Search Results for: beethoven
Olympics and music: A brief history. I
The Beijing Winter Olympic Games have become one of the biggest hot spots in the world’s attention at the moment, and among musicians it is no exception. The Olympic Games and music have always been inextricably linked. In ancient Greek … Continue reading
Delius’s taste
Today, on Delius’s 160th birthday, let’s eavesdrop on the reminiscences of his friend Percy Grainger. “Composer never had truer colleague than I had in Frederick Delius, and when he died I felt that my music had lost its best friend.” … Continue reading
Filed under Impressionism, Reception, Romantic era
NPR’s April Fools’ Day hoaxes
On this April Fools’ Day we celebrate a resource that chronicles how National Public Radio (NPR) has annually planted a hoax in their programming each first day of April since the 1980s. NPR’s April Fools’ Day hoaxes (RILM Abstracts of … Continue reading
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Filed under Humor
The Smithsonian Institution’s Object of the Day, September 25, 2019: Spacecraft Voyager “Sounds of Earth” Record Cover
Voyager Golden Record: Through Struggle to the Stars An intergalactic message in a bottle, the Voyager Golden Record was launched into space late in the summer of 1977. Conceived as a sort of advance promo disc advertising planet Earth and … Continue reading
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Filed under Curiosities, Science
F, the keynote of nature
In The voice of the silence (1889), Helena Blavatsky (above) designated the pitch F as the keynote of nature. Blavatsky’s authority was Benjamin Silliman, a Professor of chemistry at Harvard; his source was probably The music of nature (1832) … Continue reading
Filed under Curiosities, Theory
C.L. Junker: Keyboard concerto in B-flat major
In 2017 A-R Editions issued a new critical edition of Carl Ludwig Junker’s only surviving concerto, edited by Mark Kroll. Junker, a pastor, critic, and writer by profession, is far better known today for his books, articles, and published letters … Continue reading
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Filed under Classic era, New editions
Toscanini’s annotations
Critics, scholars, and performers have long noted that Arturo Toscanini’s reputation for absolute fidelity to the printed score was little more than a public relations myth. Now that the legendary conductor’s annotated scores are available for study, three types … Continue reading
Filed under Performance practice, Performers
Viola jokes
Some viola jokes disparage the instrument itself. (The difference between a viola and a trampoline: You take your shoes off to jump on a trampoline.) More often, they disparage the player. (What do violists use for birth control? Their personalities.) … Continue reading
Filed under Humor, Instruments
Peter Maxwell Davies and sonata form
Throughout much of his career, Peter Maxwell Davies has had a preoccupation with sonata form. He has exploited the tension between this form and his other conflicting musical preoccupations, such as a penchant for continuous development and an abhorrence … Continue reading
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Filed under 20th- and 21st-century music
Miroirs
Libreria Musicale Italiana launched the series Miroirs in early 2014 with Prassi esecutive nella musica pianistica dell´epoca classica: Principi teorici ed applicazioni pratiche, a translation of Sandra P. Rosenblum’s Performance practices in Classic piano music: Their principles and applications (Bloomington: … Continue reading
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Filed under Classic era, New series
