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The Many Moods of Summertime
We all know Bess’ song from Porgy and Bess: ‘Summertime, and the Livin’ is Easy’. We decided to do a survey of what other composers thought about summer and were surprised at the very different moods and modes composers used
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  • Forgotten Pianists: Vladimir Sofronitsky Forgotten Pianists: Vladimir Sofronitsky
    Vladimir Sofronitsky (1901-1961) was a Russian pianist who made his name not playing the classical and romantic composers but in his performances of the works of Alexander Scriabin (1872-1915), his wife’s late father. Born in St. Petersburg, he studied at
  • Musical Giants of the 20th Century: Harpist, Mandolin and Banjo Musical Giants of the 20th Century: Harpist, Mandolin and Banjo
    Three legendary 20th century harpists stand out. British harpist Sidonie Goossens’s remarkable career extended just short of seven decades. A member of the BBC Symphony Orchestra from its founding in 1930 until 1980, she was known for her brilliant playing
  • Year of the Fire Rooster 2017 Year of the Fire Rooster 2017
    In the ancient system of Chinese astrology, the Lord Buddha summoned all the animals to wish him goodbye before he departed from Earth. Alas, only twelve animals came to bid him farewell. So he rewarded them by naming a year
  • Music, Medicine and Happiness Music, Medicine and Happiness
    Did you ever wonder why the Chinese character for Music (“樂”) shares the exact same character for happiness (“樂”), and why the Chinese character for medicine (“藥”) is simply the same character with the symbol for plants placed on top?
  • Composers and Their Poets: Debussy II Composers and Their Poets: Debussy II
    In his delicately titled, Ariettes oubliées (Forgotten Little Songs), Claude Debussy (1862-1918) took the poetry of Paul Verlaine (1844-1896) and created a song cycle to match the stylistic subtleties of his poems. Debussy met the older poet via his mother-in-law.
  • Baltic Visions: Veljo Tormis (1930-2017) Baltic Visions: Veljo Tormis (1930-2017)
    It is with great sadness that we report the passing of Estonian composer Veljo Tormis. Regarded as one of the most prolific and most innovative choral composers of the 20th century, he ceaselessly kept alive the memories of ancient peoples