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Two of the United States's greatest artists made their living selling insurance: the poet Wallace Stevens and the composer Charles Ives. By remaining…
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Professor Carl Sagan understood that to communicate our greatest thoughts, one needed music. In it, logic and beauty can become singular, inseparable. The…
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For readers interested in downsizing or just minimizing the clutter and chaos in their lives, a useful guide for adopting a minimalist lifestyle is Marie…
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Boozer, our little shih tzu, is the guest this week. He is just 4-months old and about that big. This little fellow is missing a bone in his ear, which…
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Respighi reworked a few of Rossini's piano pieces to create the whimsical La Boutique Fantasque, a ballet set in a magical toyshop. Here, a dollmaker…
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Once a popular fruit to grow in Iowa, sour cherries are now a bit rare in our orchards. They are labor intensive, delicate, and loved by birds. But they…
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Bizet's Roma is a confusing piece of music to discuss. Originally conceived as a symphony, it is often considered to be a suite for orchestra (which is…
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Jean Sibelius's later works, his Seventh Symphony, Tapiola, and, today's featured piece, incidental music for The Tempest, are masterworks. The orchestral…
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A good mystery thriller unravels thread by thread, making it impossible to put the book down. The plot grips you as tension builds, and you wait for the…
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Perhaps for its depth of feeling or simply for its being a requiem, there is a certain surprise to find that Faure said, "My Requiem was composed for…