On 29 May 1913, the city of Paris witnessed the premiere performance of a musical work that exerted a tremendously powerful influence on the music of the 20th century. The Rite of Spring catapulted Stravinsky to international stardom and defined

Being chosen by Leonard Bernstein to sing the boy solo part in Chichester Psalms, conductor Daniel Oren seems to be destined for the opera house from an early age. Indeed, when I saw him stepping onto the podium to conduct

In his Suite 1922, Paul Hindemith had not only referenced in popular music genres; he also paid homage to the gestures and aesthetic of the high Baroque. Like many composers of the time, Hindemith was looking for greater objectivity and

Chorus: “Gott fähret auf mit Jauchzen” John Eliot Gardiner From Bach Cantatas Gardiner (2013) Released by Harmonia Mundi Bach: Chorus – “Gott fähret auf mit Jauchzen”Another masterpiece by John Eliot Gardiner. Official Website

From the Diary of a Hermit At one time or another, Charles-Valentin Alkan (1813-1888) was mentioned in the same breath with Frédéric Chopin and Franz Liszt and even compared with Hector Berlioz. Not only was Alkan — he was born

Harry Fehr is the opera director who once told The Scotsman that he ‘would avoid Wagner at a dinner party’. Yet in April this year, he directed an intriguing production of The Flying Dutchman, re-shaping the title role as the

In 1906, Gertrude Clarke of Belleview, Nebraska married Matthew John Whittall —roughly twenty-five years her senior — who had made his substantial fortune producing and dealing in carpets and rugs. While John was busy weaving another mat, Gertrude developed a

The atmosphere was electric! We were at Paris’s Palais Garnier to attend a ballet performance just five days before the one-hundredth anniversary of the riot surrounding the premiere of Igor Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring in May of 1913. To top