A biographer reports, “A violent thunderstorm struck Vienna in the afternoon of 26 March 1827. At 5:45 pm, a sudden flash of lightning was reported, and the dying man suddenly raised his head, stretched out his own right arm majestically—like

Think of the world of French modernism, and many may speak of Ravel, Debussy, Boulez, or Messiaen. Henri Dutilleux (1916-2013), while not perhaps immediately springing to mind, represents a fusion of the many strands of mid twentieth century French music.

The important thing is not to stop questioning… Never lose holy curiosity – Albert Einstein One of the tenets of my own musical study, my writing, and my life in general is to “stay curious”. I’ve always been curious and

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

We musicians love to laugh just like everyone. Perhaps our profession requires a quirky sense of humor considering all the years of discipline, motivation, and practice let alone the stress of competitions, auditions, and irascible conductors. I’ve illustrated some of

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,