Music and Nature: Animals
Animals in music occur in everything from children’s pieces to great serious works. Their rhythm in the world is something that a composer can take up and devel... Continue Reading...
Interlude
Classical Music for All
When you ask non-classical music lovers why they are not fond of classical music, the most common answers include “I am not intelligent enough to appreciate it”... Continue Reading...
Mapping the Musical Genome: The Waltzing Strauss Family
The extraordinary dynasty of dance music composers and musicians named Strauss originated in the Hungarian town of Buda. Around 1750, Grandfather Johann moved t... Continue Reading...
Mapping the Musical Genome: The Gibbons Family
Orlando Gibbons (1572-1625) was born in Oxford, son of a town wait—essentially a town musician whose duties included playing his instrument for the townsfolk, w... Continue Reading...
Helen Keller: A Great Lover of Music
Helen Keller was born in Tuscumbria, Alabama, in the summer of 1880. Nineteen months later, she fell ill (likely with scarlet fever or meningitis) and became de... Continue Reading...
Mapping the Musical Genome: The Lassus Family
According to popular legend, Orlande de Lassus, born in 1530 or 1532 in the Franco-Flemish province of Hainaut, was abducted three times because of the beauty o... Continue Reading...
Henri Matisse and the Music of Colour
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 ... Continue Reading...
Is This The Most Difficult Piece Ever Written for Piano?
“It’s unplayable,” said the virtuoso pianist and composer Milij Balakirev, “there are passages in this work that I simply can’t manage.” Alexander Scriabin seri... Continue Reading...