CMUSE

Feb 14, 2025 | cmuse.org | Angelica Frey

Gioachino Rossini was born in Pesaro, which was part of the Papal states, in 1792. His father Giuseppe was a semi-professional trumpeter member of a local orchestra who played in support of the French troops, while his mother was an aspiring singer. He spent his adolescence in Bologna, where he enrolled in the local conservatory at the age of fourteen.

Dec 10, 2024 | cmuse.org | Cynthia Collins

The Hallelujah Chorus is traditionally performed throughout the Christian world as part of the Easter celebration. Whether it is done on the concert stage with a large chorus and symphony orchestra or by church choirs accompanied by a pipe organ, it is the part of Handel’s Messiah that traditionally brings people to their feet. The reason behind this has more to do with royal protocol than anything else.

Jun 29, 2024 | cmuse.org | Angelica Frey

Music is the ultimate “brain” activity, as it involves the motor, visual, auditory, audiovisual, somatosensory, parietal and frontal areas in both hemispheres and the cerebellum. By being such a “complete” brain activity, music has a lot of beneficial effects on the brain.

Jun 11, 2024 | cmuse.org | Angelica Frey

Described as a “six and a half foot scowl” by Igor Stravinsky, Sergei Rachmaninoff (born April 1st, 1873) rose to fame at age 18 with his first Piano Concerto. Not only was he a prolific composer; in fact, he was also a virtuoso-like pianist. Rachmaninoff’s repertoire mainly consisted of 19th Century standard virtuoso works and music by Bach, Beethoven, Borodin, Debussy, Grieg, Liszt, Mendelssohn, Mozart, Schubert, Schumann and Tchaikovsky.

May 24, 2024 | cmuse.org | Angelica Frey

Dubbed “the Homer of Music”,  Johann Sebastian Bach was recognized as the greatest master of harmony and counterpoint of all time—for harmony is to music “what logic is to philosophy, draughtsmanship to painting, and mathematics to architecture,” wrote T. C. W Blanning in The Triumph of Music.