For the Professor: The BBC Radio show Desert Island Discs provides a unique insight into the many composers, musicians, and other artists and illuminati who have featured as guests over its 75+ year run. In anticipation of its 75th Anniversary, the BBC crunched the numbers to find the most popular selections. In the end, six … Continue reading The Ultimate Desert Island Disc
Tag: Desert Island Discs
Credo in unum Deum
The gnawing fear I have about trying to sum up the life’s work of history’s most important composers is the certainty that I have left something very important out. But, at least with Bach, I have no such concerns because up today is Bach’s titanic Mass in B minor. I am not even going to … Continue reading Credo in unum Deum
Bach, The Art of the Fugue, Part I
One thing is certain. Even if few truly appreciated it at the time, Bach was very aware of his genius. A humble Lutheran by nature and faith, Bach sought to cement his legacy at the end of his life through two monumental works. Sick, going blind and dying, Bach set about to compose on both … Continue reading Bach, The Art of the Fugue, Part I
Baroque Music XI: George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)
“Handel is the only person I would wish to see before I die, and the only person I would wish to be, were I not Bach.” J.S. Bach “Handel is the greatest composer that ever lived... I would uncover my head and kneel down on his tomb.” Ludwig van Beethoven The two titans of Baroque … Continue reading Baroque Music XI: George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)
More Monteverdi: A Prayer on the 20th Anniversary of 9/11
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, without end. It is a wonderfully cool morning in NYC. Perhaps that’s what triggered it in my mind -- it was that nearly imperceptible hint of fall that did the trick. 9/11. It had been the same 20 years ago: 9/11/01 was just … Continue reading More Monteverdi: A Prayer on the 20th Anniversary of 9/11
A Gertus History of Music 