At the age of 57, Johann Sebastian Bach started to experience a number of health problems. Most serious was an affliction to his eyes, a condition that seemingly had plagued him from a young age. “His eyes had naturally bad
On This Day
Pantaleón Enrique Joaquín Granados Campiña was born on 27 July 1867 in Lleida, Catalonia, Spain. His mother Enriqueta Elvira Campiña de Herrera hailed from Santander, while his father Calixto José de la Trinidad Granados y Armenteros, a Spanish army captain,
Niccolò Paganini gave the world a new kind of musician, the musical superstar with a devoted following. Everything he did in performance, including his love for black clothes, his carefully disheveled hair, and his over-the-top mannerisms, was deliberately planned to
Performances by Maria João Pires, born on 23 July 1944 in Lisbon, are “distinguished by her crystalline technique, spontaneous poetry and profound, impassioned musicianship.” A daughter of João Baptista Pires and his wife Alzira dos Santos Alexandre Barbosa, Pires played
On 22 July 1919, the Alhambra Theatre in London saw the world premiere of the ballet El sombrero de tres picos under the title “Le Tricorne.” It had been commissioned by Serge Diaghilev and featured choreography by Léonide Massine, costumes
On 22 July 1776 two of the most powerful Salzburg families joined for the wedding of Elisabeth Haffner and Franz Xaver Späth. The bride’s father, Sigmund Haffner had married the heiress of an important trading post. Sigmund Haffner worked in
Nicola Benedetti, born on 20 July 1987, is widely considered one of the most sought-after violinists of her generation. According to critics, “her ability to captivate audiences with her innate musicianship and spirited presence, coupled with her wide appeal as
For well over three decades, Kurt Masur was one of the world’s most celebrated conductors, having established an international reputation as “a sensitive and innovative interpreter of the Classical and Romantic repertoire, specifically Mendelssohn, Brahms and Tchaikovsky.” He was also