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More Forgotten Piano Sonatas
For “World Pianist Day” 2023, I wrote a little blog featuring some rarely performed or forgotten piano sonatas. As you know, the piano repertoire is absolutely vast, and at the end of my blog, I always invite readers to let
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Haydn for Beginners: Eleven Pieces to Make You Love Haydn
Joseph Haydn was born in the village of Rohrau, Austria, in 1732. Haydn overcame a difficult childhood to become one of the most influential composers in the history of classical music. Here are a few biographical tidbits about him: Haydn
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Unique Concertos II
Works by Piazzolla, Aho, Huber, Tower, and Tan Dun
Let’s continue to explore more concertos for unique instruments. The Argentinian composer and virtuoso performer Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992) revolutionized the tango by turning disreputable and downright earthy folk music into a sophisticated form of art. Considered the father of the
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Music Quiz: Are You Familiar With Antonio Salieri’s Life and Music?
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Music at the Hotel II
The Marlborough-Blenheim in the 1910s and ‘20s
After the programme on Friday, Saturday was for dancing in the Ballroom. The dancing started at 9 pm, and the first two dances were for children. After that, the adults could take the floor. The music would have been provided
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Do It Again!
Credit: Bill Whitehead
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The Elegant Strings: The Violin
The violin, the best known of the instruments of classical music, is known by its shape – an hour-glass waist and an arched bridge. These are our first clues that this is a bowed instrument – the waist on the
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Verdi for Beginners: Nine Pieces to Make You Love Verdi
Giuseppe Verdi was born 10 October 1813 in Le Roncole, Italy. Here are a few facts about his life to get you started: Verdi is most famous for his operas. Over the course of his six-decade-long career, he wrote twenty-eight
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