On This Day

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On This Day
27 November: Viktoria Mullova Was Born
Violinist Viktoria Mullova won first prize at the prestigious Sibelius Competition in Helsinki in 1980 and two years later captured the Gold Medal at the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow in 1982. Winning at the Tchaikovsky brought her international fame, but
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On This Day
24 November: Alfred Schnittke Was Born
The music of Alfred Schnittke is marked by an intense expressiveness, an unpredictable flow of ideas, an innate sense of drama, and a natural lyricism. While traditional genres retained their relevance, Schnittke gave new life to old forms by squeezing
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On This Day
22 November: Kent Nagano Was Born
American conductor and opera administrator Kent Nagano is renowned for interpretations of clarity, elegance, and intelligence. He excels at complex late nineteenth- and twentieth-century scores, and he is considered a Messiaen and Mahler specialist. Nagano is passionate about introducing concert
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Frank Martin (1890-1974)
A Spiritual Tribute
On 21 November 2024, we commemorate the 50th anniversary of the death of Frank Martin, one of the foremost composers of the 20th century. Born in Switzerland, Martin had access to both French and German musical traditions, and he eventually
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On This Day
20 November: Anton Rubinstein Died
Anton Rubinstein, Russian pianist, composer, conductor and teacher, was one of the greatest pianists of the 19th century. His playing was compared with Liszt’s, and he combined a prodigious technique with musicianship, scholarship, and a richly poetic temperament. Anton Rubinstein
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On This Day
18 November: Elim Chan Was Born
In 2014, Elim Chan won the Donatella Flick LSO Conducting Competition as the first female conductor to win the competition in its history. “When I won that competition,” she explained, “history wasn’t something that came into my mind straight away…
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On This Day
15 November: Christoph Willibald Gluck Died
“I endeavoured to reduce music to its proper function,” wrote Christoph Willibald Gluck, “that of seconding poetry by enforcing the expression of the sentiment, and the interest of the situations, without interrupting the action or weakening it by superfluous ornament.”
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On This Day
14 November: Johann Nepomuk Hummel Was Born
During his time, Johann Nepomuk Hummel was considered to be one of Europe’s greatest composers and greatest pianists. He was Mozart’s most famous student, a protégé of Joseph Haydn, and Beethoven’s friend and chief competitor. With his forward-looking compositions, he
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