December is upon us and we're on the brink of the holidays. No matter what holiday(s) you celebrate, we hope that you tune into some great performances, participate in live music events, and find some time to explore music history with your loved ones. We've compiled some of our favorite gift ideas for your "classical" music-loving friends & family. In no particular order, here are our recommendations.

Macdonald's biography of the year 1853 is an incredible read. So much of the music history that we celebrate today was fostered during this year. This book highlights the interactions between the most prominent composers, performers, and artists of the Romantic Era—you'll see why we love it.

Click Here To Purchase The Book

Meludia takes a simple approach to Ear Training—they believe that "music literacy is a basic and necessary human right, no different than the right to being able to speak, to read and to write." We agree and hope that you might consider giving your aspiring music student or music lover this unique and innovative, interactive platform for the holidays.

Informusic has recently partnered with Meludia and is proud to offer our users a 20% discount on their services. Apply the following promo code on the 'order page': INFORMUSIC

Click Here To Order
​Click Here To Discover Meludia's Platform

The Boston Symphony Orchestra offers $20 tickets for patrons under the age of 40 years old. There's no better deal for symphonic music lovers in the Boston area. The BSO has an incredible season programed under the direction of the renowned Andris Nelsons so take every chance you get to see the BSO and Nelsons live!

Click Here To Purchase

Although this doesn't fall under the ubiqutous catagory of "classical music" this musical experience is not one to miss.

From the hills of Appalachia to the small African-American churches of the Deep South, the American Spiritual is America’s first home-grown musical art form. From the plaintive sounds of Amazing Grace and Come thou Fount of Every Blessing to the unbridled joy of Ev’ry Time I Feel the Spirit, the American Spiritual gets to the very essence of our national heritage. Seraphic Fire will explore this compelling genre in depth, illuminating both familiar tunes and soon-to-be favorites.

For our Florida based users and your friends and family, check this event out.

Tickets & Information Here

The Knights orchestral collective comprises some of NYC's most talented performers. Their innovative programing and dedication to making "classical" music accessible is not to be overlooked.

Flexible in size and repertory, The Knights are dedicated to transforming the orchestral experience and eliminating barriers between audience and music. Led by an open-minded spirit of camaraderie and collaboration, we seek to engage with contemporary culture through vibrant performances that honor the classical tradition and our passion for musical discovery.

The Knights have some very exciting yet intimate performances happening next week. If you can't get to them this month, be sure to catch them in the new year!

​Tickets Here

The Metropolitan Opera has a great On Demand service that provides access to over 600 Met performances. If you can't make it to a live performance, their HD subscription is a great way to watch some of the highest quality Opera performances in the world.

Subscribe Here

Similar to the Met's On Demand service, the Berlin Philharmonic has an amazing digital presence. In addition to the Philharmonic's world-class performances, the Digital Concert Hall provides access to behind the scenes interviews and more. They even have a Christmas special as explained by Sir Simon Rattle in the video above.

Subscribe Here

Morton's A Nervous Splendor is another must read. This portrait of a year follows the trials and tribulations of Vienna's most prevalent thinkers, doctors, musicians, and noblemen. A Nervous Splendor beautifully contextualizes the actions of Freud, Brahms, Wolf, Bruckner, Klimt, and the Crown Prince Rudolf (to name a few) as Vienna's turbulent 1880s draw to a close.

​Purchase Here

If you haven't heard of GroupMuse yet, you really have to check them out! GroupMuse facilitates salon-style performances in the comfort of your own home.

Groupmuse is a platform enabling communities to come together around great art; an online social network that connects young classical musicians to local audiences through concert house parties.

Consider hosting an event at your home and sharing your love of live classical music in an intimate setting with your friends!

Learn more here

Who doesn't love Holiday Socks!?

Order Composer Socks Here
Order Music Inspired Socks Here

We're extremely excited to add George Frideric Handel to the Informusic app! The timing could not be more perfect to explore Handel's profile—the  month of Messiah performances is upon us AND to make it even more interesting, on this day in 1704, Handel was in a duel.

To learn about Handel's life, relationships, dueling habits, and more make sure you sync the app. New sheet music, audio examples, and Handel's interactive timeline can now be accessed. If you haven't downloaded Informusic yet, you can get it here for $0.99.

Get Informusic for only $0.99! Download here. No promo code required!

But wait, isn't Informusic always $0.99? — Yes, but it's Cyber Monday and finals are just around the corner.

Ever wonder what fuels the great composers? Well for Erik Satie, it was white foods. His diet consisted—at least for a time—of eggs, sugar, animal fat, salt, coconut, chicken, rice, turnips, pastry, cheese, and wine. He also noted that although he ate quite a lot, he never spoke while eating, for fear of strangulation. - Keep this in mind as this week's festivities unfold.

For more of Satie and his contemporaries' intricacies download the app.

In honor of Carl Maria von Weber's Birthday—Today or Tomorrow, no one's 100% sure when he was born—we decided to give the composer a little gift. We are happy to add von Weber to the Informusic roster!

Here are a few fun facts about the composer:

♪He married Mozart's cousin
♪He once drank nitric acid mistaking it for wine
♪He made significant contributions to German Opera at a time when Italy dominated the genre

For lots of in depth information, interactive timelines, audio examples, and sheet music- download Informusic! $0.99 for a limited time!

Come back soon for the answer...

The German composer, violist, teacher, and conductor, Paul Hindemith was born on this day in 1895. Here's your Hindemith cheat sheet--Informusic style.

