November, 2016

39 Posts
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BRAUNFELS, W.: Grosse Messe
Grosse Messe, Op. 37: 1 Kyrie From BRAUNFELS, W.: Grosse Messe (2016) Released by Capriccio Braunfels: Grosse Messe, Op. 37: 1 KyrieBraunfels’ hand at drama and his careful consideration of the text betrays the opera composer, not only in the
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Composers and Their Poets: Schubert VI
Franz Grillparzer, Ignaz Castelli, and Eduard von Bauernfeld were all friends of Schubert and appear in the 1868 ‘Schubertiade’ drawing done by Moritz von Schwind, where they are standing behind the women on the right side of the picture.
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Are concerts “too long”?
British pianist Stephen Hough sparked a lively debate recently by suggesting that classical concerts could be “shorter” to attract younger or new audiences, or to allow venues and musicians to offer two concerts in one evening. He also hinted that
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The First German Requiem
When Prince Heinrich II, Count of Reuss-Gera, died on 13 December 1635, he knew exactly what would happen at his funeral as he had designed it all himself. The texts, from scripture and from 16th century writers, such as Martin
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Manuel de Falla
Nights in the Gardens of Spain The marriage of Napoleon III to Eugenie de Montijo in 1853 heralded a French artistic fascination with the Iberian peninsular. Some of the best Spanish music of the late 19th century, particularly in the
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Minors of the Majors
Richard Strauss: Macbeth, Op. 23
“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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Paul Klee — Painting and Music
“One day I must be able to improvise freely on the keyboard of colors: the row of watercolors in my paintbox” Paul Klee (1879-1940), son of a German music teacher and a Swiss mother, started studying violin as a child,
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Exercises in Obsessive Love
When I was a starving music student—how do you like that cliché—I variously performed in venues ranging from medieval churches to lusty palaces filled with debauchery and sin! But no matter where I played, there was one single constant; my
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