Music & Culture
Classical Music Posts
Women’s History Music Moment: Mary Terey-Smith
The conductor Mary Terey-Smith made music history here in the Pacific Northwest, as a result of a political revolution half a world away. This Hungarian-born music talent, student of Kodaly at the legendary Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest, hadn’t been out in the working world very long when the 1956 Hungarian Revolution turned her into a refugee. Continue Reading Women’s History Music Moment: Mary Terey-Smith
Women’s History Music Moment: Bach’s Daughters
You’ve heard so much about the sons of Johann Sebastian Bach, but there were daughters, too.
Bach was 23, and his wife Maria Barbara was 24, when the first of their children was born. They named her Catherina Dorothea. CD grew into a singer, and helped out in her father’s music work. Fifteen years passed, her mother died, her father remarried, and finally, CD Bach acquired a sister: Cristina Sophia Henrietta, daughter of Johann Sebastian and Anna Magdalena Bach. CSH died at the age of three, just as another sister, Elizabeth Juliana Frederica, was born. EJF Bach would grow up to marry one of her father’s students. Continue Reading Women’s History Music Moment: Bach’s Daughters
Women’s History Music Moment: Barbara Strozzi
Barbara Strozzi changed the face of vocal music with her stunning and emotional song collections.
Born to a famous poet and librettist, she was encouraged to follow her artistic talents from an early age and received a musical education from other famous Italian composers.
Strozzi wasn’t afraid to experiment. She made a big name herself in the 17th century, writing songs for sopranos and mezzos, and collections of non religious music; songs and texts that have lived for 400 years. Continue Reading Women’s History Music Moment: Barbara Strozzi
Women’s History Music Moment: Louise Farrenc
Louise Farrenc inspired the world and demanded what she deserved – something we can all aspire to.
A musician, composer and teacher ahead of her time, she gained fame as an incredible performer, wrote award winning music and taught at the Paris conservatory for 30 years as the only woman on staff in the 19th century. Continue Reading Women’s History Music Moment: Louise Farrenc
On A Remote Island, A Music School Flourishes
As pianist Mahani Teave was poised to launch her international career, she remembered the moment when the first piano arrived on her remote island. It was 1992, she was nine years old and the instrument landed on Rapa Nui, or Easter Island as it was named by Europeans. Best known for its mysterious, sentinel-like stone statues, the island lies some 2000 miles off the coast of Chile. Continue Reading On A Remote Island, A Music School Flourishes
The Mid-Columbia Mastersingers Go Virtual
When the pandemic abruptly put an end to live concerts and musical theatre last year, performing arts groups had to scramble to re-invent themselves online. For the Richland-based Mid-Columbia Mastersingers, that meant changing the way they hear themselves. Continue Reading The Mid-Columbia Mastersingers Go Virtual
