Blogs

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Conceptual Concerts with MusicArt
Hong Kong-born and now based in London, pianist Annie Yim is the creator of MusicArt London, a conceptual concert series which combines music with poetry and visual arts, creating interesting and unexpected dialogues and connections between the works in the
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When Cellists Rush Their Cellos to Intensive Care
Accidents happen. If I trip while carrying my cello I make a split-second decision—save the cello, never mind breaking an arm! Sometimes, no matter what we do, our precious stringed instruments are damaged and we rush, heartbroken, to expert cello
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Georg Solti Accademia Di Bel Canto At Castiglione Della Pescaia, Italy
I had just completed my final set of opera scenes for the academic year at the Royal Academy of Music and was absolutely looking forward to visiting Italy for a good long month to be a part of the incredible
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The Power of Silence in Takemitsu’s Rain Tree Sketch II
Tōru Takemitsu was a composer, but he was also a writer on aesthetics and musical theory. His music is delicate and refined, as beautiful as Hokusai print or a carved jade netsuke. Largely self-taught, his music combines elements of Japanese
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Schumann-Liszt Widmung
Marked by its technical bravura, Widmung (or Dedication in English) has remained one of the most popular encore pieces in piano recital, allowing pianists to display their virtuosity. However, Widmung is much more than a mere showpiece – containing probably
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Musicians’ Worst Nightmares
A musician’s pre-concert anxieties often show up in our worst nightmares—you are on stage and have no idea what piece you are playing, or you show up for the concert and you are the piano soloist (you don’t play the
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A Piano Teacher Reflects…
I never intended to be a piano teacher. I worked for ten years in art and academic publishing after leaving university and I continued to freelance in this sector when I stopped full-time work to have my son. But as
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Twistin’ the Turk – Igudesman and Joo Move Mozart to Another Part of Asia
The piano and violin duo Aleksey Igudesman and Hyung-ki Joo have given any number of audience members a new way to hear music that could, perhaps, be too familiar.
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