In mid-July 1848 the London season ended and Chopin was invited to stay with Jane Stirling’s relatives in Scotland.
He left London via Euston on August 5th and travelled up the new West Coast route via Birmingham and Carlisle, arriving the same evening at Edinburgh’s Lothian Road station.
Following a two-day stay in the city at the Douglas Hotel, he travelled on to Calder House, home of Jane’s brother-in-law, Lord Torphichen, where …
Chopin visited London and the British Isles from 20th April to 23rd November 1848 because of the revolution which broke out in France on February 24th 1848. The government of King Louis Philippe was overthrown and the royal family fled to England. Chopin earned his living teaching wealthy pupils and most of these fled along with everyone else, so he lost his livelihood overnight. Most of the musicians in Paris …
In the mid-thirties of the nineteenth century the musical world realized that Beethoven had changed the traditional, secular position of the composer of music towards the community; he had changed it radically especially after 1810 or so.
Beethoven defined himself as a "Poet of Music", because "artist" in his time was a generic term, but above all because "Poet" referred to the intellectual world rather than the artisan one.
Mozart was a …
As you search for the best key for a melody, the ability to play by ear becomes essential.
It is also becomes an extremely valuable skill when you accompany singers or make music with others.
But there is a deeper reason for being able to play by ear as well as “by-eye”.
To be creative, we must engage our intuition.
You will find that certain ideas come to you when playing by ear that …
The 31-year-old Franz Schubert was already poorly when he moved into the apartment with his older brother Ferdinand (1794-1859) on 1 September 1828.
He was already ill and lived in a small room on the street side of the house, which had been built only the previous year.
Ferdinand, a teacher, writer and composer, had moved into the apartment, which was quite large for its time, together with his wife and several …