by Ralph Graves | May 25, 2020 | Uncategorized
Up through the Renaissance, harps were relatively simple instruments, able to play diatonic scales. In response to more complex music of the early Baroque, an arpa doppia, or double harp was developed. These harps had a second course of strings (tuned differently than...
by Ralph Graves | Apr 24, 2020 | Uncategorized
April is the fourth month of the year. And so the Classics a Day team decided to make classical quartets this month’s theme. One could easily fill up a month of postings with nothing but great string quartets. But I decided to explore further. A piano trio is...
by Ralph Graves | Feb 25, 2020 | Uncategorized
The Emporer is dead, long live the Emporer. In 1790 a nineteen-year-old Ludwig van Beethoven was commissioned to write two cantatas. The first was an elegy for Emperor Joseph II. The second for Leopold II, who inherited the throne. Maestro Leif Segerstam presents both...
by Ralph Graves | Feb 4, 2020 | Uncategorized
Brilliant Records continues their traversal of Johann Nepomuk Hummel’s piano concertos. It’s a worthy project. Hummel was a major figure in the early 19th Century Vienna. He was friends of both Beethoven and Schubert. He was regarded as near-equal to the...
by Ralph Graves | Sep 24, 2019 | Uncategorized
Six Grace Williams chamber works receive their world premiere recordings with this release. It still leaves the bulk of her catalog unrecorded — but it’s an improvement. Williams was one of the most important composers to come from Wales (with William...
by Ralph Graves | Jun 12, 2019 | Uncategorized
There’s only one way to fully appreciate the genius of Vyacheslav Artyomov. You have to listen to everything he’s written. Case in point: this third Divine Art release features Solo Fide: scenes from the ballet after Tolstoy’s “Road to...
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