Here, for a few brief seconds is Johannes Brahms sitting at the piano for a recording on Edison cylinders in 1889. There’s so little of the sound left that it’s pretty much meaningless, but I can’t help but be moved by this ghostly link to the 19th century. British pianist Jack Gibbons has done a great job of putting the static into context:
John Terauds
John Terauds, Editor-Emeritus of Ludwig van Toronto, is currently a Divinity student at the University of Toronto and a church music director. He joined the Toronto Star in 1988, was the classical music critic from 2005 to 2012, and continues as a freelance critic for the paper. He is the co-author of Roy Thomson Hall: A Portrait, a book written with Toronto Star Colleague, William Littler.
Latest posts by John Terauds (see all)
- Classical Music 101: What Does A Conductor Do? - June 17, 2019
- Classical Music 101 | What Does Period Instrument Mean? - May 6, 2019
- CLASSICAL MUSIC 101 | What Does It Mean To Be In Tune? - April 23, 2019
