With fifty years passing since his death in 1975, what does Shostakovich’s music mean for us today? Stephen Johnson outlines six lessons from this multifaceted composer – who might just be playing with us...
Every summer, Saaremaa Opera Festival and Narva Opera Days are held at the extreme west and eastern ends of Estonia – far from everyday life, where things can become uncanny, unpredictable and fantastical.
A leading composer and conductor of opera in Germany, Manfred Gurlitt’s Jewish ancestry led to his music being banned. Emigrating to Japan, Gurlitt became a pioneer of opera and Western classical music in Japan, a legacy still felt today.
From Buxtehude, Bach and Handel, to contemporary composer Liza Lim, we take a tour of the myriad forms of composers’ handwriting and calligraphy – and how music makes itself on the page.
A lifelong devotee of classical music, Mark caught the bug after listening to The Planets, The Rite of Spring and Beethoven’s Fifth when he was knee-high to a grasshopper. He has degrees in non-musical subjects and currently works as a Chartered Governance Professional, but these have proved to be mere distractions from the wonders of sonatas, concertos and symphonies. He has been reviewing for Bachtrack since 2016, plays viola and violin (very shakily) and used to sing a bit (even more shakily).
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