Hans Knappertsbusch (1888-1965) was a German conductor. However, he had a dislike of rehearsals. Karajan recalled: One time he was going over Tchaikovsky’s Fifth with the Vienna Philharmonic. He came to the second movement, with the horn solo, and said, “Let’s start.” He did a few bars, stopped, and said, “See you this evening. You […]

Pianist Glenn Gould discussed the recording process with Yehudi Menuhin completing the playback of a Bach gigue: Now, Yehudi, you’ve got to admit that you would not be likely to encounter a sound like that in the concert hall… The point is that, if I were to play that piece in a concert hall, as […]

Ravel was very particular about how his works were performed.  Ravel always insisted that the tempo for Boléro should be moderate and rigorously maintained throughout.  He made a recording of that, too establishing his requirement.  Toscanini took it much faster and made an accelerando towards the end.  Ravel, who was in the audience, objected.  He […]

“…Moon, a 20-year veteran of the Philadelphia Inquirer before he left to write his new book, “1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die,” believes the biggest difference between old reviews and reviews now is that in the past, the critic’s job was to give readers a deeper sense of the work. But blogs’ rise has […]

Mozart’s sense of mischief is evident in his behaviour at a performance of The Magic Flute.  Thisis from a letter to his wife Oct 8 & 9 1791: … (1) had a box [in the theatre] this evening and applauded everything vigorously; but He, that Know-it-all, proved to be a real Bavarian; I couldn’t stay […]

‘”There are two golden rules for an orchestra: start together and finish together. The public doesn’t give a damn what goes on in between.” – Thomas Beecham, conductor.  Cited at: Quotationsbook

“…at 6 o’clock in the morning I’m already done with my hair; at 7 I’m fully dressed; – then I compose until 9 o’clock; from 9 to 1 o’clock I give lessons. – Then I Eat, unless I’m invited by someone who doesn’t eat lunch until 2 or 3 o’clock as, for instance, today and […]

“The person born with a talent they are meant to use will find their greatest happiness in using it. – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, poet

Favio Chávez, a technician at a Paraguayan landfill site, formed the the Cateura Orchestra of Recycled Instruments: an orchestra comprising of the children of landfill works. The orchestra was designed to encourage musical education in an low socio-economic area. A violin would hold more value than a landfill worker’s house. However, by creating instruments out […]

The stage director of the first Porgy and Bess production recalls hearing the score in Gerswhin's New York apartment: They both blissfully closed their eyes before they continued with the lovely "Summertime" song.  George played with the most beatific smile on his face.  He seemed to float on the waves of his own music with […]