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My Beethoven by Oliver
Unlike many of my colleagues who grew up around Beethoven, either by hearing him in the home or studying his piano music, I managed to (unintentionally) avoid him for a long time, only really discovering Beethoven as I embarked on
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Forgotten Musical Siblings
The off-Broadway solo play “The Other Mozart” has been traveling the globe asking the question whether Maria Anna Mozart was the real genius in the family. To be sure, Maria Anna Walpurga Ignatia Mozart, commonly known under her nickname “Nannerl,”
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Seeking Diversity in Exam Syllabuses and Student Anthologies
We are very lucky as pianists/piano teachers to have such a wide repertoire, and one which is constantly being expanded as composers continue to write for the piano – which is why I find it rather disconcerting when new anthologies
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Bringing Children to Music
Haw Par Music in Hong Kong
Music is seen largely as a private matter – the hours spent alone practicing, the emphasis on the personal interpretation, the solo spotlight. However, at the same time, music is a social activity: the number of composers and performers who
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Beethoven and Minona
In 2020, the world will celebrate Beethoven‘s 250th anniversary. Official events start on December 16, 2019, and run until December 17, 2020. The main events are concentrated around Beethoven’s birthplace in Bonn, Germany. In Bonn, Beethoven’s home has been reopened
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A Europe of Music
Europe is well known for being the birthplace of classical music. With major cities such as Berlin, London, Milan, Paris, Prague, Saint-Petersburg or Vienna, and an endless list of musicians and composers from Bach, Mozart and Chopin to Debussy, Stravinsky
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How to Practice
A follow-up to my earlier article What Is Practice? Debussy: 12 Etudes – No. 1. Pour les cinq doigts (For the five fingers) (Joseph Moog, piano) No. 11. Pour les arpèges composés (For written arpeggios) (Joseph Moog, piano) “Practice Makes
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Multi-Tasking Conductors—Commendable or Ineffective?
The headline tantalized— “OSM guest conductor Schiff ‘flies off the handle’ in rehearsals, musicians say. ‘The concertmaster of the Montreal Symphony, Richard Roberts, asserted, ‘I don’t think he [Sir András Schiff] is a professional conductor.’” Apparently, Schiff accused the musicians
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