Page 19 | Music Tales | From Behind the Scenes

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Orchestra
The many attempts of Romantic composers to adapt Shakuntala love story from Mahabharata epic

The love story of Shakuntala is first mentioned in the oldest Sanskrit epic of the Mahābhārata which could be traced…

July 17, 2019
Violin
A spice of Italy, delivered to London by Nicola Matteis, edged out the French dance fashion from violin music

One of the first pieces of evidence of Italian invasion during the Baroque period in England is Ayrs for the Violin—the…

July 14, 2019
Synthesizer
The analog synthesizers of Isao Tomita programming fresh sound for all-time classics

Japanese composer Isao Tomita was one of the first to explore analog synthesizers in search for new sounds that would…

July 10, 2019
Band
The low-end sound of Morphine trio cut short by Mark Sandman's tragic death while on a stage

Twenty years have passed since Mark Sandman’s tragic passing of a heart attack during a 1999 live performance with the…

July 7, 2019
Choir
Gershwin's Summertime: the most recorded song draws inspiration from Ukrainian lullaby and African American spiritual

Written by the American composer George Gershwin in 1934, Summertime aria is now the most recorded song in the history…

July 3, 20193 comments
Classical Guitar
Giulio Regondi, the guitar prodigy behind early Romantic repertoire, was conned by false parent

Giulio Regondi was one of the most virtuosic guitarists of the early Romantic period who began earning flattering…

June 29, 20199 comments
Veena
Sundaram Balachander: the veena musician and filmmaker who introduced Carnatic culture to the world

The veena is the oldest string instrument of the Indian subcontinent, first mentioned in the Rigveda dating back to…

June 25, 2019
Nature Sounds
Why birds sing their songs: great maestros proving the musicality of nightingale, cuckoo, yellowhammer

It is no coincidence that the sounds emitted by birds are known in many languages as "songs", rather than simple animal…

June 23, 20191 comment
Band
Tinariwen: 40 years of nomadic desert music driven by Ibrahim Ag Alhabib's guitar

Formed by Ibrahim Ag Alhabib in the late 1970s, the African band Tinariwen always had a clear mission to preserve the…

June 19, 2019
Sitar
1960s clarinet & sitar duo pioneered an ambient genre with the album for spiritual practices

Even though the term ambient as a music genre was coined by Brian Eno only in the 1970s, musical experiments of this…

June 16, 20191 comment
Guitar
Charley Patton's guitar tricks bridged the genre gap between Delta blues and rock'n'roll

Charley Patton played a crucial role in developing the early blues movement in the Delta region of northwestern…

June 12, 20191 comment
Koto
Michio Miyagi & Renée Chemet: near century-old collaboration of koto and violin linking Japanese traditions with Western classic

In the first half of the 20th century, many Asian composers sought a way to represent their cultures on the global…

June 9, 2019
Band
Emotion over meaning: the enigmatic lyrics of Cocteau Twins in the languages of glossolalia

Having first appeared in religious practices, the term glossolalia referred to the ability of a believer to…

June 5, 20192 comments
Piano
Gymnopédies: the ambient genre predicted by piano gems of late Romanticism

The term ambient music was introduced in the 1970s by the famous English experimenter Brian Eno who used newly invented…

June 2, 2019
Vihuela
The first known collection for the vihuela inspired early guitar repertoire

It is fair to call the guitar one of the leading world instruments in terms of popular demand which is only slightly…

May 29, 2019
Sitar
The sitar virtuoso who introduced Indian classic to the British parliament

Budhaditya Mukherjee is one of the brightest virtuosos who to this day refines the rich legacy of Hindustani classics…

May 26, 20191 comment
Choir
5 African states adopted the liberation song by Enoch Sontonga as the national anthem

Nkosi Sikelel 'iAfrika has been the most frequently sung tune throughout the African continent for over a hundred years…

May 22, 2019
Orchestra
Traditions of 3 countries woven into the music of neglected Asian composer Chiang Wen-Yeh

The life path of the prominent Asian composer Chiang Wen-Yeh is closely connected to the three countries—Taiwan, Japan,…

May 18, 2019
Piano
Lodovico Giustini wrote the first ever piano sonatas for the instrument invented by Bartolomeo Cristofori

One of the main disadvantages of the harpsichord is its constant volume level which does not depend on the strength of…

May 15, 20191 comment
Songwriter
The bottleneck guitar blues by Blind Willie Johnson is sliding through space on the Voyager Golden Records

Among the musical works sent by NASA into space to represent the cultural values of mankind, sharing its rightfully…

May 12, 2019