My work in Britten Sinfonia frequently involves playing second clarinet parts, yet elsewhere (like many wind players) I move between second and principal positions. I get asked if I enjoy one more than the other, and the honest truth is

Until very recently, the music of Russian composer and pianist Nikolai Kapustin (1937-2020) was virtually unknown to Western audiences. Although he has authored more than 150 works—among them several piano concertos and chamber compositions—Kapustin has been stubbornly unwilling to participate

Introducing Beethoven’s Symphonies to Toddler Yes! There is a long list of classical music specially composed for children. Over the years, Saint-Saëns’ The Carnival of the Animals, Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf, and Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker helped create some of

Schubert…..makes tears catch at the edge of my eyes; such fragile hope, such powerful emotions. Ian McMillan, poet (via Twitter) I was reminded of Ian McMillan’s quote while listening to the final lunchtime lockdown concert from London’s Wigmore Hall, a

Interlude is sad to announce the passing of probably the most famous film composer of the 20th century. Ennio Morricone (1928-2020) scored more than 500 films over several decades in almost every imaginable musical style and for almost every imaginable

Even under the worst of circumstances, when one group of people brutalizes another, despite oppression, the drive to make and create music cannot be suppressed. Research has shown that during the Holocaust, in the most heinous of conditions, the prisoners

Hailed as one of the great violinists of the 20th century, Ida Haendel (1928-2020) “enthralled audiences around the world with a combination of classical rigor and romantic warmth—a mind-blowing mix of fire and ice.” Known for her gracious yet uninhibited

In a sense, at the end of the opera, we’ve received closure for the story at hand (they marry, they die, they get their revenge, etc.) but sometimes there’s a large story that we are locked out of. Modern composers