New stories on MusicTales

1. 

   Synthesizer

   Classical modernity in Anna Meredith's underwater reality

   The Scottish composer Anna Meredith has already worked with the BBC and countless orchestras and chamber ensembles…

   August 30, 2018

2. 

   Piano

   To study academic theory, superb pianist Wynton Kelly took up bass

   Wynton Kelly was born in Brooklyn, NYC in 1931 to Jamaican parents. His blues-based piano playing made him one of the…

   August 29, 2018

3. 

   Traditional

   Majestic heart of the ancient Gamelan orchestra

   Gamelan is the term used for a traditional musical ensemble in Indonesia, typically refering to a percussion orchestra…

   August 28, 2018

4. 

   Songwriter

   German roots of the Moon of Alabama

   The Alabama Song first appeared in a collection of five poems published by German playwright Bertolt Brecht in 1927,…

   August 27, 2018

5. 

   Flute

   Forest ranger's son fled home to reform the operatic world

   Christoph Willibald Gluck was a revolutionary who moved the courtly genre of opera to the way beyond the narrow limits…

   August 26, 2018

6. 

   Composer

   Venetian architecture sparked a new musical era in Europe

   Giovanni Gabrieli was one of the most influential musicians of his time, representing the culmination of the Venetian…

   August 25, 2018

7. 

   Trumpet

   Jazz dinosaur of the new generation

   Rising English trumpeter Laura Jurd has garnered an armful of awards in her relatively brief career, including both for…

   August 24, 2018

8. 

   Film

   Five tones of Spielberg's alien language

   Close Encounters of the Third Kind—Steven Spielberg’s first and perhaps best attempt at sci-fi—was released in 1977…

   August 23, 2018

9. 

   Festival

   Neverending musical whirlpool at the sacred oasis of Pushkar

   Bordering with the Thar Desert, Pushkar town is set on Pushkar Holy Lake, a revered site for many Hindu followers…

   August 22, 2018

10. 

    Songwriter

    Voice of Wassoulou preserves the ancient roots of West Africa

    Oumou Sangaré is a Malian singer regarded as the greatest female voice in modern African music. She began her career as…

    August 21, 2018

11. 

    Classical Guitar

    Lute fell into obscurity after the death of its greatest maestro

    Silvius Leopold Weiss (1687–1750) was one of the most important composers in lute music history. Born into a lute…

    August 20, 2018

12. 

    Orchestra

    Florida orange plantations cultivated an overlooked English composer

    Frederick Delius (1862–1934) was one of the most distinctive composers in the revival of English music at the end of…

    August 19, 2018

13. 

    Violin

    150 composers contributed to La Folia through the centuries

    La Folia is one of the most revered melodies in music history. Originating as a late fifteenth-century Portuguese dance…

    August 18, 2018

14. 

    Double bass

    Cachao: "Even when I am shaving I compose mambos"

    Israel López Valdés (1918–2008), known invariably by the nickname Cachao, was a Cuban double bassist and composer,…

    August 17, 2018

15. 

    Film

    The drama of The Chain kept alive on the big screen

    The Chain, included on Fleetwood Mac’s classic 1977 Rumours album, has retained that particular brand of culturally…

    August 16, 2018

16. 

    Bansuri

    Pannalal Ghosh: magic flute came to the Indian classics from the river

    Born in Barisal, East Bengal (now Bangladesh) Pannalal Ghosh (1911–1960), was an Indian composer and virtuoso of the…

    August 15, 2018

17. 

    Collaboration

    Harp traditions of two continents united in a unique collaboration

    Senegal and Wales share few obvious similarities, but Seckou Keita and Catrin Finch, respectively maestros of the kora…

    August 14, 2018

18. 

    Classical Guitar

    Birds of the Amazon taught Villa-Lobos music

    Primarily self-taught, Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887–1959) spent his early years absorbing the styles of…

    August 13, 2018

19. 

    Piano

    Choosing career in music got Rameau expelled from school

    Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683–1764) was one of the truly multifaceted French composers and theorists, with his theoretical…

    August 12, 2018

20. 

    Orchestra

    Things Lost In The Fire: Norwegian folk of Geirr Tveitt

    The very mindful application of folk music to classical during the early 20th century became a global trend since every…

    August 11, 2018