A musical solution“Every disease is a music problem, its cure a musical solution.” Novalis, 18th century German author, mystic and philosopher. Cited in: Inge Kjemtrup, “The power of music therapy”, Pianist, Issue 59, April-May 2011. Warners Group Publications, p.66.
What about me?Songwriter Johnny Green recalled Gershwin bragging about his achievements after a concert, eventually to stop and say: “That’s enough about me. Now what did you think about how I played?” Cited in: Greenberg, Rodney (2008) George Gershwin. New York: Phaidon Press, p.46.
Schoenberg’s composition classAn account of Arnold Schoenberg teaching a composition class: Well, first of all there was composition class, in which he analyzed in brief the first sections of several Schubert sonatas. How he adores Schubert! “Many people say,” he remarked, “that Schubert is too long. He is long-yes-but for me he is always too short!” Such […]
A musical use for trashFavio 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 […]
Rossini’s salad recipe“Take the oil from Provence, English mustard, vinegar from France, a little ‘lemon, pepper, salt, beat and mix together; then add a few truffles, cut into thin slices. Truffles gives this dressing a sort of halo, made especially to fascinate a glutton. The Cardinal Secretary of State, who I met in recent days, gave me […]
Everything affects music making‘”…turning 40 and new fatherhood have other effects: ‘It opens things up emotionally’, he says. ‘I find that my whole perspective on life and my whole emotional range generally has changed. I laugh more easily and cry more easily. And that probably has an impact on the music making in one way or another. Everything […]
A new take on the harpsichord soundHarpsichordist Jane Chapman performs both early music and Avante music, including using techniques to use distortion on the harpsichord! “Many early music people are interested in contemporary music, too, and many composers are also interested in early music instruments because they don’t have the baggage of the [classical and romantic periods]. Increasingly, younger generation composers […]
Playing by the mood of the audienceRachmaninoff sent fellow composer/pianist Medtner his Corelli Variations. He wrote: I played them here about fifteen times, but of these fifteen performances, only one was good. The others were sloppy. I can't play my own compositions! And it's so boring! Not once have I played these all in continuity. I was guided by the coughing […]
The length of a rehearsalRachmaninoff completed his Third Piano Concerto at his summer estate at Ivanovka in September-October 1909. He then toured America, learning the piano part on a dumb piano aboard the ship. The work was first performed in New York under Walter Damrosch in November 1909. In January 1910, Gustav Mahler conducted the third New York performance. […]
Music acting as a spirit resonanceMy purpose is to create music not for snobs, but for all people, music which is beautiful and healing. To attempt what old Chinese painters called "spirit resonance" in melody and sound. – Alan Hovhaness. Cited at The Alan Hovhaness Website: http://www.hovhaness.com/Hovhaness.html
