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Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde (“The Song of the Earth”) is a six-song composition for two voices and orchestra written between 1908 and 1909. It is drenched in wine. The words are from Hans Bethge’s Die chinesische Flöte, his … Continue reading

Frank Martin was a Swiss composer. No, I hadn’t heard of him either. Le vin herbé (The Potion), composed 1938–1940, is Martin’s version of the Tristan and Iseult story, or at least the “love potion” part. It’s rarely staged but … Continue reading

A message from Vic Mills: “More tales from the far Pavilions with the Project Front Foot April newsletter. Another busy month in and around Mumbai with news of the Dharavi Cricket Academy plus more sterling work by our partners at … Continue reading

“Don Quichotte à Dulcinée” is a song cycle by Maurice Ravel based on the story of Don Quixote. One of the three songs is the “Chanson à boire”, which refers to “l’amour et le vin vieux”… Ah, what could be … Continue reading

A cartoon of Samuel Smiles by Edward Linley Sambourne, 1883, from “Punch”. Smiles was a Scottish author and government reformer whose most famous work is “Self-Help” (1859), which promoted thrift and asserted that poverty was caused largely by irresponsible habits. … Continue reading

A message from my friend Vic Mills: “Hi Stuart, A busy Friday here in Berlin and the start of a long couple of days as we get the latest project newsletter down the wires. A bumper edition too with all … Continue reading

I can only hope that Francisco López was well-rewarded for naming a song after a Champagne brand. This Spanish composer of “experimental” music describes his work as, “Destroying boundaries between industrial sounds and wilderness sound environments, shifting with passion from … Continue reading

The composer of this classic blues song is unknown: “Trad” is the best guess. There have been many version of this tale of heartbreak and vengeance. I have chosen Bessie Smith’s magnificent recording. The song is not really about wine … Continue reading

A nice title by Goran Bregović, a well-regarded Bosnian musician whose songs cover a wide variety of genres. He composed the soundtrack for the sumptuous 1994 film La Reine Margot, starring Isabelle Adjani. I have not seen it for many … Continue reading

A message from Vic Mills: “A tad frenetic here as we put together our refugee Kit Aid appeal. It’s starting to take shape. Which is just as well as we’ve an overnight sailing to the Hook of Holland on 31 … Continue reading