One of my favourite quotes by Edvard Grieg reads, “Bach and Beethoven erected temples and churches on the heights. I only wanted to build dwellings for men where they might feel happy and at home.” It sounds a touch understated

The best conductors are often workaholics intensely devoted to their craft and career. So it’s no surprise that over the course of music history, quite a few conductors have died or suffered fatal injuries while on the podium. Today, we’re

Hector Berlioz (1803-1869) completed only three operas during his lifetime. By all accounts, Benvenuto Cellini was an outright failure, with the audience hissing at most of the music after the first few numbers. And the epic Les Troyens (The Trojans)

From his earliest years to the concert tours in the year he died, Edvard Grieg performed as a pianist playing his own composition. He was a great pianist but not a virtuoso, and according to a biographer, “his intimate familiarity

There’s something morbidly fascinating about last words: the idea that a life can somehow be summed up in a few words. The importance of those last words only grows when the men saying them are some of the most influential

It is the fall of 1871. A twenty-six-year-old Ukrainian woman sends a cable to Europe to pianist and composer Franz Liszt. She warns him that she is about to cross the ocean to kill him. Ten days later, she shows

In the world of classical music, John Marsh (1752-1828) is not really a household name, but he probably should be. He was one of the most prolific composers in 18th-century England, producing roughly 350 mostly instrumental works. Although very little

Baritone Simon Keenlyside has been described as “one of Britain’s most sought-after and charismatic singers, noted for his versatility and highly charged performances on stage.” He made his first appearance in a major operatic role in 1987 as “Lescaut” in