Happy Birthday, Well-Tempered Clavier
Bach’s most influential pedagogical work turns 300 this year. But what’s so “well-tempered” about this clavier, and what’s a “clavier,” anyway?
At First, the Guitar Was a “Women’s Instrument”
The history of the guitar shows that musical instruments have been gendered—but just how changes over time.
How to Memorialize a Plague
Vienna's baroque Plague Column, completed in 1693, gave thanks for the survival of a city.
Why We Will Never Hear What Mozart Heard
Modern pianos are the product of a 600-year evolution—from Hermann Poll's 1397 clavicembalum, to clavichords, harpsichords, and the modern grand piano.
Christopher Hogwood, Founder of the ‘Historically Informed Performance’ Movement, Dies
Christopher Hogwood's career, which spanned five decades, was defined by his groundbreaking quest for authenticity in the performance of early music, a movement that became known as "Historically Informed Performance" or "HIP".