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Observations:
Suk's Angel of Death is not for the faint-hearted
by Jessica Duchen |
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Daniel Barenboim: How the maestro made classical music the hottest ticket in town
Daniel Barenboim is back, and tickets for his Beethoven piano concertos are like gold dust. Jessica Duchen is dazzled by the charisma of a man whose personal life, philosophy and quest for peace are woven into his music
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A glass ceiling
for women in the
orchestra pit
Next week, Julia Jones takes the baton at the Royal Opera House.
But a woman on the podium remains a rare event. And that is absurd, says
Jessica Duchen
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Don't roll over Beethoven
The Roundhouse is more famous for rock than symphonies, but it could be just the venue to build up a young classical fanbase, says Jessica Duchen
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Frédéric Chopin - A very tainted genius
Next year is the bicentenary of Frédéric Chopin's birth, and major celebrations of his life are planned. But, says Jessica Duchen, while the composer's music was sublime, his personality was another matter entirely
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Ballet and Opera -
The odd couple
To many ballet fans, opera is all about melodrama and inappropriate vocalising. Yet, to opera aficionados, ballet can seem limited and dull. But, Jessica Duchen says, they do work together ...
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2009 |
Opera sheds new light on Tchaikovsky's gay lifestyle
Tchaikovsky is thought of as a gloomy fatalist, but a rarely staged humorous opera and a book about his gay lifestyle will make us think again
by
Jessica Duchen
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Life in the fast lane: Steven McRae
Steven McRae grew up in the world of motor racing but now he is one of the Royal Ballet's brightest stars
by
Jessica Duchen |
Observations:
Thomas Arne is due a revival after 166 years
by
Jessica Duchen
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Haunting: ENO revive 'The Turn of the Screw'
A revival of Benjamin Britten's spine-chilling adaptation of Henry James's novel, Jessica is haunted by the power of ghost stories set to music
by
Jessica Duchen |
Observations:
Martinu benefits from BBC Symphony Orchestra's championship
by
Jessica Duchen |
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2009 |
- Joyce DiDonato -
A diva with joie de vivre
by
Jessica Duchen |
Observations:
Hitler at the heart of Wagner
by
Jessica Duchen
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Still playing the rebel:
Nigel Kennedy
is back and he's showing no signs of mellowing
Jessica Duchen met him, and then partied... |
PROM 60:
RPO - Charles Dutoit/ Martha Argerich, Royal Albert Hall, London.
A sublime solo in a night of stars
Reviewed by
Jessica Duchen |
PROMS:
Observations:
Proms brings Israeli and Arab musicians together in perfect harmony
by
Jessica Duchen |
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2009 |
Prom 5:
LSO/Haitink,
Royal Albert Hall, London
by
Jessica Duchen |
Valery Gergiev:
The Ring Master
It's the musical event of the summer. As the Mariinsky brings the Ring Cycle to London, Jessica Duchen meets the maestro in charge.
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Power of the Proms: The diverse 115th season features many highlights from Stravinsky and Purcell to...Goldie
by
Jessica Duchen |
Observations:
You can't keep a good diva down
by
Jessica Duchen |
Nikolaj Znaider adds another string to his bow
by
Jessica Duchen |
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2009 |
Classical music: It's a concert, not a catwalk
by Jessica Duchen
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The murky music prize
Our classical music competitions can be corrupt, says Jessica Duchen
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Britain's own National Youth Orchestra can compete with the best
by
Jessica Duchen
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Faryl Smith: Too much, too young?
She's music's latest teen sensation – but life isn't easy for child prodigies, warns Jessica Duchen
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Angela Gheorghiu: 'Difficult? No, I seek perfection'
Melba, Callas, Norman – Angela Gheorghiu, the operatic soprano of the age, can out-diva them all. But behind the no-shows and spats is a singer passionate about her art.
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Handel loved Britain – but that doesn't mean we have to love him back
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Observations:
Music made for Holywood
Korngold's 'Die tote Stadt' opens at the Royal Opera House |
Carmina Burana,
O2 Arena,
London
A funny way to perform opera's sexiest romp. |
Conspiracy of silence:
Could the release of secret documents shatter Felix
Mendelssohn's reputation?
