Throughout history, classical composers have written pieces based on all kinds of stories; but only one composer has ever undertaken the daunting task of telling 1001 stories in a single composition. While most composers would never dare to attempt the assimilation of such a wide range of stories into a single piece of music, Nikolai […]
Audacious, informal, and energetic, Brooklyn Rider performs music that is not only cross-cultural but also cross-genre. The string quartet is named after the city in which it is based – quite fitting, considering the fact that Brooklyn is most famous for its vibrant multicultural background. On Monday, February 16th, the quartet gave a relaxed concert […]
When music is brought out of its original environment, almost anything can happen. The slightest change in context could elicit fascination, horror, enjoyment, confusion, or controversy. Recontextualizing music always poses a risk, for it is almost impossible to tell whether the result will be a success or a failure. Yet, as a general rule, musical […]
Combining the musical traditions of different cultures is a risky endeavor. By merging different kinds of music, it is almost guaranteed that certain aspects of each style will be omitted in order to befit the piece as a whole. Therefore, it is often difficult to gauge whether or not a musical “fusion” has been successful, […]
“There is no way to the extracting of [the heart’s] hidden things save by the flint and steel of listening to music and singing, and there is no entrance to the heart save by the ante-chamber of the ears.”
Nasr, 1997
Sufi Muslims, who observe a mystical dimension of Islam, are renowned for their rich musical tradition. […]
In Where Rivers and Mountains Sing, Theodore Levin and Valentina Süzükei describe a musical technique called sound mimesis, the act of intentionally re-enacting and re-presenting a sound from our environment. Jean Sibelius’s tone poem, The Swan of Tuonela, is a musical depiction of a scene from the Kalevala epic of Finnish mythology. The scene takes […]