In order to play complex pieces on stringed instruments, musicians need amazing dexterity to maneuver the different notes. Thanks to a special interface system, however, this group of musicians can play instruments…

One outstanding characteristic of the Romantic period was the rise of the virtuoso pianist-composer. Many features of the Romantic Era were somewhat extreme, particularly in terms of the size of orchestras, the duration, and scale…

Albert Einstein Musical Life Many of us are very familiar with the equation E=MC2 and the many pictures of the wild-haired scientist who created it, but what do you know about Albert…

There is a connection between Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony and the Morse code. Although approximately 30 years separated the creation of this particular symphony and the telegraph code, the link played…

In 1955 Henry Pleasants, a critic of both popular and classical music, issued a cranky screed of a book, “The Agony of Modern Music,” which opened with the implacable verdict…

As a child growing up in rural Canada, trombonist Hillary Simms did not realize that women were scarce among players of brass instruments — the tuba, the French horn, the…

Symphonic composers are convinced that what they have to say is important. They have to be. Not only are these composers spending months or years preparing a score during the…

Bach is often considered as the father of Western classical (and popular) music. His influence is great and still resonates today. Through a vast creative output Bach consolidated the rules of…

The inventive and influential Igor Stravinsky wrote some of the 20th-century’s most important scores, pieces that redefined music and broke new ground. The Russian composer is still widely known by only a…

Chopin’s relationship with the writer George Sand has always provoked curiosity. When she first met him, in 1836, her novels were attracting notoriety for their advanced social ideas, particularly on…