Terry Blain
Recent articles by Terry Blain
The tragic mystery behind Tchaikovsky's final masterpiece
The composition of Tchaikovsky's final symphony was an exhausting process - but its completion was a moment of pure happiness
Seventeen years ago, the New York Philharmonic got on a plane to North Korea. Here's what happened
In February 2008, the New York Philharmonic made a historic visit to the isolationist state of North Korea
The great composer whose frenzied need for speed almost 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
Un ballo in maschera: the violent Verdi opera that the censors tried to ban
Due to the 'maddening' changes made by scrupulous censors, Verdi'a violent opera might never have seen the light of day, writes Terry Blain
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 the world's biggest 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
Mozart was facing charges of indecency. Solution? He got married
Mozart's marriage, hastily arranged, stops a visit from the Vienna police, writes Terry Blain
Wagner Ring Cycle: 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
'Coarse, primitive, vulgar and perverted...' How Stalin's displeasure left Shostakovich fearing for his life
The pianist who lifted Britain's mood during its darkest hour
Thomas Tallis: the ultimate Tudor survivor
The Tudor era was rarely a safe place to be - but its greatest composer Thomas Tallis had the guile and talent to survive its many perils
Amahl and the Night Visitors: an iconic US Christmas TV tradition
How did Glenn Miller die? The story of a fateful December night in 1944
Glenn Miller went missing over the English Channel in 1944. But what really happened that cold December night? BBC Music Magazine tells all
The black icon, the First Lady, and the concert that changed America
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
Disturbing and beautiful: is this English music's most visionary work?
Vaughan Williams' Fantasy on a Theme of Thomas Tallis made an instant impression when it was first performed. Here is the story of the first-ever performance of the Tallis Fantasia
'My uncle tormented me too much': what drove Beethoven's nephew to attempt suicide?
In 1826 Beethoven’s tormented nephew pulled the trigger on himself
'Unresisting imbecility' or 'imaginative masterpiece'? The story behind Disney's Fantasia
Secret rituals and brotherly love: why Mozart joined the Freemasons
Undoubtedly Mozart joined the Freemasons to assist his career, but the young composer was also inspired by their egalitarian values
Elgar: Violin Concerto (Vilde Frang)
The Norwegian violinist’s take on Elgar’s epic concerto, is virtuosic, entirely unshowy and up there with the very best says Terry Blain in his review
A document of despair… How Beethoven's anguished Heiligenstadt Testament revealed his advancing deafness
Beethoven's Heiligenstadt Testament reveals the composer's pain over his encroaching deafness
Sibelius had a drink problem. Then he went under the surgeon's knife
May 1908: Jean Sibelius’s dissolute lifestyle leads to an urgent appointment with the surgeon’s knife
Gustav Mahler had a traumatic 1907. Then he went to New York – and everything changed
The composer Gustav Mahler suffered a series of personal and professional disasters in 1907. A move Stateside, however, resulted in a rapid upturn in his fortunes
'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'