Oct 28, 2021
Rachmaninoff’s music is often described as many different kinds of chocolate cake, but this piece, if it's chocolatey at all, would be that 85% dark chocolate - more bitter than sweet. It might be Rachmaninoff’s greatest orchestral work, and one that is inextricably linked to his tumultuous life. Throughout the...
Oct 21, 2021
In 1956, Dmitri Shostakovich wrote: “I am now writing my 11th symphony, dedicated to the First Russian Revolution...I would like in this work to reflect the soul of the people who first paved the way to socialism.” Soviet loyalists were thrilled with the piece, but his friends were disappointed at this seemingly...
Oct 14, 2021
Wagner is probably the most admired AND the most reviled composer in Western Classical Music history. I've always been uncomfortable with Wagner's music, so I decided to sit down with the wonderful conductor(and my brother-in-law), Rafael Payare to try and understand how to embrace Wagner. We talk about...
Oct 8, 2021
Elgar told us all about how the inspiration for his first great
success: “I began to play, and suddenly my wife interrupted by
saying: “Edward, that’s a good tune!... ‘What is that?’ I answered,
‘Nothing – but something might be made of it."
This little improvisation turned into one of Elgar’s...