Korngold has often been programmed for song recitals this season, at least much more than usual, and I'm happy with that. But I didn't realize the reason until recently: Erich Wolfgang Korngold was born in 1897 (and died in 1957), so this year marks 125 years of his birth (and 65 of his death). Don't you think we could listen to one more of his song this week on the pretext of ephemerides?

I was introduced to Ned Rorem's music thanks to another music lover, an expert in contemporary repertoire. His first cycles I heard were More than a day (1995), for countertenor and chamber orchestra, and Evidences of things not seen, premiered in 1998 to celebrate the composer's 75th birthday, which I [...]

The opera Guillaume Tell by Gioachino Rossini, premiered in 1829, is the most famous musical version of Wilhelm Tell, the drama published by Friedrich von Schiller in 1804. Although the opera is hardly performed, the piece that opens it has become independent and is one of the most popular in the classical repertoire; everybody recognizes that brilliant music even if they cannot identify it.

In this article, I would like to tell you about two books: one that was recently published, and one that was never published. Both interest us because they are related to Franz Schubert. That is why I waited until this week, when we commemorate 194 years since his death, to talk about it. As every year, we remember him, and thank him endlessly for his music.

When Mr Félix José de Montes y Galloso passed away prematurely, his family (the widow and four children) suffered economic hardship. To try to alleviate the situation, the mother decided something that was not uncommon at the time: to board one of the boys at the seminary. This way, she had one less mouth to feed, while providing the boy an education that went far beyond what she could afford. The eldest son [...]