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Cigarettes, Chocolate Milk, and Threesomes
All in a Night’s Work for Rufus Wainwright
Ah, the Late Night Proms. The only time you can spend in the Albert Hall in summer and not be glared at for shuffling your feet or clapping spontaneously. Starting at 10.15pm, finishing at 11.45, you’d think that this nocturnal
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Love and Death in Music
Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde tells the story of good intentions gone wrong. Tristan is sent to Ireland to fetch the beautiful Isolde, the intended bride of King Mark of Cornwall. Tristan killed Isolde’s fiancé, Morold, and Isolde is in despair
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Diversion of the Mind
Victor Borge
I always find music a fun thing to do: musical instruments are ‘played’, and the word ‘music’ lends itself to other words like ‘amuse’, ‘amusing’ and ‘amusement’. If ones looks up the meaning of ‘amusement’ on OED.com, one would find
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Gilbert and Gewandhaus – and so many singers
I love the Proms. Despite the fact that everyone always seems to be ill. Always. Of course there’ll be the odd cough in the quiet bits like at any concert, but in between movements is when the army of splutterers
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Playing only One Note
Russia is home to many unique things and in music, one of the unique groups is the Horn Orchestra. So, you’re thinking – what’s so strange about an orchestra made up of horn players? The unique aspect comes in when
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Qatar Philharmonic Music Director Resigns After Proms Performance
I get home from the Qatar Philharmonic Prom, notes in hand, ready to start reviewing. Thinking I’ll start writing in the morning, I wake up to the news that the conductor of the orchestra I saw the night before has
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Are Music Students Burying Their Heads in the Sand?
‘So… I’m graduating in a year… I could get a job… or I could commence further study!’ ‘So… I’m finishing further study in six months… I could get a job… or I could commence FURTHER study!’
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Improvisation is Life
Improvisation is one of the most important areas in which music can teach us how to live better. Because improvisation is life. Without improvisation, existence is not life; it is only the empty copying of old patterns – improvisation is
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