In: 16 Nov 1895—Hanau, Germany
Out: 28 Dec 1963—Frankfurt, Germany

Notable Works
Mathis der Maler
Symphonic Metamorphosis of Themes by Carl Maria von Weber

Paul Hindemith was born near Frankfurt am Main. As a child he studied violin and entered Frankfurt's Hoch'sche Konservatorium continuing his studies with Adolf Rebner. Hindemith went on to study viola and composition and conducting at the Konservatorium as well. After making a career as a dance band performer he was drafted into the army where he played bass drum in the regiment band. After serving in the army he returned to Frankfurt.

He performed and composed extensively throughout Europe during the 1920s. Hindemith then moved to Berlin where he worked as a Professor at the Berliner Hochschule für Musik. By the end of the 1930s Hindemith had toured America as a voila soloist many times.

During the Second World War, a large portion of the Nazis viewed his music as degenerate and Joseph Goebbels publicly denounced Hindemith as an "atonal noisemaker." Other Nazis however, approved of Hindemith's music and hoped that his music could provide Germany with a modern voice. The famous conductor Wilhelm Furtwängler supported Hindemith and published a document in the composer's defense in 1934.

Hindemith emigrated to the USA in 1940 and soon began teaching at Yale. After spending more than a decade in America, he returned to Europe teaching at the University of Zürich. In Hindemith's later years he conducted often and recorded a vast amount of his own music in addition to that of other composers.

Paul Hindemith died in Frankfurt from pancreatitis.
​
♪ 1895--Paul Hindemith is born in Hanau, Germany
♪ 1914—Hindemith is appointed Deputy Leader at the Frankfurt Opera Orchestra
♪ 1917—Hindemith is drafted into the German army
♪ 1918—Hindemith is deployed to Flanders
♪ 1918—World War I ends
♪ 1921—Hindemith founds the Amar Quartet
♪ 1922—Hindemith's music is featured in the International Society for Contemporary Music in Salzburg
♪ 1923—Hindemith coordinates the Donaueschingen Festival
♪ 1923—Hindemith composes his Das Marienleben
♪ ​1927—Hindemith is appointed Professor at the Berliner Hochschule für Musik
♪ 1928—Hindemith composes music for Richter's film Ghosts Before Breakfast
♪ 1929—Hindemith premieres William Walton's Viola Concerto
♪ 1930s—Hindemith spends time in Cairo, Ankara, and Turkish States influencing Turkish musical life
♪ Late 1930s—Hindemith tours the US
♪ 1938—Hindemith composes his Mathis der Maler
♪ 1934—Joseph Goebbels publicly denounces Hindemith
♪ 1934—Wilhelm Furtwängler publishes his defense of Hindemith
♪ 1937—Hindemith publishes his The Craft of Musical Composition
♪ 1938—Hindemith moves to Switzerland
♪ 1940—Hindemith moves to the USA
♪ 1943—Hindemith composes his Symphonic Metamorphosis of Themes by Carl Maria von Weber
♪ 1946—Hindemith is naturalized as an American citizen
♪ 1953—Hindemith moves to Zürich
♪ 1956—Hindemith records his Symphony in B-flat for EMI
♪ 1963—Hindemith dies

Happy Birthday, Professor Hindemith!

​We are proud to announce that Informusic has just partnered with Meludia with the intension of furthering the study of music by creating the most up to date and intuitive technologies.

Meludia's Statement:
Music literacy is a basic and necessary human right, no different than the right to being able to speak, to read and to write.

​About Meludia:
Meludia is THE essential music learning web app. With over 600 interactive listening exercises, Meludia takes a sensorial approach to teaching musicians of all skill levels—they aim to teach people aural skills through emotional response. Founded by two French composers—a professor and his pupil—Vincent Chaintrier and Bastien Sannac have reached thousands of users in over 142 countries with The Meludia Method™.

If you're interested in taking your ear training to the next level, at your own pace, and want to have fun through the entire experience, we are happy to recommend Meludia's online platform. No matter what your skill level is, Meludia has the tools to help you truly understand how you feel about music. Test it out for yourself here!

Meludia is offering a 20% discount to Informusic users!
Apply the following promo code on the 'order page': INFORMUSIC
Click here to redeem your discount now

For more information about Meludia and our partnership check out our partners page.

We're very excited to welcome Antonio Vivaldi to the Informusic roster! He marks the 30th addition to the app.

You most certainly know Vivaldi's music (The Four Seasons - to name one of his famous works), but you might not know how influential he was to the development of the Baroque concerto and to orchestral music in general. He wrote over 500 concerti and helped establish compositional traditions that would pave the way for composers of later generations.

Here are a few quick facts about the composer and violinist:

🎻He was a priest - his red hair earned him the nickname, "The Red Priest"
🎻He might have had asthma
🎻It was thought for many years that Haydn sang at Vivaldi's funeral - this claim was debunked

For much more in depth information, audio examples, and interactive timelines, download the app.

Notice anything different? An updated version of the Informusic app is now available in the App store.

We've just made it easier than ever for you to visualize events in art, literature, politics, and more as they correspond with musical events! It seemed appropriate to highlight the signing of the Declaration of Independence today. Did you know that Beethoven's first public performance was two years after the signing of the US Declaration of Independence?

Informusic users, simply open the App store and 'update' the app! If you don't have Inform​usic yet, what are you waiting for? It's only $0.99 for a bit longer. Download it here.