Between 1912 and 1914, Ralph Vaughan Williams wrote his Four Hymns, in three distinct versions: for tenor, viola, and piano; for viola and string orchestra; and for piano and string quartet. They should have been released in September 1914, but the outbreak of the war prevented it, and they were not performed until 1920. All four songs had texts by four different poets [...]

We listened to Johannes Brahms' Mondenschein last week, and I promised you that I would keep talking about it this week. You'll understand why if you stop reading and start listening to the song this week, Sommerabend: after two beginning chords, we hear the voice singing the same beautiful melody we heard in the second part of Mondenschein. After Robert [...]

If you are planning a city break in Hamburg and feel like going to a concert, you will surely think of Elbphilharmonie, an auditorium that I love. However, you will notice that the Laeiszhalle, the old concert hall in the city, still offers a part of the programme. If you ever attend a concert at this venue, you should go to the foyer: you will find it presided over by a sculpture by [...]

In the spring of 1815, Franz Schubert was immersed in the period that is commonly referred to as the “year of miracles,” when he composed approximately 150 lieder. At his 18 years, he tried, experimented, and laid the foundations for a new genre, surely without being aware of it. He was aware, however, that he wanted to make songs his own way, although he valued the style of [...]

There are many factors that determine what music we like. Among them, anticipation: it is more possible that we will like music that we listen to for the first time if we can anticipate what will happen, either because it has points of connection with other known works (of the composer himself or of the same period, for example), or because we identify patterns.