On This Day

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On This Day
31 May: Diana Damrau Was Born
Dazzling audiences with technical prowess and emotional depth, German soprano Diana Damrau has achieved international fame in opera and also in concert and lieder performances. Sporting impeccable diction, extended lyricism, and vivid theatricality, Damrau effortlessly commands the coloratura repertoire, and
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On This Day
30 May: Britten’s War Requiem Was Premiered
The premiere performance of Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem took place on 30 May 1962 at the consecration ceremony for the New Coventry Cathedral. The original fourteenth-century structure had been destroyed in a World War II bombing raid, and the work
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On This Day
28 May: Seong-Jin Cho Was Born
By winning First Prize at the Chopin International Competition in Warsaw in 2015, Seong-Jin Cho immediately rose to international prominence. Signing an exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon in 2016, Cho has established himself as one of the leading pianists of
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26 May: Stravinsky’s Le Rossignol (The Nightingale) Was Premiered
Igor Stravinsky’s first opera The Nightingale, to his own libretto in collaboration with Stepan Mitusov and based on a Hans Christian Andersen fairy-tale, premiered at the Opéra in Paris on 26 May 1914. The marvellously colourful production was commissioned by
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On This Day
24 May 1974: Duke Ellington’s 50th Anniversary of Death
50 years ago to the day, on 24 May 1974, America mourned the passing of its arguably greatest composers. Without doubt, Duke (Edward Kennedy) Ellington was the greatest jazz composer and bandleader of his time. One of the originators of
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21 May: Heinz Holliger Was Born
He may well be one of the most versatile and extraordinary musical personalities of our time. The conductor, composer, oboist, and pianist Heinz Holliger has never stopped searching for the limits of human experiences. Celebrated for his versatility and technique,
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On This Day
20 May: Alexandre Kantorow Was Born
In 2019, Alexandre Kantorow won the first prize, gold medal, and Grand Prix at the 16th International Tchaikovsky Competition, becoming the first French winner in the history of the competition. Kantorow struck the piano world with the impact of a
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On This Day
19 May: Ravel’s L’heure Espagnol Was Premiered
Maurice Ravel presented his one-act opera L’heure Espagnol, probably most idiomatically translated as “How They Keep Time in Spain,” at the Opéra-Comique on 19 May 1911. Based on the play by Franc-Nohain, which enjoyed great success at the Odéon in
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