Terry Blain
Recent articles by Terry Blain
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'
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