Unconscious bursts of creativity that engender significant artistic endeavors are not necessarily inspired by passionate romantic love alone. Greek mythology believed that this kind of stimulus came from nine muses, the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. Muses were long considered the source of knowledge embodied in poetry, lyric songs and ancient myths. Throughout the history of Western art, artists, writers and musicians have prayed to the muses, or alternately, drawn inspiration from personified muses that conceptually reside beyond the borders of earthly love. True to life, however, composer inspiration has emerged from the entire spectrums of existence and being. Nature has always played a decidedly important role in the inspiration of various classical composers, as did exotic cities, landscapes or rituals. Composer inspiration is also found in poetry, the visual arts, and mythological stories and tales. Artistic, historical or cultural expressions of the past are just as inspirational as is the everyday: the third Punic War or the contrapuntal mastery of Bach is inspirationally just as relevant as are the virulent bat and camel. Composer inspiration is delightfully drawn from heroes and villains, scientific advances, a pet, or something as mundane as a hangover. Discover what fires the imagination of people who never stop asking questions.
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
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
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
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
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
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.
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
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
