Happy Birthday Ludwig!
Beethoven was an urban guy. He was born in the city of Bonn, Germany and spent his professional career in Vienna. However, he loved visiting the countryside for weekends and holidays, enjoying the idyllic scenery…
Author: Cynthia Young
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Music as Crime
A few years ago, as part of my Master’s degree, I took a course entitled “Art and Crime”. Besides the obvious connotations of theft and forgery, we also examined “art as a crime” and “the…
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Thinking outside the box…
A few months ago, during our initial lock down, live musical concerts ceased to exist. Performers still wanted to perform, audiences still wanted to listen and the virtual concert was born. Musicians from every genre…
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Need some music therapy?
This year marks the 250th anniversary of the birth of Ludwig van Beethoven, one of music’s most enduring and influential composers. An innovator in many respects, Beethoven was the first to more fully explore human…
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Music and the Gig Economy
The economic reality for musicians has not changed much since traveling minstrels wandered from town to town. From buskers in the subway to super star performers like Evgeny Kissen or Yo Yo Ma, musicians are…
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So What’s a String Quartet Anyway?
Quiz: What is the instrumentation for a string quartet? a) 4 violins b) violin, viola, cello, double bass c) violin, violin, viola, cello d) any combination of 4 string instruments Answer: c) violin, violin, viola…
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Music and Improvisation
While wandering the interwebs one day, I was intrigued to find that a common distinction between “classical” and “popular” music is that the former is notation-based and the latter is improvised. Yes, it is true…
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5 Years!
https://www.intelligencer.ca/entertainment/local-arts/cultivating-creativity-milestone-year-for-quinte-society-for-chamber-music Cynthia YoungQuinte Arts Council This year marks the five-year anniversary of the inception of the Quinte Society for Chamber Music (QSCM), and what an eventful five years it has been. Starting with nothing but…
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A (mostly) forgotten American composer…Leo Ornstein
Until I heard Ben Smith perform Sonata No. 4 at Stirlingfest in October, I had never heard of Ornstein. I was mesmerized by this sonata; it was fresh, and exuberant with gorgeous melodies over an…
