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Documentation of Roman Totenberg's Stradivarius violin. The instrument went missing after one of Roman's concerts but was rediscovered more than three decades later.

Documentation of Roman Totenberg's Stradivarius violin. The instrument went missing after one of Roman's concerts but was rediscovered more than three decades later. Courtesy of the Totenberg family hide caption

itoggle caption Courtesy of the Totenberg family

Around the Nation

A Rarity Reclaimed: Stolen Stradivarius Recovered After 35 Years

For decades, virtuoso violinist Roman Totenberg played his prized Stradivarius around the world. Then one day in 1980 it was snatched. Gone. But in June, the FBI called his daughter with news.

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Tenor Placido Domingo performs the title role in a 1994 performance of Verdi's Otello at the Metropolitan Opera in New York.

Tenor Placido Domingo performs the title role in a 1994 performance of Verdi's Otello at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Johan Elbers/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images hide caption

itoggle caption Johan Elbers/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images

The Two-Way

Metropolitan Opera To Drop Use Of Blackface-Style Makeup In 'Otello'

The Met says it is committed to "colorblind casting" and that its production of Otello this fall will be the first without dark makeup since the opera was first seen at the company in 1891.

Isabel Leonard and Nathan Gunn star as Ada and Inman in the world premiere of Jennifer Higdon's Cold Mountain at the Santa Fe Opera.

Isabel Leonard and Nathan Gunn star as Ada and Inman in the world premiere of Jennifer Higdon's Cold Mountain at the Santa Fe Opera. Ken Howard/Courtesy of the Santa Fe Opera hide caption

itoggle caption Ken Howard/Courtesy of the Santa Fe Opera

Deceptive Cadence

'Cold Mountain' Takes Civil War Odyssey To The Opera Stage

The best-selling novel and star-studded movie gets the operatic treatment from Pulitzer-winning composer Jennifer Higdon with a world premiere in Santa Fe.

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William Schimmel distills Mahler's lengthy Ninth Symphony down to under seven minutes.

William Schimmel distills Mahler's lengthy Ninth Symphony down to under seven minutes. Illustration by Joan Chiverton hide caption

itoggle caption Illustration by Joan Chiverton

Deceptive Cadence

A Mahler Symphony Squeezed In A Squeezebox

Accordionist William Schimmel creates a daring yet touching six-minute distillation of Mahler's mighty Ninth, with detours for tango and trumpet solos by Wynton Marsalis.

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Lalo Schifrin composed the soundtrack to the original Mission: Impossible TV series in 1966.

Lalo Schifrin composed the soundtrack to the original Mission: Impossible TV series in 1966. Flickr hide caption

itoggle caption Flickr

Music

Four Composers, One (Nearly) Impossible Mission To Reinvent A Classic Theme

Four different composers have scored the Mission: Impossible stories on the big screen. All have had to contend with the iconic music Lalo Schifrin wrote for the TV series.

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Circa 1974: a photo of Vic Firth, the former principal timpanist of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and a leader among percussion equipment manufacturers.

Circa 1974: a photo of Vic Firth, the former principal timpanist of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and a leader among percussion equipment manufacturers. Milton Feinberg/Courtesy of the Boston Symphony hide caption

itoggle caption Milton Feinberg/Courtesy of the Boston Symphony

Deceptive Cadence

Remembering Vic Firth, An Orchestral — And Entrepreneurial — Legend

He was with the Boston Symphony for 50 years, and his name was also stamped on the sticks of drummers from Buddy Rich to Charlie Watts to Questlove. Firth died Sunday at age 85.

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Pianist Ivan Moravec was known for his lyrical playing and recordings of Chopin and Mozart.

Pianist Ivan Moravec was known for his lyrical playing and recordings of Chopin and Mozart. Anost Nosek hide caption

itoggle caption Anost Nosek

Deceptive Cadence

Unassuming Czech Pianist Ivan Moravec Dies At 84

Eschewing a glitzy career, the pianist, who was heard in the movie Amadeus, earned a reputation as one of the greats of his generation, especially praised for his Chopin performances.

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Sarah Kirkland Snider's song cycle Unremembered comes out Sept. 4.

Sarah Kirkland Snider's song cycle Unremembered comes out Sept. 4. Willy Somma/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

itoggle caption Willy Somma/Courtesy of the artist

Deceptive Cadence

Song Of A Haunted Childhood

"The Witch," from composer Sarah Kirkland Snider's new album Unremembered, inspires childlike fear. Hear singer Shara Worden of My Brightest Diamond spin out a tale of terror.

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