It’s always been a problem – you want to practice your piano concerto and the orchestra is away for the day, or on a break, or just not able to assemble due to the new social distancing rules. You need

Ludwig van Beethoven probably wasn’t actually born on 17 December, but in the absence of an authentic record of birth, we rely on the registry of his baptism in the Catholic Parish of St. Remigius in Bonn on 17 December

This is a never-ending question that always sparks heated debate, which sometimes even the jury can’t come to an agreement. It was also why Fou Ts’ong protested against awarding the first prize to Stanislav Bunin by not signing the verdict

During his short but highly productive career Franz Schubert worked on a total of thirteen symphonies. Three symphonic projects were abandoned in fragments, and three more left incomplete. The Symphony No. 7 in E major was fully sketched and fully

The term “chorale” can be somewhat confusing. That’s not surprising, as the meaning is slightly different in German and in English usage. Let’s not get into the technical differences but simply say that a “chorale” is the congregational hymn of

Franz von Lenbach (1836-1904) was one of the most accomplished portrait artists in German art of the 19th century. As one of the leading exponents of 19th century realism in Germany, he was the best-known and highest-paid portrait painter of

Death has been on our minds, collectively and individually, more than usual during this time of COVID. A number of famous people have died during the pandemic, though not necessarily as a direct result of it but merely due to

Composed between 1919 and 1921, La Valse by Maurice Ravel premiered on 12th December 1920 in Paris. On that occasion, Camille Chevillard conducted the Lamoureux Orchestra of Paris in a performance of the orchestral version. Ravel and Alfredo Casella had