Our Musical Giants of the 20th Century series have so far looked at some of history’s finest musicians – string players like Heifetz and Hubermann, pianists including Richter and Rubinstein and conductors from Kleiber to Karajan. We now turn our

The verdant hills of the Berkshires beckon not only for the exceptional scenery but also because of Tanglewood—the eight-week music festival and school, home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra from June through early August. I had the privilege of experiencing

Sarnia: II. In a May Morning From IRELAND, J.: String Orchestra Music (2016) Released by Naxos Ireland: Sarnia: II. In a May MorningJohn Ireland’s music is often a response to landscape and romantic sensitivities. With its significant musical clues, broad,

We’ve looked at Schubert’s song cycles, but that was only a small part of the enormous number of lieder he wrote. There were many other poets he set than just the majors we are so familiar with (Goethe, Schiller, and

“It’s unplayable,” said the virtuoso pianist and composer Mily Balakirev, “there are passages in this work that I simply can’t manage.” Alexander Scriabin seriously damaged his right hand frantically practicing this composition, and Maurice Ravel remarked that his goal in

Wolfie Mozart loved his little violin and hated trumpets! At least that’s what Andreas Schachtner tells us in a series of letters written to Constanze after the composer’s death.

No instant results – and ‘no shortcuts’ Iskandar Widjaja’s most recent visit to Hong Kong saw him performing Tchaikovsky in a shopping mall to a total of half a million people. This time, it’s a decidedly more intimate – yet