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American conductor and opera administrator Kent Nagano is renowned for interpretations of clarity, elegance, and intelligence. He excels at complex late nineteenth- and twentieth-century scores, and he is considered a Messiaen and Mahler specialist. Nagano is passionate about introducing concert
The post On This Day
22 November: Kent Nagano Was Born appeared first on .
I had no idea that chamber music could still draw such a huge crowd. Well, when it is part of the biggest and most prestigious piano competition in Asia, the 12th Hamamatsu International Piano Competitions, I probably shouldn’t be surprised.
The post The 12th Hamamatsu International Piano Competition
Chamber Round appeared first on .
Deutsche Grammophon. Or DG. Even those who are not familiar with classical music recognise it as a gauge of quality. It is recognisable instantly, thanks to its yellow stamp, but mostly thanks to the impressive catalog of works that it
The post The Label that Shaped Classical Music appeared first on .
On 21 November 2024, we commemorate the 50th anniversary of the death of Frank Martin, one of the foremost composers of the 20th century. Born in Switzerland, Martin had access to both French and German musical traditions, and he eventually
The post Frank Martin (1890-1974)
A Spiritual Tribute appeared first on .
Lithuanian pianist Rasa Vitkauskaite, a prize-winning Steinway Artist, is celebrated for her “poetic and observant sensitivity” (Gramophone) and hailed as a “Beethoven interpreter of penetrating insight” (Fanfare). Performing across 30 countries, her career highlights include a recital at the Dame
The post Rasa Vitkauskaite
A Pianist’s Journey and A Concert Piano Christmas at Boston Symphony Hall appeared first on .
Composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky had complicated relationships with women. On one hand, for many years, his career was financed by a single wealthy woman, who he poured his heart out to in letters. On the other hand, his gayness meant
The post Five Women in Tchaikovsky’s Life appeared first on .
Anton Rubinstein, Russian pianist, composer, conductor and teacher, was one of the greatest pianists of the 19th century. His playing was compared with Liszt’s, and he combined a prodigious technique with musicianship, scholarship, and a richly poetic temperament. Anton Rubinstein
The post On This Day
20 November: Anton Rubinstein Died appeared first on .
Canadian composer Emilie Cecilia LeBel has emerged as one of the country’s most acclaimed musical voices, known for her atmospheric and introspective compositions that captivate listeners. Following the success of her JUNO-nominated debut album, field studies, LeBel’s latest release, Landscapes
The post Landscapes of Memory
Emilie Cecilia LeBel on Crafting Sonic Atmospheres appeared first on .
It might come as a surprise, but Franz Schubert wrote almost as much piano music for four hands as for two. His thirty-four compositions in this medium range from his earliest surviving music, the Fantasie D. 48, to his Rondo
The post Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
A Piano Duet Tribute appeared first on .
In 2014, Elim Chan won the Donatella Flick LSO Conducting Competition as the first female conductor to win the competition in its history. “When I won that competition,” she explained, “history wasn’t something that came into my mind straight away…
The post On This Day
18 November: Elim Chan Was Born appeared first on .
Yiguo Yan is an accomplished composer, poet, and playwright based in Shanghai, where she serves as a composer for the Shanghai Opera House. Her compositions have gained international recognition and have been honored with prestigious awards. In particular, her original
The post A Conversation With Shanghai Opera House Composer- Yiguo Yan appeared first on .
Many pieces of classical music are famous for their massive scale. Maybe that’s why so many composers have written classical music about the vast expanse of outer space. Today, we’re looking at fifteen pieces of classical music inspired by other
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Carl Maria von Weber (1786-1826) was a crucial figure in the development of German Romantic opera. In fact, Der Freischütz was hugely popular and regarded as the first German opera ever. However, Weber was also busy in other fields, as
The post At the Piano With Carl Maria von Weber appeared first on .
Two composers we rarely think of together are the very Russian Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840–1893) and the very Viennese Mozart (1756–1791). Born fifty years apart, they couldn’t be more different in their style and sensibilities. Mozart had been trained in
The post Tchaikovsky and Mozart
Tchaikovsky’s Suite No. 4 in G Major, Op. 61, “Mozartiana” appeared first on .
As the 75th Aldeburgh Festival – founded by Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears – gets underway, we spoke to Korean-born composer Unsuk Chin, one of the festival’s Featured Artists. Who or what are the most significant influences on your musical
The post In Touch With Unsuk Chin appeared first on .
In 2013, pianist Boris Giltburg won the First and the Audience Prize at the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels. Lauded as a deeply sensitive, insightful, and compelling musician, it instantly propelled him to international recognition and fame. Revealing a huge
The post On This Day
21 June: Boris Giltburg Was Born appeared first on .
One of the most famous books of Japanese literature is The Tale of Genji, written by Murasaki Shikibu in the 11th century. It is the story of Hiragu Genji, son of Emperor Kirisubo, and his life after his demotion from
The post The Tale of the Heike’s Women
Daron Aric Hagen’s Heike Quinto appeared first on .
