Music & Culture
Classical Music Posts
Collecting Stories Together, In A Year Spent Apart: A StoryCorps Northwest Special
This hour-long special of StoryCorps Northwest highlights some of the moving and inspiring stories from friends and neighbors in the Inland Northwest.
‘We Will Never Break’: In Iraq, A Yazidi Women’s Choir Keeps Ancient Music Alive
With its dirt roads and drab dwellings, the camp can be a bleak place. But the beat of a daf, a drum sacred to Yazidis, throbs underneath loud, energetic singing, rising over shouts of children in a trash-strewn playground.
Where Did ‘Papa’ Haydn Get His Nickname?
Joseph Haydn – often called the father of the symphony and the string quartet, teacher to many and an all around good-natured man. To this day, he still wears the nickname “Papa Haydn” – but where did it come from?
Bach’s Favorite Instrument You’ve Probably Never Heard Of: The Long-Lost Lautenwerck
No lautenwerks survived the 19th century. Picture extremely delicate harpsichords — in fact, lautenwercks are alternately called lute-harpsichords. Their strings are made of guts, originally from sheep (like lutes), which gives lautenwercks a warm, intimate tone distinct from brassy, metal-strung harpsichords.
Women’s History Music Moment: Toby Saks
The chamber music impresaria Toby Saks became a legend in the music life of the Pacific Northwest. She began her career in New York: she earned awards as a teenage cellist; she played in the New York Philharmonic in her 20s. She moved out west to join the faculty of the University of Washington School of Music, and soon gathered a group of classical music supporters to launch the Seattle Chamber Music Festival.
Women’s History Music Moment: Helen, Countess of Radnor
Helen, Countess of Rador seemed to care very little for what society said she could or couldn’t do as a Victorian Lady – so she decided to make history.
Born in a tiny town in Central England, a young Helen moved to London, moved to London, married an Earl, and started her [new] life as a countess and patron of the arts.
