The great composer Dimitri Mitropoulos said in 1951, “I was profoundly shocked to read of the death of Arnold Schoenberg. He was one of the greatest geniuses of our time. He did for music in the twentieth century what Einstein

Anton Arensky was born on 12 July 1861 in Novgorod, on the banks of Lake Ilmen. His father was a physician and played the cello, and his mother was said to have been a good pianist. Young Anton showed great

Operatic tenors enjoy a special status in the world of music. We all still remember the illustrious Enrico Caruso, Beniamino Gigli, and Richard Tauber from the first half of the twentieth century. However, as a critic wrote, “the most versatile

The exceptional and brilliant violinist Henryk Wieniawski, born on 10 July 1835 in Lublin, was quickly considered a reincarnation of Nicolò Paganini. In the summer of 1848, a German reviewer writes, “Our third guest, violinist Wieniawski, is a 12-year-old boy

The clarinet concerto by Edison Denisov (1929-1996), premiered on 9 July 1989, finds the European-oriented composer firmly rooted in Russian-Siberian soil, “developing a certain partiality to the tonal qualities of the clarinet.” In fact, the clarinet had previously featured in

Benjamin Grosvenor, born on 8 July 1992 in Westcliff-on-Sea, Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England, has never entered an international piano competition. And truth be told, he won’t have to in the future. In fact, he was the youngest ever winner of the

The playing style of cellist János Starker was greatly admired for its “silken richness of tone and an expressive purpose governed by deep musical sensibility.” One of the greatest cellists of all time, Starker also had a great sense of

For a good number of commentators and experts, Carlos Kleiber, born on 3 July 1930 in Berlin, is regarded as among the greatest conductors of all time. “His gifts are musical and dramatic insight, analytical abilities, technique, and his methods