Our granddaughter is enrolled in day camp for the first time. This is big news, especially since her week concludes with an overnight stay in a real cabin! What could be more grown up? My own camp experience as a child is best described as … Read more
Professor Carol takes up the rich topic of music and literature next week in a live, online presentation Monday, June 14, at 8 pm Eastern. The session considers 1) how composers turn to literature for themes and inspiration, 2) how musical compositions provide insight into literature … Read more
Haydn, Sonata in D Major, No. 50 I have been immersed lately in the music of Liszt while preparing our Composer of the Month page for June. Having a rather obsessive nature, I find that kind of deep dive rewarding, but it is also refreshing … Read more
The Wake-and-Worry period of my life has arrived in full force. Some people enter into it far younger than I. A few stay blissfully outside of its clasp and will sleep soundly every night of their lives. I guess I am somewhere in the middle. … Read more
Mahler, Urlicht Des Knaben Wunderhorn is a collection of German folk poems compiled and edited by Achim von Arnim and Clemens Brentano. First published in 1805, it became a popular source of texts for German Romantic composers as the prevailing aesthetic shifted away from the … Read more
In the popular culture, the best place to find interesting “new” material can be in the past. Were that not the case, bell bottoms, avocado-green furniture, and shag carpet would still be hiding in the sands of time. But these have reemerged, and proudly I … Read more
Copland, Danza de Jalisco Our Composer of the Month Series features Aaron Copland this month. Carol and I select composers for this series who are, of course, well known and beloved by us. Still, in presenting the materials, we “start from scratch” and spend a … Read more
It’s getting busier with the shutdown ending. Real events are back on the calendar: in-person graduations with actual people sitting in front of the stage; weddings in churches (not necessarily the blow-outs they would have been, but with flowers, music, and the memorable antics of … Read more
Ysaye, Sonata No. 5, 2nd mov. “Danse Rustique” Eugène-Auguste Ysaye (1858-1931) became the most famous violinist of his day. He spent much of his career teaching at the Brussels Conservatory in his native Belgium and had a major influence on violin technique. He was close … Read more
Kids believe that we boring adults have mastered all challenges and coast joyously along. Probably it’s good they enjoy that illusion during childhood. They cannot fathom how often we go to bed praying for patience, perseverance, and self-discipline. Self-discipline serves as a critical, if less … Read more