Haydn the Jokester
Many people know Franz Joseph Haydn as “Papa Haydn”, a well-deserved nick-name in view of his reputation as the father of the symphony. But you may not know that he…
Composer E-L
The Sound of Silence
No, not the Simon & Garfunkel hit from 1964! How do “rests” or silences placed by composers in music have a profound effect on listeners? Feel the emotional impact of…
To Him I Bow The Knee
When asked who was the greatest composer who had lived before him, the musical titan Ludwig van Beethoven responded without hesitation: “Handel! To him I bow the knee.” In this episode of Inside…
Visiting the NBCS
In 2014, I wrote a blog post The Choir Boys about my visits to the Newark Boys Chorus School, a remarkable 51-year-old institution that absolutely transforms the lives of its…
How Many Times Can He Repeat That Phrase?
The movement Mercury, The Winged Messenger from Gustav Holst’s The Planets provides host George Marriner Maull with the opportunity to demonstrate how re-harmonizing and re-orchestrating the same phrase multiple times can be used to…
Thou Shalt Not
The intense feelings associated with forbidden love – in this case between a woman and her brother-in-law – are given musical voice in Gabriel Faure’s romantic Suite from Pelleas et…
Marvelous job, Maestro, as always! Thank you for doing such a splendid, insightful and careful deep-dive into the art and craftsmanship that Tchaikovsky, after much effort, put into creating this work. There really is no greater portrayal of young love in music than his Romeo and Juliet, and your thoughtfulness demonstrates it so admirably.