Blogs

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The piano tuner: the pianist’s best friend
Just as pianists develop a strong attachment to the instrument they play most regularly so they can also form a very special relationship with the person who looks after that instrument – the piano tuner / technician.
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Are you Practicing Your Études?
“She plays duets instead of Grützmacher,” my father grumbled. “Janet, practice your études!” My father, trained in the European tradition, knew the benefits, and difficulties, of the strict methods of Dotzauer, Piatti, Klengel, Duport, and Becker, all brilliant cellists and
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Forgotten Cellists: May Mukle
In 1909, May Mukle, one of the first female British cellists to achieve international acclaim, received rave reviews for her playing of the Viktor Herbert Concerto at the promenade concerts in London, “Her splendid command of technique and her complete
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Schools of Influence
What is the Russian sound, or French style in piano playing? What differentiates a pianist who was taught in the English piano tradition from one who studied in Germany? The history of piano playing is built from a large network
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Forgotten Cellists: Bernard Greenhouse
The acclaimed Beaux Arts Trio toured worldwide for nearly five decades, but you may not know their founding member, the magnificent cellist Bernard Greenhouse. I first heard him play in a performance with the Bach Aria Group. His luscious sound
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Clarinet Trios – The Voice of the Wind
The clarinet as an instrument was born in the ancient past but came into its own at the time of Mozart. With the assistance of two virtuoso brothers, Anton and Johann Stadler, the clarinet took its place first in chamber
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The Genius of Claude Debussy
Debussy at the piano! One had to have seen it to appreciate its magic. No words could describe the mysterious enchantment of his playing…– Jacques-Emile Blanche, 1932 2018 marks the centenary of the death of French composer Achille-Claude Debussy (he
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Forgotten Quartets: The Galimir String Quartet of Vienna (1927-36)
Civilization survived the exuberant nationalism of World War I (1914-1918), bruised but still intact. Weapons technology did not yet match military ambition, and civilians were spared.
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