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38 Posts
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Big Pieces for Small Hands
A New Collection for Young Pianists by Béla Hartmann
As I have written before on this site, pianists with small hands often struggle with more virtuosic repertoire because of the physical demands it puts on the hands, mostly big, awkward stretches for which a larger hand span and greater
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Music ‘Has to Be Alive, It Has to Live’
Igudesman & Joo
Mozart Will Survive Violinist Aleksey Igudesman and pianist Hyung-ki Joo, better known as Igudesman & Joo, have performed their riotous duo shows all over the world, working alone as well as alongside major orchestras, sending up classical music to packed
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The Life of Luigi Boccherini
The Price of Musical Fame
A new life of Luigi Boccherini (1743–1805) has been published by Kahn & Averill in London. Babette Kaiserkern’s Luigi Boccherini: Musica Amorosa gives us a new and complete life of an extremely talented composer whose music has been neglected for
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Enough: Scenes from Childhood
Stephen Hough
The title of this memoir is a clue to just how much, or how little, the author, the celebrated concert pianist and polymath Sir Stephen Hough, is prepared to reveal. Anyone looking for an account of “how I became a
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Russia Today – A Requiem for Peace
On 16 February, the London premiere of Russia Today takes place at King’s Place concert hall. With music by Russian-born composer Eugene Birman, the piece – written during the covid pandemic – features text drawn verbatim from Russians living both
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The Ghost Variations
A Novel by Damian Lanigan
Declan Byrnie, child prodigy, and world-class concert pianist has enjoyed a glittering career from a young age, touring the world’s best concert halls and producing acclaimed recordings. Ten years into his career his wife dies in a terrible accident, and
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“I Can’t Make Music Without Sharing” – House Concert by Igor Levit
On 12 March 2020, pianist Igor Levit tweeted the following: Empty concert halls. The idea of listening to and experiencing music together is gone – for now. It’s necessary, yet so sad. But it’s ok. Still: I’d like to continue
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Reading Franz Liszt: The Poetry Behind the Piano Music
“I find Roberts’ argument most persuasive” In the introduction to his new book, pianist Paul Roberts recounts a conversation with “an elderly and much celebrated piano teacher” when he was just starting out as the inspiration for a lifetime’s fascination
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