In essence

1675 Posts
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Romantic Collaborators of Alberto Ginastera
Mercedes de Toro and Aurora Natola
All great composers have one! And legacy composers have several! I am talking about biographies, offering basic facts about education, work, relationships, and possibly, analysis of the composer’s personality. Any detailed, scholarly or interpretive study of music starts with solid
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Minors of the Majors
Antonín Dvořák: Silhouettes, Op. 8
“Minors of the Majors” invites you to discover compositions by the great classical composers that for one reason or another have not reached the musical mainstream. Please enjoy, and keep listening!
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The Snake of Redemption
The Mexican composer Silvestre Revueltas (1899-1940) studied at the National Conservatory of Music in Mexico City and completed his musical education with the greatest distinction at the Chicago College of Music. He was known for his conducting and composition skills
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Movers and Shakers of Music World
Hallelujah! Orchestrating a Financial Portfolio
We all know that George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) was one of the all-time great composers. But did you know that he was also a big-time impresario who took exceedingly high risks and was not afraid to put his own money
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Unsung Concertos
Nikolaus Kraft: Cello Concerto No. 1 (1815)
Antonín Kraft was one of the earliest cello superstars! A close personal friend of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven he became a founding member of the Schuppanzigh Quartet and helped to establish the tradition of modern string quartet playing. Considered one
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Minors of the Majors
Edvard Grieg: 25 Norwegian Folk Songs and Dances, Op. 17
“Minors of the Majors” invites you to discover compositions by the great classical composers that for one reason or another have not reached the musical mainstream. Please enjoy, and keep listening!
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The Devil Takes a Wife
In Ottorino Respighi’s 1923 comic opera Belfagor, the eponymous devil comes to a small village in Italy. This was Respighi’s fifth attempt at opera and we see him still struggling to get the correct coordination between the music and the
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A Girl’s Best Friend: Ethel Smyth and Marco
Nowadays composer Ethel Smyth is known less as a composer and more as a memoirist. Her multiple autobiographies are colorful windows into the musical life of the late nineteenth century. In 1919 she published Impressions That Remained, a book in
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