Blogs

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Musical Giants of the 20th Century: Choirs
Our Musical Giants of the 20th Century series have so far looked at some of history’s finest musicians – string players like Heifetz and Hubermann, pianists including Richter and Rubinstein and conductors from Kleiber to Karajan. We now turn our
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A Week in The Life at the Tanglewood Music Festival
The verdant hills of the Berkshires beckon not only for the exceptional scenery but also because of Tanglewood—the eight-week music festival and school, home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra from June through early August. I had the privilege of experiencing
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Unforgettable Wedding Performances!
A ‘destination’ wedding sounds like a terrific idea for romance and adventure but it can cause snafus for musicians! My friend Diane’s string quartet was booked to play at the historic lodge Stouts on an island in Wisconsin—a gorgeous location.
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Musical Giants of the 20th Century: Violists
Sadly the viola has been unjustly maligned. The following five consummate violists have put the viola on the map as a solo instrument, and without them we wouldn’t have the outstanding world-renown players we hear today.
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Pianos, old and new
Some years ago I heard two performances of Chopin’s Piano Sonata No. 3 in the same day: the first was on an 1848 Pleyel from the Cobbe Collection at Hatchlands, UK, a piano said to have been used by Chopin
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Sir Neville Marriner (1924-2016)
“I just wish I’d started conducting earlier”
The soundtrack to the 1984 hit film “Amadeus” sold more than 6.5 million copies, reached No. 1 on the Billboard classical albums chart and won a Grammy! Recorded by Sir Neville Marriner and his acclaimed chamber orchestra St. Martin in
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Musical Giants of the 20th Century: The Art of Lieder (Male Interpreters)
The Art Song, also known under the German title “Lied” refers to a musical setting of a poem for solo voice and piano. Significantly, the art of romantic song resides as much in poetry as it does in music. Almost
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Musical Giants of the 20th Century: Clarinettists
It is not an enviable job to create a list of great players of an instrument that is so versatile, one that has changed so much even in the last 100 years. These Musical Giants of the clarinet have been
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