Some say that Francis Poulenc was granted an ideal death. He died of a heart attack in his Paris apartment on the rue des Medicis, on 30 January 1963. On that day he was planning to have lunch with Denise

Crossover and Pop Versions of the Famous Opera Aria I believe that it was Luciano Pavarotti who single-handedly made “Nessun dorma,” from Giacomo Puccini’s opera Turandot one of the most popular tunes on the planet. “Nessun dorma”: Luciano Pavarotti It

Sometimes you get tired of the details, tired of the intricate formal structure, and you just long for a piece of simple music. This is where Light Music plays a role. Starting in the 18th century, light music was the

Fritz Albert Theodor Delius, better known to the world in later years as Frederick Delius, was born on 29 January 1862 in Bradford, a city in West Yorkshire, England. His parents came from Bielefeld in Germany, and his father Julius

You close the door to the practice room behind you. You are alone with your instrument. You take it out of the case, lift it up and… now what? Should I start with some scales? What was that bit that

On 15 January 1622, one of the greatest writers in the French language was baptized in Paris. His name was Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, but everybody immediately recognizes him by his stage name Molière. It is thought that Molière adopted his stage

Widely regarded as one of the greatest pianists of all time, Arthur Rubinstein (1887-1982) combined a prodigious technique with musicianship, scholarship, and a richly poetic temperament. One of the greatest Chopin interpreters of his time, his warmly outgoing and the

During the final years of his life, Giuseppe Verdi devoted himself to a number of philanthropic ventures. Chiefly among them was the establishment of a hospital at Villanova sull’Arda, close to Busseto. Yet, overseeing such a noble cause was not