January, 2016

41 Posts
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Minors of the Majors
Johann Sebastian Bach: Preise dein Glück, gesegnetes Sachsen, BWV 215
“Minors of the Majors” invites you to discover compositions by the great classical composers that for one reason or another have not reached the musical mainstream. Please enjoy, and keep listening!
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Music and Art: Hindemith and Grünewald
Most of the music and art connections have been fairly simple: a picture of art and piece of music. In the case of Grünewald and Hindemith, we have a more complex inspiration that also has a political side. Matthias Grünewald
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“If music be the food of love, play on.”
Shakespeare and Music V – Much Ado About Nothing
Shakespeare’s best-loved comedies have inspired many a composer to write glorious music. Much Ado About Nothing one of his finest comedies is full of uproarious laughs, gossip, love and deception but also delves into timeless subjects of shame, honor and
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“Music is a Miracle and the First Place of Art” – Alice Herz-Sommer
More than ever we need heroes. Alice Hertz-Sommer is one of mine. Alice practiced the piano several hours each day usually from memory and with total absorption—Chopin waltzes, Schubert impromptus, Bach inventions, Beethoven sonatas and she played chamber music with
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Antonio Soler: Sol de mi fortuna
Harpsichord Sonatas
Sonata No. 17 in A Minor : Andantino From Antonio Soler: Sol de mi fortuna Harpsichord Sonatas (2015) Released by Naxos Soler: Sonata No. 17 in A Minor – AndantinoA world premiere! Who would have thought that the principal source
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Ludwig van Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 2, Op. 19
We have all heard or seen performances of the big piano concertos by Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, Liszt, Grieg, Prokofiev and various others. Hordes of young lions and lionesses—technically perfect and getting increasingly younger—merrily thunder through the repertoire on their prospective ways
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Clara-Jumi Kang
The Hong Kong International Chamber Music Festival has a reputation for attracting some of the best musical talent from around the globe, and this year is no exception. German-born Korean violinist Clara-Jumi Kang is appearing there this January, giving concerts
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Sergei Prokofiev: Salvation for Modern Music?
It is somewhat surprising that Prokofiev’s earliest effort in the symphonic genre also became one of his most popular and most frequently programmed works. Composed in 1916/17, Prokofiev subtitled his Symphony No. 1 “Classical.” That nickname was apparently chosen to
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