Blogs

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Instruments Required and Not Required
The Harmonica at War
We were looking at knitting books on Archive.org and found an interesting one from the WWI era. After descriptions and patterns for vests and balaclavas and scarves and all sorts of things to keep Our Boys warm and toasty at
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The Best of Beethoven: Are These the Best Works He Ever Wrote?
Ludwig van Beethoven, one of the most celebrated composers in history, left an indelible mark on the world of music. His vast body of work includes symphonies, concertos, chamber music, piano sonatas, and more. Such a massive output can be
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5 Famous Classical Melodies in New Guises
Classical music has given us some famous and unforgettable melodies. We might not know what a particular tune is called or where it comes from, but they flicker across in TV programmes, motion pictures of all kinds, on social media,
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What Classical Music Should I Listen To?
The phrase “classical music” covers over a thousand years of music. The genre spans everything from massive works for choral ensembles to delicate solo piano works and everything else imaginable in between. If you’re new to classical music, it can
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From Dark Melancholy to Unbridled Merriment
Weber’s Clarinet Concerto No. 1 in F Minor
Carl Maria von Weber (1786–1826) was much more than just the composer of an opera. In Hans Pfitzner’s memorable phrase, ‘Carl Maria von Weber came into this world to compose Der Freischütz’, which may be true, but he was so
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On This Day
8 November: Arnold Bax Was Born
For a number of commentators, Arnold Bax is far and away the most neglected British composer who flourished in the first half of the 20th century. Composing during a time that, say, the likes of Elgar and Britten, Delius and
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Which Classical Music Composers Were Deaf?
Classical music has been made by countless brilliant composers throughout history. Among those great composers are a few who faced the extraordinary challenge of deafness. Today we’re exploring the lives of four exceptional composers who, despite the challenges presented by
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1 November
World Ballet Day
While the Catholic Church celebrates “All Saints’ Day” on November 1, the arts community has decided to declare that very day the “World Ballet Day.” As such, we thought it might be fun to explore some of the origins of
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