Terry Blain
Recent articles by Terry Blain
'A man of the highest honour and dignity'? Iconic tenor Enrico Caruso arrested for 'annoying women' at Central Park Zoo
In 1906 the celebrated Italian tenor was caught by police and arrested for persistently trailing women in the New York monkey house
The 'Eroica': a guide to the Beethoven symphony that changed the course of classical music forever
We analyse the genius and revolutionary inspiration behind Beethoven's extraordinary, epoch-making Third Symphony, the 'Eroica'
On This Day in history: composer Edvard Grieg takes an ethical stand - and receives death threats
In September 1899, as the infamous Dreyfus affair rages in France, composer Edvard Grieg says 'non' - and receives death threats
Love Bizet’s Carmen? Here are six operas you'll want to try next
Have you fallen in love with Bizet's sultry opera Carmen, and want some more in the same vein? Terry Blain has six suggestions for you
'The car flipped over, pinning him underneath': the great composer whose need for speed nearly killed him
In 1903, this Italian composer and lover of fast cars flipped his car over in freezing fog. He very nearly didn't live to tell the tale
‘While composing it in my head, I wept': Tchaikovsky's Symphony No.6 'Pathétique' brings his life to a close
The composition of Tchaikovsky's final symphony was an exhausting process - but its completion was a moment of pure happiness
Bruckner: Symphony No. 7; Mason Bates: Resurrexit
Terry Blain enjoys the synergy between Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony in this blinding Bruckner 7
'Behaving like a spoilt, overgrown child': how a move to the country saved Sibelius from heavy drinking
'My art demanded a different environment'... The country house that saved Sibelius from the demon drink
'His head crowned by a garland of white roses': how thousands attended Beethoven's funeral
The story of thousands gathering in Vienna for Beethoven’s final farewell
'Be young all your life': 15 musicians who kept playing into their 90s...
For some performers and composers, the notion of retiring at 90 has been simply out of the question, as Terry Blain explains
How Mozart's marriage stopped a visit from the police, on grounds of indecency...
Mozart's marriage, hastily arranged, stops a visit from the Vienna police, writes Terry Blain
Greed, lust and corruption: why Wagner’s epic Ring Cycle is still the greatest show on earth
Whether simply a tale of demigods, dwarves and dragons or a deeply symbolic work, Wagner’s Ring cycle has had a profound impact on both arts and politics. Terry Blain tells its story - and considers its legacy
How the world's largest pipe organ ended up in a Philadelphia department store
In 1911 John Wanamaker decided what his famous department store needed was a pipe organ - and not just any pipe organ, he wanted the biggest in the world
Handel Water Music: the musical work that launched the booze cruise
Which composer had their head stolen?
The remarkable tale of the composer whose head was removed from his body after death - and reunited with it almost 150 years later
Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius (Review)
Mendelssohn: Symphonies Nos 1-5 etc
How a concert hall's whites-only policy caused soprano Marian Anderson to find an ally in Eleanor Roosevelt
When Marian Anderson took to the stage in 1939 at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, she had the full support of the First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, who had taken up her cause after Anderson was rejected from a concert hall because of a racist policy
Irish classical music: how it originated and developed and Ireland's best composers
Terry Blain explores the richly varied classical music history of Ireland, from its folk roots in the 17th century to the brilliant young composers working today
British Music for Viola & Piano
Dreams, Desires, Desolation
Bliss • H Ferguson • Robin Holloway: Chamber Music
Walt Disney Concert Hall: a modern marvel of music and architecture
In October 2003 the long anticipated Disney Concert Hall opened - and was hailed a modernist masterpiece. We recount the history of this iconic venue.
Leonard Bernstein Berlin concert: when did the conductor celebrate the fall of the Berlin Wall?
At Christmas 1989, Leonard Bernstein conducted a historic performance of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, to celebrate the fall of the Berlin Wall