Set in 1962, when England was on the cusp of the Swinging Sixties, ‘On Chesil Beach’ by British author Ian McEwan examines the tension between the modern (represented by the male character Edward) and an earlier, more sexually repressed age

In spite of their huge age gap, Chinese pianist Lang Lang and Japanese conductor Seiji Ozawa share one thing in common — they were both born in Shenyang, China. Maestro Ozawa was born in September 1935, his parents being merchants

In the wide world of music, it is not always easy to determine what actually constitutes the premier performance. The process of introducing works to a wider audience is by definition a complicated one, and rather frequently a composition disappears

In the late summer of their careers, divas like to stake out some territory that ensures their legacy. Maria Callas championed bel canto rarities, Cecilia Bartoli reinvigorated baroque treasures, Joyce di Donato promotes contemporary American Jake Heggie. A cursory overview

A few years ago, I heard Stephen Hough in concert in a programme of “serious” music: the premiere of his ‘Trinity’ Piano Sonata III alongside Cèsar Franck’s mighty Prelude, Chorale & Fugue, plus works by Liszt and Schubert. And the

Music publishing in France is intricately and unbreakably linked with the name Durand! It all started with Marie-Auguste Massacrié-Durand (1830-1909), a capable composer and organist. In fact, he studied at the Paris Conservatoire and was a classmate of César Franck

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Die Entführung aus dem Serail (The Abduction from the Seraglio) premiered at the Burgtheater in Vienna on 16 July 1782. The Austrian Emperor Joseph II was in the audience and famously said, “Too many notes my dear

Gaetano Donizetti followed the resounding success of Anna Bolena with two additional serious operas, Lucrezia Borgia of 1833, and Lucia di Lammermoor of 1835. Rossini regarded Lucia as Donizetti’s supreme operatic achievement. It epitomized the Italian Romantic spirit of the