Popular stories on MusicTales

1. 

   Piano

   Germaine Tailleferre as a member of Les Six composers group guided by Jean Cocteau

   Germaine Tailleferre was a gifted pianist and composer whose role in the search for new French musical aesthetics of…

   February 3, 2020

2. 

   Male Vocal

   Dede Efendi: the father of the famous Ottoman waltz

   İsmail Dede Efendi (1778–1846) is one of the greatest Turkish classical composers. He has created masterpieces in all…

   June 20, 2018

3. 

   Songwriter

   Hero and Heroine: Strawbs lyrics that allegorize drug addiction through Greek mythology

   Hero and Heroine is a dramatic track by the English band Strawbs released on their 1974 album of the same name. The…

   September 3, 2021

4. 

   Songwriter

   Hasta Mañana: the origins of the best ABBA ballad

   Hasta Mañana, an ABBA ballad released on their 1974 Waterloo album never quite managed to reach the top of…

   August 5, 2021

5. 

   Orchestra

   Romeo and Juliet eclipsed by the tragic beauty of Chinese Butterfly Lovers

   The Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto is one of the best known classical orchestra pieces in China, though a vast…

   June 30, 2018

6. 

   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

7. 

   Songwriter

   Rollin' and Tumblin' as the essence of slide guitar technique combined with lyrics diversity

   Rollin' and Tumblin' is one of the great Delta blues songs that has been interpreted by many blues artists long before…

   September 4, 2020

8. 

   Flute

   Early flute tuning improvements by Quantz

   Johann Joachim Quantz was a famous German flautist and music theorist who had a major influence on the evolution of his…

   August 6, 2020

9. 

   Orchestra

   The didjeridu and Indigenous Australian chants interpolated into classical music by Peter Sculthorpe

   Peter Sculthorpe was an Australian composer who sought to express the traditional Indigenous culture and unique nature…

   March 25, 2020

10. 

    Orchestra

    The first English musical criticism written by Charles Avison argued that music evokes purely positive emotions

    The fascination with the innermost working of the human mind and the nature of its response to certain triggers have…

    December 18, 2019

11. 

    Technologies

    Stephen Hawking's message immortalized through the sound of modern pop culture

    Great late Stephen Hawking is known for his extensive work in the fields of quantum physics, focusing on general and…

    March 16, 2018

12. 

    Orchestra

    Saint-Saëns' French horn Romance in hand-free performance

    Camille Saint-Saëns was an anomaly among French composers of the 19th century due to his proficiency in writing for all…

    May 5, 2018

13. 

    Songwriter

    Locomotive Breath: fine groove born from Jethro Tull's studio session

    Locomotive Breath is one of the more popular songs written by the British prog-rock band Jethro Tull, first released on…

    February 28, 2021

14. 

    Orchestra

    The attractive sounds of Nordic Romanticism of Wilhelm Stenhammar

    Swedish pianist Wilhelm Stenhammar was one of the few composers who remained faithful to the ideas of Romanticism in…

    February 1, 2019

15. 

    Choir

    Josquin des Prez: pioneer in the Franco-Flemish School of music

    Josquin des Prez was the leading architect of the point of imitation style, in which a motif introduced in one voice is…

    March 25, 2018

16. 

    Film

    Instrumental simplicity of the quiet piano drama Breathe In

    In the intimate story of a foreign exchange student who causes a deep and devastating rift in a close-knit upstate New…

    August 2, 2018

17. 

    Film

    Hero's colors come alive with silk violin strings

    Hero, an undeniable martial-arts classic, is an epic collaboration between Zhang Yimou, perhaps the biggest name in…

    June 21, 2018

18. 

    Meditation

    Vinayagar Agaval: medieval lyrics linking Ganesha with yoga practice

    Vinayagar Agaval is a popular sacred hymn of South India praising Ganesh—one of the most worshipped deities in the…

    January 6, 2022

19. 

    Songwriter

    Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On: the record that shot Jerry Lee Lewis to fame

    Recorded by Jerry Lee Lewis in 1957, Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On instantly became a major hit in America, highlighting…

    July 12, 2021

20. 

    Choir

    The valiha as unifying element in the stylistic diversity of Madagascar music

    Due to its geographical location, Madagascar displays diverse musical traditions laid down at different times by waves…

    May 27, 2020

21. 

    Songwriter

    Carolina in the Pines: origins of Michael Murphey's love song

    Carolina in the Pines is a seminal track by Michael Murphey, a highly influential country-genre artist with over thirty…

    January 4, 2022

22. 

    Sarod

    Amjad Ali Khan: the revered classical player whose ancestors canonized the sarod

    Ustad Amjad Ali Khan is among the most honored Indian virtuosos whose musical skill was nurtured in the tradition of…

    May 12, 2022

23. 

    Film

    Dum Maro Dum: psychedelic Hindi lyrics in Western arrangement that influenced generations

    Dum Maro Dum is a popular Hindi song written by Anand Bakshi and composed by Rahul Dev Burman for the 1971 Bollywood…

    December 31, 2020

24. 

    Oboe

    Corelli's famous violin piece rearranged for oboe three centuries later

    One of the seminal figures of early Baroque, Arcangelo Corelli, was the master of violin which supremacy in the…

    April 14, 2018

25. 

    Meditation

    Ganapati songs and mantras devoted to Ganesha

    Many-armed Ganesh is undoubtedly one of the most popular deities of the Indian subcontinent who is honored by all…

    May 17, 2020

26. 

    Classical Guitar

    Folk dances illuminate the heritage of Gaspar Sanz, the Baroque guitar maestro

    Composer, guitarist, organist and priest, Gaspar Sanz studied at the University of Salamanca, where he was later…

    April 11, 2018

27. 

    Piano

    Billy Strayhorn redefined jazz with a touch of classical

    A versatile composer and pianist Billy Strayhorn was among the most grandiose personalities in American jazz,…

    February 5, 2019

28. 

    Songwriter

    Llorando se fue: the Andean song behind Lambada

    Llorando se fue began as a Bolivian song by Los Kjarkas, written by the Hermosa brothers, Gonzalo and Ulises. The group…

    July 7, 2026

29. 

    Male Vocal

    Amoreena: Elton John's goddaughter named after the ballad

    Amoreena is one of the best-known tracks from Elton John's 1970 album Tumbleweed Connection whose songs revolve…

    May 7, 2023

30. 

    Guitar

    Classical flamenco duo rising from Mexican heavy metal band

    Internationally acclaimed Mexican acoustic duo Rodrigo y Gabriela plays unique instrumental blend of flamenco, jazz,…

    June 6, 2018