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Serge Prokofieff: Peter & The Wolf

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Camille Saint-Saëns - The Swan -Der Schwan

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Franz Liszt - His Music and Life

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Franz Liszt was born on October 22. 1811 in Raiding im Burgenland/Austria and passed away in Bayreuth/Germany on July 31, 1886. Liszt's father, an estate-trustee of Prince Esterhazy, resigned from his job, because his son as a six years old lad showed a surprising music-talent. At the age of 9, Franz Liszt gave concerts in a sensational performance. Art-sensible Hungarian noblemen donated a scholarship for six years. Liszt and his parents moved to Vienna in 1821, where he got Carl Czerny (Vienna 1791-1857) and Antonio Salieri (Italy, Austria 1750-1825) as wonderful teachers. In Vienna, he was allowed to play something for the great Ludwig van Beethoven. In 1823, Liszt made his first concert tour to Paris. Luigi Cerhubini (1760-1842) rejected Liszt as student of the Conservatoire de Paris, because he didn't like child prodigies. Liszt learned a lot from Niccolo Paganini and Frederic Chopin. The meaningful piano work started in 1826 with "24 Grandes Etudes pur...

Pavarotti- La Traviata- Brindisi

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Volodos - Franz Liszt Hungarian Rhapsody No. 13

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Giovanni Battista Pergolesi - His Music and Life

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Born on January 4, 1710 in Ancona/Italy, Giovanni Battista Pergolesi passed away in Pozzuoli/Italy on March 16, 1736. He became pupil of Francesco Durante (1648-1755) in Naples. Pergolesi's intermezzi did impress much. Only the intermezzo "La Serva Padrona" (1736) became his most famous work. This comic opera ("The maid as mistress") has been performed up to today. It became the oldest and alive as well as vivid opera. Still six concertinos can be found on rare available records. Pergolesi's instrumental music pleases us especially because of its "Singing Allegros" - by the way, it impressed also and especially Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714-1788) and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791). Pergolesi's last work has been a "Stabat Mater", a sequence of catholic liturgy. It became one of the best church music works from Naples. Pergolesi's talent to change simple folksongs into artistic musical objects let became...

Stabat Mater ( Giovanni Pergolesi) - the great Emma Kirkby

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