Pianist André Watts is known as one of the first Black superstars of classical music. He gained national fame by performing with Leonard Bernstein at the New York Philharmonic on a televised program called “The Young People’s Concert” at age
The post On This Day
20 June: André Watts Was Born appeared first on .
Debussy was born in 1862 in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, a suburb of Paris. Over the course of his career, he became one of the twentieth century’s great musical revolutionaries. Debussy’s music is known for its impressionistic style and French identity. Debussy is
The post Debussy for Beginners
10 Pieces to Make You Love Debussy appeared first on .
Austrian saxophonist Andreas Mader and German pianist Joseph Moog recently released an album titled “Walking the Dog.” The title is taken from a piece written by George Gershwin for the film “Shall We Dance.” The album features a diverse range
The post Walking the Dog
A Conversation with Saxophonist Andreas Mader and Pianist Joseph Moog appeared first on .
The flute is one of the best-loved instruments in band and orchestra, and it’s easy to understand why. It is incredibly versatile, can play an exceptionally wide range of notes, and plays a starring role in classical music, jazz, and
The post Best Quotes About Flutes and Flutists appeared first on .
It is truly incredible to witness the profound bond between composers and performers and the level of dedication and passion that goes into producing new and impactful music. Rodney Sharman and Rachel Kiyo Iwaasa collaborated on their album Known and
The post Known and Unknown
Interview with Composer Rodney Sharman and Pianist Rachel Kiyo Iwaasa appeared first on .
Sir Eugene Goossens (1893-1962) was a member of one of the most important English musical dynasties of the 19th and 20th centuries. He started his career as a professional violinist, performing his own compositions influenced by the musical styles of
The post Eugene Goossens: Old Chinese Folksong appeared first on .
Niu Niu is a talented young pianist who has been performing on stage since the age of 6. This month, a new album featuring a live collaboration between Niu Niu and the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by maestro Jaap
The post Niu Niu: The Pianist’s Journey
An Interview on His New Album and Upcoming Performances appeared first on .
‘Classical music isn’t ossified,’ declared Ben Levy, ‘it’s living and breathing….’. And bringing life into understanding classical music is all about his YouTube Channel. His first video, about Tchaikovsky’s Sheherazade, gives the backstory of the 1001 Nights story collection but
The post Living, Breathing Music: A Chat with Ben Levy of Classics Explained appeared first on .
For generations, mothers have been a source of inspiration for classical composers. Today we’re looking at twenty pieces of classical music that pay tribute to motherhood, from song cycles written from a mother’s point of view to references to the
The post Classical Music About Mothers appeared first on .
Korean soprano Hera Hyesang Park’s new album on Deutsche Grammophon, Breathe, had its roots in the COVID crisis. Ms. Park was confronted with the sudden death of her loved ones and a realization that there were a lot of unexplored
The post Breath and Breathing: Hera Hyesang Park’s Breathe appeared first on .
I had long believed that the poems most frequently set to music came from the pen of Goethe, Schiller, Heine, Whitman, or Verlaine. In reality, however, that particular honour probably belongs to the American poet Emily Dickinson. In 1992 a
The post The Music of Poetry
Aaron Copland: 12 Poems of Emily Dickinson appeared first on .
Of all the instruments of the string family, the viola is the butt of most jokes (the Viola player stops for a coffee after a long concert, and is sitting in the restaurant when he realizes that he’s left his
The post The Middle Voice: The Viola appeared first on .
For “World Pianist Day” 2023, I wrote a little blog featuring some rarely performed or forgotten piano sonatas. As you know, the piano repertoire is absolutely vast, and at the end of my blog, I always invite readers to let
The post More Forgotten Piano Sonatas appeared first on .
The Staatsoper in Berlin saw one of the most elaborate and spectacular productions of 20th-century opera on 5 May 1930. Christophe Colomb to a libretto by Paul Claudel and with music by Darius Milhaud features more than 30 characters in
The post On This Day
5 May: Milhaud Christophe Colomb Was Premiered appeared first on .
Joseph Haydn was born in the village of Rohrau, Austria, in 1732. Haydn overcame a difficult childhood to become one of the most influential composers in the history of classical music. Here are a few biographical tidbits about him: Haydn
The post Haydn for Beginners: Eleven Pieces to Make You Love Haydn appeared first on .
In an earlier episode, I told the story that Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf (1739-1799) planned on writing a total of 15 symphonies based on Ovid’s Metamorphoses. He presented the Viennese publisher Artaria with a detailed outline of his grand design.
The post Fanciful Stories in Music
Dittersdorf: “Ovid Symphonies” III appeared first on .
Franz Schubert’s final chamber work, the String Quintet in C Major (D. 956) is regarded as one of the greatest compositions in all of chamber music. The “sublime” second movement has long been viewed as the essence of coming to
The post Franz Schubert: String Quintet in C Major (D. 956)
“At the Gates of Heaven” appeared first on .
