In our commercially-driven modern times “success” tends to be measured in monetary terms, and those people who have achieved the dizzy heights of a very large salary and financial security long into the future are generally regarded as “successful”.

Beatrice Harrison (1892-1965), our next featured cellist, lived when the cello was beginning to flourish. Harrison was the leading British cellist of her day— the first woman cellist to play at Carnegie Hall, in 1913, the first woman soloist with

A brand new concert hall built on a former industrial site reinvigorates the city and unveils a new chapter for its local orchestra. Sounds like an exemplary story from Hamburg. Well I am actually referring to Zürich in Switzerland.

A long, long time ago, the Jade Emperor was looking for 12 animals to become designated as calendar signs. So he sent an immortal being into the world of man and announced that the first 12 animals to pass through

Is this the most “relaxing” piece of classical music? asks Radio Three of Arvo Pärt’s contemplative and spiritual ‘Spiegel im Spiegel’.

Further to my previous article – “Voices from the Verbier Festival Academy I”, here are more comments from the “2017 Musicians”.

Frenchman Maurice Gendron (1920-1990) was known for his poise and elegant, pristine playing. If Daniil Shafran played with unconventional hand positions, Gendron’s are nearest to the ideal. His hands are cello perfect: rounded, relaxed, symmetrical, and produced a shimmering sound.

On 3rd December, 2017, a Verbier Festival Academy alumnus – 18 year old cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason from Nottingham, UK – made his debut in Vancouver, Canada, presented by the Vancouver Recital Society. He and his sister Isata (who accompanied him