Articles

3516 Posts
archive-post-image
Children’s 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
Read more
archive-post-image
Bernard Herrmann’s 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
Read more
archive-post-image
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
Read more
archive-post-image
George Bridgetower
The Biracial Violinist Who Inspired Beethoven’s 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
Read more
archive-post-image
What’s 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
Read more
archive-post-image
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
Read more
archive-post-image
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
Read more
archive-post-image
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
Read more