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Three-Minute Composer Biographies
Dvořák’s father played the zither in a local tavern. Sibelius was fascinated with migrating birds, as reflected in his Fifth Symphony. Bruckner spent his formative years – and then some – in a monastery in St. Florian, Austria.
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How the 1918 Flu Pandemic Shaped Classical Music
In the June 2020 issue of BBC Music Magazine I look at various ways in which composers were impacted by the flu epidemic of 1918-20. The virus, which wreaked havoc for nearly three years and left at least 50 million people dead including about 675,000 in the U.S., impacted music in ways both significant and…
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Five Things Every Orchestra Website Should Get Right
In compiling the BBC Music Magazine‘s North American concert calendar every month, I spend a lot of time scanning the websites of concert presenters and orchestras across the U.S. and Canada. Though I am not a marketer and admittedly know little about ticketing sales practices, it’s easy to identify potential improvements in website design and…
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These Are the 15 Most Popular Orchestras on Spotify
The most popular orchestras on Spotify are predominantly British, according to the streaming music service’s latest public data on its monthly listenership. Four out of the top five most-listened-to orchestras are located in London and seven of the top 15 are U.K.-based.
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Hollywood’s Diversity Debate Has Echoes in Classical Music
The dearth of black actors among this year’s Oscar nominees has triggered what some observers are calling a full-fledged diversity crisis for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, even as the president of the organization has promised change. Lack of diversity in the arts isn’t just a concern for Hollywood, of course, and there…