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…
My first encounter listening to a symphony orchestra remains permanently fixed in my memory. Not so with jazz. My love of jazz gradually seeped into my being over time –…
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…
Stumbled upon this quite by accident on our Maryland PBS station. What a joy! Firebird is my favorite piece of music and your wonderful program just enhanced my appreciation of Stravinsky’s genius. Thank you and keep up your great work of feeding our souls!