August, 2022

73 Posts
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Something Sharp’s Here!
Credit: Addy Buffum on Facebook
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What Does an Associate Principal Cello Do?
If you love classical music and attend symphony concerts you are aware certain musicians have titles and special responsibilities. The concertmaster does not simply get a bow at the beginning of a concert and a handshake at the end. He
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Lukas Foss
“An Authentic Genius” A scholar writes, “the works of Lukas Foss (1922-2009) spring from a distinct personality: enthusiastic, curious, and receptive to every kind of musical idea…he was one of his era’s most communicative and representative composer-performer.” It’s not surprising
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Gazing at the Stars
Charles Koechlin: The Seven Stars’ Symphony
French composer Charles Koechlin (1867-1950) started life as an engineering student but poor health and poor grades made him give this up at age 22, he entered the Paris Conservatoire. He studied composition with Jules Massenet with his fellow students
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Swimming in Music
It’s summer! Where I live, it’s been humid and heavy with some days at ‘93° but feels like 124°’ (33C, feels like 51C), according to my overly helpful weather app, so definitely summer. So, let’s see where water has inspired
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Reading Franz Liszt: The Poetry Behind the Piano Music
“I find Roberts’ argument most persuasive” In the introduction to his new book, pianist Paul Roberts recounts a conversation with “an elderly and much celebrated piano teacher” when he was just starting out as the inspiration for a lifetime’s fascination
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On This Day
6 August: Busoni’s Fantasia Contrappuntistica Was Premiered
Ferruccio Busoni had always been fascinated by the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, and he gradually “achieved a profound understanding of Bach’s polyphony and his expressive intentions.” Over time, Busoni translated a good many of Bach’s compositions for the piano,
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Dance, Dance, Dance: The Baroque Dance Suite
Allemande, Courante, Sarabande, and Gigue In the new series on dance music, Dance, Dance, Dance, we’ll be looking at dance and how it comes into classical music. You’re going to be surprised at some of the places where it has
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