hank Archive

There is nothing so laid-back about Beethoven’s E flat major Sonata. The use of repeated notes as a feature in three of the four movements gives the music a momentum of its own, as well …

In 1886, when he composed his Violin Sonata, César Franck (1822-1890) was 64 years old and still a fairly obscure figure in the French musical world: a church organist and professor of organ at the …

Mozart composed many concertos for piano. 27 of them survive. Today I listened to the #26 which he composed 233 years ago! Imagine the creative genius who died in 1791, and the impact he has …

Beethoven’s Septet was written in the winter of 1799/1800, and was given its premiere at the first of Beethoven’s benefit concerts, in the Burgtheater on 2 April 1800. The concert also included the first performance …

Maurice Ravel composed his G Major Piano Concerto late in his career, following a concert tour of the United States he undertook in 1928. That visit proved so successful that the composer immediately began planning …