Classical pianist, educator, and musicologist. Julian writes about music history, pedagogy, and the lives of great composers with a love for nuance and a passion for lifelong learning.
Know Your Composer
Beethoven transformed music from courtly entertainment into a public, philosophical art. His symphonies, sonatas, and ideals of expression continue to define how modern concert halls programme, perform, and listen.
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Classical music reveals itself through familiarity, not theory. Repeated listening trains the ear, deepens emotional connection, and builds understanding over time, proving that attentive return matters far more than technical knowledge.
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Haydn’s “Clock” Symphony blends wit and architectural mastery, turning a simple ticking rhythm into a meditation on time, Enlightenment order, and public listening in late eighteenth-century London.
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A reflective exploration of Christmas music that resists spectacle, tracing a quieter tradition of sacred listening where stillness, restraint, and inward attention reveal the season’s deeper meanings.
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Each December, Bach and Handel return to concert halls and churches worldwide. This essay explores why their sacred music still defines Christmas, through theology, tradition, institutional practice and the listening habits of modern audiences.
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Classical music has evolved through four major periods, each with its own style, sound and artistic purpose. Understanding the Baroque, Classical, Romantic and Modern eras helps listeners recognise musical language and appreciate how composers shaped this rich tradition.
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Antonín Dvořák’s music blends lyrical melody, folk-inspired rhythms, and classical clarity. His symphonies, chamber works, and sacred music reveal a composer of remarkable warmth, craftsmanship, and national identity whose influence continues to resonate worldwide.
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Beethoven is often portrayed as the archetypal mad genius, tormented into brilliance by instability and suffering. But was he truly insane, or has Romantic mythology obscured the real story of resilience and discipline?
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George Gershwin and Arnold Schoenberg formed one of music history’s most unexpected friendships. Their bond in 1930s Los Angeles bridged classical modernism and American jazz, revealing how mutual respect can transcend genre, culture, and artistic philosophy.
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Schubert transformed poetry into music, elevating the German Lied to an art form of deep emotional and psychological resonance. His songs unite word and melody in timeless intimacy, where voice and piano speak as equals.
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Franz Liszt and Sergei Rachmaninoff redefined piano performance. Blending superhuman technique with emotional depth, they turned concerts into unforgettable experiences and forged the very ideal of the modern virtuoso pianist.
Bellini and Donizetti, the twin pillars of Italian bel canto, transformed opera into an art of lyrical beauty and emotional truth. Their timeless melodies, poetic drama, and expressive voices shaped the golden age of Italian music.