Society

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Pop Goes the Orchestra
In the US, it’s known as ‘Pops Music’ (not to be confused with Pop Music). It’s music for the lighter side of classical, music that the entire audience can just sink back and listen to, and, on occasion, sing along
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Anatoly Lunacharsky:More than the saviour of Sergei Prokofiev
Sergei Prokofiev, one of the greatest composers of Russia, would never forget that day after the Revolution. He left Russia with the official blessing and warning of the Soviet Minister Anatoly Lunacharsky: “You are running away from events, and these
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Full Steam Ahead
Musical Train Journeys
Life is a journey, and truth be told, when it comes to transportation I much prefer trains to airplanes.
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WWI Composers: Elgar, Schoenberg and Holst
The First World War was not merely a global military conflict; it also had far reaching implications for civilian life. It called upon women to become a fundamental part of the war effort, carrying out domestic labor, waged industrial labor,
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Musical Voices of WWI (1914-18)
Kreisler, Caplet and Hindemith
In 1910, Fritz Kreisler (1875-1962) was at the top of his game! He had just premiered the Elgar Violin Concerto under the composer’s direction at Queen’s Hall in London, and he was revered as one of the finest instrumentalists of
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The Last Best Patron
We think of patrons in music associated with the music of earlier times: Florentine lords and leaders, the Pope, or all those Russian princesses who propped up Russian composers. In America, though, it was the daughter of Chicago wholesaler who
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Musical Voices of WWI (1914-18)
Vaughan-Williams, Stephan and Bliss
Ralph Vaughan Williams was already an established composer at the onset of the First World War. By 1914, he had created a considerable body of works, including two symphonies and various works for orchestra, an opera and a number of
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In Awe of the Verbier Festival Orchestras
“Listen to Awesomeness” is a contemporary jargon used to market products related to focused listening – from audiobooks to earphones to DJs streaming music online. Even though the expression rarely exists in the classical music arena, it aptly reflects my
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