December, 2018

54 Posts
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Happy New Year 2019
“Auld Lang Syne”
In much of the English-speaking world, a traditional folk song set to the words of a Scots poem is used to bid farewell to the old year at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve. “Auld Lang Syne,” probably
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1,001(Arabian) Nights III
Folk Tales in Music
Maurice Ravel wrote two works with Shéhérazade, the heroine and narrator of The Arabian Nights as the title. One of his earliest surviving orchestral pieces, the “Ouverture de Shéhérazade” makes use of a Persian melody, but it was not well
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The Piano Concerto
Part 3 – The Lesser-Known and Rarely-Performed
Since the invention of the piano in the 18th century, composers have placed the instrument centre stage, pitting it against the might of an orchestra to create music which ranks amongst the greatest in the repertoire.
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Consider This Before You Date a Musician
Musicians are a rare breed. I’m the first to admit life with me might be a bit challenging. Being a professional musician isn’t all fun and games. It’s not an avocation, nor a vocation it’s our way of life, our
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Bach: Goldberg Variationen – Diego Ares
Goldberg Variations Aria From Bach: Goldberg Variationen – Diego Ares (2018) Released by Harmonia Mundi Bach: Goldberg Variations – AriaIn the thirty-two movements that make up the Goldberg Variations, Bach offers us a perfect equilibrium between structure, proportion, counterpoint and
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The Beauty of Counterpoint
Often, the point of interest in the music isn’t the melody but what’s going on underneath. I recently attended a performance of Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker, but without the dancers, i.e., a full ballet with the orchestra only. It gave an
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Preserving the Joy
For those of us who engage in music, as performers and teachers, the classical canon offers an endless source of excitement, thrilling stories and fantasies, portrayed in myriad colours, moods and styles. The desire to play this music and revel
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Franz Schubert and the Countess
The memoirs of Franz Schubert’s friends are full of references to Caroline Esterházy. In fact, Eduard von Bauernfeld wrote in February 1828. “Schubert was, in fact, head over ears in love with one of his pupils, a young Countess Esterházy,
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