Category Archives: Classical Music and Performers

Elgar’s “Enigma” Variations

The Enigma Variations started as a way for Elgar to entertain his wife. One night in 1898, the composer was improvising melodies at the piano. Alice liked one of these and asked her husband to play it again. Not only … Continue reading

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Stravinsky’s “A Soldier’s Tale” Updated

Igor Stravinsky’s “A Soldier’s Tale” is one of music’s best-known pieces for chamber ensemble. Written a few years after “The Rite of Spring”, this work for seven musicians has been performed and recorded countless times, both in its original version … Continue reading

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Mahler’s Fourth Symphony

Mahler’s Fourth Symphony is usually considered the composer’s most popular symphonic work. Part of its popularity is because of what makes it different from his other symphonies. The rest are all large, dramatic works, lasting considerably more than an hour, … Continue reading

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Yura Lee – Two Performances in Greensboro

Yura Lee is one of only a handful of musicians to have successfully made the transition from child prodigy to mature artist. Her story is remarkable. She was born in South Korea in 1985, began studying violin when she was … Continue reading

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Paganini, How The Great Violinist Was Helped By A Rare Medical Condition

Paganini was one of the world’s great virtuoso violinists. But what is especially fascinating is that part of Paganini’s great success came as a result of a rare physical ailment. Niccolò Paganini was born in 1782 in Genoa, Italy. His … Continue reading

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The Story of Silent Night: Joseph Mohr and Franz Gruber

The world’s most beloved Christmas Carol, Silent Night, comes from the small Austrian village of Oberndorf, just north of Salzburg. On Christmas Eve, 1818, the congregation of St. Nicholas Church heard the first performance of this wonderful music. Since then, … Continue reading

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Beethoven’s 5th Symphony and its problematic first performance

When a piece of music is considered a masterpiece, it frequently receives numerous performances by well-rehearsed orchestras in the world’s finest concert halls. But what is often true is that these great works started their musical lives in less than … Continue reading

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Beethoven’s Leonore and Fidelio Overtures

Beethoven wrote many overtures. Some were as stand-alone pieces, some were as incidental music, and several were for the various versions of his one opera. One overture for Leonore (later Fidelio) was not enough, and whenever he modified the opera, … Continue reading

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Tchaikovsky’s Manfred Symphony

Manfred is a dramatic poem written by Lord Byron in 1816-17. It tells the story of the supernatural Manfred who was tortured by guilt, defies redemption, and later commits suicide. Tchaikovsky knew the story and set it to music in … Continue reading

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A Stradivari Violin Comes to Greensboro

Violins by Stradivari are known as some of the finest instruments in the world. Seeing and hearing one played in person is a rare event, often associated with major museums and big cities like New York, Paris, and London. But … Continue reading

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