December, 2013

36 Posts
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Salle Pleyel
Once upon a time, the life of a traveling piano virtuoso was a veritable nightmare. Performers traveled long days and dark nights in rickety horse-drawn coaches over slippery roads and muddy fields. If they could afford the luxury, they spent
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Ernst Toch
Corrected by MozartCan you imagine one of the most astonishingly gifted musical prodigies of all times being forced to study music in secret? It happened to Ernst Toch, whose father — a Jewish processed-leather dealer in Vienna — did everything
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Mozart – Clarinet Quintet / String Quartet
Clarinet Quintet in A Major: II. Larghetto From Mozart – Clarinet Quintet / String Quartet (2013) Released by Harmonia Mundi Mozart: Clarinet Quintet in A Major: II. LarghettoFriendship in musicWe owe these two masterpieces to the musical friendships Mozart made
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Christmas at King’s
For many people across the world, tuning in to the Service of Nine Lessons and Carols from King’s College, Cambridge on Christmas Eve signals the arrival of Christmas. The sound of a solo treble intoning ‘Once in Royal David’s City’
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In touch with Gary Hoffman:
Unforgettable Cello Sound
Gary, I’ll never forget hearing you for the first time. We were both in Janos Starker’s class in the 1970’s and your sound blew me away. I must say I wondered if I would be up to snuff with such
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In touch with ZRI
Playing the Brahms Clarinet Quintet interspersed with gypsy folk may seem odd – but this is what the band ZRI lives for. There is a method in their madness, and speaking to accordion player Jon Banks gave me an insight
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Top Five Tracks to welcome the New Year
In one form or another — regardless of culture, nationality or creed — New Year’s celebrations have several elements in common. Among the most popular are dancing, singing, drinking, a sense of spiritual renewal and, of course, fireworks! To celebrate
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Folk Music of the Future
When we think of folk music, we often think of music that is far removed from what we do in daily life. So how do you modernize something that is considered to exist almost out of time – we rarely
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