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Ten Greatest Women Pianists of All Time
From the time the piano became a popular instrument in the mid-eighteenth century, thousands of accomplished women pianists have taken to the stage. So many women have done so that it’s impossible to make an objective list of the ten
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Seven of Leonard Bernstein’s Lovers
Composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein was famous not only for his compositions and performances but for his love of people and his wide-ranging love life. In late 2023, Bradley Cooper released a biopic called Maestro, which charts Bernstein’s life, with
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Yunchan Lim: Is He the Best Young Pianist Today?
Pianist Yunchan Lim exploded onto the international music scene in 2022 when he won the gold medal at the prestigious Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, joining the ranks of past winners like Radu Lupu and Olga Kern. Yunchan Lim was
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The Wisdom of Alfred Brendel
It’s hard to believe Alfred Brendel turned 90 at the start of 2021. He’s been a part of my musical landscape since I was a teenager, when my mother, who was a great fan of Brendel and admired him in
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Classical Music Beyond the Concert Stage PART II: 8 Classical Pieces Used in Commercials
It has been over a year since part one of Classical Music Beyond the Concert Stage was published. One year passed, and I discovered more TV commercials using classical music. Some of them were found and inspired by our readers
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Sixteen of the Best Violin and Viola Duets
Composers have been writing duets for violin and viola for generations. Today, we’re sharing some of our favorite examples from the genre. From the classical elegance of Haydn and Mozart, to the rich Romanticism of composers like Spohr and Kalliwoda,
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Untangling Hearts
Klaus Mäkelä and Yuja Wang
In the world of classical music, where precision, passion, and elegance reign supreme, the drama offstage can often rival the intensity of the performances themselves. Enter the unexpected and electrifying love story of two of the genre’s brightest stars: Chinese
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Frédéric Chopin and George Sand: The Real Story Behind Their Relationship
It’s one of the most romanticized love affairs in music history: dashing cross-dressing woman novelist George Sand becomes obsessed with, and then seduces, the sickly consumptive pianist-composer Frédéric Chopin. But how much of this story is real, and how much
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