Blogs

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My Favorite Canons and Other Musical Puzzles
When musicians and composers get together to have a little brainy fun, they generally turn towards counterpoint. But not just any counterpoint, as composers throughout the ages have looked towards imitative counterpoint as practiced in canons and rounds. So, what
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Seven Best Works by Clara Schumann, According to YouTube
Have you ever wanted a primer on Clara Wieck Schumann‘s works but didn’t know where to begin? Have you ever been curious about which of her works has resonated the most with listeners? Today, we’re going to YouTube for answers:
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Composers in the Court Room
Elvira Puccini vs. Emilia Manfredi
On 1 February 1908 Emilia Manfredi filed a formal lawsuit charging Elvira Puccini with causing the suicide of her daughter Doria. Subjected to continual and blatant defamation, the lawsuit read, Doria Manfredi had swallowed a lethal amount of sublimate, a
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30 Best Classical Music Movies As Rated by Rotten Tomatoes
Looking for a movie about classical music to watch? You’re in luck! Today we’ve not only assembled a list of thirty movies about classical music, but we’ve also checked in with movie review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes to see which
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The Perils of Playing and Instrument Drops- it’s a Thing
As if we musicians don’t have more than our share of challenges to contend with, we heard the recent story of the energetic and exultant conductor who kicked a soloist’s violin right out of his hands. The Czech violinist, classical,
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Violence Against Men
The Age of the Castrato III
Current research has suggested that the castrati “were considered to be a gender of their own, partly because they were not classified as male or female in society. They drifted, so to speak, in a gender limbo, often carrying a
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Free Polyphony in a Modern Style: Martinů’s Madrigals
Bohuslav Martinů (1890-1959), the younger compatriot of Czech composer Leoš Janáček (1854–1928), was much more widely traveled than Janáček, largely due to the wars of the 20th century. Martinů, living in Paris in 1940, emigrated temporarily to Portugal and then
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Thomas Britton: Charcoal and Handel
You’ve probably never heard of the charcoal merchant Thomas Britton (1644-1714). He came from a small village in Northamptonshire and moved to London to become a highly successful merchant. In his spare time, he started to take singing lessons and
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