British cellist Joy Lisney is one of the most exciting string players to emerge in recent years and the model of a modern musician with a strong advocacy for contemporary music. Yet in her varied musical activities she also harks

Nobody composed variations like Austrian composer Franz Schubert! An undisputed master of the genre, his variations on his own melodies became a fascinating combination of formal innovation and musical poetics. Peeling away layer upon layer of significance and meaning, Schubert

Hector Berlioz published his famous handbook on the art of orchestration, his Traîté d’instrumentation, in January 1844. It remains, even today, a landmark in the history of the symphony orchestra. It is a concise and brilliant historical document that details

Why would a talented leading British composer include a document called a Failure CV on her website, alongside details of her extensive oeuvre and the many plaudits for her work?

The Belligerent Virtuoso Our birthday boy this month is Louis Marchand (1669-1732), born 350 years ago in Lyons on 2 February 1669. By all accounts, he was a rather strange and disturbed character. Described as restless, cumbersome, self-conceited, and ambitious

Antonín Dvořák celebrated his election to the Bohemian Academy of Science, Literature and Arts by composing a symphony. He worked on his 8th Symphony for almost 3 months at his summer resort in Bohemia, and he conducted the premiere in

Salve Regina in B – Flat Major From MAYR, J.S.: Motets, Vol. 1 – Venetian Solo Motets (2018) Released by Naxos Mayr: Salve Regina in B – Flat MajorJohann Simon Mayr became one of the most popular opera composers in

On 5 February 2019, we say goodbye to the Earth Dog, and welcome the year of the Earth Pig. Since it takes 60 years to scroll through every animal sign and element in both yin and yang aspects, this closes