Opera in Germany has a tough time. Actually Germans seem to love opera. The productions are numerous and well attended. But despite their love of opera, Germans tolerate some of the most iconoclastic and even nihilistic productions. One of my German friends tells me that … Read more
Wagner, Tristan und Isolde – Vorspiel und Liebestod Few opening statements in music are as iconic as that of the opera Tristan and Isolde by Richard Wagner (1813-1883). Musical scholars point to it as a turning point in the musical vocabulary of the 19th century or … Read more
Wagner, Siegfried Idyll If you wake up on Christmas morning in a Swiss villa with an orchestra at the foot of the staircase playing Siegfried Idyll, you’ll have something in common with Cosima Wagner. She had that experience in 1870. Richard composed the work as a little Christmas … Read more
Wagner: Siegfried’s Horn Call As a former horn player, I can vouch for the fact that what’s on the video below doesn’t come naturally or easily. French Horn is a treacherous instrument in part because it is pitched high in the overtone series. If that … Read more
The Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis has set aside a section for people who can’t make it to intermission without their iPhones. According to the Daily Mail, they have formalised a growing trend in theatre audiences to use their phones from within auditoria by giving obsessive … Read more
What’s this program about? Richard Wagner was, and remains, one of the most intense and controversial figures of all time. For those who love Wagner’s music, Wagner becomes an obsession. Wagner understood and glorified the sound of wind instruments, especially brass, and transcriptions of Wagner’s … Read more
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What’s this program about? Can musical works actually paint magic into sound? Or are the sounds magical only because we know the stories behind them? Professor Carol looks at magic in music, from E.T.A. Hoffmann to John Williams’ Harry Potter score. Works discussed: Berlioz’s … Read more
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