Though it doesn’t technically start until the Sept 23, fall (or with the snow… actually, winter) is evidently upon us in Calgary. The glorious two months of freedom we all know as summer is over. Most of us are back to school, and as the weather begins to get nippy, we may find that the…
The familiar nostalgia of music made for the movies or fantastic melodies for the silver screens. The Calgary Civic Symphony showcased two composing giants, Ludwig Van Beethoven and Leonard Bernstein. delighted us with beautiful and catchy pieces that leave us wanting to dance or to sing. Chances are, even if never having never stepped into…
We’ve all been there: you do a math test, you’re feeling really confident, and then you get the test back, and you’ve got one question wrong! After you look to see what happened, you say “Oh, I see what I did wrong!” Somewhere, you’ve made a (as my dad labels it) “careless mistake” in either…
I love music composed in Austria because it is usually known as warm, heartfelt and extremely moving. My favourite Austrian composer Beethoven was celebrated for his music that sensationally captured the spirit of Vienna. The Night in Vienna concert was performed by the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra (CPO) and incredible solo violinist Jonathan Crow, which created…
“When James Ehnes played an A in rehearsal on his Stradivarius, he was louder than the whole orchestra while tuning…” James Ehnes, the guest artist for this concert, plays a very special instrument: the “ex-Marsick” Stradivarius of 1715. The Stradivarius is a household name among violinist, and these violins are renowned for their unsurpassed sound…
“Is it true that the greatest composers of music all had names that started with the letter B ?” [youtube vlkiKhWQsAg&feature=related] Of course, these classical giants that Andeas Delfs, guest conductor, and Michael Hope, one of the bassoonists in the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra smilingly refered to in the pre-concert chat were none other than Bach, Beethoven…
Mozart’s contemporary Joseph Haydn once said this about him: “posterity will not see such a talent again in 100 years.” The extent to which this prediction was right is controversial, because along came Beethoven followed by Chopin in a couple of decades. However, the fact that Mozart was an artistic genius who pushed the boundaries…