Featured Instrument A-M

Joe Sample, Old places Old faces

In Praise of Joe and Rachel

My first encounter listening to a symphony orchestra remains permanently fixed in my memory. Not so with jazz. My love of jazz gradually seeped into my being over time –…

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Oi Vey! Not Another One!

contributor Mark Vanhoenacker offered yet another in the unending series of obituaries for classical music on January 21, 2014, entitled Requiem – Classical Music in America is dead. Vanhoenacker quotes…

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Discovery Orchestra Chat 115 – A Very Special Melody Part 2

The orchestral version of Pelleas et Melisande is used to illustrate Gabriel Faure’s lilting Sicilienne rhythm – listen for the prominence of the harp and flute in this Chat! Watch…

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Discovery Orchestra Chat 111 – A Very Special Melody

A composer will sometimes create a melody that is so beautiful, so haunting, that it just stands out as one of the best melodies ever. This was the case when…

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Musician Humor

A few blog posts ago I let some of you in on ‘conductor humor.’ I say ‘some of you’ because there are undoubtedly ‘others of you’ who may have already…

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Discovery Orchestra Chat 106 – A Taste of Mexico

Guitarist Celil Refik Kaya is back again to help Maestro Maull explore Manuel Ponce’s Scherzino Mexicano in this Discovery Orchestra Chat!

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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