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Why Are There Ballets in the Middle of French Opera?

In 1861, Richard Wagner was ready to take his opera Tannhäuser to the Paris Opéra. He knew that in order to please his Parisian audience, he had to revise it to include a ballet, which he managed to...

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5 Tales From the Complicated Life of Beethoven

Passionate, moody, troubled, social — Beethoven's personality is hard to pin down. Here are a few wild stories from his life that provide a glimpse into a life misunderstood.As Salieri's Vocal...

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A Very Brief History of the Violin

Much like the Voynich manuscript, the Baghdad battery and babies, we don’t exactly know where violins come from. That’s not to say that violins just appeared out of the 16th-century ether playing...

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Blacklisted: The Political Life of Leonard Bernstein

Leonard Bernstein understood that art was political. As long as he wielded the baton, the maestro dared not shy away from at least being involved with the most pressing social issues of his day; as a...

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Holding Gentrification: Toshi Reagon on What it Means to Build and Unbuild...

Brooklyn Bound, written for the Brooklyn Youth Chorus’ Silent Voices project, evokes the full continuum of composer and singer-sonwriter Toshi Reagon's sound world: irresistible grooves, poignant blues...

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The Incredible Story of Elise Hall's Saxophone and Debussy's Trainwreck...

In 1898, Elise Hall, an ambitious amateur saxophonist, was frustrated for a simple reason: there wasn’t enough music written specifically for her instrument. So she decided to go on a commissioning...

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What Was the First Symphony, and Who Wrote It?

There is a lot of glory in being the first to do something groundbreaking. The first figure defies the odds, makes a courageous stand and is remembered throughout history. But when it comes to...

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Playlist: Oscar Wilde's 161st Birthday

Playwright, poet, and novelist Oscar Wilde was born today in 1854 in Dublin, Ireland. Studying classics as a youth, he became one of the founders Aestheticism. Much of Wilde’s writing, while aesthetic...

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Toy Pianos Aren’t Playing Around

In music, size matters not. Jane Little, a bassist in the Atlanta Symphony for 71 years—she met her end last May after collapsing on stage during a concert—was 4 feet, 11 inches and 98 pounds, over a...

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Composer, Alchemist, Poet and ... Time Traveler Immortal?

Imagine you’re at a dinner party and out of nowhere comes a complete stranger who seems to know everything about everything, speaks five languages and claims to be immortal.The magnetizing gent you’ve...

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The Beat Goes On: A Short History of the Metronome

The musician sent home to practice with a metronome confronts in this prescription an absentminded chaperone. It sits on the stand and clucks a rigid beat regardless of whether the player, afflicted...

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What Does Rosin Actually Do to Violin Bows?

When writing about violin players furiously bowing their strings, it has become a bit cliché to evoke the image of “rosin flying into the air” as a display of ecstatic music-making. It’s easy to find...

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Giving Classical the Boot(leg): A Brief History of Illicit Recording

For certain music enthusiasts, of all concert souvenirs, the bootleg recording is the most covetable. Neither autographed Big Gulps nor commemorative T-shirts exceeding the cost of one’s wardrobe can...

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Handel and Hendrix: Genius Roommates Who Lived Centuries Apart

Happy birthday, Handel! Hear music from the Baroque composer— who was born on Feb. 23, 1685 — all Friday on WQXR.Jimi Hendrix must have been quite the roommate.(Handel & Hendrix in London /...

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This Is Einstein's Violin — and It's Up for Auction

Update: The violin was sold to an anonymous telephone bidder for $516,000. At five times the low-estimate, the sale set an auction record for Einstein memorabilia.It’s no secret that music was central...

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You Can Now Take a Peek at Mozart's Musical Diary

In a move that is the stuff of nightmares for journaling teenagers everywhere, the British Library has made Mozart’s musical diary digitally available to the public.The diary isn’t the kind that might...

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Pivotal Classical Musical Moments of the 1960s

The 1960s was a period of confusion, violence and uncertainty. As wars raged and the marginalized demanded their voices be heard, various artistic media had their aesthetic assumptions challenged,...

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Back in the Day: Artifacts through the Ages

As we mark WQXR's 75th anniversary, we're feeling pretty curious about our history. Commence the plundering of the archives! We've unearthed a ton of great artifacts to share, some we didn't even know...

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Every A+ Violin Needs an ‘F’: Why the Instrument Has Those Distinctive Sound...

The cover of my high school calculus text featured a close-up of a string instrument, with a particular focus on the sound hole. It was pretty slick cover art — although they’re unrelated, the integral...

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When Did WQXR Start Calling it 'Classical' Music?

In 1942, WQXR co-founder Elliott Sanger wrote an essay (“Who Likes Good Music?”) in which he argues people of various backgrounds and income groups listen to “good music.” What did he mean by “good”...

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