Situated on a hill across the Gold Horn from the old city of Istanbul, the Levantine neighborhood of Pera—today known as Beyoğlu/Taksim —transformed into a remarkable cultural district in the second half of the 19th century. Called the crossroads of

Maurice Ravel hailed from the French Pyrenees, and he was born merely a couple of miles from the Spanish border. Growing up in Madrid, he had a natural fascination with Spain and one of his earliest pieces, written after he

Minimalism, a musical style which developed in the US in 1960s, was a revolt against the all-pervasive atonality and fashionable “crazy creepy music” (Philip Glass) of the avant-garde, which, in its myriad forms and sub-genres, had dominated classical music since

A tragic story of jealousy, vengeance and sacrifice, Rigoletto is one of Verdi’s most popular operas. In fact, when it premiered in Venice at La Fenice on 11 March 1851 to a full house, the aria “La donna è mobile”

In praise of street pianos A piano asks to be played and is a wonderful reminder of the nature of play and the pleasure of making music, regardless of genre. Most people passing by a piano can’t help but strike

We often talk of charities that speak for those who have no voice. In this case, we have a charity that gives the homeless a voice – an organized voice in a choir. Founded in 2008 with a mere 4

André Previn, the remarkably versatile German-American pianist, composer, conductor, jazz musician and presenter, who died on 28 February 2019 at the age of 89, was an iconic figure in the national consciousness, and significant to me personally in my own

As our journey continues, let us explore Brahms’ (1833-1897) Three Intermezzi, Op.117. Written together with Fantasien Op.116 during a short stay at Bad Ischl, this set is even more introspective compared to the previous opus. When Brahms sent this set