Blogs

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Playing with Dolls: The Theremin Reborn
They sit in rows, earphones on, doll in hand, and hand poised. A sound emerges, as much like singing as you can imagine. It’s a matryomin ensemble. Invented in 2003 by Japanese theremin player Masami Takeuchi, the matryomin combines two
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My Beethoven by Doug
Discovering Beethoven: A Visual Introduction Beethoven is well-known by all. However, to some this knowledge is often peripheral — just as one would not recognise an obscure Van Gogh when facing it, some average listener could struggle in identifying some
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Clare College Choir: Arvo Pärt and ClareCast
Hot off the heels of the release of their latest album Stabat, I chat to Graham Ross, Director of Music at Clare College, Cambridge about their newest release, featuring the music of Arvo Pärt alongside works by Pēteris Vasks and
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On My Music Desk……
Cheryl Frances-Hoad – Song Without Words
When I was planning the programme for my final performance diploma, I needed a short introductory piece that would either contrast with or complement the main work in the programme, Schubert’s monumental Sonata in A, D959. I was keen to
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Live Music Returns to London’s Wigmore Hall
John Gilhooly, Director of London’s prestigious Wigmore Hall, has announced a new series of lunchtime concerts at the Hall, starting on 1 June. This is, sadly, not a return to “normal” for classical music – far from it – but
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The Rhythmic Voice in Music
Rhythm begins in the womb with the heartbeats of the mother and the child. The synchronisation of the heartbeats of a mother and her foetus does actually occur at times, this shows us how important that rhythm is to us
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Looking at Beethoven: After His Death
The first image we have of Beethoven after his death is his death mask. It was common to take a death mask of famous people, either to serve as a memory or as a basis for portraits. The method was
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Celebrating Celia
“I always sang. Both my father (Edwin) and his sister, Muriel were gifted singers, but Edwin was streets ahead because he was also a brilliant pianist and, from my very youngest years, I had the pleasure and honour of listening
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