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On This Day
20 December: Arturo Márquez Was Born
Born on 20 December 1950 in the colonial town of Álamos deep in the Sonoran desert, Arturo Márquez has “always been enthralled by the music bubbling out of cafes and dance salons in Mexico.” That love for the musical forms
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From Ugly Duckling to Leading Composer
Tālivaldis Ķeniņš: Symphony No. 6, “Sinfonia ad Fugam”
Latvian-born composer Tālivaldis Ķeniņš (1919-2008) was educated first in Latvia and then in France, and made his home in Canada, serving on the faculty of the University of Toronto. He composed across many genres, with his output including 8 symphonies,
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Leningrad Does Varietee
Wooding, Shostakovich, Dunayesky and Prokofiev
Just a couple of years after Western Europe fell under the spell of popular American musical styles, it also debuted in the Soviet Union. As a musical language increasingly placed at the service of social commentary, and with its strong
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Practicing Without Your Orchestra
It’s always been a problem – you want to practice your piano concerto and the orchestra is away for the day, or on a break, or just not able to assemble due to the new social distancing rules. You need
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On This Day
17 December: Ludwig van Beethoven Was Born
Ludwig van Beethoven probably wasn’t actually born on 17 December, but in the absence of an authentic record of birth, we rely on the registry of his baptism in the Catholic Parish of St. Remigius in Bonn on 17 December
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What Should We Be Looking for in Chopin Competition?
A Promising Pianist or a Chopinist?
This is a never-ending question that always sparks heated debate, which sometimes even the jury can’t come to an agreement. It was also why Fou Ts’ong protested against awarding the first prize to Stanislav Bunin by not signing the verdict
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On This Day
14 December: Schubert’s Symphony No. 6 Was Premiered
During his short but highly productive career Franz Schubert worked on a total of thirteen symphonies. Three symphonic projects were abandoned in fragments, and three more left incomplete. The Symphony No. 7 in E major was fully sketched and fully
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Bach’s Greatest Chorale Hits
“Music Is an Agreeable Harmony for the Honour of God”
The term “chorale” can be somewhat confusing. That’s not surprising, as the meaning is slightly different in German and in English usage. Let’s not get into the technical differences but simply say that a “chorale” is the congregational hymn of
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