Search Results for: beethoven

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

1 Comment

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

Comments Off on C.L. Junker: Keyboard concerto in B-flat major

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

1 Comment

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

1 Comment

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 of … Continue reading

Comments Off on Peter Maxwell Davies and sonata form

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

Comments Off on Miroirs

Filed under Classic era, New series

Marquis Yi’s instrumentarium

Dating from the 5th century B.C.E., the tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng in Suizhou, Hubei, furnished some of China’s oldest musical instruments and earliest reliable musicological writings. The instruments, found in two separate rooms, appear to represent two separate … Continue reading

Comments Off on Marquis Yi’s instrumentarium

Filed under Antiquity, Asia, Instruments

Rahmaninov and Tolstoj

In January 1900 Rahmaninov and the bass Fëdor Ivanovič Šalâpin were invited to perform for a gathering at Tolstoj’s home; they were both 26 years old. Their excitement was tempered with no little trepidation about meeting the revered author, but … Continue reading

1 Comment

Filed under Curiosities, Literature, Romantic era

Franck and Rodin

Both César Franck and Auguste Rodin belonged to the Symbolist movement of the late 19th century, with its sacred ideal and interest in phenomena of metamorphosis. They also shared the same mythical view of woman and the same sensuality, with … Continue reading

1 Comment

Filed under Curiosities, Iconography, Romantic era, Visual art

Analyze this!

Analysis of compositions has long been one of the mainstays of Western musicology. What, in turn, are the mainstays of analysis? We recently checked RILM’s database to see which works have inspired the largest numbers of analytical studies. The hands-down … Continue reading

Comments Off on Analyze this!

Filed under RILM, Theory