Category Archives: Mozart

A Top 5 List

Posted on May 8, 2013 by

High Fidelity is a novel by Nick Hornby about a guy named Rob who works in a record store.  It’s funny, poignant, heartbreaking, and hopeful. Rob has a penchant for making lists – of imagined conversations, ex-girlfriends, and pop music. … Continue reading →

Posted in Bach, Books about Music, Inspirational, Mozart, Music History, Music Videos | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

It’s okay to not love Beethoven

Posted on April 24, 2013 by

Tchaikovsky didn’t. He adored Mozart. And considered Bach, Handel, Gluck and Haydn mere forerunners to Mozart. From his diaries (1886):  “… I shall start with Beethoven, whom it is usual to praise unconditionally and whom it is commanded to worship … Continue reading →

Posted in Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Music History, Quotes | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

With Shining Eyes

Posted on April 8, 2013 by

Conductor Benjamin Zander “has two infectious passions: classical music, and helping us all realize our untapped love for it – and by extension, our untapped love for all new possibilities, new experiences, and new connections.” This 20-minute video is packed … Continue reading →

Posted in Mozart, Music History, Performance, Videos | Tagged , , , , , | 11 Comments

Mozart nailed it

Posted on February 21, 2013 by

“True perfection in all things is no longer known nor prized—one must write music that is either so simple a coachman could sing it, or so unintelligible that audiences like it simply because no sane person could understand it.” Mozart, … Continue reading →

Posted in General, Inspirational, Mozart, Quotes | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

The really big picture

Posted on February 5, 2013 by

Music history – from antiquity to the present – in 8 minutes. By one of those awesome illustrators. I bow to such talent. Complete with all the musical examples.

Posted in Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Music History, Music Videos, Musings about Chopin | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Risk appalling them.

Posted on December 18, 2012 by

Go ahead. Improvise. “The risk of appalling a few people who hear a couple of extra notes is more than balanced by the rewards of assimilating a language and bringing it alive.” Robert Levin in a lecture recital about improvising Mozart … Continue reading →

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It can’t be this simple. Can it?

Posted on November 27, 2012 by

“Could it be that simply performing and not interpreting the work (however unfashionable that notion might be at this moment in history) is to render to it the greatest service possible?” James Conlon*, music director of the Los Angeles Opera, describing … Continue reading →

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The sound of angels

Posted on November 16, 2012 by

One of the “smarter for being a musician” people on yesterday’s info-graphic was Benjamin Franklin – Founding Father of the US and a Renaissance man – author, scientist, inventor, diplomat, and the list goes on. His favourite invention was the … Continue reading →

Posted in Mozart, Music History, Performance, Performance Classes, Studio News | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

The Green Mile vs. Gilligan’s Island

Posted on July 24, 2012 by

In an episode from the first season of the TV comedy Frasier, Niles tells Frasier of a party game that was a real hoot. If you were stranded on a desert island with one aria, one meal, and one bottle … Continue reading →

Posted in Mozart | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Antidote for everything western

Posted on July 8, 2012 by

It’s early July in Calgary, Alberta, which means just one thing. The Calgary Stampede. The Greatest Outdoor Show On Earth. To which we are all supposed to respond, “Yeehaw.” It’s all about celebrating a cowboy culture – the boots, the … Continue reading →

Posted in Inspirational, Mozart | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments

Music as medicine

Posted on June 6, 2012 by

Joy Morin at Color in My Piano posted the following quote today: “Music is the medicine of the breaking heart.” ~Leigh Hunt, English essayist and poet The Lacrymosa from Mozart’s requeim is the perfect medicine for a breaking heart – … Continue reading →

Posted in Inspirational, Mozart, Theory | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Mozart’s Letters, Mozart’s Life

Posted on January 21, 2011 by

I haven’t read many biographies of composers. I’ve start a lot, but finished very few. Robert Spaethling’s Mozart’s Life, Mozart’s Letters kept me spellbound. Not once did I get bored or bogged down in the details; I couldn’t put it … Continue reading →

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