Blogs

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Transcending Tunes of Light and Shade
Handel: Messiah
During the opening measures of the famous chorus, members of the audience glanced around anxiously, checking to see who would be first to rise to their feet. Then someone in the balcony stood, and someone else, and suddenly the whole
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Chinese Musical Instruments: Hide
Musical instruments in China were traditionally classified into 8 groups delineated by the material used in the instrument: Silk, Bamboo, Wood, Stone, Metal, Clay, Gourd and Hide. We will look at selected instruments in six of these groups in this
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John Williams and the Sound of Our Lives
Film music has always tread that fine line between classical and not-classical. Should it be considered ‘light’ classical or not classical at all? But film music itself is an interesting genre. There are so many films for which the music
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Killer Cellos
Two cellists, coming from neighboring Balkan countries, studying in England but at different conservatories, are starting to make us look at cellists and the highly versatile instruments they play in a very new way. No longer just the lower support
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Favorite Dvořák Chamber Music: Wind Serenade and Two Quintets
Well-known for his nine symphonies, Antonin Dvořák was one of the first composers to infuse his music with the folk idioms of his native land, enchanting us with Czech, Moravian and other Slavic melodies. He wrote an enormous number of
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The Great Women Artists Who Shaped Music XV: Susan Wadsworth
How did a young woman who played the piano and violin become a “king/queen maker” of such distinguished artists as pianists Murray Perahia, Emanuel Ax, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, and Richard Goode, the Tokyo, St. Lawrence, and Borromeo Quartets, violinists Pinchas Zukerman,
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Impossible Instruments
Man’s creativity comes to the fore in music: new sounds, new rhythms, new combinations. But, are there times when imagination can outstrip reality? We’ve found a couple of impossible instruments that seem to meet that criterion.
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To Boo, Not to Boo or Shriek Bravo – Unruly Audiences
Does an audience have a right to boo? Or is it boorish, arrogant and rude? There is a long tradition of riots in the concert hall complete with hissing and catcalls and throwing food—tomatoes, radishes (in the case of Maria
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