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The Heroic Hercules in France
As a mythological character, Hercules is one who has always captured our attention. Famed for his strength and for his adventures around the known world, he’s caught the attention of writers and musicians for centuries. The stories and feats of
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Spotlight

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  • Mishka Rushdie-Momen Mishka Rushdie-Momen
    After eight years of study at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, young pianist Mishka Rushdie-Momen is establishing herself on the international scene. She has been mentored by András Schiff and has given a number of recitals in his
  • Forgotten Pianists: Agnelle Bundervoët Forgotten Pianists: Agnelle Bundervoët
    French pianist Agnelle Bundervoët (1922-2015) started to learn the piano age age 4 and by age 7 was enrolled in the Conservatoire National de Marseille and by age 10 was at the leading school in France, the Paris Conservatoire. She
  • Ali Ben Sou Alle: A 19th Century Frenchman in Mysore Ali Ben Sou Alle: A 19th Century Frenchman in Mysore
    In the mid-19th century, a great many French musicians were forced to leave their homeland and seek their fortunes elsewhere, sometimes far from Europe. Many of these were refugees from the events of the Third French Revolution of 1848, which
  • Fritz Kreisler: King of the Violin Fritz Kreisler: King of the Violin
    Violinist Fritz Kreisler was one of the great musical personalities of the early 20th century. An easy-going and charming personality combined with insightful interpretations and technical mastery to produce memorably recordings and live performances. Yet behind the immediate exterior of
  • Musical Rugby Musical Rugby
    The game of Rugby was developed in English public schools in the 19th century, and none withstanding a number of regional variations, it involves running with an oval ball in hand. It is a contact team sport, and each team
  • Four Pieces in Search of an Opera Four Pieces in Search of an Opera
    Benvenuto Cellini (1500-1571) lived a life of action, for a goldsmith, that is. His father was a Florentine musician and musical instrument maker and the young Benvenuto was, as a rarity, pushed towards music but persuaded his father to apprentice
  • Looking Backward to Lament the Present Looking Backward to Lament the Present
    In the early 19th century, composers and performers started to look again at the music of earlier times. Choral societies around Germany started to look at the music of the Renaissance and Baroque, such as compositions by Palestrina and Carissimi
  • Making Fun of Fluff Making Fun of Fluff
    The composer and violinist Louis Spohr (1784-1859) is largely lost to us today but at his time, was as highly regarded a composer as Beethoven and, as a violinist, was compared to Paganini as a virtuoso.