Blogs

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Science-Backed Ways to Feel More Confident in Performance
While it’s normal to be nervous before an important concert, there are techniques you can use to ensure that butterflies don’t interfere with giving the expressive performance of which you are truly capable. Read on for strategies to stay calm
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Was Chopin’s Friend Tytus Woyciechowski Actually His Boyfriend?
The friendship of Frédéric Chopin and Tytus Woyciechowski has been a source of fascination for generations. Despite rarely meeting, these two men shared a deep and unique emotional intimacy. Chopin’s letters to Woyciechowski are so passionate, and his devotion to
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Test Your Music Knowledge: How Many of 10 Masterworks by Composers in Their 80s Have You Heard?
Be forewarned: Three is an excellent score Recently, I heard a superb premiere of music by an 87-year-old composer. I wondered how many composers in their 80s have maintained similar creativity. To my surprise—and delight, as I’m in my 70s—I
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Denis Bédard’s Variations
Denis Bédard (b. 1950) is a Canadian organist, pedagogue, and composer celebrated for his prolific output of organ and choral music. Born in Québec, Bédard was educated at the Conservatoire de musique de Québec, where he graduated with premier prix
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How Pianist Youra Guller Escaped the Nazis and Made Her Carnegie Hall Debut at 80
Imagine being a piano prodigy who became the toast of Paris during the Roaring Twenties. Imagine surviving the Nazi occupation of France. Imagine making your Carnegie Hall debut in your eighties. This is the life that forgotten pianist Youra Guller
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Giving Life to Classical Music: The Skallsjö Sommarorkester
When the Skallsjö Sommarorkester was founded in 2013, all the members were between 15 and 18 years old. They loved classical music and believed that classical music had been given an undeservedly bad reputation for being boring and was dying.
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National Smile Day
Grin and Win
World Smile Day is the one day of the year when your face gets to flex its happiest muscles and flash those pearly whites like you’re auditioning for a toothpaste commercial. A smile, after all, is contagious and a good
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Great Improvisers
We often forget how great composers were also great improvisers. In fact, when the rules of Western classical music started being defined better, there was not much difference in the creative approach the musicians would have. They were both composers
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