Return of the Repressed?

In this year, 2011, we might take a moment to mark an important event in music history, one that took place 230 years ago. For it was at some time in 1781 that Ludwig van Beethoven, who was then 11 years of age, came under the tutelage of Christian Gottlob Neefe.

Neefe, the composer for example of the Allegretto in C Major played by a 5 year old girl in a charming video here, was the court organist … Continue Reading

Born 11 september 1786 in Germany. Friedrich Kuhlau was known as a composer and concert pianist.  He started studying the piano in Hamburg  where he also made his debut as a pianist in 1804.

In 1813 Friedrich Kuhlau became a Danish citizen after he fled to avoid conscription in the Napoleonic Army.  One year later he had his breakthrough with a singspiel called “The Robbers’ Castle” (Danish: Røverborgen) at the Roayal Danish Theatre.

Kuhlau had his success in 1828 when he wrote the music (Op. 100)  for ‘Elves Hill’ (Danish: Elverhøj) which … Continue Reading

Even with everyday lessons and hands-on training, it can take years to learn how to play it correctly. 

Playing the piano is an admirable skill to possess. Most adults are thankful for their pushy mother or father compelling them to suffer through those repetitive, weekday afternoon lessons.

Although, it could be said that the parents might actually have been the ones to suffer, listening to all of those vexatious misplayed notes!

In this article, we aim to present several tips on how to get better at the piano. So if you are one of the talented assemblages … Continue Reading

Source: Pexels

When it comes to music, very few instruments can replicate what the piano does. While it is possible to purchase digital keyboards, there’s nothing like a traditional piano. Of course, there are a number of pianos available, so if you’re looking for a new piano, there is something out there for you; it depends on how much room you have and the amount of money you’re willing … Continue Reading

In The Center of the Semicircle

By standard dictionary definition, a conductor is an individual who leads an orchestra, choir, or other musical ensemble by visual clues – we think characteristically of a conductor standing at the front of a semi-circle of musicians, posed with his back to their audience, waving his baton majestically or frenetically (one or the other depending on the style of music and the conductor’s personality).

We think in terms of such an image, but … Continue Reading

Kylie Minogue: Her Story So Far

Kylie Minogue, a global music sensation who, though she hasn’t made as big a mark in the U.S. as she might have hoped, has been a star pretty much everywhere else for more than a quarter century now, has been in the news of late for two reasons. First, she signed a management contract with Roc Nation, a music label headed by Jay-Z.  He might at last secure her props from the ‘States.

Second, she rocked a striking mustard-yellow … Continue Reading

Source: Pexels

When learning to play a musical instrument or to sing in an organized chorus or choir, a person will often be required to confront sheet music. It’s basically a road map from Point A to Point B through a piece of music in a specialized language made largely of symbols and abbreviations. To follow this virtual map involves understanding the language and being able to follow along smoothly. It isn’t easy, but it can … Continue Reading

Bruno Bartoletti (Sesto Fiorentino, 10 June 1926 – Florence, 9 June 2013])

Bruno Bartoletti, for decades a towering figure in the American operatic landscape, passed away this June.

For a man who died as Bartoletti did just a day before he would have turned 87, the traditional consolation is that he lived a long and full life. Here those aren’t just words: he did indeed!

In the photo above you see Bartoletti in September 2007, at the start of a rehearsal of La Traviata.

… Continue Reading

Bing Crosby

For decades after the invention of the phonograph, fidelity was the central goal of audio recording. Edison had sung “Mary had a little lamb,” and listen! You could hear him doing so!
The general attitude was that the more faithful the sound you heard was to the sound he had originally made, the more successful the recording. That was the point … right?

But beginning at the time of the Second World War, and with increasing technical sophistication in the 1950s … Continue Reading

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

September 7, 2012 is the bicentennial of the Battle of Borodino, one of the most dramatic events of the Napoleonic Wars, and a pivotal moment for both Russia’s music and its literature.

One the morning of that September 7th, in 1812, the armies of Napoleon Bonaparte and Czar Alexander I – the latter under the leadership of Field Marshal Mikhail Kutuzov – faced each other near where the rivers Kolocha and Voyna converged, between the villages of Novoe and Utitsa. … Continue Reading