May, 2014

47 Posts
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Classical Modern
It’s always a surprise when Pop and Classical music overlap. We already looked at Pop singers taking on the Classical repertoire, often with a lamentable result. But, if we look at the influence moving in the other direction, where Pop
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…les sons et les parfums
Debussy meets Chopin
Claude Debussy: La plus que lente (Valse) From …les sons et les parfumsDebussy meets Chopin (2013) Released by Harmonia Mundi Claude Debussy: La plus que lente (Valse)Chopin and Debussy: two seekers of the absolute who, in their art distilled to
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In touch with The King’s Singers
Kings of A Capella
Taking its name from their alma mater King’s College Cambridge, The King’s Singers was officially formed in 1968. It all began with six choral scholars singing six days a week in the college chapel, performing at dinners and balls, as
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The Conquest of Bayreuth
Richard Strauss and Cosima Wagner
Richard Strauss first met Francesca Gaetana Cosima Liszt-Bülow Wagner in March 1889. Of all his acquaintances and friendships during this period of his life, this one was to have the most important consequences for his immediate future. Alexander Ritter had
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The Not-So-Grand “Grand Piano”
With a plot centred on a threat to a concert pianist – ‘Play one wrong note and you die’ – the film ‘Grand Piano’ sounded intriguing. The small but strong cast, starring Elijah Wood and John Cusack, made it seem
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The Supernatural in Music
X. Dance of the Fairies: Mischievous Imps
In the Romantic era, the Fairy was a lovely creature – rarely seen but with sometimes beneficial charms. In no work was Fairy music better expressed than by Mendelssohn in his incidental music for Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. In
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Central Conservatory of Music, Beijing
So far in my series on the great music colleges of the world, my conversation has always been with the administration departments. It was refreshing, therefore, to get in touch with a cello professor, Yibing Chu, who teaches at the
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Jean-Marie Leclair
Murder in the Rue Careme-Prenant In the early morning of 23 October 1764, the violinist and composer Jean-Marie Leclair (1697-1764) was found lying dead in the vestibule of his house in a pool of blood from three vicious stab wounds
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