Blogs

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Twang-Tacular Tunes
World Fiddle Fest
Every third Saturday in May, and that’s 17 May in 2025, we celebrate World Fiddle Day. It’s a day for a global hoedown where fiddles screech, twang, and produce off-key notes like a squirrel caught in a banjo. World Fiddle
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Classical Music From Brazil
Brazil is an immensely rich country with a strong musical culture and identity. It is the fifth largest country in the world, and this is reflected in the diversity of its arts. Alone, its music has influenced a plethora of
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The Wizard of Welsh Music: Alun Hoddinott
The Welsh composer, Alun Hoddinott (1929–2008), made Cardiff, Wales, the basis for his work, first as an undergraduate at the University, then as Lecturer, and finally Professor and Head of Music (1949–1987). One of the important legacies he left was
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The Phenomenon of Musical Repeatism, Part Two
In part one, we identified what musical repeatism is, why the contemporary technological landscape makes it uniquely possible, and the potential benefits of repeatism in regulating mood and enabling deep focus. We also touched on the idiosyncratic and highly personal
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Maurice Steger
Paganini of the Recorder
Frequently hailed as the “Paganini of the recorder,” Maurice Steger is known for his extraordinary virtuosity and dynamic stage presence. Combining technical precision with expressive flair, Steger breathed new life into the recorder repertoire. Beyond his performing career, which has
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The Seven Students of Vladimir Horowitz
Vladimir Horowitz was one of the most famous pianists of his generation. He preferred performing to teaching, and only took on a handful of students over the course of his career. The count of how many varies, because Horowitz was
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What Was Brahms Really Like? Pianist Ilona Eibenschütz Tells All
Johannes Brahms’s carefully crafted music can be difficult for some listeners to immediately connect with. Sometimes it takes the memories of the colleagues who knew him best to paint a more human portrait of the man. One incredible source of
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Rachmaninoff’s Fiery Concerto Brilliance (Part 2)
Mikhaïl Pletnev with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France
To commemorate the 150th anniversary of Sergei Rachmaninoff’s birth in 2023, Mikhaïl Pletnev and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France under Dima Slobodeniouk embarked on an ambitious musical adventure of performing the composer’s four piano concertos over two consecutive evenings.
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