The voice of Latvian soprano Kristine Opolais has been described as “the gold of the Baltic Sea, with a honey-colored foundation and a vibrant high register, velvety splendor and character.” Born into a musical family in the Latvian city of

Compositions for Films and the Concert Hall On a long rainy day, with typhoon winds lashing the windows, I love nothing better than curling up with my favorite snacks in front of the Television. Basically, I will binge-watch an entire

Although to many people the Bolero is a work for orchestra by Maurice Ravel, or, perhaps, a short jacket imitating a matador’s short jacket, the bolero is also a dance. Coming out of Spain in the late 18th century, the

Travelling, touring, teaching, playing, singing: whatever it looks like for you, life as a musician can take its toll on our bodies. Musicians and others working in the performing industries face some tough challenges when it comes to eating healthily.

Historians frequently regarded François Couperin as “a composer of elegant trifles written for a sophisticated, yet frivolous, audience.” Charles Burney, for example, described Couperin’s music as “so crowded and deformed by beats, trills, and shakes, that no plain note was

Thomas Quasthoff was born on 9 November 1959 in Hildesheim, Germany, under horribly tragic circumstances. His mother had been prescribed the barbiturate Contergan or thalidomide, to ease her morning sickness. At that time she did not know that there was

The Chansonnier Cordiforme or Chansonnier de Jean de Montchenu (Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale de France , Ms. Rothschild 2973) is a beautiful music manuscript created for Jean de Montchenu, who was appointed Archbishop of Agen in 1477. The title of the

The music of Frédéric Chopin is perennially popular – it has never lost its universal appeal and Chopin remains one of the greatest composers for the piano. Virtuosic, imaginative, and emotionally profound, Chopin’s music offers pianists a wealth of expressivity,