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Other segments from the episode on August 19, 1988
Bolet Plays Ballades
Cuban-born pianist Jorge Bolet was a mainstay of the concert circuit; only recently have his recording garnered much attention. Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz says that some of his performances of classic Chopin pieces have interpretive nuance, while others -- white pretty -- lack depth.
Restoring Classic Jazz Recordings
Jack Towers worked for the Department of Agriculture before pursuing his new career as an audio engineer. He finds and restores classic and little-know jazz albums and concerts, including an upcoming collection of Dean Benedetti's recordings of Charlie Parker. Towers hopes advances in digital technology will make his sometimes tedious methods obsolete.
A Brief History of Political Oratory
Linguist Geoff Nunberg looks back at the tradition of American political oratory. Debates and speeches drew crowds by the thousands in the 19th century., but television has reduced much of that discourse to soundbites. The rare moments in which we can hear a speech in full remind us of how much fun politics must have been in the past, says Nunberg.
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