Know Your Composer
He was falsely cast as Mozart’s murderer and music’s sorest loser. Now he’s getting a fresh hearing. On a chilly, wet day in late November, I visited the Central Cemetery, in Vienna, where several of the most familiar figures in musical history lie buried. In a musicians’
Features
“I always sang. Both my father (Edwin) and his sister, Muriel were gifted singers, but Edwin was streets ahead because he was also a brilliant pianist and, from my very youngest years, I had the pleasure and honour of listening to him play. His love for music was great and
Music Education
Often, the point of interest in the music isn’t the melody but what’s going on underneath. I recently attended a performance of Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker, but without the dancers, i.e., a full ballet with the orchestra only. It gave an unrivalled opportunity to actually listen to
Music Education
My two last Bangalore visits were both in 2016 and 2017 within the “East-West Song and Dance Encounter”, hosted by The Bangalore School of Music. This year their Head of Vocal Department, Mr Jonas Olsson, had arranged the festival “Voices of Bangalore” in mid-June, a three-day festival
Music Education
WHAT IS SIGHT READING? Sight reading is playing or singing music from previously unseen notation. The context could be playing a new piece, accompanying a soloist on piano, reading through an orchestral score or singing a new part in a choir. Efficient sight reading is very much like the process
Music Education
You often hear the expression “film music” used pejoratively. “It’s just film music.” There is a kind of listener who first becomes acquainted with the symphony orchestra through film music. And many such listeners want to hear the music again – willingly attending concerts devoted to scores whose original function
News
Dr. Jamshed Bhabha’s life was one filled with and dedicated to the arts. Fittingly, the NCPA has decided to have an annual lecture series on his birthday that focuses on art and culture. This year, we welcome Jawhar Sircar who will discuss what, according to him, ails the arts
Music Education
I’ll fess up: I’m a podcast addict. They’re the morphine drip that gets me through the day. But I’ve only dabbled in shows that focus on classical voice, and that’s a problem. As an antidote, I’ve found five series, with different focuses, that are
News
Brillante – The Nagaland Piano Festival is back for its second edition this October 29 – 31, 2019! The first edition of Brillante – The Nagaland Piano Festival was held from September 28th – 30th 2017 at RCEMPA Jotsoma in Kohima. The festival witnessed Tatiana Dichenko (Russian pianist and instructor – Furtados Mumbai), Pradyumna Singn
Music Education
This text was quickly sketched before an evening seminar, “The Collaborative Pianist” at The Bangalore School of Music, 18th June during the festival “Voices of Bangalore”. Apart from my own experiences as a singer and vocal coach, the text is based on the brilliant book by Martin Katz, “The Complete
Know Your Composer
This month, the tenth edition of Con Brio will shine a light on the oft-overlooked works of history’s finest female composers. We explore the lives of these path-breaking women who, despite possessing musical genius, were hardly celebrated in their time. By Beverly Pereira “A woman must not
Meet the Maestro
There has long been a nimbus of greatness and moral quandary around Wilhelm Furtwängler, but listening to his wartime work in chronological order is a demythologizing experience. The German conductor Wilhelm Furtwängler has long held an exalted place among practitioners of the enigmatic art of waving one’s arms in