January, 2015

37 Posts
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Music be the Food of Love
Hans Gál and Hanna Schick
An ancient proverb says, “a successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person.” And that is exactly what happened to Hans Gál and Hanna Schick. They were married for 65 years, and their devotion, dedication,
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Bach the Healer
In the last decade of the 19th century, European culture was perceived as increasingly decadent and degenerate. Visual art had abandoned representation and liberated color and line; literature weakened the narrative structures and loosened meanings, and music used a technically
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Trios – Beethoven / Brahms / Weber
Beethoven Trio in B flat major op.11 (“Gassenhauer”) I. Allegro con brio From Trios – Beethoven / Brahms / Weber (2014) Released by Harmonia Mundi Beethoven: Trio in B flat major op.11 (“Gassenhauer”)I. Allegro con brioNoble Tenderness. “Ideal for expressing
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A Timeless Journey
Liszt’s Petrarch Sonnet No. 47
Franz Liszt was the ultimate rock star of the 19th century! Handsome, flamboyant and a genius performer with a natural aptitude for the stage, he eventually turned into a prolific thinker and monumental composer. Yet, that path towards enlightenment was
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Name That Tune!
How on earth do you remember all those melodies, all those little turns of phrase and all that invention by all those composers? We know from brain studies that combining words and music is a positive way to combine both
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Learning Classical Music As A Child Helps Shape Adulthood
I have been asked to write about how my learning of a musical instrument as a child had influenced me in life. As a mother, I have also asked myself this question when thinking about my daughter’s education. I would
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An Unremarkable Centenary
Karl Goldmark (1830-1915)
In ancient Greece, the coming of the New Year was celebrated by presenting a newborn baby to Dionysus, the God of Wine. Used as a symbol of rebirth, the newborn child also featured prominently in early Christian practices, and today
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Ondine
Among the compositions by Maurice Ravel that are highly regarded in the piano repertoire is the suite Gaspard de la Nuit. It is based on three poems by Aloysius Bertrand and is known for its technical difficulties. In this article,
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