It is somewhat ironic that not a single Hungarian town in which Béla Bartók spent his youth is now within Hungarian boundaries. At the time of his birth on 25 March 1881, the town of Nagyszentmiklós was part of the

Completed in early 1826, Beethoven’s String Quartet Op. 130 premiered on 21 March 1826 as part of the concluding subscription concert by the Schuppanzigh Quartet. The work immediately caused great puzzlement, as we read in a contemporary review, “The most

Chinese-born bass-baritone Shenyang came to the world’s attention in 2007 when he won the “BBC Cardiff Singer of the World” competition. Ever since he has established himself as one of the finest voices of his generation. He has accumulated an

Isabelle Faust was born in Esslingen, near Stuttgart, on 19 March 1972. When her father decided to take up the violin as a hobby, he took his five-year-old daughter along during his lessons. While her father only showed modest talents,

On 18 March 1927, audiences in the city of Philadelphia, USA were in high anticipation as Leopold Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra had invited Sergei Rachmaninoff as the soloist for the premiere of the composer’s Fourth piano concerto in G

The historically informed performance movement has opened up the realm of interpretation by enriching the subjectivity of artistic expression with the objectivity of scholarly study. And while critics have suggested that such performances are not really historical but a performance

The artistry of Jean-Guihen Queyras, born on 11 March 1967 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, is characterized by insatiable curiosity, diversity and a firm focus on the music itself. A musician completely dedicated to his art, his humble approach and unpretentious

The original Chinese poet of the keyboard Fou Ts’ong, born on 10 March 1934 in Shanghai, was always reluctant to talk to journalists about his personal affairs and his relationship with the China he had left behind. “I tried to