Situated on a hill across the Gold Horn from the old city of Istanbul, the Levantine neighborhood of Pera—today known as Beyoğlu/Taksim —transformed into a remarkable cultural district in the second half of the 19th century. Called the crossroads of

Symphony No. 2, BVN 53, “Vaarbrud” (Awakening of Spring) II. Lento religioso quasi adagio From LANGGAARD, R.: Symphonies Nos. 2, “Vaarbrud” and 6, “Det himmelrivende” / GADE, J.: Tango Jalousie (2018) Released by Dacapo Langgaard: Symphony No. 2, BVN 53,

Maurice Ravel hailed from the French Pyrenees, and he was born merely a couple of miles from the Spanish border. Growing up in Madrid, he had a natural fascination with Spain and one of his earliest pieces, written after he

Minimalism, a musical style which developed in the US in 1960s, was a revolt against the all-pervasive atonality and fashionable “crazy creepy music” (Philip Glass) of the avant-garde, which, in its myriad forms and sub-genres, had dominated classical music since

When Hector Berlioz went to see a production of Shakespeare’s Hamlet in Paris in 1827, he could hardly have guessed that it would turn into a life-changing experience!

In March of 1785 Leopold Mozart was visiting his son in Vienna, and he reports to his daughter Nannerl, “Your brother recently made 559 gulden at his concert, which was unexpected, because he is simultaneously giving his six subscription concerts

Giovanni Paisiello clearly had the Midas touch! Everything he touched turned to gold, or better yet, into regularly and well-paid employment. He also made an absolute fortune from public performances of his operas, and publishers would pay exorbitant prices to

A tragic story of jealousy, vengeance and sacrifice, Rigoletto is one of Verdi’s most popular operas. In fact, when it premiered in Venice at La Fenice on 11 March 1851 to a full house, the aria “La donna è mobile”