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In her last few years, Next Big Thing contributor Matt Glaser’s mother had difficulty recalling the most basic day-to-day information. She was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. But if Glaser played her a recording of Verdi or Mozart, his mom, once an opera singer, would fall quickly and easily into the soprano part. Matt is a musician himself, and it was through music that he was able to connect with his mother in the last years of her life. He recorded this piece in 2001. Mrs. Glaser died this past July.