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Behind the music

List of News Articles

  1. A marimba seen sideways on from a low angle, with Colin Currie just visible behind it

    An introduction to keyboard percussion instruments

    6 October 2025

    Can you tell the difference between a vibraphone and a xylophone?
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  2. Mozart and the development of the piano concerto

    29 September 2025

    How one composer almost single-handedly raised the piano concerto to unprecedented heights
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  3. Haydn, Father of the Symphony

    22 September 2025

    In the latest in our series looking at the symphony, what makes Haydn so significant in its development?
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  4. When composers don't write a full Mass

    15 September 2025

    Some sections of the Mass are more popular than others ...
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  5. Symphonies and their nicknames

    8 September 2025

    Beethoven's Fifth has a nickname? Well, it does according to some people ...
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  6. The percussion concerto

    1 September 2025

    Our examination of the concerto now turns to percussion. Expect the unexpected!
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  7. The clarinet concerto

    16 June 2025

    It's the clarinet's turn to step centre-stage for a look at their concerto repertoire. It's possible Mozart is mentioned!
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  8. Opera seria: a beginner's guide

    9 June 2025

    Ahead of the SCO's performances of two key opera seria in this year's Edinburgh International Festival, we look at the history of the genre.
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  9. Three men, dressed formally: one Victorian, with a short grey beard, one young and clean-shaven, in sepia, the last (in a painting) with a long grey beard and glasses

    The lure of the exotic: northern Africa in classical music

    2 June 2025

    How does the west's fascination with the wider Arab world come across in music? We look at a few examples ...
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  10. Beethoven's 'lesser' symphonies

    26 May 2025

    Why are some Beethoven symphonies better-known than others?
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  11. The bassoon concerto

    19 May 2025

    For the last article in our concerto series (for now), we turn to an instrument too often dismissed as the orchestra's resident joker.
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  12. André Cebrián and Marta Gómez play the flute sitting in the SCO desks

    The flute concerto

    12 May 2025

    In the third installment of our series looking at the concerto, it's the turn of the SCO flautists to recommend their favourites.
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