Like no other conductor, Christian Thielemann’s artistic vision seems to divide the musical world. While his flamboyant interpretations are frequently the target of a hostile musical press, musicians and concertgoers appear to love him. Conservative in his musical and political

The pianist and pedagogue Heinrich Gustav Neuhaus was one of the most celebrated artists of his generation. His playing was described as “tempestuous,” and at the height of his powers, his technique was considered faultless. As a teacher he shaped

On 23 March 1922, Albert Coates conducted the premiere performance of Frederick Delius’ Requiem in Queen’s Hall, London. The origin of the work, subsequently dedicated “to the memory of all young artists fallen in the war,” emerged during a holiday

The Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky, whose family name survives in an astonishingly diverse number of spellings, was largely self-taught. Yet he discovered a way of writing for the voice that was both lyrical and true to the inflections of speech.

As the youngest pianist ever, South Korean pianist Yunchan Lim won the prestigious Van Cliburn International Piano Competition at the age of eighteen. His gold medal performance showcased a “magical ability” and “a natural, instinctive quality.” Jury Chair Marin Alsop

Charles Gounod (1818-1893) wrote 12 operas, with Faust as his most popular. Premiered at the Théâtre Lyrique on the Boulevard du Temple in Paris, on 19 March 1859, the work was an immediate success. While the original version employed spoken

In popular perception, the Russian composer Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908) is primarily associated with the ideas of the “Mighty Handful.” This group of five prominent Russian composers attempted to create a distinct musical style that sought to capture elements of

The Buddying Composer Sergei Rachmaninoff made his first tentative attempts at composition during the summer of 1886. The resulting piano piece is unfortunately now lost, but his piano-duet transcription of Tchaikovsky’s Manfred Symphony was later played to Rachmaninoff’s “musical hero.”