Paul Dukas was famously self-critical, leaving behind a relatively small body of work. Yet The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, composed in 1897, instantly became his signature piece — and remains one of the most beloved orchestral hits of all time. Some music tells a story so vividly it feels like you’re watching an animated film or reading … Continue reading “Magic Out of Control: Dukas’ The Sorcerer’s Apprentice”
Month: April 2025
🎬 John Field: The Adventures of an Irishman in Russia
What happens when an Irish piano virtuoso becomes one of the most influential musical figures in Imperial Russia? That’s the story explored in my new short documentary, John Field: The Adventures of an Irishman in Russia. Often overshadowed by the fame of his musical ‘successor’ Frédéric Chopin, John Field was a pioneering composer of the … Continue reading “🎬 John Field: The Adventures of an Irishman in Russia”
Echoes in Silence: The Unheard Genius of Fanny Mendelssohn
‘The boy is gifted, the girl is a genius’. That’s what the music teachers of young Felix and Fanny Mendelssohn told their parents. Expectations for brilliance ran high—their grandfather, Moses Mendelssohn, was a leading philosopher of the Enlightenment. But the family’s musical talent came from another branch of the tree: their mother, Lea Mendelssohn, an … Continue reading “Echoes in Silence: The Unheard Genius of Fanny Mendelssohn”