Fractals

I recently read The Fractalist , a memoir of the late Benoit Mandelbrot, the great geometer who pioneered our understanding of fractals and their significance in nature and human society.

The usual way to consider fractals is to start with the Mandelbrot set, an exceedingly complicated geometrical configuration (as left) that arises from a very simple initiating formula.

As Mandelbrot himself wrote, in his groundbreaking 1982 book, The Fractal Geometry of Nature, “Clouds are not spheres, mountains are not cones, coastlines are not … Continue Reading

Simone Dinnerstein - JS Bach Goldberg Variations

The standard account of Johann Sebastian Bach’s composition of his famous ‘Goldberg Variations’ comes from a biography of Bach, by Johann Nikolaus Forkel, which first appeared in 1802. Forkel says that Bach wrote these works as an insomnia cure for a patron, Count Keyserlingk. Specifically, he wrote them for the performances of a former student of his, Johann Gottlieb Goldberg, in the Count’s employment.

They seem to have worked! Goldberg would play them in the … Continue Reading

The history of guitars is rich with cultural influence that has shaped the design and sound of the instrument we are familiar with today.

The history of the guitar goes back to at least the 1200’s, where the term “guitar” could refer to many different instruments. All across Europe, the guitar became a favorite instrument for bards and musicians.

Numerous historical records, including paintings, and illustrated books give us a good idea of what instruments looked like through time, and all of the different designs that became labeled as guitars.

Today guitars are a conventional instrument that is frequently learned by individuals of … Continue Reading

Mansell with the Sonus Quartet

If you are a movie enthusiast, the name Clint Mansell should definitely ring a bell or two in your head. There are very few people who have seen movies like ‘Black Swan’, ‘A Requeim for a Dream’, ‘The Wrestler’, ‘Moon’ and do not know Clint Mansell.

This English Music composer started off his career as the lead singer and guitarist for the band “Pop Will Eat Itself”. The young Mansell showed a lot of promise … Continue Reading

Whether your little one is looking to begin to learn piano, or you’re an adult who has always put off their musical dreams, finding easy-to-understand and high-quality beginner piano books is essential. Piano books made specifically for those looking to learn a new skill are a core piece of mastering the piano and using them regularly empowers individuals to become self-taught musicians. This cost-effective method gets rid of the need to invest in expensive lessons and puts the power back in your hands.

Product FAQ… Continue Reading

The Birth of a Carol

One of the great standard Christmas carols, one of those most likely to be performed by the carolers who will come to your doorstep soon in observance of the season, is ‘O Holy Night.’ In the original French language version, this was known as ‘Cantique de Noël.’ Indeed, the title is a clue that we might fairly take this as the standard Christmas carol because that’s exactly what “Cantique de Noël” means!

In French, though, Cantique … Continue Reading

Heleen van den Hombergh

Heleen van den Hombergh is a wonderfully talented Dutch jazz vocalist who, alas, doesn’t have much of a following in the English-speaking world.

Above I’ve linked you to a performance of “Orange Blossom Scent,” and of course I’ve also offered a literal minded bit of imagery.

As a small symptom of Hombergh’s relative neglect, though, note that she doesn’t have an entry in the English language Wikipedia, a source that gives bits of bandwidth to such (in my humble opinion lesser) musical talents … Continue Reading

Hector Berlioz as child

We discussed Berlioz’ operas in the last entry. One obvious point about opera as an art form is that the music must integrate with a story. Berlioz’ career, though, makes us look at that obvious point in a not-so-obvious context.

Can music tell a story without lyrics or performers? How much narration can instrumental music alone accomplish? Can or should music tell a story sketched out in an extra0-musical way, as through a program of notes provided concert goers?

To begin … Continue Reading

Deborah Voigt played Cassandra

The Metropolitan Opera staged a performance of the great Hector Berlioz work Les Troyens this season. This production attracted a lot of attention in December ’12 and January ’13 for a couple of reasons: first because, an up-and-coming French-American tenor stepped in to save the day, capping an extraordinary year for him.

Second, simply because Les Troyans is very demanding for the singers, especially for Aeneas (in French, Énée). Its scale is part of the problem. … Continue Reading

Musicians express themselves in many wonderful, different ways, but with professional lessons, they can learn to speak any language, no matter what culture. The lessons become more complex, but it comes easier and more quickly than you might think when you know how to write music.

There are a number of approaches. A musician can pull a melody or words from their head, play the seedling piece by trial and error on an instrument, then add to it in order to manufacture a song. Or, a formal approach is to learn … Continue Reading