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Purcell on Piano: Cristian Sandrin and Purcell’s Keyboard Suites
There’s always an argument when what is traditional harpsichord music gets recorded on a piano. For harpsichord lovers, the brittle crisp sound of the harpsichord, with its quick-fade sound, gets soupy on a piano. The ringing sound covers up the
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Celebrating a Century of Song: Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
No, we don’t mean that Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau is a century old, it’s that this new recording is celebrating the centenary of his birth. Born on 28 May 1926 in Berlin, the lyric baritone and conductor who seemingly covered the entire
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Paired in E minor: Elgar’s and Fauré’s String Quartets
Both Edward Elgar (1857–1934) and Gabriel Fauré (1845–1924) had only one successful string quartet. They were written some 8 years apart and both were in the key of E minor. Elgar had tried writing string quartets since 1888 (destroyed), in
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Hannes Minnaar’s Hong Kong Debut – Shostakovich Preludes & Fugues
What are the odds of hearing the entire cycle of Shostakovich’s Preludes and Fugues performed live in one evening? That is precisely what pianist Hannes Minnaar presented for his Hong Kong debut. Inspired by Bach’s The Well-Tempered Clavier, Shostakovich employed
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Die Walküre: Earth, Wood and Fire at the Royal Opera House
The second opera of Richard Wagner’s Ring des Nibelungen, Die Walküre, is the most frequently performed of the cycle and contains some of the best-known music. Nevertheless, it demands directorial genius, musical finesse, as well as top-tier singers to bring
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Shostakovich on Piano: Yuja Wang
In a new Deutsche Grammophon recording, pianist Yuja Wang presents the two piano concertos of Dmitri Shostakovich (1906–1975) along with selections from his Preludes for piano. The concerts are with the Boston Symphony Orchestra under Andris Nelsons. When you consider
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Ravel Fragments
Bertrand Chamayou, piano
It’s almost ten years since French pianist Bertrand Chamayou recorded Ravel’s complete piano works, and now, in this the 150th anniversary year of Ravel’s birth, he has released an album which he calls “a modest contribution” to the “anniversary celebrations
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Violinist Joshua Bell in Premiere of John Corigliano’s Final Composition
Tennessee Songs Reunites Creators of The Red Violin
When John Corigliano was awarded the 1999 Oscar for Best Original Score for The Red Violin, he said, “You can write all the notes you want, but if someone doesn’t play them like a god they’ll never sound that way.
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