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,

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

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

He supposedly felt physically ill when playing Brahms, and he considered the Beethoven sonatas boring because of their plastic imperfection. But what delighted him beyond all measure was to play Mozart on an old, out-of-tune Erard grand piano. Samson Pascal

On 16 May 1868, the New Town Theatre in Prague saw the premiere of Bedřich Smetana’s opera Dalibor. The premiere sounded on the day of the ceremonial laying of the foundation stone of the National Theatre with the composer conducting.

Born in San Diego on 15 May 1970, Anne Akiko Meyers is undoubtedly one of the world’s most esteemed violinists. Possessing flawless technique and artistry, critics and audiences marvel at her “wonderous palette of tones that range from edgy and

All beginnings are difficult, but you have to start somewhere. This might well have been the motto for Guntram, the first opera by Richard Strauss. Or, as the composer himself declared, “all of Guntram is a prelude.” Working on the

Born in Stockholm, Sweden, on 9 May 1955, Anne Sofie von Otter is one of the finest singers of her generation. Internationally recognised as a concert and recital singer of exceptional gifts, von Otter has built an incomparable catalogue of