How Did The Renaissance Change Music?
It may be helpful when exploring the title to understand that the word renaissance broadly means re-birth. This is particularly relevant as, during this colourful … Read more
CLASSICAL
The Hardest Brass Instrument To Play
Not being a brass player myself, I have based my findings on having worked with many brass players and the comments made by them and … Read more
Six Interesting Facts About Richard Wagner (1813-1883)
Within his historical context, the music of Wilhelm Richard Wagner represented elemental chaos. Outside of his historical context, it reminds us more of order gone … Read more
Characteristics of Medieval Music: An Introduction
For many people, the use of the word medieval conjures up a time of extreme poverty, war and plague with little in the way of … Read more
Vocalise | Singing Without Words
There are and continue to be many pieces of music that do not ask the singer to sing words at all. Instead, performers may be … Read more
Beethoven Sonatas By Difficulty | Challenging Piano Music Ever
In Beethoven’s relatively short life he devoted significant time to composing for the instrument that he made his own: the piano. Even though Beethoven composed … Read more
Franz Schubert Classical Or Romantic Composer?
The tragically short life of Franz Schubert gave rise to some of the most celebrated and performed music written during that period of history. Schubert, … Read more
7 Fun Facts About Edvard Grieg
Edvard Grieg is widely considered one of the leading Romantic era composers, and his music is part of the standard classical repertoire worldwide. His use … Read more
50 Most Creative Vintage Designs for Classical Music Records
Even though vinyl has experienced an increase in popularity lately, it is still an audio format with a small percentage of sales. But thanks to a … Read more
10 Amazing Child Music Prodigies: from Past to Present
Stories of child prodigies in the classical genre have a long history, going back to some of the greatest composers in the 18th and 19th … Read more
Did Mozart and Beethoven Meet Before?
With the hundreds of years that are now between us and the world of Mozart and Beethoven, it becomes difficult to understand how their lives … Read more
Messiaen Preludes
The music of Olivier Messiaen is like no other I have heard. His highly individual methods of composition coupled with his use of bird-song and … Read more
What Does The Orchestra Do During A Cadenza?
A key element of this title above is what is a cadenza. The answer to this sensible question is a gigantic clue to the answer … Read more
Chopin vs Liszt: The Two Famous Romantic Era Composers
Both Liszt and Chopin were born at a time in musical history when the piano was already established as a popular instrument with composers and … Read more
Brahms’ Lullaby: How a relentless perfectionist composed one of the world’s most soothing melodies
In 1897, a few months from death, Johannes Brahms could be found in front of his stove surrounded by pages of personal correspondence and sheet … Read more