Monthly Archives: November 2012

The “Conductorless” Orchestra

National Public Radio recently had a story on a scientist from the University of Maryland who studied the movement of violin bows in an orchestra as they related to the motion of a conductor’s baton. The result of the study … Continue reading

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John Eliot Gardiner and Beethoven’s Ninth

Last night, I heard Sir John Eliot Gardiner with his Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique and Monteverdi Choir play an all-Beethoven program: “Calm Seas and Prosperous Voyage” and the Ninth Symphony. The concert was in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The orchestra … Continue reading

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The Vienna Philharmonic’s Summer Concert at Schönbrunn Palace

If you come to Vienna in early summer, you have the opportunity to attend one of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra’s newest traditions – the Vienna Philharmonic’s Schönbrunn Summer Concert. This is a free concert on the grounds of the beautiful … Continue reading

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Rachmaninoff’s “Symphonic Dances” – A Reflection On His Life

Sometimes a great composer writes their last few pieces knowing that their days are growing short. Beethoven’s late quartets pushed his music far beyond what he had written before. Mahler’s Ninth Symphony is tinged with premonitions of death. Bach’s Art … Continue reading

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