Rachmaninoff

Discovery Orchestra Chat 143 – Codas

Codas are special endings that composers may write for the conclusion of a movement. Maestro Maull explores the codas used in Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 and Brahms’ Symphony No….

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The Opening Chord Revisited

I’ve been blogging now for a little over three years. I sometimes wonder if anyone out there has actually been reading them. To recapitulate, as we’d say in sonata form,…

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A Pearl Among Us

No, I’m not speaking of the precious collectible created by oysters and other mollusks, but of violinist Itzhak Perlman. I have enjoyed his playing for decades and feel privileged to…

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Discovery Orchestra Chat 110 – Another Effective Surprise

All surprises in life feel the way they do because of the unexpected aspect of the surprise. Composers can create “musical surprises” – see how in this Chat featuring pianist…

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I'm thankful for Musicians

Thanks! An Encore Presentation. . .

As I began to write what I hope will be an annual Thanksgiving Day blog post, I re-read last year’s – my first. It appeared to contain some good thoughts,…

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Discovery Orchestra Chat 108 – The Land of 6th’s and Octaves

When composers want to add harmony to a melody, there are a number of ways they can do it. Learn more in this Discovery Orchestra Chat, featuring high-school musicians Katie…

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Marvelous job, Maestro, as always! Thank you for doing such a splendid, insightful and careful deep-dive into the art and craftsmanship that Tchaikovsky, after much effort, put into creating this work. There really is no greater portrayal of young love in music than his Romeo and Juliet, and your thoughtfulness demonstrates it so admirably.

— Chat Video Listener