by Barry Lenson | Aug 12, 2016 | Choral Music, Opera, Orchestral Music, Uncategorized
Einojuhani Rautavaara, widely called the finest Finnish composer since Jean Sibelius, passed away on July 17th in Helsinki at the age of 87. If you’re not familiar with his music (and I have to admit that I have only gotten to know it in the weeks since he died), you...
by Barry Lenson | Aug 1, 2016 | German Supernatural Opera, Opera, Richard Wagner, Uncategorized
In a future post, I’ll be sharing some of the basic information that classical music bluffers need to know about the operas of Richard Wagner (1813-1883). Today, we will listen to some of the rather spooky German romantic operas that influenced him. If the topic of...
by Barry Lenson | Jul 25, 2016 | Choral Music, NDR Chor, Russian Music, Sacred Music, Uncategorized
We invite you to watch this video of a performance of one of Tchaikovsky’s sublime “Cherubic Hymns” Pyotr Ilich Tchaikovsky has rightfully earned a place on lots of “greatest” lists. He is one of the greatest ballet composers of all time, one of the greatest...
by Barry Lenson | Jul 15, 2016 | Great Pianists, Piano Music, Steinway Pianos, Uncategorized
I was lucky enough to take a tour of the new Steinway Hall last April, just before it opened at 1133 Avenue of the Americas in New York. I am happy to report that a lot of the positive features from the old Steinway Hall, long located on 57th Street, are present in...
by Barry Lenson | Jul 10, 2016 | Conductors, Orchestral Conductors, Orchestral Music, Uncategorized
Why the Hottest New Orchestra Comes from North of the Arctic Circle Where does today’s hottest young orchestra come from? If you ask the next five or six music lovers you meet, most of them will probably answer that it must come from south of the border where...
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