Professor Carol
The scene from my room’s balcony encompasses a shimmering finger of Lake Lucerne and a green foothill of Mt. Rigi, a 6000-ft. Alpine mountain towering over the village of Merlischachen. In the middle, a wash of snowcaps glistens to form the perfect vanishing point. The … Read more
A lively discussion about the rightful ownership of art took place in our last session of Beauty is not Optional: Music and Art, a course I’m currently offering for Memoria College. The topic arises when we consider masterworks of Ancient sculpture that were purchased and … Read more
We have a new course—a mini-course actually—a version of Discovering Music for children. In fact, it is our latest response to those of you asking us to increase our offerings for younger children. The course is called (drum roll) Discovering Music for Grades 2-5. It … Read more
It happened again. A group of adults found themselves whipped into a frenzy by the sound of a Sousa march! We could not resist clapping like kids at a birthday party when the final strain of Stars and Stripes Forever hit the air at the … Read more
It was good to get out to a festival. True, last fall we enjoyed Bethania’s Walnut Festival, held in an historical Moravian village next to our neighborhood. Also, we rejoiced in a traditional, low-tech fall carnival up in King, North Carolina, filled with old-fashioned rides, … Read more
Maslanka, Symphony No. 4 Hank wanted to feature David Maslanka (1943-2017) in our Friday Performance Picks and, knowing that I have a particular interest, asked me to write about it. In the 1980s, a new generation of largely American composers started to rise. They did … Read more
Beethoven was deaf. So what? This video essay, filmed at Highlands Latin School, considers a favorite topic: how to study composers. Lest you think I don’t like composers, remember that we offer a Composer-of-the-Month page, chocked with performances, segments of master classes, and commentary. You … Read more
A Night at the Opera Thursday, July 28 at 8 pm Eastern Much as we explored an oratorio in our “Night at the Opera” series, we open the stage to a ballet that tells a story beloved by artists across the centuries: Romeo & Juliet. Sergei … Read more
I began penning these words while sailing up the Moselle River, moving southwest from the Rhine River where the principal part of our voyage from Basel to Amsterdam has taken place. As you may know, lack of rain in Europe is threatening the flow of … Read more
