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

“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

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

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

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

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

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

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