CourÂtesy of Deutsche Welle, the GerÂman interÂnaÂtionÂal broadÂcastÂing serÂvice, you can fill your iPod at no cost with some excepÂtionÂal clasÂsiÂcal music. We’d parÂticÂuÂlarÂly encourÂage you to focus on two podÂcasts. First, BeethovenÂfest (iTunesFeedWeb Site), which lets users downÂload “Beethoven’s most famous symÂphonies perÂformed by excelÂlent young orchesÂtras.” Next, ClasÂsiÂcal MasÂterÂpieces (iTunesFeedWeb Site), which gives you free access to symÂphonies by Mozart, Strauss, SchuÂmann, Brahms, and BruckÂnÂer, each preÂsentÂed by conÂducÂtor Kent Nagano and the interÂnaÂtionÂalÂly known DSO Berlin. (InciÂdenÂtalÂly, a quite large colÂlecÂtion of free clasÂsiÂcal music can also be found on Wikipedia. Thanks to one of our readÂers for letÂting us know.)
FinalÂly, we should menÂtion that Deutsche Welle offers a lot of othÂer free podÂcasts in EngÂlish. Take for examÂple Inspired Minds (iTunesFeedWeb Site), a series of podÂcasts explorÂing the world’s great thinkers, or Deutsche Warum Nicht? (iTunes), a mulÂti-part series that will teach you GerÂman from the ground up. A great trove of conÂtent that’s worth your time.
Some like culÂture, and some like CulÂture — art, symÂphoÂny and opera, jazz and dance, the works. For the Big C culÂture fan, CulÂturekiosque is a score. It’s a high-qualÂiÂty webzine that lets you keep your finÂger on the pulse of the interÂnaÂtionÂal culÂture scene. The site notably offers an events calÂenÂdar that lists culÂturÂal events takÂing place across the world, someÂthing that travÂelÂers might appreÂciÂate. It also feaÂtures more subÂstanÂtive artiÂcles and reviews, which, although writÂten in EngÂlish, are not limÂitÂed to the culÂturÂal hapÂpenÂings in the AngloÂphone world. (The site explicÂitÂly refers to itself as “The EuroÂpean Guide to Arts and CulÂture WorldÂwide.”) So, while you’ll get CulÂturekiosque’s take on how things went down at this year’s BurnÂing Man fesÂtiÂval in the NevaÂda desert, you’ll also get their view on how the Orchestre de Paris is farÂing under its new GerÂman conÂducÂtor. Also worth a parÂticÂuÂlar menÂtion is the web site’s speÂcial jazz series called Sons of Miles, a 41-part series that looks back at Miles Davis and the many jazz musiÂcians he influÂenced. A great resource for the jazz offiÂcianaÂdo. To access many parts of the site, users will need to regÂisÂter.
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