Klaus Döring's Classical Music/Klaus Döring's Klassische Musik

  by  Doug Thomas     October 1st, 2025 There is no genre of music which puts so much emphasis on the past as much as Western classical music . In fact, there are very few artistic mediums which focus so much on the past than music. Perhaps painting. In the visual arts, though, we have created environments for the new and environments for the old. And together, they coexist. In London, for instance, Tate Modern coexists with Tate Britain. In Paris, Pompidou with Orsay. In music, it is different. Even the most contemporary musical centres still promote the old over the new. And somehow, it is also always the same repertoire. Why is it that classical music cannot seem to be able to look ahead then? BBC Proms In the United Kingdom only, a quick skim through current musical programmes allows one to assess that most of the music performed in concert halls focuses on past composers. Surely, the amount of living composers has never been greater. Especially in the United Kin...

by E mily E. Hogstad, Interlude Composers have always been inspired by trains, and it’s easy to understand why: the rhythmic chugging of steam engines, the sweeping landscapes viewed from a train window, and the sense of adventure and nostalgia associated with rail travel… All of these sounds, sights, and feelings have inspired composers to create music that continues to resonate with audiences today. All aboard as we chug through fifteen pieces of classical music about trains! Eisenbahn-Lust Waltz by Johann Strauss I (1836)  Johann Strauss I (the father of the composer of  The Blue Danube ) was a well-known composer and orchestra leader who wrote many pieces for various dances and celebrations. In 1836, he wrote this ebullient waltz (which translates into “Train Ride Fun”) to celebrate the construction of early railroads. They were just beginning to connect communities near Vienna to the city proper. Mikhail Glinka: Travelling Song from A Farewell to Saint Petersburg (1...

By Georg Predota , Interlude Composers tend to be a peculiar lot, particularly as it pertains to the best and most conducive circumstances in which they compose their best music. Of course, reports of that nature tend to be highly anecdotal, but more often then not, they do contain at least a kernel of truth. Ludwig van Beethoven Beethoven on a Walk by Berthold Genzmer As the American painter, artist and photographer Chuck Close famously stated, “Amateurs sit and wait for inspiration, the rest of us just show up and go to work.”  Beethoven , for example, went for vigorous walks through the forests and hills surrounding Vienna after lunch. He always carried with him a pencil and a small pocket sketchbook, recording any musical ideas that would thus come to his mind. Gustav Mahler Mahler’s Komponierhäuschen Gustav Mahler  not only locked himself in various Komponierhäuschen (Composer’s cottages), he also took 3 to 4-hour walks after lunch, recording his musical impressions in a ...