April, 2018

52 Posts
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Berlioz: Te Deum
Premiered Today in 1855
On 30 April 1855, an ensemble of 950 performers piled into the Church of Saint-Eustache, in Paris. They were getting ready to finally premier a Berlioz work that had been specifically composed for the coronation of Louis Napoleon Bonaparte in
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Chilling With Chopin in the Tokyo Metro
Trying to catch a train at Tokyo’s Shinjuku Station during rush hours is not a pleasant task. As a main connecting hub for rail traffic throughout greater Tokyo, it handles an average of 3.64 million people per day! And that
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Salon Culture in St. Petersburg II
From Glinka to Anton Rubinstein
The orientalist and journalist Osip Senkovsky (1800-1858) prolifically published articles on topics ranging from Chinese, Mongolian and Tibetan languages, to mathematics and medicine. Under the pen name “Baron Brambeus” he issued a series of fantastic voyages, including one to the
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Schools of Influence
What is the Russian sound, or French style in piano playing? What differentiates a pianist who was taught in the English piano tradition from one who studied in Germany? The history of piano playing is built from a large network
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Forgotten Cellists: Bernard Greenhouse
The acclaimed Beaux Arts Trio toured worldwide for nearly five decades, but you may not know their founding member, the magnificent cellist Bernard Greenhouse. I first heard him play in a performance with the Bach Aria Group. His luscious sound
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Schubert: Die Winterreise
Winterreise, D.911 – 1. Gute Nacht From Schubert: Die Winterreise (2018) Released by Harmonia Mundi Schubert: Winterreise, D.911 – 1. Gute NachtWinterreise is at once the peak of the lieder repertory and Schubert’s testament. It guides the listener to distant
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Stravinsky: Apollon Musagète
Premiered Today in 1928
He was born Giorgi Melitonovitch Balandchivadze in Saint Petersburg in 1904, and he danced his way into the State Theater of Opera and Ballet, better known as the Mariinsky Ballet. After fleeing to Paris and westernizing his name to George
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Clarinet Trios – The Voice of the Wind
The clarinet as an instrument was born in the ancient past but came into its own at the time of Mozart. With the assistance of two virtuoso brothers, Anton and Johann Stadler, the clarinet took its place first in chamber
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