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

  by  Maureen Buja    April 23rd, 2026 First created in 1853 as work for piano and cello, Gounod combined an improvisation with  Bach ’s Prelude No. 1 in C major, BWV 846, from Book 1 of the  Well-Tempered Clavier . By superimposing his melody over the 1722 work, Gounod created a piece that still lives today. The Ave Maria verse as done in historiated initials, ca 1480–1496 (From the  Heures de Charles d’Angoulême , folio 52r) (Gallica, btv1b52502694t/f. 133) Originally, Gounod had just improvised over Bach’s  Prelude . His future father-in-law, the composer and pianist Pierre Zimmerman, transcribed the work and wrote it out as a work for a string instrument (violin or cello) over keyboard (piano and harmonium). It was published under the title of  Méditation sur le 1er prélude de piano de S. Bach. Bayard & Bertall:  Charles Gounod , 1860 (Gallica, btv1b84542916) The same year, the words to Alphonse de Lamartine’s poem, ‘Le livre de ...

  by  Georg Predota    January 10th, 2021 Khatia Buniatishvili One of the most visually glittering pianists today, Khatia Buniatishvili steadily appears on television sets, front covers of glossy magazines and every imaginable social media outlet. She certainly attracts attention; on the cover of a recent  Schubert  release, Khatia takes on the physical persona of the famous corpse Ophelia, prompting a critic to sheepishly ask, “artistic or airheaded?” Unquestionably, she is one of the most highly sought after pianists, and readily appears in the world’s most prestigious concert halls. And it is her appearance in outfits with often plunging necklines that have earned her various nicknames, including the “Betty Boop” of the piano, and “the pop star of the classical music world.” For some, Khatia is a phenomenon “titillating the classical public… shaking and disrupting this fragile world.” To others, she is a “Lady Gaga or Beyoncé craving attention, with fash...

  by  Emily E. Hogstad     April 18th, 2026 The early Romantic Era, which roughly corresponds to the first half of the nineteenth century, brought an explosion of emotional depth and individuality to classical music.  The stories we usually hear about the composers of the time focus almost entirely on men: figures like  Chopin ,  Schumann , and  Liszt . In reality, dozens of women composers were also writing symphonies, operas, piano works, and chamber music that matched their male contemporaries in imagination and skill…and sometimes exceeded them. The surviving works of rediscovered women composers remind us that the true spirit of the Romantic movement was never confined to men alone. Here are twelve forgotten women composers who were born in the early Romantic Era. Louise Bertin (1805–1877) Louise Bertin Born into an intellectual Parisian family, Louise Bertin was the daughter of the editor of the  Journal des débats : a relationship that...

  by  Frances Wilson    April 24th, 2026 Browse streaming platforms such as Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube, as well as broadcasters like the BBC, and you will find curated playlists of music for relaxation, calm, winding down, nighttime, and sleep. That Max Richter’s   Sleep   – his landmark 2015 concept album and “eight-hour lullaby” designed to be listened to while sleeping – has surpassed 2 billion streams across all platforms is a testament to the popularity of this genre of music. Susan Tomes Why has the night inspired composers for so many years? In her new book  Nocturnes and the Fascination of Night Music , pianist and writer Susan Tomes looks for answers, exploring one of classical music’s most expressive forms. The nocturne is closely linked to the piano and the quiet, thoughtful moods of the evening. Susan Tomes calls the nocturne “ the origin of today’s sleep music….a short, lyrical and usually tranquil piece evoking night .” When we thi...

3 January 2024, 18:45 | Updated: 3 January 2024, 21:31 10 pieces of classical music that will change your life (pictured: Romanian Athenaeum).  Picture: Alamy By Classic FM @ClassicFM Hold on to your hats – if you haven’t heard any of these musical works of genius, your life is about to be changed 10 times in a row. Classical music  can calm nerves, fire up the senses and spark creativity. It can also be uniquely life-affirming. Here are the 10 major works we recommend you devote some time to. With the depths of their passion and beauty, we think they have the power to move everyone – with life never being quite the same afterwards. J.S. Bach: St Matthew Passion What is it? It’s one of two ‘Passion’ oratorios that have survived since  Bach  died (he could’ve written up to five), but it’s also become one of his most celebrated pieces. The original title is Passio Domini nostri J.C. secundum Evangelistam Matthæum (the ‘J.C.’ stands for Jesus Christ, which is maybe a bi...