Every listener and amateur of music has a composer that he feels like he should know better; because he or she is widely known and perhaps even quite influential, because this composer is the starting point of many others, or

Escaping his hectic work schedule in 1932, George Gershwin visited Havana, the capital city of Cuba. At that time, Cuba was a highly popular tropical retreat for wealthy Americans, “as well as a convenient place to consume liquor during the

In looking at costuming for Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia, we found some interesting 19th-century interpretations of Figaro himself. In a production at the Théâtre Royal Italien in 1844, the artist and designer Alexandre Lacauchie put the serenading barber in

Every music lover knows that Mozart was one of the most extraordinary prodigies in the history of music: he began composing when he was only five years old! But have you ever sat down and listened to these early works?

By the death of Jules Massenet on 13 August, writes a correspondence for the Musical Times “France loses her most popular and most famous composer.” Contemporary critical assessment was rather less complimentary. “Massenet’s prolonged and widespread success,” according to Fuller

In my last article, I introduced six Children’s operas written in the 1900s. Children’s operas are often made for children or young people, but they also appeal to adult audiences. In this article, I share eight more children’s operas that

Artistic types are famous for their big personalities and the beef and rivalries that result. Over the centuries, classical composers have had more than their fair share of tiffs. Today we’re looking at the stories and personalities behind five of

One of the most influential composers in the second half of the twentieth century, John Cage (1912-1992) was a leading figure of the post-war avant-garde. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, he