May, 2019

41 Posts
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J.S. Bach and J.J. Bach: Departure and Farewell
We always think of J.S. Bach as a thoroughly German composer and always in terms of his own family – who he married, how many children he had, what those children did – but we rarely think of him in
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The Ferment of Life: Schubert’s Last Piano Sonatas II
Alfred Brendel describes Schubert as “a sleepwalker”, yet in his final three sonatas, we see Schubert’s innate sense of musical geometry and his bold treatment of traditional sonata form. These are tightly-organised woks with almost perfectly-balanced structures, perhaps most obviously
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Equal Sides of the Musical Triangle
David Ludwig about IC2019
When we last spoke with David Ludwig, he was about to head off for Hong Kong to participate in the 2019 Intimacy of Creativity – The Bright Sheng Partnership: Composers Meet Performers in Hong Kong (IC) festival held by the
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Cooking with the Classics
I was in a shop recently and found BeepEgg, an egg timer that goes into the water with your eggs and lets you know when they’re done. I bought the one with Classical Music themes, called BeepEgg Nori, decorated with
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Theodor Leschetizky: For the Love of 4 Students
Theodor Leschetizky’s (1830-1915) unbelievable teaching career lasted the better part of 75 years! It is said that in excess of 1200 eager piano students passed through his studio, and that included piano superstars Schnabel, Gabrilovich, Friedman, Moiseiwitch, Yesipova, Vengerova, and
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Musicians and Artists: Berlin, Whiteman, Dove and others
As part of his six 1927 music paintings, Arthur Dove did three on George Gershwin’s music and one on Irving Berlin’s music. The link between Dove and these six paintings was Paul Whiteman and his Experiments in Modern Music concert
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The Weight of History
Politicians in particular talk a lot about the “weight of history” or of feeling “the hand of history on our shoulders”, especially when faced with a serious national crisis or significant policy decision.
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Mozart’s Musical Journey
25 May 1782: “Concert at the Augarten”
Mozart was incredibly successful in his appearances as a virtuoso at concerts in Vienna. Concerts were traditionally held during Lent, as all the theatres were closed. They were primarily held in private houses belonging to the aristocracy with invitations usually
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