Shark Symphony (City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong) Tsuen Wan Town Hall Auditorium 20,21 April, 2024 At the sight of City Chamber Orchestra’s poster — a giant shark chowing down on a hapless violin — you’d be forgiven in dismissing
The post Review: CCOHK’s Shark Symphony
A Smorgasbord of Spectacle appeared first on .
Let’s continue to explore more concertos for unique instruments. The Argentinian composer and virtuoso performer Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992) revolutionized the tango by turning disreputable and downright earthy folk music into a sophisticated form of art. Considered the father of the
The post Unique Concertos II
Works by Piazzolla, Aho, Huber, Tower, and Tan Dun appeared first on .
The post Music Quiz: Are You Familiar With Antonio Salieri’s Life and Music? appeared first on .
Music documentarist Bruno Monsaingeon’s new film, Klaus Mäkelä: Towards the Flame, about the young Finnish conductor Klaus Mäkelä takes us through the history of one of the hottest conductors of the 21st century and, at the same time, shows us
The post The New Flame: Bruno Monsaingeon’s Documentary on Klaus Mäkelä appeared first on .
Pianist Yeol Eum Son, born on 2 May 1986 in Wonju, South Korea, has been lauded for her breathtaking technical control and her profound empathy for the emotional temper of the works within her strikingly wide repertoire. A prize-winner at
The post On This Day
2 May: Yeol Eum Son Was Born appeared first on .
Nowadays, we are so used to hearing music being played in our ears from so many different sources, that we tend to forget how we got there in the first place. Our current devices are the result of a long
The post Music for Robots appeared first on .
200 years ago, on 7 May 1824, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony first sounded at the Theater am Kärntnertor in Vienna. It was a rather gargantuan event, not at all unusual for a Beethoven academy, as the programme also featured three movements
The post 200th Anniversary of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony appeared first on .
Jean Françaix (1912-1997) was a prodigious musical talent. He received his first lessons in harmony and counterpoint from Nadia Boulanger at the age of 10! Maurice Ravel was mightily impressed, and wrote to Jean’s father, “Among the child’s gifts I
The post Jean Françaix: A Funky Promenade of Musical Styles appeared first on Interlude.hk.
Classical music isn’t always welcoming to newcomers. People who dare to ask questions about the genre tend to preface them with a lot of apologies for their own ignorance and for how stupid they assume their question is going to
The post What does a conductor do, anyway? A music critic lays it out. appeared first on Interlude.hk.
Like the rest of the world, we felt deeply affected by the coronavirus crisis and when my youngest daughter started taping tissue paper as masks for her toys, I thought of doing a family project involving music, as a sort
The post Libertango Fun With My Daughters During Lockdown appeared first on Interlude.hk.
We’re so familiar with the images of Beethoven in his mature years – the glower, the intense look, the solitary figure – but when we go back in time, we can see just how his contemporaries viewed him. The very
The post Looking at Beethoven: In His Life appeared first on Interlude.hk.
He was a forger, bigamist, and womanizer whom Fétis called “as distinguished an artist as he was a miserable man.” His name was Nicolas-Charles Bochsa (1789-1856), and we must count him among the greatest harpists of the 19th century. Born
The post Nicolas-Charles Bochsa (1789-1856)
First-Rate Harpist and Scoundrel appeared first on Interlude.hk.
The twenty-one poems published in La Bonne Chanson by Paul Verlaine are addressed to sixteen-year-old Mathilde Mauté de Fleurville. She came from a respectably bourgeois background, and the family had somehow amassed a fortune. They owned a small hotel and
The post The Music of Poetry
Paul Verlaine: La Bonne Chanson appeared first on Interlude.hk.
Peer pressure from dead people or following in the footsteps of greatness? Classical music is swathed in tradition and culturally conditioned thinking. The traditions of concert-going, for example, are well-known (don’t applaud between movements, listen in reverential silence), and show
The post Tradition appeared first on Interlude.hk.
Marin Alsop, perhaps one of the best-known women conductors, has broken through the glass ceiling decisively. She was the first woman to be appointed as music director of a major American orchestra in 2007, and has led the Baltimore Symphony
The post Women Conductors Breaking Through the Glass Ceiling
Marin Alsop appeared first on Interlude.hk.
As a young cellist, one of the first things I learned was that a page of music waits, quietly. A musical score, says pianist Jeremy Denk, is “at once a book and a book waiting to be written.” The act
The post Meditation on Silence: Suggestions to Combat Isolation appeared first on Interlude.hk.
The late 20th century and early 21st century were times of upheaval – whole populations on the move to escape war, to escape famine, to escape persecution, to just escape from the crumbled world that surrounded them. For the more
The post Music as the Refugee: Işıl Bengi and Vasilije Mokranjac’s Six Dances appeared first on Interlude.hk.