Search Results for: wagner
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
Pauline Viardot’s legacy
Pauline Viardot was one of the most influential women in nineteenth century European classical music. As a singer, her prodigious talent and charisma on the stage inspired dedications, premieres, and roles written specifically for her. Her music salon hosted many … Continue reading
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Filed under Performers, Romantic era
Mark Twain on opera
Mark Twain’s reactions to grand opera are epitomized by a passage from A tramp abroad in which he described a performance of Wagner’s Lohengrin. “The banging and slamming and booming and crashing were something beyond belief. The racking and pitiless … Continue reading
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Filed under Humor, Literature, Opera
Jahrbuch für Psychoanalyse und Musik
Psychoanalytic studies of the arts have mainly focused on visual art, literature, and film; launched by Psychosozial-Verlag in 2017, Jahrbuch für Psychoanalyse und Musik (ISSN 2367-2498) aims to fill the gap with psychoanalytic explorations of music. The journal addresses musicians, … Continue reading
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Filed under New periodicals, Opera, Science
Geistliche Musik im Stift Wilhering/Sacred music in Wilhering Abbey
In 2016 Wagner Verlag launched the series Geistliche Musik im Stift Wilhering/Sacred music in Wilhering Abbey in collaboration with Stift Wilhering and its organist and music archivist Stefan Ikarus Kaiser. The series presents editions of works closely related to Wilhering. … Continue reading
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Filed under New editions, New series, Romantic era
Elgar and the gramophone
For 20 years Edward Elgar worked for The Gramophone Company as both an advocate of his music and an advocate of the gramophone. During this period, recording technology changed from the cramped conditions of the acoustic studio of 1914 (above) … Continue reading
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Filed under Romantic era
Alfred Pringsheim, beer-mug thumper
At the time of the 1876 Bayreuth premiere of Der Ring des Nibelungen, Alfred Pringsheim, the future mathematician and father-in-law of Thomas Mann, then a 25-year-old postgraduate student, displayed a sometimes unseemly fervor for Wagner’s masterpiece. In October of that … Continue reading
Filed under Curiosities, Humor, Romantic era
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
Grace Bumbry, Black Venus
When Wieland Wagner engaged the 24-year-old Grace Bumbry for the role of Venus in the 1961 Bayreuth production of Tannhäuser he received hundreds of letters of protest, and the German press exploded with sensational headlines about the Black intruder … Continue reading
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Filed under Black studies, Opera, Performers, Romantic era
