Terry Blain
Recent articles by Terry Blain
Peer Gynt: a guide to Edvard Grieg's popular masterpiece
When asked to write music for Ibsen’s play Peer Gynt, Grieg thought he was facing an impossible challenge. But, as Terry Blain relates, the composer’s perseverance resulted in a masterpiece
of matchless character and colour
Why a besotted piano student held Liszt at gunpoint
'She pulled her by the hair, slapping and biting' – why two famous opera divas came to blows on stage
'Perverted': how Stalin's anger left Shostakovich fearing for his life
Mozart was facing charges of indecency. This was his solution
Mozart's marriage, hastily arranged, stops a visit from the Vienna police, writes Terry Blain
Separated at death: the macabre afterlife of a famous composer
The remarkable tale of the composer whose head was removed from his body after death - and reunited with it almost 150 years later
Here's a side to Mozart you probably didn't know
Undoubtedly Mozart joined the Freemasons to assist his career, but the young composer was also inspired by their egalitarian values
Why the world’s mightiest pipe organ resides 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
Murder at the Met: the tragic story of the violinist who went missing mid-concert…
'Be young all your life': 15 musicians who played on 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
The very cheek! When Brahms fell asleep during Liszt's concert... and ignited a lifelong feud
This composer received death threats - for taking a stand
In September 1899, as the infamous Dreyfus affair rages in France, composer Edvard Grieg says 'non' - and receives death threats
Wagner the revolutionary: why the famous composer was forced to flee arrest in 1849
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
Lust, greed, corruption: why Wagner's Ring Cycle will always be 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
Death at the keyboard: a pianist's final, fatal performance at Carnegie Hall
Slaps, jeering and insults: the highbrow 1913 concert that turned into a violent brawl
Vaughan Williams Tallis Fantasia: 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
One night in Belfast catapulted a young Luciano Pavarotti to stardom. Here's the story
When Luciano Pavarotti got a call to perform Puccini in Belfast, he couldn't have known how career-defining his performance would be...
1907 was the worst year of Gustav Mahler's life. Then came America - 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
Beethoven's funeral drew bigger crowds than Michael Jackson's
The story of thousands gathering in Vienna for Beethoven’s final farewell
'The greatest single step in the history of music': the masterpiece that tore up the classical rulebook
We analyse the genius and revolutionary inspiration behind Beethoven's extraordinary, epoch-making Third Symphony, the 'Eroica'
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