Gottschalk, Souvenirs d’Andalousie During his lifetime, Louis Moreau Gottschalk (1829-1869) was acknowledged as the preeminent American piano virtuoso and composer of music for piano. Born in New Orleans to a Jewish father and Creole mother, he absorbed numerous musical influences during his upbringing. He went … Read more
The simultaneous discovery of four activities back in junior-high days had a major effect on me. The first three arose together: discovering hot tea, eating toasted, buttered English muffins, and watching professional basketball games on television. None of these actions sounds impressive to modern sensibilities. … Read more
Wagner, Ride of the Valkyries You might think that performances of a work as popular as this would be easy to find. But I have my own criteria for what qualifies for this series, and it has taken a while to find something suitable. When … Read more
A slippery slope no longer, our public schools are in a disastrous tumble. Every time we think it cannot get worse, it does. With disbelief, I saw recent headlines about the public schools in Virginia potentially delaying advanced courses in mathematics until the eleventh grade. … Read more
We have several upcoming webinars. Details and registration information for all of these can be found on our webinar page. A Night at the Opera: Verdi’s La Traviata Tuesday, May 4 at 8 pm Eastern A staple of the operatic repertoire, this tragic love story … Read more
Messaien, Quartet for the End of Time (V. Louange à l’Éternité de Jésus) French-born Olivier Messiaen (1908-1992) is one of the more eclectic composers of the 20th century. He incorporated serialism, complex rhythmic modes, Japanese and Indonesian influences, and birdsongs, but retained a strong sense … Read more
The subject today is enlightenment, as in literally letting light come in to cast out the darkness. Since moving to Winston-Salem nearly three years ago, I have been scouring Ebay and Offerup to buy new lamps for every corner of our house. Partly, this was … Read more
Last week Carol gave three talks for the Classical’s Consortium’s online conference “Soulcraft.” More about those below. But first, we can now announce two new upcoming webinars: A Sprint through the Early Romantic Era. Continuing our series of “Sprints Through History,” we will take the … Read more
Sviridov, Snowstorm I came to know the music of Georgy Vasilyevich Sviridov (1915-1998) almost entirely through Professor Carol. One of her best lectures preceded a concert in the Van Cliburn Series by the late Russian singer Dmitri Hvorostovky. He was performing Sviridov’s song cycle Russia … Read more
“Is there any chance you will continue offering On-Line Conferences this year?” We heard versions of this question repeatedly during our first “live & in person” conference back in March in Greenville, S.C. “We loved having you all right there in our living rooms!” And … Read more