Music is hard. Doing this for a career is hard. It’s not your usual 9-5 job that you can forget about at the end of the day. It’s something that permeates your life, the good and the bad, whether you want it to or not. It resonates with and pounds against your soul and it […]
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Merry Christmas! Yes, I know it’s still November, but I believe Jesus’s birth is something to be thankful for. 🙂 I’m celebrating a lot of things right now including (but not limited to) Thanksgiving, Christmas, family, and the opportunity to do what I love all the time – learn and write about, compose, and perform […]
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Have you ever noticed that certain music can make you feel a very specific way? Music is very powerful stuff. It can uplift and depress, agitate and calm. It can offer relief and comfort. Let’s examine this idea a little further. How Music Conveys Emotion Even though there are countless works of music in the world […]
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It’s almost Halloween! I’m not usually one to celebrate this particular holiday, but I thought it would be fun to look at some creepy classical music in today’s post. Toccata and Fugue in D minor by Bach This fun little organ piece (okay, this hugely enormous organ piece) is believed to have been written by […]
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One of the most famous pieces of music ever written: Composed originally in 1890 (but not published until 1905), “Clair de lune” is the third movement in a set of four pieces known as Suite bergamesque. Debussy based it on Paul Verlaine’s poem of the same name: Clair de lune (Moonlight) Votre âme est un paysage […]
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Background Even though some use the term “classical music” to describe all music from the middle ages through now, the Classical era went from roughly 1750 to 1820. In the middle of the 18th century – the end of the Baroque era – Western Europe shifted towards a new style of literature, architecture, and art […]
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It’s officially autumn! Time to bust out sweaters and boots and pumpkin spice everything. And while you’re at it, take a moment to listen to some of these classical works inspired by the new season. Antonio Vivaldi‘s Concerto no. 3 in F major, L’autunno (“Autumn” from The Four Seasons) Written around 1721, The Four Seasons is a hugely […]
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Today’s post features a Waltz in C-sharp Minor by famous Romantic era composer Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849). About Chopin A child prodigy, Polish pianist and composer Chopin wrote primarily for solo piano. He spent his life teaching, composing, and performing for adoring crowds, and his unique style pushed the boundaries of expression and emotion in music. Read […]
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Welcome to the second installment of Music Favorites. Check out part 1 here! It’s so hard for me to pick a favorite piece of music. It’s like asking a mom to pick her favorite child or a movie fanatic to pick his favorite film. But I have compiled a list of my favorite works to share, […]
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Today I want to introduce you to Trevor Kowalski. A contemporary pianist-composer, Kowalski started young – piano lessons at 6 years old – but loved to create his own sounds rather than follow structured lessons. His newly released piano work June 5th (from his album Certain Paths) caught my attention: After listening to (and playing around with) some of his music, […]
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