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Happy birthday, Tchaikovsky!

Today, we celebrate a great composer’s birthday. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was born on 7 May 1840, in Votkinsk, Russia. I have always loved Tchaikovsky’s ballet music. I remember dancing around to the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy and feeling the …

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Discover Chopin’s handwritten manuscripts

Frédéric François Chopin, Polish composer and pianist, was born today, 22 February, in 1810. Chopin is considered one of the most significant composers of the Romantic age, although some great pianists have dismissed his work as ‘excessively ornamental and trivial‘. …

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Schubert, almond blossom and Bloody Sunday

You might think that there can’t be anything that links Schubert to almond blossom and Bloody Sunday – the day 13 Irish demonstrators were shot dead in Derry. But there is. The thread that holds them all together is today’s …

Count Basie and Some Europeana Piano Gems

Today would be the birthday of Count Basie – American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. William ‘Count’ Basie is considered one of the most influential jazz musicians in history. Did you know? Count Basie’s playing was much more relaxed …

An American Icon, a European Dream

This is a guest blog post from Norman Rodger, Projects and Innovations Manager for Edinburgh University Collections. Norman has been involved with Europeana since 2008, initially in his capacity as manager of the MIMO Project (Musical Instrument Museums Online). He is also a …

Felix Mendelssohn

The composer, conductor and instrumental soloist Felix Mendelssohn is considered one of the most important figures of the Romantic period. Some of his most well-known works include the Wedding March from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which was played at the …