classical music

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175 Years After His Death, New Music From Chopin

Unknown waltz believed to have been penned by the composer discovered in New York

(Newser) - An unknown waltz believed to have been written almost 200 years ago by the legendary composer Frederic Chopin has been discovered in a New York museum. Robinson McClellan, a curator at the Morgan Library & Museum, came upon the music on a card bearing Chopin's name inside a vault...

'I Don't Know It': Mom With Dementia Plays Beethoven

For Elaine Lebar, 92, 'life makes sense' at the piano

(Newser) - Elaine Lebar may have dementia, but she still knows her way around a keyboard—and hasn't forgotten the third movement of Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata," TMZ reports. A video of the 92-year-old playing the piece recently became a hit on TikTok. "I don't know it,...

No Way the Met Pulled This Off. No Way.

The Metropolitan Opera makes beautiful music as it battles a $60M shortfall

(Newser) - Javier Camarena was at his home in Zurich singing an aria from Bellini's Il Pirata when the screen for the video feed split, and he was joined by Metropolitan Opera music director Yannick Nézet-Séguin in Montreal and general manager Peter Gelb in New York, the AP reports....

'Game-Changer' Upends Old Story About Beethoven

The classical music giant could actually hear a little

(Newser) - Ludwig van Beethoven composed masterpieces while totally deaf, right? Well, hold that thought. New research into his so-called "conversation books" suggests Beethoven had a little hearing in his left ear until soon before he died in 1827, the Guardian reports. "This is going to send everybody scurrying to...

7-Foot-Tall 'Giant' Leads Orchestra, Busts a Move

NBA Player Tacko Fall led Boston Pops in "Sleigh Ride" at Symphony Hall

(Newser) - Boston Celtics player Tacko Fall made his debut as a guest conductor during the renowned Boston Pops orchestra's holiday concert, the AP reports. The 7-foot-6 center took the stage to lead the orchestra in a rendition of the song "Sleigh Ride" at Boston's Symphony Hall Monday night....

Stolen Strad Reborn After Nearly 40 Years

Violinist Nathan Meltzer revives prize instrument in Cambridge, Mass.

(Newser) - A Stradivarius violin stolen four decades ago from the virtuoso Roman Totenberg and returned to his family by a federal prosecutor came alive again—at the crime scene, the AP reports. Nineteen-year-old star violinist Nathan Meltzer revived the prize instrument of the late Polish-born musician on Friday at a public...

The Orchestra Finished. Then a Kid Piped Up

His 'Wow!' charmed the crowd, and now Handel & Haydn Society wants to find him

(Newser) - America's oldest performing arts group is looking for a child who was literally wowed by a recent classical music concert. The Handel & Haydn Society had just finished its rendition of Mozart's "Masonic Funeral" at Boston's Symphony Hall on Sunday when a youngster blurted out loudly:...

He Claims He's Solved a Century-Old Music Puzzle
He May Have
Cracked
Century-Old
Music 'Enigma'
LONGFORM
Feb 2, 2017 12:43 PM CST

He May Have Cracked Century-Old Music 'Enigma'

But not all scholars are convinced of Bob Padgett's theory

(Newser) - At the debut of his Variations on an Original Theme in 1899, English composer and cryptographer Edward Elgar hinted at a riddle of sorts hidden in the work. The idea is that the 14 variations in the piece are, in fact, variations of a particular piece of music. "So...

These Wine Grapes Listened to Mozart, to Their Benefit

Inside an interesting experiment in Italy

(Newser) - A taste of black cherry, leather, and just a hint of G minor? In the hills of Montalcino in Tuscany, winemaker Giancarlo Cignozzi has, for more than a decade, been playing Mozart 24 hours a day to a section of Sangiovese grapes growing in his vineyard, reports CBS News . At...

Human Remains Found Under 100-Year-Old Music Venue

Cincinnati Music Hall stands on an old burial ground

(Newser) - Workers renovating a century-old performance hall discovered human remains under the orchestra pit and now archeologists are planning to analyze the bones, the AP reports. The property under Cincinnati Music Hall was a public burial ground in 1818, and bones have been popping up since construction began for the building...

