Category Archives: Classical Music and Performers

Handel’s “Water Music” – London 1717

With the focus on London’s Olympics these days, and also of the current presidential campaign, I was reminded of a great piece of music whose first performance was on the Thames almost 300 years ago. In 1717, King George’s popularity … Continue reading

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Madonna Visits Vienna’s “Mozarthaus”

Yesterday, Madonna, her daughter Lourdes, and some band members visited Mozarthaus Vienna, the museum which was the composer’s residence from 1784 to 1787. I’m glad she was drawn to see where Mozart, who some considered the equivalent of a great … Continue reading

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Email from Ondrej Jajcaj, Grave Robber

In my interest in learning more about how the teeth of Johannes Brahms and Johann Strauss, Jr. were stolen, I emailed Mr. Ondrej Jajcaj, who had posted a video claiming to be the robber and who had responded to my … Continue reading

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Strauss’s and Brahms’s Stolen Teeth – July 13 update

A colleague of mine who works for the Vienna City Government just verified that the graves of Johann Strauss, Jr. and Johannes Brahms were opened in both 2008 and 2012. The teeth of these composers were missing in both instances. … Continue reading

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Brahms’s and Johann Strauss’s Teeth Stolen!

A bizarre event in the musical world occurred in the last few days. Authorities in Austria have reported that someone broke into the graves of Brahms and Johann Strauss, Jr. in Vienna’s Central Cemetery and stole their teeth. The self-confessed … Continue reading

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Mozart’s “Don Giovanni”: Perfection in Musical Characterization

When asked which of his own operas he liked best, Gioachino Rossini wishfully said “Don Giovanni”. When Tchaikovsky looked at Mozart’s manuscript for the opera, he commented that he as “in the presence of divinity”. Charles Gounod claimed that “Don … Continue reading

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Joe Muranyi, clarinettist with Louis Armstrong, dies aged 84

Joe Muranyi, who played clarinet with Louis Armstrong for many years, died earlier this week at age 84. I was fortunate to meet Joe in 2006 when we were both participants in the “Satchmo Meets Amadeus” Conference in Salzburg. I … Continue reading

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Day 4 – Vienna, “Carmen”, and a Video Blog

Today was a great day! I returned to Vienna, a city that I deeply love and know extremely well. My “to-do” list in preparation for the arrival of my UNCG students on Saturday was very long, but I got almost … Continue reading

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Day 3 – Music in Prague

The forecast today said RAIN, but there was not a drop all day. What does a dedicated musician do when he has Prague as his disposal? check out the musical sites, of course, The Czech Museum of Musical History is … Continue reading

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Day 2 – Indoor pictures when it rains in Prague

For all the best organized plans to see wonderful things in a foreign city, rain sometimes gets in the way. Today saw a mild to moderate drizzle the whole day on top of fairly chilly temperatures, not cold enough for … Continue reading

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