Tag Archives: romanticism

Johannes Brahms’ Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D Major, Op. 77, Concerto for Violin, Cello and Orchestra in A Minor, Op. 102

Posted on 28th December 2020 by Robert

There are certain artists whose work becomes an inextricable part of one’s life, whether it be a writer, a painter, or a composer. One develops a sense of the work, sometimes to the point where it all becomes one great … Continue reading →

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Ludwig van Beethoven’s Sonatas for Piano

Posted on 26th November 2020 by Robert

The history of Western music is a history of exploration of forms. This statement is the end result of a chain of thought sparked by John Briggs’ comment, in his notes on Beethoven’s Sonata No. 23, the “Appassionata,” that Beethoven, … Continue reading →

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Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 67, Symphony No. 6 in F, Op. 68

Posted on 26th November 2020 by Robert

There isn’t much to be said about Beethoven: there he is, take it or leave it. It is doubtful that anyone had more influence on the music of the 19th century than he did — even the archenemies Brahms and … Continue reading →

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Jan Vogeler’s The Secrets of Dvorák’s Cello Concerto

Posted on 11th November 2020 by Robert

Antonín Dvorák began a cello concerto in 1865, but left it, among other reasons because he claimed that the cello was insufficient as a solo instrument. The composer finally wrote a concerto for the cello in 1894, while Director of … Continue reading →

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Piotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky’s The Three Piano Concertos; Modest Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition; Mily Balakirev’s Islamey

Posted on 13th April 2017 by Robert

Piotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky seems to have made a habit of writing concertos that were condemned as “unplayable” and then took their places near the top of the roster in the romantic canon. Like his Violin Concerto, Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto in … Continue reading →

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Johannes Brahms, Piano Works

Posted on 11th April 2017 by Robert

Piano Concerto No. 1 in D Minor, Op. 15 [Chicago Symphony Orchestra, James Levine, cond.]; Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat Major, Op. 83 [Boston Symphony Orchestra, Bernard Haitink, cond.]; Two Rhapsodies, Op. 79, Three Intermezzos, Op. 117, Four Pieces … Continue reading →

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Richard Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen

Posted on 11th April 2017 by Robert

Everyone has their national epic. The Greeks have the Iliad and the Odyssey, the French have Le Chanson de Roland, the British get to pick among Beowulf, The Mabinogion, and the tales of the Arthur Cycle, and the Germans have … Continue reading →

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Gustav Mahler: The Complete Symphonies

Posted on 22nd February 2016 by Robert

Both Tim Page and Erik Ryding, in their essays accompanying this Sony reissue of Leonard Bernstein’s landmark cycle of the complete symphonies of Gustav Mahler, give Bernstein pride of place in Mahler’s “rehabilitation” in the 1960s. While I don’t want … Continue reading →

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Ludwig van Beethoven: The Complete String Quartets

Posted on 21st February 2016 by Robert

Beethoven Early String Quartets Beethoven Middle String Quartets Beethoven Late String Quartets Beethoven String Quartets Live (DVD) Mmm . . . two of my favorite things in one review: Beethoven and string quartets. I willingly confess to a weakness for … Continue reading →

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