Yuriy Leonovich - Serenade: Cadenza and Finale
Yuriy Leonovich (Cello)

The Second Question: "What is Music Theory?"

Submitted by jsdubois015 on Fri, 03/19/2010 - 13:26

Following up from my previous post, the remaining question to be answered is, "What is music theory?" At the time that I had written my paper, this was a rather intriguing question. It was a chance to voice my opinion of what I believed to be the most important factors of what music theory is. In part, music theory is exactly what I described in my response to the question of why we need it. It is the conceptual knowledge that makes up a piece of music and it's equally applicable on both sides of the fence.

The First Question: "Why do we need music theory?"

Submitted by jsdubois015 on Tue, 03/16/2010 - 13:36

The past few days I've been doing a little bit of early spring cleaning on my computer. In the process, I found a paper I had written back in college. It was for one of my theory courses and the purpose of the paper was to answer the questions "What is music theory?" and "Why do we need it?" After reading through the paper, I realized my thoughts have to some degree changed.

Felix Mendelssohn - Violin Sonata In F Major (without Op. No.)
Sergey Ostrovsky (Violin)
Dror Biran (Piano)

Mario Grabner - Jeu de la flute
Mario Grabner (Orchestra)

March 15, 2010

The cellist Suren Bagratuni won the Silver Medal at the 1986 International Tchaikovsky Competition while still a student at the Moscow Conservatory. Since then he has gone to a distinguished international career as a soloist, recitalist and chamber musician. He has toured worldwide earning enthusiastic praise in both traditional and contemporary repertoire. He has performed with the many major orchestras, including the Moscow Philharmonic under the direction of Valery Gergiev, the Weimar Staatskapelle, Stuttgarter Kammerorchester and other. The Boston Globe called his performance of the Shostakovich d minor sonata “one of the best performances of the year.” Mr. Bagratuni studies at the Moscow Conservatory with such legendary cellists as Daniel Shafran and Natalia Shakhovskaya, and later at the New England Conservatory of Music with Laurence Lesser. We’ll hear Nr. Bagratuni perform two compositions, Bach’s Suite for solo cello BWV 1011 and the Shostakovich sonata mentioned above (he’s accompanied by Sergey Babayan). Please browse our library as we have many other great performances by Mr. Bagratuni. To listen, click here.

Jon Tolansky interviews Amit Peled Play Play

The 35-year-old Amit Peled is an Israel-born cellist who now lives in the United States and teaches at the Peabody Institute. In his interview with Jon Tolansky, Amit talks about his childhood in a kibbutz in northern Israel and his first teacher Uri Vardi, a pupil of János Starker. Amit talks about several remarkable musicians with whom he studied after moving to the US, among them Bernard Greenhouse and Laurence Lesser. He also fondly recalls his studies in Berlin with the late Boris Pergamenschikov and the amazing atmosphere of his studio.

Jon Tolansky interviews Joanna Marie Frankel Play Play

Hailed by The Washington Post as "an uncommonly fine young violinist," Joanna Marie Frankel is a recipient of the 2007 Career Grant from the Rachel Elizabeth Barton Foundation and The Juilliard School's 2007 William Schuman Prize for outstanding artistic excellence and leadership. In her conversation with Jon Tolansky, Joanna recalls her infatuation with the violin at the age of two and a half (she started her studies one year later); and her teacher, the famous violinist and pedagogue Jascha Brodski, who deeply influenced her playing.

Ayn Rand's "The Romantic Manifesto"

Submitted by jsdubois015 on Sat, 03/13/2010 - 17:34

This is an outstanding book written by one of the greatest authors and philosophers of the past century. The book is exactly what it's title suggests: a declaration of what Romanticism was and Romanticism ought to be. It begins by dealing with the basic question of "What is art?" From there, Rand deals with the basic issues of each the arts: literature, sculpture and architecture, music, and the performing arts. The largest part of Rand's book is directed toward her own field, literature.

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