Features
The United States of America (the India that Christopher Columbus thought he reached) and the real India lie on diametrically opposite sides of the globe; noon here, midnight there. The two lands only had sporadic contact in the distant past. But with America’s rise as a nation and the
Throwback Thursday
My senses had been heightened due to sheer anticipation when I arrived in the Austrian capital. It took me only a few hours to realise that Vienna truly was soaked in history. I felt like I had walked into the past, into the empire of the Habsburgs and into the
Know Your Composer
A partly sad, partly bizarre story of how Mozart (1756-91) suffered benign neglect for the better part of the 19th century, and how he was rehabilitated in the 20th century by Hollywood. By Manohar Parnerkar Today it is hard to believe that the 19th-century radical Romantics once denigrated Mozart as
Music Education
Music was always part of Henri Matisse’s (1869-1954) life. He played the violin on a daily basis, reflecting the rigorous structure and precise technique which corresponded to his artistic methods. It also provided him with an escape and source of inspiration. Some of the early paintings of his room
Reviews
It is not every day that we get to hear a piano giant who is a legend in his own lifetime. Born in 1960 to Irish parents in Belfast, Douglas studied piano at the Royal College of Music, London with a teacher whose lineage dates back to Liszt’s Weimar
News
This month, the NCPA inaugurates the Dr. Jamshed J. Bhabha Memorial Exhibition, a collection of artefacts, rare photographs and stories from the illustrious family’s oeuvre. Once upon a time, Mehrangir, the beautiful art deco bungalow in Malabar Hill, was home to two overachievers: Dr Homi Bhabha, nuclear physicist and
News
In its concert series titled “With love, from India”, The Capital City Minstrels showcases music by Indian composers, as well as international composers and groups influenced by India. The choir will perform two concerts in Delhi, then take the program to the UK from June 1-15 and perform in Edinburgh,
Music Education
Cafés with a beautiful ambiance are an important part of my existence as a student. Not because it serves good coffee (partly) but because it has a visual appeal to it. A perfectly proportionate coffee cup in my hand gives me immense satisfaction. And I know there are many like
News
The Bangalore City Chamber Orchestra (BCCO) is poised to be the first ever professional orchestra in the state of Karnataka. This landmark project is a crucial step to breathing life into a more recognised and opulent space for cultural excellence. The BCCO intends to be a season-based program for Indian
Music Education
Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini Contemporary young composers of classical music are frequently taken to task for placing marketability and profit orientation above artistic integrity and compositional skill. In reality, however, placing the emphasis on the profitability of a given composition is not really a 21st century phenomenon
Throwback Thursday
The antique church had an organ played by Mozart. It was small and filled with the faithful waiting for the music to begin. A child danced before the first row, as only children can with abandon regardless of who’s looking – God or parents. The performers then arrived – a baritone
Features
“From the minute a child is taught how to play an instrument, he’s no longer poor” Many years ago, soon after we had set up Child’s Play India Foundation, a music charity inspired hugely by the phenomenal success of Venezuela’s El Sistema movement, a wealthy Bombay socialite