Husband 'Arrested' in Murder of Concert Pianist

Natalia Strelchenko was found with fatal injuries at home

(Newser) - Police have arrested the husband of a world-renowned concert pianist after she died yesterday from severe injuries in Manchester, England. Police responded to emergency calls just after midnight "following reports that a woman had been assaulted" and found Natalia Strelchenko, 38, in need of medical attention at her home,...

Musician: By Law, Bad Review Must Be Pulled

Pianist Dejan Lazic asks Washington Post to remove article

(Newser) - Ah, the life of a high-flying soloist: Tour the world, wine and dine with musical greats ... and get an occasional bad review. Croatian pianist Dejan Lazic doesn't much like the last part, so he's asked the Washington Post to remove an online review under the European Union's...

'Child Prodigy' Conductor Dies at 84
 'Child Prodigy' 
 Conductor Dies at 84 
OBITUARY
Jul 14, 2014 1:43 AM CDT

'Child Prodigy' Conductor Dies at 84

Lorin Maazel's glittering career spanned 75 years

(Newser) - The controversial but undeniably brilliant conductor Lorin Maazel has died at the age of 84—some 75 years after he began conducting orchestras as a 9-year-old child prodigy. Maazel, who conducted an average of two orchestras a week during his long career and performed with more than 200 orchestras, died...

Crowd-Surfing Scientist Kicked Out of Classical Concert

I wasn't drunk, just American, he says

(Newser) - The audience at a classical music concert in the UK was urged to loosen up a bit—but an American scientist who loosened up so much he attempted to crowd-surf ended up being ejected by his fellow classical music fans. During the "Hallelujah Chorus," Dr. David Glowacki, a...

Stradivarius No Match for New Violins, Test Finds

Soloists assess renowned instruments with surprising results

(Newser) - Musicians have long been captivated by the instruments of the Stradivari family; centuries after they were built, they've become the stuff of legend. Yet new blind tests seem to shatter the notion that a Stradivarius is actually superior to today's violins. In fact, the tests found expert violinists...

'Japan's Beethoven': I Can Hear 'a Little'

Mamoru Samuragochi apologizes for 'life of lies'

(Newser) - Word recently got out that "Japan's Beethoven"—famed classical composer Mamoru Samuragochi—hadn't been writing his own music and might not actually be deaf . Now, Samuragochi is lending some credence to the claims of music professor Takashi Niigaki, the real composer behind his works. "The...

'Japan's Beethoven' Admits 18-Year Fraud

Mamoru Samuragochi lost hearing at age 35

(Newser) - The success of 50-year-old composer Mamoru Samuragochi, who is deaf, has prompted the nickname "Japan's Beethoven." Trouble is, it turns out he hasn't written his own music in decades. "I started hiring (a) person to compose music for me around 1996, when I was asked...

World's 'Finest' Interpreter of Art Songs Dead at 86

Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau excelled at Schubert lieder

(Newser) - Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, perhaps the 20th century's greatest singer of art songs, died yesterday at home in Bavaria, the New York Times reports. He was 86. The German son of a classical scholar and a schoolteacher, Fischer-Dieskau (pronounced FEE-sher DEES-cow) studied voice in Berlin and had two years of unexpected...

Stradivarius Violin's Powers Just a Musical Myth
Stradivarius' Powers
Just a Musical Myth
Study says
Jan 3, 2012 12:10 PM CST

Stradivarius' Powers Just a Musical Myth

Researchers show that even pro musicians can't tell the difference

(Newser) - They’re famed far and wide as the finest violins on the planet (one recently sold for $16 million) , but do Stradivarius violins actually sound better? A study suggests they don’t, NPR reports. Researchers assembled a group of six violins—two Stradivariuses, a Guarneri, and three modern violins—and...

Lost Beethoven Piece Performed After 2 Centuries

Movement reconstructed using composer's sketches

(Newser) - After Beethoven scrapped a movement from a string quartet, it was lost to the world’s ears for two centuries. No longer: A music professor in Britain has recreated the piece using the composer’s sketches for every measure. The movement of String Quartet in G, Opus 18, No. 2...

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