In the late 1820s/early 1830s, the biggest star in the musical firmament was Niccolò Paganini, best known for his mastery of the violin but who was equally accomplished on viola and guitar. Paganini, like Liszt, had come to Paris for an extended tour and had attended a concert of the Symphonie Fantastique in 1833. Paganini, … Continue reading Berlioz and Paganini
Tag: The Conversation
The Great(est) Symphony
'I was utterly enraptured and only wished that you were my wife and that I could also write such symphonies.’ Robert Schumann (to Clara, who would soon be his wife) One of the many works that Schubert left for posterity on his deathbed was the finished score for a symphony in C. It was discovered … Continue reading The Great(est) Symphony
Armageddon: Beethoven’s Final Statement
Do not go gentle into that good night,Old age should burn and rave at close of day;Rage, rage against the dying of the light. Dylan Thomas And now, the end. Like Bach before him, Beethoven ends (at least for this history) with a fugue. Beethoven had written a grand fugue to close his String Quartet … Continue reading Armageddon: Beethoven’s Final Statement
A Thanksgiving
The Te Deum hymn traces its origins back to the 4th Century and is traditionally attributed to St. Ambrose, who is said to have written it for the baptism of the future St. Augustine in 378. The Te Deum melody is one of the oldest in the Gregorian tradition and has inspired composers throughout history. … Continue reading A Thanksgiving
The Greatest Music Ever Written
Time present and time pastAre both perhaps present in time future,And time future contained in time past.If all time is eternally presentAll time is unredeemable. T.S. Eliot, Four Quartets, "Burnt Norton" The Ninth was not the end for Beethoven. Having scaled to the very summit of what symphonic composition can achieve, he retreated into his … Continue reading The Greatest Music Ever Written
A Gertus History of Music 