Artur Schnabel (1882-1951) is best known for the first recording of the complete cycle of Beethoven piano sonatas, which he issued between 1932 and 1935. He was never a virtuoso pianist but engaged with every nuance of meaning in the

Premiered on 18 July 1791 at the Théâtre Feydeau in Paris, Luigi Cherubini’s Lodoïska was immediately celebrated as a masterpiece. It ran for roughly 200 performances in Paris and was highly popular in the Germanic countries in the early 19th

Beethoven’s orchestra in 1804, when he conducted the first performance of his Symphony No. 3, and Mahler’s orchestra a century later were very different. Developments in string technology, in brass and woodwind instrument construction, and in the very sound and

The operatic sketch Hin und Zurück (There and Back) was first presented at the Baden-Baden Music Festival on 15 July 1927. The Wikipedia entry, placing the premiere on 17 July will have to be amended, but that Music Festival was

The viola d’amore (or viol of love) is a violin with a difference. Instead of the usual 4 strings as on the violin, it can have up to 14 strings – seven bowed and seven that are ‘sympathetic’ strings, i.e.,

The American clarinettist Richard Stoltzman is known for his freely expressive style and individuality of phrasing and interpretation. A two-time Grammy Award Winner, Stoltzman is a captivating recitalist, chamber musician, and jazz performer, as well as a prolific recording artist.

Considered one of the most gifted French musicians of the era, violist Antoine Tamestit “possesses a flawless technique and combined effortless musicality with an easy communicative power.” A prize winner at the William Primrose Competition in 2001 and the ARD

In Renaissance Europe, the well-dressed man about town did his best to be the ultimate in culture and style. Style was taken care of by the clothes he wore but culture was a different matter. Because of what seems to