Secret documents revealing a dark tale of adultery and suicide could
shatter Felix Mendelssohn's reputation. |
Dark heart of a masterpiece:
Carmina Burana's famous chorus hides a murky Nazi past
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2008 |
Magdalena Kozena's motherly love
Her new CD has a maternal theme – just right for Magdalena Kozena's new role as a family woman |
Style notes: Classical conductors get a makeover
by Jessica Duchen |
Beijing falls into Three Tenors trap
by Jessica Duchen
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The new
Three Tenors
With record-breaking tours and multi-platinum albums, Pavarotti, Domingo and Carrerastook opera to the masses. Now a younger trio is vying to take their place. |
BBC Proms:
Everything you wanted to know (but were afraid to ask)
The BBC Proms, which start tonight, are the world's greatest music festival. But they can seem forbidding. Jessica Duchen tells you how to be an instant expert
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2008 |
Patricia Rozario:
Indian summer
The Mumbai-born soprano Patricia Rozario tells Jessica Duchen how she rediscovered her heritage – and why she's bringing Eastern folk songs to a London music festival |
A svelter belter: Soprano Deborah Voigt has slimmed down but that fabulous voice is as big as ever
Deborah Voigt has shed more than 100 pounds since her gastric bypass surgery |
Is Julian Lloyd Webber trying to grab the headlines with his improvised BBC broadcast?
Next week, the cellist will improvise classical music in the background of a live BBC bulletin.
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There's something in the aria:
Behind the scenes at Glyndebourne
Glyndebourne's opera festival opens this weekend with a rich display of talent on offer. Jessica Duchen has been watching the stars prepare |
Danielle de Niese:
The slim lady sings
She's playing Poppea at Glyndebourne – and she's dating the boss. Danielle de Niese has the talent and looks to turn heads, says Jessica Duchen
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2008 |
'Christine Rice:The unlikely Opera Star'
Christine Rice swapped her physics degree for a singing career - and now she takes the centre stage at Covent Garden. Jessica meets the unlikely opera star
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Mind the Bach:
Classical music on the underground
As classical music is piped into 40 Tube stations to reduce antisocial behaviour, Jessica Duchen asks if we really want rush hour symphonies |
'Book
of a Lifetime'
Dodie Smith -
I Capture the Castle |
Marina Poplavskaya: At full throttle
Covent Garden calls her 'turbocharged' – and the Russian soprano Marina Poplavskaya certainly lives life in the fast lane, discovers Jessica Duchen |
Daniel Barenboim:
The big picture
The extraordinary response to Daniel Barenboim's Beethoven sonata cycle
reveals that what audiences really want is to immerse themselves in the work of great artists
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Music's boy wonder: Composer, conductor, singer... and he's only fifteen
Alex Prior is in Moscow conducting his own ballet score – the latest in a series of amazing feats. But, as Jessica Duchen reports, the stories of child prodigies do not always have a happy ending |
Olivier Messiaen:
A force of nature
From its birth in a Nazi PoW camp, Olivier Messiaen's work changed the course of classical music. Jessica Duchen hails a new festival of his greatest hits |
Virtuoso violinist Tasmin Little is coming to a PC near you
The musician reveals how her experience of busking for The Independent sowed the seeds of Little's latest project, The Naked Violin |
-TANNHÄUSER-
Opéra Bastille,
Paris - fivestar
Reviewed
by Jessica Duchen
and here is:
UNEDITED
version
as supplied by Jessica |
Natalie Dessay: Comedienne dell’arte
The French soprano Natalie Dessay dazzles in comic roles. But she's deadly serious about the business of opera, she tells Jessica Duchen |
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2007 |
Soul sisters:
The lost requiem
The soprano
Cecilia Bartoli
is so passionate
about Maria Malibran that she's taking her music on the road. |
Composer
JOHN FOULDS:
The lost requiem
Branded a coward, labelled a communist, dismissed by his peers, forgotten by the critics. Now, finally rediscovered, the genius of John Foulds |
ERICH KORNGOLD:
The last romantic
Erich Korngold's lush film scores were an instant hit in 1930s Hollywood. But he could never win over the critics – even his father. Now, his 'serious' music is taking centre stage. |
Ring Cycle:
Legend reborn
From Bugs Bunny to magic lanterns, the Royal Opera House has enlisted some unusual helpers in promoting its latest Ring Cycle. |
Natalie Clein :
Battle of the hands
The young British cellist Natalie Clein is about to release her own version of the Elgar concerto made famous by Jacqueline du Pré. But can it be bettered? |
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2007 |
WAGNER's
Götterdämmerung:
The greatest test in opera for singers, conductor, orchestra – and audience
Jessica gets ready for Sunday's epic Prom
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Jessica Duchen:
TALKING CLASSICAL
What is it about the Welsh and singing?...
