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Music 33,000 Feet Above
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
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How music is 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.”,
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An Autumn Sonata – Schubert’s Piano Sonata in A, 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
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“Music is Life”
Zuzana Růžičková (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
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Sooner or 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
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The 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
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Ten things to say to a 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
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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
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