Mussorgsky’s spooky “Night on Bald Mountain”

    It’s October, and the urge for theatrical, spooky music always arises for me right about this time. Cue a visit to the blog I wrote years back, “Ten Spooky Classical Faves for Halloween.” Each year, it seems, I have a different relationship with the music and its composers. This year, I’m taking a … Read more

Exploring Grieg’s exquisite piano concerto

I love visualizing the 25-year-old Edvard Grieg in 1868, married just one year and already the father of a newborn daughter, right as his composing career was taking off. I can’t decide if it was artistic zeal or the exhaustion of jugging so many roles that made him seek retreat that summer at a secluded … Read more