hank Archive

The preface to the score of “La Valse” includes the following descriptive note: “Whirling clouds give glimpses, through rifts, of couples dancing. The clouds scatter, little by little. One sees an immense hall peopled with …

Schubert composed the Piano Sonata in A-Major, D664 when he was on a two-month vacation at a place in Austria called Steyer. It was composed for the daughter, Josephine, of his host there. This is …

Composer Franz Schubert left us with Symphonies, chamber music, and more than 600 Lieder (songs) before he died at age 31. Schubert’s creative genius is demonstrated when he combined chamber music and song in his …

Samuel Barber initially composed this piece for string quartet. It is the middle movement of this work that is known to be the heart-breaker. The opening single note is joined by a collective sigh of …

I still recall my hearing two live performances of Mahler’s Third Symphony. One performance was in London; the second took place at the Aspen Music Festival. Both were unforgettable. Now, many years later, I frequently …