Articles

3512 Posts
archive-post-image
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
Read more
archive-post-image
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
Read more
archive-post-image
Cellists and Their Composers
The Romantic Cello: 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
Read more
archive-post-image
Instrumental Architecture
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
Read more
archive-post-image
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
Read more
archive-post-image
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.
Read more
archive-post-image
The Musician’s 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
Read more
archive-post-image
On This Day
25 March: Béla Bartók 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
Read more