Ludwig Mies van der Rohe

Placido Domingo is generally known as “the King of Opera”, as he is one of the most famous singers and composers of all time. Born on January 21, 1941, in Madrid, Spain, Domingo grew up in a very music oriented family. Both of his parents were singers of Spanish operas, and toured all around Spain with a troupe. When he was around the age of eight years old, he received his first piano lessons. He moved with his parents down to Mexico so they could start up their own zarzuela group, which helped…

opera was inspired by President Richard M. Nixon's historic visit to Beijing in 1972, it was Adams' first opera, and it's one he still holds dear. In "Hallelujah Junction," his autobiography, Adams writes that "Nixon" contains "moments that are among my favorites of all the music I've ever composed." Says the composer. A Nixon meeting Mao represented a collision of the two competing visions of how one might live one's life in a societal framework: Nixon representing the market economy and…

As with anything surrounding the genius and mystery of Mozart and his creations, we can really only guess at the truth. We don’t have any certain way of knowing what happened or how any of his pieces were actually composed. We have only to guess. Bearing this in mind it is best to play it conservative and use the few facts and accounts we are given, take it with a grain of salt, and imagine what it could have been like to see Mozart work. One such piece especially shrouded in mystery is The…

Auto-Tune In the reading “Seduced by ‘Perfect’ pitch: How Auto- Tune Conquered Pop Music” the reading had many main points for example does society like auto-tune, for some they don’t mind artists using auto-tune but some of the older generations do because they listened to music before there was such a thing called Auto- Tune they can pick it more then todays generation can. Auto- Tune was created by Dr. Andy Hildebrand who is a classically trained flautist, who spend most of his younger days…

chocolate brown eyes and thick-rimmed glasses, I most likely do not dress like you. I have my signature look; black skinny jeans, black band shirts, and red flannels. I joined the marching band in the summer along with Marley, Olivia, Rylee, Katelyn, and Abby. After many thoughts of quitting, I’ve realized that I love it. Even through all of the drama and difficulties, I remain a loyal clarinetist. My biggest band achievement was getting the ‘Most Improved’ award. In concert band, I…

The Curtis Chamber Orchestra, played Violin Concerto No.1, No.3, and No 5. All three musical pieces consisted of unique characteristics, but I must say my favorite and the most memorable one is, Concerto No.1 in B-flat major, K. 207 with Hsuan- Hao Hsu on the violin. The downbeat, instantly caught the audience’s attention, bringing focus to the tempo and to its upbeat and joyful theme. It has a very charming…

Ludwig van Beethoven was born in Bonn, Germany, on December 16, 1770. He was the eldest of three children of Johann and Maria Magdalena van Beethoven. At an early age, van Beethoven took an interest in music and his father taught him day and night, on returning to the house from music practice or the tavern. Without a doubt, the child was gifted and his father Johann envisioned creating a new Mozart, a child prodigy. On March 26th 1778, at the age of 7 ½, Ludwig Van Beethoven gave his first…

sing. They were so well trained and talented that they could improvise cadenzas on their feet. It is well believed that castrati were only known for singing fast agile coloratura, when in fact they were also well known for the sheer power and volume of their voices. As a result it is important to look at not only agility but also vocal strength when it comes to casting castrati roles in our modern day productions. Much like other trends, the castrati soon died out towards the end of the 18th…

Giacomo Puccini was an Italian composer born in 1858 and is known to have put a considerable amount of thought into creating the mood and literary components of his librettos (Kamien, Roger Music An Appreciation p.280). Richard Wagner was a German composer born in 1813 to a theatrical family (Kamien, Roger Music An Appreciation p. 289). Both of these composers are famous for their operas and are from the Romanic Period. Their compositions, La Boheme and Die Walkure, share the characteristics of…

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum is an interesting musical, in that it is a musical that is markedly different from most of Sondheim's other works. "Everybody Ought to Have a Maid" is a good example of a silly song that Sondheim wrote without any particular reason, other than for the audience's amusement. Though the song does add humor, it is not necessary to the musical, overall, and it would likely be just as good without it. Its melody is memorable enough, but it does not…