Impressive events occur daily on Smithsonian Journey’s tours like this one through Croatia and Slovenia. Within just six days, we will have visited Croatia’s famed waterfall-and-lake national park (Plitvice), made an excursion to Slovenia’s fairy-tale island in the middle of a glacier lake called Bled, … Read more
Field, Nocturne No. 5 in B-flat Major The nocturne is a type of character piece developed primarily by Irish composer John Field (1782-1837). Field’s works had a significant influence on Chopin, the composer perhaps most closely associated with the nocturne. The name denotes night, and … Read more
When you’re a kid, the idea of not hearing from someone for 20+ years sounds incomprehensible. Grownups do understand how the decades fly: personal connections, no matter how fond, can lapse or vanish. Still, when long-lost connections renew, isn’t it a lovely thing? Recently, I … Read more
Valle, So Nice The Brazilian composer Marcos Valle (b. 1943) wrote Samba de Verão (“Summer Samba”) in 1964. It became an immediate hit in Brazil and quickly made its way to the United States as part of the Bossa Nova craze. The original lyrics in … Read more
Here’s the latest episode in my campaign to help open doors to arguably the grandest form of musical expression in our Western canon. Yes, it’s a podcast about how to enjoy opera, done for Shane Saxon’s excellent series Et Cetera. Shane is a leader not just in … Read more
Beethoven, Piano Sonata No. 21, Op. 53 “Waldstein” Professor Carol will be presenting a webinar in our “Milestones” series on Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 (“Eroica”). If you’re reading this after that webinar has occurred, all of our webinar recordings are indexed here. Composed in 1804, … Read more
It’s springtime and school competitions are blooming, at least in our little world. Today’s extravaganza involved the granddaughter getting on a bus (exciting for a 3rd grader who does not ordinarily ride school buses) and traveling to a neighboring school for a Fine Arts Competition. … Read more
Takemitsu, Requiem The Japanese composer Tōru Takemitsu (1930-1996) became Japan’s leading composer of the 20th century writing with a predominantly Western musical vocabulary. He was conscripted into the Japanese army toward the end of World War II when he was a mere adolescent. At the … Read more
Conferences can be overwhelming. So first, to all whom I met in Cincinnati this past weekend, as well as those in Greenville, SC two weeks earlier, and in St. Charles, MO two weeks before that, please accept my best greetings and deep appreciation for the … Read more
Handel, Why Do the Nations So Furiously Rage Together/Let Us Break Their Bonds Asunder We decided to present a webinar on Parts II and III of Handel’s Messiah during Holy Week, having already done Part I (the Christmas part) in December. Part II deals with … Read more