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Miles Hoffman

Happy Birthday, Mr. Sax

Adolphe Sax, a Belgian musician and the inventor of the saxophone, was born 200 years ago Thursday. The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images hide caption

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The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images

Music News

Happy Birthday, Mr. Sax

Thursday marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of Adolphe Sax, inventor of the saxophone. Miles Hoffman explains how an instrument designed for military bands became inextricably linked to jazz.

Happy Birthday, Mr. Sax

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The Orchestral Recipe, From The Pilgrims To Today

Food and music mingle in Pieter Claesz's Still Life with Musical Instruments (1623). Wikimedia Commons hide caption

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Wikimedia Commons

A Thanksgiving Feast For The Ears And Eyes

The Orchestral Recipe, From The Pilgrims To Today

NPR's Renee Montagne talks with music commentator Miles Hoffman about how the ingredients that make up a Thanksgiving dinner and those that make up an orchestra have changed over the centuries.

The Orchestral Recipe, From The Pilgrims To Today

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Turkey, Cranberries And Composers At The Table

Which composers would you invite to your Thanksgiving table? iStockphoto.com hide caption

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Deceptive Cadence

Turkey, Cranberries And Composers At The Table

Commentator Miles Hoffman invites an eclectic group of long-gone composers to Thanksgiving dinner.

Turkey, Cranberries And Composers At The Table

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Classical Cutups For April Fools' Day

Yes, even in the straight-laced world of classical music, one can find all manner of hoodwinking and horseplay. iStockphoto.com hide caption

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Music Interviews

Classical Cutups For April Fools' Day

Yes, even within the hallowed halls of classical music, one can find all manner of hoodwinking, horseplay and even a raunchy song or two. Hear Renee Montagne and Miles Hoffman spin some of the more lewd and laughable musical jokes.

Classical Cutups For April Fools' Day

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Music Interviews

Revolutionary Sounds: A Bastille Day Music Mix

The streets of Paris might have been in chaos in 1789, but music still rang out. Commentator Miles Hoffman leads a guided Bastille Day tour through the music of the French Revolution.

Revolutionary Sounds: A Bastille Day Music Mix

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200 Years Of Abraham Lincoln

If Abraham Lincoln Had An iPod

If Lincoln had used an iPod, it would have needed a lot of memory. Classical music commentator Miles Hoffman reports that the 16th president's musical tastes ranged from popular ballads to opera, and that his No. 1 favorite may have been, surprisingly enough, "Dixie."

If Abraham Lincoln Had An iPod

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Music Interviews

Musical Families For Thanksgiving

Relatives can be an important ingredient to a successful Thanksgiving. Classical music commentator Miles Hoffman points out some important musical relatives of Mozart, Bach, Schumann and Mendelssohn.

Musical Families For Thanksgiving

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Music Interviews

Insults And Praise On The Classical Campaign

Commentator Miles Hoffman offers a classical variation on a political theme: insults and endorsements among the great composers. Invectives hurled at their colleagues and competitors were effective means of shaping public opinion. Whether positive, negative or the all-too-common flip-flop, classical-music criticism, just like political commentary, is little more than biased opinion in time.

Insults And Praise On The Classical Campaign

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Music News

A Classical Treasure Trove at YouTube

Legendary musicians such as Arturo Toscanini, Maria Callas and Jascha Heifetz might be gone, but their performances are still alive, thanks to YouTube. Commentator Miles Hoffman considers the popular Web site a treasure trove for fans of classical music.

A Classical Treasure Trove at YouTube

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Music Interviews

Heifetz and Kreisler: Setting Standards for the Violin

Jascha Heifetz and Fritz Kreisler were both born on Feb. 2 — Kreisler in 1875 and Heifetz in 1901. But the men share more than just a birthday. Music commentator Miles Hoffman discusses the two fiddlers and how they each set new standards for the art of playing the violin.

Heifetz and Kreisler: Setting Standards for the Violin

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Music

For Thanksgiving, the Other Kind of Drumsticks

If it's Thanksgiving, it must be time for another musical pun from Miles Hoffman. The music commentator joins Renee Montagne for a holiday review of drums, triangles and other percussive instruments.

For Thanksgiving, the Other Kind of Drumsticks

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