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The Concert Spirituel: The First Public Concert Series
Designed for performances during times when the majority of public performance spaces were closed for religious reasons, including the weeks leading up to Easter, the first concert series in existence was founded in March 1725. The Concert Spirituel was a
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6 Famous Queer Romances from Classical Music History
Queer love has always existed in classical music. Sometimes it was hidden in plain sight; sometimes it was expressed through music itself; other times, LGBTQ+ composers were remarkably frank and open about it. Stretching from the salons of fin-de-siècle Paris
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8 Intermediate Violin Pieces That Sound Difficult (But Aren’t)
Finding violin pieces that sound impressive without demanding advanced technique can feel like an impossible task. But there’s a huge middle ground between beginner repertoire and full-blown virtuoso concertos: accessible, intermediate pieces that sound far more virtuosic than they actually
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Who Were the Women Composers Like Liszt?
Franz Liszt is often remembered as the quintessential Romantic era piano virtuoso and composer. Less often discussed, however, is the remarkable group of women composers and pianists who studied with him, admired him, challenged him, or were otherwise inspired by
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Forgotten Pianists: Stanislav Neuhaus
Russian pianist Stanislav Neuhaus carried on the tradition of his father, the pianist and teacher Heinrich Neuhaus (1888–1964). Heinrich taught at the Moscow Conservatory from 1922 to 1964 and was the author of The Art of Piano Playing (1958), considered
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Idiosyncrasies of Brass Players and Why We Still Love Them: The Trombone
A popular trombone saying goes like this: Marriage is like playing the trombone. It looks easy until you try it! The trombone is widely recognised as a challenging brass instrument, particularly due to its slide mechanism, which requires precise muscle
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Cousin Marriages in Music History
Five Composers and Their Unusual Love Lives
Although it’s a practice frowned upon today due to social taboos, a surprisingly high number of great composers married their cousins. These relationships shaped influential careers, inspired music, and in some cases even triggered familial or religious conflicts (or all
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Why Did Composers Write Atonal Music?
In the world of classical music, atonal music often receives a cool reception. Listeners who love listening to Schubert or Schumann often tap out when Schoenberg is on the program. It makes a certain amount of sense. The dissonances common
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