Maurice Ravel wrote the following words about his composition La valse, po̬me chorÌographique pour orchestre: “Through whirling clouds, waltzing couples may be fairly distinguished. The clouds gradually scatter: one sees…
The orchestral version of Pelleas et Melisande is used to illustrate Gabriel Faure’s lilting Sicilienne rhythm – listen for the prominence of the harp and flute in this Chat!
A composer will sometimes create a melody that is so beautiful, so haunting, that it just stands out as one of the best melodies ever. This was the case when…
A few blog posts ago I let some of you in on ‘conductor humor.’ I say ‘some of you’ because there are undoubtedly ‘others of you’ who may have already…
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.