Gentle Goodbyes
The first and final movements of many symphonies and concertos end with a bang! “Send them home on a high note!” But that is not universally the case. George Marriner…
Symphony
The Joke’s On Us
Have you ever attended a symphony orchestra concert or chamber music recital, when suddenly the person next to you began to chuckle or laugh under their breath. You may have…
A Belated Valentine
The creation of emotional tension and the release of it is a common aesthetic goal among all composers of wordless, abstract music. The moment of greatest emotional intensity in a…
3-2-1 Blast Off
The psychological skill of elaboration – the ability to develop an idea or create variations of an idea – is explored in the Finale of Symphony No. 3 by Camille…
Scared ya Didn’t I?
Composer Johannes Brahms knew well the shock effect of sudden dynamic changes. George Marriner Maull exposes this Brahms trait as found in Movement 4 of Brahms’s Symphony No. 2. Inside…
I just listened to the first episode of this (Dvorak’s “New World” Symphony) and can’t believe how fortunate I was to run across this on Prime. I have heard Maull lecture many times before performances and now here he is right on my computer screen and with the clearest of visual aids. I promise if you listen to one of these you will understand a piece as never before. And, I have discovered from past experiences with his lectures that I always listen to any given piece with a greater connection. These “home” viewings of Maull’s lectures are such a gift! Highly recommended.