In 1926, the Metropolitan Opera staged the world premiere of the American composer John Alden Carpenter’s 1924 ballet Skyscrapers. This was in February, at the height of the season and it was a triple-bill evening: Gianni Schicchi with Giuseppe De

During the final decade of his life, Jean Sibelius achieved great popularity in English-speaking countries while central Europe and France remained essentially uninterested. Sibelius’ music polarized along ideological lines, and his supporters considered him the “last true successor to Beethoven

What exactly is musique concrète and what has it done to the musical world? For starters, it would have not existed if it were not for two important influences; visual arts and philosophy — the Dadaists’ approach to making art

The worldwide lockdown of COVID gave the world breathing space, in which to sit or to explore, to do the things there was never time for, to create. For American composer Todd Mason, the time was devoted to something he’d

From its unforgettable opening timpani solo to its extravagant ending that showcases the full glory of the symphony orchestra, to all of the dazzling solo piano writing in between, the Grieg piano concerto is an indispensable part of the classical

When Anna Netrebko first appeared on the stage of the world’s most famous opera houses during the 2002 and 2003 season, she was called “the biggest sensation to hit the opera world in years.” Described as one of opera’s hottest

The aftermath of WWI left a lot of previously able people damaged and injured, not the least musicians, for whom the loss of hand or an upper limb was no light matter. One of those so wounded was the up-and-coming

Credit: NPR Classical