian Operas?](https://interlude.hk/how-well-do-you-know-italian-operas/)
- [How Well Do You Know French Operas?](https://interlude.hk/how-well-do-you-know-french-operas/)
- [Do You Know Berlioz’ Love Story, Compositions, and Education Background?](https://interlude.hk/do-you-know-berlioz-love-story-compositions-and-education-background/)
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