Know Your Composer
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, a towering figure in the world of classical music, stands as one of the most influential composers in the history of ballet. His contributions to the genre are unparalleled, with masterpieces like “Swan Lake,” “The Nutcracker,” and “Sleeping Beauty” not only defining the Russian ballet tradition but
Know Your Composer
The world of classical music has been profoundly shaped by many extraordinary composers, but few relationships within this sphere are as captivating as the friendship between Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Joseph Haydn. These two titans of classical music, separated by nearly a quarter of a century in age, shared a
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The Romantic era in music, spanning from the late 18th century to the early 20th century, marked a profound shift in the artistic landscape. This period emphasized emotion, individualism, and expressive depth, breaking away from the structured forms of the Classical era. Among the luminaries of this era, Frédéric Chopin
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This month marked the 150th anniversary of the first performance of Giuseppe Verdi’s Requiem. The premiere, led by the composer, took place on May 22, 1874 at the Church of San Marco in Milan, and was followed by subsequent performances at La Scala and in Paris. Powerfully dramatic, Verdi’
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Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony premiered in Vienna in May 1824. Two centuries later, it remains a powerful and enduring work. “Sing that song from Germany,” my cousins would say to me over the phone when I was a little boy of four, just arrived in Goa with my family from
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The bond between Johannes Brahms and Clara Schumann is a fascinating story of music, collaboration, and enduring friendship. Despite living in a time when close relationships between male and female composers were not always looked upon favourably, Brahms and Clara Schumann forged a unique and lasting connection. This article explores
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The first single from Unseen, the newest work by American composer, Michael Torke, was released earlier this month. (The full album will be available on May 10). The excerpt, No. 7 from a piece which unfolds in nine brief movements, delivers a visceral and ecstatic sense of groove. Scored for
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The story, recounted by the Russian musicologist, Leonid Sabaneyev, is so incredible that it may have been apocryphal. One day, while in Alexander Scriabin’s Moscow flat, Sabaneyev sat down at the piano and began to play a theme from Scriabin’s Fantasie in B minor, Op. 28. The composer
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In the vast landscape of 19th-century German music, two towering figures emerge, each commanding attention and adulation in their own right: Johannes Brahms and Richard Wagner. Their names evoke distinct musical worlds, yet their paths intersected in a clash of artistic philosophies and egos, creating one of the most compelling
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George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue was premiered one hundred years ago, on the snowy afternoon of February 12, 1924, at Aeolian Hall on Manhattan’s West 43rd Street. The 25-year-old composer was at the piano, joined by the dance band of Paul Whiteman, the noted bandleader who commissioned the
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The works of the composer Gustav Mahler (1860–1911) are among the most often played in many orchestras’ repertoire. This was not the case during his lifetime, however, when he was much more popular as a conductor than a composer – his critics finding his compositions too different, too complex and,
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Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich was born on September 25, 1906, in St. Petersburg, Russia, a city immersed in the cultural and intellectual fervor of the time. Growing up in a family with a deep appreciation for music, young Dmitri showed an early proclivity for the art form. His mother, a pianist,