Features
A four-part series of reflections on the pleasures and paradoxes of learning to sing or play an instrument. For parents, musicians, and would-be musicians of all ages. All the World’s a Stage Performing might be considered the ultimate goal of music study. To occupy the stage confidently and perform
Music Education
Operetta, a precursor of the modern musical, is often considered less serious than opera. We delve into the history of the ‘lighter’ side of opera to understand why the form continues to thrive in musical theatre of the 21st century. Operetta emerged in the second half of the 19th century
Music Education
Ahead of the Autumn 2022 Season of the Symphony Orchestra of India which features three widely regarded adaptations of the classic, a look at the historical context in which they were written, the norms they challenged and what emerged from the synthesis of Shakespeare with music. The global reputation and
Features
A four-part series of reflections on the pleasures and paradoxes of learning to sing or play an instrument. For parents, musicians, and would-be musicians of all ages. We have seen that learning to sing or play an instrument involves a lot of very worthwhile work. Understanding notation, controlling the physicality
Music Education
In his brief life, Alexander Pushkin wrote poems, plays and novels that transcended continents, cultures—and the literary realm. In the month of the 223rd birth anniversary of the founder of modern Russian literature, a look at how his works enriched the world of music. Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (1799-1837) is,
Music Education
Why is opting for a career in music, especially Western classical music, not an easy decision? We learn about the concerns and fears of the parents of three SOI Music Academy alumni who are pursuing or about to embark on a higher education in music overseas. We also speak to
Music Education
Manon Lescaut, Giacomo Puccini’s 1893 opera in four acts, tells a haunting story of ill-fated love. Des Grieux, a student living in poverty, falls in love at first sight with the beautiful Manon, who is being taken by her brother to live in a convent. Des Grieux convinces Manon
Music Education
Film director Martin Scorsese commented in 2005, “If Caravaggio were alive today he would have loved the cinema; his paintings take a cinematic approach… He painted religious subject matter but the models were obviously people from the streets; he had prostitutes playing saints. There’s something in Caravaggio that shows
Music Education
In so many ways, I envy this generation of children growing up, and wish I could be a child in this day and age along with them. When I was a student of the violin, my repertoire was restricted to what was available in the only music store in town,
Features
A four-part series of reflections on the pleasures and paradoxes of learning to sing or play an instrument. For parents, musicians, and would-be musicians of all ages. Why Bother? It is said to require ten thousand hours of practice to master an instrument. TEN THOUSAND HOURS? Are you kidding me?
Music Education
During the Christmas break, several movie channels simultaneously broadcast ‘Tom & Jerry The Movie’, the 2021 Warner Bros. Pictures live-action/computer-animated slapstick comedy film based on the titular cartoon characters of the same name created by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. I must admit I was underwhelmed for quite a
Music Education
ON Stage brings you edited excerpts from the NCPA Quarterly Journal, an unsurpassed literary archive that ran from 1972 to 1988 and featured authoritative and wide-ranging articles. In the concluding part, scholar, curator and Indophile Robert J. Del Bonta discusses the influence of Indian myths and legends on European cultural