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

Playground without a bully, or plane without a pilot? Depending on the situation, eliminating one element of the equation can bring either joy or disaster. Where do conductors sit along this spectrum? While many orchestral musicians joke about the ineptitude

Ever since Mozart’s Così fan tutte: La scuola degli amanti premiered on 26 January 1790 at the Burgtheater in Vienna, Austria, its critical reception has been marked by ambivalence. For one, it opened during the Austro-Turkish War of 1787-91, playing

Ludwig II of Bavaria had a number of interesting nicknames. He was called the “Swan King,” the “Fairy Tale King,” the “Dream King,” and most damningly, “Mad Ludwig.” He built himself fairytale castles, had severe problems relating to women and

Born on 25 January 1886 in Berlin, Wilhelm Furtwängler still inspires acrimonious debates surrounding his “role as de facto chief conductor of the Nazi regime,” his passive political resistance, and his outspoken opinions on the relationship between art and politics.

For a time, the exact birthdate of Muzio Clementi was hotly debated. When he died on 10 March 1832, official records put his age at eighty, but his widow claimed that he was actually eighty-two. Others swore that he died