Exploring The Freest Country In The World
September 29, 2023
This is a story of a different GDR from the one that tends to get remembered and talked about. It is a story of a free GDR. 1989-1990 was a… READ MORE
Blog
Epic Histories of the Spanish Americas
September 26, 2023
True political success lies not so much in obtaining great power as in being able to keep it. This, at least, was the musing of Hieronymite friar Jerónimo de Román… READ MORE
The Power of Anti-Slavery Poetry
September 24, 2023
In late 2016, I found myself re-reading with increasing urgency a poet whose work has retreated to the margins of American literature anthologies. James Russell Lowell’s “The Present Crisis,” a… READ MORE
Life And Legacy Of María Félix: The Mexican Icon Who Inspired A Generation Of Women
September 22, 2023
As a researcher and author when a book project is finished you always know that there is potential that you’ve missed something. For many projects, this is a source of… READ MORE
A Deep Dive Into The Piano Music Of Samuel Adler
September 20, 2023
If you’ve spent more than half a century involved with the music of a composer, you don’t think the piano world knows enough about, what might you do to increase… READ MORE
The Joy of Piano-Playing
September 11, 2023
We pianists are expected to play three centuries of music on one kind of instrument, epitomized by the modern Steinway—largely unchanged since about 1890. It’s a fantastic tool, but it… READ MORE
The Art of Speaking the Piano
September 5, 2023
Austrian-American pianist and composer Artur Schnabel was reportedly told by his teacher, Theodor Leschetitzky, that he ‘must learn to speak the piano’. When I first heard this story, it surprised me…. READ MORE
Books to look out for in September 2023
September 1, 2023
New month, new releases! First up is Democracy and Nigeria’s Fourth Republic examining Nigeria’s challenges with consolidating democracy and the crisis of governance; The Last Laugh looks into Murnau’s classic… READ MORE
Mysteries of Music and Magic
August 30, 2023
Marsilio Ficino had a lot on his mind in the summer of 1489. Imagine him pacing the hallways and gardens of the Villa Careggi, his residential estate near Florence. Marsilio… READ MORE
In The Footsteps of Gérard Grisey
August 21, 2023
At first, The Life and Music of Gérard Grisey: Delirium and Form was a book I wanted to read, not a book I hoped to write. I’ve been fascinated by… READ MORE
Exploring The Freest Country In The World