Jessica interviews:
Elin Manahan Thomas
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Power of the Proms: How the world's greatest classical music festival is changing
A West End star, a Soweto ensemble and Nitin Sawhney are appearing at the 2007 Proms. Classical snobs may sneer ... |
Bosnian Opera:
The music of war
A remarkable project in Mostar aims to bring about reconciliation in Bosnia through the country's shared cultural heritage. |
'Kismet' at the ENO: An exercise in very poor taste
In these straitened times, opera houses need to bring in the crowds. But with its bangles, baubles and belly-dancing, 'Kismet' is the worst choice for the ENO.
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2007 |
What inspired Benjamin Britten?
Before Benjamin Britten's Aldeburgh Festival
gets underway again, Jessica Duchen takes a trip to the Suffolk coast to work out what so inspired the composer |
Saint-Georges: Marie-Antoinette's pop idol
How come the composer who inspired jealousy in Mozart, was adored by the French queen and banned by Napoleon, has been forgotten? |
Angelika Kirchschlager: This diva's got balls
The mezzo-soprano Angelika Kirchschlager is currently flaunting her femininity in 'Pélléas et Mélisande'. But she won't give up the trouser roles... |
Sir Henry Wood:
The first knight of the Proms
Sir Henry Wood dreamed of bringing classical music to the masses - and did just that. But a new history of the concerts reveals what the effort cost him personally. |
Tasmin Little :
Playing great music in unexpected locations
To see if the British can recognise great music in an unexpected setting - Tasmin Little and her Strad went on to the streets.(with pics pdf)
2MB-Magnify-200% |
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2007 |
Sibelius -
A hostage to history
Sibelius was once the world's favourite composer but, thanks to German fascist admirers, his star waned after his death.
Fifty years later, it's time to rediscover his genius, says Jessica
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Edward Elgar:
A maestro you can bank on
Edward Elgar's face may have been removed from the £20 note, but in the year of his 150th anniversary he remains one of this country's most popular classical music draws |
Simon Keenlyside:
The sound
and the fury
Some singers might be daunted by the part of Prospero in Thomas Adès’ challenging ‘The Tempest’, but not baritone Simon Keenlyside |
Joyce Hatto:
Notes on a scandal
Turning her back on the classical music world she despised, the pianist Joyce Hatto released a vast body of work. Trouble is, it seems she didn't play all of it. |
Marcelo Alvarez :
Living the High Life
As Marcelo Alvarez attempts to rival Pavarotti as 'king of the high Cs' at Covent Garden, Jessica Duchen explains why hitting the top notes can make or break a singer's career
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| 2006/2007 |
Valery Gergiev: Light
the red touchpaper, stand back:
Ticket sales boom when Valery Gergiev is in town - and the fiery Russian now heads the LSO. Jessica Duchen salutes a conductor who can galvanise the concert business - if he chooses to
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Everything in the Garden looks lovely
Passion, conflict, drama... and that's before the curtain rises. After six magnificent and stormy decades, the Royal Opera still hits the high notes.
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Online Concerts:
Pick of the Clicks
There are superb concerts amid bloopers and home videos on YouTube.
But musicians are unhappy about having their mistakes broadcast - for free
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Performing Handel:
Messianic delusions
As ever, Christmas is heralded with generous servings of Handel's 'Messiah', but Jessica Duchen warns that what we hear isn't always what the composer intended
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Carmen: Under
the gypsy's spell
She's back, as feisty, sexy and indomitable as ever. As the curtain rises on a new Royal Opera staging, Jessica Duchen tells how Bizet's heroine sings to us all |
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| 2006 |
Anna Netrebko
A Rare Jewel from the East
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Anna Netrebko
A Rare Jewel from the East
(pdf with photos)
(Please scale up to 200% for reading) |
Hooked on Classics
Rockstars who attempt the crossover
| Gounod: Sympathy for the devil
Gounod's life paralleled that
of his own Faust. |
Music in literature
Many writers have tried to capture the intangible power of music in words.
