Chopin: Poland’s “Cannons Buried in Flowers”

Between 1772 and 1795, the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia and the Habsburg Monarchy divided and annexed the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth amongst themselves in a series of three partitions. L: Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth, 1772. R: The Partitions of Poland, 1772-1795. Though one of the largest and most populous countries in 16th- and 17th-century Europe, decades... Continue Reading →

Beethoven’s Violin Sonatas: Setting the New Performance Standard

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven’s ten violin sonatas are among the most famous works of chamber music history and represent, together with Mozart’s works for this instrument duo, the core of violin repertoire from the Viennese Classicist period. Though composed in a short span in Beethoven’s creative life (nine of the ten were written... Continue Reading →

A Short Foray into Beethoven’s Variations

Guest post by Dr. Dominik Rahmer, editor at G. Henle Verlag. The formal technique of “variations” played an important role in Beethoven’s work throughout his entire life. Critic Paul Bekker wrote in 1911, “Beethoven begins with variations,” and indeed this is true not only of the character of his oeuvre, but also of its chronological... Continue Reading →

Dvorak’s Symphony No. 9: A National Culture for the New World

Even in a cultural era ripe with nationalism, Antonín Dvořák was one of the most nationalistic. Slavic folk music, especially from his native Bohemia, permeates his entire oeuvre. He develops these simplistic folk elements into sophisticated symphonies, operas and concertos through Romantic compositional techniques, while retaining a certain innocence that makes his music approachable and... Continue Reading →

Cantabile Qualities: Choral Music by Beethoven

Guest post by Jan Schumacher Beethoven is not primarily thought of as a vocal composer, but why not? The choral collection compiled by Jan Schumacher, which contains both well-known and unknown choral works by Beethoven and original transcriptions of Beethoven's works by other composers, reveals a great deal of extremely attractive repertoire. The widely-held prejudice... Continue Reading →

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