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Snuggling at the Piano
I was at a concert the other evening where the opening work was Schubert’s Fantasia for Piano 4-hands. Two pianists, sitting side by side, at one piano performed one of Schubert’s greatest pieces. The two pianists angled their benches carefully
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The dangers of having a (critical) mind!
Aren’t you just sick and tired of lazy and unimaginative programming justified by the eternal excuse, “I am just giving my audience what they want to hear!”
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The Beauty of the English String Sound
We forget how much the English contributed to the beauty of orchestral music through their lush pastoral string writing. And the Bridge is Love, a new recording by the English Chamber Orchestra led by Julian Lloyd-Webber, brings all of this
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Commissioning Atrocities
The Kronos Quartet is famous for commissioning works that cover the widest possible range of musical and experimental genres. The founder David Harrington once explained, “I’ve always wanted the string quartet to be vital, and energetic, and alive, and cool,
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A Key to the Brahms Sound
J. B. Streicher & Sohn No. 8105
Buying a piano for home use is a highly personal choice. It depends on a number of variables, including instrument style, brand, color and shape. Generally speaking, however, we look for instruments within a certain budget range, and one that
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A Fresh Perspective into Ensemble Playing
The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao recently presented a nine-screen multi-channel video installation by the young Icelandic performance artist Ragnar Kjartansson, who is known for featuring music in his works. Bliss, his 12-hour work starring a live performance of a scene from
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“Power Poses” Musician Style
“Your Body Language Shapes Who You Are”
When you walk out onto the stage for a performance, audition, competition or jury do your thoughts go wild with self-doubt or do you exude confidence? Do you slink into your seat and look down at the instrument or do
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The Royal Academy of Music
If you walk from Baker Street along Marylebone Road, you are greeted with hoards of tourists stampeding their way towards Madame Tussaud’s to gape at the wax models within. However, if you dare to push past the crowds and wander
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