Jessica chooses her favourites
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| 2006 | Salzburg:
A festival
faces up
to its past |
Small
wonder:
Opera
in Wexford |
Preview:
Grigory Sokolov,
Barbican,
Soviet
Russia's best-kept secret is out |
Placido
Domingo:
Placido
Domingo to open in a little-known version of Cyrano de Bergerac. He tells Jessica
why, at 65, he sings on |
Preview:
Throw Of The Dice
Barbican, London
Nitin
Sawhney score for "Throw Of The Dice" - 1929 |
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| 2006/2005 |
Elgar:
Have
we been
hearing what he
really wrote?
| Clara Schumann:
The troubled career of the pianist.
Devoted wife
or damaged prodigy? |
Pauline
Viardot:
The forgotten diva.
Pauline inspired Brahms, Berlioz and Turgenev, so why is she forgotten? |
Don't
you dare knock Mozart.
David McVicar's take on The Marriage of Figaro for the Royal Opera |
Meet
Mozart Jnr -
Franz Xaver Mozart
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| 2005 |
Cecilia
Bartoli: Bringing
operas back to life
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Playing for peanuts-
London Orchestras |
"Playing for Time: Arthur
Miller's play hits the stage"...
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The
Who
- It's only rock' n' roll
| (Read abridged version from Andante with pics here 170k)
Lisa
Gasteen:
Brünnhilde of Oz |
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| 2005 |
José
Cura:
Let's get physical |
Verbier
Festival, Various
Venues, Verbier **** |
Preview:
Leonidas Kavakos
Prom 55: Royal Albert Hall
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Talking
Classical
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor |
The
return of the original Ring lord-
Wagnermania |
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| 2005 |
Razumovsky Ensemble,
Flexible friends set for
lift-off
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Woman with a mission-
Soprano
Susan Graham
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Talking
Classical
Ivan Turgenev |
The women in Wagner
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Stories
that make music.
Hans Christian Andersen |
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| 2005/2004 |
Tippett divides and conquers
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String when you're winning-
Violinist Nicola Benedetti |
Still
striking a chord
Jacqueline du Pré |
The
priest of love
Antonio Vivaldi |
The
young and the restless
A new generation of conductors |
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2004
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The classic way to stay young
The Nash Ensemble
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A requiem for the fallen.
Elgar's choral work
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Born to be wild
A new study of Dvorak's musical
sketches
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Homage
to a misfit -
Sir Malcolm Arnold's extaordinary life story |
A
hard act to follow. Clive
Gillinson, director of the LSO, is off to New York. |
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| 2004 |
The
music speaks. As
the pianist plays Brahms, the composer's love letters are read aloud. |
The
enigma of Elgar |
Maurice's
Minor Mysteries
-
Ravel and his secrets |
Saint-Saëns-
The composer who disappeared (twice)
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| 2006 |
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Obituary:
Nina Milkina
Russian émigré
pianist at the
forefront of the
'Mozart gold rush'
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| 2004/2003 |
Obituary:
Boris Pergamenschikow |
Obituary:
John Bingham |
Obituary:
Eugene Istomin
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Obituary:
Rosalyn
Tureck |
Obituary:
John
Browning
Piano virtuoso of the New World |
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| 2001 |
Obituary:
Fei-Ping Hsu
Chinese-American pianist |
1741:
a space odyssey
... the Goldberg Variations? |
Beecham -
as we knew him
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Some
of my best friends are pianos
Mitsuko Uchida |
The
name dropper
Pianist Stephen Kovacevich |
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| 2000 |
Just
for the record-
What makes record collectors tick? |
Strings
attached...
Married to an orchestra - the London Philharmonic |
The
quiet riot.
Stories about
Mikhail Pletnev
|
Making
waves.
Amy Beach's piano concerto |
Are
you busy this evening?
If not, can you conduct our orchestra? |
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| 1999 |
Lest
we forget
Ernest Chausson |
Degenerate
Composer Number One
Kurt Weill's musical theatre |
Dutch
courage.
The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
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Sex
and Chopin |
Kissin
tells...
