The first opera I ever saw live on stage was Carl Maria von Weber’s masterpiece Euryanthe. It was all a bit confusing at first, because there was just so much going on. I tried to follow everything, including the story,

In the world of classical music, when careers can last for decades, few losses are as profound as those of extraordinary talents who die young. During the mid-twentieth century, a number of remarkable violinists captivated audiences with their brilliance, charisma,

It is quite common — and somehow expected — for composers to seek new sounds. Sometimes these sounds come from what surrounds them; sometimes they come from what appears distant, unfamiliar or even exotic. Throughout history, composers have been drawn

Today, Amalie Joachim is often remembered solely as being the wife of violinist Joseph Joachim: an injustice, given her own era-defining musical talents. Their messy divorce is known among classical music lovers as the inciting event that nearly destroyed Joachim’s

“We live in a society that wants stars. We (the pianists) are not the stars.” – pianist Leon Fleisher (1928-2020) In classical music, the idea that “the music is the star” holds that the composition itself – not the performer

June is a genuinely remarkable month in classical music history. It’s the birth month of Elgar, Grieg, Stravinsky, and Schumann. It saw the premieres of Peter Grimes, The Firebird, and the Enigma Variations. And it’s the month that claimed Bizet,

Lang Lang is one of the most recognisable classical musicians of the 21st century. From giving sold-out performances with the world’s leading orchestras, to spearheading high-profile crossover projects, to enthusiastically participating in music education outreach, Lang Lang has helped redefine

Few works in Western classical music have achieved the global reach of Antonio Vivaldi‘s The Four Seasons. Written around 1720 and endlessly reinvented ever since, these four concertos have become a gateway to classical music for countless listeners – especially