Maureen Holland

Maureen Holland is a freelance writer based in Toronto, Canada. She holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Toronto with a double Major in English and Cinema Studies. Maureen has about six years of piano lessons from childhood to draw on for her musical expertise, so she is essentially useless in that respect. However, she has a lifelong passion for classical music and hopes her writing will help bridge some of the distance between its specialists and those new to the genre.

franz schubert

31 Things to Know about Franz Schubert

Jul 1, 2018Jan 31, 2016 by Maureen Holland

1) Franz Schubert was born January 31, 1797 and died 31 years later. 2) He was the only one of the great Viennese composers actually … Read more

mozart effect womb babies

The Mozart Effect: What can babies really hear in the womb?

Feb 18, 2020Jan 28, 2016 by Maureen Holland

Psychologist Frances Rauscher had no idea her 1993 research study featuring 36 college students would spawn a craze termed (and copyrighted) “The Mozart Effect.” According … Read more

dunvant male choir

Dunvant Male Choir: Voices from the Land of Song

Jul 1, 2018Dec 21, 2015 by Maureen Holland

The first Eisteddfod, according to BBC Wales, was held in 1176 at a castle in Cardigan. Lord Rhys awarded a chair to the best poet … Read more

Soweto Gospel Choir - Copyright © 2015 Soweto Gospel Choir

Soweto Gospel Choir: Voices of Heaven

Jul 1, 2018Dec 21, 2015 by Maureen Holland

The Soweto Gospel Choir recorded their first album in December of 2002, after a successful Australian tour. “Voices of Heaven” would reach No. 1 on … Read more

mormon tabernacle choir

Christmas Choirs: The Mormon Tabernacle Choir

Jul 1, 2018Dec 21, 2015 by Maureen Holland

Traveling through the American West in the 1850s was not done for pleasure. The land was vast, the conditions were harsh, and the chances of … Read more

The Emoti-Chair allows deaf to feel vibrations of music and sound. Photo: ryerson.ca

Concerts for the Deaf: Introducing the Emoti-Chair

Jul 1, 2018Nov 25, 2015 by Maureen Holland

In 2009, a small Toronto club hosted an event featuring several relatively unknown bands ranging from hip hop to punk. But the show didn’t make news … Read more

singing in shower

Shower Divas: The Acoustics Behind Everyone’s Personal Concert Hall

Jul 1, 2018Nov 7, 2015 by Maureen Holland

Most of us will never make it onstage at the Met. Some of us can’t even brave the karaoke spotlight. But no one should shy away … Read more

giuseppe margherita verdi

The Brewer’s Daughter: How Giuseppe Verdi’s first love ended in tragedy

Jul 1, 2018Oct 10, 2015 by Maureen Holland

In The Man Verdi, Frank Walker describes Giuseppe Verdi‘s birthplace as “the merest hamlet”. Born in Le Roncole on October 10, 1813, Giuseppe Verdi was … Read more

dmitri shostakovich trial

The Trial of Shostakovich: What was really at stake at the premiere of his Fifth Symphony

Jul 1, 2018Oct 1, 2015 by Maureen Holland

Born on September 25, 1906 in St. Petersburg (renamed Petrograd in 1914; renamed Leningrad in 1924), Dmitri Shostakovich lived in an era of vast and … Read more

skin orgasm

Have you ever had a skin orgasm to Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 2? You’re not alone.

Jul 1, 2018Aug 31, 2015 by Maureen Holland

It’s Elgar’s Cello Concerto in E Minor for me. But for psychologist Psyche Loui, it’s Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 2. “It,” of course, being the … Read more

Wolfgang and Maria Anna Mozart

Famous Musical Siblings: 5 Tales of Blood, Success, and Disappointment

Jul 1, 2018Aug 31, 2015 by Maureen Holland

Johannes and Friedrich Brahms Johannes was the golden child. Two years older than Friedrich, he was quickly marked for greatness by his piano teachers. Wanting … Read more

elgar brothers shop

“His father keeps a shop”: Behind Edward Elgar’s struggle for respectability

Jul 1, 2018Jul 14, 2015 by Maureen Holland

It was a music shop at 10 High Street in Worcester: “Elgar Bros. Pianoforte & Music Warehouse.” It was in this shop that young Edward … Read more

Jon Vickers as Otello. Photograph: Reg Wilson/Rex Shutterstock

God’s Tenor: Remembering the Voice of Jon Vickers

Jul 1, 2018Jul 14, 2015 by Maureen Holland

It was, without question, a colossal voice. Whether that meant burly and gruff or raw and intense would depend on the listener. For critic John Ardoin, … Read more

jacques offenbach

The Legacy of Jacques Offenbach (1819–1880)

Jul 1, 2018Jun 18, 2015 by Maureen Holland

According to Richard Traubner in Operetta: A Theatrical History, Isaac Juda Eberst took the name Offenbach from a German city. He gave the name Jakob to … Read more

eduard hanslick quotes

Is this man the worst critic in the history of music?

Jul 1, 2018May 25, 2015 by Maureen Holland

During the latter half of the nineteenth century, Eduard Hanslick enjoyed a position of great power and influence as one of the most widely read … Read more