Evgeny Kissin at the Proms |
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| 1999 |
This man isn't rattled - Sakari Oramo as the CBSO's
principal conductor
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Rapt
pupil
-
Thalia Myers explains .... |
Man
for all the people
Sergei Rachmaninov
|
Plucky
chicken-
Francis Poulenc |
Sparkle
remains behind the mask:
L'amour masque in Edinburgh |
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2009/2010 |
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Interview: Menahem Pressler
The legend plays on
The celebrated piano virtuoso Menahem Pressler is 86. So is it time to retire to the golf course? Not likely |
Krystian Zimerman
Take it to the Limit
by
Jessica Duchen |
John Copley
is interviewed by
Jessica Duchen |
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2008/2009 |
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Interview: Lilian and Victor Hochhauser
The impresarios have spent years bringing the finest musicians, dancers and composers to the UK. |
EVERYTHING IS CONNECTED
Fresh from recording the complete Beethoven piano sonatas, Andras Schiff talks to Jessica Duchen |
Remembering Terence:
tragedy of a prodigy |
Jessic Duchen's
top 10 literary Gypsies |
Pinkas Zuckerman turns 60 this year. As he admits to Jessica Duchen, he's more interested his playing goes sszz, whuh, and pa-pa-pa-PUM. |
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2006/07/08 |
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ABOVE IT ALL
Krystian Zimerman's
reputation for perfectionism may explain why he is one of the world's most admired and in-demand musicians. Jessica Duchen talks with the great Polish pianist.
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FRANZ LISZT
Brilliant but enigmatic virtuoso.
Although Liszt was a showman whose legacy consists of terrifyingly difficult, impressive piano works, there was a lot more depth and variety to him than that argues Jessica Duchen
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BBC
Music Magazine
Erich Korngold
Post Romantic
Film Music Pioneer
(View at 150%)
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From: Pianist Magazine October 2007
Piers Lane:
Eyes Wide Open
by Jessica Duchen |
From: The Royal Opera House website
JOHN TOMLINSON:
Discussing the roles of Wotan and Hagen with Jessica Duchen |
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2006/07 |
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From: The Royal Opera House website
LISA GASTEEN
(BRÜNNHILDE) |
From: The Royal Opera House website
John Treleaven:
Siegfried |
LENNY: The cat that shook an orchestra
A short story in two parts, printed in CLASSICAL MUSIC MAGAZINE,
23 Dec 2006 & 6 Jan 2007 - Part I |
LENNY: The cat that shook an orchestra
A short story in two parts, printed in CLASSICAL MUSIC MAGAZINE,
23 Dec 2006 and 6 Jan 2007 - Part II
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Sweet Smell of Success
The Fine Arts Quartet on its 60th birthday |
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| 2006 | Short but sweet
Pianist Clive Williamson's project of commissioning composers to write works that last just 60 seconds |
Grigory Sokolov
Last of the Titans
For many he is the greatest pianist alive ...
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Playbill
Arts Website
Lang Lang
Memories in Music
| BBC
Music Magazine
Robert Schumann
Tortured
Genius of the Romantic Age |
BBC
Music Magazine
Digging for Gould
A
new BBC Film
by Bruno Monsaingeon |
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| 2005 |
Simon the Great.
26 year old Simon Trpceski is on his way to conquer
the musical world.
| Lucky
Charm
The 50-year history of the
Beaux Arts Trio
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Bach
to School
The Back half -
Daniel Barenboim
| Love
triumphant...
Is there a link between Chausson's Poeme and ...
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Michael
Tippett
A man of our time
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| 2004 |
Musician-
heal thyself.
Music's power to deal with grief
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Man, Monster and Myth.
Extremes of Love and Hate
- Responses to Wagner's Music.
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Team
Spirit
The Belcea Quartet |
Going for broke
Making a
life in music is never easy, but it's a bit more difficult if you are penniless. Jessica meets three musicians who didn't let lack of cash stand in their way.
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2003 & 1986 |
Maxim Vengerov
Take a last look at the
violin hero
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Philippe
Graffin-
Wandering Minstrel |
In Vito Veritas
Jessica Duchen examines the distinguished career of violinist Gioconda de Vito
| HANDLED
WITH CARE
Ida Haendel who celebrates 50 years of performing in London speaks to Jessica Duchen |
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Pletnev
plays
Schumann
|
Samuel
Coleridge-Taylor
and Dvorak Violin Concertos
| Conversation
with
Gil Shaham |
Lonquich's
Plainte Calme
|
Krystian
Zimerman
and the BSO
Rachmaninov
Piano Concertos |
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The Last Arabesque
by Jessica Duchen |
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